Fried Bologna, Hot Dogs and Jibaritos in Cleveland

After stuffing myself a couple months ago with Corned Beef, Hungarian Food and Polish Boys in Cleveland I was looking forward to a return visit. Last week Pigmon and I made a short visit, in town barely 24 hours.

Cleveland is not only corned beef and Polish boys, no sir!. We stopped for lunch at Lola, Cleveland's hottest restaurant, to order their most popular dish.





Yep, that's a fried bologna sandwich. But not just any fried bologna sandwich. House-made bologna, pickles and muffin, flavorful cheddar, beautiful egg and excellent fries. A terrific sandwich and the rest of the meal—charcuterie plate, beef cheek pierogi, beet salad and hanger steak with chick peas—wasn't too shabby either.

After lunch we toured the West Side Market looking at meat (and the meat was looking at us).



Easter (Orthodox) was coming up so there were plenty of lambs.





We decided to visit Velvet Tango Room, a well-regarded cocktail lounge.



I'm not exaggerating when I say this might be the best bar I've ever been to. More in another thread, I hope.

Our stop at Velvet Tango Room was much longer than anticipated so many restaurants were closed by the time we left. I'd been hoping to visit Cleveland's late-night hot dog counters and this was the perfect opportunity. Leaving Velvet Tango Room we asked which of two famous hot dog places was recommended. "Would you rather get shot or knifed?" came the reply. We went to both.

Steve's Lunch is about as perfect a late-night diner as you're likely to find.



Perfect except for the food, that is.



In theory there's nothing wrong with chili-slaw dogs but the execution just wasn't there. The sausages were uninteresting and not very well cooked (warmed, not crisped) and the chili was barely more than unseasoned ground beef. I give high marks to the house-made slaw however.



This tasted just as good as it looks. I can hardly imagine tackling this chow without a belly full of booze. Still, under the circumstances, the whole package was hard to beat.

Old Fashion Hot Dogs bears an uncanny resemblance to Steve's except the hot dogs are significantly better.







The sausages were crisp from the griddle and the chili was nicely seasoned. I'm not sure I see another chili-kraut dog in my future however. Both Steve's and Old Fashion are most excellent after-bar destinations. Either one alone would be a treasure but it's amazing to find a matched pair about a mile apart.

Then on to Freddie's Rib House for a late night snack of an Arkansas-style tamale, pork shoulder sandwich (meat, sauce and slaw on Wonder) and, of course, a Polish boy.



Next morning, back at the Market, we decided to try Johnny Hot Dog, Cleveland's oldest purveyor of wieners.





They make a truly fine specimen with a wonderful crisp snap.



The story of the jibarito, a Puerto Rican sandwich invented in Chicago, has been well documented. In her talk a couple weeks ago at the Chicago History Museum, Monica Eng mentioned the jibarito had made its way to Cleveland. We tracked it down at Rincon Criollo.







A textbook jibarito and perhaps the least greasy version I've encountered. When asked about the sandwich, the young Puerto Rican woman behind the counter explained it was common on the Island, without any mention of Chicago.

I'm already planning my next visit to Cleveland.

Lola
2058 E 4th St
Cleveland OH
216-621-5652

West Side Market
W 25th St & Lorain Av
Cleveland OH
Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat only!

Velvet Tango Room
2095 Colombus Rd
Cleveland OH
216-241-8869

Steve's Lunch
5004 Lorain Av
Cleveland OH
216-961-1460

Old Fashion Hot Dogs
4008 Lorain Av
Cleveland OH
216-631-4460

Johnny Hot Dog
1979 W 25th St #A-1 (in West Side Market)
Cleveland OH
216-696-6834

Freddie's Rib House
1430 St Clair Av
Cleveland OH
216-575-1750

Rincon Criollo
6504 Detroit Av
Cleveland OH
216-939-0992

ReneG,

Another great report! I've got to say, I was ready to close my browser in disgust after looking at the first two hot dogs in your post, but Johnny Hot Dog saved the day. Out of the three you posted, that's the only one I would consider seeking out.

A friend and life-long San Juan resident (except for the time he was in the US for college) was in town recently. I introduced him to the jibarito; he had never heard of it. His claim that the sandwich is unknown in PR does not exclude the possibility that the the sandwich is actually commonplace there, but I have my doubts.

Rene,
Thanks for the post. Always great to see hometown pics--especially the rather hilarious one of the two somewhat past teenage-year ladies fiddling with their respective cellphones, though, for all I know, you and Pigmon handed them your own phones as a gesture of goodwill.
One question--how was the beef cheek pierogi?

-parker

Next time you are in C town looking for late night eats - go to Bar Cento (right across the street from the West Side Market) - they serve until 2am, 7nights a week. Chef Jonathon Sawyer learned the business working for Michael Symon, and now turns out some of the best pizza in Cleveland, together with a small and inexpensive, yet locally sourced and tasty menu with comfort food and a few cool twists.

Glad you loved the Tango Room - it's a Cleveland treasure.

"Would you rather get shot or knifed?" came the reply. We went to both.

Classic!

Was that Paulius who made the shot or stabbed comment? He is a Cleveland treasure!

Your pics are terrific as always, but the one of the Polish Boy is especially good since it gives everyone a pretty good idea of how the thing tastes, and the mess involved. I'm sorry I missed this trip, but I don't think I could have kept up with you and Pigmon!

stevez wrote:I've got to say, I was ready to close my browser in disgust after looking at the first two hot dogs in your post, but Johnny Hot Dog saved the day.

Johnny Hot Dog was the best of the three but Old Fashion wasn't bad at all. A well-griddled hot dog can be a wonderful thing, and almost impossible to find in Chicago.

JeffB wrote:A friend and life-long San Juan resident (except for the time he was in the US for college) was in town recently. I introduced him to the jibarito; he had never heard of it. His claim that the sandwich is unknown in PR does not exclude the possibility that the the sandwich is actually commonplace there, but I have my doubts.

I think you're right. I have no special knowledge of the situation but my understanding is that the jibarito (a Chicago invention) has made its way to Puerto Rico but isn't very common there. I should have added a couple more sentences to my original post. The woman who said the jibarito was common in PR was quite young. Perhaps she saw the sandwich there during visits and assumed it to be more common than it is. Or maybe she's just repeating a made-up story that makes the jibarito sound more exotic and appealing. We didn't pursue the matter with her.

ParkerS wrote:One question--how was the beef cheek pierogi?

This is one of Michael Symon's signature dishes.



Two large pierogi well-stuffed with braised beef cheeks come sauced with beef demi-glace, horseradish crème fraiche and sautéed mushrooms. They were awfully good but might have been even better had they been fried to crispness. These things are over-the-top rich and a little goes a long way.

NancyEsq wrote:Next time you are in C town looking for late night eats - go to Bar Cento (right across the street from the West Side Market) - they serve until 2am, 7nights a week.

Thanks, that could be useful for a future trip. I was aware of Bar Cento but didn't realize it's open that late. Sounds like a good place but I don't at all regret going to Steve's and Old Fashion.

NancyEsq wrote:Was that Paulius who made the shot or stabbed comment? He is a Cleveland treasure!

Yes, Paulius. Great guy.

Josephine wrote:Your pics are terrific as always, but the one of the Polish Boy is especially good since it gives everyone a pretty good idea of how the thing tastes, and the mess involved. I'm sorry I missed this trip, but I don't think I could have kept up with you and Pigmon!

Speaking of messes, you should try Freddie's pork shoulder sandwich. The thing is served on Wonder bread so it pretty much disintegrates before the first bite. It's not world-class barbecue but I enjoyed it.

There are two more places at the West Side Market that deserve a mention.

Inside the market, there is a couple of stands located in one of the four corners that serves bratwurst and Italian sausages that are quite excellent.

Also, there is a Puerto Rican restaurant adjacent to the market called Lozado's The goat stew, served with rice and beans has always been excellent and reasonably priced.

Fried Bologna Update

It's about 30 miles away in northwest Akron, but Swensons serves a pretty good quarter-pound fried bologna on a toasted bun. They're best known for their burgers (since 1934) but I'm told the bologna is a big seller too.



A real bargain at $2.45, less than one-fourth the price of Lola's version. Next time, I'll order it well done, maybe even topped with Coney sauce.

Hot Dog Update

After a session at Velvet Tango Room, Pigmon and I made another late-night visit to Old Fashion Hot Dog.



This time we kept it simple and left the slaw and kraut off our chili dogs.



Hot tip: you can get a ladle of Coney sauce added to your chili for a mere 25 cents extra.



Hotter tip: the chili is not good, even with the Coney option, so it's better to skip it altogether.

stevez wrote:I was ready to close my browser in disgust after looking at the first two hot dogs in your post, but Johnny Hot Dog saved the day.

Johnny Hot Dog to the rescue once again!





They serve a truly excellent hot dog. Living in Chicago, one can forget how good a well-griddled wiener, simply dressed, can be.

Swensons (seven locations)
40 S Hawkins Av (original location)
Akron OH
330-864-8416

Old Fashion Hot Dogs
4008 Lorain Av
Cleveland OH
216-631-4460

Johnny Hot Dog
in West Side Market
1979 W 25th St #A-1
Cleveland OH
216-696-6834