A matter of great interest to me is why some reviewers, whether local or visitors, believe they are worldly by insulting most things Cleveland. A bad restaurant is labeled as what more can be expected in this town. Any good restaurant the reviewer finds too good to be here. Now let me inform this group that insulting a place is far from sophisticated. We live here because we do not want to live where you come from and we prefer our own style of food.
A few writers in particular irk me so much that I go to places they insult as it is near a sure thing I will enjoy them. My friend called today to say she was meeting her sister at Watami for dinner and invited me to join. I checked yelp and sure enough I found a bad review from one of those who slight things Cleveland. I drove thru heavy rains in peak traffic to get to Parma.
I found a brightly lit, very clean dining room. Fresh trays of everything were continually replacing those quickly depleted by young families with infants, middle aged couples, Asians, whites, blacks, and seniors. I am not a sushi fan but I filled my plate twice with sushi, beautiful salads, fresh shrimp and tempura. The servers were friendly and attentive. In a short time my small group was chatting with those at nearby tables. You know what? We had a typical Cleveland evening where no one was whining that we were not in LA or Houston or NYC.