Labor Day Brunch- Johnny Mango's

"R" and I have had a busy summer, and September is no exception. When Labor Day weekend rolled around, we purposely kept our plans minimal. It was glorious. Slept in each day, bummed around town doing errands and enjoying the few hours without rain, Oktoberfest with friends, and a plan-free Monday. What to do?

Brunch, of course! I knew that only a couple of places were open on Labor Day, Lucky's Cafe being one of them. It's one of our favorite splurge brunch spots, so we headed there around 11AM. The line was pouring out the door, and it was standing room only in the outdoor dining area. Without even getting out of the car, I knew that the wait was going to be longer than we wanted. So, we headed through Tremont and into Ohio City.

I love having easy access to these two neighborhoods. Johnny Mango's on Fulton was our destination.

It's no secret that I generally don't like Johnny Mango's food. On my first visit (years ago), I had the worst burrito of my life. About 85% of it was cold iceberg lettuce, and all other flavor was lost. Since then, I always stick to their Pad Thai (which they are known for). It's decent, but I've had better. But we had never been for brunch, and I do like trying new spots.

The morning was gorgeous, so we settled in on the patio and I ordered a Mango Mimosa. I like that they offer several different flavors.

After consulting our server (who was absent most of the meal, and we had to wait forever for our food and then the check), I ordered the Huevos Rancheros with two sunny side up eggs, ranchero sauce, and cheese atop crispy corn tortillas and served with beans and corn bread.

It is one of their more popular brunch items. Overall, it was what I was expecting-- decent, but very bland. The only thing that I truly enjoyed was the dense corn bread. I'm a sucker for good corn bread.

"R" ordered the Breakfast Quesadilla ($7.95), and his thoughts on the dish were very similar. Good, but not anything special. I do have to mention that the tortilla was so hard to cut through that it became hard to manage.

So, I left there feeling very "meh" about the place--once again. I feel like I am the only one that doesn't like Johnny Mango's food. I guess that I just expect more from a "World Cafe" that is serving traditional cuisines from other countries that typically pack quite a punch of flavor and spice into their food.

What are your thoughts?

Johnny Mango's World Cafe & Bar
3120 Bridge Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-575-1919