This Week's Counter: The Red Chimney

We saw a Facebook post from some friends who were eating at a place we had never heard of in Slavic Village -- The Red Chimney.  Fortunately, they included a picture that seemed to show it had a counter.  A little bit of further research validated this, and so we dropped in on Saturday.

This place is in a very old building in a very old part of town -- a little bit beat up and rough on the outside, but very comfortable and welcoming.  Their counter is pretty big -- maybe 15 or so seats -- and so we had not trouble finding a spot.  The waitresses were very friendly, calling everyone "Hon" and "Sweetie".

After getting drinks (coffee was good, but Cam's grape juice wasn't), we made some choices from the large menu.  Ted had his usual but with turkey sausage -- very good and this is one of the few places that can correctly make well-done potatoes.  Cam had chicken and fries -- a large plate that he easily finished.

We disagreed a bit on quality of the food and atmosphere, but was worth the trip. Maybe not the best place in terms of location, but not bad and pretty good value for the money.

 

Cam says: "Good food quality with a comfortable counter.  Both service and cleanliness were below average. I give this counter 5 frying pans."

Ted says: "Nice large counter, good menu selections and very good quality of food -- one of the few places that can do the potatoes right. I would go back -- it's worth a solid 7 frying pans."

This Week's Counter: John's Diner

For the first time in quite awhile, we made a trip over to the West side, to visit John's Diner in Lakewood.  This place is apparently an institution on a busy part of Detroit Avenue as you approach Rocky River.  It's a classic "greasy spoon" type of place, and the inside looks like it's made of a couple of old train cars put together.

It was surprisingly quiet for late morning on a Saturday and we were initially the only people sitting at the fairly large counter.  Service was very friendly.  The menu was pretty big, lots of breakfast choices and more.

Cam chose chicken and waffles, and Ted of course had his usual -- eggs, potatoes, toast and coffee.  Both meals were pretty average -- clearly not high-quality food.  The very low price compensated for it a bit, but overall it was below expectations.  

If you're in Lakewood and want something quick, easy and cheap, then John's will be your kind of place.  But we've certainly had better!

          

 

Cam says: "Casual counter with lots of space. Average food and service.  I'll give this one 6 frying pans."

Ted says: "Atmosphere was pretty good, but everything else mostly below average.  Food quality could be a lot better.  Works out to 5 frying pans for me."

This Week's Counter: Diner on 55th

Celebrating our 25th counter!!!   And this one turned out to be the best we've visited.  We learned about the Diner on 55th by accident, when we drove past St. Clair & 55th after breakfast at Slyman's earlier in the year.  This place looks like a classic diner -- lots of chrome inside and out.  

It was pretty crowded, being late morning on Saturday, but the counter was almost empty.  Service was fast, attentive and very friendly from beginning to end.  A guy who we presumed to be the owner walked around chatting with everyone and offered to take our picture.  The counter was spacious and open to the kitchen where two cooks were working.  All around a really nice, classic diner atmosphere.

The food was also outstanding.  Cam did chicken and fries, which he felt were excellent.  Ted had his usual breakfast and everything was cooked perfectly -- potatoes crisp, toast not overly buttered, eggs soft.  Only drawback on the meal was that the coffee was just average at best -- definite room for improvement.

We highly recommend going here -- great counter, and service, food, atmosphere all excellent.  Perfect counter for our 25th. 

                     

Cam says: "Delicious crispy chicken with fries to match.  Service just as good as the food. Props for cleanliness too.  I give this counter a perfect 10 frying pans."

Ted says: "This place is amazing -- all around great quality, value and a lot of fun.  Only weakness was the coffee.  An ALMOST perfect 9 frying pans -- outstanding!"