Town Fryer

3859 Superior Ave E
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 426-9235

The Town Fryer has been around for a while now. They closed their doors for a spell then reopened under the same ownership and decided to only be open for lunch. When I visited in the past the food was consistently good. The fried pickles, fried chicken, red beans and rice, fried Twinkies, all were delicious. Every time I entered the small establishment complete with two dining areas, one by the bar and one on the other side of the entrance, they were busy and the sweet fried aroma wafted through the air. They even had live music on certain nights of the week, and the bar is looked down on by a deer head complete with Elvis sunglasses.
Well, my first visit back since the reopening was just not the same. Everyone was friendly, and the service was prompt and attentive. Unfortunately, the food was just not as good as it once was. First of all, I ordered a cup of coffee. I don't necessarily have a problem with flavored coffees, well maybe I do, but if your standard cup of coffee is flavored you would think the establishment would tell you. The coffee was hazelnut.
We started with a basket of Fried Pickles. Sweet, salty, fried, greasy morsels. Good stuff. I ordered the red beans and rice. The portions are offered in small, medium, and large. The medium was huge. The beans and rice were perfectly cooked, the Andouille Sausage was tasty, but not quite as spicy as I would prefer, and there were only about six pieces of the meaty slices in the whole bowl, not enough I would say. I also ordered the Fried Mac and Cheese, but again was disappointed. The crust was dry and doughy instead of crisp and light. The Mac and Cheese itself lacked the cheesy flavor that it had in the past. My companion ordered the gumbo. They didn't seem too impressed either.
After the not so impressive meals we passed on the fried Twinkies and fried Oreos this visit, although they were very good last time.
I wish them all the best in the future but if they continue to serve the uninspired lack luster fare it probably will be a while before I return.