Cleveland Bars | Cleveland Yuppie

Lava Lounge Love

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Laurel Miltner

Last Saturday, James and I headed down to Tremont for dinner at the Lava Lounge.

He was craving their cheeseburger.

Let me step back a bit. My boyfriend has an affinity for burgers that goes beyond that of most, and the cheeseburger at Lava Lounge is hands-down his favorite burger in town.

So, because he loves this burger and I love the Lava Lounge, that is where we went. I was super happy at his suggestion to go to Tremont because he used to not be very big on the neighborhood, but I can totally tell it’s starting to grow on him.

Anyway… when we got to Lava it was pretty dead. Not always a great thing, but we were there pretty early and it was the day after an Art Walk, so I kind of expected a small crowd. We started with drinks, as usual. (Beer, as usual.)

Lava Lounge has a small but respectable selection of beer. Only about eight on tap at a given time with about 20 in bottles. However, on draft there is not a mass-market beer (Bud, Miller, etc.) in sight — instead the Lounge opts for a selection of seasonal and year-round craft and micro brews for every taste, currently from breweries ranging from Magic Hat to Brooklyn to Flying Dog to Ommegang.

James got the Flying Dog Dogtoberfest ($4.75) while I opted for the Hennepin ($5.50) because I hadn’t had a Belgian in some time. For dinner, he of course opted for the cheeseburger ($8.50) while my mouth immediately started watering for the Tuscan Bean Soup ($4.50).

Lava Lounge Burger The burger, which is topped with horseradish-dill havarti cheese and red onion jam on a ciabatta roll, was all that James was craving, though he does admit that it’s never as good as the first time he had it. (Though I have a felling this has something to do with the anticipation/expectations being so much higher after having tasted it the first time.) It’s served with frites that are tasty, and unique in that they are battered before being fried.

Tuscan Bean Soup

The bean soup was the perfect meal for one of the first truly chilly evenings of the fall. Piping hot, tomato-y, with soft beans and topped with fresh basil and really good quality hard Italian cheese (I’d guess Parmesan-Reggiano).

After round one, we were pretty stuffed so we decided to visit our friend Sarah, who lives down the street from Lava, for a bit before heading back to try the Espresso Creme Brulee that caught both of our eyes. About an hour later, we were back as promised with another friend, Kristy, in tow.

Ho. Ly. Cow. Was that creme brulee ($5.50) delicious. As our waitress pointed out, often creme brulee is overly sweet, but the espresso cut that so well, and the fresh strawberries on top provided just enough acidity and freshness to make this one of the most perfect desserts I’ve had in a long time. Oh, and to top it off we both paired it the Brooklyn Stout ($4.75) from the tap. (Honestly, not 100% sure which beer this was because I thought I heard “mocha,” which doesn’t exist from Brooklyn, but I am pretty sure it was the Black Chocolate Stout.)

All gone!

(Kristy got an order of frites for $5, and the portion was so large that she ended up boxing half to take home. Good deal!)

All in all, we spent about $50, which for a Saturday night is really not so bad for two. However, if you want to check out the Lava Lounge without forking over quite so much of your hard-earned cash, check them out during happy hour, any weeknight from 4-8 PM. During this time, several dishes (including James’ cheeseburger) and drinks (including knock-your-socks-off martinis) are discounted.

Filed under: Cleveland Bars, tremont | Tagged: Lava Lounge | Leave a Comment »

Get in Touch

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Laura Novak

I would be remiss if I went any longer without sharing one of my Sunday favorites with you, Touch Supper Club. Tucked away on Lorain Road in Ohio City, Touch has one of the best brunches I’ve had since Pickwick and Frolic - Anyone know when that’s coming back?…

Don't be fooled by the store front, there's plenty of room inside!

Anyway, Touch, yes Touch Supper Club offers brunch 11am – 5pm every Sunday. The menu features some interesting items like Chorizo and Jalapeno Cornbread ($7) done biscuits and gravy style (I know, right?) This is my boyfriend, Logan’s, absolute favorite. In fact, he’s never ordered anything else. I, on the other hand, have sampled many menu items and enjoy the Tempura Chicken and Waffles ($7) served with a side of crispy tater tots. The perfect combination of sweet and salty! There also plenty of other options like omelets, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, oh, and fruity pebble pancakes – I’ll leave those for you to try. The most expensive item is $10 but most choices range $5 – $8.

Touch also takes one of my personal favorites, Bloody Mary’s, and kicks it up a notch with the Bloody Mary Bar!!! Not only does Touch offer a variety of mixers, 40+ hot sauces, spices, pickles, olives, celery, etc., they also serve their own vodka infusion specialties. How does potato and bacon vodka sound? What about a mango horseradish or rosemary herb bloody mary? Their latest infusion wasabi soy vodka has an amazing flavor and mixes so well with clamato juice and celery salt.
There’s more vodkas for you to try, I think 6 or 7 currently.

Touch is great for an inexpensive Sunday brunch, around $25 – $30 with bloody mary bar included. I do have one comment about Touch to add, they’re not exactly consistent. For one Sunday to the next you can expect delicious food, but don’t expect the same flavor or presentation. Take the Chorizo and Cornbread for example – it’s always tasty, but sometimes it’s spicier, sometimes the cornbread is softer or drier. Service goes that way too – sometimes your server never lets your coffee cup go below half and sometimes you ask twice for the same refill, either way the coffee is good.

All in all Touch is for sure worth a try. Why not tell them Cleveland Yuppie sent you. It probably won’t get you anything more than a strange look…you never know though.

Filed under: Cleveland Bars, Cleveland Restaurants, Ohio City | 6 Comments »

Oktoberfest Welcomes You

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Laura Novak

It’s that wunderbar time of year again when the Marzen beers roll out and we celebrate Oktoberfest with delicious drinks. Oktoberfest in Cleveland marks the changing of the seasons and gives us permission to get cozy with our hearty beers and settle in for the cold months ahead. While there’s still plenty of time to enjoy Oktoberfest any wise beer drinker knows to make a list, check it twice, threes times even and make a plan to sample every bit of Oktober-y goodness. Here’s a few places to get you started -

Buckeye Beer Engine
First stop is the Buckeye Beer Engine. Known for its large beer selection the Beer Engine delivers the same for Oktoberfest. Beginning Friday, September 25, the Beer Engine will offer a variety of Craft and Import Oktoberfest Beer such as Warsteiner, Dundee, Left Hand, Brooklyn, Spaten, Bells, Ayinger, Hofbrau, Thirsty Dog, and more.

Located on Madison in Lakewood Beer Engine has a refinished patio (enjoy it while you can – has heaters!) and the most yummy-delicious Kobe beef hot dog on a pretzel bun ever!

: Great Lakes Oktoberfest

Great Lakes Brewing Company
Don’t miss Oktoberfest starting this Friday, September 25 at 4pm through Saturday, September 26 at the Great Lakes Brewing Company! The event includes live music, a German inspired menu, ”Keep the Ceramic Stein” Special and Great Lakes Oktoberfest on tap.

If you’re a fan of German cuisine the list includes Wienerschnitzel, Sauerbraten, German Sausage and Franks, Fried Pickles, Dumplings, Cabbage and Pretzels. No prices are listed, but GLBC food generally runs high so maybe save up for the event or just enjoy the beer. You know the beer is always good, especially Oktoberfest.

The Pub in Rocky River – Das Boot Debuts
From our previous post you can tell that Laurel and I are already Pub fans and now there’s another reason to Luv The Pub. Starting this week The Pub is offering 28oz. boots filled with Warsteiner for $10. Das Boot is yours to keep and bring back for $8 refills of the beer of your choice.

: Celebrating Beatles Week

The plastic boots even come with a lanyard so you can carry it with you around the bar – though I wouldn’t suggest hanging a full beer around your neck!

The nice thing about Das Boot being plastic is that it’s less likely to break like the glass ones so often do. The 28oz. size provides good practice for the real deal (Boots that hold up to 4-5 beers!) Remember avoid the bubble and turn the boot when the beer gets down to the heel!

Genießen Sie Oktoberfest!
Now, I know there are many more bars in Cleveland celebrating Oktoberfest but I certainly don’t want to ruin the fun of discovering them. These suggestions will get you started, oh, and buzzed. So as they say in Germany (according to the babelfish translation) Genießen Sie Oktoberfest! Enjoy Oktoberfest!

Filed under: Cleveland Bars, Cleveland Restaurants | Tagged: bar specials | 1 Comment »

Happy Hour at the Rock Bottom Brewery

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Laurel Miltner

I generally won’t talk much here about anything that isn’t local. The Rock Bottom Brewery is an exception.

Rock Bottom Brewery Cleveland

This brewpub, located on the west bank of the flats, has some of the best “bar food & beer” happy hour specials (and beer specials in general, really) that you will find in downtown Cleveland. And though the Rock Bottom is a chain, as far as the beer in concerned, each location has its own brewmaster that crafts each recipe specially for that location. (James and I made friends with Cleveland’s brewmaster, Gerry, the last time we were there. He even gave us a tour of the facilities and walked us through the brewing process.)

I am all about the happy hour at the Rock Bottom Brewery:

4-8 PM Mondays-Fridays.
$3.25 pints (Rock Bottom brews only — in fact I think that’s the only beer they have), house wine and well drinks.
$5 appetizers and pizzas (any app or pizza on the menu, full-size).
Each month, the Rock Bottom has a special happy hour party when they tap the new seasonal brew. Pints of the new beer are only $1. (The next one is Oct. 15 when they’ll be tapping the pumpkin ale. I’ll be there.)

In addition to happy hour specials, here are some other sweet deals offered by the Rock Bottom:

You can get a sampler of every beer they have on draft for about $7 or $8. It’s a really fun, affordable way to try the different brews and choose your favorite.
If you buy a large Rock Bottom glass (it’s like 22 or 24 oz) for around $6, you can have it filled for $3 anytime for the rest of your life… as long as you A) don’t break it and B) remember to bring it with you.
64 oz growlers (to go) are only about $10, and anytime you bring it back for a refill it’s only $6.
If you get a (free) mug club card, you get rewarded for frequent visits, and also receive email updates with special promotions and event information.

So… how is it?

James and I have been to the Rock Bottom twice recently — first for a random Friday happy hour and, because we had so much fun, we returned less than a week later for their Rocktoberfest tapping party. Each time, the staff was super friendly and fun to talk to, the food and beer were good, we didn’t spend a ton of money and we left smiling. (Actually, after the Rocktoberfest night, James left smiling and wasted, but that’s a whole other story.)

On the beer front, I tried the sampler and with the current brews, and I’d recommend the Rocktoberfest or the seasonal brown ale (if I recall correctly, it’s cask-conditioned).

Side note: I will readily admit that the Rock Bottom does not make the best beers in the world. We’re not talking Stone, Dogfish Head or Bell’s here. However, they do make good beer, and some of the brews — particularly the seasonals — are quite tasty. And they are all very reasonably priced.

As far as food is concerned, James and I have shared each of the following $5 happy hour dishes:

Brewery Nachos (plus guacamole, which adds $1.50 but is totally worth it). Pretty standard bar nachos but I like them because they come with refried beans and real cheese instead of the liquid stuff. Also, it is a very generous portion. We even shared with friends and still didn’t finish them all.
Ball Park Pretzels. I love soft pretzels, and am often disappointed in them because I do stupid things like buy them from vendors at ball games and fairs when they’ve been spinning around in a glass box for hours. These, however, are awesome — cooked in a fire and spritzed with the brown ale to make the salt stick, crispy outside, soft inside and served with spinach-cheese dip. There’s something almost sweet about them (I think it’s in the dip) that goes seriously well with the saltiness. Also a really large portion, of two ginormous pretzels.
Seared Ahi Tuna. This is a total steal for the $5 happy hour price. The tuna is peppered and seared well to leave it quite rare. I really loved this dish because the fish was so fresh. Also, maybe it’s because I don’t often eat meat but I think it tasted like steak (James even agreed, kind of). It was served with an asian-style slaw salad that was fresh, crunchy and a great compliment to the fish. The portion size was quite reasonable.

The Verdict

If some weeknight, you’re looking for a good bar food and beer at a great price, and nice people to talk to, check out the Rock Bottom Brewery’s happy hour. And if you do, please let us know what you think!

Image courtesy of the Rock Bottom Cleveland’s Facebook Page.

Filed under: Cleveland Bars, Cleveland Restaurants, Flats, happy hour | Tagged: Rock Bottom Brewery | Leave a Comment »

RTA Day Pass: Lakewood & Tremont

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Laurel Miltner

For the first time in weeks, last Saturday James and I had nothing to do.

After tossing a few ideas around, we decided to get day passes for the RTA and just hop around town. At first, we thought about hitting Lakewood and Coventry, but soon realized that for that to happen, we would have had to leave our apartment before noon. Instead, we made this trip a Lakewood-Tremont tour, and decided that we’ll hit the east side another day.

RTA Red Line (West)

Red Line to Lakewood

We started out at Tower City where we got our day passes, grabbed some bus schedules and jumped on the Red Line to West 117th. From there, we got off and decided that it would be fun to walk around Lakewood, and all the way down to Melt for a late lunch/early dinner.

Our first (and what ended up being only) stop before Melt was The Cleveland Shop on Detroit, just east of 117th. This unique vintage clothing shop has clothes and accessories from the 1920s-80s, and also has some amazing costumes available for rent. I almost bought an apron (I love to cook) but couldn’t decide which one I liked best. Guess that just means I’ll have to head back sometime soon.

After leaving the Cleveland Shop, we started the long trek to Melt. It’s funny sometimes how different things look when you’re zooming by in a car versus strolling by on foot. It was a fairly long walk (just over a mile), but it was really fun to see things in a different light, and notice little shops, delis and bars that I hadn’t seen before.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Melt Bar and Grilled

By the time we got to Melt, we were really hungry. It was about 2:30, we hadn’t eaten all day… and there was a 1.5-2 hour wait for a table. For two. Now, I get that Melt is awesome, and always busy and you always wait, but seriously — a 90 minute wait for grilled cheese as such a random mealtime? Crazy.

James got a little irritated when I said I wanted to tough it out (his argument: I’m hungry; mine: I did not walk all the way here from 117th to not eat at Melt), but he had given me decision-making power, so wait we did. More accurately, however, we hovered at the bar for about 20 minutes and took over some stools when a couple of guys cashed out. This made me happy because 1) I generally prefer sitting at the bar anyway and 2) did I mention we hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before?

Lavender Mojito

We both ordered lavender mojitos to start ($5 each) because mojitos are delicious and the addition of lavender sounded interesting. They looked beautiful and tasted awesome, though the lavender didn’t come through as much as I had expected (which likely is a good thing).

For food, I got the Big Popper (jalapenos, herbed cream cheese and cheddar; battered and fried; topped with powdered sugar and served with berry preserves — $9) and James got the El Diablo Burger (anaheim, serrano and chipotle pepper rub on a burger with jalapenos and pepper jack — $9.50). I’m pretty sure that our food choices were somewhat influenced by the fact that we’ve been watching a lot of Man Vs. Food. Surprisingly, mine was spicier.

Big (Huge?) Popper

We both finished our lunch/dinner with an IPA. I don’t remember what James had, but I got the Ithaca Flower Power IPA, which was only $3.50 but like 8% ABV. It was surprised how good it was — it smelled of strawberries and hops, and was less bitter than most IPAs, with a definite floral quality. I need to find somewhere that sells it in bottles.

After Melt, we were both completely stuffed (shocker) — and I didn’t even eat half of my sandwich. James, however, ate his entire sandwich and the rest of mine. I’m honestly surprised that he didn’t vomit. I wondered how my beloved Melt could make me feel such pain. There was a serious need to walk it off a bit, so we did, until about 4 blocks down Detroit (heading east) we saw the Lakewood Circulator heading toward the 117th rapid station and decided to hop on.

Down to the Tremont Tap House

After the Circulator dropped us off, we took the Red Line back east to West 25th, then walked down to the Tremont Tap House. I really enjoyed the walk through Tremont, even though we stayed on the northern end. Every time I go to Tremont, I think I fall in love with it a little more. It just has such a great vibe, not to mention incredible food, bars and local shops.

We hadn’t been to the Tap House yet, but I had been hearing good things and our super-cool bartender, Daniel, at Melt recommended it so we figured we’d give it a shot. It is a really cool place with a great beer selection and food that looked and smelled delicious. Too bad I was still so full that I couldn’t even drink a full beer. I did, however, have a sample of the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar (probably about 4 ounces for $2.25 or $2.50), which was nutty and delicioius and tasted like fall. I cannot wait to go back for a big-girl pour.

Tremont Tap House

We hung out at the Tap House for a while, and my friend Sarah even joined us for a bit. At half-time of the Browns (preseason) game, we left and walked over to Lincoln Park, where we caught some of the Verb Ballet performance before catching the #23 bus back to Public Square and heading home for the night.

My Case for the RTA

Overall, it was a great day. I am a huge fan of public transportation, and even though ours may not be the greatest, it still can help get you where you’re going, or get you to new and exciting places you have yet to discover. So the next time you’re bored or going out somewhere, leave your keys at home. Don’t worry about arguing over who will be DD, grab a bus pass and see where it takes you. Just be sure you have an idea of the line(s) that can get you home, and how late they run.

TIP: You can be a lot more adventurous on your RTA trip if you either have a map or a smart phone. Preferably a smart phone, because then you can also access bus schedules.

About RTA Day Passes
Starting yesterday (Sept. 1) RTA All Day Passes cost $5, and they give you unlimited access to RTA transit until 3 AM the following day. This can be an awesome deal, because one-way passes are now $2.25. Ride three times and you’ve gotten your money’s worth.

Images are from my Flickr page – I made a set for the day.

Filed under: Cleveland Bars, Cleveland Restaurants, Lakewood, RTA, tremont | Tagged: Day Pass, Melt, Tap House | 4 Comments »

The Pub in Rocky River: Monday Night Madness

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Laurel Miltner

Last Monday, I started the week right — with great friends, great beer, pub food and games. Our friend Logan suggested that a few of us head to one of our new favorite spots, The Pub in Rocky River, to take advantage of their Monday night specials — half price fish & chips, and trivia. How could I object?

Pub logo

James (the boyfriend) and I headed out around 6:00 to be sure that we could partake in the happy hour specials as well, which run weekdays from 4-7 and offers (almost) any pint of beer for $4. Good deal, considering that The Pub has an incredible beer selection, obviously focused on some of the better lagers and ales from across the pond. The gem, however, is from our neighbors to the south. Brewed in Lexington, Kentucky by Kentucky Ale, The Pub is the only place I have found that serves Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale — a tasty, amber-colored, bourbon-infused gift from the gods. Regularly served at The Pub in a 10-ounce snifter for $3.75, there really is no beating it. That is, until they mix it with Guinness for the mind-blowingly tasty concoction known as the Black Barrel. I forget the regular price (but it’s probably around $6.50), but during happy hour this brew will only set you back $4.75. Literally, almost every sip makes me think “this is so good.”

Back to Monday night… over the next hour or so, our friends began tricking in, and we ordered dinner. Most of us took advantage of the half price fish & chips, which are regularly like $13 but at half price only $6.50 on Mondays, and served with a house-made tartar sauce. The fish is definitely the star of the dish — perfectly crispy, well-seasoned and flaky. The tartar sauce is excellent. The chips are average, but let’s be honest, even average fries taste damn good when doused with malt vinegar and served alongside fried fish and beer.

Monday nights at The Pub, the real fun begins at 7:30, when they kick off the trivia game. I am a total geek for trivia, and have been dying to play bar trivia for months now, but really the best thing I’d found so far had been that addictive trivia game at Dave & Busters where you can win massive amounts of tickets. Until now. If anyone reading this likes trivia, I will tell you right now: Monday night trivia at The Pub in Rocky River freaking rocks. A DJ runs around with paper and pencils, you choose a team and play together to answer the questions he throws at the crowd over the course of about 2 hours, spanning everything from geography to pop culture. Everyone gets free raffle tickets, and they give away Pub prizes every so often by calling out numbers. There’s also a fast-paced lighting round about halfway through, where each team crowds around their tables and races to the DJ podium if they fill in all the blanks. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what you win at the end, but I don’t really know that anyone cares. It is just so, so much fun.

After trivia, the guys ran outside to play cornhole while the ladies stayed at the table and chatted. We headed home around 10:30. Not bad for a Monday night.

Moral of the story? For any Clevelander who’s got a case of the Mondays, I prescribe a night at The Pub in Rocky River. Cheers!

Filed under: Cleveland Bars | Tagged: bar specials, happy hour, trivia | 4 Comments »

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