The South Side--Tremont, Cleveland (W. 11th St.) [$$]

On this blistering cold spring day, we journeyed to Tremont for our highly anticipated lunch.  Going basically the same route that we took for our trip to Fat Cats, we were already familiar with the area of our destination.  After finding a close parking spot, we walked toward the tall brick building with huge front windows.  Once we were nearer to the front we noticed the repeating decals of "The South Side" along the far right of the windows.  We entered into a bustling lunch crowd.  The hostess asked if we wanted to be seated at a high top by the bar or in the other room, to which she pointed to a side enclosed porch.  We opted for the porch, in attempts to pretend it's nice outside and be surrounded by windows.  We were very surprised how warm this room was considering most of the windows were sliding doors.  The opposite walls were brick, like the outside, and there was a great wooden fireplace and two plasma TVs.  The hostess told us we could sit anywhere we wanted, so we weaved to the back corner to the table with our names on it.
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Grace:

Once we chose our seats, the hostess gave us two menus--intricate booklets with leather covers and the pages tethered together by screws. I immediately flipped through it, and we had previously discussed how we were up for a little day drinking, so I searched for a good cocktail. I chose the "Lil 'Early'...Taste of Summer" cocktail that was concocted of Stoli Oranj vodka, Muddled Lemon, Simple Syrup, and soda water. I expected my cocktail to be the color orange, but was surprised to see it looked exactly like my water glass. I really didn't want to get the two drinks confused and end up accidentally chugging my cocktail if my meal was spicy! Luckily, that didn't end up happening, and I kept the two drinks on either side of the top of my plate. I spritzed some lemon juice from a slice hanging on the rim of the cocktail glass, and it made it taste...well, even more summery. I'm not one to opt for citric beverages (even though I work at a smoothie place) but this is the first week of spring and I was feeling a bit anticipatory for summer.

I was deciding between multiple items featured on the menu, such as the vegetable patty (which I figured Shannon would get) and the pizza pot pie with mushrooms and onions. My eyes kept going back to the blackened tilapia sandwich, and I'm glad that is what I chose, because whenever I have tilapia at home, my mom always prepares it the exact same way every single time. It was nice to have tilapia with a different flare. The sandwich consisted of shaved romaine, red onion, tomato, monterey jack cheese, and citrus aioli. The contents of the sandwich were placed on a hoagie ciabatta roll. Whenever a sandwich has raw onion, I usually end up taking it off and placing it on the plate, but this time I only took off a few and kept the rest on. Instead of the chips the sandwich came with, I got a side Caesar salad for an extra two dollars. When I finished my sandwich, my fork made its way to the salad and I was pleasantly surprised by the anchovy-style Caesar dressing. The parmesan cheese didn't seem that fresh, however, because it was a little hard, but it was still very good. I even told Shannon I wanted more.

When we got up to leave, I noticed the one plasma TV by the entrance way into the porch room and the fact that it legitimately had a frame around it. I thought that was a nice touch and it was a way of integrating art and technology. As if every scene on that television, whether it be a basketball game or a commercial, created a new "painting" with each fleeting moment. Anyways, I digress--I just thought it was cool. I cannot wait to come back to The South Side and sit on either the porch or patio when it is finally nice outside. I loved this place and I can't wait to try more menu items when I'm eating red meat again! :)
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Shannon:

Since Grace had an interview on Tuesday and we postponed lunch until today, I was very excited to go on our weekly outing at last.  Having already checked out the online menu, I had an idea of what to expect from The South Side, however I was surprised we had not already visited this restaurant since I have researched Tremont several times for another great place to go.  Once we arrived, I was particularly taken with the very tall windows in the front.  It gave this very welcome and open feeling to the place, along with letting in a lot of natural light.  We entered into a bar area with high top seats and bar seating.  The ceiling was lined with golden-brown shaded hanging lights that cast a nice warmth onto the dark wooden tables.  Having told the hostess we wanted to sit in the adjacent room, she brought us to the adjacent room which was separated by a door, presumably to keep the higher blasting heat in the enclosed porch.  I had seen the table I wanted to sit at when she originally pointed to the room; it was a table in the corner of two walls of windows.  Once seated, there was a patio area outside to my right.  There were chairs stacked under snow piles and pushed against a back brick wall that painted and repainted over due to weathering.  Behind me was a pathway from the front of the restaurant that culminated in an archway between two high hedges.  Both Grace and I longingly talked of sitting outside upon our next visit, weather permitting.

Grace and I had decided ahead of time that we would be having a drink with lunch today.  We ruminated over the cocktail menu for quite some time, and I finally selected the Afternoon Delight, which consisted of Stoli Strasberi Vodka, a splash of lemonade and soda, pineapple juice and strawberry puree, fresh lime, served in a tall glass.  The strawberry puree was what really sold me in the description, and once I got to try it I was certainly delighted.  It was a fruity mixture that was not overpoweringly sweet and the puree gave it a lovely fading pink tinge.  After ordering and receiving our drinks we gave the entree menus our full attention.  My choices were between the Vegetable Patty sandwich and the Portobello wrap.  I ultimately decided on the Vegetable Patty because I wanted a burger more than a wrap, as well as having portobello fairly often.  The Vegetable Patty comprised of roast vegetables, black beans spinach, bean sprouts, topped with sun-dried tomato spread on a challah bun.  This all sounded delicious, however the portobello wrap had basil aioli, which sounded divine, so when I ordered I asked for this on the side.  I chose to have fries instead of kettle chips, and our orders were on their way.

When my sandwich arrived it was very captivating.  The plate was assembled very aesthetically; patty on half the bun and the other half piled high with spinach and bean sprouts.  Fries taking up the other side of the plate, sprinkled with coarse grain salt, and finished off with a bright green pickle, all placed upon a bright white plate.  I noticed the waitress took my order of the aioli to mean I did not also want the tomato spread, but once I tasted the aioli I was no longer disappointed.  The basil was so poignant and the spread was perfectly creamy, I immediately spread this onto my vegetable patty.  The patty was black bean based with chopped vegetables, the most prominent being corn.  Each bite contained different tastes and each one was just as amazing as the next.  The fries were golden and crispy, just how I prefer them.  The waitress said they were house-made, and they were certainly an outstanding accompaniment to my sandwich.  I was glad I asked for the aioli on the side, since I figured the two ounce cup was a larger portion than would have been spread on the bun.  I applied aioli to each bite much like I planned to use the ketchup I put on my plate.  I stratigically ate half the patty, finished off most of the fries, and saved the rest of the sandwich for last.  There was not a speck of aioli left when I was done.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at The South Side.  I cannot wait to go back and sip Afternoon Delights on the patio and soak up the sun.  The staff was extremely friendly and the atmosphere and decor was incredibly cool.  Check this place out, immediately if you can!
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Outside The South Side

Window decals

Behind the bar

Bar and front seating area

Door from porch room to main room

Menu

Afternoon Delight and Taste of Summer

Blackened Tilapia and Caesar salad

Vegetable Patty and fries

Patio area

Porch seating

TV and fireplace

Front window seating

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The South Side was perfect for lunch, but we imagine it would be perfect for any occasion.  The patio beckons to us, but this place let us feel we were outside with its walls of windows.  For those who are dying to be hit by the sun's rays and eat some delicious food, check this place out!