My last stop in Cleveland - after a ton of delicious restaurants and breweries, a trip to the Christmas Story House, the Botanical Gardens, the West Side Market, a candy shop, a play, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - was Fat Head's.

Pittsburgh is home to a Fat Head's location, but I've never been. So, the Cleveland location was my first! We went a little before dinner time, hoping to avoid the rush. I'm not sure if there's ever a time to ACTUALLY avoid the rush, because they were pretty consistently busy. After waiting for a bit, we were seated in a booth opposite the bar.


I'm not really familiar with their beers, but once I saw the blueberry beer, there was no contest. The Bumbleberry Honey Blueberry Ale is brewed with blueberries and honey and is served with fresh blueberries on top. How cool is that? It was a refreshing beer, delicate flavor.

From looking at the menu, a few things looked good. I couldn't do a burger because I was still stuffed from my meal (a burger, actually) earlier in the day. But, the deep-fried pierogies caught my eye this day.

And, it was such a good decision. Super crispy on the outside, warm smooth potato on the inside. Cold sour cream to dip. It's comfort food turned up a few notches.

I liked Fat Head's beer and food. I had only wished our service/the experience was a little more on point. Because it was the last stop, I was ready to get my food and head out as soon as I could. But our waitress didn't make frequent visits. Glasses ran dry, couldn't get our check, etc.

But, overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Cleveland. I was able to take in some of the local food scene, discovered my favorite of all time market, got a little taste of the arts and, of course, got to spend some time with a good friend.

Grade: B

No trip is complete without a visit to a local brewery. Great Lakes Brewing Co. has its brewpub in Cleveland. It's well-known and one of the larger craft breweries.

 

Great Lakes is the first brewpub and microbrewery in Ohio; it's also clearly a popular spot among the locals because we waited ~20 minutes downstairs for a table. The downstairs features a bar with so, so many people milling about.

When our buzzer finally went off, we were escorted upstairs to a small table. I quickly decided on the Dortmunder Gold for my drink - it's their first beer and the best-seller of the brewery. I really like this beer. It's light, refreshing, but still has flavor. I also got a sampler of the High Striker Single, a limited seasonal, which was similar in flavor but with more spice.

As for my meal, I wanted a Great Lakes Brewing Company signature dish, and the fish & chips was calling my name. I'm a sucker for a good fish and chips. This one featured Alaskan cod, crispy Edmund Fitzgerald Porter batter, pub fries, housemade tartar sauce and housemade cole slaw.

At this point, I have to say our service was kind of meh. I think it's because they're so busy, ushering people in and out, they don't really focus on the individual experience.

My fish was fairly average. The tartar sauce was a little gritty and runny, but the flavor wasn't bad. And the fish itself was nicely cooked and good quality.

For dessert, I wasn't going to get anything because I was stuffed. BUT they had bread pudding. So. I couldn't resist.

And thank god, because it was one of the best bread puddings I've ever had. Super dense and indulgent, but SO good. SERIOUSLY SO GOOD.


We didn't get to do a tour because we didn't register in time, but I got a quick glance. They also have a nice shop full of all sorts of merchandise.

Overall, my meal was good, my dessert was great, and service was iffy. But it's kind of special to get beer straight from the source instead of bottled and shipped hours away. So that alone was kind of a cool experience.

My suggestion would be try to find a time between meals to go so it's not quite as crazy busy. And make sure you save room for the bread pudding. You're welcome.


Grade: B

A coworker directed me to "The 101 Best Burgers in America" list when he heard I was heading to Cleveland for a weekend trip. B Spot Burgers was ranked #12 - The Lola burger, specifically.




The interior is pretty cool, with a giant wall of beer cans and antler light fixtures. Salvaged wood-esque tables. Pretty cool.

The Lola has a sunnyside-up egg, bacon, pickled red onions and cheddar. That sounded like it'd go perfectly with a chocolate shake. The shake came out first and had the additional metal container so I could go for seconds. It was pretty chocolatey - I think a little milky/creamy lighter flavor would've been nice. But, hell, it's a milkshake. It can't be bad.

While we waited for our food, I learned about the pickle bar, which had sweet pickles, garlic pickles, pickled onions, kimchi and more. That's a pretty cool addition. So, when our burgers arrived, we headed straight over there to add some pickles along side.

Then, it was time to dig in.

This burger is gooey, creamy, slightly sour with a nice buttery crunch in the bread. It hits all points. I didn't really know what I was going to get with the flavors, but the pickled onion prevailed. Plus the cheddar together with the egg was just a unique combo that was like breakfast food on steroids.

Karie had some of the fries, which weren't bad. I was sure to try out all the different sauces - three originals were Lola Ketchup, Shasha Sauce and Coffee BBQ. None of them were favorites for me. But that's OK. I was happy enough with my burger on its own.






Grade: A

Cleveland's West Side Market is incredible. If there's a reason I would ever move to Cleveland, it would be for this market.

The beautiful historic building houses more than 100 vendors - fresh meat, vegetables, seafood, baked goods, cheese, flowers, candy, pasta, cannoli, spices, juices, honey, coffee, tea AND prepared foods, like gyros, hot dogs, falafel, crepes, Cambodian, and so much more. It's really amazing the depth in variety here.

It's difficult to capture how much there is to offer. Just booths after booths after booths of people who are pouring their love into their products. And so many options for everything you could possibly want - all fresh! And SO many people who are really invested in this local food movement.

We walked up and down all the aisles to take in the diverse offerings. And since we were traveling all day, I wasn't able to scoop up any of this deliciousness. But it's clear they don't have any problems selling product. After fighting for a parking space and swimming through a line to get to the buildings, it was shoulder-to-shoulder craziness. But, with that said, it was still my very favorite part of the trip.

MELT! I've heard about this wondrous grilled cheese haven for years.

There are few things more soothing to the soul than a perfect grilled cheese - lightly brown and buttery on the outside with cheese oozing out the edges.

Maybe a large fuzzy blanket. Or maybe the way the sun beats on your back during a warm summer day. Those are both pretty soul-soothing. I think I'm just missing summer at this point.

But a grilled cheese is really the quintessential comfort food for me - add in a thousand different KINDS of grilled cheeses, and this is some sort of cheesy restaurant god.

Inside, it's not very big, which can result in a long wait time. We got there right as lunch started, so we were seated right away. No problem.

The feel inside is pretty cool. Kind of like a punk rock/alt vibe with funky lights and artwork.

The menu had me pretty split, to be honest. I had it down to the lasagna grilled cheese "Godfather" (which was on Food Network's "The Best Thing I Ever Ate") and the Parmageddon, which has potato & onion pierogi, kraut, sautéed onions and sharp cheddar. The latter was mentioned in many reviews, and is named after a nearby Polish town, Parma.

Ultimately, I went with the lasagna grilled cheese. Because, I mean, three-cheese lasagna, with fresh fennel-oregano pasta sheets, basil marinara, roasted garlic, provolone and romano. Plus I can get my pierogi fix in Pittsburgh fairly easily.

LOOK AT THIS BEAST. I don't know if you can tell how huge this is. But I had trouble finishing just one half. It's a solid layered lasagna sandwiched between two thick pieces of bread topped with some parmesan. So much oozing marinara and mozzarella. So messy. So tasty.

I couldn't finish it. But I sure enjoyed trying it. A damn good piece of lasagna loaded with more carbs and cheese - I don't need to explain how delish that is. Marinara is flavorful, but lets the ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella shine.

Grade: A