Matt Fish founded the popular, and group-friendly, Melt Bar and Grilled in the Cleveland area (and Columbus).
What makes Cleveland a great destination food-wise?
Honesty and diversity make Cleveland a great food destination. Clevelanders are gritty, tough and honest.
We take the same approach with our food and our restaurants. The roots of Cleveland chefs run deep into the neighborhoods and their ethnic backgrounds.
You get a true taste of the Cleveland spirit when dining at a great food destination. The food is created from scratch using regional ingredients by a homegrown chef and crew.
What culinary trends are you noticing around Cleveland these days?
Cleveland has become a tremendous food destination over the past 10 years. I like to think Cleveland creates trends based off Old World authentic ethnic family cuisine from our region. Comfort food is still king in Cleveland but it has a twist. Chefs are taking pages from grandma’s old beat-up cookbooks and making these recipes and dishes their own. Great food and great recipes using fresh ingredients with new interesting techniques are what I am seeing mostly—and that will never go out of style.
Tell a little about your group-friendly Melt Bar and Grilled location nearby Cleveland in Independence.
Melt Bar and Grilled is a restaurant based in nostalgic comfort food. Our main vehicle for sharing this food experience is the humble grilled cheese sandwich. We have elevated this amazing comfort food to great heights. We feel we have assembled a great group package menu to fit all tastes and budgets.
I suggest starting the dining experience with a selection from our Starters & Snacks list, presented family-style. This gives the group the opportunity to order multiple items to pass and share.
A nice Melt Signature Salad served family-style would be a great next choice. I would suggest the Melt House Salad with our fresh herb croutons and honey balsamic dressing, both made in-house.
The entrees will be chosen from our Gourmet Grilled Cheese list of signature sandwiches. There are no wrong choices here and plenty for all tastes. Melt also focuses on guest’s diverse dietary choices by offering many vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. These options are not standard afterthoughts but culinary-driven options identical to the rest of our award-winning menu.
What are some of your favorite Ohio craft beers?
I love craft beer, especially from Ohio, so it is definitely hard to choose.
Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood has been an incredible asset to the Cleveland culinary and beer community. They continue to brew great beer and are very group-friendly. I suggest taking a brewery tour then staying for lunch and a few pints!
The Butcher and the Brewer in Cleveland is a new brewpub that has incorporated a brewery, butcher shop and full-service restaurant under one roof. Tremendous people and tremendous products all-around. The space is large and can accommodate many group sizes.
Market Garden, Bier Market, Bar Centro and Nano Brewery in Ohio City are all owned by one local Cleveland group. They have created a tremendous beer destination on W. 25th Street and have helped to revitalize that area. All locations specialize in a different style of beer and food offerings, plus they are all within a one-minute walk of each other so try them all!
Market Garden is the largest space and offers the most diverse food offerings for groups.