Passing Bites: (Spicy, Thwarted, and Potato-y)

A week of accomplished eating, briefly re-told.

Phnom Penh
1929 25th Street

A delicious Cambodian meal, although I still am somewhat unclear as to what we ordered/ate. There was a roast pork coconut stew that we sprinkled on rice cakes, some sort of lemongrass-ginger-cumin noodle dish, with a serious kick (and this was the medium spice option, that is fucking awesome), and a sweet ginger-garlic-laced chicken, onion, pepper dish. Upon waking the day after, I found that the leftovers were every bit as good. So far, Asian food in Cleveland has not failed to impress, with food that is spicy, not overly sweet, and which combines some totally original and unabashed flavors. An odd garish place, completely abandoned at 5:30 on a Friday, but that had an undeniable charm. Any eatery whose website is ohiorestaurant.com and is run by a man claiming to be named "Mono Bun" has to have some charisma.

A Thwarted Bite - My miraculous jedi mind skills stopped a big ravenous white dog in his tracks while running! Aw shit!

Lucky's Cafe
777 Starkweather Ave.
Tremont

A delicious simple corner coffeehouse/bakery with exquisite brunch options and atmosphere. The emphasis is definitely on sweet combos and slightly adventuresome baking. We split an order of sweet potato waffles with apple compote and honey whipped cream, sausage gravy with cheddar scallion biscuit and home fries, a Shipwreck of eggs, veggies, bacon, potatoes, fresh-made bagueette and homemade jelly, and a side order of pecan praline encrusted bacon. Totally delicious, totally fresh food, although bring your sweet tooth. Even the sweet potato waffles were just a hint of savory amidst a mountain of warm stewed apples and ice-cream like whipping! It was tough not to go crazy buying pastries after our meal, as the muffin selection put my muffin experiments to shame! One sign that this is a solid establishment: All the eggs I saw brought out were wet, juicy, fluffy. The emphasis was on flavors and sauces that mixed up in creamy goodness, a prerequisite for any truly great breakfast experience.