Post-Grad Food Critics: MoCa--Edgewater, Cleveland (Clifton Blvd) [$]

Venturing our shortest distance yet, we drove up the street to MoCa cafe. Grace had mentioned she wanted to go there since seeing pictures of the food her friends have enjoyed while there, and Shannon had always meant to go back to MoCa for food after getting coffee on several occasions. We read over the chalkboard menu and ordered our lunches at the counter. The man who took our orders was the only person working at the time, and was also the man Shannon had bought coffee from a while ago. We assume that he is the owner or manager, although at times he seemed a little frazzled and looked like he could have used another helper. There were only a few people in MoCa when we got there, two sitting and working on their laptops, and a man sitting at the counter. After placing our orders, we grabbed our water glasses and took a seat inside to enjoy the cool atmosphere, but sat by the window to look outside.
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Shannon:

I have not visited MoCa for probably a little more than a year now, the last time I went having been before I graduated college. I would stop in before leaving Lakewood to head back to campus to do homework. On those occasions I remember also ordering gigantic "black and white" (or half and half) cookies from the display case. These were positively the best black and white cookies I had ever tasted. The cookie itself was soft like a thin layer of cake, and the frosting was amply applied. During those visits I remember noticing the menu and meaning to stop in for lunch, so I was glad when Grace suggested this for this week's outing.

Glancing over the menu, which was written in colorful chalk on a wall painted in chalkboard paint, I was slightly disappointed that I only had one lunch option. There was a three cheese grilled cheese sandwich under the sandwiches part of the menu, and though I thoroughly enjoy grilled cheese, I do like having several options as well. Right off the bat I knew what I would be ordering, as the process of elimination simplified this. The menu said sandwiches came with our choice of a side, so I sidled up the counter to ask what my choices were. The man replied pasta salad, couscous, coleslaw, or a bag of chips. I mused over these briefly, but my love of couscous dictated I order that side. He asked what I'd like to drink, and once I said water, he grabbed a glass tumbler and filled it with ice water and slid it across the counter. My glass was clear emerald green with lime green flowers printed all over it. It was very 1960s-70s, and I wondered if it had come from Flower Child, down the street. Deeply admiring how cheerful it was, I made a note to keep an eye out for one I could keep for myself.

About ten minutes later, our food was brought over to us on square plastic plates. My plate was black, which my sandwich, couscous, and silverware were all neatly set upon. The plate reminded me of something that would be used in a cafeteria, prior to Styrofoam, again speculating that it was a Flower Child acquirement. My couscous was sitting in a cute little pale yellow glass bowl, same as Grace's except hers was blue. I tasted this first to find the chilled couscous dressed in an Italian-like dressing that had a bite to it. Later as I ventured deeper into the bowl of couscous, I found their were several diced red onions dispersed throughout, which seemed to be a part of the dressing. Couscous is perhaps my favorite semolina, and I have honestly had few couscous dishes that I have not enjoyed. MoCa's couscous salad has now been added to the list.

Turning my attention to my sandwich, I lifted one half and had to employ my fork in separating the immense amount of melted cheese that spread out between the halves. I took a bite and was in cheesy heaven. The cheeses on the sandwich were provolone, Amish baby eyed Swiss, and Havarti. The menu said the sandwich was on 9 grain bread, which I am certain mine was not on, considering it was identical to the one Grace's sandwich came on, called Italian bread. No matter, the sandwich was divine and had the perfect amount of cheese. My favorite cheese are white cheeses, so this mixture was superb and quite filling. After polishing off both halves I returned to gobble up the rest of my couscous, so once I laid my fork down I was very well fed.

I would definitely suggest stopping in at MoCa if you have not already. They have a generous drink menu, ice cream, pastries, teas, and breakfast before noon. It's a great place to grab a bite or sit and read or do work.
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Grace:

Having a friend on Facebook who posts pictures while working a shift at MoCa can be a little saliva-inducing. I learned after seeing the menu online and the chalkboard menus, that this person probably just creates certain concoctions for herself--like I do with smoothies all the time! I also learned that when you Google MoCa, the new Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland inevitably pops up, so I recommend adding the word "coffee" or "cafe" to the end to get a more accurate search. I really like the MoCa meaning, or slogan--"More than Caffeine." That slogan definitely rings true throughout the establishment, seeing as they have many food options (not really for vegetarians, though), works of art for sale and ice cream!

While looking at the chalkboard, I was having trouble deciding between at least three things: the Turkey Sandwich, the Grilled Cheese (which I figured Shannon would get), and the Lemon Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich. I noticed that online they had featured a Hummus Sandwich, which I figured would be good for Shannon, but when we got there it wasn't on the chalkboard so I figured it didn't exist as an option for that day. I finally reached my decision after some more deliberation and went with the Turkey Sandwich. There was not a list of sides on the chalkboard menu, so we did have to ask the man working there. I chose couscous, like Shannon.

The Turkey Sandwich was really good! Included on the sandwich were Amish country bacon and chipotle jack cheese, all on Italian bread. As stated before, I think the man working there tried to pass off my Italian bread as Shannon's multi-grain bread because they looked exactly the same. Perhaps it was the result of his overwhelmed state, and he simply forgot. Thinking about my sandwich now, I want one right now! It had the perfect amount of sliced turkey, and the cheese definitely had a kick to it! I kept calling the black bits on my bread pepper, which also gave the sandwich a kick, but Shannon said she thought it was from the grill. All I know is that the sandwich as a whole was spicier than I thought it would be, but that it was so unbelievably good! The couscous that Shannon and I both ordered was tri-colored and drenched in a sort of Italian dressing that had some remnants of something spicy that we couldn't quite put our fingers on.

The cost of the sandwich and couscous was about $9 and some change. It was a really great value because I was completely satisfied after my visit. It was really fun to (hypothetically) pick out the art work that we liked best for our apartments that don't exist yet. I will definitely be back to MoCa for another meal, and definitely some ice cream or coffee! I just wish I had routinely woken up a little earlier a few years ago and found the time to stop in before all of my journeys to the east side for college! At least I know now that MoCa is open late and right around the corner--so, no excuses anymore! :)
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