These Brief Reviews of Brief Meals posts focus on the after-work food available on the near West side of Cleveland.
Momocho is a "mod mex" restaurant and bar; for the year or two I've been coming there, their happy hour has reliably offered one food special: half price taquitos. They're excellent, filling, a bargain, and there are fifteen or twenty kinds to choose from. You can also get margaritas at a reduced price - most recently, the one on special was the traditional recipe. It was predictably excellent, with plenty of lime and not too much sugar. Some margaritas make me feel like I've chugged a rum and Mountain Dew; not this one.
Momocho is chef Eric Williams' main haunt; he's also a partner at the Happy Dog, and you'll see many of his sauces in both places. (This does cause me a little cognitive dissonance.) The bar is bright, lively bordering on the noisy side, and really popular. I once arrived at 5:10PM on a Thursday and couldn't get a seat. The staff is professional and friendly without being intrusive - they've usually got their hands full. The vibe is of groups of people there for some occasion, maybe a rare after-work gathering or starting the night with food before moving on to clubbier venues. Friendly with a dash of nervous laughter.
I've had several of the taquitos offerings (it's a dish of filling, with sauces and tortillas on the side) and never been disappointed. Last week I had the one with ground lamb shoulder; it's supposed to have mint, but that was probably drowned out by the mole sauce. About halfway through, I realized what it reminded me of: the Irish bar classic shepherd's pie. Without the mashed potatoes, of course. Besides that one, I can recommend the machaca and carnitas; I know I've had others, but I can't remember which.
I'm always surprised at how good Momocho is. The cucumber margaritas are a revelation. It's even cheap. And you can't ask for more than that after work.
Showing posts with label happyhours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happyhours. Show all posts
Happy Hour at ABC Tavern
These Brief Reviews of Brief Meals posts focus on the after-work food available on the near West side of Cleveland.
ABC Tavern (1872 W 25th Street) is an example, like Happy Dog, of a once-ordinary establishment brought into new glory by good management. I'm told that until a few years ago, ABC was a dive bar. But with well-executed food and attentive service, ABC is now a great place to be a regular. At around the same time, the rest of West 25th shook off its scales and started dishing up happening Friday and Saturday nights. The area is poised to become a paradise for beer lovers soon, with several bars specializing in craft beers, the Great Lakes Brewing Company bar, and the Market Garden brewpub opening Monday the 27th.
ABC's happy hour specials are usually written on a chalkboard at the bar. They used to offer several food specials, but now it looks like it's only one per day. I'm not sure why they narrowed it down, it's not like the place is jammed when I go there at 5:30. Isn't the point of happy hour to attract people that either wouldn't be there at that time, or haven't checked the place out yet? Fahrenheit scaled back their happy hour food offerings once they had a good sized crowd coming in.
My first experience at ABC was a birthday party for my friend Brian Asquith a couple years ago. Brian is one of those guys who seems to know everyone, and just about everyone shows up for these parties. The bar was probably at its Fire Department-mandated occupancy limit, but the servers were highly organized. At almost any other bar, you'd have had to shoulder your way to the bar to get a drink, and getting food would have been out of the question. Not so: at ABC, they managed to get out and work their stations, and keep everybody satisfied. We were amazed.
Which brings me to my one minor complaint: like a sled dog without a sled tied to it, service at ABC seems to get twitchy when the place isn't busy. They're not relaxed, which makes it difficult for me to relax. But I can hardly complain; they're knowledgeable and they offer a great after-work meal for cheap.
ABC Tavern (1872 W 25th Street) is an example, like Happy Dog, of a once-ordinary establishment brought into new glory by good management. I'm told that until a few years ago, ABC was a dive bar. But with well-executed food and attentive service, ABC is now a great place to be a regular. At around the same time, the rest of West 25th shook off its scales and started dishing up happening Friday and Saturday nights. The area is poised to become a paradise for beer lovers soon, with several bars specializing in craft beers, the Great Lakes Brewing Company bar, and the Market Garden brewpub opening Monday the 27th.
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My first experience at ABC was a birthday party for my friend Brian Asquith a couple years ago. Brian is one of those guys who seems to know everyone, and just about everyone shows up for these parties. The bar was probably at its Fire Department-mandated occupancy limit, but the servers were highly organized. At almost any other bar, you'd have had to shoulder your way to the bar to get a drink, and getting food would have been out of the question. Not so: at ABC, they managed to get out and work their stations, and keep everybody satisfied. We were amazed.
Which brings me to my one minor complaint: like a sled dog without a sled tied to it, service at ABC seems to get twitchy when the place isn't busy. They're not relaxed, which makes it difficult for me to relax. But I can hardly complain; they're knowledgeable and they offer a great after-work meal for cheap.
Happy Hour at Fahrenheit
These Brief Reviews of Brief Meals posts focus on the after-work food available on the near West side of Cleveland.
Fahrenheit (2417 Professor Ave.) isn't the sort of place you'd think to go to for happy hour - it's a well-regarded upscale restaurant, not a local watering hole. But Fahrenheit has made it comfortable and inviting, and it works.
For a while I went on a cheeseburger kick. Wherever there was promise of a well made basic cheeseburger, I tried it. Here's a picture of me having trouble containing my ecstacy at the gigantic $5 double cheeseburger they used to offer:
Yes, that is a ray of light shining down from the heavens onto my dinner. I ate the whole thing, including the light.
Did I mention I'm in a Happy Hour Meetup Group? Yeah. This was one of those meetups. (BTW, how did Cleveland's happy hour meetup group get that URL? Meetup.com really works here.)
Since that picture was taken, the fabulous basic cheeseburger was scaled down and made a bit more interesting. In their current happy hour menu, it's listed as a goat cheese and sweet pickle cheeseburger. I've had it - it's really tasty though smaller than the old one. No more rays of light, but a good dinner, and the goat cheese goes unexpectedly well with a tight young red wine.
Fahrenheit (2417 Professor Ave.) isn't the sort of place you'd think to go to for happy hour - it's a well-regarded upscale restaurant, not a local watering hole. But Fahrenheit has made it comfortable and inviting, and it works.
For a while I went on a cheeseburger kick. Wherever there was promise of a well made basic cheeseburger, I tried it. Here's a picture of me having trouble containing my ecstacy at the gigantic $5 double cheeseburger they used to offer:
Did I mention I'm in a Happy Hour Meetup Group? Yeah. This was one of those meetups. (BTW, how did Cleveland's happy hour meetup group get that URL? Meetup.com really works here.)
Since that picture was taken, the fabulous basic cheeseburger was scaled down and made a bit more interesting. In their current happy hour menu, it's listed as a goat cheese and sweet pickle cheeseburger. I've had it - it's really tasty though smaller than the old one. No more rays of light, but a good dinner, and the goat cheese goes unexpectedly well with a tight young red wine.
Happy Hour at Happy Dog
This is the first post for a new category here: Happy Hours. I'll call these posts Brief Reviews of Brief Meals. They focus on the after-work food available on the near West side of Cleveland.
Happy Dog, at 5801 Detroit Ave
I remember being deeply suspicious of Happy Dog as I looked at it from the bar across the street, Roseangel (or maybe it was La Boca at the time). But on the advice of a friend, I checked it out, and I've been coming back every couple weeks ever since.
The menu is a skinny strip of paper with checkboxes. Hot dog, $5. Or vegetarian dog. Tater tots, $2.50. Or fries. But after "hot dog" there are fifty more checkboxes. House made ketchup; brie; kimchee. Yes, there are fifty things you can put on your hot dog, they're all free, and some of them are pretty strange. Get them all if you want. If you're feeling overwhelmed, they have several "recommended combinations" of four or five toppings that are tried-and-true. Some of the toppings are from Momocho, a nearby modern-mexican eatery.
The tater tots are sublime. They must have used the scientific method to determine the precise optimum time and temperature to deep-fry those little bastards. Now I'm hungry. There are a few dozen dippings and toppings you can get with them too.
Happy Dog is, of course, a bar. Later there's live music. They serve beer - many excellent beers on tap and many more in bottles. Mixed drinks, too, I guess; there are liquor bottles back there, but that's not what I come for. Nope: a typical tab for me is a hot dog, tater tots, and two beers, and it costs in the mid-teens. And that, my friends, is a bargain.
So now you know what you could learn by stopping by for a meal and a beer. But what makes Happy Dog thrive? It's not a full-service restaurant - the closest the kitchen gets to "cooking" is the fried egg you can check a box for; all the other toppings are prepared ahead. As a bar, it's good, but is it really better than other bars? Here's what I think: other bars have happy hour food specials; some of them are cheap, some of them are good, a few are even both. But none of them actually involve you like the Happy Dog does. Ordering food elsewhere is like clicking a choice on a drop-down menu. To order at Happy Dog is to create an original work of edible art out of fifty variables. And with all art comes risk: it might suck. It really might. But it's on you. If it does, you'll shrug and laugh, and you'll come back in a couple weeks and try again.
Happy Dog, at 5801 Detroit Ave
I remember being deeply suspicious of Happy Dog as I looked at it from the bar across the street, Roseangel (or maybe it was La Boca at the time). But on the advice of a friend, I checked it out, and I've been coming back every couple weeks ever since.
The menu is a skinny strip of paper with checkboxes. Hot dog, $5. Or vegetarian dog. Tater tots, $2.50. Or fries. But after "hot dog" there are fifty more checkboxes. House made ketchup; brie; kimchee. Yes, there are fifty things you can put on your hot dog, they're all free, and some of them are pretty strange. Get them all if you want. If you're feeling overwhelmed, they have several "recommended combinations" of four or five toppings that are tried-and-true. Some of the toppings are from Momocho, a nearby modern-mexican eatery.
The tater tots are sublime. They must have used the scientific method to determine the precise optimum time and temperature to deep-fry those little bastards. Now I'm hungry. There are a few dozen dippings and toppings you can get with them too.
Happy Dog is, of course, a bar. Later there's live music. They serve beer - many excellent beers on tap and many more in bottles. Mixed drinks, too, I guess; there are liquor bottles back there, but that's not what I come for. Nope: a typical tab for me is a hot dog, tater tots, and two beers, and it costs in the mid-teens. And that, my friends, is a bargain.
So now you know what you could learn by stopping by for a meal and a beer. But what makes Happy Dog thrive? It's not a full-service restaurant - the closest the kitchen gets to "cooking" is the fried egg you can check a box for; all the other toppings are prepared ahead. As a bar, it's good, but is it really better than other bars? Here's what I think: other bars have happy hour food specials; some of them are cheap, some of them are good, a few are even both. But none of them actually involve you like the Happy Dog does. Ordering food elsewhere is like clicking a choice on a drop-down menu. To order at Happy Dog is to create an original work of edible art out of fifty variables. And with all art comes risk: it might suck. It really might. But it's on you. If it does, you'll shrug and laugh, and you'll come back in a couple weeks and try again.
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