In August, Vicky Levy and John Moehle opened the Wedgewood Restaurant & Lounge in the Wedgewood shopping center, just off Euclid Avenue on the east side. You wouldn’t guess to look at it, but before it was a restaurant the space had been occupied by a Radio Shack.
Levy is a first-time restaurant owner, but Moehle has been in the game for years with his Now or Later Restaurant on East University Avenue. The dishes served at Wedgewood come from Moehle’s recipes, so if you like Now or Later you should feel at home with the new restaurant.
“Mainly we wanted to open here because there’s nothing in this area but fast food,” Levy said. “We wanted to try a little nicer place.”
The menu includes a build-your-own pasta option, letting diners pick from seven different pastas, 11 different sauces and a number of toppers. There are specialty pastas like lasagna, chicken Parmesan, stuffed peppers and more. For bigger meals there are beef, pork, chicken and seafood sections on the menu, with everything from bacon-wrapped pork loin and lobster to chicken fried steak and meatloaf.
My co-worker and I stuck to the sandwich section for our lunch. Everything there is $6 to $8 (except for a $10 steak sandwich), with a burger, patty melt, French dip, meatball, pork tenderloin and more options.
I ordered the grinder, made with seasoned Graziano sausage topped with melted cheese and served on a toasted hoagie bun. The meat was well- cooked, and had the wonderful flavor that you would expect from Graziano’s.
My co-worker ordered the chicken cordon bleu, which wasn’t made by stuffing the ham and mozzarella into the chicken breast, but rather served on top. That no doubt makes prep work easier, but doesn’t change the flavor profile much. He was fond of the ham, which he described as having a prosciutto-like quality.
Each sandwich comes with a side, and there are some interesting options. In addition to regular options like fries, onion rings and baked potatoes there are baked sweet potatoes, cottage fries, steamed veggies and more. I went with regular fries, which were good, but my co-workers cottage fries looked amazing. They were big chunks of potato, which seemed to have been cut in house.
Wedgewood is a nice break from the sea of fast food along Euclid. It’s not flashy, but it has the feel of an east-side business with some history to it. It’s a better addition to the strip mall it’s in than another place to buy a cellphone.
Our receipt
Grinder... $6
Chicken cordon bleu... $8
Total with tax and tip: $17.84
Wedgewood Restaurant & Lounge
Find it: 3517 E. 26th St.
Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Info: 777-3401
