Review: Addy's Restaurant, Cleveland, OH

In downtown Cleveland, OH, near the city hall and federal buildings, and not far from the trendy places to eat, is a little family-owned diner.  Addy's Restaurant (99 St. Claire Ave NE, Cleveland, OH) may seem out of place near the Crowne Plaza and Ritz-Carlton and other high-end hotels and establishments, but it has been going strong for 6 years, and the people who work in the area know about it and will keep going back.

As soon as you walk in, you get the "mom and pop diner" feel.  There are several tables, and plenty of room between them.  i was quickly greeted by a waitress/hostess (who happened to be the daughter of the owner), was given a table, and a young man (her brother) quickly came and returned with coffee.  The coffee was not a dark roast, but this is not the kind of place you go if you want fancy coffee.

The breakfast menu is simple and brief -- various combinations of eggs, breakfast meats, hotcakes, etc...all standard breakfast fare.  The short menu may be in part due to the fact that orders are written down only for the servers; they are given only verbally to the cook.  I found this remarkably refreshing. W hile the orders were not passed back to the kitchen using any kind of colorful shorthand that you might see on old TV shows or movies, it was still entertaining to watch.

I ordered the "Grand Slam" breakfast -- 2 hotcakes, 2 eggs (scrambled, in my case), meat (bacon), and homefries.  The food came in a reasonable amount of time, not fast but not dawdling, but I saw that there was some minor work being finished up in the kitchen at the time.  I observed that other tables got food quickly, so I blame the very slight wait on the adjustments being made in the kitchen.

The food came, and it was a nice, big breakfast without being overwhelmingly big.  There was no offer of real maple syrup; the only offering was a corn syrup.  The food was generally undersalted, which is good from my point of view, since it lets me add as I like.  The eggs did not appear "pre-scrambled" from a large batch, there were streaks of white in them, and they were not overcooked in the slightest.  The bacon was perfectly crisped and flat from the use of a heavy and old-fashioned bacon press.  The potatoes were the weakest link, being a little bland for my taste.

Addy's has been in this location for 6 years, but this family has owned establishments at this address for almost 30.  The decor is simple and does not show that this is a long-time establishment.  Noise is not an issue; even as the room filled up, it was not appreciably loud.

The price was astonishingly low:  $6.98 for the breakfast and coffee.  This is the kind of place that makes its money by keeping things simple, getting food out quickly, and having a regular customer base.

All in all, if you're in the downtown Cleveland area and aren't in a "foody" mood, I'd strongly recommend Addy's Restaurant.  However, if you are looking for exquisite food, this would not be the place to go.  The service is friendly and fairly efficient, the food is simple and cheap, though a little tasteless in the case of the potatoes.  The price, though cannot easily be beat for a downtown establishment.

OVERALL RATING:  7.5 out of 10