Mabel's BBQ Eton

Mabel's BBQ, located in the Eton shopping center in Woodmere is all its cracked up to be. Juicy, succulent cuts of smoked brisket, glazed pork belly, pulled pork graced many platters of evening meals. I have searched the world over for great BBQ and Mabel's got it! Micheal Simon really got it right at his 2nd BBQ spot in Cleveland. (First located on 4th street, downtown)

I have been to the downtown location many times. It's always consistent. However, the Eton location leaves a lot to be desired. I'm not a food critic nor a chef, but I can tell you that some of the items tasted re-heated. The "fatty" brisket looked and tasted like a charcoal briquette, dry and hard as a rock. The pork belly was fair. The turkey had a good flavor, but also was very dry. The pork ribs had very little flavor. When you bite into a rib, you should not be able to bite through the bone. Classic sign of being over cooked. They also lacked the classic Mabel's celery seed flavor. I'm not sure if I went on an off night, but a restaurant that's open only 4 days a week for dinner only should have fresher tasting items. As of now, the Eton location is a hard pass for me. Very unfortunate.

I found this spot when looking at the most reviewed places in Cleveland (the downtown location came up). This one is a lot closer to where my parents live so we went for dinner. They have a small amount of outdoor seating. It's mostly sunny, but luckily we got there as the sun went behind the building and gave us some shade. My husband and I shared: - Pork Belly - Beef Brisket (fatty) - Loaded Fried Potatoes - Summer Squash Salad Both of the meats were tender and delicious. The glaze on the pork belly was very good. I'm not used to seeing pork belly on the menu at a BBQ spot, but I was happy to see it here. The loaded fried potatoes were one of my favorite things. The portion size was huge. The potatoes were crispy and the toppings were plentiful. The summer squash salad was good, but it was a little too healthy tasting for my preference of side at a BBQ spot. The only complaint I have is that the portion sizes of the meat were pretty small. If the loaded fried potatoes hadn't been so