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| - I ventured to Larchmere Blvd to Big Al's. Why? Because I was told that it was the place for the best corned beef hash. Michael Symon might have said that portion sizes were obnoxious, but I prefer to say that this place was gluttony at it's finest.
I am from the far west suburbs of Cleveland. It is no secret that out that far west we are a different kind of wimp. I grew up in Avon Lake, I wear shirts that are ironed, pants that don't have holes in them, and I wash my hands when I go to the bathroom. To say that I fit in a place like this would be to tell you that Sarah Palin created the theory of relativity. I was a fish out of water.
So if I thought it was great, why the three star? Pretty simple. As HUGE as the portions were, the corned beef hash wasn't, as Symon called it, the best. I have actually had better, but the atmosphere was amazing. It is what you expect when you say diner. A cramped hole in the wall where the servers also serve as the expo girls, and also the cashiers. It is a place where you know that the grill has probably not been cleaned in close to 20 years, but you know what, you're ok with that.
This place has as much a place on your radar as any other breakfast joint, the difference, you get to go through the neighborhoods that you wouldn't dare go through on any other day. What's funny, you find nicer people in a place like this and you don't feel bad for eating here, because you know your money is going directly into this neighborhood and this community and not some nameless corporation in New York City [I'm looking at you Perkins].
Don't shy away.
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