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| - We had tickets Saturday night to the Last Call Cleveland show at Playhouse Square but no dinner reservations. And when we are in that situation anywhere around E. 6th St., then our go-to place is Hodge's.
Of the mid-level restaurants along Euclid Ave./E. 4th St., I would say it has arguably the best food plus there's the added benefit of having a large bar area so you can almost always get a seat (even easier in the summer when their humongous patio is open).
On this night our drinks were the Old O' Old-Fashioned (I just love the single giant ice cube -- cools the drink without quickly watering it down) while Jeannene went with the gin-based Beehive.
Our appetizer is usually the blue crab hushpuppies ($12.50) with a sumptious "old bay'onaise" but this time we went with a lighter choice -- Peaches + Ginger Toast. The five two-bite toasts had a soft peach that sat on a small mound of goat cheese with balsamic vinegar drizzled over them. It was not too peachy and the goat cheese was whipped giving at an lighter texture (this is the 2nd Cleveland restaurant that I've seen this technique at so hopefully it is becoming a trend). Overall, a perfect light appetizer, especially considering they serve you get hot, sweet cornbread with every meal.
For main course, I went the opposite of light -- crispy pork cutlet and fettuccine ($18.50). It seems at Hodge's that at least one thing we order has a unique spin to it (perhap's Chris Hodge's food truck influence?) and in this case it was the pork. Normally this would be breaded but this version had a very light batter which seemed to have been flash-fried, hence the "crispy." The dish came with tomato jam which the server warned had a kick to it, but that's what was needed when dealing with a hunk of pork and luscious fettucine alfredo.
Jeannene had the Bay of Fundy Salmon ($25) which came on a bed of fried rice and topped with a pineapple-habanero salso. Again, the touch of uniqueness -- you can find a salmon dish that includes rice, but fried rice? Needless to say, both dishes worked.
One thing about the atmosphere -- the large space coupled with the "Hodge's" sign above the bar spelled out in light bulbs reminds me of an old-time saloon and it is as loud as one (or so I've seen in Hollywood movies). But I think that just adds to the playfulness of the menu,
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