This Week in Cleveland Food News: A String of Closures to Report

A bite-sized recap of all the news fit to eat

By Vince Grzegorek on Fri, Sep 15, 2023 at 3:53 pm

[
      {
        "name": "Ad - NativeInline - Injected",
        "component": "38482495",
        "insertPoint": "3",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "5"
      },{
        "name": "Real 1 Player (r2) - Inline",
        "component": "38482494",
        "insertPoint": "2/3",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "9"
      }
    ]

click to enlarge

Cioppino entree at Rockfish Land and Seafood - Kayla Coleman Photography

Kayla Coleman Photography

Cioppino entree at Rockfish Land and Seafood

- Paladar has closed.

Related

Paladar Latin Kitchen in Woodmere Has Closed After 16 Years

Paladar Latin Kitchen in Woodmere Has Closed After 16 Years: "The decision to close our doors was not made lightly."

- Gray House Pizza has closed.

Related

Gray House's Detroit-style pizza

Gray House Pizza in Lakewood Has Closed: "Staffing and supply chain issues are unlike anything I've seen in 20 years."

- Old Brooklyn Cheese and Mustard's Van Aken outpost has closed.

Related

Old Brooklyn Cheese Co. to close Van Aken outpost.

Old Brooklyn Cheese and Mustard Co. Has Closed its Van Aken Outpost: "We’ve been so honored to serve you, through the great times and challenging ones."

- Comida in Hudson is closing.

Related

Comida spread

Comida in Hudson to Close After Sept. 30: "Thank you for being a part of this journey with us."

But!

- Rockfish Land and Seafood in Aurora is now open.

Related

Cioppino entree at Rockfish Land and Seafood

Now Open: Rockfish Land and Seafood in Aurora: "The response has been overwhelmingly positive."

- The Red Lantern has yet another life.

Related

Now Open: Red Lantern Japanese Cuisine in Kamm's Corners

Now Open: Red Lantern Japanese Cuisine in Kamm's Corners: The owners also operate the nearby Dragon Towers Chinese restaurant.

- Crepes 'n' Crisps is coming to Upper Chester.

Related

Opening this week

Crepes 'n' Crisps to Offer Belgian Street Foods in Upper Chester: "We are going back to the early McDonald's days when they fried in beef tallow."

- And these places have built cult-like followings for a reason.

Slideshow

22 Northeast Ohio Restaurants With Cult-Like Followings

SwensonsMultiple Locations Swensons. Few other words can stir the appetites of an entire region like this one. Nostalgia runs deep when it comes to the first Swensons experience, but it's more than fond memories that keep people pulling up and flipping their headlights on for a Galley Boy and potato teezers. It's why Swensons is a Northeast Ohio tradition unlike any other.

Szechuan Gourmet1735 East 36th St., Cleveland Chasing that tingling, addictive, and delightfully painful feeling of Sichuan peppercorns, Clevelanders rely on Szechuan Gourmet for cumin beef, three pepper chicken, mapo tofu and what feels like hundreds of other options on the menu. A diner here could order by throwing darts at the menu and still build the Szechuan feast of his or her dreams. Open since just 2012, there's a reason it's already built a legion of fans.

Big Al’s Diner 12600 Larchmere Blvd., ClevelandBig Al's has welcomed all — celebs, politicians, athletes, its neighbors in Hough and its neighbors in Shaker — with open arms and comfort food for the last three decades, building a reliable fanbase eager to introduce newbies to the joys of Al's. This Larchmere diner has all the comforting favorites, like steaming soups, homemade mashed potatoes with gravy, open-faced roast beef sandwiches and chocolate cake for dessert. For breakfast, served until the diner's late-afternoon closing time, the corned beef hash and sausage gravy over biscuits are the stars of the show.

Barabicu Smokehouse5767 Ridge Rd., Parma There's a reason this Parma barbecue spot is a regional favorite and slaps that "Sold Out" sign on the window so early in the day, and it's not just the maddeningly short hours it's open every week. The brisket, the cupcake chicken, the ribs and assorted sides are that good. Head down Ridge Rd. and cross your fingers, you might just become one of the converts.

Cleveland Bagel/Bialy's/NubeigelThere aren't any bagel wars in Cleveland, but if there were, the supporters of the old-school, new-school and even newer-school establishments would line up to fight. Whether you call your everything bagel a mish-mosh, get the schmear on the side, or can barely get in the car before diving in, Northeast Ohio has its favorites when it comes to this breakfast staple. We'll take a dozen if you don't mind.

Balaton8564 Washington St., Chesterland When Balaton opened a half-century ago on Buckeye Road, the primary language spoken in the dining room was Hungarian. But word of the modest restaurant's remarkable goulash, Wiener schnitzel, and paprikash wriggled out, at first to the immediate neighborhood, and later to the city and region as a whole. Balaton was in Shaker Square for over 20 years and moved to Chesterland in 2022 and kept their loyal following the whole time.

Superior Pho3030 Superior Ave., Cleveland Because pho is an essential part of a balanced diet, not to mention one's sanity, noodle shops like this one hold a very important place in our lives. Winter or summer, a bowl of pho is more than food; it's a restorative elixir that sets us on a brighter path. The pho is so tasty here, you'll heaer customers say they refuse to have a bowl anywhere else, as this was where they were introduced to the dish and where they have found it perfected in Cleveland.

Click to View 22 slides

About The Author

Vince Grzegorek

Vince Grzegorek on Twitter

Email Vince Grzegorek

Vince Grzegorek has been with Scene since 2007 and editor-in-chief since 2012. He previously worked at Discount Drug Mart and Texas Roadhouse.

Scroll to read more Food News articles

Newsletters

Join Cleveland Scene Newsletters

Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.

Also in Food & Drink

Market Garden Launches Heart Cider This Friday

By Vince Grzegorek

Landing this weekend

Digital Issue

September 20, 2023

View more issues