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| - Out on the motorcycle for a ride before work and needed to pick up lunch on the way downtown; since I was coming up the Cuyahoga Valley I remembered that I had heard great things about Gourmand's. Located in a small retail plaza at the intersection of Canal and Granger Roads is one of a wonderful surprising deli, coffee shop, wine and cigar store. From the outside you would never what you find inside. Walking in Gourmand's you find a very nice and well organized shop. Half the room is set up with tables that you can seat yourself at, the decor is attractive and casual.
I found myself almost overwhelmed by the huge menu boards with more choices then you would expect. Luckily the menu is well organized so I zeroed in on the fish and seafood choices and ordered the Shrimp Poboy. Since I was taking it with me, they packed the vegetables and sauces on the side so everything was perfect when I put it all together at work.
The sandwich was excellent, a large portion of battered shrimp were crispy and plump. The bun was toasted nicely, crisp and tasty. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and crunchy. The sandwich came with a tangy homemade tarter sauce and zippy sirancha. All of the elements worked well together and it was as good as I have had in Cleveland.
Stopped by for a second visit and had to try the Redfish Sandwich based on the review by Jason Y. He was so right as this is one of the best fish sandwiches I have had. You get 3 good sized fillets of ocean perch with a crispy coating, a very good and very hot sauce, coleslaw on slices of excellent toast. The fish was perfectly cooked with the hot sauce just at the edge of being too hot, but then balanced by the crisp and cool slaw. The only problem I had with the sandwich is that it was messy to eat; I would rate this as a 4-5 napkins required.
Gourmand's lives up to its name, the food is excellent and you get great food for a reasonable price. If you are anywhere close, check them out.
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