These days, the term “gastropub” gets thrown around with carelessness. Originally meant to convey the concept of a drinking establishment that serves high-end food, its connotation has devolved to, basically, “a bar with food.”

Photo by Mark Koestner

That’s certainly not the case with Concord Township’s latest entry on the eating/drinking scene: Pub Frato, a pub that genuinely puts the “gastro” in “gastropub.”

And it’s a little unexpected when you walk in. The pub occupies a space that formerly housed a coffee house in the Gristmill Village shopping strip, and it has similarly small physical footprint. A contemporary, concrete-and-corrugated metal bar occupies most of one half of the long, narrow space, and a few tables along the opposite reclaimed-wood wall are situated close together.

It’s an intimate place, where you can imbibe shoulder-to-shoulder with your friends and easily meet new ones, which our party did on a recent Saturday. Twelve taps of craft beers and a creative cocktail menu send the message that Pub Frato takes its drinks seriously. But when you sit down for a meal, there’s no mistaking it: The food here is the real deal.

Read more from Correspondent Mark Koestner's review: Dining Out: Concord Township's Pub Frato is true, wonderful gastropub.

It has since become a fixture in Lake County’s dining and entertainment scene, but there was a time when Redhawk Grille was a fledgling business.

It was about 20 years ago, when it first opened, that I first ate there. My in-laws lived (and still do) nearby, and we gave it a try. Since then, we’ve been back dozens of times — but only during the summer to eat out on the fantastic patio.

So until a couple weeks ago, it had been nearly two decades since I had eaten a meal inside Redhawk’s actual walls. I figured that a re-opening after a fire closed the place for four months was as good a time as any. Redhawk opened again in December after sustaining mostly cosmetic damage in the August blaze.

The most obvious changes made post-fire are on Redhawk’s bar side. It’s definitely more modern, with a new bar, stone surfaces and updated fixtures, and it features more seating than in the past. It’s got more of an upscale, lively feel to it.

Read more in Mark Koestner's review: Dining Out: Concord Township’s Redhawk Grille soars since reopening following 2012 fire.

Local food deal is up now on Groupon for J B Milano’s in Richmond Heights spend $15 and get $30 worth of Italian food and non-alcoholic drinks. You may need to click on All Deals up at the top of the page, because Groupon updates its deals frequently to find the deal. You have until Friday morning at 4 a.m. to buy the deal.

There’s also a deal for Luchita’s Mexican Restaurant on West 117th Street in Cleveland. This deal, which doesn’t expire until the clock strikes 12 on Friday night, is your pick between $29 for a prix fixe Mexican dinner for two ($58.35 total value) or $58 for a prix fixe Mexican dinner for four ($116.70 total value).

The prix fixe menu includes for each pair of diners:

• One guacamole or empanada flight

• Two soups or salads

• One appetizer, such as nachos or flautas

• Two entrees, such as chiles rellenos or pork tacos

LivingSocial also has a deal for John Palmer’s Bistro 44 in Concord Township. Spend $25 and get $50 to spend on food and non-alcoholic drinks. Looks like this deal should be available until sometime Friday.

Happy eating!

-- Nicole Franz | NiFranz@News-Herald.com | @FranzOrFoe