Except not so fast; a name and a few half-hearted end runs at making the
place look or smell like a gym do not a sports bar make. But if you started out as a place dedicated to [ahem] athletic supporters -- and your chicken parts have been designated as the "official chicken wing of the Cleveland Indians" -- I think it's safe to say you qualify.Such is the case with Cleats Club Seat Grille on Elm Road in Warren, which moved into the building once occupied by another favorite of mine -- the Ground Round. The latter, much to my disappointment, not only left the building but the entire state (well, almost; the restaurant in Toledo was still operating at press time).
My husband Jack and I don't get over to the Cortland side of Warren very often, but when we do, it's most often nowhere lunch time -- and even when we were hungry, we always passed by Cleats to head for Enzo's on up the road or over to Up A Creek Tavern on "old" Route 82 in Howland Township. But we always said we'd have to try the sports bar sometime.
Then, we ran into an old friend at one of the events at the Eastwood Expo Center in Niles, and he -- like many other folks -- asked about our days as "official" restaurant reviewers at The Business Journal. No, we said, that's long gone, but now I'm writing a blog and always looking for good places to go. Turns out he and his wife are "regulars" at Cleats, where she insists the burgers are the best anywhere.
It doesn't take much to motivate us -- and besides, we both love burgers and a sports atmosphere -- so within a couple of weeks we decided to give it a try. First, though, we checked to see if the restaurant has a Web site -- and we got a surprise: Far from a single location, Cleats was founded in 1996 in North Royalton, Ohio, and at last check has 12 locations, all in Ohio and most in the northeast part of the Buckeye State.
Cleats is, the Web site spells out, a "full-service sports-bar/restaurant featuring a comprehensive menu complete with salads, wraps, burgers, sandw
iches, ribs, quesadillas" -- and of course those wings (and, I hasten to add, 22 "signature" wing sauces). Inside, there's a fairly large bar section with those high tables; besides that, we spotted something like three other rooms with tables and booths, so this place can accommodate a fairly large crowd. The walls are decorated with sports-related photos and memorabilia, and of course, the requisite big-screen TVs hung in strategic spots.Perhaps more important, signs told us we could get 23-ounce domestic draft beers for just $2, which we consider a real bargain. There are other beer specials during afternoon pro and college games, but that didn't include now -- those $2 puppies will do just fine almost anytime.
As we perused the menu, I spotted zucchini planks as an appetizer for $4.99 with marinara sauce for dipping. One of my favorites -- probably because they make me think I'm eating healthy even though they're deep fried -- I just had to sample them here. For my main course, I had to try that other special -- wings. For $8.99, I got 12 that we could share, choosing garlic parmesan sauce (which our server confirmed is butter-based -- I don't like buffalo or "red" sauces of any kind).
Ever the burger lover, Jack went for the Varsity Burger, choosing it with Swiss cheese, onion and mushrooms and well done. With it came a side of fries, and the whole wonderful mess cost $8.99.
The zucchini arrived first as it should have -- about six lightly breaded and fairly thick slabs cut lengthwise to make about slices perhaps 8 inches long and 2 inches thick. They weren't kept in the deep fryer long, and the dusting of parmesan cheese was a nice addition. I'd have preferred a different kind of sauce for dipping, perhaps horseradish based, but the marinara was quite tasty.
The wings weren't large as wings can go, but they were tender and that sauce is absolutely delicious. After fully expecting to take some home, we polished off the entire dozen in nothing flat.
Jack's burger was very large and good, although he said it was overcooked almost to the point of being burned. Unfortunately, I reminded him, that's a relatively common reality for those who prefer their meat well done (still, it shouldn't happen). The fries were quite good as well, but the order was huge and we couldn't eat all of them given everything else we'd consumed.
Quite satisfied with the results of our first visit, we ventured back in early afternoon
on the Thursday before New Year's Eve day. There was no crowd, although we did see a few parents with young children and the bar side was packed. As soon as I sat down, I noticed the $7.99 Firecracker Burger, with pepper jack cheese, jalapenos and what's called "sweet heat" -- definitely a possibility, I thought, since the burgers are quite good here.Once again, we decided to splurge on an appetizer, waffling back and forth to find one we'd both like. Finally, we settled on White Cheddar Pints -- deep-fried bite-size Wisconsin white cheddar cheese for $5.99. As we browsed, we noticed that several appetizer items are just $3 on Mondays, a factoid we filed away for later reference (and passing on to the readers of this blog).
Just as I'd almost decided on that spicy burger, I saw that Thursday is rib day; a full slab with cole slaw is just $10.99 (the rest of the time, a full slab goes for $16.99, so this is a really good deal. And for the record, it's available as dine-in or carryout). Perfect, I said -- I've been wanting to try the ribs here, and I'd be sure to have leftovers for another meal.
Not much of a rib lover, Jack chose a Hot Sicilian sandwich -- grilled ham, pepperoni, bacon, provolone, lettuce and tomato on a hoagie bun for $6.99 with one side (he picked fries once again).
I loved the cheese bites, which with the white cheddar taste a bit different than the usual mozzarella sticks. Even Jack, who isn't a
big fan of melted cheese inside breading, ate several of them. The basket contained quite a few, and I discovered that they warm up better than back at home than do the mozzarella sticks.The portions at Cleats are quite large, and Jack's sandwich came in two substantial halves, one of which came home with us (as did more than half that mountain of fries). It was delicious, he said, and proved it by polishing off the other half not too long after we got back home. I tasted the slaw that came with my ribs, which is mayonnaise-based and similar to what I make. It's very good, but since Jack is the real slaw-lover in our family, I gave him most of it, snitching a few of his fries in return.
As for the ribs, they aren't as meaty as some I've had, but they definitely rank among the most delicious -- and that Thursday price deal just can't be beat. The totally fork tender meat is smothered in a rich barbecue sauce that's literally finger lickin' good. We packed up more than half for later, and adding a few breaded deep-fried fantail shrimp gave us a fantastic New Year's Eve dinner for our own personal version of "surf and turf."
Our verdict? Yep, this is a sports bar. And yep, the burgers, ribs and inexpensive beer are almost guaranteed to turn us into regulars as well. Hey, maybe we'll see you there on Super Bowl Sunday!
If you go:
Cleats Club Seat Grille
3701 Elm Road
Warren, Ohio 44483
(330) 372-WNGS
http://www.cleatswings.com
Open seven days a week 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
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