One of the biggest benefits to living in Cleveland is the dramatic change during each season. There's a special joy I get when presented with a newly changed seasonal menu. Three Birds in Lakewood recently unveiled their new selections. Needless to say, I couldn't wait to see what they had to offer for this fall. (My wife has tendency to browse menus online prior to dining, scoping out her options...this time I told her, no looking prior to our visit).
First thing that jumps out at me, as I look at the menu, are the Acorn Squash Dumplings. The one other thing that caught my eye is the Pork tenderloin with the chili honey glaze. Luckily my choice becomes very easy when the missus is torn between the same two things.
While buying more time for our choice of entrees we decided on the Prosciutto, fig, and blue cheese pizza for our appetizer; it was topped with pine nuts and a sweet Marsala reduction. I thought the blue cheese and prosciutto were a great match. I wish the figs would have been cut in slim wedges as opposed to being cut in disks. I also like when they're cooked or roasted a little bit, but nonetheless, it was still tasty and stood toe to toe with a similar starter we had a NOPA in San Francisco last month.
Mrs. Dine-O-Mite decides to order the pork tenderloin and I get the squash dumplings. Once the food arrived, she took one taste and deemed the tenderloin too spicy. So we ended up trading. I thought the glaze the the pork came with was very tasty. Made with honey and chiles it was loaded with flavor. It came with whipped sweet potatoes and broccoli rabe (substituted by my wife for the brussel sprouts). The dumplings also came with brussell sprouts, so in the end, she wasn't able to avoid them. She liked the nutmeg cream sauce, studded with raisins, pecans and apples, but felt that the dumplings were a bit too heavy. She thought she was going to get pasta stuffed with squash...instead they were more like gnocchi.
For dessert, I had the upside down apple cake with caramel ice cream and a side of diced apples. It was good, not great, but good. She had the flourless chocolate cake that was a dessert special. Served with peanut butter ice cream and whipped cream, the cake had a very rich center with an ever so thin outer crust to it. It was flanked by a fried banana...Mrs. Dine-O-Mite has been on a chocolate, banana and peanut butter kick lately, so this dish was right up her alley. She loved it.
Judging by the comments above you might think that I don't really like this place. That couldn't be further from the truth. I would rather consume food that is a little more on the creative side and not be spot on, than to have the same old ho-hum food you see at most places. Three Birds is my favorite restaurant on the West Side (just ahead of Flying Fig). I would strongly urge anyone who hasn't been to finally treat yourself.
Update
December 28, 2008
Cal:Oven Roasted Half Chicken · Crispy Smashed Fingerling Potatoes · Apple Braised Cabbage · Bacon · Mustard Chicken Jus - highly recommended. Absolutely loved it.
Regina: Pan Seared Sea Scallops · Celery Root Puree · Roasted Baby Carrots · Spicy Mustard Sauce - good not great. Puree was a strong celery flavor.
Cheese Plate - one of our favorites as a total package in Cleveland. Loved the Chimay Grand Cru, Cypress Grove goat milk cheddar?, and Haystack Mountain were good, too. Love the thick sweet Digestive wheat crackers (we each got one).
Didn't get dessert. For some reason the selection of desserts just doesn't seem as strong on this fall menu.
3 Birds
18515 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
www.3birdsrestaurant.com
I've found 3 Birds to be consciously pretentious, overpriced and lacking in execution.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has their own opinion. I've heard the some of the same things said about McDonald's. I suppose it's all relative to the lowest common denominator.
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