BREAKFAST: Jack Flaps

Jack Flaps is a new and totally hip breakfast place in Ohio City. Ohio City is a very cool part of Cleveland and I was very eager to try out a place with such a weird name.

While tiny, we waited less than ten minutes. There were seven people ahead of us. Not bad for a Sunday. This place has the vibe of a Brooklyn, NY restaurant and I totally love it.

I ordered the red velvet waffle -- which I expected would be sweet. But I thought it was perfectly balanced & decadent. Exactly what red velvet is. The coffee was delicious & my cup was never even half empty. The vegetable root hash was beyond delicious.

The entire menu is sweet, decadent, and not your average greasy dish. This is not your average breakfast spot and I would recommend anyone that doesn't like sweetness to stay away.
They serve the coffee in to go cups. Which I loved because I was able to get a cup for the road. Plus the coffee was really good. The service is great and really everything was amazing.

Oh, and from 1 pm till close the pancakes are only $5. Which is a pretty sweet deal.

Visit Jack Flaps:
website: on facebook
location: 3900 Lorain Ave.
Cleveland, Ohio 44113

hours: everyday, 7-3

COFFEE: Bent Tree

Okay, so I'm stepping outside of Akron to bring you the best coffee in Northeast Ohio. Okay, maybe that's slightly an overstatement because there's a LOT of coffee I haven't tried in Cleveland. But between Akron, Kent, and surrounding areas -- this is it.

Bent Tree locally roasts their own beans. Which means if you enter their establishment, you will be overwhelmed with the best smell in the entire world: fresh roasted coffee beans. It's heaven. The place isn't meant for hanging out. Though their is a window bar seat if you feel inclined.

Bent Tree, however, roasts over sixteen different blends at any time. All of which are of the highest quality. This is the only place I will buy bags of coffee and much to my surprise, the prices are excellent for fresh and local beans. Each roast has an information card in front of them for extra information. I absolutely love this because they are thorough.

The workers are passionate about coffee, hilarious, and helpful. I rarely pick out my own coffee because they are so excellent at guessing what I'll like and they are NEVER wrong. They also sell individual cups if you want to taste test in store. They do pour overs -- a hand pour method and maybe one or two other methods. Please do NOT pass this up. There's nothing like a pour over. Seriously. Remember that. "There's nothing like a pour over!" It's the absolute best way to brew coffee to bring out all the rich flavors and undertones.

In addition to this, Bent Tree sells cold brew single serves and coffee brewing systems. Cold brew is a method of brewing iced coffee that preserves the flavors without making it bitter with the ice. It's delicious. Bent Tree sells pour overs, chemex's and other various coffee nerd things. This is wonderful because they sell all of their products more or less at cost. You won't find better prices online or elsewhere.

The moral of the story? Bent Tree is the best coffee of all time and you need to experience a pour over at LEAST once in your life. Starbuck's does NOT count. In fact, a pour over at Starbuck's is the complete opposite of good.

Visit Bent Tree:
website: benttreecoffee.com
hours: Monday-Friday
7am -- 5 pm
location: 313 N. Water Street

BREAKFAST: Flury's

Flury's looks like an old school made-for-television diner. The decor is retro and it's REALLY tiny. It's overly hot in the summer and ice cold in the winter. The coffee cups are also tiny and require non-stop refills. But all of this is part of the undeniable charm.

Flurry's is tucked away in a residential part of Cuyahoga Falls. They only accept cash and are closed on Sunday's. But if you are lucky enough to stumble upon this place with cash in your wallet, you better stop here for year round pumpkin pancakes. Seriously. YEAR ROUND PUMPKIN and it's really delicious. Their french toast is pretty simple, but it's out of this world too.

For such a itty bitty dive, the food here is top notch. It blends the gap between Fred's and Blue Door.

Visit Flury's:
website: flurryscafe.com
hours: Monday-Saturday
7:00 am - 3:00 pm
address: 1300 Sacket Ave
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 4422

COFFEE: Caffe Italiano

This is a brand new coffee shop that opened up on the Tallmadge Circle. It's a strange place for a modern coffee shop, but my parents live in Tallmadge so I'm very pleased to have an option other than Dunkin Donuts. I was a little skeptical that it would ever open because the sign was up for about ten months.

Anyways, the shop is tiny, but there is a window bar for those that want to hang out -- which I always do. The menu was handcrafted by a former Starbuck's barista, Taylor who is now the manager of the establishment. He spent a lot of time making this a coffee shop that not only survives, but one that thrives in a non-typical location.

They use Bent Tree Roaster's beans. Which are locally roasted in Kent. This is some of the best coffee around, so there's no surprise that the coffee here is top notch.

Plus they serve gelato! Owner Lynette Ward said, "There's no gelato places around, and we thought that would be a great addition to Tallmadge to have something that really nobody did,"

Photo c/o Caffe Italiano's facebook

Visit:
website: Facebook
phone number: (330) 351-0193
address: 14 Tallmadge Circle, Tallmadge, Ohio 44278
hours: 6:00 am - 9:00 pm

MEXICAN: Nuevo

Nuevo is a brand new Mexican joint in downtown Akron. It's centrally located near the main stretch of the city and the University. It has the vibe of an upscale restaurant and the prices to match. This is not your typical Mexican restaurant. It feels more like a knock-off of the high end places in Ohio City. If this place seems intriguing to you, do yourself a favor and drive to Momocho's. You won't regret that.

When my friend and I walked in the door the hostess was not very kind to us because we didn't have a reservation. Her exact words (with a grimace), "So, uh, we could give you a table, but there's a group of people who thought ahead and reserved a table for 6:15 so if I give you this seat, you must be finished by then," It was almost 5:00 p.m. This is not a big deal of course, but the place was empty. There were about six tables in the main sitting area without any guests. I guess since they're trying to be high end and classy they expect people to make reservations the day before.

They also do NOT give chips and salsa. This is kind of a big deal for a Mexican restaurant. I know that it's Mod Mexican. Which is slightly different. I ordered a gourmet guacamole -- almond, goat cheese, and cinnamon, and it was incredible, but for $6, I would expect enough to finish the basket of chips. Alas I was wrong!

The food came out very quickly, was quite pretty, and okay tasting. I ordered the vegetable burrito. Which had smoked tofu & cheese. On the side was rice, salsa, and black beans. The rice was REALLY gross. It was rock hard and sticky. The tofu, however, was made to perfection and with the salsa + black beans added the burrito was pretty good. For $9, I definitely expected a more decadent tasting dish, but it wasn't bad.

Essentially, I like the idea of this place and I think the food is pretty okay, but I definitely don't think it lives up to the anticipation.

Visit Nuevo: website: nuevomodmex.com
address: 54 EAST MILL ST.
AKRON, OH 44308
Hours: M-T -- 10-10
Thursday-Saturday -- 11-11
Closed Sundays

BREAKFAST: Fred's Diner

Oh Fred's. Fred's is the seedy breakfast joint that everyone secretly loves, but nobody talks about. It's the place that looks like a run down trailer. The place that when you walk in, the air is thick with old grease and cigarette staleness -- even if smoking was never permitted inside. It's the breakfast place straight out of television shows.

With that said, this dive of a spot is PERFECT. It's the greasy and ridiculously cheap breakfast of your hungover dreams. This is the kind of place that you'll wait awhile for the day after a drinking holiday. It's the kind of place worth waiting for because the portions are huge and the bills are cheap.

There's a lot of debate over this place. See the Yelp reviews, but the general consensus is the same: weird decor, cheap food, yes, please.

Visit Fred's
website: fredsdiner.net
Phone number: 330-535-FRED
Hours: 6 am-3pm
Address: 930 home ave
Akron, Ohio

Photo c/o Fred's website

ICE CREAM: Mary Coyle

Mary Coyle is an Akron staple. If you've ever spent time in Highland Square, you're probably familiar with the owner. He runs around outside yelling at people with a huge floppy chef hat on. He's quite hilarious.

Mary Coyle is the best local ice cream in Akron. The shop looks like an old school ice cream parlor. The sundaes come in adorable metal cups and everything is handmade. They also have delicious chocolates. If you like peanut butter, do yourself a favor and get the peanut butter syrup on your sundae.

Mary Coyle also has food, but I can't vouch for its quality as I've only gone for the ice cream. This place has all of the old school charm and the amazing ice cream to back it up.

Visit Mary Coyle:
Address: 780 W Market St, Akron, OH 44303
Phone number: (330) 253-1511
Hours: 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Photo found on a Google Search