CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tired of trying to get in to those trendier-than-thou boite-and-bottle shops? Fed up with finagling for seats at the latest poutine emporium, Hawaiian poke cafe or shimmering new steak palace? Well, it’s good to recollect from time to time that there are many more dining options out there than the go-anywhere scramble for a new culinary high. So let’s start with a familiar, sometimes overlooked, category, the “neighborhood restaurant,”‘ specifically Great Scott Tavern in Euclid.
It’s not as old as the usual classic neighborhood eatery. The building was originally a post office, and most recently an office building, before being reinvented as the eponymous tavern by owner Janet Scott in June, 2015. Opening a restaurant was on her bucket list and it lined up with the need for Euclid “to have a real neighborhood restaurant” according to General Manager, Bob Edwardsen.
It’s the kind of place where, during two visits, the airy mid-century styled dining room was busy enough, but the bar room always seemed full of the comfort and bonhomie that exists when a group of regulars from the neighborhood check in almost nightly.
That comfort extends to the younger crowd as well. Children are welcome with a section of their own on the menu, replete with kiddy classics: hamburgers, chicken tenders, mac & cheese, et al. Meals come with fries and good-old-fashioned apple sauce (all $7) and a very patient waitstaff.
As for the grown-ups….well, honestly, there’s nothing that extraordinarily great about Great Scott Tavern’s food right now. I’m told it’s a menu in transition, and could factor that in. But it’s been a menu in transition at least since last summer (several months after they lost their first executive chef, Greenhouse Tavern alumnus Michael Keyerleber, who had created a solid well-considered menu and kitchen before he left). That’s when we first tried to review the restaurant, but decided to wait and give the place a chance to reorganize. Oh well.
The menu now is simpler and a little less expensive. The cherry wood-fired Grilled Ribeye Steak ($24) is still tender and juicy. Perhaps not quite as flamboyantly thick and buttery rich as before, but it still comes with duck fat frites, that don’t look quite like the earlier hand-cut fries, but are still have that ineffable unctuous and luxurious crunch.
There was a more delicate deliberate crust on the crab-rich Crab Cakes ($12), the delicate brine of the crab creamily enhanced by a bright citrus remoulade and the kitchen still turns out plump, silky, steamed Mussels & Frites ($10) with another opportunity to eat those fries, this time doused in fish broth and dunked in a lemon garlic-spiked aioli.
The Great Scott Tavern Chicken Noodle Soup ($5) still hits all the comforting notes of a really good winter soup, chockfull of meaty chicken, nourishing vegetables in a stocky broth redolent of everything good and nurturing.
A few other things do not fare so well. A pedestrian Caesar Salad ($8) with a wan dressing and uninteresting baguette rounds was garnished with tasteless capers…a seeming oxymoron until these unfortunately proved their existence.
In the promising well-priced section of comfort foods, the two we chose were unfortunately not that comforting. The Fresh Beer Battered Cod ($18) were perhaps the two largest cod fritters of all time. Bigger than a Chipotle burrito, the fish was good, alas, the coating was limp, damp and unpleasant. There was no help for the Beef Shank ($14). What should have been a tender, succulent, flavor-drenched piece of meat was instead tough, dry and not very comforting. We took some consolation from the creamy well-rendered roasted garlic risotto.
The menu seems to be turning to a more ethnic Eastern European theme. It should work well, if the Old World Plate ($18) is any indication. Three sausages from Raddell’s Sausage Shop, spicy Hungarian, thyme-scented Slovenian and nicely-flavored Polish, grilled til almost crisp, are served with bacon-spiked house sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. The menu said “smashed,”but maybe an s got dropped somewhere along the line. Nevertheless, it’s a combo platter with a nice balance and good authentic flavors.
No need to stress about sugar intake here. The desserts are unfortunately uniformly unfortunate. I’ll not salt the wound by going into detail about the gummy stale-tasting cheesecake, institutional quality Chocolate Layer Cake, or generally mushiness of the Apple Pie (all $8), but management should be aware that inferior ice cream and artificial whipped topping do not disguise the sins of whoever is supplying these desserts.
The waitstaff is friendly and charming. Neighborhood restaurants are usually strong on interpersonal relations, relatively attentive and intermittently clueless. We went mano a mano over a menu item with a waiter until he picked up the offending document and read for himself that he was mistaken. And when a manager stopped by one night to see how we were doing, I wasn’t sure if he was clueless or careless when he ambled away after a cursory conversation, leaving half-filled water and soda glasses unattended to and a stack of dirty dishes untouched.
There’s a new chef in the kitchen now, Kevin Adamowicz,, whose credits are many and varied, including a stint at the long ago and much beloved That Place on Bellflower, which hopefully bodes well for the future. With some new inspiration, consideration, talent and determination, he could make Great Scott Tavern great again.
TASTE BITES
Great Scott Tavern
Where: 21801 Lakeshore Boulevard, Euclid, OH 44123
Call: 216-417-3019
Online: greatscotttavern.com
Hours: 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Prices: First Courses $5- $15; Classic Comfort Food $12-$18; Main Courses $9-$25;
Desserts $8.
Reservations: accepted.
Credit Cards: all major cards.
Kid-friendliness: exceptionally welcoming, the $7 kid’s meal menu features small-fry favorites: burgers, chicken tenders, mac & cheese and more.
Bar Service: full friendly bar service.
Accessibility: ramp at entrance and full access in restaurant, limited in bar area due to steps.
Grade: **
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