If you’re like me, you actually like the change of seasons in Northeast Ohio. It’s one of the things that make this region great. But after Valentine’s Day, the restlessness sets in. By this time every year, I’ve had quite enough of snow – hearing about it, watching it fall and shoveling it. I’ve grown tired of my favorite puffy ski jacket and polar fleece. Slick commutes with inattentive drivers have outlived any usefulness. And the football games I’ve used as a crutch? Long gone, especially if gauged by your now-typical Cleveland Browns season.
I find myself struggling for something reassuring, comfortable and familiar to get me through to spring. What I want is simply prepared, rustic and soul-satisfying food. What I crave is a trip down memory lane – something cozy, hopelessly delicious and emotionally satisfying, but not politically correct, potentially healthy or even physician-approved. I need meat, butter, cream and bacon, stat. I need comfort food. Now. And I’m at the highest of spirits when I score great food that fills my soul and stomach without emptying my wallet.
Cleveland is a food town. We all have our favorite comfort foods and no mention of such delicacies in a crowd passes without hearty discussion. It's not uncommon to get a whole lot of oohs and aahs when I drop my local favorites in a conversation: fried brussel sprouts at Lolita; Salisbury steak at Sokolowski’s; roast beef and mash at the Academy Tavern; pho at Superior Pho; Aunt Rose falafel pita and black cherry yogurt shake at Tommy’s; corned beef sandwich at Lucky's Café in Tremont; the Municipal Stadium Magic at Melt; caribbean fries, pad thai and mojitos at Johnny Mango; Minh Ahn’s vermicelli bowls; malai kofta at India Garden... all great. [photo by Young Yun]
Now I’m starving. Then I began to wonder what some of Cleveland’s cognoscenti might say if posed the question, “What’s your favorite local comfort food?” during a casual happy hour. The answers were actually pretty grand.
Susan Petrone, author of last year’s A Body at Rest, is big on Big Al’s Diner on Larchmere Boulevard for breakfast and brunch. “When I feel that I can afford the calories, I get the eggs hollandaise. And Big Al’s has the best home fries in the city. Bar none.” Continued on page two...
