This Week's Counter: Sal's Menu

It's got a weird name, and is certainly not much to look at from the outside, but we're really glad we found Sal's.  It came up in a web search of diners, and is located on Pearl Rd in Cleveland, not far from the zoo.  The shape of the building and location relative to the street makes it seem like this place may have been a gas station at one point.  Must have been a couple owners ago, as the sign out front still says "Dog House" in faded letters above where "Sal's" was added.

We stopped in on Saturday late morning, and were able to grab a couple seats at the counter right away.  Not easy because the place was fairly busy and is very small -- maybe 6 booths plus the counter space.  It's definitely been around awhile -- everything, from the counter and chairs to the signage to the cooking area looks really old and beat up. This is true greasy spoon diner atmosphere.

The waitresses and Sal himself, busy at the grill, welcomed us and we had drinks right away. Average coffee but in a nice heavy mug.  Although it was near lunch time and the menu goes way beyond breakfast, we stuck with eggs -- breakfast sandwich with bacon and fries for Cam, and eggs and hash browns for Ted.  They actually asked Cam if he wanted his bacon soft, medium or crispy -- never saw that before.  

All the food was cooked very nicely -- hash browns with onions were great (could have been a bit crispier though), eggs perfect, fries fresh and hot, and nothing overly greasy.  While we ate, it became clear this is a place of mostly regulars -- everyone coming in and leaving greeted Sal by name and he returned the favor.  He knows his customers well!

All around, a really nice breakfast in a part of town we never really go.  And the price is right -- just $13 for both of us.  Recommended if you are looking for very basic diner food, as far from the opposite of high-end as you can get.  Try it!

Cam says: "Interesting buliding and restaurant layout.  Good service and great food. I give it 8 frying pans."

Ted says: "My kind of place -- simple, no frills, not outstanding, but solid food. Could use an interior upgrade for sure.  For me, it's worth 7 frying pans."

This Week's Counter: North Main Diner (Chagrin Falls)

We try pretty hard not to repeat going to counters, and definitely not blogging about them more than once -- just to keep adding to our running total of different ones we've visited. North Main Diner, new in Chagrin Falls, was a little bit questionable since it's the rebranding of a counter we've done before.  It was the Fresh Start in Chagrin, but is now under new management, with a new name and a new menu.  We considered that to be different enough that we'd count it as a new counter, so we stopped in last Sunday morning.

The inside of the place looks the same for the most part, although less cluttered behind the counter, and none of the numerous specials that the old place used to post on the walls.  We easily got seats at the counter, even though it was pretty busy with the late-morning breakfast crowd.  Service was more or less the same (and the wait staff included some of the same faces we remembered from before) -- generally very friendly and helpful, although possibly a bit shorthanded, so you have to make an effort to get their attention sometimes.

The menu is a lot smaller than Fresh Start had, but still a good range of selections. Including some new and semi-unique things.  For example, Cam had the waffle breakfast sandwich -- eggs and bacon between quarters of a large waffle.  Ted went with the veggie omelette and fruit.  And we had Bradley with us -- he had eggs, bacon and hash browns (which he ordered well-done -- the new owner told us they used the deep fryer, and they were excellent).  All around, quality of food was great -- not at all greasy, cooked perfectly, and in general better than our experiences under the old management.  In particular, the coffee has been upgraded significantly.

While we still like Yours Truly for consistent, good quality and great service, we highly recommend this place as a great alternative for a good breakfast in Chagrin.  We hope the new owners are successful, as the town needs at least a couple places competing for  diner-type business.

Cam says: "No major change from old restaurant, except for the menu. Great new menu items that are a bit outside the box. With a still-comfortable counter and great service, I'll give it 8 frying pans."

Ted says: "Liked it a lot better than the prior format -- food was great, and coffee was much better. Could emphasize attentiveness a bit more. But all around good enough for 8 frying pans."



Bradley says: "Eggs were a little over-cooked, but other than that everything was great. The hash browns were exceptions. 8 frying pans."