- welcome to "good day cleveland." i'm natalie herbick. we're in a restaurant. this is one of those restaurants you might call iconic. - you know what, i've driven past this place so many times. we're at don's lighthouse. here, and now i'm so glad because it is one of the places that everyone has to come to in cleveland. - i love it. it kinda looks like a castle it's got the flags flying on the top, around a long time. that's what i think iconic means. here a long time, and this show's a chance for folks on the east side. today, we discover restaurants on the -- - west side, there you go. and you know, it's places where you can either go and get a quick bite

or places where you can spend the evening and really enjoy yourself. - that's right, west-siders can go to the east side and check out some of these places, some of our great restaurants that are very fancy, and some that are very casual, but the main thing is, they're iconic. they've been around a long time, just like don's lighthouse. - they're all places where you can come, relax, and enjoy yourself. when you think of cleveland, these are the places you wanna go to. - about 30 years ago, i used to do a personal appearance here for st. patrick's day, a couple of years in a row. yeah, i'll show you why it's cool. check it out.. - [natalie] i'm now at the near west side here. i am at don's lighthouse, which i have traveled past so many times, and i've yet to come in here. i'm so excited to finally see the inside of this building because, pete, from the outside, your place is spectacular. inside, it's even more spectacular. - [pete] we've been in the since 1941, so it's a great spot for us. - [natalie] especially in this day and age, it's hard to keep a

what do you think has been your secret? - [pete] you know, my dad started this business with the idea of great food and great service, which is pretty normal in the restaurant world, but i think we've been able to accomplish that over the years. the staff has been here a long time, and our food, we've always focused on serving high-quality food, and not doing a lot with it, a restaurant that has continued to do what you do to stay around. it's been a challenge and there's been a lot of new things going on in the area, but i think our customers still love what we do. - [natalie] the kitchen staff is hard at work, and i have to commend them on their presentation, because everything looks so phenomenal here. i don't even know where to begin with this. i want to start with this lobster and steak plate. wow! - [pete] steak and lobster's been something we've been doing for years. it's a six-ounce filet with a lobster tail, and we offer that on special,

thursday nights here. - [natalie] that sounds great! - [pete] the next dish here is our famous crab cake, jumbo lump crab, and people tell us that they don't find a better one in the area. we move over and we have, again, an iconic salad for us, the fish market salad, baby salad shrimp on top of mixed greens with some blue cheese and our don's italian vinaigrette dressing. - [natalie] you're not gonna find a salad like that anywhere else. - i hope not. in addition, we have a seafood pasta stew. you'll see fresh scallops, shrimp, mussels mixed in with pasta and a tomato broth, a very popular item. a couple of desserts to finish the meal, a chocolate mousse and a chocolate-chip cheesecake, very popular dishes here at don's. - [natalie] you have pretty good happy hours, too. - [pete] yeah, we started the happy hour, obviously, years ago, but probably about three or four years ago, we offer half-price appetizers -- - [natalie] you can't beat that. - [pete] from 3:00 to 6:30, so we're packed

- hey, we're on the west side, so how about let's do something else on the west side. - i would say so. sokolowski's, that place -- - i love it. - has been around for decades, and this is a place where there's that family-style type of restaurant. when you walk in there, there's not just a couple of people. there is a line of people from practically out of the door. - eastern european food, you'll love it. - you know it's good. - it's the best restaurant in town. - [natalie] it's busy in the kitchen. it's busy out on the line. let me tell you, if you're from cleveland, if you live in cleveland, or maybe you're just even visiting cleveland, you've probably heard of this place. we're at sokolowski's in tremont. i am honored to have mary with me. - thank you. - this is such an iconic place. i feel like everyone knows of your restaurant. - thank you, pretty much if you live in cleveland, and if you haven't been here, our story line is "where do you live, in a cave?" we are one of cleveland's oldest landmark restaurants. - [natlie] i love

i've been here before, and i think the coolest thing about this is it reminds me of school, that cafeteria-style line. - only better. - only way better. - yes. - [natalie] when people come in here to get that cafeteria-style type of food -- i should say the line -- the food is one-of--kind. what all do people get when they come here. - [mary] everything is homemade. not everything is polish, but there's a lot of polish influence, like stuffed cabbage, the pierogi. friday night, we feature potato pancakes. we have fish every friday, all kinds of fish, the lake erie perch, the baked scrod, fried cod, but we always have stuffed cabbage. - that's a must. that's a staple. - yes, that's a staple here, yes. - chicken paprikash. - the pierogis are great. - it reminds you of eating at home. that's why you go there. - [natalie] you have received such a big award. - [mary] yes, we are so honored. we received the james beard award for the american classics. it's not the fancy-dancy

to these beautiful restaurants that you eat on white linen tablecloths with your pinkie in the air, but it's the classic. it's where everyone goes, where everyone feels comfortable, where the food is good, and it's just available to all on any kind of budget. - [natalie] you mentioned comfortable. i saw you walking around here. i had to drag her away from the people to get her to talk to me because you know everybody that walks in the place. - i know. we have a sign above our cafeteria line that says, "enter as strangers, leave as friends." so many of our people that come here have become dear and wonderful friends. - and you've had a lot of celebrities come here, too. - oh, my gosh, yes. since my mom and dad passed away, it's almost like they send these blessings to us. we've had president clinton here. we've had martha stewart pick up food, all the pictures that you see here, many sports people, cavs, football players, newscasters, just tons and

all of food network's been here. we've had bobby flay, anthony bourdain, who's not food network but he's been here. it's been an honor. tradition, do you think, that really draws people here, just the atmosphere? - [mary] i think it's a good meal, a good deal, and it's cleveland. we are cleveland. and i love that. like you said, you never know who you might be sitting next to at one of these tables. - yeah, that's true. - mary, i love it here. i love the food. you will leave here and not want to eat, probably, for days because you're gonna stuff your face so much. it's that good! we're at sokolowski's in fremont, come check them out. come say hi to mary. you a hug right back. so, that's definitely one of those restaurants where you have to unbutton a couple of belt buckles. - let's call that hearty food. that's hearty food, right? - it's hearty food that will go all the way to your soul, - okay, what are - i think we should take a quick break, places we have to get to. two places are coming up that have the best views around. - [natalie] when you're

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restaurants in cleveland, you can't go without naming this place. we are at white oaks, tucked away in westlake. mike, this has been in your family for how many years? since 1971, so that's

- but it's been around for how long? - 1928. - 1928! i just think when you walk in here, before you even talk about the food, seeing the atmosphere, and the wood. is some of this original? is a lot of this original? - [mike] yeah, actually i would say half is original and half was added on by my family. we bought it in '71, and then maybe in 1980, we added a room for like rehearsal dinners. it seats about 46 people, and that's in the terrace. then, we kept the original bar, turned it 180 degrees, and kinda pushed out toward the creek, and took advantage of the view and the ducks and the wildlife back there. we put a bunch of windows out there and that's, obviously, the most desired place to sit any day of the week. - [natalie] would most people know this was a speakeasy at one point? - [mike] i think they do. i think a lot of the older clientele that bring their kids and their grandchildren, they always talk about it. and down the main hallway,

a lot of pictures, a lot of pictures of the original door that actually is the men's room door now. the fireplaces are a big draw, too. there's six fireplaces. - [natalie] wow! six in here! - [mike] that's another thing that people -- the best seats in the house are probably back -- there's a fireplace and a window, so everybody -- - [natalie] that's top-notch right there. - the best time to get 'em are probably during the week. on saturday nights, it's difficult, but everybody wants to come in on saturday. - [natalie] the food, then, obviously is the other big draw. what are the big sellers here, if i come here to eat? it smells delicious. what do we have here? - this is the roasted half duck. it is served with wild rice, carrots and green beans. they're par-cooked and then we finish them off in the salamander, which is the high-heat broiler, with honey, grand marnier, and green peppercorn sauce. - [natalie] okay, what about this one? - [mike] that is scampies. those are prawns with

and a lemon cherry sauce, and that's served with one of the people's favorite, twice-baked potatoes and the same vegetables. then, over here, this is a dish that, as i mentioned, a lot of gentlemen like. it's the venison. i think it's because they're willing to try it. it's red deer from new zealand. it's lightly peppered. it's marinated with red wine, port, and juniper berries, and it's finished with a cranberry port demi-glaze. - these are our shrimp gorgonzola pasta. we're gonna saute the shrimp with some fresh asparagus, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and gorgonzola cheese. - [mike] we also have a little bit of everything. we have five or six different seafood items. we have scampies that's real popular; the prawns with tomatoes, sherry lemon sauce, mushrooms.

- it's fine dining with an old-school twist and yet, you've really modernized things some, too, but the atmosphere when you come in here, you really feel like you're almost back to the 1920s. - i agree, i agree, and it's amazing how, especially during the holidays, no offense, the elderly people -- bring their grandkids, they bring their kids, even great-grandchildren. there's four-generation pictures that they take down by the windows and things like that. they really feel it's a part of them growing up. - the stories that these walls hold. - for sure. - white oaks here in westlake, obviously on the iconic list of places that if you haven't been to, i think you should come and visit. mike, thank you. - thank you. - [david] what a beautiful view, but how about a view that was voted one of the most romantic in the country?

(upbeat jazzy music) - [voiceover] in one year, pier w will be celebrating our 50th anniversary. we're a fine-dining restaurant, white tablecloth service. we've been that way ever since the opening. it's a little more casual for happy hour. as you can see right now, the bar is full for happy hour. we have the number one happy hour in the city, but for the most part, we're fine dining. dining here at pier w is a one-of-a-kind experience. we have a lot of celebrations. we're the only restaurant that sits on lake erie and has a view of the city, so we have that advantage. it has the ambiance of a cruise liner. as you can see, the windows, even the top deck, when we're open for the summer on the top deck, it feels like you're

of the restaurant. if you look at some of the pictures in the front, the bottom of the restaurant is the shape of a keel of a ship, so it looks like a ship even from the bottom of the restaurant all the way to the top. last year, we were voted one of the top five most romantic views in the country, and for places like napa valley and key west, cleveland was included in all those places. - i ordered that tuna at 4:00 our time yesterday, and it was here by 10:00 a.m. it amazes me from honolulu -- - [voiceover] i think what keeps us at the top is our great seafood. we go to no expense to bring seafood in from hawaii, from boston, everywhere in the world, to get the best seafood in cleveland. all of our seafood comes from a replenishible source. it's fished the right way. it's not over-fished, so it's very important that, not only do we have the best quality, but we're doing the best

our copper river salmon in, which we have our own fishermen in alaska, and we get it next day, also. - right now, we have a striped bass. what we do is we use the cornstarch to go ahead and harden up the crisp skin. we have that with the oil right there, we're gonna drop it into the oven to finish off cooking. and our green onions for our striped bass. it's all about concentration. it's a good time. - [voiceover] the employees are the most important. that have been here for 35,40 years. it's incredible. the servers have seen the changes throughout the years. everybody comes here to celebrate something, so it's important that, when they do celebrate, they hsible. - table 60, it's table 60's birthday. - the lady? - yeah. - i think the food here is great, the great food that you can have in cleveland. - as a foreigner coming

impressed with the food, so when i get back here next time, i know this is on the agenda. - it was so good i'm taking it home with me. - a guest walks into the restaurant, i kinda want them to feel an aha moment, the breathtaking view, the modernness of the building, and to top it off, the great food. but, the view is the most beautiful in the city. - [david] i've got to tell you, pier w, a perfect place for those special occasions and when you want great seafood. don't forget, the steaks are pretty doggone good, too. if you want to get out to the country, like chardon, jump in the car. we're going to the bass lake taverne. - [voiceover] bass lake

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member: thank you. you deserve compassion. you deserve molina healthcare, your extended family. medicaid. medicare. marketplace. for more information, call (877) 751-6720 fine-dining restaurant, so you can come in your jeans or you can come dressed up. we have a lot to offer our guests. we cater to young children, 'cause we have a children's menu. we have half price wine night on tuesdays. we do date night on wednesdays, where we have a package deal for $44 for our guests. it gives options of some of our mainstay dishes. we also have music on wednesdays and thursdays all summer long. in the summertime, we have our blues and bbq. we have one sunday a month where we do ribs and chicken,

that comes and plays. we also do clambakes in the fall. i think what makes us most iconic is our customer service and our consistency, and the fact that we do have customers that come two, three, four times a week to visit us, and we are very committed to the community. - this is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, fresh fruit, and our soup of the day, our creamy corned beef and cabbage. - [voiceover] we have a cedar planked salmon that comes with the butternut squash, and a maple pecan butter. - this recipe has been eric's staple, penne pasta, for like i said, at least 25 years, 30 years, and he's actually put two kids through college with this famous penne pasta. we start off by sauteing tomatoes, and then we add oven-roasted red peppers.

we saute that together, let the flavors marry together. i'm gonna drop my penne pasta down. that'll cook about four minutes. then we have our grilled oven-roasted chicken. we're gonna add that in. i think it's so popular because every time you come in to bass lake taverne, it's gonna be made the same every time. people have been coming here for years knowing that this is their favorite dish, and they can come in any time of the day, lunch time, dinner time, weekends. after that, we're gonna add our penne pasta. we wanna cook the noodles in the rich broth, and it's gonna stain the noodles. they're not gonna be white noodles. they're actually gonna take on that red stain color from the roasted red peppers and the basil butter. then, to tighten the sauce up, we use some shredded parmesan cheese.

and the basil butter together. when you cook the tomatoes, they're gonna release a little bit of water, so that cheese is gonna tighten it up really nice. it's gonna add a lot of good italian flavor to this. we finish the dish off with some fresh spinach, and that's the last thing we put in. we wanna wilt the spinach down just a touch. it looks good. we're ready to plate. entree bowl here. - we always eat lunch here, and dinner, - this is our number one place to go, i mean, hands down, the service, the food. when you think of other

it just can't beat bass lake. - i think it's very welcoming here. the patio's awesome. the people are great. you can't beat it. - bass lake taverne in chardon. okay, now we're ready for some big-time iconic places right near the city. we're gonna go to johnny's, and we're gonna check out giovanni's right after the break. - welcome back to

it's an iconic food show and, boy, we are eating our way through cleveland. - (laughs) we definitely are. what i love about this is i am getting to see so many iconic places through the show, and i am nibbling my way through all of them. - this next place we're gonna go is one of those places that it's a good idea to have a reservation because it is hot, it's been around a long time, and they make some beautiful food. - italian food which, honestly, is at the top of my list when it comes to things i love. - let's head to johnny's. (jazzy ragtime music) - my grandmother had one of the first liquor licenses after prohibition back then, they called and how the name johnny's came about, my uncle johnny, my dad's brother, was a world war ii pow,

out of the service, they bought the place back and named it johnny's. it has evolved from a shot-and-beer-blue-collar to tablecloth-and-fine-dining. - [voiceover] it's an art deco. when we remodeled, we completely gutted the place and tried to keep it like a 1940s-type theme, leopard carpet, and the tile, and the mahogany wood, and it's worked. a lot of the sauces, like the marinara, the tomato sauce, the meatballs, all the pastas, we still do the homemade gnocchis. my aunt maddie makes them by hand, and those are fantastic, and it's always the same. - i'm just pounding this veal chop here, trying to get it nice and thin as possible. we're gonna pound and then we're gonna bread it and sear it off. - this is our veal chop.

veal chop milanese. it'll be topped with an arugula, fresh baby arugula, and marinated tomatoes. this is our puttanesca sauce for the chilean sea bass. - [voiceover] these are time-honored dishes that have had a long run here. - let's start with this. this is our most popular appetizer, banana peppers stuffed with ground veal with cherry herb marinara. the peppers, i like to tell the customers they're on every table every night, the most popular. they run anywhere from three out of five to five out of five in the heat. this is our chilean sea bass puttanesca, a traditional puttanesca

olive and capers. it's over asparagus, sawfish and vegetables, but i tell the customers it tastes so good, it still feels like you're this is our pounded, breaded chop milanese. they get the 12-ounce long bone veal chop, pounded thin, breaded, with tomato, arugula, and a balsamic vinaigrette topping. - [voiceover] we build a relationship with our customers. they're not only customers, they're our friends. the quality must, cleanliness, consistency, and being here. i can't wait to get here every day 'cause it's a different set-up every day, different people, different scenarios. it's great. they're like, "wow, where are we going?" then, once they get in, they're like, "wow, this is really neat." we're not stuffy. we try to make the experience nice for the customers. the chefs are joe flahr. he was a dishwasher, and

then, he worked at our downtown, and he's been here for the last 10 years. ricky, one of our servers, he's been here for 30, debbie, the bartender, 28. - if you sit at the bar, we remember you. we remember what you drink. we remember what you eat. you're never alone. - [voiceover] our dishwashers, we keep from 16 'til 20. the ones i've had through the past still come and see us. it's just like i'm their father. we do pretty well. i'm the wine man, and we have a really a lot of nice italian wines, californias, everything, australian, argentinian, you name it. if it's there, we'll sell it. - i have fun every night. how many people could say they go to their job and have a good time?

i drink a little bit of wine, talk to people. you want people to come back. that's the whole idea. - and that just shows you why i think i love italian food so much. - that's on the west side, near downtown. it's been around forever. it's iconic, and speaking of iconic, this is a place whenever julia child came to town, she had to go over to beachwood and visit giovanni's. a guy named carl quagliata has a great spot there. you're gonna love it. - [david] i love doing this show about iconic restaurants. i'm gonna tick off my favorite at the top. it's giovanni's and, carl, you're the man. you've been doing this about how long here? - here at this location, 38 yers. - 38 years, so in the old days, when one of those big-time chefs come through here -- the people that write the cookbooks, the famous people -- this is where they would eat, giovanni's, right here.

- yes, we are. - that way, we can find it, right on the corner of chagrin and richmond? - right on the corner, the best location in the nation. - the best location in the nation, i tell you. it looks a lot different since i was here last, because you changed the wallpaper here. what is this? - we did, we created this beautiful wine display. it's a cooler, an actual cooler. we did the red wines here, and the white wines on the other side of the wall. - [david] yeah, and i see a whole bunch of cases of opus one here, so we ain't messing around, are we? - we don't mess around at all, sir. - a big dinner spot, a big place for special occasions. we're here for lunch right now. we've got a big nice table of ladies here. hi, ladies. - hi. - [david] you like giovanni's? - yes. - [david] (applauds) yeah, how about a little round of applause? so, we've got a little birthday going here. we've got that beautiful wood-paneled room back there in the back, and you did some work in the bar area here, as well. - [carl] we did a lot of work in the bar. - [david] i like this. oh, it's another wall of wine. - [carl] this is our white wine cooler. - [david] this is the white wine. i noticed when i was in there looking at the wall, the wall is made out of stone and granite, huh? - [carl] it's granite, yes, sir. - [david] beautiful stuff. we're talking about the great look here, and the great history here, but i think we

at some of the great food here. we've got zach in the kitchen now, huh? - [carl] we do. zach is probably one of the best employees i've ever hired. - [david] so, this is why you say he's the best employee you ever hired in 38 years? - did i say that? (laughs) - i think you did say that. oh, he probably didn't want you -- - he's just being nice. - yeah, yeah, so some kind of crazy mushrooms there, right? - yeah, this is one of our scallop entree at dinner time. it's one of our more popular seafood items, sort of a surf and turf. we have scallops and these are braised veal short ribs, (mumbles), a really nice dish. the garnish are for a centauro, which is like an ancient italian grain, some maitake mushrooms, that's a really nice sort of nutty chicken-like flavor profile. - ancient italian, that'd be like carl. - no, i'm just kidding. - don't take offense, okay? (laughter) then, some roasted parsnips. it's a nice, it's on our winter menu,

that's beautiful. i love that hammered on veal chop you guys do once in a while. since we've been here, 38 years we've been doing that. - 38 years, i love that. so, are you gonna plate that up there for us, zach? - oh, yeah, yeah. the scallops (mumbles), and we finish with just a little bit of parsley and lemon juice, a classic (mumbles) presentation. i enjoy it very much. - it's cooking, man. it's lunch time. it's cooking back here. is that pork belly? - no, it's a veal short rib. - [david] veal short rib, wow! what a great idea. what's that dessert i can't say, that they make at tableside? - [carl] we're gonna do zabaglione, which is like an egg custard dessert, egg, marsala wine, sugar, a little bit of champagne, a little bit of white wine. then, we just whip it together. it's like a frothy egg custard. - [david] it's certainly putting a show together, huh?

- [david] how many different desserts to they do tableside? - [carl] we do cherries jubilee, crepes suzettes, zabaglione, and anything else you'd like us to make. - [david] teach me how to say that now, za-ba-yo-nay? - [carl] zah-bah-yo-nay. - [david] zah-bah-yo-nay, i like that. giovanni's, the only thing i have to remember how to say, because it is, to me, like i say, it's on the top of my list of iconic restaurants. carl, i think of lot of it has to do with your hospitality. - a lot of it has to do with the people working in the kitchens. - there you go. of richmond and chagrin boulevard, a beautiful spot. - [carl] thank you, thank you. - we're gonna retire to the bar. thanks a lot. - thanks, zach. - and as you can see, giovanni's is one of those places that makes you feel very special, a nice treat. - love that. hey, you know, i'm a west sider, but when i go to the east side, there are a couple of places i love to go to. one of them is coventry.

- [david] some great places. - [natalie] we're going to both of those right after the break. welcome back to

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there is food everywhere you turn on this show, and right now, i'm going to take you to coventry. there is this place where you can go to eat where,

you want lunch, or you want dinner, food with the best service, and it's called tommy's. - [tommy] this is a spinach pie. we're gonna take this spinach pie, and we pre-make them so long to serve it. it's got spinach, and onions and spices in it. we're gonna put some - [natalie] ooh, i've never seen someone do this. - and then, i'm gonna you can see, taylor's got one we take that, and we'll add like falafel to it. we'll add hummus, different sandwich. some has tuna in it, whatever this is a vegetarian version of french onion. there's no beef base to it. what it has is a vegetable base, shiitake mushrooms, onions, garlic. - [natalie] talk about iconic restaurant. we are here in cleveland heights on coventry road. i'm at tommy's and i have tommy with me.

- tommy, you have been around for decades now. - 42 years now, 42 years. 1972, january, we started. - in that time, you've had how many locations? - [tommy] three on this street here. - [natalie] so all on the same street. people have always known where to find you. - [tommy] absolutely, thank god for that. (laughs) - you know what my first question to you is? i started looking at your menu. why isn't natalie in there? - (laughs) i couldn't find anything good enough. how's that, is that good? that's good. that is a really good response. when you look at their menu -- i was looking. what, is this people you know? it's named after people. - absolutely, in the old store, i used to have to take the orders, wash the dishes, make the food, take the cash, it was a one-man show. we only had seven seats, so the same people would come in and order the same thing. so, instead of writing everything that was in the sandwich, i would just write their initials down. for example, irs isn't really the internal revenue service. it's ira robert schwartz. the whole idea is trying to have something for everybody. even though we have a health-conscious menu, we want families to come out to eat and be able to get whatever they want,

with someone that in other words, if you're a vegetarian and you wanted to but if you wanted to have a nice hamburger, the most important thing is that each station has a meat grill and a veggie grill, so there's no cross-contamination. that way, when someone comes in and wants a vegetarian sandwich, they know they're getting a vegetarian sandwich. there's no ifs, ands or buts about it, and they know that we really take caution to make sure that they - [natalie] i feel like you've been doing healthy for a long time now, far before anybody that healthy food's the way to go - yeah, we lucked out. it's not by choice. basically, the idea behind our restaurant was, obviously, for family but for the fellow that owned i worked at before it became tommy's, he would bring his food in the people would always come for the milkshakes, and fauzzie would be sitting at the end of the counter. they'd say, "what's fauzzie eating there?" eating a falafel," or "he's eating a hummus." they'd say, "why aren't you serving that," instead of these other meat burgers that we had. so, that's how we got into that line of food. then, really it was dictated

- how has your menu evolved over time? do you have staples that have always been there? - here's the interesting thing. most restaurants, except for let's say the chains, very rarely change their menus. we've had the same menu since '72. - [natalie] what are you known for? - [tommy] i think, first of all, we're known for our milkshakes. "rolling stone" magazine back in 1974 about - [natalie] that's a pretty big deal. - yeah, we're really very proud of that. we've always used pierre's ice cream, which is a great local company. we use the hartzler dairy out of wooster, and it's made the same way as i used to make it when i was 14 years old working at the drugstore, quality ice cream, quality milk, and it's a delicious product. - [natalie] i feel like you just have a passion. have you always had this passion for this? - yeah, i found it really early in my life. i was so lucky because after high school -- i went to high tide, graduated in '70 -- and i went to computer school to learn how to punch the keyboard and stuff.

the whole time i was there, i was selling sandwiches because they didn't have a cafeteria there. i really liked the fact that someone would come and report, "that was the best sandwich i ever had. "you should sell these." and so i said, "i think i will start selling these," so that's how we got started. - [natalie] hey, i'd come work for you any day. - thank you, i appreciate that. - i tell you, i love my food. if this thing doesn't work out for me -- - i'm sure you're doing fine.. i think you're doing a great job - can i come work -- - absolutely, we'd love it. - all right, i have a back-up plan, then. come right here to tommy's restaurant, on coventry road in cleveland heights. - [tommy] thank you. - [natalie] before i leave, you know what i'm getting. - [tommy] what? milkshakes. - [natalie] a milkshake. - there you go. (laughter) any kind you want. we have great milkshakes. - [natalie] if you didn't get the feel from this already, you can tell that it's like a life-time addiction when you go to that place. when you're there when you're a child, those are the things you remember when you head back, and they have some of the things on the menu that they had way back when, so such a great feel there. now, up next, david is just down the road. check it out.

and sausage right here. - [voiceover] can i have one more pizza? - [voiceover] yep, right here. - the pizza, and the pasta, the homemade sauce. - the meatballs. - the fresh dough, you can taste that they make it every day. it's pretty good. - we're gonna make the largest. - [david] okay, we're talking about iconic, right, and i think dan here, i think we'd put you in iconic. i can barely spell, let's see, i-c-o-n-i-c-, iconic means been around a long time. mama santa's here on the corner of -- what's the corner here on mayfield? - [dan] 123rd. - [david] 123rd and mayfield, so we're right in the middle of little italy. some people call it the murray hill area, right? - [dan] right. - [david] how long have you guys been here? - [dan] we've been here since 1961. we opened up on july 25th. - [david] 1961, okay. some beautiful pictures over there, some family members. who's the lovely lady on the top picture? - [dan] that's mama santa, and below is my father, guy.

they bought it, and my dad wanted to take away the bar scene, so he put the "mama" in front of the name. he made it a family place and we've been ever since. - [david] that's pretty good. okay, i'm talking about pizza 'cause i love your pizzas here. what other food do people come in here and they order the same food every time they come in? - [dan] we have extra-special homemade pastas. my sister-in-law's back there cooking, along with my brother. i'm in business with my brother, also. she's back there making homemade pastas. we specialize in homemade pasta, homemade pizza, and it's worked for us for over 50 years. - [david] you can get a beer. you can get some wine if you want. - [dan] beer and wine. - [voiceover] we'll just stretch it out a little bit more, put the sauce, put the cheese on it, and it's ready to go. - [dan] this is gioiosa marea in sicily. - [david] did he ever miss this town when he came here? - [dan] yeah, he went back every couple of years. i've been back about three or four times myself. - [david] that's terrific. - [dan] it's a beautiful place. - [voiceover] pizza sauce, this one,

and that's marinara in this one. - [dan] ours is sicilian. - [david] can't get any more southern than that. - [dan] it doesn't get any more southern than that, and ours is sicilian cooking completely. the cook's sicilian. i'm sicilian. we're all sicilians here, except for my helpers who's back here, (laughter) but they learned to be sicilians. - [david] we walked in and started walking around the restaurant a little bit. people said, "what are you doing here?" i said, "we're doing iconic places here in cleveland." they said, "oh, this has got to be one." one guy i met over there, i think he said he used to play out in the street with your family. - with me. - with you! - with me. - so, that's one of your buddies when you grew up here, huh? - yeah, yeah. it's a small neighborhood. everybody knows everybody. people walk down the street, you know everybody here, you know? they all know me; i know all of them. - there's a bar called cheers like that, where everyone knows your name. - it's kinda like that, a little bit. - mama santa's, where everybody knows your name. - yeah, it's kinda like that, a little bit. - how long are you gonna keep making pizzas? - [dan] until i die. - [david] there we go. (applause) that's the right answer. mama santa's restaurant, right here in the middle

easy to find, a beautiful sign. check it out. thanks a lot. - and in case you didn't get the message, not just the pizza, it's that homemade pasta that makes mama santa's extra special. coming up after the break, we're gonna go way east, and it's seafood time again. pickle bill's.

r. when i said i'm coming to pickle bill's, you are going to love this place. i have missy with me. i right away noticed why. you're greeted by what looked like a marilyn monroe, an alligator, someone in a fisherman outfit. i mean, it's all over the place. - [missy] it's everywhere, yes. - [natalie] first of all, where do you find the stuff to put in this place? hunting this down, everything for years. - jerry is the owner, right? - jerry powell is the owner, yes. - he hunts this stuff down at auction? when people come in here,

for the first time? - [missy] oh, yeah, it's like sensory overload. they walk in, especially with the little ones. the adults are the same way, too. the adults are probably even a little bit more of the (gasps), "oh, my god. oh, my god!" it could take us hours. people will go around and take picture after picture after picture all day long, and all night long. it's crazy. - [missy] here it comes, natalie! - [natalie] oh, my gosh. this is just my first course, right? - [missy] yeah, this is first course. - [natalie] wow! okay. - [missy] all right, here it is. this is our fried dill with our homemade whipped honey cinnamon butter. this is what people come (mumbles). - [natalie] is this an appetizer? with our salads. - [natalie] this is the bread that everybody talks about. do they dip, or do they --? - they dip. they break. it's probably hot. be careful.

- yes, and a lot of people do. before or after dinner. - and all night long. this is our plate of our all-you-can-eat snow crab, your initial meal is served a pound-and-a-half. you get your choice of corn on the cob, and we have the different add-ons you can get. i have fresh yellow perch tonight. - [natalie] so, they can get a bunch of different add-ons, and this is one of the options. - [missy] this is the perch. you can get prime rib. you can get cod. you can get walleye, any of the above. - do you have any good strategies for cracking the crab? - [natalie] i know that everybody has their own unique way, but i'm sure that with being here, you know your -- right in the middle, break it, okay. and pull it out slowly, right? - oh, and it didn't do it! - of course, it always happens when you -- - so, therefore -- - this is the all-you-can-eat crab. what about what he's bringing over here right now?

number-one big seller is our kettle of fish. - [natalie] holy moly, look at that. - [missy] phil will show you how he and the rest of the gang serve it. - phil, how do you do this? - basically, it's all cooked in the same kettle when it comes out, but we wanna make sure that we put it on a couple of plates 'cause it's kinda tough to eat out of the kettle. - [natalie] yeah, i would think so staring right at you. - [phil] i've got a one-pound whole maine lobster. - [natalie] am i gonna have to open that myself, or are you gonna crack it for me? - [phil] if you ask nicely, sometimes we'll be able to open it for you. we've got a half pound of our alaskan snow crab again. - it's one of our number-one sellers besides the all-you-can-eat snow crab. - [natalie] it's no wonder people don't just start smacking his hand like that. okay, move 'cause i wanna eat! it looks so good. - [phil] you get a little bit of everything with this. - [missy] the lobster's come flown in right from boston. the clams, the mussels, and everything all come in fresh.

this is good stuff. - [missy] yes. - [natalie] he's looking right at me. now, i feel bad. (laughter) you know what? i'm gonna let him go break that up for me so i don't feel so bad eating that. (laughter) i'm going to enjoy it, just like i'm enjoying pickle bill's. i love this place. i can see why everybody told me to come. - yeah, it's awesome. - missy, you gonna help me eat some of this? - sure. - all right. - dig in. - let's dig in. - ah, there we go, baby. - there you go. of course, of course. - [natalie] i get why people say that they leave there in awe. - [david] it's a lot of fun, too. if you're here in the winter, you can see the ice huts on the lake out there, and on the river. if you're here in the summer, boats coming in and out. it's like going out of town. - i love the idea of all of this. you think of these places, they're places that make up cleveland, and that's what makes them so cool, so unique, so special.

any of the restaurants that you love, why don't you get ahold of us, let us know about it, and we'll do some stories there also. good idea? - [natalie] i'd be more than willing to do check out the rest of them. anything you want to give us, we're all for. - [david] okay, i'm headed for the alka-seltzer. i'm david moss -- - [natalie] and i'm natalie herbick -- - [david] and we'll see you on the next

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