Articles touting Cleveland’s best restaurants usually sing the praises of high-end places that not many locals can afford. But USA Today recognized some of the restaurants Scene staffers actually go to, in a piece titled “Cleveland restaurants put a new spin on comfort food.”
The list of five establishments is a cross-section of Cleveland old and new. It includes the venerable Sokolowksi’s University Inn in Tremont, whose Eastern European food and elderly clientele offer a whiff of Cleveland’s immigrant history; the young and funky Melt Bar and Grilled in Lakewood, which attracts a rock ’n’ roll crowd for its variety of cheap and creative grilled cheese sandwiches; Tremont’s Prosperity Social Club, with its neighborly blue-collar ambiance and comfort food done with gourmet finesse; Zachary Bruell’s new L’Albatros Brasserie in University Circle, a great place to go for dessert or a snack after a play or orchestra concert, as well as for dinner (the photo at right is of L'Albatros' hangar steak and frites); and the list’s most expensive option and the one that’s gotten the most national press: Lola on E. 4th, owned by Cleveland’s now world-famous Iron Chef Michael Symon. — Anastasia Pantsios
