| rev:text
| - Another restaurant in the same spot at the Junction-hoping this one is going to last.
Hubby and I checked out Matteo's on a Friday evening with a reservation. We live in the Falls and come from the generation of foodie, farm to table, craft drinks, craft beer-all around Cleveland scene people. When we heard that another place was open we checked Yelp and saw the good reviews so we thought well why not-we aren't really Italian cuisine eating people or at least I'm not but I really wanted to stop in and check this place out and saw fish items on the menu so we made a date.
The space looks revamped from the old dated decor from previous and was full when we arrived. There was a wait even with our reservation but since they created a separate bar area we went over to grab a drink. The new bar area was awesome! Modern touches and the bartender was super friendly, young and knowledgeable. It had a nice vibe, different from the Cleveland spots obviously but it felt nice to finally go in and have it busy. We ended staying at the bar because we liked the feel and the main dining room table they were going to sit us at wasnt what we really wanted for the evening.
As I said I'm not an Italian fare fan because I eat pretty strict so we were going to order a couple bar snacks like the shrimp but the bartender said they haven't started doing the bar snacks yet. So we ordered the pan seared calamari. Calamari was delicious! You can easily mess up calamari and it was seared perfectly.
My husband ordered the wedding soup w his meal and I had the salad w house dressing. He liked his soup-said mine is better (it kinda is) and the salad was really nice and the dressing delicious.
I don't eat red meat or pork or dairy and I limit gluten as much as possible so no bread crumbs or bread, pasta etc for me and my complaint with the restaurant is there are very little options for people like me or vegans/vegetarians. In these days of farm to table, foodies, healthy eaters, non gmo, gluten free etc the restaurants we love to visit always have a selection for the above eaters like myself so I was a little disappointed that the menu options were small here HOWEVER when I did see an entree I was interested in I asked if the chicken could just be sautéed and not breaded and dipped and the chef absolutely obliged. It was the chicken dish with lobster sauce and it was delicious and flavorful and the sauce on top fresh and bursting with richness-I obviously opted no pasta but had a side of seasonal veggies which were cooked perfect and again tons of flavor.
Hubby ordered Alfredo w meatballs and it was one of the best Alfredo sauces he has had-I took a small bite and agreed! Light and creamy-not like a heavy rich Alfredo that makes your stomach hurt and feel like a brick-his was fresh and decadent but not laden with cheap cheeses that weigh it down-honestly really good.
We did try a couple desserts the blueberry cheesecake and chocolate cake-unfortunately and hoping in the future they get an in house pastry chef because honestly places that carry their own pastry chef is a place I want to stay and eat dessert at. They were a good finish to the meal but nothing I would stay again for-not bad at all and quite good-we have just had better aka Humble in Lakewood (best pastry chef ever!)
Needless to say this place was a great night out. The meal was delicious and accommodating. It was def more modern from previous and the food which is why places stay open and get business was something I would go back too.
I would really like for them to consider adding menu item options for the non red meat, pork, gluten etc eaters by adding a non breaded entree, maybe a turkey meatball!?, gluten free pasta option and some more imaginative small plates for the bar. These menu touches and vibe touches makes people my age want to support local establishments that have tons of potential to bring in a different younger crowd then the junction is used too...someone referred to the Junction it as the wests Tremont area and I have to strongly disagree-potential could be there but the owner of the junction needs to realize what the demographic is turning to and honestly we don't want a clock store or dollhouse store-lets get trendy shops, bakeries and local restaurants in there-I'll support local if local supports what we want.
oh and one complaint-PLEASE get rid of the "shared" bar snacks! They had pickles and bacon bits at the bar that was being passed around with skewers that I saw people use the skewer, take the pickle off while touching skewer with fingers then placing it BACK in jar-EEEEWWW! Unsanitary. Each patron should have their own bar snack and then cleared when done not passed down the line for others to eat from!!!
We will be back because the pizza menu looked divine! Oh and I forgot! They use Ohio city pastas-so yeah pretty Delish!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)