Everything is in place for the perfect hangout sesh at your go-to bar: The music. The vibe. The craft beer and cocktails. The stale pretzels? While Cleveland’s dining scene is full of fun, inventive and tasty restaurant menus, sometimes we just want to drink with friends and keep our food options fluid. Luckily, things are trending delicious as some of our favorite booze-first spots are crafting better bar food menus with chefy, simple takes. Late last year, Ohio City’s Porco Lounge partnered with Cork & Cleaver Social Kitchen’s Brian Okin and Adam Bostwick to create Polpetta at Porco, which offers up shareable meatballs such as a pork and veal version ($14) served over creamy polenta with a Parmesan cream sauce. Lakewood’s Yuzu ladles up slurp-tastic bowls of ramen ($7.50-$9.50) in varieties such as savory pork belly and vegetarian alongside its crafty cocktails. At Jukebox, where its house-made pierogies ($7) have been topping our charts, owner Alex Budin started offering more options such as a burger ($9) using ingredients from the West Side Market. The result is casual fare that lets us sip and chill.
Bar Methods
Our favorite booze-first spots are crafting better bar food menus.
