Barley House is no Spy Bar, and That's a Good Thing

The last time I stopped by 1261 W. Sixth Street, I was greeted by a velvet rope and an arrogant doorman. Fortunately, my friends and I were dressed in proper attire, so we had little problem slipping by the gatekeeper after coughing up the hefty cover charge. Our reward? Over-priced cocktails and a roomful of witless party people.

But that was then, back when the address was occupied by the ultra-exclusive Spy Bar. These days, the building is home to Barley House, and the scene can’t be more different.

On warm days, the entire façade of Barley House opens up, presenting an unambiguously hospitable welcome. Inside and out, casually dressed guests appear to be enjoying the company of friends as opposed to seeking out new ones. Spy Bar’s semi-private nooks and crannies have been replaced with convivial banquettes and neighborly communal tables.

Our reception was equally warm. When we couldn’t decide whether to dine outside or in, a patient staffer guided us to various locales for examination and selection. Our server picked up from there, quickly delivering drinks, menus and her undivided attention.

Of course, your experience may differ considerably. Depending on the day and time, Barley House shifts from casual lunch spot to spirited dining room to raucous 20-something meat market. If you’re looking for a romantic date-night dinner spot, for example, you may want to look elsewhere. But for awesome happy hour deals dished up in a laidback Warehouse District pub, Barley House comes through.

It’s difficult to thrive as both restaurant and nightclub, and Barley House exhibits the expected inconsistencies when it comes to the food. Billed as an Irish-style pub, the menu is studded with the usual assortment of faux-Irish fare and cheesy Irish sayings (Sit Long. Talk Much. Laugh Often. How original!) But fortunately for diners, the menu goes well beyond corned beef and cabbage and shepherd’s pie.

The Rueben egg rolls ($7.49) are a sort of cross between sauerkraut balls and Asian spring rolls. Crispy and delicious, the fried rolls are stuffed with corned beef, Swiss, cabbage and potatoes. They are served with a horseradish dipping sauce. Unless you enjoy oddly colored and flavored industrial cheese product, I’d skip the pretzel bites. These bland “cheese” stuffed nuggets lack any gustatory interest, even when dragged through the horseradish sauce.

Oddly enough, Barley House’s pizzas seem to be the biggest hits. The pies ($8.99) are deep and doughy, and topped with some of the strangest things one might ever encounter. We sidestepped the macaroni and cheese variety in favor of one loaded with chicken, bacon and ranch dressing.

Lunchtime visitors can opt for the “bottomless” soup and salad deal ($6.99) or one of the oh-so-Irish half-pound burgers. There is a nice selection of entrée-size salads assembles from fresh ingredients.

The phrase “hot mess” gets tossed around quite a bit these days, but never has it been more adequate a description than in the case of the shepherd’s pie ($11.99). A large, deep bowl is crammed full with potato chunks, frozen veggies, and random bits of meat. The ingredients are suspended in a goopy gravy of unknown origin. The arrangement is partially obscured by two floppy potato pancakes that rest on top. Not only does the dish bear little resemblance to the classic, it bear’s little resemblance to food. Barley House also monkeys around with the fish and chips ($8.99), but it does so with more success. The kitchen swaps the traditional beer-batter crust for a leaner, crunchier breading. Now, if they can only find better fish to batter.

Typically, tipplers at Irish pubs are limited to the same-old Guinnesses and Harps. Not here, where the beer list contains gems such as Magic Hat, Dogfish Head, and Ommegang. ($4.50/pint, $6.50/25 oz.)

Barley House
1261 W. 6th St., Cleveland
216.623.1700

Pieces Coming Together at Asian Town Center

Two years ago, I wrote about the impending grand opening of Asian Town Center (3820 Superior Ave.), a 115,000-square-foot mixed-use project in AsiaTown. Well, it appears that despite some major delays, the project is finally nearing partial completion. (Oxymoron? You bet.) Alex Duong, whose family operates the Asia Food Market (3126 St. Clair Ave., 216.621.1681), reports that they are about one month from opening.

Inside the reconverted industrial warehouse building, shoppers will find a large Asian grocery, an herbal store, and the latest incarnation of Crust and Crumbs, a short-lived but hugely popular bakery/restaurant operated by chefs Vanessa Robinson and Ismail Samad. The 55-seat restaurant will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Diners can expect an American menu with subtle Asian influences. “The menu has been stepped up tremendously [from the original] and will allow us to showcase our skills,” says Robinson. Duong says that a Vietnamese fusion restaurant is also in the works for the building, and he is trying to round up additional restaurants to fill the available space.

Michael Symon to Score Big at the Q

Michael Symon may lack the ball skills needed to shine on a pro basketball court, but that won’t prevent him from scoring big at the Q. The Cleveland-based Iron Chef is putting the finishing touches on two new eateries located inside Quicken Loans Arena. Essentially scaled-down versions of Bar Symon and the soon-to-open B Spot, the casual outposts are expected to be open well in advance of the Cavs’ home opener.

‘These places don’t look like your typical walk-up spaces,” Symon told me. “They created these really cool open-air mini restaurants. The mini Bar Symon looks just like a smaller version of Bar Symon.”

The restaurants will also feature scaled back adaptations of the menus to ensure quality and consistency, adds Symon. B Spot will serve four burgers, bratwurst and fries. Bar Symon will offer seasoned popcorn, chips and cheese fondue, grilled sausages and his now-famous Barberton-style fried chicken. There will be no servers; diners will place their orders at a window and eat at tables.

Symon says the full-size B Spot, his Eton burger joint, is on schedule to open mid- to late-November.

Jekyll's: Hyde Park in Disguise?

When Blake’s Seafood Grille in Chagrin Falls succumbed to a nasty bout of the norovirus two years back, it proved as good a time as any to shut down and reboot. Restaurants had been trending away from fine dining for some time and diners, more and more, were electing to sidestep special-occasion joints in favor of upscale-casual eateries. Not to be left behind, Hyde Park Restaurant Group gave the property a top-to-bottom makeover and, in spring of this year, unveiled Jekyll’s Kitchen.

As the name coyly suggests, Jekyll’s is meant to serve as alter ego to Hyde [Park]. Where the latter lavishes diners with USDA Prime steaks and buttery lobster tails, the former is designed to seduce a new generation with “modern American comfort food” and reduced check averages. The formula of blending mainstream dishes with haute technique is hardly a novel one, as evidenced by the recent spate of gastropub-like eateries. The problem with Jekyll’s, though, is that it offers neither the modern food nor the reduced checks.

Like the title character in the R. L. Stevenson novella, Jekyll’s is a restaurant suffering from a bit of a personality disorder. Management promised to deliver a fresh concept, but what they really crafted is a Hyde Park Lite. Apart from a handful of bar snacks, the menu reads like a traditional chophouse. Shrimp cocktail? Check. Wedge salad? Check. Steaks and chops? More than you can count on two hands. Add to that the customary sauces and sides and a diner might be hard-pressed to see how, exactly, Jekyll’s is anything but a steakhouse in disguise.

For folks sitting in the spiffed-up bar area, Jekyll’s indeed can feel fresh. An amped up energy level now permeates the expanded lounge, where tipplers enjoy the same picturesque views as those in the dining room. A summery cocktail list features beverages fashioned from boutique booze and fresh-squeezed fruit juices. Wine drinkers likely will be wowed with neither the variety nor the by-the-glass pours ($6-12), which are all delivered in puny white wine goblets regardless the grape.

A modest “bar food” menu adheres to the gastropub playbook, offering familiar but updated fare that pairs well with beer or wine. Few can quibble with a mountain of fresh-fried potato chips ($6.50) gilded with buttermilk blue cheese, candied pecans and a drizzle of sweet balsamic glaze. A wood-fired oven turns out reliably tasty thick-crust pizzas. One is topped with a meaty ration of zesty Italian sausage ($11.90), mozzarella, olives and banana peppers. Other pub grub options include a cheddar burger ($9.50) and a prime rib French dip ($11.90). Both include hand-cut fries.

For folks seated in the dining room, Jekyll’s still feels like a fancy restaurant – and not just because of the million-dollar views. White-topped tables, formal place settings, and a lack of any discernable music conspire to suppress any measure of levity. While handsome, the new paint colors and light fixtures do little to lighten the mood.

Because the bar snacks are lumped in with the appetizers on the main menu, diners are limited for choices. Once you ignore the aforementioned burgers, sandwiches and pizza, which make poor starters, guests are left only with soup, salad, shrimp cocktail or calamari. The calamari ($12.50) is fine, but the lime dipping sauce leaves the squid tasting tart. Apart from the limp bacon, we thoroughly enjoy our wedge salads ($4.90). The standard-issue treatment includes crisp iceberg, creamy blue cheese dressing and chopped hard-cooked egg.

It’s odd that a restaurant once heralded for its seafood selection has whittled its fresh fish offering to just two: farm-raised salmon and Chilean sea bass, both regarded on watch lists as “eco-worst.” If you show up on a Friday, a decent alternative is the “daily feature,” a bountiful bowl of linguini ($18.50) with jumbo shrimp in a milky cream sauce. Fans of fall-off-the-bone-tender ribs ($19) will praise those served here, though sloppy finger food seems ill-placed given the surroundings.

Hyde Park certainly has earned its reputation as King of the Corn Fed, but if our poorly trimmed NY strip ($29) is any indication, Jekyll’s is getting the scraps. Fatty but not well marbled, the chop requires surgical dexterity to wheedle out the good bits. Taking into account the various cuts, there are 13 different steaks and chops: All are served with mashed potatoes and green beans.

It’s a pity to watch summer fade because one of Jekyll’s best features resides outside the building proper. Rivaling the best patios in town, a polished new alfresco playground places diners within spitting distance of the rushing Chagrin River. Here, folks can sit by the stone fireplace, order snacks off a limited menu, and savor the “upscale-casual” atmosphere.

West End Bistro Replaces Village Exchange

Around the corner from Jekyll’s Kitchen is the new West End Bistro (79 West St., 440.247.3460), a sharp little eatery that replaced Village Exchange. Like the Exchange, West End is operated by Gamekeeper's Hospitality, the folks behind nearby Gamekeeper’s Tavern and 87 West. Management retooled the short-lived restaurant from a casual salad and sandwich shop to a more ambitious American bistro. A snug little bar was installed in the petite dining room, pushing more diners either up to the loft or out onto the charming patio. The menu is built around wine-friendly starters and small plates. Diners can share a cheese board ($14), relish platter ($8), or goat cheese pizza ($10). Small plates, which range from $10 to $18, include seared scallops, panko-crusted wild salmon, and steamed mussels. There is a small but attractive beer and wine list, including house red and white pours for just $5.

Ohio City Burrito Drawing Early Crowds

Judging by the opening week crowds, Ohio City Burrito (1844 W. 25th St., 216.664.0908) is plugging a gap in the area’s dining scene. This fast-casual eatery, which opened last week adjacent to the Old Angle Tavern, offers diners a quick and relatively cheap mealtime experience. Similar in style and spirit to a Chipotle Mexican Grill, OCB prepares burritos, tacos and nachos to order for dining in or out. Choices are limited to a handful of dishes that can be assembled from the same handful of ingredients. The burrito ($6.15) drill is familiar: A large flour tortilla is quickly steamed then filled with a choice of meats, beans, rice, cheese, guacamole and salsa. Meat options include shredded chicken, braised beef and roast pork. Beans are either black or refried. Salsas range from a mild pico de gallo to a fiery red sauce. Tacos ($2.25) come in both soft and crunchy shells. Apart from the temperature of the meat (unacceptably tepid), my burrito was flavorful and filling. Like Chipotle, lines can back up at busy times, snaking into the small dining room. Open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Fall Preview: Clyde's Bistro and Barroom

“If a joint has failed over and over, why in the world would you come in and do the same thing?” Clyde Mart asks this writer rhetorically. “Change it!”

Mart is a fixer. The feisty 79-year-old has made a nice living for himself cleaning up other people’s messes. He and his wife Maureen spent a lifetime buying failed or failing restaurants and turning them around. Their track record is unassailable, including well-liked eateries like Cippi & Mo's, East Side Mo's and Vito’s Italian Grill. Sadly, “Mo” passed away five months ago.

Now, Mart will attempt to do for the Lee Road diners what no previous operator could: run a viable restaurant. Ever since Steve Presser accomplished the titanic feat of opening a diner in a pair of relocated and restored cars, the site has been plagued with failure. Presser’s own Dottie’s Diner lasted just over a year. That business was followed by Chris & Jimmy’s, a Greek-style diner that limped along for two years. The nuttiest concept was Gali Gali, a kosher diner that couldn’t operate on weekends. It lasted a little over five months.

Mart says the previous concepts were doomed from the start. An ill-conceived layout resulted in two disconnected diners spaced too far apart. Plus, given the amount of money invested into the project, there was no way for operators to succeed selling low-priced diner fare. “Even if you’re busy as hell you’ll never make any money,” Mart suggests. “They never could have made it.”

For the location finally to become a success, he asserts, requires “thinking outside the diner box.”

To that end, Mart is investing $150,000 to overhaul the interior of both diners. When completed, the restaurant will have a completely different look while preserving the “diner feel.” One car will serve as the barroom, featuring a low-slung bar, hardwood floors, new booths and flat-panel TVs. The other car is being reworked into an attractive dining room, with all new booths, carpet and drapery. What long had served as the oddly oversized entrance hall will be converted into a snug wine bar with soft seating and Oriental rugs. The new configuration will accommodate approximately 110 guests.

Running the business, which will be named Clyde’s Bistro & Barroom, is Mart’s daughter, Vivian Gatta. The longtime Cleveland Heights resident spent much of her life working in her dad’s restaurants, and she knows why they have done well. “My parents cultivated a following of people who didn’t necessarily want cutting-edge food,” she says. “Our customers want to feel comfortable and get a good value.”

The American tavern-style menu is loaded with familiar dishes, and most will be priced well south of $15. Appetizers might include sausage-stuffed peppers, wine-steamed mussels or a bacon-topped wedge salad. Entrees range from sautéed calves liver and onions to wine-braised short ribs. Clyde’s will be open for lunch and dinner from Day One.

Understandably, Steve Presser has mixed feelings about the project. “I want them to succeed more than anybody,” he says. “But anything that mars these architecturally incredible structures in any way is kind of upsetting.”

Presser’s former partner, Steve Harwin, is less gracious. The nationally known diner restorer did much of the work on the two cars, which were moved to the site from Berwick, PA and Atlantic City, and he is less than pleased to see it undone.

“I’d like to see a successful restaurant,” Harwin says, “but not at the cost of sacrificing history. It’s a complete tragedy that they would dilute and extinguish any of it. If you want to open a restaurant that isn’t a diner, why buy a diner?”

Mart isn’t having any of it. “Better they should sit here empty?” responds Mart. “At least I’m preserving the most important elements of them. This place is going to be spectacular.”

Fall Preview: Zinc Bistro, Bar and Bakery

One of the most successful restaurants in Manhattan is Balthazar, a bustling French brasserie that stays busy morning, noon and night. If chef Tom Quick has his way, Clevelanders will be enjoying a similarly styled enterprise by early next year.

Slated to open by year’s end, Zinc Bistro, Bar & Bakery will borrow numerous design elements from that famed SoHo eatery. The 4,000-square-foot space will boast dramatic 17-foot ceilings, oversized burgundy-clad booths and mosaic tile floors. Other familiar touches will include etched mirrors, European-style beer taps, and a zinc-topped bar complete with hard-boiled eggs.

“We’re not trying to reinvent too much here,” explains owner Quick. “There will be some slight design changes, but you’ll know you’re walking into a Manhattan French bistro.”

The restaurant will be the crowning touch on Six Six Eight Euclid Avenue, a $65-million restoration of the former William Taylor Son & Co. department store building. Undertaken by the K&D Group, the building is a mix of commercial and residential, with Wyse Advertising serving as anchor tenant.

Tom Quick may not be a household name, but he has earned a solid reputation in this town as an industry pro. He served for seven years as executive chef of the uber-successful Piccolo Mondo, working alongside Michael Symon, Ali Barker and Gary Thomas. In 1999, Quick fled downtown for bucolic Concord, where he opened Epiq Bistro. “I chose to be the big fish in a small pond by introducing fine dining to the area,” the chef explains. “Now I’m chomping at the bit to come back downtown to be a big fish in the big pond.” Quick closed Epiq late last year.

To recharge his culinary batteries, the chef recently spent some time cooking in some of New York City’s top kitchens. While there, he intended to sample as many restaurants as possible to flush out the concept for his then-unnamed project. “I ended up spending most of my time at French bistros like Balthazar, Pastis, and Rue 57,” he says. “I’d sit at the bar eating oysters and drinking Muscadet. These places are lively, comfortable, affordable – just a whole lotta fun.”

Quick knows that French food can sound intimidating, but he promises that his menu will appeal to a wide audience. A true raw bar – one built directly into the bar – will be studded with oysters, clams, crab and lobster. Guests can start their meal with onion soup, escargot or beef tartare. Main courses might include steak frites, braised lamb shanks, coq au vin, and cod with mussels. Rotating plats du jour will give guests cause to return.

The beauty of Balthazar is its round-the-clock energy. Quick hopes to duplicate much of that activity by appealing to downtown residents and daily commuters. Free attached parking will lure those visiting town for theatre, concerts and sporting events. Breakfast, lunch and brunch will be added down the road. And a market will offer prepared foods for time-strapped diners.

When that marketplace does open, it will serve as the first retail presence for desserts impresario Ron Seballos. “I’ve always wanted to do something retail, but I never had the opportunity,” says Seballos, whose desserts are sold at restaurants all over town. “This gives me the chance to get some recognition instead of staying behind the scenes.”

An Artful Brew

When it comes to discerning coffee quality, most drinkers behave like Supreme Court Justice Stewart in the landmark obscenity case Jacobellis v. Ohio: they cannot define it, but they know it when they taste it.

For those of us who have had the pleasure of tasting the caffeinated creations at Erie Island Coffee on E. Fourth Street, there is no going back to Folgers. These magical brews elevate the mandatory afternoon fix to a fleeting culinary adventure.

“People often accuse us of adding chocolate and sugar to our coffee,” explains co-owner Martin Reuben. “And, of course, there is none.”

Those rich, round and, yes, sweet flavors can be coaxed out of almost any quality coffee bean. The problem is that most people screw it up. “Everything needs to be done with an incredible amount of consistency,” adds Reuben. “You do anything wrong and you’ve lost that perfect cup of coffee.”

And there are plenty of places to mess up, he says. The laundry list of factors that go into a single shot of espresso include roasting, grinding, loading, tamping, pulling, and, in the case of lattes and cappuccinos, steaming and pouring. Add to that proper equipment, adequate training, and conscientious preparation and what you’re left with is the reason most coffee tastes like crap. “Most employees are completely incapable of doing the job,” laments Reuben.

Like his business partner, owner Alan Glazen is a self-described coffee connoisseur who thinks nothing of roasting his own beans at home. On a whim, the friends decided to open a small coffee shop on Kelleys Island where they spend a lot of time. “We thought it would be really cool to try and make the best cup of coffee humanly possible without any regard to making money,” Glazen recounts. “Our accountant was not very happy.”

Erie Island Coffee opened on Kelleys Island at the start of last year’s summer season. In three months, the 300-square-foot shop sold 25,000 cups of coffee. The immediate success convinced the group, which also includes an ex-Starbucks veteran and a ferry boat captain, to import the concept to the mainland.

Erie’s Fourth Street location opened up last February, and it has already exceeded its owners’ expectations. Supported by the perfect mix of commuters, tourists, sports fans and neighborhood residents, the store enjoys activity all day most days.

Modeled after a Pacific Northwest coffee shop, the urban rustic space features wood-sided walls, corrugated steel and a six-stool coffee bar. There, customers can watch the skilled baristas craft a never-ending stream of lattes and cappuccinos. Crowning each cup is a diminutive work of latte art, a decorative design made by pouring steamed milk into the coffee’s crema. What looks to be a purely aesthetic touch is actually a mark of quality. “You can’t do it if the espresso and steamed milk aren’t made properly,” says Reuben.

In addition to the excellent brewed coffee ($1.60-$2) and espresso drinks ($1.85-$3.90), Erie Island offers smoothies ($3.80) made with real fruit. Named after the Kelleys Island phenomenon, the Glacial Groove parfait ($4.70) alternates strata of smoothie and custard before topping it with icy Italian granite. There is also a concise menu of soups, salads and sandwiches that continues to improve over time. Soups are made in house, salads are assembled daily from seasonal ingredients, and sandwiches are made to order. In the coming weeks, the grab-and-go cooler will be augmented with prepared foods that extend beyond the salads and hummus-and-veggie options presently available.

The sandwiches, called “crushes,” are built atop inside-out bagels and heated through on a panini press. A breakfast option ($4.95) features scrambled egg, applewood bacon, and cheddar cheese. Having been made well in advance of assembly, the scrambled egg and limp bacon don’t do the sandwich any favors. The lunch selections ($5.95) fare much better, such as the Club Crush, which is filled with smoked turkey, honey ham, pepperoni, banana peppers and cheese. A vegetarian option skips the meat in favor of cheese, roasted mushrooms, tomato and red pepper pesto.

Glazen, Reuben and company are not content to stop at just two locations. While Starbucks is shuttering stores at a dizzying clip, Erie Island intends to do the exact opposite. “We plan to create a small regional chain,” says Glazen. With shops slated for both the East and West sides, Erie is positioning itself squarely between neighborhood shops like Phoenix and corporate behemoths like Starbucks. Early projections call for upwards of 30 locations.

But Glazen promises his customers that he will never sacrifice quality for quantity.

“I never want to not be a coffee shop,” he says. “We need to be careful that coffee remains the reason.”

Erie Island Coffee Co.
2057 E. Fourth St.
216.394.0093

Annual FLAVORS of Northeast Ohio

As Honorary Chair of last year’s FLAVORS of Northeast Ohio, the American Liver Foundation’s annual fundraiser, I had the opportunity to work closely with both the participating chefs and the generous attendees. By the end of what by all accounts was a rousing success, we had commitments from nearly all of the chefs to return the following year. Even more impressive was the response from diners, many of whom declared the event the best of the bunch. Unlike almost every other foodie fundraiser, where guests queue up for small tastes of each chef’s offerings, FLAVORS is a seated affair featuring tableside cooking. Chefs and sous chefs devote all their time and attention to just one table, spoiling their charges with a five-course meal and equal amounts of wine. Only those who purchase an entire table get to select their chef; all others are seated (in their groups) at random.

This year’s event, to be held on Monday, September 21, at the famed Higbee’s Silver Grille, is shaping up to be no less impressive. Chefs include Culinary Chair Matt Mytro, Rick Carson (Vue), Brandt Evans (Blue Canyon), Jeff Jarrett (Lockkeepers), John Kolar (Thyme), Matt Mathlage (Light Bistro), Mike Nowak (Bar Cento), Jon Sawyer (Greenhouse Tavern), Steve Schimoler (Crop Bistro), Kurt Steeber (Boulevard Blue), Pete Vauthy (Moxie), James Foreman (Chefs for Hire) and Dante Boccuzzi. Only 200 seats will be sold. Call 216.635.2780 for tickets and info.

Gateway District Gap Plugged at Long Last

It’s been over three years since a business operated at 728 Prospect. The address most recently was home to The Waterhouse, but before that it housed Phil the Fire and Diamondback Brewery. If all goes as planned, the new tenant will be up and running by the time the Cavaliers host their home opener in late October. Described by its owner as a high-energy American saloon, RJ Boland’s will combine a sports bar design with upscale pub grub. Partner and executive chef Doug Fulton, opening chef of McCormick & Schmick’s, says guests can expect familiar but high-quality food dished up in a casual environment. Minor cosmetic changes will be made to the space, including dark-wood accents and the addition of numerous flat-screen TVs. If the proposed “American saloon” décor sounds a bit like BlackFinn Saloon, a 10-shop chain destined for Cleveland, it is no coincidence. Boland’s owner Rossi Penney is a former operating partner with that organization. Down the road, locals can look forward to Martini Suite, an ultra lounge-style club with bottle service to be opened upstairs.

EXP: Summer 2009

The kids may have gone back to school, but summer doesn’t officially come to an end for three more weeks. And the warm weather – who knows how long that will last? Now’s the time to soak up every last bit of the season by eating, drinking and doing things we can only dream about come winter. The alternative, of course, is waiting a full eight months to give these thrills a ride.

Lunch on E. Fourth Street: If you haven’t experienced this slender slip of a street at high noon on a sunny day, you are overlooking one of our city’s finest moments. Overflowing with lush and verdant flower boxes, the alleyway is a three-dimensional picture postcard. There are numerous restaurants up and down the block, and every single one of them features patio dining. It would be a crime to not hit at least one of them before it’s too late. Hit the delicious Greenhouse Tavern (2038 E. Fourth St., 216.393.4302, thegreenhousetavern.com) for chilled tomato-bread soup and an Ohio beef burger. Lunch at Lola (2058 E. Fourth St., 216.621.5652, lolabistro.com) is a steal, with Symon’s haute fried bologna and egg sammy costing $10, including those dreamy duck fat fries. Tacos, rice and refried beans more your style? Say hola to Zocalo Mexican Grill (2073 E. Fourth St., 216.781.0420, zocalocleveland.com), where the vibe is always tropical.

Visit a winery: Wine snobs might turn their noses up at Ohio-made juice, but even they can’t deny the region its beauty. A short drive east of Cleveland is wine country – Ohio style. Ashtabula County seems to be populated with equal parts wineries and covered bridges, turning even the most casual drive into a memorable road trip. On a picture-perfect summer evening it’s tough to beat Harpersfield Winery (6387 Rt. 307, 440.466.4739, harpersfield.com), where guests sit among apple trees and grape vines while enjoying estate-bottled chardonnay, savory flatbreads and live music. Over at Tarsitano Winery and Café (4871 Hatches Corners Rd., 440.224.2444, tarsitanowinery.com), diners relax in a contemporary barn outfitted with an open kitchen and mix-and-match furniture. Pair the cabernet franc with grilled steak topped with gorgonzola cheese sauce.

Pick a peck of something: Local crop production is in full swing, despite the shorter days and cooler nights. Area farms are heavy with low-hanging fruit, just-picked veggies and too-tall corn. Don’t wait until fall to schedule your farm visit unless all you want is a bushel of apples and a jack o’-lantern. Over at Rosby Berry Farm (42 E. Schaaf Rd., 216.661.6102, rosbycompanies.com), the canes are covered in ripe red raspberries. Guests can pick their own from morning to night, filling pints and quarts of the fruit for just $3.75 and $6.75 respectively. Out east at Rainbow Farms (2464 Townline Rd., 440.259.4924, rainbowfarmsonline.com), visitors can pick their own sweet and hot peppers, plum and cherry tomatoes, and juicy blackberries. Everything the Aufdenkampe Farm (3275 North Ridge Rd., 440.984.3844, afamilyfarm.com) sells they raise themselves. Visiting farmhands can pick their own raspberries and tomatoes, or they can skip the work and purchase pre-picked runner beans, golden beets and pickles by the peck.

Have ice cream outdoors: Ice cream knows no season, kind of like modern-day asparagus. We can score a scoop as easily in January as we can in August. But like that mid-winter asparagus – it will never taste as good. Creamy cold ice cream is best when enjoyed alfresco in the waning days of summer. For the ultimate dairy delight, head to the Metroparks’ Huntington Reservation and make a bee line for the Honey Hut (28624 Lake Rd., 440.871.7699, honeyhuticecream.com). If timed perfectly, folks can secure a Tin Roof sundae and a seat on the benches before the sun makes its final descent into Lake Erie. While less pastoral, the scene outside La Gelateria (12421 Cedar Rd., 216.229.2637) is no less amusing. On balmy nights, the stoops surrounding this popular Italian treats shop see more butts than a school bus on field trip day. The draw here, of course, is the gelato, which comes in flavors ranging from tiramisu to pistachio.

Go to a drive-in diner: Is there anything more American than a burger, fries and shake? Well, yes. How about that meal presented on a tray fastened to the outside of your ride at a drive-in? For 75 years, Swensons Drive-In (multiple locations, swensonsdriveins.com) has been doing just that, and the joy never seems to fade one iota. It’s worth it to rent a car just for the pleasure of dining here, where carhops run ridiculously good and cheap double cheeseburgers, onion rings and strawberry milkshakes to your window. The other player in the drive-in game is Skyway Drive-In (multiple locations, skywaydrive-in.com), where the drill is the same and the burgers damn near. Sure, you can dine at the drive-in all year long, but it’s painful to watch those carhops negotiate the snow drifts.

Have your last meal on an island: It’s not too late to sneak in a trip to the Lake Erie Islands. Boats still shuttle landlubbers from shore to shore nearly hourly, so you don’t even have to book a room. Skip rowdy South Bass in favor of laid-back Kelleys. And when there, head straight to the Village Pump (103 Lakeshore Dr., 419.746.2281, villagepump.com). The historic building once housed the town gas station, but now it dispenses creamy Brandy Alexanders and crispy fried perch dinners. Much closer to home is the Sunset Grille (2800 Whiskey Island, no phone, sunset-grille.net) on Whiskey Island. While technically a peninsula, the location sports the same hedonistic disposition as any bona fide island getaway. Enjoy lake views while sucking back ice-cold Coronas alongside grilled chicken sandwiches and french fries.

Eat standing up: Why do things taste better when consumed standing up? Who knows, but it’s a fact. Consider the Polish Boy at Seti’s, a sandwich so delicious it requires neither seat nor restaurant to savor. To order this slaw-and-fry-topped sausage, folks first have to chase down the truck. Most days, the white Seti’s-mobile is parked outside Dean Supply (3500 Woodland Ave.), where fans line up for chili dogs, cheese fries, and those beloved Polish Boys. Though most people know Aladdin’s Baking Co. (1301 Carnegie Ave., 216.861.0317, aladdinbaking.com) as the Pita King of Cleveland, lunch fans know of it as the source for world-class chicken shawarma sandwiches. Cooked on an ever-rotating vertical spit, the meat is shaved off with an electric knife and piled into fresh pita with tomato, onions, pickled turnips and tahini sauce.

Get loaded on Market Avenue: Beer or wine? Wine or beer? No strip makes it as easy to pick a seat as Market Avenue, a brick lane divided down the middle by the invisible Grape-Grain Parallel. Beer drinkers stroll to the north side of the road to grab seats outside Great Lakes Brewing Co. (2516 Market Ave., 216.771.4404, greatlakesbrewing.com). Wine lovers, meanwhile, fly south to the alfresco confines of Market Avenue Wine Bar (2526 Market Ave., 216.696.9463, marketavewinebar.com). Those outside the former sip exceptional suds like Grassroots Ale, Eliot Ness Lager and Burning River Pale Ale. Across the street, the liquid fare includes peppery Grüner Veltliners, smoky syrahs, and jammy zinfandels. No matter: Everybody gets tipsy; everybody wins!