Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream on West 25th Street in Ohio City, the Mitchell brothers' scoop room and production kitchen inside the former 1919 Rialto Theater, runs the city's defining daily-made ice cream.
Why locals love it: A scoop shop and production facility inside a former 1919 movie-theater entrance you can walk under without noticing
Tip: Look for the cinema marquee on West 25th; the production room is glass-walled, watch the ice cream made fresh
Address: 1867 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH 44113
Larder Delicatessen and Bakery in the Hingetown firehouse on West 29th Street, the Jeremy Umansky and Allie La Valle koji project, runs the most quietly experimental deli room in Ohio.
Why locals love it: A James Beard-recognized koji and fermentation deli inside a converted firehouse that reads as a small lunch counter
Tip: Order the koji-cured corned beef sandwich on house rye; the deli closes early on weekdays, plan for lunch
Phnom Penh Restaurant across from the West Side Market on West 25th Street, a family-run BYOB Cambodian room, runs the city's defining Southeast Asian noodle bowls and curries in plain sight.
Why locals love it: A family-run BYOB Cambodian room across from the West Side Market that almost nobody walking the market notices
Tip: BYOB so bring a wine across the street from the market; the coconut milk Cambodian curry is the standout
Larder Delicatessen and Bakery in the Hingetown firehouse on West 29th Street, the Jeremy Umansky and Allie La Valle koji project, runs the most quietly experimental deli room in Ohio.
Why locals love it: A James Beard-recognized koji and fermentation deli inside a converted firehouse that reads as a small lunch counter
Tip: Order the koji-cured corned beef sandwich on house rye; the deli closes early on weekdays, plan for lunch
Slyman's Restaurant on St Clair Avenue, the Slyman family corned beef counter since 1964, anchors the city's defining hidden-in-plain-sight diner alongside a busy weekday breakfast and lunch trade.
Why locals love it: A 1964 sit-down deli on a non-touristy stretch of St Clair Avenue, hidden in plain sight by suburban diners not in the know
Tip: Order the corned beef on rye and ask for extra mustard; cash and card both work but the line moves faster at the counter
Phnom Penh Restaurant across from the West Side Market on West 25th Street, a family-run BYOB Cambodian room, runs the city's defining Southeast Asian noodle bowls and curries in plain sight.
Why locals love it: A family-run BYOB Cambodian room across from the West Side Market that almost nobody walking the market notices
Tip: BYOB so bring a wine across the street from the market; the coconut milk Cambodian curry is the standout
Tommy's Restaurant on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights since 1972, a vegetarian-leaning diner that hides a meat-eater menu, anchors the Cedar-Lee east-side diet-friendly crowd from breakfast through dinner.
Why locals love it: A 1972 vegetarian-with-meat-options diner that locals know is way better than the Coventry tourist menu suggests
Tip: Order the falafel sandwich plus a chocolate hand-mixed milkshake; the menu has every diet covered side-by-side
Velvet Tango Room on Columbus Road in Tremont, Paulius Nasvytis's unmarked craft cocktail room since 1996, runs scratch-built pre-Prohibition drinks on a vintage-jazz soundtrack you have to know to find.
Why locals love it: An unmarked 1996 craft cocktail room on an industrial stretch of Columbus Road that you'd never walk past
Tip: Book ahead for a table on Friday or Saturday; every drink is built from scratch, expect a wait between rounds
Mama Santa's on Mayfield Road in Little Italy since 1961, the Santa family Sicilian-style pizzeria, anchors the Murray Hill block's cheapest hot lunch and family-style pasta dinner side by side.
Why locals love it: A 1961 family-run Sicilian pizzeria in Little Italy that gets overshadowed by the heavier-marketed Mayfield Road pasta rooms
Tip: Order a square Sicilian pizza and a side of meatballs; the lunch slice is the cheapest hot meal in Little Italy
