Lola // I love black beans. I cook with them all the time and am a sucker for any dish that lists this as an ingredient. I even made brownies last night that called for black beans as a secret ingredient. A few weeks ago I met a client for lunch at Lola, her first visit. I started with the pureed black bean soup topped with cilantro and I believe bits of guanciale. Outstanding. If I wasn’t with my client, I would have easily ordered a second bowl! Incredibly smooth and perhaps the lightest version of this soup I’ve ever tried. I’m still thinking about it. And the best part about going to East 4^th for lunch? Grabbing a cappuccino at Erie Island after. Best in the city.

Shinano // The service is so slow that sometimes I swear they even forget you’re there. But they make a good roll. Several in fact. And that’s why I keep going back. And if you’re not in hurry, it’s a good place for lunch (actually, the food comes out super fast; it’s just taking your order and dropping off the check that they’re fairly leisurely about). The one roll in particular that keeps me coming back is the Volcano – an inside out roll with crab and avocado topped with broiled scallop, octopus tobiko and mayo. This roll is so good, that we ended up ordering a second one for the table on our last visit. The only thing I didn’t care for the first time I tried it was the amount of mayo. So when I get it, I always ask for very little mayo and it’s perfect each time.

Moxie // With its proximity to our office, this ends up being a popular spot for meetings. On this lunch in particular, I met with the coordinator for Flavors, the main fundraiser for The American Liver Foundation (I’m volunteering this year), who suggested we meet here. Moxie has several salads I like off the lunch menu, but this time I opted for something new – the Atlantic salmon with cauliflower puree, cauliflower florets and pomegranate reduction. Part of my New Year’s resolution was to eat more fish (cook more actually, but this counts), and with this dish, I’d eat it daily. I may never order salads at Moxie again.

Phnom Penh // Nothing warms you up during a Cleveland winter like a bowl of spicy hue beef soup with rice noodles, beef brisket and lemon grass. Pair it with their overstuffed and aromatic egg roll, and you’ll leave happy. While my past few visits here have been hit or miss, this place is still one of my favorites and this soup is the reason why.

If you haven’t been to either location (we prefer the one on W 25th), Phnom Penh specializes in Cambodian and Vietnamese cuisine. We were first introduced to this tiny place a few years ago by a good friend and colleague.

We each started off with a cup of soup, rice noodle for me and hue beef for Jamie, an egg roll a piece and split their version of mild Pad Thai with chicken.

I really enjoyed my soup, which is served with seasoned pork, shrimp and rice noodles in a chicken broth. This soup has really good flavor, especially the pork. Jamie’s soup, which is supposed to be very spicy, had rice noodles, beef brisket, lemon grass and a variety of other hot spices with a wonderful aroma. On past visits, his nose would run from the intense spice – which he loves. This time, it was fairly mild. He also commented that something overall was missing and that it wasn’t as good as he remembers. Aside from my soup, this was pretty consistent with the remainder of our meal.

In previous visits, we have both enjoyed the egg rolls and have told others they are the best in town. I want to say cinnamon, although I’m not sure it’s that simple, but the egg rolls usually have a very distinct flavor and really stand out from their traditional counterparts. Yesterday, however, that memorable flavor was noticeably missing. They weren’t bad per se, just not what they can be.

The same was true for our Pad Thai. It wasn’t unenjoyable by any means, just not as good as we have had it there in the past. And even though their version is quite different from that of Lemon Grass or even Mint/Peppermint, it still was a bit bland and only seemed to improve once I squeezed several limes over the noodles.

If this was our first visit to Phnom Penh, I’d say it wasn’t bad overall. But this wasn’t our first trip and these same dishes have been prepared much, much better in the past. So, I’ll chalk it up to a fluke and will definitely go back. But if it’s like this again the next time, then I’m not sure I’d be as forgiving. There are too many wonderful places in town to settle.

Peppermint’s decor is pretty simple – clean and basic. It sort of reminds me of Phnom Penh (the W 25th location) – no frills, but still nice. The service was good, too. A little slow on the water refills, and apparently clueless about the wine list, but otherwise quick and friendly and the food was delivered fast – maybe even too fast.

For an appetizer, we split the shumai. These tater tot-looking mini dumplings were fried with shrimp and vegetables and served with ginger soy sauce. Although quite tasty, they were a bit on the small side – even for an appetizer. For one person it would be ideal, but since we usually split an appetizer we’ll try something different next time.

For dinner, we both had the Pad Thai, although Jamie went with the spicier country style version. Part of me didn’t want to order this and try something new, like the tamarind duck or scallop eggplant. But it’s been a while since I’ve had my favorite comfort food and couldn’t resist. After one bite I was sold – it’s just as good as I remember (maybe even better since it’s so close to home!). To me, this is the best Pad Thai in town, although Lemon Grass is a close second and I do enjoy Phnom Penh’s non-traditional version.

Overall, everything was delicious. And from the looks of the happy customers around us, they were just as happy. Welcome to the neighborhood, Peppermint. We’ll be regulars for sure.

Peppermint: 216 464 5432