Aladdin's Eatery

After the show last night, we went with some friends to Aladdin's Eatery.  I thought this was a chain local to Cleveland, but they have branches all the way in North Caroline and Pennsylvania.  Aladdin's Eatery features Lebanese cuisine with multiple healthy, vegetarian, and vegan offerings.  Oh, and they have an extensive list of cakes, baklava, and cheesecakes available.   Pictured above is the falafel appetizer.

This was the baba appetizer.  It's basically a hummus made from eggplant.  Very good on the pita bread there.

I ordered an appetizer for my meal because it was late at night (the branch we went to closed at 11 pm) and I wasn't sure how hungry I was.   This was the Fatayer. a spinach pie with feta cheese.   I saved half of it to eat later.

I think this was the hummus chicken plate.

Steve had the spicy kafta rolled pita.  It consists of, "ground lean beef mixed with onions, parsley, herbs and spices, and then char-grilled topped with tomato, onion, Aladdin's hot sauce, and Tahini Yogurt dressing, rolled in a pita."  He also saved half for later.

Lastly, I had to get cassata cake to go.   I had it for breakfast this morning.  It was light, fluffy, and very fruity.  

I'm going to call this 6 meals between everything we ordered.

The Original Pancake House

Today we had a little time to have a meal between activities, so we stopped in at the Original Pancake House.  I had driven by the restaurant, but never gone before.   The hours are pretty strange, only from 7:30 to 2 or 3 in the afternoon.   We told the wait staff that we had someplace to be and they actually got us out of the restaurant with time to spare!

Pictured above are the banana pancakes we split.   The order had 8 pancakes, so we each had 4.  Nice mild banana flavor and not excessively sweet.

The pancakes were served with tropical syrup (the orange liquid on the right) as well as butter and standard maple syrup.   My husband really liked the tropical syrup. which we were told contained a blend of orange and lemon juices and sugar.   I liked the maple syrup best.

At the waitress's suggestion, we ordered a side of "the best bacon in Cleveland."   There were originally 4 pieces on the plate, but we each took one before I remembered to take the photo.  Thick cut and very tasty.

The menu at the Original Pancake House is pretty extensive.  Many of the egg dishes come with 3 pancakes!   This is definitely the type of place where you'd want to split your meal with a friend or take it home for later.  I can't wait to go again!

Waffle House

After a long day of shopping, we decided to stop by at the Waffle House.  We don't usually get to stop in unless we're seeing family.  The food service is fast and the food is tasty.  Pictured above is one of their classic waffles.

I actually ordered from the value menu.  I wasn't very hungry, so I had the waffle with hash browns, served with a drink.  The menu item is actually a bowl of grits, but you're allowed to substitute for the hash browns.  I also had them add cheese and mushrooms for a little bit more.   The menu calls this hash browns, scattered, covered, and capped.

My husband felt like ordering a salad, so he had the Chicken Apple Pecan salad. 

Breakfast is always tasty, and it's great that the Waffle House serves it twenty-four hours a day.  I have fond memories of going to the chain when my family drove to Florida when I was a kid.   I'm glad we decided to eat there tonight.

Benihana

Today we went out to Benihana with family.  We had never gone before.  Admittedly, sushi is one of my favorite things to eat.   My husband was also curious about the chain because it was heavily mentioned in Chuck, the television series.  Apparently, one of the main characters has a dream to be a chef at Benihana's.  We saw it at the mall, and we just had to go.

We just happened to arrive during Happy Hour.  I thought Happy Hour only happened on weekdays.  The rolls we ordered were about half price due to the Happy Hour specials. 

The picture above is a Dragon Roll.

Here are some California Rolls.

The tray above is a Rainbow Roll.  The other one is the Crunchy Shrimp Roll.

I also ordered a Salmon Hand Roll.

The prices were extremely reasonable.  I highly recommend going during Happy Hour, which goes until 5 pm on Saturday.

Danny Boy's Pizza

At the recommendation by a friend, we went out to Danny Boy's Pizza last night.  We went at about 6:30 on a Friday night, and we only had to wait 10 minutes.  However, we heard people in line being told there was a 30 minute wait after we we already seated.  I guess we got in just before the dinner rush started.

We ordered the Chicago pizza and added mushrooms to it.  The pizza is a deep dish pizza with sausage.

The pizza pictured above is a large, which has 8 slices.  The small has 6 slices.

Most times when I've had a sausage pizza, the sausage is little crumbles sprinkled all across the surface of the pie.   Danny Boy's pizza uses a whole sausage patty that crosses the pizza from end to end.  As you can see above, it is right above the layer of cheese.

These slices are really heavy and filling.   One slice for a person is plenty.  Each of us had one and split a third, leaving 5 servings for later.

The pizza was really tasty and you get a lot of food for your money.  As I write this, I am having a reheated slice.  It reheats well.  I would definitely go back again.  Next time I want to try their pasta and dessert.

Maggiano's Little Italy

Tonight after the show, we went to Maggiano's for dinner.  They have Italian cuisine with extremely generous portions.  The waiter was not shy at all about suggesting that my husband and I split an entree.  They even have this deal in which if you order one of their classic pastas, they give you another one boxed up to take home.  Apparently, the take out meal is cooked for less time, that way when you reheat it at home it turns out better.

Pictured above was Maggiano's current featured appetizer, Pepperoni Fondue.  It was cheesy with just a hint of spiciness, and the bread was crunchy and delicious. 

Our entree was Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia.  It was served on a bed of rice with spinach, tomatoes, sage, and capers.   It had a nice flavor.  It was almost the right amount of food for the two of us.  There was just a little leftover we could have taken home, but I didn't want it to sit in the car without refrigeration.  Between the appetizer and the entree, we didn't have room for dessert.