Chimi Chimi What?

They call me an Aviator. I flew a number of airplanes in the Air Force: The B-52 Stratofortress, Gliders, Cessnas, and a few other trainers. I no longer fly, so I am no longer a pilot (according to my wife, Lisa). She calls me a retired pilot as it is a more accurate statement and less wording than “He’s awesome and God’s gift to Aviation”. We went to a restaurant aptly named “The Aviator”. It’s the current iteration of a restaurant near the Cleveland-Hopkins airport with a view of the runways and terminal. I could sit in the dining room all day just watching airliners come and go. This particular trip was for my birthday, and it was the first time we had gone since they switched names.

I got the Ribeye, which was overpriced for its size, but still delicious. It was seasoned well and tender. It came with a Chimichurri sauce. I didn’t know what that was, and the green color put me off a bit. For those like me who don’t know, it’s not a small rodent, that’s the Chinchilla, and it’s not the Chupacabra. It isn’t a delicious Chimichanga either. Honestly, who puts a deep-fried burrito next to a Ribeye? I mean, I would eat a Chimichanga with a steak if given the chance. Who wouldn’t? Back to the sauce. It has a nice citrus flavor I found different and likable. Chimichurri isn’t too strong. It’s no Bleu Cheese, but I enjoyed it. I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to steak sauces as I feel if you have to put any kind of sauce on a steak, either you don’t know how to season it properly or it’s a bad cut of meat, and you’re trying to hide it. I know a restaurant that put a “house gravy” on a steak and I’ve regretted going there ever since. I also haven’t had A-1 Steak Sauce since I was a kid. The Ribeye sat on a bed of sautéed red and yellow peppers with onions and small potatoes. I wouldn’t get it again due to the price, but I did like it.

My wife got the Cajun Seafood Pasta and it was about as Cajun as a Canadian Mountie eating boiled crawfish and making faces about how gross it is. I happen to like crawfish, having lived in Louisiana for a number of years. I like me some Cajun. Most places, like this restaurant, add a little more pepper than usual and call it “Blackened” or “Cajun”. This dish was peppery, but that was it. It had no Louisiana kick to it. It’s the midwestern idea of spicy Cajun without the spicy.

For dessert, I had a Buckeye Cannoli. A Peanut Butter Chocolate Cannoli should not be a thing. It’s the chocolate shell and the peanut butter filling that ruined it. The good news is my wife got the cheesecake. It’s made in-house and she called it the “The best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten”. I tasted it. It ranked up there in the top 3 for me. It’s smooth and creamy with all the right flavors. As my wife is part Italian, her taste buds told her there was probably ricotta cheese in there. She loved every bite and I wished I had got that instead of the cannoli. The cheesecake took me back to a frozen chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick I had in Colorado. The chocolate would melt in your mouth first, and just as it settled down, the cheesecake melted… BAM! You were hooked. Alone, this Aviator cheesecake is really good. On a stick, covered in chocolate… well, that would be a slice of heaven.

Overall, I’d return and try some of the other dishes. I would definitely get the cheesecake this time. If you do go, don’t ask for the Chimichanga steak. It’s not on the menu.