There are certain things in Cleveland that need a multimillion dollar renovation. Places like Hopkins Airport, the Lake Front, and even the old Coast Guard Station come to mind. Hopkins reminds some visitors of a bus station that allows air travel. The Lake Front is one of the most underutilized waterways in the country. The old Coast Guard Station looks like something out a Scooby Doo mystery cartoon. However there are places in Cleveland that do better without. If you put the Beachland against the House of Blues the Beachland wins on atmosphere alone. Pit the Spitfire against and it's steel cage match of a stage versus somewhere like a Savannah and the Spit leaves it a bloody mess.
The rock and roll I grew up with was never pretty and clean. Rock through the ages for that matter has been dirty and raw. Elvis was proof of that in the 50's, Metal in the 80's, grunge in the 90's, and the rebirth of Independent music in this decade. The polished stuff comes off as fake, and real fans or the connoisseurs, if you will, don't fall for the bullshit. Whenever I hear "Supergroup" it is guaranteed to suck. Over processed in music leads to catchy, campy teenage schlock. Over Processed in the realm of restaurants or venues is just as bad. It is actually kind of depressing to see an old landmark turn into an Applebee's clone. In an attempt to make it look like an old tavern they stock the walls with kitschy old photos, memorabilia, and even go so far as to age the wood to make it appear more rustic. It's a sham and most of the public is easily fleeced.
However there are still bars, nightclubs and restaurants in Cleveland that don't feel the need to make these multimillion dollar upgrades to become more like a Disney themed fun park than what they are. Opening any sort of watering hole is a huge risk. Certain areas of Cleveland have more bars and restaurants per square mile than churches. Yet over the past few years these spots have done just fine without the ginormous wads of cash thrown into them. The aforementioned Beachland and Spitfire come to mind in that regard. Who would have thought a concert venue outside of Collinwood would be going 10 years strong and be the catalyst for the rebirth of the Waterloo area? Who thought a punk rock dive like the Spitfire would drive a spike through the vein of a sleeping music genre? And so the Spitfire begate Now That's Class, and they begate even more small clubs on the west side of Cleveland.
The Happy Dog is another that only took a little spit shine, a unique simple menu and some live music and entertainment to turn it into a viable hipster option. Then there are places like Steve's Lunch and the Hot Dog Inn that essentially didn't do a damn thing and remain standing strong in a horrible economy. Some have not been able to capitalize though like the Phantasy or even have gone by the wayside like the Agora. The Agora however had a nice little shove into the depths of failure due to some bad business dealings with a certain less than scrupulous area promoter. Tremont is a home to many of these old style eateries. Sure they have some high end rehabs out there that work well in the area but they have places like the Lincoln Park Pub and Edison's. What they also have is a hidden gem on the outskirts of the Professor Avenue Tremont hub called Prosperity Social Club.
Prosperity Social Club was born from the ashes of the old Oasis. A tavern that got little to no traffic over the years because of the reputation of being a little on the dumpy side. I can honestly say I had never even went into it when it was the Oasis for that exact reason. Only after a few short years of taking it over Bonnie Flinner has lost the stigma of being a dump and taken on a new one. A much better one as a matter of fact. They serve incredible food, have an excellent beer and wine list and host local entertainment. The bar itself has undergone minimal upgrades since the days of the Oasis. It has the feel of an old German party hall with style. The bar and dining area have rich hardwood accents throughout. The bathrooms are reminiscent of a middle school faculty lounge. The walls are loaded with old school beer memorabilia that work well with the true rustic decor. The main room has a small stage for the mostly acoustic local and national acts to play. The smaller room to the back has retro lounge furniture, dining tables, a real old style bowling machine, a pool table and a tiki hut cabinet that is home to classic board games such as Battleship, Candy Land and a circa 1987 Cleveland Trivia game. Walk outside and you will find an amazingly spacious patio with picnic tables and retro lounge furniture. We are talking those old metal bouncy chairs mom and dad, grandma and grandpa had in the backyard. It's like walking into a time warp of sorts.
I went twice just to take it all in last week. The first was to check out a Canadian country outfit called the Silvertones that Happy Dog Opry DJ Clinton Holley turned me on to the night before. The second night was to check out for myself if the food was as good as everyone said. So Saturday was a night of live music, booze and debauchery then a nice meal Monday on the patio on a perfect Cleveland spring night. Saturday the band was tight. They were a little three piece outfit that did some rockabilly light with a hint of alt-country. All in all a nice double set of some covers and originals that wasn't too loud to not be able to hold a conversation and not to quiet that you couldn't pay attention to the music if you wanted to. I can't call them great because Cleveland has an amazing Americana scene going on now with bands that absolutely blow me away. Beer selection was excellent. They have a few taps with some micros and a nice selection of bottles from Schlitz to Lambic. The shots were strong, mixed drinks were stiff. The wine list is pretty all encompassing but the standout had to be the fresh Sangria as it looked amazing. I just didn't feel like running the triathlon that night. We mostly sat in the back taking it all in that night checking out the crowd, listening to the band, playing a shitload of Cleveland trivia and talking with friends. The staff was friendly and service was very quick even at the peak of the evening.
Monday night for dinner we sat out on the patio. The night was perfect. To say the food was incredible was an understatement. For appetizers we had the Panko Breaded Fried Oysters and Roasted Vegetable Empanadas. Both choices were amazing. The oysters were full of flavor and cooked to perfection and the empanadas were stuffed with cheddar, black bean corn salsa and creole rice. For entrees we tried out the Sausage and Seafood baked Ziti and the Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage. The portions were huge and every bite was full of flavor. I think the standout was the Stuffed Cabbage. These were dense and stuffed with a pork and beef mixture with just a small amount of rice. The Paprikash sauce that covered the Pigs and potatoes was amazing. It was thick, rich and loaded with that Hungarian old world flavor. As I ate this monstrous meal the church bells were ringing out in the distance the Hallelujah Chorus and it became almost spiritual for me. After a meal like that you have only two choices; go into battle or take a nap. No dessert but a couple of drafts, 2 appetizers and two entrees and the bill came to just over $50 and change. It was a value for that price. Old world comfort food, and an old style vibe make Prosperity well worth checking out on my 52 week Cleveland tour.
The rock and roll I grew up with was never pretty and clean. Rock through the ages for that matter has been dirty and raw. Elvis was proof of that in the 50's, Metal in the 80's, grunge in the 90's, and the rebirth of Independent music in this decade. The polished stuff comes off as fake, and real fans or the connoisseurs, if you will, don't fall for the bullshit. Whenever I hear "Supergroup" it is guaranteed to suck. Over processed in music leads to catchy, campy teenage schlock. Over Processed in the realm of restaurants or venues is just as bad. It is actually kind of depressing to see an old landmark turn into an Applebee's clone. In an attempt to make it look like an old tavern they stock the walls with kitschy old photos, memorabilia, and even go so far as to age the wood to make it appear more rustic. It's a sham and most of the public is easily fleeced.
However there are still bars, nightclubs and restaurants in Cleveland that don't feel the need to make these multimillion dollar upgrades to become more like a Disney themed fun park than what they are. Opening any sort of watering hole is a huge risk. Certain areas of Cleveland have more bars and restaurants per square mile than churches. Yet over the past few years these spots have done just fine without the ginormous wads of cash thrown into them. The aforementioned Beachland and Spitfire come to mind in that regard. Who would have thought a concert venue outside of Collinwood would be going 10 years strong and be the catalyst for the rebirth of the Waterloo area? Who thought a punk rock dive like the Spitfire would drive a spike through the vein of a sleeping music genre? And so the Spitfire begate Now That's Class, and they begate even more small clubs on the west side of Cleveland.
The Happy Dog is another that only took a little spit shine, a unique simple menu and some live music and entertainment to turn it into a viable hipster option. Then there are places like Steve's Lunch and the Hot Dog Inn that essentially didn't do a damn thing and remain standing strong in a horrible economy. Some have not been able to capitalize though like the Phantasy or even have gone by the wayside like the Agora. The Agora however had a nice little shove into the depths of failure due to some bad business dealings with a certain less than scrupulous area promoter. Tremont is a home to many of these old style eateries. Sure they have some high end rehabs out there that work well in the area but they have places like the Lincoln Park Pub and Edison's. What they also have is a hidden gem on the outskirts of the Professor Avenue Tremont hub called Prosperity Social Club.
Prosperity Social Club was born from the ashes of the old Oasis. A tavern that got little to no traffic over the years because of the reputation of being a little on the dumpy side. I can honestly say I had never even went into it when it was the Oasis for that exact reason. Only after a few short years of taking it over Bonnie Flinner has lost the stigma of being a dump and taken on a new one. A much better one as a matter of fact. They serve incredible food, have an excellent beer and wine list and host local entertainment. The bar itself has undergone minimal upgrades since the days of the Oasis. It has the feel of an old German party hall with style. The bar and dining area have rich hardwood accents throughout. The bathrooms are reminiscent of a middle school faculty lounge. The walls are loaded with old school beer memorabilia that work well with the true rustic decor. The main room has a small stage for the mostly acoustic local and national acts to play. The smaller room to the back has retro lounge furniture, dining tables, a real old style bowling machine, a pool table and a tiki hut cabinet that is home to classic board games such as Battleship, Candy Land and a circa 1987 Cleveland Trivia game. Walk outside and you will find an amazingly spacious patio with picnic tables and retro lounge furniture. We are talking those old metal bouncy chairs mom and dad, grandma and grandpa had in the backyard. It's like walking into a time warp of sorts.
I went twice just to take it all in last week. The first was to check out a Canadian country outfit called the Silvertones that Happy Dog Opry DJ Clinton Holley turned me on to the night before. The second night was to check out for myself if the food was as good as everyone said. So Saturday was a night of live music, booze and debauchery then a nice meal Monday on the patio on a perfect Cleveland spring night. Saturday the band was tight. They were a little three piece outfit that did some rockabilly light with a hint of alt-country. All in all a nice double set of some covers and originals that wasn't too loud to not be able to hold a conversation and not to quiet that you couldn't pay attention to the music if you wanted to. I can't call them great because Cleveland has an amazing Americana scene going on now with bands that absolutely blow me away. Beer selection was excellent. They have a few taps with some micros and a nice selection of bottles from Schlitz to Lambic. The shots were strong, mixed drinks were stiff. The wine list is pretty all encompassing but the standout had to be the fresh Sangria as it looked amazing. I just didn't feel like running the triathlon that night. We mostly sat in the back taking it all in that night checking out the crowd, listening to the band, playing a shitload of Cleveland trivia and talking with friends. The staff was friendly and service was very quick even at the peak of the evening.
Monday night for dinner we sat out on the patio. The night was perfect. To say the food was incredible was an understatement. For appetizers we had the Panko Breaded Fried Oysters and Roasted Vegetable Empanadas. Both choices were amazing. The oysters were full of flavor and cooked to perfection and the empanadas were stuffed with cheddar, black bean corn salsa and creole rice. For entrees we tried out the Sausage and Seafood baked Ziti and the Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage. The portions were huge and every bite was full of flavor. I think the standout was the Stuffed Cabbage. These were dense and stuffed with a pork and beef mixture with just a small amount of rice. The Paprikash sauce that covered the Pigs and potatoes was amazing. It was thick, rich and loaded with that Hungarian old world flavor. As I ate this monstrous meal the church bells were ringing out in the distance the Hallelujah Chorus and it became almost spiritual for me. After a meal like that you have only two choices; go into battle or take a nap. No dessert but a couple of drafts, 2 appetizers and two entrees and the bill came to just over $50 and change. It was a value for that price. Old world comfort food, and an old style vibe make Prosperity well worth checking out on my 52 week Cleveland tour.
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