Grumpy's Cafe
 Cleveland, Ohio        Date of Visit  07/19/13       http://grumpys-cafe.com/

Suddenly home from the lake we worked out some different plans for stay-cation one of which included a comparison trip between two Cafés we had been wanting to try in Cleveland Grumpy’s and Lucky’s. We made it to one, the other will be appearing soon. Grumpy’s is a nice little place in Tremont with a bright interior. The walls are covered with the work of local artists and the staff seems to know just about everyone strolling through the door. The word grumpy is not just a misnomer but is actually the antithesis of the place.
 

Goop At The Ready
 

The staff is bright, cheery and a little whacky regardless of whether you are a long time regular or a first timer.

There is a white board with the specials on it and if you missed it on the way in they will lean it against a chair from the table next to you so you can peruse your options in comfort. We arrived knowing what we wanted, which was way too much breakfast. Hopefully we will have some pretty direct comparison to Lucky’s offerings. We tried the hash, the biscuits and gravy and their walnut French toast. I love this place but in all fairness, the food isn’t great. It’s good but nothing was really a wow.

The French toast was coated in crushed walnuts before being grilled. It was alright. A couple of the plates were served with their Cajun home fries which were seasoned unevenly. One tater nugget will taste like plain potato, the next will bring tears to your eyes. I like the heat but the firebomb roulette was too much for Steph.
 

Hash and sausage gravy are two things cardiologists despise. Personally, I think it has more to do with their awesomeness than their detrimental effect on your arteries. (I thought all those years of school and training would make me awesome. I save peoples lives…but I will never be sausage gravy! That kinda thing.) It’s especially true when you get a really well done version. Grumpy’s was mediocre on both counts. Still a good breakfast but you could do much better. The hash had just a hint of the meaty brininess great corned beef exhibits. You can’t have great hash without great corned beef. A couple of eggs and rye toast aren’t going to save it either. A few squeezes from the bottle of hot sauce helped but didn’t advance it past average.
 

The biscuits and gravy suffered from the same lack of punch. They arrived topped by expertly fluffy and creamy scrambled eggs, who ever made those has some serious skill. The biscuits had a nice texture, the gravy was thick but didn’t taste much like sausage or anything else for that matter. Grumpy’s is a place where you can enjoy the people and the show but probably more than you enjoy the breakfast classics.