Stuartblog2

Just like last year, I’ve added all the Beard award nominees to my restaurant map. I added 14 categories which includes 71 nominations. The map you see includes 68 restaurants. I think the discrepancy is a result of individual restaurants earning multiple nominations. I didn’t double check. Categories I omitted include best restaurateur, best service, best wine, best wine and liquor professional…. I included all the regional categories, outstanding chef, outstanding restaurant and rising star. I was going to tell you how many restaurants were carried over from 2008 but Tagzania failed at giving me that answer and I don’t want to count by hand. Over course of entering these restaurants, I got the impression that the number of restaurants that carried over was high. In fact, I think every regional category had either three or four repeaters.

beard2008 tagged map by user - Tagzania

Didn’t Esquire already cheer some restaurant from Cleveland recently? Anyway, they’ve done it again. There’s no better place than Esquire for hard hitting sandwich journalism. Esquire’s recent rundown of the best sandwiches in America includes many of the usual suspects - po’ boys, jibaritos, cubanos, banh mis and such recognizable purveyors as Al’s #1, Zingerman’s, Katz’s, Guy Savoy, Bouchon, John’s Roast Pork, Primati’s, etc. . . But the list also includes three contenders from Cleveland, Ohio. Slyman’s inclusion should be no surprise to anyone after they were featured on $40 a Day. I was pleased to see The Beachland Ballroom recognized for their “trailer park monte cristo.” Our third honoree was Freddie’s Rib House for their Polish Boy.

It wasn’t entirely clear who was responsible for compiling the list and specifically who might have been responsible for choosing Cleveland’s representatives. I like to think of myself as pretty wired-in to the restaurant scene in Cleveland and I’d never heard of Freddie’s. And it’s not like I haven’t enjoyed my fair share of Polish Boys. I recommend Hot Sauce Williams for what it’s worth. And, for those concerned, Esquire met their legal obligation of mentioning Michael Symon in every Cleveland food article in a national media outlet. Iron Chef Michael Symon contributed a recipe for a pancetta and egg sandwich. Finally, just to prove that they’re cool like that, they included the McRib.

The Best Sandwiches in America. Esquire.com.

They accept recommendations at editor@esquire.com. I’d start with this one from my very own kitchen:

Besides that and the aforementioned Hot Sauce Williams Polish Boy, if I were to recommend sandwiches in Cleveland I might start with some of these:

1. Presto. Everything is good. Sandwiches, soups, sides. I wish it were closer.
2. Superior Pho. A very good banh mi.
3. Ferrara’s. Good cold cut and sausage and peppers subs. I used to make some substitutions when I ordered to get a sandwich that I really preferred but it’s been so long that I can’t remember.
4. Appetite. My experience there was mixed but I admire their dedication to fresh, from-scratch cooking. I really want them to do well. I had some good, house-made roast beef and now I understand they’re making more of their meats in house.
5. La Bodega. I meant to explore the large and interesting menu but while I’ve always been satisfied I was never wowed. Still, I hope to return.