Reilly's (West Side Market)
 Cleveland, Ohio        Date of Visit  07/06/13          No Known Website

We got to take Jegunda to the West Side Market in Cleveland for some tasty Greek sandwich from Steve’s, some tasty middle eastern sandwich from Maha Falafel and some other familiar treats, it was fun to travel the market with her, she is taking us back to the food truck extravaganza in Cbus soon. One new stop in the newly bright and shiny market (I guess every smoky fire has a silver lining) was Reilly’s Irish Bakery.
 

The Chicken Pasty
 

I can’t say for certain what inspired the stop, I was waiting in the long and laborious line for Steve’s when Steph and Jegunda arrived and made everyone else who was jonesing for gyro seriously jealous when they showed up with food for waiting in line for food. The longing stares from our compadres in the que said it all.

I have strolled by Reilly’s previously and it never really struck me that it was an Irish bakery, I guess I never really considered the idea of an Irish bakery tradition. So, there is more than corned beef and cabbage. They had chosen a couple of savory treats and one sweet. The savory pastries or pastys were chicken and sausage. The pastry itself was nice and flaky, the three cultures of the Emerald Isle might get a harder time than they actually deserve.  Jen put the hammer on the nail when she said the chicken was wonderfully seasoned and tasty but oh, so dry. Like sawdust dry, such a nice start but the aridness made it more difficult to enjoy.
 

We did get through though. The sausage was another matter. Similar pastry envelope with a strongly flavored and juicy, free-formed meat lump. It was actually really tasty/juicy/satisfying.

We also tried a fern cake. It lacked the fern design on the top but beneath a drop of chocolate and sugary glaze was a sweet pastry shell filled with a lightly almond cake with a light dab of apricot jam at the bottom. Not the best pastry but actually good with a distinctiveness which makes it quite a treat. I am really interested in trying their triple chocolate Guinness stout cake. Hmmmm, another reason to return to the market.