West Side Market Cafe--Ohio City, Cleveland (Lorain Ave.) [$]

In lieu of the reopening of the West Side Market, we decided we should stop in to check it out and grab a bite.  Unfortunately our lunch days being either Tuesdays or Thursdays meant we would grab a bite when the Market was not open.  After deliberating if we should reschedule to visit on either a Monday or Wednesday, we decided to go ahead and dine there, and plan to later visit on a Market day.  We found the free parking lot for Market patrons and rushed into the café from the cold.

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Shannon:

The idea to visit the Market after reopening was my sister’s idea, which I thought was brilliant.  Having told Grace the week prior, we were all set to go and wander around, though neither of us was privy to its schedule until the day before.  After looking at the menu online and finding delicious options, we decided we would go anyway.  We did peer through the connecting doors to see that the Market looked good as new.  If only we could have made our way through there too!  There’s always next time.

We sat in a booth under a huge black and white print of the Market from a few years back.  The walls were covered in photos from different decades and points of view.  Smiling customers immortalized in newsprint from the 20s-to the present were framed all around us.  The pride and history of the establishment was tangible.  After prying my eyes from the walls and focusing on my menu, I located what I had originally planned on getting, the Wild Mushroom Grilled Cheese.  After going over our options, we both decided on getting appetizers and a sandwich.  I decided to double up on mushrooms and ordered the Tempura Shiitake Mushrooms for my appetizer.  Along with the grilled cheese I asked for the sweet potato tater tots instead of the regular fries.

Our appetizers arrived swiftly after ordering, and we both devoured them greedily.  The mushrooms were lightly breaded and fried so the outside was a fluffy and crispy pillow holding the sumptuous shiitake mushroom inside.  The mushrooms were resting on a bed of sliced scallions that added a fresh and cool component to the warmth.   The accompanying dipping sauce was out of this world!  The sweet and spicy chili sauce complimented the hearty mushrooms perfectly, and after the mushrooms were gone I even kept the sauce to use with my tater tots.  Our sandwiches arrived when we were close to finishing our appetizers.  My grilled cheese was made with rosemary bread, making my heart flutter, as rosemary is my absolute favorite seasoning.  The mixture of American, Swiss, and provolone cheeses paired with several varieties of wild mushrooms was complimented by freshly ground mustard seeds.  The melted cheese held everything together beautifully and upon finishing I wished there was another half to devour.  The sandwiches also came with a little stack of homemade dill pickles.  Grace and I decided that there was a taste reminiscent of pine trees, which does sound strange, but was a pleasant addition to the expectant dill flavors.  The sweet potato tater tots were bright orange and a wonderful rendition of a sweet potato side that I have never had before.  If given the option I will order the sweet potato fries, so I was intrigued to try sweet potato tater tots.  I was not disappointed!  The chili sauce tasted wonderfully with the tater tots, as I suspected.  I have a suspicion everything would taste amazing with that sauce, since once I finished what I could eat of the tater tots, I used my fork to eat up the rest of the sauce.

The West Side Market Café has so many delicious looking and original options.  Next time I hope to go on a Market day, so I can work my lunch off by walking around the Market.  This place definitely deserves to be visited whether or not it is in conjunction with visiting the Market!

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Grace:

Like Shannon so eloquently put, the West Side Market Café boasted its accomplishments and hometown pride.  We were both pretty starving, so we began our outing by ordering an appetizer each.  I ordered the Shrimp Tacos, and afterwards, laughed when I saw the chef come out in pajama pants that had a whole bunch of mushrooms on them.  It was pretty wild to see that, and made me realize the West Side Market Café is a place one can go to relax and take a breather. My plate of two shrimp tacos came at the same time as Shannon’s mushrooms, and we (instantaneously and simultaneously) delved into the delectable dishes before us.

My shrimp tacos were in a simple hard shell, and filled with cold, unseasoned shrimp with onions and a slaw mix of carrots, cilantro, and cabbage.  This simple appetizer was pretty great. The tacos definitely made me do the “taco head tilt” that is so well-known. The hard shell did a fantastic job of holding the taco components together and nothing really came out and onto the plate whenever I took a bite.

Currently a pescetarian, I ordered the Tuna Melt for my meal. Our main dishes came when we only had a few bites left of our appetizers. The tuna melt was fabulous! It was a simple sandwich with tuna salad on this really crunchy bread chock full of whole grains. Like the taco shell, it held the sandwich together nicely and, only a few times, did I found myself picking my fork up for the remnants on the plate. Since Shannon got the sweet potato tots, she offered me one and I couldn’t refuse. It was really interesting and we both commented on the fact we haven’t seen anything like it anywhere. My fries were also pretty simple, and nothing special, but then again, I’m not that big on fries anymore. I just didn’t want to pay extra to substitute something because, well…struggling post grad here! My student loans kick in this week, actually, so yay! I ate the entire tuna melt and since I had already gotten the tacos, I just had to leave a fair amount of fries on my plate for the waitress to take away at the end.

The West Side Market Café had a few other good options for me to choose from, so I am sure I will try them when we eventually stop in after a day at the Market! 

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Outside West Side Market Cafe

Door to the Market

Bar area

More seating

Picture above our table

Shrimp tacos

Tempura Shiitake Mushrooms

Tuna Melt and Salt and Pepper chips

Wild Mushroom Grilled Cheese and Sweet Potato Tater Tots

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Lunch at the West Side Market Cafe was superb.  The waiting staff was extremely friendly and the food was delicious.  Stop in any day of the week to eat at the cafe, or a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday to visit the Market and grab a bite to eat!