This Week's Counter: George's Kitchen

Out to the West side for a visit to George’s, which seemed to be  really popular and well-liked according to on-line reviews.  It’s a pretty big place out on Triskett, right near the RTA station.  Very busy in the late morning on a Saturday, and we were lucky to grab a couple seats at the counter after just a short wait.   George’s seems to attract a strong crowd of regulars from the neighborhood – lots of people seemed to know the staff by name.

George’s has a pretty diverse menu for lunch and dinner, including lots of home-style favorites and local ethnic dishes.  Breakfast also had more options than most places, but covered the basics too.  They had a special running on chicken and waffles – perfect for Cam since it was a combo of his breakfast and lunch favorites.  He loved the chicken, but felt the waffles could have been better.  Ted went with the classic breakfast – eggs, potatoes, toast and bacon.  Pretty solid all around, although like at most places, they don’t get the concept of very well-done potatoes.  Coffee was pretty good, and they kept it continually filled – example of what was really good service throughout.

For sure worth a visit if you are on the West side – maybe not standout on food, but definitely good value for the money and a great place to see a cross-section of blue-collar Cleveland.

   

 

Cam says: "Good food, but the service was opposite. I'll give this counter 6 frying pans."

Ted says: "Friendly urban neighborhood atmosphere and lots of choices.  Good food, fair prices. I give George’s 6 frying pans."

This Week's Counter: Huron Square Deli

We stumbled upon this place by accident when we were downtown for the Dazzle The District event at Playhouse Square.  Behind the Halle Building on Huron, this unassuming storefront restaurant is a classic greasy spoon – not sure we used spoons, but the other utensils were probably greasy too. Not exactly the cleanest place we’ve seen.  Late morning on a Saturday, it was pretty quiet and we easily got seats at the long counter.  Probably very busy on weekdays with the office crowd, but not so much on weekends.

Service was pretty attentive, although our server seemed to be new in the job.  The cook was working the grill right in front of us, and giving her instructions on how to write orders.  Cam went with breakfast this time – egg and bacon sandwich.  Ted had his usual, eggs, toast, potatoes and coffee.  The verdict was "barely average" all around on the food.  Super low price compensated for that a bit, but just nothing all that great.

Definitely fun to go somewhere downtown, and it was a nice day.  But unless you’re really hungry and can’t wait to find another place, we can’t really recommend it.  

Cam says: "Decent sandwich, not that clean though.  It was very average.  I give this counter 5 frying pans."

Ted says: "If you only have a few dollars and are desperate for food, go here. Aside from good service, hard to find other bright spots. Sorry to say it's only good for 3 frying pans."

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!"