Euclid Tavern

Memory has an uneasy relationship with reality sometimes. For me, this is often tied to spaces. There are places which I knew so well that they remain very real in my mind. This is not to say I visit them in my mind, but rather my memory of the space is so strong, I sometimes forget that they no longer exist. To me, this is particularly true of spaces that are tied with childhood and adolescence. I know that my childhood home is no longer as I remember it—but I remember the interior so well, I feel as if I could walk right in and sit on the brown plaid sofa. (It was the early 80s.)

The old Euclid Tavern is another one of those spaces. The beer coated floors, the dark interiors, the indistinct interior colors, the plastic cups, the scores of Case students…. So, when I heard it was reopening, I hoped to never patronize the establishment. Not that I heard bad things, but because I was loathe to displace my memories of the Euke.

Last week, another friend named C— and I had a lunch date. We hadn’t spoken in ages and we both had some fairly serious news to discuss. As such, I was much more focused on our conversations than lunch, so I had no restaurant plans. She was craving sandwiches as the weather was cold. On our way out of work, I asked a coworker for a recommendation. The Tavern was the first thing that came to his mind.

So it happened that I was seated at the Euke eating a sandwich in the middle of the afternoon last week. When we walked in, I decided it would be best to set the old place aside. The floors were clean and polished—in fact the whole restaurant was. It was not totally different—Thank God. It was just cleaned up. Later than evening, my husband asked if they still had the wood floors, and I told him that I had always thought the floors were made of beer.

We each ordered a sandwich—Crab burger with sweet potato fries and meatloaf with French fries. I didn’t taste the crab burger, but the sweet potato fries were nice. We also had the Moroccan Beef with Couscous. While not really a Moroccan tagine, it was wonderfully beefy with raisins to add sweetness. University Circle really needed a place like the new Euclid Tavern—good burgers and sandwiches. But, what is nicest to me is that the space kept the best of the old place. I think when I hear someone say Euclid Tavern I will still think about cheap beer and being underage, but then I will also think it is probably the best place for a hot sandwich in University Circle.