This Week's Counter: Gracie's Diner & More

We had to make a trip over to Willowick, northeast of the city, and so we searched for a counter in the area that we could visit. We had been to a bunch of places already around Mentor, Willoughby further east, and knew there had to be more in Euclid, Wickliffe, Willowick or Eastlake -- these are largely blue-collar suburbs that are the kind of place you'd expect diner-like restaurants.  A web search turned up Gracie's in Eastlake -- not far from the water where the Chagrin River empties into Lake Erie.  

The place was pretty quiet on a very late Saturday morning.  The owner seemed to know everyone, like the place was mostly frequented by regulars.  No problem getting seats at the counter and we quickly had drinks and our order in to the friendly server who turned out to be the owner (she told us her daughter is the namesake "Gracie").  The "& More" refers to donuts -- behind the counter was a big set of racks for donuts, mostly empty since they apparently get quickly sold earlier in the day.  

Despite it being lunchtime, we all chose breakfast. Western omelet, potatoes and coffee for Ted, pancakes and bacon for Cam, and a cheese omelet and bacon for Tami, who joined us on this outing.  All the food was cooked nicely and very tasty.  Potatoes could have been cooked at bit more and the coffee was average, but all around a good meal.  It's not much to look at and very out-of-the-way (unless you happen to be driving down Route 2 out toward Mentor or something), but worth the visit if you want quick, cheap and good.

                          

Cam says: "Great service and great food quality. Decent counter. I'll give it 9 frying pans."

Ted says: "Super-friendly service by the owner and a homey, comfortable atmosphere. Far from high-end as you can get, but food was pretty good and it's very inexpensive.  A strong 8 frying pans."

Tami says: "Clean, friendly owner and good food.  I'll give it 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."