Scott "The Chubby Cook" G.'s Profile

Five of us went to Light Bistro on a Thursday evening- the restaurant was full enough to know that it still commands a following after being open for several years.  

The service here was okay- our server started out great but then disappeared for too long.  Enough so that we didn't have time for dessert even though we gave him our timeline to start off with.  That was a bummer.

The food was spot on.  It is rare that five people leave a restaurant with smiles on their faces talking about how good the food was.  Chef Matt is technically proficient and shows good balance and restraint in his cooking.

The rock shrimp with white bean puree is great, but I think that the standout on the menu that we tried is the braised pork belly with cabbage, apples and mustard.  Really terrific dish.  Both pizza's at the table were crunchy and delicious- particularly the potato pie.  

The entrees were tasty, but for the price I would stick to the tapas.  There are so many to choose from that you can share with the entire table.  We will definitely stop back at Light Bistro to eat our way around the menu.

Stopped here the other night after dinner.  Didn't eat anything, so this isn't a food review.  For a bar, it's an okay place to go.  We had been to the old location and this one far exceeds that location at least in cleanliness.  

The drinks were strong and delivered quickly.  The prices are lower than most places I have visited.  The bartender was polite and had service with a smile.  High marks for the bar area.

We played some kind of a bowling game that was fun for all four of us.  The bar has a pool table that was in use the whole time.  There was a DJ standing in the corner turning some really terrible tunes with K-Mart disco lights spinning around.  That was a bit of a detraction to the bar overall.

Stopped here after the Cleveland Food Show with two kids in tow.  We walked in and the place has a nice atmosphere for a bar.  Lots of wood and a kind of a "Cheers" feel to the joint.  We were told at the door that there were only high tops available and we'd have to make do with the kids.  interesting approach- not very friendly.

The service here stayed unfriendly the whole time.  Granted, she looked overworked being the only server in the place, but there was a pretty long wait between ordering drinks and food, particularly with two kids around the 2 year range.  

The food was average but better then some other bars I have been to.  All three of us ordered burgers and all were cooked to the right temperature rather than being overdone.  I would say that the standard fries are the best in the place, with a nice crisp coating.  The sweet potato fries were a little underdone and the "house cut" fries were dried out.  

Loved the beer choice though- excellent craft beers on tap.  Had two different stouts that were both really tasty.  Whoever handles their beer selection should get a pat on the back.  

I've been to a couple other places in the area that edge this place out a little- Cornerstone Brewery being high on the list- but for a decent burger and good beer, this is a nice place to go.

Just stopped in here for a quick lunch after nine holes of golf at Glen Eagles.  This will be short because that is how lunch was:

Sat at the bar and was asked if we were hungry by the bartender.  That about the nicest she got the whole time.  Reviewed the menu- quite a few things looked good for bar food including their burgers on pretzel rolls.  There was a little blurb on the menu about their Legendary Lucky Dog so I had to give it a shot.  My friend ordered the Conseco Panini.

The Legendary Lucky Dog is huge- at least 12-13 inches.  It comes on a bun that is equally huge.  The bun has a serious amount of corn meal down one side of it which gets annoying.  I also ordered it with jalapeno and cheese- 75 cents per topping.  It came out with cheese, but it was sparse.  About 12 jalapeno rings too- not worth the upgrade.  The dog itself tasted watery and was lacking in that really delicious hot dog flavor that you get with a David Berg or Nathan's dog.  The chips were homemade and crisp, but unsalted.  In the middle was a huge bunch of them clustered together in their uncooked glory.  

My friends Conseco Panini had ham, turkey, salami, swiss and provolone on it.  He loved it and it looked really tasty.  If you go here, opt for this sandwich.  The coleslaw it was served with was some of the worst either one of us has ever eaten.  The dressing is really foul tasting.  He said that it tasted rancid and I agreed.  Glad that neither one of us got a sammy with the slaw on it.  Gross.

Overall, the service was really not great, even for a sports bar and the food was just so-so.  I would order the Conseco Panini next time without the slaw and add fries or something.

We went to Rosewood Grill in Hudson with another couple, without all the kids.  A nice night out.  The restaurant is very appealing from the exterior and interior.  The bar is well stocked with a huge window into the kitchen.  The bar seating area has a huge communal table (first come, first served) and some other tables around.  Enter the dining room and you are greeted with massive stone block walls and earth tone decor to match.  

The service in this restaurant is excellent.  The bartenders and courteous and quick with a drink.  They also aren't shy on the pour.  The servers basically run laps throughout the restaurant and the floor managers are not far behind.  All the way to the expediters, this place is run like clockwork.

One disturbing point was the reservation system, or lack thereof.  You can't make reservations, but you can call ahead.  Seems like a reservation to me and a really ridiculous system.  For a restaurant of this caliber, reservations should be standard.

Our food was hit and miss, unfortunately.  Chef Bambic, formerly of Blue Point Grill, hit on a lot of areas but seemed to fall short on a couple others.  The calamari was some of the best we have had, with fried banana peppers and parsley.  Delicious.  The crab bisque I had was doused with sherry verging on being unpalatable.  

For our main dishes, the center cut filet was cooked perfectly- great, simple dish.  Both of the bone-in strip steaks that were ordered arrived cold and the meat really didn't have much flavor without the house steak sauce.  The side of tempura green beans was absolutely delicious and the roasted potatoes were done well.  

The last dish, the Lobster Ziti, was really terrible.  The pasta was overcooked, lacking the ability to hold any sauce and too large for the plate.  The sauce was watery and brown with a strange flavor profile.  This entire dish was a complete mess.

For dessert, we only ordered the chocolate "moose" which arrived in a glass with tuile moose antlers.  Looked a little too Wally World to me.  The mousse was dense, too cold and cloyingly sweet.  It also tasted like refrigerator and had a skin on the top.  Not great.

I bet that this place serves a mean burger and flatbread.  Some time when we have a babysitter again we'll visit this place- most likely to sit at the bar so we don't have to deal with their non-reservation reservation system.  The service and ambiance take this restaurant to three stars in my book.

Like all the other reviewers have said, this place looks good when you walk in the door.  It's got a fresh feel and is relatively inviting.  The bar is well stocked and there is plenty of sunlight that beams into the restaurant through the massive wall of windows.

We stopped here for lunch after unsuccessfully finding the Dim & den sum truck in the area.  Let me start off by saying that the offerings on the menu look incredible.  I have found more restaurants recently with mediocre creativity displayed from their chefs.  You will not find that at Naya Bistro.  Most of the dishes have really interesting flavor combinations and there is an incredible a depth of vegetarian options that you simply don't find at many restaurants these days.  It is clear that the menu is well thought out, which I give props for.

The problem came with the execution of the food.  It took us a solid ten minutes to figure out what we were going to sample for our lunch.  My friend at lunch is a vegetarian, so he went with the Baked Eggplant with goat cheese and tomato puree to start.  I started with the Carpaccio Sushi with blue cheese and roasted peppers.  We decided to split the Mushroom Pita and Vegetable Burger since we were both interested in those dishes and the manager said that both were good sellers.

The eggplant dish was clearly marinated in some type of oil based marinade.  It arrived and looked nice on the plate, but had a very greasy feel.  The best bites are those that are completely loaded with tomato and goat cheese, otherwise it just tastes like some heavily oiled eggplant.  The tomato puree was under seasoned, probably intentionally since it would be expected to be eaten with the goat cheese which is naturally salty.  The goat cheese ran out before the eggplant or the tomato, so the last couple bites just tasted blah.

I was psyched for my Carpaccio Sushi.  It arrived looking great on a very cool plate which separated out the sweet soy.  There were six rolls on the plate.  I asked the manager for some chop sticks to which he replied that they had none, work it out with a fork.  Strange, right?  Buy some cheap chop sticks- the dish looked great, why tarnish it straight off the bat without the proper utensils?  Anyhow, that wasn't nearly the biggest issue with the dish.  It is made with what they call a wasabi risotto.  It was a risotto, but not wasabi and the rice was so undercooked that it was almost painful to eat.  The blue cheese was non-existent within the rolls.  I disassembled a roll just to see if there was blue cheese there, and rest assured there was not.  What happened here?  The concept is so cool, but the execution so poor.  What a disappointment.

Well, we were still looking forward to the pita and the veggie burger.  The manager told us that the burger was made in house, which is pretty cool.  Most restaurants simply use a Morningstar burger or something.  The plate showed up and the kitchen took the responsibility of giving each of us half a burger and half a pita.  The manager never asked what kind of fry we would like, so they gave us both sweet potato and regular fries.  The good news is that both types of fries were great.  The kosher salt on the sweet potato fries was just the right amount and the regular fries tasted like fair fries- really fresh.  

The veggie burger looked great.  You could see the broccoli and cauliflower in the patty itself.  There was what they called a spicy vegetable spread on the burger, but most of it was absorbed by the bun.  I scraped some off with my knife, it wasn't spicy at all.  The burger could have used a lot more of the spread though since it was dense and gummy.  The flavor was good, but it was sort of like eating vegetable spiked paste.  I was glad that we split the burger.  Eating a whole one would have been hard to do.  We were in agreement that this was a dish to pass on.

The moment of truth: the Mushroom Pita.  The manager said that this was one of the best selling dishes on the menu, literally flying out of the kitchen.  We asked him how he liked it and he replied that he was allergic to mushrooms.  Ok.  It is described as a braised mushroom stuffed pita with smoked gouda and crème fraiche.  The mushrooms tasted like they were canned.  You know, rubbery, flavorless and generally lacking in all respects.  The mushrooms were plated on top of the arugula, which sogged out into a watery green mess.  It said smoked gouda but was almost non-existent, so didn't add anything to the sandwich. The crème fraiche was just all right- it was really thick and tasted more like sour cream than crème fraiche.  After two bites of the sammy without the crème fraiche, I smothered it with the sauce and it was only marginally better.  

This restaurant should really have received one star based on the food that was delivered, but they are trying something that many other places won't even go near so I gave them a second star.

This place is great to go if you have small kids in the Fall.  Their pumpkins are healthy looking and there is plenty of stuff for the kiddies to play on.  Perfect spot for some holiday photo opps with the whole family.

Their grounds are beautiful- particularly during the season change.  Although it is quite a drive from just about anywhere to get here, the drive down Caves road is really peaceful and kinda gets you in the mood to drink some hot apple cider and pick some apples from the tree.

My favorite part of Patterson's goes well beyond pumpkins or cider.  I am a huge... let me repeat that... HUGE fan of their apple fritters, particularly in the morning when they are still hot.  One of these things is bigger than a normal person's face.  They are just out of this world.  Their doughnuts are great too with some wonderful Fall flavors.

Here's the only drawback I found this year with the Farm which is an easy fix for them.  We went with another couple and their 18 month old.  We had our 17 month old there.  The kids were running around, we were sitting on our jackets with two bags of fritters and two boxes of doughnuts and half a gallon of apple cider.  I went inside for some plastic cups- no plastic cups anywhere.  That was a bummer, but a small point of contention.

We've been coming here for five years straight now and plan to come back for the foreseeable future.  Great family place.

Here's the deal with this place- the new owners did an excellent job on renovating the space.  It's got a great rustic look that is certainly very inviting.  The bar space has been redone and has some couches and a huge fireplace that will be great in the winter for a beer and some apps.  From what I understand, they took a lot of the interior wood from some old barns in the area.  Reclamation of building materials is commendable.  The problem is that I go to a restaurant for more than the look.  I go for the food.  Read on.

So my family and I stopped in here for lunch.  We were there just as it opened for the day.  Immediately something didn't seem right to me as I was sitting at the table.  Then I figured it out- the tables are super low.  Either that, or the chairs are too high.  Makes the dining experience uncomfortable.  The tables also have this cool place mat that covers the whole table.  I picked ours up to look under and found that they apparently don't change the linens between services.  There was a ton of crumbs and old food all over the black tablecloth.  Kind of a turnoff.  Linens are the easy part of a restaurant.  Not a great start.

Then I ordered a beer because the Southern Tier Pumpking is incredible.  I ordered a short.  They brought me a lowball glass with some beer.  Where are the pint glasses?  The real shocker was when the bill came and this piddly 8 ounce pour was SIX DOLLARS.  What a joke, but I'm a guy with a sense of humor.  Read on.

The menu is what I would call uninspired at best.  Everything on there has been done at other restaurants.  Where's the creativity in the kitchen to match that of the remodel of the building?  I had to laugh when the server told us that it was going to take another month or two to come out with a SOUP because this was a "chef's driven menu."  You've gotta be kidding me with that one.   A month for a soup?  Laughable, but I've got a good sense of humor.

I ordered the Angus Burger for ten bucks that came with house made pickles and choice of cheese.  I got the asparagus as my side.  My wife got the Grilled Chicken Sandwich with the fries.  Our son picked up the chicken fingers.  Ok, so lets get into it here.  

I ordered the burger medium rare.  It came so well done you could have played street hockey for an hour with this thing.  The bun was a full INCH larger in diameter than the burger itself.  Where's the beef?!?!  Particularly for ten bucks?  I actually laughed with the expediter put the plate down in front of me.  He just walked away though- not asking me anything.  Maybe he had more important things to do.  The asparagus was the best thing I ate at Burntwood.  Order it if you go.  

My wife described the chicken sandwich as boring.  So it's got bacon, cheese and honey mustard.  Who doesn't put that on a chicken sandwich these days.  It also has the same floppy, weird bun as the burger.  I tried it, I had to agree that it indeed was boring.  It reminded me of the Special K I eat every morning... I know I am eating something, but it's more for nourishment than an eating experience.  Boring is the perfect adjective.    The fries are pretty darn good though.  This chef has sides down cold- just has to work on the little details like the main part of the dish.

The chicken tenders were okay.  They were dry but at least weren't from a box.  The dipping sauce was just that, dipping sauce.  Nothing to write home about.  

All told, our bill came to over $40 with the tip.  Let's recap: a shot glass of beer; an overdone, tiny burger; a boring chicken sandwich and just okay chicken tenders.  My sense of humor only extends so far.

I guess that I am just confused about this place.  They obviously dumped a ton of money into the joint and then forgot to find an ambitious chef.  How aggravating to go in with high expectations to find a blah menu and even worse: blah food.  Oh well, guess they wouldn't know how their customers respond either.  On the way out we were talking to the bartender and then he asked us how everything was.  We replied that it was just so-so.  He turned around and ignored us, like we didn't even say anything.  

Meh, I've experienced a LOT better.

Still a fan- went there for apps and wine the other night.  The bartender from Flemings works there now.  Anthony.  He's pretty good- check it out when you get a minute.

So long Sumo, hello Hiroshi's Pub.  What a strange concept in this place- BBQ, wings, sushi, burgers- etc... I'm just not sure that it all works or that one restaurant can do all these things well.  Where's the focus?  Without some type of focus, it's spread too thin.  The old saying is a mile wide and an inch deep... that's what the menu felt like.  Lots of choices, not much depth.

I stopped here with a friend for a quick lunch.  We sat at the bar and the bartender didn't show for 5 minutes.  Gave us a chance to peruse the menu for a while.  I chose a burger simply because the thought of two patties on a bun simply was too good to pass up.  I picked up the one with egg and bacon on it with some grilled onions to boot.  

When it was delivered, it looked incredible.  I put on the bun top and the egg burst all over the scene.  Awesome.  Then I took a bite and realized that their patties are frozen, not fresh made.  You can taste the binder and the mouth-feel is akin to wet cardboard.  What a letdown.  I put this burger in my bottom 5 burgers in Cleveland, not counting fast-food joints.  Really terrible.

During my perusal of the menu, I checked out the sushi.  The rolls are about $13 which puts them in direct competition with Pacific East.  I watched  a few being made and they looked ok.  Might come back to try the sushi and then update my review.  

For the time being, meh, it's just ok.