Bar #51 Brew 133 (Deceased)

It can be hard to be the new bar that takes the place of an old favorite. Do you try and take the old brand and make it better. Or do you take a new direction, in the hopes that your new idea will out weigh the disappointment that the old customers have in their bar officially being over. Tonight, one of the most beloved bars in Lakewood, now reborn anew, is put to the test. Brew 133 Sports Pub and Grill is Bar #51.

If you've been here before you'll still know your way around. You have multiple open layout rooms with nice hardwood flooring. The chairs are comfortable enough. Flat screen TVs are all over the place so you should be able to catch whatever game you're looking forward too.

I've heard there is a great patio but it was blocked off this evening.

They have a decent sized selection of beers both on draft in the bottle.  You shouldn't have any trouble finding the beer you want or surprising yourself with something new.

There were a lot of choices in the menu. I got their nachos with cheese and salsa. The nachos were super light and flaky and the cheese and salsa were generic. Their fries were fine. The cheese steak was alright and its bread was good and soft.

The service was good during the night. He came often, answered any of our questions but didn't add any personality to the service. However, I'll take ability to do one's job efficiently over pizzazz any day.

We happened upon trivia night and decided our group was up to the challenge. We were mistaken. The company that Brew 133 uses is not for the faint of head and not something you want to be drunk while attempting. We were slightly late so that we missed the lizard theme and our answers didn't follow suit. Then things went downhill with a multistep word jumble. Then naming the song and artist of songs that we didn't seem to know. Back to trivia we played strongly at knowing games. Figuring out what states signs were from only created a state of confusion. Then just in case you were feeling thirsty equations were thrown at us. We came up strong in the end knowing a number of women pilots, at least with the questions we heard. The waiter talked through some of the questions. I have nothing against a difficult game of trivia but most games of bar trivia tries to make you drink more where this made us stop cold.

Where does this leave us? Place looks good with a splash of sports memorabilia. Good service? Definitely. They have an admirable beer selection offering you something you want regardless of what you're looking for. The food is adequate but not the reason you're coming here. This bar came into being because “there is a need for an authentic sports bar.” I was at a sports bar for the blog 2 bars ago, so I'm not sure what they meant. Brew 133 does offer a superior amount of seating and playable game options. Brew 133 Sports Pub and Grill, Bar 51, is one of the best places in town to watch whatever game you're looking for.

Post Blog News!

These guys won trivia!

Brew 133 is reported to be changing from a sports bar theme to a restaurant. They will hire a chef and move away from the sports theme. I'll assume the army of TVs will stay but time will tell. Brew 133 will retain its name.

13368 Madison Ave

216-767-5906

brew133.com

Facebook

Bar #49 Johnny Malloy's & Gippetto's (Deceased)

Where do you watch your favorite professional sports team and why? There is an industry of bars that seek to answer that very question and they all say the same thing, “here.” The sports bars of the world attempt to find the keys to enhancing a simple concept, watching sports. They must find the way to maximize how their food, booze, seating, atmosphere, number of different games playing, audio and visual, and of course the social aspect that makes it worth leaving the house for. Johnny Malloy's has risen to this challenge and of being bar #49.

Johnny Malloy's has its own parking lot that is bound to be full when our home teams are playing. Luckily, this wasn't one of those nights. I made my way through their large but enclosable Patio. The patio gives a place for smokers to enjoy the bar atmosphere during the summer and to sadly stare through the windows at during the winter.

Once you enter the permanently enclosed half of Johnny Malloy's there are some cool booths and a bar that can probably seat a solid 2 dozen people. However, you won't notice that until your eyes have adjusted to the rows of large flat screen TVs that plaster the bar's walls. We took our seats at the bar and waited for the bartender to make his way over to us.

As is the luck of the blog, if anything can go wrong for a bar then it will while I'm there. Tonight, the issue was, they were training a new bartender. Minus an issue at the end, the new girl and the original bartender did a good job. The problem was that as she was being trained in between serving customers, leaving awkward times when neither bartender was to be found.

I started my night off with Elevator's 1810 Oktoberfest. It was full flavored with the perfect amount of taste and alcohol. It's named after the date of the original Oktoberfest. It happened on October 12^th 1810 when King Ludwig I (a prince at the time) married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in Munich and threw a festival to celebrate which reached all of Bavaria (later became an important part of Germany) by the end. This beer is the epitome of what an Oktoberfest beer should be leaving all others to try and live up to it. Now take a break from reading and go buy it while it's still around.

Welcome back. I ordered the garlic buffalo hot wings and classic mac and cheese bake to eat. The wings were ok. They were what you'd expect but didn't add anything to make them unique or exceptional. The mac and cheese bake was much the same, it was a safe bet that you wouldn't complain about and wouldn't mind eating again.

There are currently no soups on the soup and salad menu.

I have a confession to make. I'm from Pittsburgh. This was important tonight because for the first time in two decades, the baseball team I grew up with both made the playoffs and had their first winning season. I know this is when you start getting all up in arms about the Indians. I love the Indians. I still talk about their epic playoff game when the actual Cleveland environment rose up and smited the New York Yankees. Swarms of midges descended on the brightly lit field testing the grit of our pitcher and theirs. The latter was found wanting. This being said, the love of a child and his sports team is one that can last a lifetime. It allowed me for 20 odd years to say over and over again that this is the year. It wasn't. It becomes a part of you. I root for the Bucs not because of where I live but because I am a Pirates fan. I even refer to them as us. If you've moved to another city you understand. The team closest to you in distance is not necessarily the team closest to your heart.


Luckily, this evening the majority of the people in the bar had decided they wanted the Reds to lose or the Pirates to win so I felt at home. There were a small group, or crowd if you will, of three wearing Reds clothing. Between their team losing and the bar being against them, they left in under an inning. Since, going to Johnny Malloy's the Pirates would make it past the Reds that evening but lose in game five to the Cardinals. The Pirates fans were still the happiest losers you'll find, with some even calling for a victory parade. Next year I'm expecting, no demanding, a Pirates and Indians World Series


Anyway, there was some anarchy with the billing but they got it fixed with no complaint from me.


I wanted to watch a baseball game with my friends. I had as much seating as I needed plus I didn't have to get up to get up to get beer or food, plus I had plenty of options. Johnny Malloys also provided me with extra people to cheer along with me. I was able to see and hear my game better than I would have at home. Johnny Malloy's & Geppettos made my night better than had I watched the game at home. This is what's made this sports bar successful for over 35 years and why you should visit bar #49.

17103 Detroit Ave. 

216-529-1400

www.johnnymalloys.com

Facebook

Bar #39: Kenilworth Tavern

A lot of thought can go into which bar you want to go to on a given night. Are you hungry? Do you want a loud or quiet night? Does the bar have a claw vs claw game? The trick is don't over think it because plans can change in an instant. This week the kitchen was closed so we went next door to bar #39 Kenilworth Tavern.

I couldn't start drinking on an empty stomach for long. After finding out the kitchen was both closed and cordoned off I went next door and found what I was looking for.

The Kenilworth is a sports bar that remembers when the Indians were getting good and when Browns fans only had one rival to hate (1995.)  They have a handful of interesting things up on the walls including a Bud car hood. They have plenty of TVs to watch the game you want, today included skateboarding.

The Kenilworth Tavern is owned by an older Greek family. Their menu is setup so that everybody that shows up is going to have something they want to eat. These options include some salads made by a mad cook, vegetarian options that teach us the valuable lesson that turkey is the other white beet, and a multitude of wing flavors. I got their cajun wings, which were amazing. It was one of my favorite wing/sauce combinations I've had in Lakewood. I ordered their suicide sauce on the side to try it out. It was good, it doesn't give up taste in exchange for heat.

The beer options are fairly standard; primarily your corporate options with a little Great Lakes and craft to tide the rest of us over. I tried a bottle of something different, glucose free. Redbridge is made by Anheuser Busch it tastes like beer, mostly. There's a funny taste to it, not necessarily bad but not something you'd choose to add to it. If you can't drink glucose than you won't mind this.

The Kenilworth Tavern uses what is becoming a well known trick to getting more people in the bar, good looking female bartenders. They are appearing more often now in the bars that in the past would have had some old bartender that only believes in serving beers or shots and like to push the ice into the glass with his fingers.  I've also seen other bars where this seems to have been a part of their turn around. Question for the women out there.  Does having a good looking male bartender affect your decision on what bar to go to? You're not going to get any complaints from me as long as the ladies can also do their jobs well; and I didn't have any tonight. My bartender/waitress was able to help me figure out which wings I wanted and let me know what was going on with their claw game.

The greatest of all claw games is usually in the Kenilworth Tavern. You don't know if you have what it takes until you are chasing something that can run away. This bar has a lobster claw machine. You put your money in.  Then try to chase down these red not-so-plush toys.  If you succeed, the Kenilworth will cook it up for you (possibly for a fee.) These lobsters were unfortunately wily. They decided that being boiled alive is a worse choice than most. The lobsters began clogging the filtration system and dying off every night. The claw vs claw game is now in the shop until the problem is fixed.

I met the Kenilworth Tavern softball team.  They are currently undefeated. They want the rest of the softball teams to know that they are best.

I have no complaints about the bar I ended up at this spring evening. The food was good enough to make me plan on going back. The service was good and quick. The beer options gave everyone an option even if they're allergic to glucose. Overall this bar wasn't my first choice. Once, I gave it a chance I didn't need to try anywhere else. You should head over to the Kenilworth Tavern, bar #39, it might just be the last bar choice you'll need to make.

Yeah, Kenilworth had Shaq!

18204 Detroit Ave

216-226-6882

Facebook

www.areyoukenilworthy.com

Bar #31 Harry Buffalo

Picture from Lakewood's Patch.com

I have had a tendency in this blog to avoid bars that are having their busy nights. I have only been to one Taco Tuesday. When the bars are having their big league nights with darts, trivia, bowling etc. I end up going to the half empty dive bar eating a processed meat treat that comes in an old pretzel container. This week I made an exception, mostly by mistake. I went to a sports bar on the night OSU played Arizona to get beyond the Sweet Sixteen. The odds are against Harry Buffalo as bar #31.

Harry Buffalo is the third chain bar that I have officially visited. The previous two are the only bars to have failing reviews, both because they were unable to give me service in an adequate amount of time. They also gave the feeling that the chain bars' staff and management don't have a personal connection with their job. Lakewood's Harry Buffalo has from the start given a very different vibe. I was invited to the Harry Buffalo by the general manager Mike Potraffke. He was personable, a fan of the blog and a proud Lakewood native.

When I finally announced Harry Buffalo as my next bar he immediately contacted me again and made plans to make sure my friends and I would be able to sit down. Upon our arrival I was greeted by Mike and a small Reserved for Every Bar in Lakewood sign at an empty booth. We chatted about how OSU in the tournament keeps his bar packed. Also, the one of the coaches from Butler was a native from Rocky River and brought in its own big crowd while they were still relevant. Our first round was comped as well. *Note free stuff does make me give a bar a better review but they usually come from the better run bars.

Our waitress was helpful, friendly and knowledgable. We also never waited longer than we wanted for service. Mike took a hands on a approach to running the bar, helping customers and not simply acting as an autonomous king on a thrown. I never throughout the busy night saw any customers giving the tell tale sign of waiting too long by half standing up from their seats, rapidly looking around the room and then burning a hole in the back of their server's head.

I got my first Leinenkugel Summer Shandy of the season, if for no other reason but to spite our cold spring. I followed it up with a Stone Arrogant Bastard. It had a wonderfully complex taste that was amazingly easy to drink, where others could taste funky by the end.

We ordered the cheesy garlic bread first, which with its dipping sauce caused us to converge and devour it like locusts. Of course if any cheesy garlic bread with dipping sauce doesn't create this effect than someone isn't doing their job. Warning, it's also very filling.

Harry Buffalo is heavily wooden, with it covering most of their walls, booths, some ceilings and of course the bar. There were flat screen TVs around the three rooms of Harry Buffalo, so that just about everyone can see the game. The bar itself is three sided and makes its way around the whole room. There is a second bar in the basement as well. The two giant front windows open up during the warm season. Standing and roaming       space is at a minimum. Harry Buffalo has more of a restaurant/sports bar setup.

I ordered the wings and wings for my entree. I got the Hot Pepper Buffalo wings with the bone in and the Thai Chili for the boneless. I liked both but I liked the extra little kick of the buffalo more. It also came with a side. I went with the macaroni and cheese, which was good. I also tried the Cajun Ranch and it was real good as well. It is one of Johnny's favorite wings now. 've had their buffalo meat burger before and I like it. It may be slightly gamey for some tastes and slightly awesome for others.

I now looked at my phone and realized I had two text messages one telling me that three more people that I didn't think were coming now were and a second saying they're on their way. Our booth would not fit more than 4 (we already had three.) So we called on our waitress and asked about fitting another three. Her and Mike quickly went into action asking people at another table to move to ours so that we could fit that table and another together. It is possible that Harry Buffalo's staff is simply that awesome but I prefer to go with that it was the amazing power of my new LkwdVIP status. They carried our food over and moved that tables around to suit us.

All the food our new wave of friends got looked good and brought no complaints.

I made my way around the bar to get some pictures as the game was coming to its very close end. Arizona had held a lead in the beginning of the game but OSU took control till the final minutes. Arizona then made a push tying the game with only a hand full of seconds left. As you probably know in the last two seconds Ohio scored a three pointer to bring the bar into a fevered celebration. Soon followed everyone in the bar going into a rendition of the song, not called, Hey Snoopy. One of my favorite things about being a Clevelander is seeing people experience that song in Ohio for the first time. Since, only Ohioans do the O-H-I-O, visitors always first freeze then their head starts swinging around wildly like a rabbit that knows the owls coming but can't figure out from where, basically looking frightened and confused. This is usually followed in the next minute or two by them finding out the song's name is not Hey Snoopy but Hang on Sloopy.

Harry Buffalo was a win for the evening. The service was phenomenal and the staff seemed to care about making it a good experience. The food was good and not badly priced with a lot of different options. They had enough beer on tap giving everyone an option of something they will really like. If you want good service, beer, food and TV viewing ability goto Lakewood's Harry Buffalo, bar #31.

Note: I used a picture taking method on my camera that works real well when things aren't moving and worked otherwise tonight.  Guess I'll just have to go back for more pictures at some point.

18605 Detroit Ave

216-221-1313

Facebook

Harrybuffalo.com