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

1. 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.
2. I’m not a professional food critic. This is a hobby.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

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There, how’s that?

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

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.

The Chinese buffet on Cleveland’s East 12th Street is where I first got the idea: collect pictures of all the eateries that claim to serve the “Best Corned Beef in Cleveland”.

Jay and I had been headed for the New Yorker Restaurant & Deli at 12th and Chester but finding it closed, crossed the street, settling for a Chinese buffet. It was there that he commented on the large number of restaurants claiming to have the best corned beef in Cleveland. I added a couple to his list from my wanderings in our city and an idea began to take form.

Fast-forward to April 8th, 2009. The Wednesday manager’s lunch was canceled so I paged one of the four regulars with my plans: order take-out from the Ontario Street Cafe (on Ontario Street!) and head back to the desks before our one o’clock. His idea was much better: grab a table and, by the way, he was bringing someone. So that day found the three of us eating lunch, talking about Pastrami on Rye and Corned Beef (among many other things). On the way out, I asked permission to take a picture of the nearby sign that proclaimed “Old Downtown Style Hot Corned Beef”.

A simple sign echoes throughout Cleveland. How many places serve Corned Beef sandwiches? How many claim to be the best? My lunch partners grinned in amusement. They could help catalog and collect—post things on a blog! I teased that I already had the website: BestCornedBeefinCleveland.com and when I confessed that I had not, they suggested that I go for it.

Thursday morning it was mine and Thursday afternoon I made my first stop: “The Blue Fig”. And today, Friday, April 10th, 2009, we begin with the inaugural post.