Restaurants in Northeast Ohio

Looking for a good restaurant in Akron, Cleveland or the surrounding areas?  Here's my list, with ratings that will probably annoy fans of said restaurants.  Some of these ratings may be out-of-date, but any changes would likely increase the numbers (I have removed any restaurants that were really awful).

The first rating is food quality, based on deliciousness.  The second is for "ambience and service."  This doesn't apply just to the servers/staff, but also how it fits with the food.  If a restaurant is a dive with great food, the rating will be higher than if it's trying to be upscale but the menus are greasy.  The third rating is for "price and value."  This isn't just for whether it's expensive, or even if it's a good value ("the food is awful, but the portions are HUGE!").  Rather, it's a fragrant bouquet of what you pay versus what you get in the first two ratings.  A lower rating probably means it's a more expensive place, but a REALLY low rating means they're charging too much for food that's not great, in an atmosphere that's not great. A tidy McDonald's, for example, would likely get a 9.  However, a very expensive restaurant with smaller portions (which were good but not mind-blowing) might only get a 4.  (McDonald's is not on the list, but I've been meaning to try it... I'm hearing good things about this "McDLT").

3 Palms - 7.5/6/7
Aladdin's - 8.5/8/7.5
Angelo's Pizza - 8 / 6.5/ 7
Bar 145 - 7/7/5
Barrio - 10/8.5/9
Benihana Hibachi-8.5/9/6
Best Gyro - 9/4/8
Brown Derby Streetsboro - 7/6/7
Cibrero - 9/8/5
Cilantro - 8.5/7/9
Crave - 8/8/6
D'Angelo's - 6/6/6
Don Ramon's - 7/6/7
El Campesino Stow - 8.5/10/9
Farinacci's - recused (awesome)
Flipside - 7/6/4
Flour - 9/9/5
Flying Fig - 7/7/4
Fresco Taco, Kent - 8/7/8
Geraci's - 8/7/8
Gigi's - 9.5/10/8
Great Lakes Brewing - 8/7/8
Grove Hill - 9/8/6
Houlihan's Strongsville - 8/8/7
Hudson's - 7/7/6
Jack's Deli - 6/6/7.5 (Cedar Rd, Beachwood)
Jaipur Junction- 6/4/6.5
Lager & Vine-8/8/6
Luigi's - 9/7/7
Luchita's - 5/7/7
Melt - 8/7/8
Momocho - 7.5/10/3
Mustard Seed Market - 9/8/7
Nighttown - 8/9/5
Nuevo - 8.5/8/5
Otani's (sushi-7/5/7; hibachi-8.5/9/8)-service for Hibachi is based solely on the chef
Otto Moser's - 8/8/8
Paladar - 8/8/4
Penn Station - 8/7/7
Pier W -- 10/9/4
Pura Vida 8 / 8/ 5
Quaker Steak 5/4/8
Ray's-4/7/7
Rosewood 8.5/8/7
Saffron Patch 10/9/8
Slyman’s Restaurant -- 10/4/8
Slyman’s Tavern -- 10/9/8
Sokolowski’s University Inn -- 7/4/8
Swenson's-6/6/7
Thai Gourmet - 7/5/6.5
Tomato Grill 8/7/5
Town Hall - 8.5/7/6


And here's places that people regularly recommend, but I have not tried (or not tried in a long time)...
Adega
Alley Cat Oyster Bar
Around the Corner
Batuqui
Billy's A Cappelli
Blue Point
Chinato
Cork & Cleaver Social Kitchen
Crop Bistro & Bar
Crumb & Spigot
Dante
Deagan
Edwin's
Fahrenheit
Fire Food & Drink
Georgetown
Greenhouse Tavern
Harbor Inn
Hooley House
Imperial Dragon
Imperial Wok
Joe's Deli
King Wah
Kosar's
L'Albatros Brasserie & Bar
Lola
Mama Roberto
Manhattan Deli
Master Pizza
Nick's Gyro
Redhawk
Spice Kitchen & Bar
Superior Pho
Trentina
Ty Fun Thai Bistro
Urban farmer
Velvet Tango

XDR and cassette tapes

If you bought a cassette tape in the 1980s or 1990s, and it was made by Capitol/EMI (such as the British Beatles or the allegedly Irish "McHammer"), it probably had an "XDR" logo on it.  That was a system of improvements in the production chain to create better-sounding tapes.  A small side-effect was that the dubbing equipment added a set of test tones at the top of each side.  These are tattooed on my brain, and now you can enjoy them, too.

Ned Flanders Can Only Take So Much

During The Simpsons' eighth season, a hurricane ripped through town and destroyed only Ned Flanders' house.  Here's his reaction once the townspeople rebuilt his house.  The most chipper (and religious) person in Springfield tries hard to contain his annoyance.  And when he finally explodes, it seems like the writers had a hard time cming up with his dialogue.


#SNL4kidz

More Prince and SNL

Prince's many appearances on SNL were compiled into a special the weekend after he died, but they left out one infamous moment in which he wasn't even involved.  In the closing credits of the February 21, 1981 show, just after Prince performed "Partyup," the cast gathered on-stage for the goodnights.  In one of the show's most infamous moments, Charles Rocket dropped an F-bomb.  This footage rarely seems to be online, but somehow, it's been posted here (scroll to the bottom).

As a bonus, here's a story from David Spade about Chris Rock, Michael Jordan and a Prince show... this is from the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, about a year before Prince died.

Destroying Bob Newhart on television

There are a few episodes of both "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Newhart" in which things go awry on a TV talk show.  Bob (as Dick Louden) actually hosts a talk show on the latter series.  But my favorite is Bob (as Dr. Robert Hartley) trying to deal with a caustic host. My second favorite is from "Newhart," when Don Rickles guests plays an out-of-work actor who gets a talk show, and then gets Dick as his sidekick.  The final scene does not seem scripted, by the way (Newhart and Rickles are best friends in real life).

Homer Simpson eats chili, drinks beer

Despite many posts about Family Guy, my first animated loves were Bugs Bunny, and then Homer Simpson.  Here's a series of clips I have fashioned into a narrative: Homer eats chili, Homer goes to the Duff Beer Brewery, Homer has to use the facilities... each clip is a little story in and of itself, not just a gag (and most of it is safe for #SNL4Kidz, even if younger viewers may be confused).  As a bonus, here's someone's idea of the Best of Homer.

Peter Griffin v. the Chinese

Still more Family Guy... this time, involving their dry cleaner.  And just for fun, below that, more racism!