Best Of CLE: Martha On The Fly's Cornmeal Fries

Inspired by the cooking of his paternal grandmother, Martha on the Fly chef Ryan Beck packs his family legacy into every bite.

by Dillon Stewart | Sep. 28, 2021 | 11:00 AM

Courtesy Martha on the Fly

Courtesy Martha on the Fly

Martha on the Fly chef Ryan Beck fell in love with breakfast on his grandparents’ farm near Tiffin, Ohio. The pastoral cooking of his grandmother Martha inspired his elevated, downhome breakfast concept, which pops up each weekend at Good Company in Battery Park, but his great grandmother served as the inspiration for one of the restaurant’s signature dishes: Karleen’s Cornmeal Fries ($6).

The starchy side gets its sweet, creamy center from locally sourced cornmeal, which is mixed with butter, cream cheese, citrus and miso before undergoing a 24-hour path to the deep fryer. With more than 100 orders per day, the fries often sell out. Dunk one in Martha’s Sunshine Sauce, a hollandaise-indebted take on teppanyaki Japanese egg yolk sauce, and you’ll understand why.

“Martha is all about showcasing that style of service and honoring those recipes and food memories from my grandparents and great-grandparents,” says Beck. “But we wanted to make it unique.” 1200 W. 76th St., Cleveland, 844-474-3568, marthaonthefly.com

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Dillon Stewart

Dillon Stewart is the editor of Cleveland Magazine. He studied web and magazine writing at Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and got his start as a Cleveland Magazine intern. His mission is to bring the storytelling, voice, beauty and quality of legacy print magazines into the digital age. He's always hungry for a great story about life in Northeast Ohio and beyond.

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