Through decades of traveling and countless night stays, meals, and experiences, it’s difficult to recall every moment spent abroad. This is especially true for a travel writer like me, who has spent the past 15+ years traveling to 25+ countries. Every day in a new place consists of several meals, a new bed to lay my head down on, new people, cultures, and ways of life. And after awhile it can be difficult to remember every detail. But what’s left is a general feel for the place.
I can always remember the feel of a place, the flavors, the character of a destination, but I don’t always remember the individual meals, or the rooms I’ve had the pleasure to spend a night in. I can distinctly remember my first night in a hostel in Spain, yet can barely dredge up a shadow of a memory for the dozens that followed. If I sit down and scour a map, along with my photo albums, then I can bring back much of that detail. So while I gain a general sense of how a place made me feel, I don’t always remember, and sometimes that realization can feel sad to me. But it is the rare experiences that stick with me and flavor a place or a chapter in my life.
One of those occasions is when I toured Cleveland, Ohio, where I enjoyed a meal at the famous Mallorca restaurant. This downtown culinary gem has been a staple of Cleveland night life for decades. They have done something truly amazing, holding onto the same chef for 25+ years and staff for 20+, which tells me they’re doing something right. What’s more is they consistently are rated four and five stars across the board. The story and the history of top notch reviews made me curious about what they’re doing so right.
I emailed in and asked to join them for a meal, and they welcomed me in graciously. The staff was kind, attentive, and flooded me and my friend with enough food for a family of eight. I can’t tell you how amazing the quality of the food is, because I simply won’t do justice. Mallorca specializes in Iberian peninsula food, so Spanish and Portuguese dishes, and everything they had us sample was phenomenal. They started us off with a range of appetizers like shrimp in garlic sauce, chorizo sausage (oh my god was it gooood!), calamaris, mussels in spicy tomato sauce, stuffed mushrooms and portabellas with cheese.
The star was the chorizo but every starter dish took you on an adventure of bold and rich flavor that had me damn near stuffed before they brought out my main dish. My friend ordered a steak filet and enjoyed himself immensely, but I decided to go more traditional by going for the paella. Mallorca’s Paella Valenciana is a seafood casserole of sorts, which was topped with an astounding display of seafood and meals like chicken, chorizo, mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, and langostino. Every bite was fantastic, perfectly cooked, tender and succulent. I was almost ill by the time I left for the night, but I couldn’t be happier.
For desert… I can’t believe we had desert too. The belt was stretched thin by this point, threads holding on for dear life. As you can see from the photos, the presentation was just as gorgeous as everything else, and the flavors were rich, and sweet, and perfected so well I couldn’t even nitpick if I wanted to. It was a spectacular experience that will stick with me for years to come!
One of those occasions is when I toured Cleveland, Ohio, where I enjoyed a meal at the famous Mallorca restaurant. This downtown culinary gem has been a staple of Cleveland night life for decades. They have done something truly amazing, holding onto the same chef for 25+ years and staff for 20+, which tells me they’re doing something right. What’s more is they consistently are rated four and five stars across the board. The story and the history of top notch reviews made me curious about what they’re doing so right.
I emailed in and asked to join them for a meal, and they welcomed me in graciously. The staff was kind, attentive, and flooded me and my friend with enough food for a family of eight. I can’t tell you how amazing the quality of the food is, because I simply won’t do justice. Mallorca specializes in Iberian peninsula food, so Spanish and Portuguese dishes, and everything they had us sample was phenomenal. They started us off with a range of appetizers like shrimp in garlic sauce, chorizo sausage (oh my god was it gooood!), calamaris, mussels in spicy tomato sauce, stuffed mushrooms and portabellas with cheese.
The star was the chorizo but every starter dish took you on an adventure of bold and rich flavor that had me damn near stuffed before they brought out my main dish. My friend ordered a steak filet and enjoyed himself immensely, but I decided to go more traditional by going for the paella. Mallorca’s Paella Valenciana is a seafood casserole of sorts, which was topped with an astounding display of seafood and meals like chicken, chorizo, mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, and langostino. Every bite was fantastic, perfectly cooked, tender and succulent. I was almost ill by the time I left for the night, but I couldn’t be happier.
For desert… I can’t believe we had desert too. The belt was stretched thin by this point, threads holding on for dear life. As you can see from the photos, the presentation was just as gorgeous as everything else, and the flavors were rich, and sweet, and perfected so well I couldn’t even nitpick if I wanted to. It was a spectacular experience that will stick with me for years to come!
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