Hungry for a burger or grilled cheese sandwich? We found a couple of fun places that specialize in these two dishes during our most recent visit to Cleveland, Ohio.
B Spot Burgers
Food Network fans may recognize Michael Symon as an "Iron Chef", but Cleveland residents most appreciate him as a hometown guy and champion promoter of the city's great foodie scene.
We've eaten at Symon's Roast restaurant in Detroit's Westin Book Cadillac hotel, where I enjoyed a fabulous birthday dinner there a few years ago, but I always wanted to check out his some of his Cleveland restaurants.
Our chance finally came earlier this month when we visited his B Spot Burgers in Woodmere, on Cleveland's east side.
Even better, we managed to land at the B Spot during "happy hour", which made us very happy indeed!
Happy hours at Symon's B Spot locations in Crocker Park, Strongsville and Eton (where we ate ) run from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and feature $5 burgers, $2 brats and bologna and $3 draft beers.
Symon's specialty burgers run from $6 to $9.50 on the B Spot's regular menu, so you're getting a great deal during happy hours.
The happy hour price for an order of Symon's rosemary seasoned Lola fries is $1, which is an especially good deal as the regular menu price is $4.
Tim ordered the Lola burger, a one-third-pound burger topped with bacon, pickled onions, cheddar, mayo and a fried egg, and I opted for the Symon Says burger, topped with cole slaw and bologna.
Symon is a dedicated carnivore, so his menu is sure to delight red meat lovers and those who have a taste for bacon, bologna and brats. We loved the burgers and the variety of toppings (don't miss a trip to the condiment bar, which features local and regional pickles as add-ons to your burgers).
Our meal of two burgers, two orders of fries, a beer and a coffee, plus a 20-percent tip, set us back less than $25.
The Eton B Spot is in an upscale mall near a Barnes and Noble store I've used for years as a pit stop and meeting place when I'm traveling in the area, so it was nice to be able to take a quick walk inside and check out the bookstore after dinner on a cold winter day.
Bottom line-Great casual dining in upscale area with down-to-earth happy hour pricing for creative versions of food you may remember from your childhood!
Melt Bar and Grilled
Matt Fish is another local chef that envisioned opening a restaurant with a menu featuring what he calls "comfort food dressed up" and beer.
What's not to like?
We found plenty to like at Melt Bar and Grilled's Cleveland Heights location with its kitschy decor featuring lighted plastic lawn ornaments like jack-o-lanterns and Santa, cheerful servers and menu of grilled cheese sandwiches to fit any taste.
There were so many fun and tasty sounding sandwiches on the menu like the Smokey Russian (smoked turkey with kraut, onions, Gouda and Russian dressing), The Dude Abides (homemade meatballs, fried mozzarella cheese sticks, marinara, provolone and Romano), and Cleveland cheese steak (with thin-sliced roast beef, mushrooms, onions, peppers and provolone).
Tim had a Hot Italian sandwich with salami, ham, pepperoni, sun-dried tomato pesto, roasted garlic, banana peppers and provolone. I opted for the aptly named Parmageddon sandwich, which featured 2 potato and cheese pierogis that were as big as my face with kraut, onions and sharp cheddar.
Our sandwiches arrived with cole slaw and a huge portion of rough-cut French fries, which helped make eating the entire meal in one sitting impossible. Be prepared to take leftovers home or possibly consider splitting a meal. Unfortunately, we didn't have a cooler or fridge in our motel room, and it just wasn't cold enough in the car to keep our leftovers for another meal.
We arrived around 5 p.m. on a weekday at the Cleveland Heights restaurant on the East side of town. The restaurant was fairly busy even this early, but we were able to find a spot in the metered parking lot behind the building and get a seat without a wait.
Bottom line-Grilled cheese for grown-ups in a fun atmosphere. Huge portions, so plan for leftovers!
© Dominique King 2013 All rights reserved
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