Heck's Cafe--Ohio City (Bridge Ave.) [$$$]

Last lunch we decided we should venture east of Lakewood, since we've visited several locations westward.  It was Shannon's turn to choose, so having looked for a few cool places, she landed on Heck's cafe.  We parked on a side street a few streets away from the cafe, and we strolled along looking at the amazing houses on our way.  We entered and were seated in a jiffy.  There was a fairly large lunch crowd that thinned out as we ate.  The room we were seated in reminded us of a greenhouse.  There was an ornate spiral staircase lined with flower pots with various flowers and plants.  We mulled over the drink menu in great length, and shortly after decided upon our meals.  The service was impeccable and checked up on us extremely regularly.  Our drinks came and shortly after, so did our food!
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Shannon:
When I was researching restaurants in Ohio City, Hecks Cafe's website featured pictures of the room we were seated in today.  I was so excited because this was a big factor in my choice.  The staircase is so beautiful and the light streams in from above.  It's so light and airy and green, but also very warm.  We decided to get cocktails, which proved to be a difficult task in choosing.  I went back and forth between the Cucumber Smash and what I eventually ordered, the Apple Pie Martini.  I've recently been dabbling in mixed drinks, and thought this sounded exciting.  I was however disappointed that the cinnamon flavor was so overpowering that it burned my throat.  I watered it down a bit, which helped, but it just wasn't my drink of choice.  Next time I'll definitely go for the cucumber option, for a more neutral palate.

Choosing my meal was much easier when I saw there was falafel on the menu.  I ordered the Falafel burger, which came with tahini-lemon sauce and tomato relish on a wheat bun, accompanied by Hecks fries.  The wait for our food was relatively short, and as soon as I cut the sandwich in half for easier eating, I found myself enjoying the best falafel I think I've ever had.  It was absolutely divine.  The tahini-lemon gave it zest, the cool tomatoes sublimely blended with the crisp fried outside of the patty, the toasted wheat bun brought it all together for an out of this world experience.  I would otherwise have taken some home, but I really needed to eat it all right then and there.  Afterwards I ate a few fries, which were fried to brown and crispy perfection.  Although the sandwich was very filling, so I took most of the fries home with me.

Hecks Cafe was spectacular.  I would love to go back and try their other vegetarian options.  I would also like to sit in some of the warmer colored rooms, or see what the greenhouse room looks like at night.  I would definitely recommend this restaurant, especially if you're visiting on a warmer day than today.  Grace and I fell in love with so many houses in the area, so it would have been nice to stroll around a bit more if it wasn't so frigid.  I think I'll probably dream about that sandwich tonight.
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Grace:
I had been to Hecks Cafe a few times during my childhood, so I was pretty excited when Shannon mentioned she was thinking about going there. When I was little, I would order a burger at every single restaurant I went to, so I figured I'd conjure up my old ways and order one today. After looking over the drink menu with Shannon, I finally decided to order the Cherry Explosion, which was a combination of cherry vodka, champagne, and 7-UP. There was a single cherry placed in the glass, and the bubbles were enjoyable. I finally picked the Ohio City Burger, which was a 1/2 pound burger "grilled with herbs of all nations" with a slice of mozzarella cheese.

The burger was really juicy and plump. Since the Ohio City Burger is only $1.50 more than the Heckburger, I'm glad I chose the burger with a little more flare! I haven't had a good burger in a long time because my boyfriend is obsessed with fast food and I'm basically pressured into having that crap all the time. Since Hecks has won so many awards for their burgers (and I had forgotten the excellence from 10 years ago), I was really excited about this burger. The lettuce and tomato were incredibly fresh and the patty was placed on a toasted and fluffy brioche bun. Shannon and I both ate our pickles first and we seemed to be giving our sandwiches the extent of our attention. I gave Shannon my left over fries because I knew for a fact I would forget about them and that my mom would bug me to get them out of the fridge.

Hecks was lovely in atmosphere and very pleasing to my eyes, belly, and taste buds. I will definitely be coming back here soon. Hopefully I can talk to my boyfriend into a healthier and tastier alternative to his beloved Big Mac.
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Cherry Explosion and Apple Pie Martini

Bar area

Ohio City Burger

Falafel Burger

Stained glass light fixture

Greenhouse Effect (haha)

Spiral Staircase

Outside Hecks Cafe

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Hecks was a satisfying, extremely satiating and gratifying, not to mention lovely place to dine!  Go on a warm day and walk some of your meal off on the surrounding streets, or grab a beer across the way at Great Lakes Brewery.  There's a lot of neat places around Hecks, and it will definitely be frequented by us!  They certainly deserve all their awards!