A hungry girl's adventures in Cleveland and beyond.
Thanks to Independence's central location, it's a great place to meet friends from both sides of the river. If you venture off Rockside Road, you'll find a gem of a restaurant called Scratch. They serve breakfast and lunch, and as the name implies, most everything is made from scratch.
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Don't miss their decadent pancakes! These will have you coming back again and again. Thankfully the tiramisu pancakes are a regular menu item. Served with a coffee liquor reduction flavored syrup, chocolate ganache and vanilla mousse, these could easily stand in for dessert. Pro tip: order your toppings on the side so the fluffy pancakes don't get soggy.
Look for other flavors like chocolate peanut butter, cinnamon roll and pumpkin roll on the specials menu. I wish they offered more varieties as every day options - blueberry or pecan would be easy and tasty additions to the regular menu. You can also satisfy your sweet tooth with bread pudding french toast and strawberry shortcake waffles. All come with your choice of homemade sausage patty or pork belly. If you don't like your sausage smokey, choose the pork belly.
Latke Sliders from the lunch menu are a fun riff on a reuben that has potato pancakes standing in for the traditional rye bread with corned beef in thick slices (a little too thick maybe) and cheese melted overtop.
One of my favorites is the "Don't Call It...Corned Beef Hash." Potato boxty and corned beef are topped with green peppers, onions and two sunny side up eggs.
Some other things to try are the fresh made chicken fingers, El Cubano and the Scratch Burger with grilled onions, pork belly, cheddar cheese and a whiskey glaze.
The only thing I ever ordered that I didn't like was the Smokehouse Burrito (smoked pulled pork, potatoes, cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs and salsa verde.) While it sounds like a total winner, the pork was too plentiful and smokey so it overwhelmed the burrito and it desparately needed some contrasting flavors, crunch and a zippier sauce. Even some lime on the side would have helped. To make things worse, at the time I ordered this, they didn't offer any hot sauce - this situation has thankfully been remedied with the addition of Tabasco, Sriracha and Chulo.
Scratch is a tasty spot for an early weekday meal and perfect for Saturday brunch.
Pros:
Locally owned and homemade food
Swoon worthy pancakes
Coffee - both drip and french press
Taco Tuesday - 2 for $5
Cons:
Closed on Sunday
French fries
Smoked meats are a bit too smokey
You can also check out my friend Bite Buff's thoughts here.
Scratch Restaurant
6595 Brecksville Road #1
Independence, Ohio. 44131
216-312-2190
Hours: Tues-Sat 7am-3pm
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