It’s funny, there always seems to be one restaurant that you always mean to go, but never quite make it there. You might go to someplace one block away three times. Or may be go to everyplace around it. For us Luxe Kitchen & Lounge was that place.
So last Sunday we decided to meet our friends there and finally try Luxe for the very first time.
Most things that I had heard have been pretty positive. The first thing everyone says is that it’s definitely a good value- good food at reasonable prices.
When you first walk in the interior of the place it is pretty striking. Whoever designed the interior did one heck of a job. The ceiling was partially shielded with the neat looking panels. The interior was definitely hip, yet still comfortable.
But how was the food?
The menu has a pretty wide variety of food on it. There are an abundance of smaller plates you can combine to “make” a meal, or you can just do the traditional appetizer and entrée.
We tried the Crispy Calamari w/Fried Scallions, Spicy Tomatoes & Lemon Aioli to start with. I thought it was a little overcooked, aside from that it was decent.
For dinner I ordered the Kobe beef corn dog with Truffle Fries. I know there’s something wrong with me, but I just love corn dogs. Always have. Since I wasn’t quite sure what this was going to taste like I just had to try it. Covered with the traditional corn meal breading, it was simply deep fried beef. I thought the idea was intriguing but the overall taste of it wasn’t going to make me want to order it again.
I was also intrigued by the truffle fries (they came with the Beef Corn Dog). As with most things truffle, my guess is that these were simply drizzled with truffle oil. For as cheap as they were I wasn’t expecting shaved Black Périgords, but there really wasn’t much flavor to them.
Regina had the Grilled Duck Panini with Spinach and Sweet Tomato mayo. It wasn’t noted on the menu, but this came with garlic chips, reminiscent of the ones we’ve had at Brazenhead in Columbus. She also had a order of the Broccolini. While the duck was essentially duck breast on toast, it was quite tasty when paired with the tomato mayo.
To finish off dinner it was a tale of two desserts, she instantly fell in love with her's I wasn’t even mildly attracted to mine. I ordered the Basket of Beignets with jam. The “beignets were much too dense. I had to labor to finish them- small but heavy. I think if they were made from lighter and fluffier dough (like, well, beignets) they would be more appropriate as a dessert.
Regina loved her Cappuccino Ice Cream Pie w/Caramel Glaze. Our waitress commented that it was a very popular dish and homemade to boot. The serving size was certainly enough for two.
I know this sounds like I didn’t really like my dinner, and in a sense I guess I didn’t. But I loved the space, the noise level, the server, and the adventurous nature of the menu. I’m willing to cut a little bit of slack for a place that tries different things. I would definitely go back for every miss there was a hit. It just seemed like my normally excellent food karma was missing on this occasion.
Luxe Kitchen and Lounge
6605 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216) 920-0600
www.luxecleveland.com
I too finally got the chance to go to Luxe over the weekend. I thought the Truffle fries were pretty good, although I definitely agree about the Biegnets; way too heavy. I also very much liked the space, and the service was great.
ReplyDeleteThanks.