I'm one of those people that you see taking pictures of their food. Restaurant food, takeout, food I attempt to cook. What do I do with all these random pictures of food? I upload them to my Instagram page.
Below you'll find my list and examples of the places with the best meal deals here in Cleveland.
1. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse’s Thursday Night Special — North Olmstead, OH
In North Olmstead there sits a place called BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. Before I found out about this restaurant, the only BJ's I knew was the Wholesale Club. My ex girlfriend found out about this place and grabbed me after work one Thursday night to partake in the Thursday Night Special they have.
Half a rack of pork ribs, two sides (I always pick fries for my two sides!), caesar salad, dessert, and unlimited fountain drinks — all for only $18.99 instead of the usual $25.99.
This restaurant is als unique in that it they make their own beer and pizzas. Service is always excellent, and they’re so upscale that they don't use napkins — they use tablecloths!
BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse is located at 25779 Brookpark Road, North Olmsted 44070.
2. Steak N Shake’s Weekend Brunch — Cleveland, OH
Whenever a shopping trip to Walmart in Steelyard is planned, my best friend and I always stop at Steak N Shake to have a bite to eat first.
The service is pretty good, and depending on our server, we can get an extra buddy popping in at the table sporadically instead of our waiter/tress popping in.
Here you see my favorite meal, Frisco Melt, and fries, with bottomless fountain drinks for about less than $10. Depending on how hungry I am, sometimes I add chicken fingers and fries to that meal or a hot dog and fries to it and all together it will still come to less than $15.
Besides their REALLY good fries, Steak N Shake also mails out coupons that are good for two to three months to all households in the area. It's not unusual to see a lot of people clipping coupons at one time in the restaurant. Children eat free on weekends, so there's also always lots of families eating there all hours of the day.
The Steak N Shake I frequent is at 3294 Steelyard Drive, Cleveland, Ohio 44109.
3. Red Robin’s Unique Burgers — North Olmstead, OH
I first found out about Red Robin quite a few years ago through friends of acquaintances I have. Red Robin is famous for their freckled lemonades and their humongously stuffed burgers.
The Royal Red Robin Burger is good, but their Mac N Cheese Burger is the one I always go to. It comes with bottomless fries, and bottomless freckled lemonades. This place is a bit pricey though; burger and fry meals here start at $9. Sometimes you can luck out and get a burger and fry combo for $6.99.
The Red Robin I go to is at 4949 Great Northern Blvd, North Olmstead 44070.
4. Denny’s Homestyle Awesomeness — formerly in Lakewood, OH
There are Denny's all around, but the one on W. 150th is not good at all. The service is severly lacking, flies are always in there, and they frequently messed up orders. A few years ago, that particular Denny's was a great spot to go to, and the food and service was excellent. Now that its not that way anymore, it was time to find a new Denny's to go to.
A Denny's opened right on W. 140th and Detroit Avenue in Lakewood. It seemed a strange spot to put a Denny's, but it thrived there. It was quaint and secluded which made it more of a diamond in the rough. Ugh — I'm REALLY sad its not there anymore!
Featured here is a picture of a particular feast I enjoyed there one morning: blueberry pancakes with strawberry, banana, and whipped cream toppings, a fruit bowl, scambled eggs, sausage, and some milk.
Its closed now but the Denny's I frequented was next door to the GetGo gas station on W.140th and Detroit Avenue, Lakewood, Ohio 44107.
5. Red Lobster’s Continuous Seafood — North Olmstead, OH
I'm sure everyone is familiar with the endless shrimp promotion that Red Lobster runs every fall. Endless shrimp meals, endless biscuits, a side, a salad, and bottomless soft drinks for $15.99.
I'm not a big seafood fan in general, but Red Lobster does make great popcorn shrimp and fried shrimp. I first tried shrimp alfredo at a Red Lobster some years ago and haven't stopped eating it since. Above you see my favorite combo to get during the endless shrimp promotion: shrimp alfredo, popcorn shrimp, fries, caesar salad, biscuits, and lemonade.
The Red Lobster I don't have a problem with is at 25615 Brookpark Road, North Olmsted, 44070.
6. Liquid Fresh Planet’s Uniquely Healthy Combos — Cleveland, OH
I don't go to Liquid Planet often because its a bit pricey, but the unique combinations of foods they make there is worth it.
The last time I was there I got grilled cheese on pita bread, celery sticks with peanut butter dip, and an oatmeal apple cinnamon smoothie. Yeah — their smoothies are a HUGE crowd pleaser.
Liquid Fresh Planet is located at 11002 Clifton Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44102.
7. Applebee’s Friendly Neighborhood Grill — Cleveland, OH
A Saturday night isn't complete for me unless a trip to Applebee's is involved. The staff are always nice, there's hardly ever a wait, and the food is always excellent.
Pictured above is spinach artichoke dip, mozarella sticks, honey barbeque boneless wings, fries, and lemonade.
Applebee's is located at 3401 Steelyard Drive, Cleveland, Ohio 44109.
8. T.G.I. Fridays Ends The Week Right — Brooklyn, OH
I don't get why the food seems to taste better at T.G.I. Fridays on Friday nights but it just does! As the commercial says though, everyday feels like a Friday at T.G.I. Fridays.
I first started going to T.G.I. Fridays in high school because one of our friends and her brother worked there on the weekends.
I get the same meal at T.G.I. Fridays that I get at Applebee's, but T.G.I. Fridays makes these really good cheesy potato skins with bacon on top. The mozarella sticks they make are bigger and shaped like rectangles which makes them uniquely good to me.
T.G.I. Fridays is located at 10320 Cascade Crossing, Brooklyn, Ohio 44114.
So there's my list of the yummiest local foods on my Instagram account. If these places aren't on your list, maybe you should consider adding them. Local places offering good food at affordable prices are treasures everyone should look for.
Now rarely will I frequent establishments that are not chain restaurants, so that's why the majority of this list are places the masses are familiar with hearing about. I don't think negatively of popular restaurants the way a lot of other people tend to do. I find tasty affordable foods on the menu and roll with it!
In addition to other random or chain restaurants I go to, I travel to Columbus fairly often, so there's also food pictures from different spots there. To see all these pictures and more on my Instagram, follow me @Kimberly_Latrice.
