Willoughby Brewing Company

The Willoughby Brewing Company, although somewhat off the beaten path for residents of Cleveland and its inner-ring suburbs, is worth the 25 minute drive out east. It's located in the heart of a bustling entertainment and restaurant district on and around Erie Street.

The WBC, begun in 1998, brews a number of fine beers, with the offerings changing perodically with special seasonal brews and new additions. The Steelcut Oatmeal Stout and Daisy Cutter IPA were among the favorites of the group when we went.

The food is excellent and reasonably priced, and the patio is a nice place to sit and enjoy a late summer evening. The Potato and Cheddar Ale Soup was fantastic, and the Old World Bavarian Pretzels were a big hit.

One note of caution, though--if you're part of a group of guys who tend to get a little bit rowdy, be prepared to feel obligated to leave an enormous tip when the atmosphere and the beer make you a little too comfortable and you start doing all the stupid things you do when you're together at lesser establishments, and the service is still fantastic. Mad props to our waitress for putting up with our foolery.

The Willoughby Brewing Company is located at 4057 Erie Street, Willoughby, Ohio 44094.

Momocho

With a reputation that precedes it as a restaurant first and a bar second, Momocho on Fulton Road in Ohio City stood the test for both categories. Although some neighborhood locals pine for the old days of the Fulton Bar & Grill in the building, this establishment is creative and unique.


Let's start with the drinks - always a good beginning. An extensive list of tequila (over thirty different kinds) is a definite draw, although my personal palette calls for other drinks. I was slightly disappointed when I asked for a mojito, and was told that they don't make them - obviously you're supposed to order from the drink menu. I obliged and enjoyed a few Mexican beers - nothing out of the ordinary but good nonetheless.

Their margarita menu, on the other hand, was unique and exquisite. A variety were had at our table, with my two personal favorites being a cucumber and a cactus flower drink. Far from normal - the cucumber was calm and refreshing, definitely a pleasant surprise. It wasn't overwhelming with the vegetable flavor either. The cactus flower drink was very sweet, and was my favorite (as well as the orderer of it).

In my opinion, the main attraction to Momocho is its edgy food and hip atmosphere. It feels like a great place to be seen, and even on a Tuesday night was packed - we had to wait for a table. A highlight to their modern Mexican cuisine are the seven different kinds of guacamole - I highly recommend the smoked trout, followed by the goat cheese, and rounding out my top three would be the pineapple. If you like guac - it's heaven. Although not much on the menu would disappoint.

McNulty's Bier Markt

McNulty's Bier Markt is a gem of a bar, without a doubt. For the beer drinker, there are upwards of 20 handles, many of them Belgian-style whites or trappist ales of some sort in addition to your beer snob standards. For the cocktail aficionado, there's a full service bar to boot. For the trendy, the atmosphere is elegant and stylish, but not aloof or uppity. For the artsy, there's a small gallery next door with an entrance directly from the bar's main room.

Upon first entering the bar and seeing a stylishly furnished front room with no one in it, despite the several full tables on the patio out front, you might be a little puzzled. Fear not. When you get to the large room with the bar and all the fancy lights and the tin/copper/whatever ceiling, you won't want to go back either.

The bartenders are friendly and the t-shirts are cool. Not to mention the fact that many beers come served in their own special type of glass. One comes with a wooden stand and looks like it could have been a round-bottomed flask from the days of the alchemists (especially entertaining for the chemistry major in me). If you're with a group of self-proclaimed beer snobs like us, you should also know they serve PBR in a can, just so you can order one for someone in your group when he's in the bathroom to piss him off.

The Bier Markt doesn't have a kitchen snd therefore if you want food from someplace else, you can order it and have it delivered. For example, Phnom Penh, situated conveniently across the street will satisfy your craving for Cambodian and Vietnamese food, or if you want something more standard, call up Fabio's pizza (they deliver until 4am) and order a "large sausage."

Whether you're drawn there by the diverse selection of Belgian brews on tap, the adjacent art gallery, the stylized lighting fixtures, or the pleasantly long happy hour, the Bier Markt makes a great spot for a drink with friends or a night cap after a long day.

Bier. Art. Atmosphere. Fabio's "large sausage." What more could we have asked from the first OTW?

-JMS

McNulty's Bier Markt is located at 1948 W. 25th St., across from the West Side Market.