Muldoon's Salooon and Eatery on East 185th Street in Cleveland, Ohio
Oh My GOD!!! You all are going to have to sit down while you read this, not that many people read things on their computers while standing, but you know what the hell I mean. I think I finally found a place that actually has all of the things a service industry/restaurant should have and all at the same time. I am happily shocked that it came from such a non-descript place as Muldoon's. Truthfully the only thing I have ever thought of the place was that is was a great place to be on St. Patty's Day, and I think I was there sometime in the early 1980s when 3.2 beer was still available, though it WAS St. Pat's so I could easily be mistaken. Regardless, this is the place to go. I will tell you all more about it in the next day or so, but I just wanted to get this down right away, and to our server, Cindi, thanks for catering to us so well. You said just the right things at just the right time and seemed genuine without being condescending, well maybe a little bit at the end, but in general, you were probably the best server I have had since beginning this blog three years ago or so.
This makes two in a row, but, what the Hell, it is a new year after all, and, really, maybe some people actually DO know what they’re doing? It’s a stretch, but it’s possible, right?
Anyway, one of my protégés and I, the most promising I might add, had just completed some inspections and as is always the case, we decided to get something to eat. We happened to be in the 185th street area, therefore I mentioned Muldoon’s. Since he has lived in the area for some time, he said that he had always wanted to go, so we did. We walked in from the south side of the building’s parking lot right into a portion of the dining room. The woman who was soon to be our server greeted us and told us she would “follow” us to wherever we wished to sit. We picked a booth in the section between the bar and the section through which we had entered.
From the outside, the place looks almost like any other cinderblock building, but the interior is very much the Americanized version of the Irish Pub. The beaten hardwood floors and many humorous drinking signs make it feel like you are in a far different place than that through which you have entered from the outside, but I digress. We were handed a menu with and extra piece of paper showing the specials. I found the menu very eclectic and happily interesting with varied fare from burgers to grouper including a large appetizer menu. (I know some of you have heard that many restaurants are serving Tilapia or other fish as Grouper so I pointedly asked whether or not the fish on the menu was truthfully Grouper. I was assured that, to our server’s knowledge, it actually was at least sold to the chef as such.)
I noticed an interesting looking thing that piqued my interest. Irish egg rolls. Can you imagine? Well, these guys did and they were something I could not pass up, even with my health kick of late. They were served cut diagonally in half with a soufflé cup of 1000 Island Dressing and over a bed of shredded lettuce. The lettuce should have been left off because, I am beginning to really detest the incredible waste that is propagated in the industry just for garnish, but it DID look good. The rolls themselves looked too imperfect to have come pre-made, though it is certainly possible. They contained a tasty mix of corned beef, Sauerkraut and Swiss cheese wrapped in an egg roll deep-fried to a golden brown.
After taking some time to peruse the menu, and still honestly not internalizing much of it, we made our decisions. D ordered the Ultimate Nachos and the Mighty Marty Warrior Burger, along with a side of fries for a cost of $2.25. Upon ordering, I thought it was ludicrous to pay extra for the fries, that was, of course, until I saw the burger. I ordered the Pan-fried, Lemon Pepper Grouper with fries rather than the steamed veggies. The nachos came out first and the plate was ENORMOUS. There was enough food on that plate for at least three people to have a meal not just an appetizer. It was a plate of nachos covered in a cheese sauce and other melted cheeses along with scallions, chopped tomatoes, sliced jalapenos, and chili, as well a two soufflé cups each of a nice mild but tasty salsa and sour cream.
The within another five minutes or so, out comes the entrees. As I already mentioned, the burger was quite large, in fact my protégé could not even get his big mouth around it, nothing personal my boy. My fish, though nothing to look at, was large enough to cover half the plate from end to end (a typical large dinner platter you see in most restaurants). D raved about the taste of his burger and I was thoroughly impressed with the taste of the Grouper, though I have to say it was overly “blackened” on the thinner edges. I have to complement the chef on his ability to season the fish with out taking away from its delicate flavor. D took more than half of the nachos home with him but we finished everything else. And at $36.35, I really think the price was quite decent. As you all know, I am not usually one to rave about a place, but these guys did everything just right. From the original greeting to the perfectly timed service to the genuine attitude of the server to the flavor of the food, I was happy with the experience from beginning to end. All I can say is: GO!!!
This makes two in a row, but, what the Hell, it is a new year after all, and, really, maybe some people actually DO know what they’re doing? It’s a stretch, but it’s possible, right?
Anyway, one of my protégés and I, the most promising I might add, had just completed some inspections and as is always the case, we decided to get something to eat. We happened to be in the 185th street area, therefore I mentioned Muldoon’s. Since he has lived in the area for some time, he said that he had always wanted to go, so we did. We walked in from the south side of the building’s parking lot right into a portion of the dining room. The woman who was soon to be our server greeted us and told us she would “follow” us to wherever we wished to sit. We picked a booth in the section between the bar and the section through which we had entered.
From the outside, the place looks almost like any other cinderblock building, but the interior is very much the Americanized version of the Irish Pub. The beaten hardwood floors and many humorous drinking signs make it feel like you are in a far different place than that through which you have entered from the outside, but I digress. We were handed a menu with and extra piece of paper showing the specials. I found the menu very eclectic and happily interesting with varied fare from burgers to grouper including a large appetizer menu. (I know some of you have heard that many restaurants are serving Tilapia or other fish as Grouper so I pointedly asked whether or not the fish on the menu was truthfully Grouper. I was assured that, to our server’s knowledge, it actually was at least sold to the chef as such.)
I noticed an interesting looking thing that piqued my interest. Irish egg rolls. Can you imagine? Well, these guys did and they were something I could not pass up, even with my health kick of late. They were served cut diagonally in half with a soufflé cup of 1000 Island Dressing and over a bed of shredded lettuce. The lettuce should have been left off because, I am beginning to really detest the incredible waste that is propagated in the industry just for garnish, but it DID look good. The rolls themselves looked too imperfect to have come pre-made, though it is certainly possible. They contained a tasty mix of corned beef, Sauerkraut and Swiss cheese wrapped in an egg roll deep-fried to a golden brown.
After taking some time to peruse the menu, and still honestly not internalizing much of it, we made our decisions. D ordered the Ultimate Nachos and the Mighty Marty Warrior Burger, along with a side of fries for a cost of $2.25. Upon ordering, I thought it was ludicrous to pay extra for the fries, that was, of course, until I saw the burger. I ordered the Pan-fried, Lemon Pepper Grouper with fries rather than the steamed veggies. The nachos came out first and the plate was ENORMOUS. There was enough food on that plate for at least three people to have a meal not just an appetizer. It was a plate of nachos covered in a cheese sauce and other melted cheeses along with scallions, chopped tomatoes, sliced jalapenos, and chili, as well a two soufflé cups each of a nice mild but tasty salsa and sour cream.
The within another five minutes or so, out comes the entrees. As I already mentioned, the burger was quite large, in fact my protégé could not even get his big mouth around it, nothing personal my boy. My fish, though nothing to look at, was large enough to cover half the plate from end to end (a typical large dinner platter you see in most restaurants). D raved about the taste of his burger and I was thoroughly impressed with the taste of the Grouper, though I have to say it was overly “blackened” on the thinner edges. I have to complement the chef on his ability to season the fish with out taking away from its delicate flavor. D took more than half of the nachos home with him but we finished everything else. And at $36.35, I really think the price was quite decent. As you all know, I am not usually one to rave about a place, but these guys did everything just right. From the original greeting to the perfectly timed service to the genuine attitude of the server to the flavor of the food, I was happy with the experience from beginning to end. All I can say is: GO!!!
posted by johnathan e at 3:37 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home