The Great Lakes Brewing Company was our first dining destination. We enjoy handcrafted beer, and we also like to dine outside, so this microbrewery was ideal. We did not expect great service or great food, but we did expect great beer.
Lucky for us, we got all three! We sampled several beers (Holy Moses, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Eliot Ness, and another I cannot recall), and they were all very tasty and very distinct from one another. The evening was a tad warm, so it was nice to have cold beer to aid the cooling breeze.
Our waiter was superb. He never stated he was "our server" (which immediately annoys me), and I believe that his name was Jack or John or some other J name. Anyway, he was there when you needed something, but never when you didn't. None of the "how is everything" in two minute intervals. He was also very candid about what he liked (the scallops) and what he didn't (no need to clutter my brain remembering bad food). Jack/John/J was also very helpful in telling us about the area, where to be sure to go as well as where not to waste much time.
The food was superb. We started with Walleye bites, which were tender and juicy, very fresh, and the batter was light and crisp. Our salads followed, and these were top-notch. The greens were crisp and cool, nothing limp here, and the house dressing (based on their Porter beer) was a knockout. The waiter stated they are thinking of bottling it--they definitely should. For our main courses we got scallops on rosemary skewers and chicken rolled in Dijon mustard and breaded with crushed pretzels. The chicken was very good, but the scallops were otherworldly. Perfectly seared, they were like butter on the inside. I could have eaten about 50 of them. Dessert was beer, and that was enough.
When we told several locals where we ate, they were a bit skeptical. We heard a great deal of "we don't recommend people eat there usually". But the waiter (before we heard any of this) said that they had recently hired a new chef. Well, he or she really knows how to cook, so we recommend that visitors and locals alike give this place a serious look.
Prior to our meal, we had biked around parts of downtown, and we were pleasantly surprised at how close everything was to our B&B. Jacobs Field, Gund Arena, the Flats and the water were all within 15 minutes on a bike. Jacobs Field was particularly cool; note the field is below ground level.
Crossing the Lorain Avenue bridge to get downtown, we encountered these amazing statues. As always, just click on them to see a bigger version of the picture.
(full statue picture--note wagon)
(close up--note truck)
We suspect that most people pass these everyday and give them little thought, but when you live in a city with very few statues like we do, you appreciate these works of art. Continue on for more artwork in downtown Cleveland.