Fun Playing With Goodies Bistro-Bakery

It has been a tough twelve months for locally owned eateries on Mayfield Road between South Euclid and Mayfield Heights. We've lost no fewer than four restaurants that I can think of, and though three new ones opened, only two of the three are locally owned and operated (Old Carolina BBQ is a small regional chain, but a chain nonetheless). Those two would be Redhot Cabana to the west (opened February 2013), and Smoked BBQ (in DiCillo's Tavern) to the east. 

Yesterday, a new entry joined their ranks, located at 5416 Mayfield Road, between Richmond and Brainard, in a space previously occupied by our beloved Tastee Bites/La Pita, and the well intentioned Bella Cibo after that. Please welcome Goodies Bistro-Bakery to the neighborhood! Their website isn't quite functional as of this writing, but you will be warmly welcomed if you call them at 440-605-9400.

The modest space, which holds about 15 diners, has gone white-tablecloth, but don't let the ambiance fool you. If my experience was any indication of what's to come, Goodies will provide tasty, mostly made-from-scratch sandwiches and salads for eat-in, delivery and take-out at very wallet friendly price points. 

Though the place is locally owned, the operators today were all staff. They seemed experienced and were most enthusiastic about the food and the service.

The Chef (whose name I forgot to get; apologies!) suggested the house-roasted turkey, and boasted that his panini would be a completely different animal from the usual grilled-to-death lunchmeat sandwich. Taking him up on this, I selected the Turkey & Cheddar Panini, which looked to be a bargain for house-made meat and bread (more on that in a moment) for $4.99.

With "bakery" in the name, one would expect all the bread to be made in house; while that is the plan, the restaurant is presently one oven short of a full deck, and so is making some bread and outsourcing some bread (but you could do worse than Pincus Bakery for rye). Given the choice of house-made baguette or foccacia, I left it to the Chef. 

Turkey Panini on House-made Mini Baguette with Caramelized Onions and House Made Mustard Aioli

Goes to show you how biases work - this sandwich came with a huge pickle, that looked pretty good for a pickle; somehow, despite the real estate it took up on the plate, it didn't make it into my photographs. Hopefully, next time someone who likes pickles will be available for a critique of it. The caramelized onions were an unexpected treat and added great dimension to an already tasty sandwich (really, you can't fault them for the slices of pasty winter tomato). While I generally prefer ketchup and mayo on turkey, the hint of mustard coming through the dressing worked extremely well. The turkey was fresh and moist and a worthy star of the sandwich.

They also talked me into an order of the Fresh Cut Fries, and it was a wise decision at $1.79.

Whereas the dear departed Freddie's up the street could never get any crispiness to their house cut fries, these fries for the most part had both the fresh taste (and lack of chemicals/preservatives) of house made potatoes, and satisfying firmness. Vinegar was available, but I'm a ketchup kinda gal. With a can of pop and tax, my lunch came to about $8 and half came back to the office with me for lunch tomorrow!

Goodies opened yesterday even though a few pieces aren't quite in place yet; that should not deter you from giving them a try if you are in the neighborhood and hungry for some fun playing with lunch. Breakfast and later hours, delivery, and more in-house baked goods will commence shortly, but for now, it's lunch only (eat in or take out). The pastries, which are mostly not yet made in house, looked delicious. The size of the menu is modest, but quality is always more fun than quantity, and if my lunch today is representative of the offerings, you will have fun playing with the food at Goodies.