Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
- Return to The Land
We spent a couple nights in Cleveland last Thanksgiving. The reason for our visit was to spend the holiday with some of Erica’s family that resides in Akron but we always choose to stay in Cleveland since there’s a bit more going on in terms of the food and fun. It’s a trip we’ve made before though it had been a few years since our last visit. From what I could tell the local food scene seems to be getting better with each passing visit. I had quite a few spots on my radar but it was a pretty short trip. We drove up early morning on Thanksgiving day and spent two nights at the Kimpton in downtown Cleveland. I always enjoy these little jaunts to the Land as nicknamed by local hip hop artists and the one and only LeBron James who could be scheming a return home to finish off his career. If so that would make for a fun story and an interesting roster of both old and new which is also how I would describe the dining scene in Cleveland right now. There's a nice mix of both old and new to explore.
Pics from Cleveland
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Ferris Shawarma
We rode into Ohio early Thursday morning so there wasn’t much open as far as restaurants go. That said one of my favorite food stops in Cleveland was open last time I was here on Thanksgiving and that would be all I needed. Ferris Shawarma serves up Syrian style shawarma that just might be the best I’ve had in the States. You can tell this place is the real deal as soon as you walk in and see their tall and pristinely kept cones of meat which are clearly made from scratch as you can see it’s stacked layer by layer. They serve their shawarma wraps “Arabic style” which is mixed with garlic sauce plus pickles and cut into smaller bite sized pieces. I love this place. The Northeast Ohio area actually has some very good Middle Eastern food which is likely a spillover from nearby Dearborn Michigan.
Chicken Shawarma at Ferris Shawarma
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European's Best Restaurant & Bakery (Strongville)
The day after Thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite days of the year. It’s kind of holiday in and of itself and it’s always on a Friday so there’s good vibes to go with it. I like to get up early and go treat myself to a nice breakfast. I made sure to scout a spot before we left and I found exactly what I was looking for in the suburb of Strongville. European's Best Restaurant & Bakery is a real locals type of place that regulars call “Cheers without the beers” - the type of spot where everyone knows each other. I could feel this on my visit where there were a few groups of older guys scattered about and they all seemed to know one another stopping to chat as they passed each other. The menu here has all the stuff you expect to find at a diner as well as some Old World Eastern European plates. I was there for the pork schnitzel breakfast plate made with a lightly breaded and fried pork loin topped with house made paprikas sauce served with two eggs plus home fries and toast and it really hit the spot. This is the type of place where you get a paper placemat with advertising from local businesses and you go up to the front counter to pay. That’s also where the pastry case is strategically placed. I took a few Hungarian mini strudels to-go and was on my way back into the city. But not before taking a minute to take in what was probably the most NE Ohio dining experience I’ve ever partaken in.
Pork Schnitzel Breakfast Plate at European's Best Restaurant & Bakery
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Next I had to get the wife fed so I rolled back to the hotel to grab her and we were on our way to Martha on the Fly. This micro diner is known for their breakfast sandwiches which some say are the best in Cleveland. She opted for “The Pearl” which is made with a Mushroom sausage patty, avocado spread, American cheese, Martha's Sunshine Sauce and a fried egg. All sandwiches here are served on soft and semi sweet brioche buns which aren’t my favorite but I did enjoy the bite I tried. The made on site mushroom patty was very good. We also got a potato crispie which is a golden skillet fried hash brown served with Sunshine Sauce - it was nice and crisp if a bit oily. Cute spot to start the day.
Breakfast at Martha On The Fly
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Mama Santa's Pizzeria
I took a ride into Cleveland’s historic Little Italy to try the pizza at the locally loved Mama Santa’s. I walked in around 12p and there was a line 25+ deep with a few large families in it - usually a good sign. After about a 15 minute wait I was led into a long, narrow and dimply lit dining room where every table had pizza and pastas on it. I went ahead and placed my order as soon as I sat down - one small sausage pizza with green pepper and an order of the made on site cavatelli with meatballs. No Great Lakes Christmas Ale here so I got a bottle of their Dortmunder German Lager instead. Loyalists of Mama Santa’s mention the crust and the dough as its strengths and the deeply dark cheese is also of note but the pizza here is kind of its own thing. It’s interesting bc Cleveland is a big pizza town with lots of options, both old and new, but there isn’t a specific regional style so it’s never mentioned among the country’s best pizza enclaves. That said Mama Santa’s is Cleveland’s most popular pizzeria so there do seem to be a few copycats out there. The pasta had good texture and came mixed with a standard red sauce and two medium sized meatballs - not bad. Overall a satisfying old school Italian American meal in that warm you up on a cold winter day sort of way. Since 1961.
Lunch at Mama Santa's
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Clubhouse Restaurant + Bar
As you probably know by now I like to seek out the regional food of whatever area I’m in. The Northeast Ohio region is home to quite a few Old World Eastern European dining destinations. You’ll find a handful of them in the suburbs of Parma and Parma Heights including Clubhouse Restaurant + Bar. It's described as a modern European bar and restaurant but it felt old school to me. Stepping inside felt like going back to the 70’s / 80’s. It was dimly lit with a round bar and worn down walls with a nostalgic feel to it. Clubhouse is locally loved for a mix of things like their fish sandwich and a few Eastern Euro dishes too including their signature Chicken Paprikash which many call the best in the area. It’s rich and creamy with thick strips of white meat chicken and chunks of spaetzle mixed in.
Chicken Paprikash at Clubhouse Restaurant + Bar
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Amba
We were in town for two nights but one of those nights was Thanksgiving so we really only had one night to go out. As far dinner goes there were two spots I wanted to check out so we went ahead and did a 1-2 punch. First stop: Amba, a very stylish restaurant ran by Douglas Katz’s Edgewater Hospitality Group - he was nominated for James Beard ‘Restauranteur of the Year’ award not long after our visit. Diners indulge in shareable Indian inspired plates and unique cocktails in a cozy and intimate setting. We started with an order of the clay bread and added some dipping agents like a cool and creamy raita and some nice and chunky chili crunch too. We also got the namesake Amba which is a delightfully tangy condiment made from pickled mango. From there we moved on to an order of the crispy pani puri which at Amba is a mix of potato salad, zhug raita, tamarind, and green onion placed into a Crisp puri shell. Head Chef / Owner Douglas Katz also has a Middle Eastern small plate restaurant and you can tell that it rubbed off on the food at Amba. From there we moved onto an the Pilau which is made up of basmati rice, quinoa, saffron, almonds, raisins, herbs, fried onions. The rice was cooked really well which is half the battle with a rice focused dish. We found all of the sauces we ordered with the pita to work really well mixed into the rice as well. We ended with a plate of Ghee Basted Shrimp which were described on the menu as having ginger, garam masala, lime, and coconut. This dish was a winner and a great way to end a good meal. The shrimp were plump and there was a lot of flavor in the sauce. I would gladly go back and spin the wheel on the menu again.
Dinner at Amba
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Cordelia
Our second dinner of the night was at another James Beard nominated place - Cordelia. We met up with some of Erica’s cousins at this hip and happening spot located in the middle of the downtown entertainment district. Cordelia is helmed by Akron native Vinnie Camino who was included in a 2025 Food & Wine list naming the best new chefs in the country. He was also a 2024 finalist in the 'Best Chefs: Great Lakes' category of the James Beard awards. Camino and his team mix heartfelt hospitality with community-rooted cooking with the menu at Cordelia being an ode to the chefs Midwestern roots - it's been described as “modern Midwest grandma cooking”. They use local farmers and push the regions food legacy into a modern setting with dishes like popcorn gnocchi and the signature Jojos - a regional type of seasoned, deep-fried potato wedge very popular in parts of the Midwest (and Portland Oregon too). The menu switches up based on the seasons so most of what we ate is no longer available but we all enjoyed apps of smoked whitefish and house fried rinds with ranch. We also got a salad geared after the extra large ones you find at old school pizzerias across the Midwest. I heard very good things about the burger box which is what they call their White Castle inspired burger served on an everything-spiced Japanese milk bun that can be separated into four pieces making it a good appetizer. It’s a double smash creation also inspired by Hamburger Station, an old school spot serving sliders in Akron. The burger is dressed with smoked cheddar cheese crust, pickle, onion, house sauce. As far as higher end burgers go this was a good one! All in all Cordelia is a great pick if you got one dinner in Cleveland and want to eat at a spot that personifies the city.
Dinner at Cordelia
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Patron Saint
Drinks and snacks at Patron Saint ended up being a real pleasant surprise. They offer an all-day menu of Italian-inspired cafe dishes paired with espresso, spritzes, and warm Midwestern hospitality. The menu isn’t entirely vegetarian but it’s mostly veggie with just a couple of meat offerings. Erica had an excellent broccoli melt made up of roasted broccoli, provolone, giardiniera, and Calabrian chili aioli on a leavened sesame seeded hoagie roll. The bread was really good as was what was inside of it. I tried the chickpea piadina and it was also excellent. They mix ground chickpeas with fresh snow peas, and sun-dried tomatoes, wrapped in a warm pita with aioli + eggplant conserva. This was one of the best vegetarian meals I ate all year. It was Italy quality in that all of the ingredients were top notch.
Broccoli Melt
Chickpea Piadina
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Larder Delicatessen and Bakery
Cleveland is a corned beef town but I had my sights set on some pastrami this trip. The last time we had visited Cleveland I stopped in at what was then a newly opened deli called the Larder Delicatessen and Bakery. It’s a new school deli that set up shop in old city firehouse. My initial visit was just ok. I left underwhelmed, but they were also new and a lot can change over a three or four year period so I returned on this trip as I had heard good things from people that would know what’s up. I came back to a packed restaurant - it’s not that big to begin with but this is clearly a popular spot with Clevelanders. While they do have a deli case with different stuff to pack up and put in your fridge the crowds are mostly here for the made to order food such as the pastrami melt. The first time I tried the pastrami from here it was a bit too tough resulting in a tough to eat sandwich but my return visit was a different story completely. The pastrami was much more tender this time around. It was exceptionally spiced and the sandwich as a whole was near flawless with excellent bread and a perfect toasting job to boot. As good as the sandwich was, and it was awesome, the fresh cut fries were an even bigger surprise. Simply put some of the best fries I’ve ever had. Now I can see why this place is so popular. Word on the street is they’re also a big part of the community too. Cool spot!
Pastrami Sandwich and Fries at Larder Delicatessen and Bakery
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Marie's Restaurant
The four-decades-old Marie's Croatian restaurant in the St. Clair-Superior area is what it is, and what it has always been: a no-frills Eastern European restaurant. I had a hard time deciding what to get at this Cleveland timewarp serving old world favorites like cabbage rolls, cevapi, city chicken. In the end I got the house goulash with dumplings which some say is the best goulash in Cleveland and beyond. The beef was fine but the dumplings were a textural pleasure. Next time I'd try the cabbage rolls.
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Farka's Pastry Shoppe
Last stop before heading home was Farka’s Pastry Shoppe for a couple of their signature Napoleon Pastries. There’s a handful of fantastic European bakeries in the Greater Cleveland area including this terrific Hungarian spot specializing in Napoleons or Krémes as they’re commonly called in Hungary. These tasty squared treats consist of layers upon layers of crisp and golden puff pastry with a hefty amount of vanilla custard sandwiched in between. Make sure you wipe your nose off after eating one of these so that you’re not mistaken for a rabid cocaine user. That’s it for this trip!
Napoleons at Farka's Pastry Shoppe
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Previous Posts You Might Like -
Eating BIG in Cleveland (2021)
Eastern European Food in Northeast Ohio (2018)
The Burgers of Akron (2015)
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See ya next time @chibbqking
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