Hatfield's - Southern Grub in Northeast Ohio

“On the Sunday morning sidewalk wishing, Lord, that I was stoned 'cause there's something in a Sunday makes a body feel alone”

– Kris Kristofferson, Sunday Morning Coming Down

I woke up Sunday morning…after an eventful three-day trip to Cleveland, filled with great times visiting family and friends. That sounds pleasant and no reason for bad emotion. But, I was facing an eleven-hour drive back to Charleston and we all know how Sundays can be. The ultimate psychological paradox of being one of two off days from work and biblically coined the “day of rest”, yet simultaneously conjuring up feelings of anxiety, fear, and worry.

Well lucky for me, Nancy was quick to combat this with a “Hey, let’s go out to breakfast” and she wasn't taking no for an answer. She had a unique spot in mind and Anna, Mack, Chris, and Katie all jumped on board. Hatfield’s (https://www.hatfieldsgoodegrub.com/) is a southern comfort food spot that started as a food truck and was founded by Ken Hatfield, a descendant of the original Family Feud (no, not this one – but humor me and click on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvrwPEgHq_A).

Ok, let’s get to it:

Location: Hatfield’s is located in Kamm’s Corner in Westpark, a heavily ethnic neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland. It’s right beside the bar Throwbacks, formerly known as Price’s, where I have a lot of fond memories, including but not limited to the following:

1. Watching the 2012 Buckeyes cap off their historic 12-0 season by beating Michigan.

2. Chris getting verbally assaulted by a drunk, 21-year-old, female hipster who apparently took Chris for (and offense to him allegedly being) the Bud Light type. Dan Redling then unsuccessfully hit on her.

3. Jay Creech losing his battle with Christmas Ale that went a little something like this: 1) Jay drank many Christmas Ales in a short amount of time, 2) Jay moved briskly to the bathroom, 3) time passed and Jay came back to the bar, 4) the bartender handed Jay a mop and bucket, and 5) Jay mopped up Christmas Ales and his insides from the bathroom floor.

10/10

Food: I’d like to come back and try some of their lunch & dinner items (specifically whole wings, burgers, and brisket), but I can only opine on what I ate and that was the Hillbilly Benedict. The southern take on this classic used corn fritter in replace of English muffin, pulled pork en vez de ham, put a little smoke in the hollandaise sauce, and added a touch of their mild hot sauce. I appreciated the corn fritter and pulled pork but wasn’t in love with the smokey hollandaise or hot sauce (too sweet). But, overall still enjoyable.

7/10

Ambience

1. The place is huge, and we were able to walk in during prime breakfast hour and be seated immediately. I was a big fan of the openness.

2. Pool tables, skeet-ball, arcade games, massive big screens, and a full bar.

3. A mixture antique tables, high tops, and bourbon barrels.

4. Full Bar

5. Upstairs area for music and open mike night

8/10

All in all a great spot and great choice by Nancy. Thanks to Anna, Katie, Chris, and Mack for joining us and making Sunday fun. Until next time.