Category Archives: Corned Beef

Tommy’s on Coventry

Tommy’s on Coventry in Cleveland Heights is one of my family’s favorites. We think their food is great, the prices reasonable, the variety astounding and the service well-done.

We recently had a birthday to celebrate and the birthday boy requested Tommy’s. I was only too happy to oblige since I knew they had a Corned Beef sandwich (on a pita) that I was drooling to try out.

It’s called the Cigar and is listed to have “four ounces of corned beef with onion, mushrooms, pickles, sesame sauce, mustard and cheese”. Sounds like my kind of sandwich!

Overall, it was a good Corned Beef sandwich. (I’m not a big fan of sesame sauce and next time I would order it without. Even taking that into consideration, it’s an example of good Corned Beef.)

I’m starting to get the idea that in order to be truly great, a sandwich needs to have eight or ten ounces of Corned Beef. I’ll certainly have to try that idea out in the coming months. Maybe I ask for a double Cigar next time?!

Until then, if you’re wanting to try something satisfying, tasty and delicious with a different presentation, certainly consider Tommy’s! They’re even on Twitter!

And make certain you save room for one of a shake or malt. Moosetracks is awesome.

Sportsman’s to close

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported earlier this week that The Sportsman Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge will close at the end of this week.

We ate there a while back and found their sandwich “excellent”. Passions run high about the place as seen in one of the comments.

While taking pictures of the outside, I was accosted by someone who really did think theirs is the best.

I’m going to try to slip over there myself tomorrow and grab one for home. I’ll miss it.

Eat on Broadway

Those bright orange ‘”Hot” Corned Beef’ signs are hard to miss, so I stopped by Eat on Broadway to see what they had to offer.

It’s a cute little restaurant, right in the middle of Bedford’s downtown area (at 692 Broadway Avenue). I found easy parking, walked right in and ordered their Corned Beef sandwich (what else?!!) to go.

Open about a year, they seem to be part of the revitalization that this part of Bedford is experiencing.

They were doing a brisk business when I arrived and yet there was plenty of time for the banter between those on both sides of the counter. There are seats for about eight and a variety of choices for you if you’re not into Corned Beef (anathema, I know). If I can find my menu, I’ll scan it and post it here.

As far as the sandwich goes, I’m going to have to give Janine and Larry the benefit of the doubt and presume I had an unusual, bad cut of meat. It was not lean (gristle is more like it) and I was unable to finish a portion of it. On the other hand, I saw the Corned Beef come out of the container (6.5 ounces, I was told at the time) and perhaps it could have been caught at that point.

I’ll just have to come back again and try another one! I’ll let you know how that goes.

6/29/2010 – Update: Here’s a scan of the Eat on Broadway Menu in PDF.

Disclosure

A funny thing happened this week.

While asking permission to take a picture at a Corned Beef site, I was asked “Why, are you planning on opening a restaurant?” Of course the answer was “no”, but I felt like I owed a further explanation. Like who I was and why I was taking these pictures.

So, believing that honesty is the best policy, I explained that I’m one of the writers* over at Best Corned Beef in Cleveland dot com and that I’d be posting something later this week.

And that got me to thinking. When I was anonymous, no one would ever think of giving me free stuff to influence my writing. But they might if they knew I was going to review them.

So here’s the policy:

Food Review Policy

I’m passionate about Corned Beef. I like to smell it, I like to squish it between two pieces of bread, I like to write about it and above all those, I like to eat it.
I’m not a professional food critic. This is a hobby.
Writers* at Best Corned Beef in Cleveland are expressing their opinions. If we figure out a way to objectively provide repeatable, unbiased ratings for Corned Beef, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Writers* at Best Corned Beef in Cleveland are not paid for their work, nor are they compensated with free food. It hasn’t happened yet (6/24/2010), but if a restaurant offers free or discounted food, we will insist on paying full price. If this is not acceptable to the restaurant, then we will walk away. Sadly. Hungrily.
We’ll be open, honest and transparent with you, the readers and them, the brisket bakers. That doesn’t always mean I’ll show up at their restaurant with my Best Corned Beef in Cleveland card, but I won’t evade any questions, either.

There, how’s that?

*Regarding “Writers”: Three people signed up for this project. Currently, two of them are slackers.

The Doghouse

I’ve either lived in or had a business concern in Bedford since 1995 and all that time I’ve never had a chance to set foot into The Doghouse until yesterday.

I say “set foot” since it’s kinda hard to get both in at the same time. The place is really small and parking is somewhat limited (I had to wait for one car to leave before I could slip in.) but if you’re cruising the Bedford Automile and need a bite to eat, this place is worth a try.

I have no idea about the rest of his menu, but the guy (and gal) behind the corner both know a thing or two about Corned Beef.

I learned that I was the sixth person to get a sandwich that day when they explained that I would get the end (and last of) the brisket. (The brisket started out serving sandwiches on Saturday.) They’d just have to cook some more for the next day. I had always assumed that little places like this bought theirs pre-cooked, but that’s just not the case.

He explained that he buys his briskets from Shaker Valley Foods (worthy of a blog post all by itself) and then cooks it with all the right spices the day before slicing and serving it. (Shaker Valley Foods is the company behind the “finest corned beef” signs you see in various windows.)

Since mine was the “heel” and I’d get what was left, he knocked a dollar off the $5.95 price (plus $.25 for cheese). So for $6.20, you can expect a decent-sized sandwich, swiss cheese, a deli pickle (or two) and a small bag of chips. I’d like to see what a full-sized sandwich looks like before I get too excited about the cost/value side of things, but the corned beef was excellent.

The slices I got were lean, crumbly and delicious.

My wife wanted to know more about the place when I told her about the trip. I think the thing she laughed about the most was when I told her about the menu sign. The place is so small and the whiteboard menu is so big and so close to you, that you kinda have to put your head on the wall and crane your neck up to see the top. Seriously, it’s only probably three feet from your nose but it’s a big (4′ by 6′?) whiteboard!

The Doghouse can be found in Bedford, a few miles south of the AutoMile at 589 Broadway, north of downtown and south of Broadway/East Grace. You can call them at 440.786.2260 or just drive over and grab one!

I’ll be heading back to see what the start of the brisket tastes like and see what a full sandwich looks like.

6/22/2010 – Update: I went back for lunch today and had the fresh brisket that was prepared last night. No real change in the quality—still the same lean, delicious Corned Beef—just a lot more of it! While I was there, I learned that this has been a restaurant only since 2002; prior to that, it was a barber shop.

6/29/2010 – Update: Here’s a scan of The Doghouse menu in PDF.

Luna’s in Macedonia

In one sense, a restaurant makes it easy for me when they serve a lousy Corned Beef sandwich. I taste so much high-quality Corned Beef that it’s pretty easy to identify a loser. It doesn’t make it any easier to call their version a loser, though.

Especially when they have a sign in their front window claiming “Best Corned Beef”. That’s an assertion that needed some investigation.

Luna’s is a little diner and luncheonette at 33 West Aurora Road in Northfield, just west of Olde 8 Road (on Route 82). My wife is in this part of town on the occasional Wednesday and since I was going to be in the neighborhood, she suggested we connect up for lunch.

So we did.

She and the kids ordered off the menu (cheeseburger, fish fry, fish sandwich, pizza and club sandwich) and everyone was pleased. I, of course, couldn’t let their claim go unverified and so ordered the Corned Beef sandwich.

The color was excellent, the cheese nicely melted, the bread just the right kind, etc. And as far as grilled sandwiches go, it was a good sandwich. But when you call it a Corned Beef sandwich, standards increase.

And as far as that goes, it was a lousy Corned Beef sandwich.

The Corned Beef was not quite rubbery, but close. Corned Beef should be easily severed when bitten and the rest of the sandwich shouldn’t pull out of your bread when you pull away.

The taste was average but the texture and consistency were both below average. I shudder to think of it, but perhaps this had been sitting a while. Again, as far as grilled sandwiches go, it was acceptable. It just wasn’t a Best Corned Beef sandwich, by any stretch of the imagination.

I hate to say it, but perhaps Luna’s should consider taking down the sign. Or blocking out the “Best” part of it.

Red Rooster Chicken & Deli Mart

While returning east from India Garden today, I bumped into a place that claims to serve Cleveland’s Finest “Hot” Corned Beef.

It was at the Red Rooster Chicken & Deli Mart, at 12901 Detroit Avenue (Detroit and Cohasset in Lakewood).

One sees these signs from time to time and I wonder if the printer is asking us to suspend our disbelief or maybe wants us to pretend that it’s “hot”. I think there are other ways to emphasis a sandwich’s temperature.

Given that I was already quite full from India Garden and given my suspicion of any place with these signs, I decided to motor my way past and continue east.

The question does remain unanswered though. Who prints these signs and what do they hope to gain by advertising Cleveland’s Finest “Hot” Corned Beef?

Next time I see one I’ll have to check out the fine print at the bottom. Looks like there’s an address printed there.

Danny’s Deli

Oh, the delight of great Corned Beef! Sometimes there isn’t much else to say!

A work colleague, having discovered my delight in the great Corned Beef sandwich, invited me to his favorite place, Danny’s Deli. It’s his understanding that Danny’s and Slyman’s share a common beef source but that Danny’s is better. We decided to venture out in January to have a taste.

I’m happy to report that it was delightful.

The brisk sharp air, the long walk to the bus and the long wait for the bus all no doubt contributed to the sharpness in appetite we each felt as the order was placed and the smells antagonized us.

But the journey and the cold were well-worth it. They delivered an excellent Corned Beef experience (as you can see by the picture).

The beef was lean, steaming hot, well-seasoned and properly jammed (mashed?) between two slices of very good rye bread.

And the cheese! There’s an art or craft to mastering how to properly assemble a Corned Beef sandwich and the folks at Danny’s have certainly mastered it.

I look forward to many future visits.

Sportsman’s Restaurant

The Sportsman’s Restaurant at 101 Saint Clair Ave is right across the street from the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center and near one of the bus stops I sometimes use. I’d often wondered what their Corned Beef was like and made sure that it was on my list to try some day.

I note elsewhere that passions run high on the subject of Corned Beef and used The Sportsman’s as an example. Why do people care so much? (Perhaps I should ask myself the question someday, too.)

At first glance, it didn’t seem too impressive. The small, narrow restaurant was darkly paneled (or was that the effect of the poor lighting?) and on the surface, seemed unlikely to produce much excitement. It’s important though, to not judge a book by its cover! Or a restaurant by its lighting. One of my work colleagues says this is the place to go before, during and after Browns games!

On to the food: The sandwich was excellent and the service was sufficient. No doubt, had we been regulars, the service would have been stellar.

The Sportsman’s has been in the news a bit lately (here, here and here), being part of the plethora of sites being proposed for the much-talked-about and little-progress-made Medical Mart. It would be a real shame to bulldoze anything to make way for the Medical Mart, The Sportsman’s Restaurant included. (added 7/2009)

I’ll be looking for some history of The Sportsman’s Restaurant in the coming months. It certainly has some character. I think the men’s room may have some original plumbing in it still!

Overall, it’s a Corned Beef venue that I’d visit again and we’ll add it to the map that we’re using to track our progress.

Their take-out menu was very impressive (page one and page two) with a wide assortment of meals, sandwiches, drinks and desserts.

One of my colleagues ordered and very much enjoyed a Pastrami and Corned Beef (“The Clevelander”) while I stayed with the Corned Beef.

Try them out! You can find The Sportsman’s Restaurant at 101 East St. Clair in downtown Cleveland.

Passion for Corned Beef

If I had known the passions that Corned Beef raises in this town, I might not have started. Today, for example, I asked a few coworkers for suggestions on where I might find a good Corned Beef Sandwich. I needn’t have asked—”Slyman’s”, they all replied. “But what about around here?” (Public Square), I asked. And so ensued a lively debate.

A few weeks back I was taking pictures of the Sportsman’s Restaurant (Established 1947) on St. Clair. A woman accosted me and asked me what I was doing. I explained my strange hobby and she turned ferocious: “They really do serve the Best Corned Beef in Cleveland there!” Well, I would try them and see how they rated, I replied. “No, you don’t understand, they really do serve the best!” she reiterated.

There are so many places that claim to serve the best! Yesterday evening in Cleveland Heights, I found a small restaurant on Noble Road that claims to serve “Cleveland’s Finest ‘Hot’ Corned Beef”. I imagine there’s a company out there churning out these signs since they seem fairly common. Perhaps I’ll get a closeup of one and we can figure out where they’re coming from.

Maybe I’ll even figure out how to obtain one of my own. Maybe we’ll find a giant conglomerate with a near monopoly on the regional Corned Beef distribution.

Maybe I’ll just gain a pound or two in the process.

Later this afternoon in the office I was asked what I liked about Corned Beef. I explained a bit of what I was looking for. And, in exchange, was treated to this individual’s passion for the subject. He likes it crumbly. No fat to keep it all together. Definitely crumbly.

I have since asked him to be a guest writer on this site. Of course, his passion will be different than mine. But he displayed a passion for Corned Beef, nonetheless.