I remember seeing Sterle’s Country House in Cleveland on an episode of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” a few years ago and, recalling the place from my childhood, thinking that it was none of those.

It’s not, but it’s not exactly the place from my childhood, either.

Frank Sterle opened what used to be known as Frank Sterle’s Slovenian Country House on East 55 Street in 1954. If you have Slovenian roots and have lived in Cleveland at any time since then, you’ve probably been to the place. Sterle died in 1986, and the restaurant was operated by new partners from then until 2012, when Rick Semersky bought it.

It’s still going to be known simply as “Sterle’s” (ster-LEES) by most of its longstanding clientele, so the tweak to the name isn’t a big deal. A bigger deal is that there’s now an outdoor bier garden, waitresses in black T-shirts instead of the traditional dirndl, and some items on the menu that Frank Sterle didn’t serve.

We went on a recent Saturday, doing Sterle’s the way it is best experienced: in a large group and when there’s live polka music. This is what hasn’t changed from the years gone by – families dance while accordions loudly pump out songs that everybody present has heard a thousand times. The band the night of our visit started at 6, and by 7 the large dining hall inside the Alpine ski-lodge-styled old building was nearly full.

Read more from Correspondent Mark Koestner at Dining Out: Cleveland Slovenian fixture boasts uneven food but a fun time for families, polka fans.

The big news last summer was that Melt Bar and Grilled was coming to Mentor. Overshadowed a bit by the splashy headline was the rest of the story: Another popular eatery was changing locations to make room for Melt.

Jalapeno Loco, which had its ups and downs over the years at the corner of the Points East shopping plaza, packed up and moved down the street. With a new name — El Porton — the independent Mexican restaurant opened up shop in the old Davitinos location at 7501 Mentor Ave.

I visited Jalapeno Loco many times at its first location, but it wasn’t until about a month or so ago, when I learned that the new name was being ditched and the place would again be Jalapeno Loco, that I decided to check out the new location.

Read more of Correspondent Mark Koestner's review at Dining Out: Called Jalapeno Loco again, relocated Mentor Mexican eatery still enjoyable.

You might remember it from its long-ago turn as a Ground Round, a family-type restaurant with reliable sandwiches, salads and steaks on the menu.

In the days since its 2005 closure, the building on the east end of Shoregate Shopping Center in Willowick has housed several eateries, often with very similar menus.

But, a few months ago, the space re-opened as The Garage Grill & Bar, and I’m here to tell you that someone has gotten it right.

The building was gutted and recreated as a single-room space, with a huge bar in the center and plenty of reminders of the restaurant’s name, with corrugated metal on the walls and a shiny cement floor that, with a little bit of daydreaming, could easily bring to mind visions of the greasy rags and rolling tool cases that you’d see in repair shops nearby.

But there’s no confusing your whereabouts once you crack open the menu and find some creative choices.

Read more in Laura Kessel's review: Dining Out: The Garage Grill & Bar at well-known Willowick spot gets it right.

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.

Browse the web for information on a new-ish pub in Willoughby, and you might think it has an identity issue.

The sign on the window reads “Beal’s Pickles & Pints,” but online you can find the same pub listed as “Pints ’n’ Pickles. There’s a Facebook page that also lists “pickles” before “pints,” and all the search-engine results flip among the ampersand, “and” an “n” between the pickles and pints, or pints and pickles as it were.

So while you may be confused what to call the place (it’s Pickles & Pints for the record), don’t be confused about this: It’s one heck of a place to visit.

Read more at Mark Koestner's review: Dining Out: Willoughby’s Pickles & Pints offers very nice pub-dining experience.

Brindaliers in Willoughby Hills combines a lot of activities under its roof.

That’s a lot like its name — a combination of the nicknames of Cleveland’s three big pro sports teams.

Now you get it! When I first heard it, I didn’t get it either. When you see it printed on the menus, you’ll understand it even more, because each section of the name is printed in the font you’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the years in connection to each team. There’s the block letters for the Browns’ BR; the script of the Indians’ IND; and the upper-case script of the Cavaliers’ ALIERS.

Read more on Laura Kessel's review: Dining Out: Brindaliers in Willoughby Hills team-ing with interesting menu options.

At times in my dining career, I’ve gotten advice before hitting certain restaurants.

Some places require patience, I’m warned, because you’ll wait for a table. Some require a certain wardrobe, meaning if you don’t sauce on your fancy duds, don’t wear them.

Certain sandwich shops produce meals that you’re advised not to put down once you pick them up. If you do, it’ll fall apart and you’ll be using a fork the rest of the way.

In appreciation to those who’ve helped me, I offer the following to you: There’s definitely a way to order when you dine at El Palenque in Eastlake.

Read more in Laura Kessel's review: Dining Out: Carefully timing your orders will help you enjoy El Palenque in Eastlake.

The Cleveland-area restaurant scene has no shortage of quality steak houses. For those of us in Lake County, however, the true steak house experience has meant driving west.

But Cuyahoga County no longer holds exclusivity on at least one part of the top steak house formula. Vault Steak House and Wine Room, on the square in Madison, has brought high-end steaks to Lake County.

Read more in correspondent Mark Koestner's review Dining Out: Madison's Vault Steak House dry-ages, cooks steaks to perfection.