Dine O Mite!

Dessert on the Fly

2012-01-12T23:30:00.000-05:00

    I went over to my neighbor's house to stash some stuff in her freezer. While I was there she gifted me a couple of Royal Riviera Pears from Harry & David. When I told her that I'd probably end up using them in a recipe, she got the mortified look on her face, "Oh no! These aren't for cooking! You want to eat these raw!"

    I didn't have the heart to tell her that I'm not a huge fan of this particular fruit. In fact, Regina I don't really like pears at all, but it was a gift. I knew they weren't cheap so I didn't want them to go to waste.

Since I obviously don't care for pears, it stands to reason that I don't have any recipes that really call for them. Pretty much everything I've ever made from the Tartine Bakery cookbook has rocked, I figured this would be my one shot at pear dessert glory.

    The Frangipane Tart would be the vehicle of choice for this particular dessert. I think it's important to point out that a whole host of fruits can actually top this thing. In reality this is an "I got fruit I wanna use up" type recipe. If you can slice it, you can use it -today it would be pears.

A few notes:

Keep butter and water as cold as possible! I put them in the freezer while I measure everything out.
DO NOT OVERMIX the dough. Pulse that food processor until it the flour and butter can just be held together. Bigger pieces of butter make for flakier, more tender crusts.
I like to make it as flat as possible before wrapping and putting it in the fridge. It gets colder faster, and reduces the amount rolling you do on the dough.
Use a thinner, darker sheet to cook the tart on. I used a thick aluminum sheet and the center struggled to brown up.
This isn't a pre-cooked tart shell so there is going to be a bit of a fudge factor on the doneness time. When the hour and 20 minutes is up, peak under the tart to see if it's cooked all the way to the center. My guess is that it probably isn't. I would suggest using the browness of the topping and the outer edge of the tart to be your litmus test. Take it as far as you can until you don't want the topping or the edge of the crust to get any darker.
The person that I linked the recipe to, didn't use the apricot jam. I did, and it punched up the flavor quite a bit. I'd suggest using the heated jam.
I sliced my pears at about a 1/4" at their widest thickness. They cooked all the way through. If you wanted, I'm sure you could go a little thicker with no ill effects.

Frangipane Tart Topped with Pears

As usual, it came out well. People loved it and it was a pretty painless dessert to make. It is a really flaky dough that offers a great textural compliment to the almondy filling. The pears pretty much softened up and melded with the frangipane filling. This is one for the "Best of" box. A highly versatile, and very receptive to freestyling type recipe.

I did have a few left over slices of pear, and admittedly, my neighbor was right - it was the sweetest, juiciest pear I've ever put in my mouth. Regular pears would have done just fine in this tart.

The recipe can be found here.

Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies

2012-01-08T20:10:00.000-05:00

After dinner cookies are a staple at our house. Not a night goes by that we don't eat dessert. I know a lot of people that could go weeks without having dessert. For us it is an absolute necessity. In fact, if Regina doesn't have dessert she gets downright nasty - and not in a good way.

This past summer we were eating ice cream like it was going out of style. The one thing that both of us found is that it is one hell of an easy way to pack on pounds. As the summer wore on, my weight started to slowly creep its way up.

We eventually figured out that the ice cream was the devil, especially when topped with hot fudge, pecans, and freshly made whipped cream. It was about this time that we went into full on cookie making mode. It's taken about five months, but right now we've got one hell of a cookie rotation going. A trip to San Francisco lead to Regina's one suitcase being stuffed full of chocolate we bought at Spun Sugar in Berkeley. (Mine hovered just below 50 pounds with Pliny the Elder.) Cookie making was about to hit a whole new level.

Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Martha Stewart actually has a very similar recipe to this, and I think we actually might like it a little better because of the fresh ginger and they don't spread as much, but this little gem from Gina DePalma is actually very good. The DePalma version calls for you to chop the chocolate up in to fine pieces, but we prefer a mix of chocolate chunks. As I mentioned before, they do spread a little more due to the use of oil instead of butter, but if they don't sit around that long it doesn't really matter.

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but these? These are best served about 10 minutes removed from the oven.

Here's a link to Gina DePalma's recipe.

Macaron Monday: Basil and Lime

2011-12-19T21:46:00.002-05:00

Typically this would have been one that I saved for the summer, but we just so happened to have both basil and lime in our refrigerator. If I had any reservations, it was that these were not going to have enough lime taste to them. The lime we had was getting ready to check out, so I didn't have high hopes for its overall flavor. The basil was still pretty turgid, so I felt that if there was an imbalance in taste it was going to come from the lime.

As with most things the first time you try and make them, this was a learning experience. Let me explain.

Gelatin
This recipe called for sheets of gelatin - which we didn't have. We had the powdered stuff, but it's hardly one to one ratio between sheets and the powdered stuff. This is what I learned: If it calls for sheets - get sheets. If it calls for powder - get powder. Most anything you do as a substitute is going to be fairly inexact. Since it was a bit of a guess as to how much powder to actually use, there was a decidedly "thick springiness" to the filling. Not what I would call my favorite texture.

Splitting Italian method macaron batter
Highly inadvisable. It is very easy to weigh everything out and split up 50/50, it's not that big a deal. However, when you have one mixer to mix the meringue with, you end up trying to split a bowl of meringue between two bowls of mixed almond flour. The stuff is sticky and difficult to get out of the mixing bowl. Meanwhile you're trying to bust out a macaronage that can easily have too much or too little of the meringue. We came pretty close to 50/50 but, the egg whites were quickly losing their volume. Regina's batter was considerably fluffier and yielded more shells. Live and learn. Settle on a shell color and use it for the whole batch. Don't get cute like we did and try to split it in two.

Basil Quality
The basil flavor was completely lost in the taste of the filling. I think basil at this time of year just doesn't have a strong enough flavor to it. Get your hands on some really fresh and fragrant stuff, or just wait to make these until you can.

In the end this recipe had promise. The lime flavor was surprisingly strong. The basil was completely overpowered. I can't really say that I'd add more basil or reduce the lime, until I've had a chance to try making it with ingredients at their peak of ripeness. It never ceases to amaze me how much of a difference there is between herbs from mid-summer versus everything else.

Sorry, no link for the recipe in this post. I will, however, be happy to write up a modified version once summer hits. My guess is that some of the quantities are going to need adjusting to suit our own tastes. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Bowl of Pho

2011-12-15T22:47:00.002-05:00

This little Vietnamese spot recently opened a few miles away from my house. While ramen will always be near and dear to my heart, on a cold December day a nice hot bowl of pho will more than suffice.

As you look at the menu you notice a lot of the usual suspects: pho, grilled noodles, a variety of rolls, banh mi, and rice plates. One thing I was hoping to strike gold on was clay pot pork, but no such luck. The prices seem to be right inline with places like Superior Pho and #1 Pho.

BoP is located around the corner from Whole Foods on Chagrin right next to DeGaetano's Pizza (where you can gut your own crust read here). From a decor standpoint, I have to say that it's more refined than Superior or #1, but not quite as slick as Bac, in Tremont.

I went with the beef pho. They give you a quart of beef stock, a container with hot sauce, hoisin, a load of bean sprouts, and a large container with thinly sliced rare beef on top of scallions and vermicelli-like rice noodles. When you put it all together it's pretty good. If I have one gripe, it's that you can pretty much taste every single component in the bowl. This is a nit picky thing on my part which I readily admit, but I more of a flavor harmony person. I think to the casual eater this is going to taste just fine, though.

I've not had the banh mi yet, but look forward to trying it on a future trip. I think for an Eastsider it's worth a stop. There's not a great deal of pho in my neck of the woods, so when the jones hits I know I don't have to drive too far. If I'm West Side do I come here? Well, assuming you're closer to Bac than here - no, I'd go to Bac. Don't expect Slanted Door, this isn't that kind of restaurant. It's a clean place, with decent food, good value, that serves the void that used to exist in the Shaker Heights/Wooodmere area.

Bowl of Pho

27339 Chagrin Blvd.

Woodmere, OH 44122

(216) 831-1730

bowlofpho2011.com

Bay Area: Romolo's Cannoli and Spumoni Factory

2011-12-13T23:00:00.000-05:00

We had just got off the plane in South San Francisco and were headed to Berkeley. It was early afternoon and we had a decision to make, drive up through the city or go down and around. While we pondered this question, we decided to grab a quick snack in San Mateo. (Not to hanging, we decided on going up through East Bay.)

Spumoni is one of Regina's favorite. A couple years back, there was a parade held in my honor because I made a birthday spumoni ice cream cake for her. I shuttled her favorite Cleveland spumoni (from Crostatas) to our house. It has been said that it may have been my finest hour.

Romolo's Cannoli and Spumoni Factory is old school in every single way. Now run by the grandsons of the original owners, the decor has yellowing press clippings on the walls, old school ice cream ephemera, and other trinkets that have accumulated over the years. Like the rings of a tree, every memento adds street cred to the newby customer. Its as if the interior whispers to you, "I may be old, but I've still got it."

Beware of this highly persuasive man

Obviously they have more than just spumoni. There is a wide assortment of ice cream, packaged frozen treats, and cannolis to go. I believe is all of this stuff is made on site. They also specialize in cannolis that they fill to order. The picture above shows one of the grandsons with a locked and loaded pastry bag, some powdered sugar ready for the sprinkling, and a tray full of accouterments ready to coat the ends of the crispy dessert.

Leave the gun. Take the Cannoli

You've got to watch that guy at the counter. He's very personable and informative, and what starts out as a quick duck inside for some ice cream, turns into a cannoli, cafe americano, almond cookie, and of course plate of spumoni. I didn't even like cannolis (until I had these), and he talked me into one. The plain cream with pistachios was the way to go.

That's it. A little dab'll do ya.

As I said earlier, they make the ice cream on site. I think he said there was like fifteen ingredients in each part of the spumoni. I thought the texture was surprisingly smooth with the intermittent mini-chunks of cherries and nuts in each bite.

The place is worth a stop. While we were there, a lot of people wandered in after going to the pizza place next door. You could tell this was a popular pit stop for people that were on errands that they'd stop in for a quick snack.

Romolo's Cannoli and Spumoni Factory

81 37th Ave

San Mateo, CA

(650) 574-0625

http://romolosfactory.com

Macaron Monday: Lemon Macaron

2011-12-12T23:30:00.000-05:00

We touched upon this a little in yesterday's post about our Five Picks for the Holidays post, but this is our first foray into Pierre Herme's, Macaron. For us, this book was really about exploring his wider array of fillings. I think once you've settled on a technique and honed your recipe, the shells are for the most part an afterthought. With the exception of a few shells such as coconut or pistachio, there really isn't much variability between the meringues.

As I said yesterday, we have a recipe that works well with our stove and seems to yield exactly enough batter to fill two half baking sheets (yields (30) 40mm macs total). In my opinion the oven really seems to be the fly in the ointment when people talk about failed macarons.

We figured we'd start out with a classic that seemed pretty straight forward - the Lemon Macaron. There aren't a bunch of crazy ingredients needed, and the technique was pretty simple. It's basically the coloring of the shells and making the lemon curd.

The Lemon Macaron

One thing we find over and over again in Herme's recipes is the presence of some almond flour for the fruit fillings. The two of us weren't quite sure what it was going to taste like, but in the end it did a good job of suspending the curd so that it didn't squirt out the sides when you bit into the mac. It isn't much, but the curd seems to hydrate the flour enough to where it blends in with the lemony filling.

These had a creamier color to them, and aren't really that vibrant yellow you would expect from a lemon mac. I'm not sure how I feel about the pastel-y color of these. I kinda like it, but it also seems to imply something more along the lines of a lemon cream. In the future I think we're going to add a 0.5g more of the yellow coloring.

We were pretty impressed with how the whole thing came together. The shells came out very smooth and the filling wasn't too thin or thick. Aged for a couple of days, these things really take on the lemon flavor. I've attached a link to the recipe here.

Our Five Picks for the Holidays

2011-12-09T11:17:00.001-05:00

We aren't big Christmas gift people. By nature, everyone in our household is picky - from Regina and I, all the way down to the dogs. There is nothing I hate more than seeing people waste perfectly good currency on stuff other people either don' t want, or don't need. We've pretty much called a Christmas truce with most of our family and friends. You don't buy for me. I don't buy for you. No offense taken. I'll bring the booze. You'll thank me next month when the credit card bill comes.

There are a select few that we still shop for, but for us the holidays are more about cooking, eating, baking, eating, drinking, eating, and seeing our people. For those who are buyers (or askers), here's a little list of things we've bought this year that we wholeheartedly endorse.

Eastman Outdoor Wok $169.99
I have a an enormous aversion to the smell grease in my house. In fact, I can't stand the smell of beef or anything else lingering around long after the meal has been eaten. I cook all of our meat on a Big Green Egg, so that takes care of those smells. That being said, I love fried chicken and hush puppies. I don't have a hood that can pump that stuff outside, so I just decided I wasn't going to deep fry anything.

Until I saw this.

One thing you notice about Hawai'i is that there is a lot of outdoor cooking going on. While we were there last winter, I saw someone using one of these and had to have one. Cooking oil goes from 80 deg. to 350 in no time flat. The counter top fryers get overwhelmed easily and struggle to maintain higher temperatures, but not this. The larger wok allows for less crowding.

There is a big difference between the kind of heat you get from a stovetop wok and the beastly amount of heat generated by this thing. This is stir fry at it's finest. Modernist Cuisine has a great picture of the hot wok in action. The smell stays outside while you enjoy your dinner inside.
Click here to purchase or read more info.

AND EJ-1500 Newton Series 1500g x 0.1g Digital Scale $164.95

Of the things we've bought this year, this gets the most use. We've basically taken our recipes and converted them all to grams, if they aren't already. Since we don't have any kids, much of what we cook is scaled down. Metric measurements make it so much easier to scale things in either direction. This particular scale is pretty much instantaneous. There's no fluctuation like we used to get with our old Salter that would jump all over the place. You set something on the scale and within a second it gives a readout on the weight. Being able to scale down a recipe based on weight when you get into small measurement ingredients is where this little number really shines. The only issue is that it only goes up to 1500 grams; so if you zero out a ceramic bowl you may only be able to measure out something that goes up to 700 g. Sure there are scales capable of more capacity, but like most things - it comes at a price. We found this one offered the best value.
Click here to purchase or read more info.

Books

Who doesn't love books at Christmas? I know we do. These are two books you're not likely to find at the local Barnes and Noble, or even at Amazon. We had to get them from The Book Depository in the UK. The Herme book has been especially problematic since it keeps selling out at places like Amazon, Omnivore Books in SF, and Kitchen Arts and Letters in NYC - not to mention the price at TBD is very cheap. While we were a little leery of ordering books from across the pond, the package arrived within a week and a half and they only charged four bucks for shipping!

Bourke Street Bakery I Allam and McGuinness
I thought the Tartine Bakery books were good, but this one is unreal. Until the dollar gets stronger, this is the closest I'm going to get to making my way to their Australian bakery. A cursory look reveals quite a collection of recipes, but more importantly the commentary is very readable and extremely informative. Meat pies anyone? Caveat: All recipes written in metric weights [see above EJ-1500].
Click here to buy from The Book Depository [England]

Macarons I Pieree Herme

Pierre Herme's Macaron has been out for some time - in French. A couple of months ago it was finally published in England. We didn't buy the book so much for its macaron recipe as much as we did the fillings. The range of ganache recipes goes anywhere from vanilla, to basil and lime, to foie gras, to *gulp* ketchup. We have a shell recipe that works for us, so we haven't really messed around with the one in this book. However, once you've settled on a shell technique - it all comes down to fillings, baby!
Click here to purchase from The Book Depository [England]

Pourfect Mixing Bowls $14.99 and up
Kitchen gadgets and holiday gifts go together like peas and carrots. I'm normally more of a traditionalist when it comes to kitchen equipe, but these bowls are great for making additions to a stand mixer. We haven't got the Kitchenaid that lowers up and down, so adding dry ingredients have always been a PITA. Regina's been able to find stray bowls at TJ Maxx Homegoods stores. Keep an eye out.
Click here for more info

Volrath (Wear Ever) Half Sheet, 13 gauge, Aluminum Baking Sheets $13.79

These baking sheets were the biggest revelation we had this year. Olivier Dessyn of Mille-feuille turned us onto these when we were in New York for his macaron class. When I asked why our macs were getting slightly toasted on the bottom he had this to say [to the best of my memory]:

"Zee shits zat zay have here in zee US are jhunk! Zay are too seen. You cannot cook good macaron wis zis seen, dark jhunk. Zeez pens I use reflect zee heat so your macaron are more comfortable. Zee pens do not warp (like zee jhunk pens), because zay are very, very sick."

There you have it. The man speaks truths. These are the thickest baking pans I've ever seen. If anything is going to resist warping, it'll be these. The aluminum reflects the heat so that the pan just doesn't seem to get so hot. (I'm sure the thickness also helps with that.) These pans are very stable and do not burn. For the price, we haven't found anything that's even in the same universe as these. Since we got these, we've been "toast" free. The thinner steal pans were our problem.

No rust. No warping. No burning. Good-bye Chicago Metallic. I couldn't find anyone in Cleveland that carried them (Dean Supply and SS Kemp). Wasserstrom in Columbus got them to me in about a week.
Click here to purchase or for more info

Columbus: Ray Ray's Hog Pit

2011-11-23T23:30:00.000-05:00

As we were passing back through Columbus, it was pretty obvious that our dinners plans were going to diverge. Regina was opting for the more healthy and light fish tacos at Yerba Buena, and me? I was going to load up on meat. Lots and lots of meat.

Ray Ray's Hog Pit is a spot I'd just never quite been able to make it to (they're only open Friday thru Sunday). With things needing to be on the quick side so we could pick up the dogs, this was going to be as good as it gets for me without driving out of my way or sitting down for a full fledged meal.

Located just off to the right of Super Food Mart in Clintonville at the corner of N. High and Pacemont, this "truck" serves up old school barbecue. More trailer more than anything, Ray Ray's busts out hickory smoked meat made in a converted propane tank smoker. I have a tremendous amount of respect for people that go old school like this. It's very easy to dry out meat, and requires much more attention than something made in a natural gas fired smoker. Heat loss, wind, and rain all make it very difficult to control the temperature inside one of these things.

As noble as the idea old school might be, they are charging you for the food, so it had better be good. I ordered a sample size of the ribs, pulled pork, and brisket with a side of beans and cole slaw.

Let's get the middling stuff out of the way first. The cole slaw and beans aren't anything special. I'm not saying that I spit them out or anything. I didn't. I thought they were just alright. They're what I would consider par for the course at a typical barbecue place - classic flavors. The brisket was unfortunately a little on the dry side. Again, the stuff doesn't stay moist forever, depending when it was taken out of the smoker, it's going to dry out a little bit. Again, not inedible or even bad. He could have cheated and thinly sliced it and put some ju on it to mask the dryness, but he didn't - they were full quarter inch slices.I respect that. There was a nice fatty crust on the outside, and a fat ass smoke ring - all telltale signs of brisket done right. I would've loved to bust this when it first came out of the smoker.

Now for the good stuff. They absolutely smash the pork here. The ribs were perfectly done. The meat clings half willingly to the bone, before it gives way to your teeth. Again, a delicate bark on top cloaks the dark pink smoke ring and welcomes another bite. The pulled pork is loaded with a plentiful mixture of ropey meat, buttery fat, and flavorful crust. Topping the whole thing off is an ever-so-slight dusting of rub coax out any flavor that may have been hiding. The sauce was thin and spicy with a good balance of sweet and spice.

Clearly a master practitioner here. Without the aid of temperature control - which I am guilty of - he cooks some fabulous meat, that is the most impressive thing to me. The product they turn out is of high quality, the flavors are well balanced and have been obviously been tuned over a long period of time.

Erin at Harvest Pizzeria said they have a grass fed beef brisket they serve on Sundays. There's a sauce that goes with it that it is supposed to be outstanding. Her advice was to get a little extra. Be warned though, this is about the worst kept secret in Columbus. In fact, my wife saw a girl she knew that lived in the area and they got on the subject of food. Right after my wife mentioned I'd been to Ray Ray's, the woman's eyes lit up and she asked if I'd been there on a Sunday for the brisket. I'm admittedly intrigued.

So there you have it. Be forewarned that these guys are only there Friday thru Sunday. As you can see they don't have an army of warmers to keep a bunch of meat laying around. When it's gone, it's gone. I've always believed that barbecue is best at lunch time. There's a pretty good chance that they haven't run out of anything yet, and you're probably getting meat that is freshly cooked.

Ray Ray's Hog Pit

To the right of Super Food Mart
3166 High St. (Corner of N High and Pacemont)

Clintonville, OH 43202

(614) 753-1191

Macaron Class at Mille-feuille in New York City

2011-11-22T23:22:00.001-05:00

by Regina

It's not everyday that you can have a private macaron lesson with a pro...to be more exact, a French pastry chef who is turning out some of the best macarons that are actually made in New York City. However, that was just our good fortune a few weeks ago.

There were many emails exchanged this summer between myself and Olivier Dessyn, owner Mille-feuille Bakery & Cafe in Greenwich Village. (Click here to read about the Mille-feuille vs. Payard smackdown.) First, it was to tell him how much my husband and I loved his macarons when we visited NYC back in June. Next, it was me asking if he'd teach me how to make them.

Despite being extremely busy, he agreed to a class and we settled on a date in August. However, hurricane Rita struck NYC (of all places!) and I had to cancel my travel plans to the city. Finally, we rescheduled for October and in the 11th hour, he graciously agreed to teach my husband as well.

The Shop

So, it was a Monday afternoon when we arrived at his bakery just south of Washington Square, and quickly got to work. Over the course of four hours we made so many macarons that I lost count! He taught us the Italian meringue method, as well as how to make raspberry jam and chocolate and vanilla ganache fillings.

Looking around, we were struck by how well organized his shop was and the precision that he and his assistant, Stefan worked with. It's truly amazing when you realize how much work, dedication and love go into an operation like this...plus, we found it incredible that they could produce so many great things in such a small space!

As part of my macaron obsession, I've taken 3 different classes and Olivier's was by far the best. He was super patient with us, answering questions, providing insight and allowing us to be hands-on along the way. He shared the recipes, suggestions on where to find ingredients and supplies and encouraged us to stay in touch and email him with questions.

We Made These!

I took several of the macs we made at the class to work. All I can say is that I was a macaron making superstar for a day. Everyone loved them and more than one person swooned over how great they tasted.

We've tried the macs twice since we've come home and have had good success. We're working to get the right oven temp and proper heavy gauge pans, but we feel that his class gave us the fundamentals and technique to be successful at home. It's true that a hands-on class gives you something that books, you tube and countless internet posts can't.

The Teacher and Student

We were Olivier's first students, which was an honor for us. If he had told me that he had taught people numerous times before, I would have believed him. He was very focused, well prepared, and extremely patient. I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone of his caliber willing to give you a one or two person class for what he charges. It is a tremendous value and would make a very memorable holiday gift for the macaron fan in your life. He's willing to offer the class to others, so if interested, email him through his website or ring the shop at 215-433-5698 and ask for Olivier.

I just learned that Olivier is now shipping his macarons across the United States. If you can't make it to New York anytime soon, then I highly encourage you to order some. They would make a fantastic holiday present for someone you love, or better yet, a gift for yourself!

Columbus: Yerba Buena Truck

2011-11-21T23:30:00.000-05:00

While we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves at Harvest Pizzea, my wife asked bartender Erin what some of her faves in Columbus were. Almost immediately she said, "The Yerba Buena Taco Truck!" It wasn't a three or four second contemplative delay. It wasn't even a slight pause. It was an instantaneous declaration. And THAT folks is the kind of recommendation I like!

It seems that food truck politics are always at work, and as a result Yerba Buena had mysteriously fallen off the radar for a few days. Just a day or two before, everyone was on the lookout for these guys after being pushed out of a recent location. Contact was thankfully made and the truck (or in this case trailer) was found. On this occasion they were located right around the corner from where we used to live in Clintonville. As of the 15th of October they're going to be at 4100 North High St. *You have to check them out on Facebook ahead of time to make sure they'll be there. Going without checking could lead to major disappointment, as well as an angry stomach.

Fish Tacos with Cilantro Sauce

The menu is obviously a little more refined than your average SoCal hole-in-the-wall Mexican taqueria. Erin told my wife that the fish tacos were the thing to get off the menu. She had suggested getting the cilantro sauce on the side or at least get an extra one. It turns out that was a pretty good tip, Regina wouldn't stop commenting on how good that sauce was.

Since I had already eaten at Ray Ray's Hog Pit not too far away, I figured I was done eating - until I saw the chicharrón on the menu. There was never a question. One chicharrón please. Sorry, I love me some crispy pork skin.

Un Chicharrón

As it turns out this was a new version for me. If you look at the picture the skin has been fried up, but includes one big hunk of fat, skin, and nipples.This a whole different texture to the fat scraped, dehydrated and then fried version, that one thinks of in the classic pork rinds sense. The fatty part is more like a handle and you eat the thin slices of fried skin off of the fat. In the picture, the edible bits are the the sliced pieces pointing downward. These were pretty greasy and messy to be eating in my car, and - to my taste - just okay.

In the end it was a great call. Thanks Erin. It pays to talk to your bartender. Yerba Buena's a great find for a quick and delicious bite.

Yerba Buena Latin Grill

4100 N High St

Columbus, OH 43214

(614) 354-6394

www.yerbabuenalatingrill.com

A Couple of East Side Local Spots

2011-11-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

I’m typically a little suspicious of places that call themselves “Cajun”. All too often what it means up here in Ohio is that they burn the hell out of the customer’s mouth and call it Cajun. Well, the authentic stuff involves a little more than that. It’s a developed heat that doesn’t coat your palate but instead presents itself when you exhale. It’s nothing painful, just a pleasing twinge in the back of your throat. If done correctly my nose runs just a tad, not the full on faucet you get with most places.

One of the knocks I had heard about Battiste & Dupree was that the service was slow. That may well be, but I got my Shrimp Ettoufe to go. It took five minutes. I can see how it could be slow if the place was full (there’s seating for about 15), because there are only two people working there.

Let’s talk food. The Shrimp Ettoufe was the real thing, not “burn your mouth bullshit”. Full of peppers, onions, shrimp, rice, and about 5 good sized shrimp, it was very satisfying. Service? The gentleman working was very professional and looked like he had been in the military. Wearing a ball cap that was folded just so, an upright way about him, a firm handshake, he thanked me for coming in and made me want to come back. I really enjoy going to places that take a tremendous amount of pride in what they do. I will be back, and would suggest going if you enjoy authentic Cajun food. Since I don’t like to wait, it seems to be the perfect “to go” kind of place.

Update: November 2nd, 2010
This place still kicks ass. Some will grumble at the prices, but you have to understand that it's a business and not a hobby. The Shrimp Po Boy is the real deal. The roll is a crusty but soft and doesn't destroy the roof of your mouth. The shrimp are cooked with an ever-so-delicate batter that only adds to the sublime texture of the bread. This is as perfect a marriage as your going to find between bread, protein, and fixins - absolutely not to be missed. ~~I've included a picture of the sandwich as well as a scan of the menu, now you have everything you need to order one of the best sandwiches in Cleveland.~~

Update: November 20th, 2011
Old Junior still has it. I'm a sucker for this place. Smooth, steady, and not willing to take short cuts in order to get the food out of the kitchen to a dining room full of impatient white folks. I had called about an hour before and they told me it would be about 45 minutes. Whenever I call I show up late. I drove down to Whole Foods and bought some beer, farted around the store a little bit, and then made my way to B+D. Was the food ready? Of course it wasn't, but I knew that going into the deal.

Shrimp Po Boy

The guy at the counter asked me what I had ordered and then got this worried look on his face like, "You're not gonna make me ask Junior how long your order's going to take, are you?" I told him, "Easy. He knows what's going on. When it's done, it's done. I know when I get it home he will have made for me the best Shrimp Po' Boy he possibly can. Just let him cook."

I guess my way of looking at it is this: If I don't like it, I can always go to Fat Fish Blue, right? Oh wait, they shut down didn't they?

I've included a copy of the updated menu:

New Menu Page 1

New Menu Page 2

Battiste + Dupree Cajun Grill
1992 Warrensville Center Rd
Cleveland, OH 44121
(216) 381-3341

Make sure to check here for more Cleveland posts

On Friday I had to run a few errands, so I figured I’d hit an old favorite (J. Pistone) and a place I’d never been (Battiste & Dupree).

Located a few blocks from the Six Points intersection in Shaker Heights, J Pistone serves the local residents and businesses. The store consists of a deli section that offers soups, sandwiches, sides, and desserts. Apart from the food part of their business, they also have a small wine section.

I’ve had the soup, the lobster bisque to be specific, and I’m not really a fan. The bisque had shreds of lobster; not chunks. In my opinion, it wasn’t very good. The sandwiches are okay. There’s nothing that blows me away about the lunch items, but they’re no better or worse than, say, Panera.

The desserts are a different story. They are very good. They’re actually the most reasonably priced items here. My personal favorite is the giant S’More. Made with ample chocolate, this thing is worth the price of admission. I go here for one reason only, the S’More.

Update: November 2nd, 2010
S'More (pictured above) continues to be one of my favorites. The lemon curd cookies as well as the macarons (not maca-roons), when available, are quick sellers. Get there for lunch to catch the macarons, they're usually gone by dinner time.

J. Pistone Market and Gathering Place
3245 Warrensville Center Rd
Shaker Heights, OH 44122
(216) 283-3663

DeGaetano's Village Square Pizza

2011-11-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

Always on the pizza prowl, I gave DeGaetano's Village Square Pizza a shot. The decor is what I'd call "Seventies Rustic". Is this necessarily a bad thing? I don't think so. It actually has the look and smell of the pizza parlors of my youth. For me, nostalgia is a fun thing. A sort of smell time machine, if you will.

Since I was just ordering carryout I didn't really have a full fledged service experience. An older man who walked in a hunched over manner was the one that rang me up. I'm assuming he was the owner because, well, he just had that "I own this place" way about him. Very nice man. We shot the breeze for a few minutes while they finished up my pie. As far as I can tell the people here were friendly, the place was clean, and they accepted credit cards.

When I got home and opened the box, the first thing I noticed is that the pizza crust looked liked it had just stepped out of the office of Troy + McNamara. This is easily the most voluminous crust or cornicione in all of Cleveland. Some serious extra bread on this sucker.

Is that a crust in that box, or are you just happy to see me?

The portion of pizza that lies underneath the cheese is actually quite good. I thought the blend and amount of cheese was appropriate and the sausage was actually above average for this city.

In Philadelphia they have a term called "gutting". Sometimes when a sandwich has a ton of stuff on it, or comes with a massive amount of steak people will order it gutted. The steak or hoagie shop will scoop out the doughy interior of a crusty (Sarcone's or Carangi's) or the softer (Amoroso's or Del-Buono's) roll to help accommodate the meat. It aids in what one can best characterize as jaw fatigue.

Why all the talk about gutting? This was the first pizza crust I ever had to gut. The crust alone is an absolute beast - Adam Richman kind of stuff. DeGaetano's is worth a shot, even if you only go once. I thought the pizza was pretty solid, and at the very least was more interesting than your average neighborhood pizza joint. Who doesn't enjoy jumping into a pizza time machine every once in a while? If time machines aren't your thing, maybe gutting your first pizza crust is.

DeGaetano's Village Square Pizza

27349 Chagrin Blvd

Beachwood, OH 44122

(216) 831-5282

degaetanos.com

2:15 to Yuma

2011-11-18T18:40:00.000-05:00

We were on our to way to Indianapolis, so dinner couldn't be too involved. I don't quite remember, but I want to say it's at least two, maybe three hours from Ohio's capitol to Indiana's. At any rate, a long leisurely dinner was not going to be in the cards.

Typically "pizza" and "Columbus" are two words I don't like to use in the same sentence, unless said sentence is completed with an exclamatory "sucks".

Regina and I had to Indianapolis for the weekend and decided to stop in Columbus for dinner. After a quick search of newly opened pizza spots in the city, Harvest Pizzeria won out over Element Pizza Bar and Bono Pizza. Obviously future trips to CBus will include a stop at these other two new additions, but Harvest looked like the most interesting of the three.

This little restaurant in German Village pretty much caught me by surprise. Going in I was totally expecting some half baked, bland ass, CPK wannabe. Instead, I got pizzas that had an interesting dough, local ingredients, and well thought out toppings, and nice bit of char.

Right now the indoor dining is fairly small. Fall was still in its infancy when we went, so the tables outside were full as well.Without the outdoor seating, this wildly popular pizza spot is going to positively jammed in the winter. The interior is a very simple, light colored space with a full view of the kitchen from almost every seat but the bar.

Since we were late to the game and needed to get back on the road ASAP, we took two open seats at the small bar. In hindsight this was a blessing because the bartender - Erin - pretty much kicked ass and told us about a Yerba Buena taco truck and what to get at Ray Ray's Hog Pit when we came back through on Saturday.

Our quick dinner included the Spicy Yuma included Canal Junction Gouda, chorizo, jalapeno (I subbed this out for red onions), corn, roasted red pepper, chipotle-spiked tomato. With so much on the actual pizza, I thought the dough would be an undercooked mess. I was wrong. The whole thing works - very well. No one ingredient stood out, and for me that is the hallmark of a good pizza. The crust was light with a small amount of chew. The flavor of the char mellowed out the bold flavor of the toppings.

Regina ordered the Mushroom (Gouda, variety of mushrooms, truffle). Although she loves mushrooms, she would rather have canned mushrooms over freshly cut raw ones. In an ideal world, the mushrooms are actually sauteed like they are at Noce Gourmet Pizza. You're probably wondering where the truffles come in. They actually saute the mushrooms in a truffle paste. When you think about it, it's a pretty neat idea. My wife was also gushing over her selection.

The owner - Chris - was nice enough to come over and talk to Regina about the truffle paste. The place was packed to the gills and he stopped what he was doing to answer her questions, which I thought was pretty cool.

There's a good selection of salads, pizzas, desserts, and booze. The Harvest Pale Ale is brewed locally by Elevator Brewing right there in Columbus.

If you're in the area, you've got to stop in. I've always firmly believed that the pizza in this town is absolutely horrific. Obviously the people at Harvest Pizzeria recognized this and filled a massive void. While I haven't eaten any pizza in Cincinnati, I have eaten most of what is considered good in Cleveland, and Harvest is the best I've had in the state.

Harvest Pizzeria

495 S. 4th Street

Columbus, OH 43206

(614) 824-1769

harvestpizzeria.com

Cleveland: Market Garden Brewery & Distillery

2011-10-25T21:12:00.000-04:00

At first glance, The Market Garden pushes all the right buttons for me. The space is full of energy, I hold the guy in the kitchen in high esteem, the barman has an excellent track record, and they brew their own beer. If there's a match made in heaven - this is it. I knew I was going to like this place. Wait, scratch that. I was going to love this place.

I don't know who put together the space, but whoever it was - they absolutely smashed it. Like an erupted volcano of seating oozing from the center of the restaurant (as it should), stools line the bar, high boys fill the front room, side walk tables run along West 25th, booths march along the side of the space as you make your way to the outdoor biergarten where there is even more seating.. With the exception of the sidewalk tables, which are probably the least desirable due to the closeness and intensity of the traffic on 25th, all of the other areas feel very connected to the overall energy of the place.

Warning: with hard surfaces and lots of people comes a very high noise level. If someone in your crew is sensitive or becomes a complete asshole if they can't hear everything - SIT OUTSIDE. Noise is an issue. For my money the biergarten is the place to be. Period.

So the space is rockin'. What's the grub like? In a word? Middling.

I think the world of Michael Nowack. When Chef Sawyer left Bar Cento and tossed him the keys to the 'vette, he could have easily totaled it. He didn't. He's quietly continued to crank out thoughtful, well crafted food for the Cento faithful.

In terms of flavors, it just doesn't seem to have carried over across the street to Market Garden. I don't mean to make it sound as though the food is bad - it isn't. I will, however, say that it lacks the kind of imagination and flavor that I had come to expect from Bar Cento. I've been to MG three times and just can't get behind this food. The three trips have included The Mustard & Buttermilk Fried Chicken (I think boneless, skinless chicken breast), The Chorizo Joe (surprisingly bland), and probably the best of the three The Cuban sandwich. I don't know what the story is, but there is a lot of room for improvement. The menu descriptions led my mind to expect something better than I got - and that's never good.

The Pretzel typifies the whole experience for me. Your "snack" consists of a braided pretzel that measures no longer than eight inches long (about the size of a small loaf of free bread at any restaurant, or one of these bagel-like twisty things they sell at Dunkin' Donuts). In fact, it is more like the free bread you get at any restaurant, than it is a proper pretzel's chewiness. Also included are a small dollop of whole grain mustard,and a quenelle of soft cheese. The price? $6! 'Twas the kick in the groin to say the least.

Well, they do brew their own beer. How was that?

I'm all for locally brewed beer. I love craft brew, but I just haven't been impressed with most of the beers I've had here. Of everything I've had, the Pearl Street was probably my favorite (it helps that it was 93 degrees outside when I was drinking it). The Hop Soup and Cluster Fuggle fall short of what I would expect from a beer that is supposed to pack a hoppy punch and goes for $6-6.50 a pint. I think it's a tough sell at that price point. Do I expect 120 minute IPA? No. I realize this stuff costs money to make, and it's being made in small batches, but if I bought it at the store I don't think I'd be compelled to go back for more.

My take is this: Market Garden will never want for customers simply because the location will continue to be fed out-of-towners and those who think "food is food" and "beer is beer". The space is going to pay dividends for years to come (and I'm guessing they're probably paying handsomely for that right). I haven't completely written these guys off, I mean they've been open less than 6 months, so my hope is that they find their mojo and elevate the food and the beer. I'll be dropping in every so often to see if things change course, and as I do, I'll be more than happy to add to this post to reflect any changes in noise level or flavor. I believe in the chef. I believe in the brewer. I believe in the owner. But as of right now a choice has to be made: setting or flavor? You can't have both.

The Market Garden Brewery & Distillery

1947 W 25th St Map

Cleveland, OH 44113

(216) 621-4000

marketgardenbrewery.com

The Plain Dealer Cleveland Pizza Playoff

2011-10-22T23:56:00.001-04:00

Let's talk about the Plain Dealer's Pizza Playoff. As you can well imagine, I was pretty excited about the Plain Dealer's Pizza Playoff when I first read about it about a month ago. Set up like an NCAA March Madness bracket, readers of the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com nominated sixty-four of their favorite pizza places in what I'm guessing is the paper's circulation area. The top 16 shops were then put into four specific geographic areas. For the first few rounds, leading reader vote getters progress to the next rounds until there is a final eight for a panel of judges to vote on. Once it gets to the judging stage, pizzas are tasted from the respective finalists and a victor is crowned.

What do I think about this?

Let's start with the good. If you read Dine O Mite! with any regularity, you're painfully aware of how much I love pizza. No matter where they're located or what the place looks like, I'm pretty much game at least once. Mom and Pops are a must and this contest did a pretty good job of providing some names I wasn't really aware of. *As a side note I'll be updating the Cleveland map to reflect markers for those that made this list.* I think this is great news for a lot of these smaller or newer places that don't typically advertise (Dan Joyce's Sweet Basil comes to mind. The guy doesn't advertise. Doesn't offer discounts. Just cranks out solid pies). Deserving or not, I think this is a shot in the arm for the local guys.

What could possibly be bad about this? I take issue with the voting. I absolutely abhor popularity contests with all of my being - that is what this is for the first few rounds. They have sold a fair amount of ad space and I have received a bunch of emails (from restaurants) suggesting I vote for their pizza - every 12 hours!. Really? I mean come on. Let the chips fall where they may. Pizzazz in Mayfield went so far as to make this offer:

"You can vote every 12 hours! If Pizzazz SOM wins 1st Place, we would like to show our appreciation for your support by offering $2 off any large Pizza".

Wow!!! Two bucks?!?!? Where the hell am I going to spend it all? How much is that in Mugabian dollars? One registered user should get one vote for that round. Period.

I also don't like the small sample of judges for the in person tasting part of the last few rounds. A five person panel? Campy Russell, Dan Malley, Michael Heaton, and two PD readers? I'm sure the restaurant would be more than happy to spring for a few more pies if it meant a larger sample size of judges for the finals. I understand Michael Heaton, he wrote many of the articles in the introduction of the event. Wouldn't the inclusion of all the PD staffers that worked on it combined with readers from the various geographic sections make more sense? The truth is, a lot of people have obviously spent a lot of time writing for and voting on this contest, I think they can do a little better than just five judges. I know I'd put a little more stock in the results if included more people.

I love the idea. As someone who spends a lot of time traveling for my job, pizza is a constant interest to me. My pizza roadmap is actually this gorgeous list put together by the people at Slice. *Warning very slow to open, but worth the wait. It consists of the 64 best pizzerias in the entire country. There are obvious exclusions, but the biggies are all there. Had this been in Food and Wine it would have been widely talked about., but it wasn't - it was buried in an issue of Rachel Ray magazine. My point is, I now have a Cleveland list, that people thought enough to vote on - even if it was every 12 hours in hopes of a $2 inducement.

All told, I think this is great start for people that want to explore different pizza shops in Cleveland (I know I will). I have no doubt a great pizza is going to ultimately be picked. (Prediction: It won't be Rascal House.) I just wish the crowning of the winner was more reader inclusive than it is. After all, they did all the work for the first few rounds.

Cleveland: Don Ramon

2011-10-20T21:19:00.002-04:00

Americanized Mexican. Is that an accurate description of the lion's share of Mexican restaurants in the NEO? The chips are from a bag. The salsa is from a jar. The margaritas come from a machine. The kind of hole-in-the-wall places you find in SoCal just don't exist in these parts - at least the parts not named Painesville. I'm not suggesting it's necessarily a bad thing, it's just that there's a homogeneity to the whole idea that doesn't yield a whole lot of creative inspiration.

El Storefront

The recently opened Don Ramon fits into the typical Mexican that most Clevelanders are accustomed to. The space itself is surprisingly large. I thought it was fairly large until I went to wash my hands and realized it was double the size of what I originally thought it was. The tables have individual themes hand-painted on them and then covered in urethane. If you must know, I sat at the USA table.

Chips and salsa spun onto the the table before I even had my jacket off. Our service was friendly and efficient. I should note that it helps we were there on a Sunday night after 7:30 - not exactly prime time anywhere in this city. With a cold beer in my hand and chips at fore the waitress took our orders. Chorizo Pollo for me, and Shrimp Quesadilla Rellena for the bride.

Before you could say "Yo quiero Taco Bell," the food came out. (I don't really like Taco Bell, it's just that that's about the same amount of time it took for the food to come out - fast.) My dish was basically a mixture of chorizo, chicken strips, and cheese, with a side mound of rice and refried beans. The chorizo made it interesting, but it was what it was. Regina's shrimp quesadilla was pretty heavy on the cheese, and also was, meh.

The food here is nothing special. There are no surprises good or bad, although some fisticuffs at the bar would have broken the quiet a little bit. With other stores around Ohio, it's pretty standard fare, and for a lot of people that's good enough. Would I mistake it for Frontera Grill? Momocho? El Tango Taqueria? No, but I could certainly take an old school guy like my dad there and he'd be perfectly content. The portions are large, and the prices are just okay, but it is a Mexican chain. Take it for what it is.

Don Ramon Mexican Restaurant and Cantina

4866 Richmond Road

Warrensville Heights, OH 44128

(216) 831-3100

donramonmex.com

Cleveland: Tree Country Bistro

2011-10-19T21:32:00.000-04:00

Regina wanted to give Tree Country Bistro a shot last weekend. We knew the day was going to be jam packed full of things to do, so venturing too far from home was just going to be a hassle. She felt like trying something new and we both wanted to try something Asian. My suggestion was Golden Mountain in Willoughby Hills, and her's was Tree Country Bistro. Cleveland Heights is much closer for us than Willoughby Hills, so Regina won this round. Not that I was really complaining.

The menu has a little bit of Thai, a little of Japanese, and a little bit of Korean. Typically I'm a little leery of such a place because it seems to be a "jack of all trades, master of none" kind of situation. For Coventry, the space of rather large. The decor wasn't Asian hokey or even fancy. In fact, I'd say it was no more elaborate than something you'd find at Denny's. I guess you could call it utilitarian.

Regina went straight for the Pad Thai ($8.95).Not a whole lot to report on that little dish. The portion was huge and the noodles actually a surprising sweetness to them. I opted for the Korean Spicy Pork Bulgogi ($13.95), which consisted of thin slices of pork that were stir fried and served in a spicy sauce and kimchi. The sauce was mildly spicy, not burn your tongue, fire breathing kind of stuff, but just a nice developed heat. The kimchi was spicy and more importantly funky. For my tastes - a little too funky.

I had read in some reviews that people thought the service sucked or wasn't friendly. We found that not to be true at all. Our order went in and came out of the kitchen with blazing speed. As we were leaving the kids from Case started rolling in. The place really seems to fill up just after prime dinner hours.

If your not after Bac-like ambiance, or dirt cheap take away prices, then Tree Country Bistro fills that need. A clean, no frills restaurant with decent food and great value.

Tree Country Bistro

1803 Coventry Rd

Cleveland Heights, OH 44118

(216) 321-0644

http://www.treecountrybistro.com/

I-88: Brooks' House of Bar-B-Q

2011-10-18T22:57:00.000-04:00

In terms of highway driving, the stretch between Cleveland and Albany is pretty desolate when it comes to places to eat. While I'm sure there are some great places that I don't know of, to the casual observer making their way through the Southern Tier, things don't appear too interesting. That is.....until you get to Oneonta.

You see, just as the dread of your long drive - unless your headed to Boston - enters its closing scene, a building off to the north of the highway pumps delicious plumes of smoke at you. Three large buildings - one with hungry people, one with a gift shop, and one with smoked meats - coax you off the highway.

Brooks' House of Bar-B-Que hooks up restless vacationers and hungry locals with the regional favorite Cornell Chicken, as well as a whole host of other barbecue favorites. They sell what's called a speidie sauce which was brought to the Binghampton area by Italian immigrants and is used on sandwiches. Since Brooks' sells the sauce, I'm assuming that this is the marinade they soak the chicken in, although I don't know this for sure.

How much meat do they go through? Well, that's the Smokehouse.

What I do know is this: If you get one thing off this entire menu - and there's a lot of stuff on it - get the chicken. Since I still had to continue on to Boston I decided to eat in my car. I ordered a half chicken with fries. As you see from the picture there is a fair amount of char on the outside of the meat. I'm assuming that the marinade facilitated some of blackened goodness. What I really found interesting is that the chicken was damned moist. Not just the meat itself, but the outside of skin. It wasn't crispy. It wasn't soft and mushy. There was a well seasoned combination of skin and char that I've never had before or since. And unlike most chicken, the skin didn't come off in one thick sheet. You could bite into it and it stayed in place.This was absolutely worth the price of admission. (The fries weren't bad, either.)

It looks burnt - it's not. It's delicious!

I've been four times. The second trip I had a momentary lapse of reason and decided to expand my horizons with the chicken and ribs combo.Though a little heavy on the sauce, I thought the ribs would be perfectly acceptable at any local barbecue spot. More than acceptable, actually - exceptional. But I have to say, a trip to Brooks' that doesn't involve as much of that fabulous chicken is your stomach will hold is...well....a downright travesty. The flavor : dollar ratio is heavily skewed toward flavor.Get a full order of chicken!

This little oasis in upstate New York is a pretty isolated for a straight up road trip. I would suggest that if you have a reason to be in the area, or on your way to Cooperstown, you would do well to stop by for a tour of Ommegang Brewery a couple miles south of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In terms of breweries, it certainly is an impressive place architecturally.The Hall of Fame ain't half bad either.

I've not been to Phil's House of Chicken in Endicott (not far off ~~I-88 near Binghampton~~ someone needs to learn how to type. A) It's I-86 - not I-88. B) It's Binghamton - not Binghampton.), but word is that this is the classic example of Cornell style chicken. A project next year should bring me through these parts again, so I'll make sure to report back.

Brooks House of Barbeque

5560 State Highway 7

Oneonta, NY 13820

(607) 432-1782
www.brooksbbq.com/

Columbus: Pistacia Vera

2011-10-17T21:34:00.000-04:00

The macaron is an obsession of ours. In my travels I have found myself slipping into LA Burdick in Cambridge, just before closing, so I could take them home the next day. I've made special arrangements to pick up macs around 5:30 am at Mille-feuille near Washington Square. A final send off from San Francisco has been marked at the boarding gate with the two of us polishing off a box from Paulette (or what is now called 'lette). And I have been to Pistacia Vera right as it opened, so I could surprise my wife when I came home from a conference in Ohio's capitol.

Connoisseurs? Sure. When done well, which isn't as often as you'd think, they are truly incredible.

The shells are finicky. You can do everything correctly, and for no reason whatsoever they just don't seem to behave. Hollow tops, dense insides, small to non-existent feet, too hard, too soft, there is a whole list of things that can go wrong and an equally long list of reasons why. They really are a lot like a golf swing - seemingly simple, but a million things can go wrong.

But this post isn't about how to make macarons, it's about our favorite in Ohio.

Housed on the edge of Columbus' timeless German Village in the old Reiner's Donut Shop, is a sleek French bakery called Pistacia Vera. The old Reiner's name is still attached to the rear side of the building that faces E. Hoster Street. When the weather is warm, there are tables and chairs set up out front.

Old pictures from Reiner's, framed inside an old donut box

Inside you'll find a very simple, clean interior that showcases their vast array of offerings. While they are very well known for their macs, I can honestly say that most everything I've had has been just as well crafted and delicious. Some of my favorites have been the sable, bitter sweet fudgie, and chocolate chunk pistachio cookies. Although I've never had them, PV also offers favorites like croque monsieur, quiches, and other French breakfast favorites, as well as coffee drinks.

The Counter

But it's really about the macarons, right? First off, they're a pretty substantial size. They certainly aren't as ridiculous as the ones I've had a J. Pistone in Cleveland ($4 a piece and a good 3" in diameter, but probably my favorite in Cleveland). But they aren't as small as the traditional size which usually measure somewhere around the size of a quarter. I'd say three small bites and they're gone. A pretty good size if you ask me.

The Case (look at the frothy feet on those things)

Our favorites are the pistachio (I think they make those shells out of ground pistachio instead of typical almond flour, which makes for a very pistachio-y mac), the maple walnut, caramel pecan, passion fruit (very, very good), and the mocha. The pumpkin spice and chocolate peppermint are pretty overpowering. Those two are really the only ones I would straight up avoid.

The shells are pretty consistent from density standpoint, and are not overly sweet. The fillings are also not overly intense and seem to be firm enough so as not to squirt out the sides, yet soft enough to easily bite into.

Pistacia Vera is certainly part of a rising tide that is raising all boats in the capitol city. In a town that was once a bastion of chains (and in a lot of areas, still is), a local food scene is picking up some major steam here. This little bakery is a must see if you are in the area. They offer a high quality product, with an equally high execution, at a great value.

Pistacia Vera

541 South 3rd Street

Columbus, OH43215
(614) 220-9070

http://www.pistaciavera.com/

Westchester County: JT Straw's Bar and Grill

2011-10-05T21:16:00.000-04:00

You can go most anywhere in the Five Burroughs and have no trouble finding good to excellent pizza. I've even had no problem with finding excellent pies in Nassau, and even Suffolk counties. However, when I'm up in Westchester it is a serious bitch to find really good pizza. I'm not saying it's impossible - it's not - but you have to drive around a little bit, and at 6 or 7 o'clock in that neck of the woods - it isn't a pleasant task.

I was on Chowhound looking hard for a good pie. While many recommended some of the low hanging fruit like Tarry Lodge in Port Chester (which is very good, but not the kind of place I like eating alone at), or that I was going to be closer to Colony Grill in Stamford (which is also very good, but I wasn't in the mood for bar style pizza).Someone mentioned a hole-in-the-wall place called JT Straw's Bar and Grill' in Port Chester. They they claimed that it was a neighborhood bar that sold excellent wood fired Neapolitan pies.

I had to see this for myself.

Very rarely, if ever, do you see "hole-in-the-wall bar" and "wood fired Neapolitan pizza" in the same sentence. As I drove past Tarry Lodge I thought to myself, "Well, if this ends up being a dead end, at least I can pick something up from TL and take it back to the hotel."

As I pulled up to the spot it was pretty obvious that this was definitely a neighborhood bar. By the looks of things, I was feeling pretty pessimistic about what I might find in the pizza box. The interior is dark with a U-shaped bar (completely filled with the after work crowd) and booths flanking each side of the bar. The interior fairly spartan, but clean.

The bartender passed me a menu from which I ordered what they called a “Traditional” Italian Margherita Pizza. As with most pizza hunters, if you're getting wood-fired - the Margherita is the only measuring stick. It's really the only constant one can judge a truly decent pizzaiolo by. One beer later, the pizza was done and I was headed out the door.

Pizza on Hood

I put the box on the hood of the car and took this photo. If it's not cold out the "pizza on the hood" shot always yields some good light. The cheese was flowing like magma due to the water that was releasing from the fresh mozz. The dough was charred perfectly and held up pretty good under the wetness that was on top. There was no way I could take this back to the hotel, it would have been a soggy mess by the time I got there. I often find with a good 12" Neapolitan pizza, that if you eat the whole thing it seems to be the perfect amount of food without feeling stuffed. This is that type of pie.

At the end of the day it's a very solid pizza at an incredibly reasonable price of $10! Try walking out of Tarry Lodge for that. Ain't gonna happen. If you find yourself near the Westchester/Fairfield line - stop in. It's not the "best ever" (whatever the hell that means), but it's pretty damn good, and represents an awesome value.

JT Straws Bar and Grill

435 West Main Street

Port Chester, NY 10573

(914) 937-9695

Hawai'i: A Saigon Cafe (The Restaurant without a Sign)

2011-10-04T23:13:00.000-04:00

Clay Pot Pork

This picture was taken in Wailuku, Maui, so I don't really expect any of you to hop on a plane and head here, but I need some help. A Saigon Cafe makes this absolutely killer dish called Clay Pot Pork. You can order it in a number of different spice levels (I get the hot), but it is one hell of a fantastic bowl of meat. My question is: Does anyone make something like this in Cleveland?

I think the restaurant as a whole is relatively comfortable and clean. It's certainly not fancy, but isn't dirty either. The waitstaff tells well rehearsed jokes. (If they were delivered by anyone else they wouldn't elicit so much as a giggle, but these guys get away with it.) During our last visit everything else we ordered here was middling, but this Clay Pot Pork keeps me coming back. Here is a more in depth review from a few years ago. I think it makes for a great lunch place, since the prices are a little lower and the portions are about right. If you come for dinner, you might find that it probably isn't as good a value and might walk away disappointed.

If anyone can help out with a rec here in Cleveland on where I could find this little monster, I'd greatly appreciate it.

A Saigon Cafe
1792 Main Street
Wailuku, HI 96793
(808) 243-9560

Bangkok Thai Cuisine

2011-10-03T21:08:00.000-04:00

The two of us are certainly fans of Thai. While I can't say that we are necessarily aficionados of the cuisine, I can say that we do enjoy eating it. On the whole, I think for the most part, Thai places do a good job at what they do. That being said, I don't think there is a vast departure between what is being done at one place versus the other. For me it essentially comes down to the value, cleanliness, and service at a given place that sets it apart from its other competitors.

We stopped in at Bangkok Thai Cuisine because we've heard nothing but good things about it - not just good things, but raves reviews. I am always a sucker for the impassioned testimonial, no matter how skeptical I am, if someone lights up at the mention of eating at resto, well, I'll take the bait. I've got to try it - at least once.

BTC overcomes the drab exterior of the building, with a modest yet comfortable dining room. The decoration is tastefully Thai without having some of the kitsch you get with other places. A mix of booths as well as tables for larger parties can be found throughout.

Crazy Noodles with Pork

(Looks appetizing, doesn't it?)

Intrigued by the name if nothing else, I went with the Crazy Noodles with pork ordered hot & spicy($10.95). These were basically flat noodles stir fried with Thai chili sauce, pork, and your typical Thai veggies. For all the spice mongers out there, if you order hot & spicy it has about the same amount of heat you would expect from sriracha. It's not on the level of lip numbing, tear making Szechuan peppercorns, but there is a decent amount of heat. Luckily, if that isn't hot enough for you, there is their "Very Hot & Spicy", although I haven't had it. Please comment if you have - inquiring minds want to know. The dish overall was very balanced (and ample). It reheated quite nicely for lunch the next day.

Regina had the Shrimp Himaparn ($13.95). Her dish was a stir fry of shrimp, cashews, peppers, mushroom, sweet chili sauce, and Thai veggies. Again, just a solid, plentiful entree. We rounded everything out with an order of the Pineapple Fried Rice ($8.95). Hawai'i has pretty much ruined pineapple for me. For the life of me I don't know why order stuff with the non-Hawaiian variety. Despite my snobby pineapple ways, this too was nicely done.

For what it's worth,I have it on good advice from a vegetarian friend, that the Vegetarian Rainbow is her favorite.

Thai Beer

Bangkok Thai Cuisine pretty much backs up the rave reviews it gets from its customers. They offer a variety of wines and decent selection of Thai, Chinese, and domestic beers. Their service is friendly and not only speaks good English, but is very adept at tailoring a dish to your likes and dislikes. The prices are in line with what you would expect to pay for Thai, and the food comes out quickly, so tables turnover rather quickly. I think this little hole-in-the-wall offers very good food at a solid value.

Bangkok Thai Cuisine

5359 Mayfield Road

Lyndhurst, Ohio 44124

(440) 684-1982

Pretzels at Home

2011-10-02T21:10:00.002-04:00

Since the Browns game was borderline unwatchable, I decided to try my hand at making Sherry Yard's Soft Pretzel recipe from Dessert by the Yard. The pictures looked like the real deal. The appearance of those pictured in her book looked like the ones you kind find around Lancaster County, PA. I wanted to try and make the shiny, dark brown versions you find at the numerous Amish stores in the area.

Soft Pretzel

Here's a link to the Soft Pretzel recipe from Sherry Yard's, Dessert by the Yard.

A few notes:

The recipe is well written. Follow it to the letter and you should have - at the very least - edible pretzels.

This recipe is more Auntie Anne's than Pennsylvania Dutch. There's a light crispiness to them instead of the chewier, dark shiny version that you find at the ballpark or from the Amish.

My pretzels ended up looking like the ones you see in the linked blog that has the recipe. Perhaps I chickened out and didn't cook them long enough, but I just felt if they went any longer they'd burn. Since this was my first try at pretzels, I'll continue to try and figure out how to make the dark shiny ones.

I used Great Lakes Brewing's Oktoberfest amber ale in the simmering mixture

Each dough ball should weigh about 60 grams. These make for nice miniature snacks. They are not the big monster pretzels you typically associate with soft pretzels.

Find a very course pretzel salt. Kosher salt just doesn't give the same texture as the pebbly pretzel salt. It's like trying to substitute turbinado sugar with granulated - it's just not the same. The salt in my picture is actually from Hawai'i. I purchased this for Regina from The Meadows. They have an excellent selection of salt and chocolate.

Like most of the recipes in this book, you really have to carve out a little bit of time in your day to make it. This isn't something that you just whip together and throw in the oven. At the same time, this isn't what I would consider a technically difficult recipe to execute, either.

Indy: King Ribs Bar-B-Q

2011-09-25T17:56:00.000-04:00

It 's no secret that I go creapin' (to borrow a Jersey Shore term), for barbecue whenever I have the chance. Typically, the suspect the neighborhood or the operation, the better. King Ribs got a write-up that said you had to try the ribs. Since I was charged with burning an afternoon while my wife attended a conference..well... what was a brother to do?

King Ribs - at least the one I went to - was a carryout only, hole-in-the wall type place. A black board with the white letters you wedge into the grooves, spells out a rather limited menu of ribs, chicken, and a choice of pulled pork, beef, or chicken, and four side dishes.

The store consists of a counter and a walled off windowed kitchen. It's a pretty sparse, bare bones operation they have here. Surprisingly enough they do accept credit cards. It totally looks like a cash only operation, but who's complaining? I ordered a pulled pork sammie ($4), 1/4 chicken ($3), baked beans, and cole slaw ($1.39 ea.). From the kitchen the cook asked me if I wanted hot, sweet, or mixed sauce. Not knowing exactly what their idea of "hot" was, I asked for the mixed, thinking that if hot was in fact hot at least the sweet would cut it down a little bit. Everything was packaged up in less than five minutes.

What the....?

I got everything back to the car and opened it up. Be warned: sauce....lots and lots of sauce. Much like makeup, lots of sauce means that someone is either trying to hide something or has poor self editing skills - King Ribs falls into the latter category. The pork and the chicken had a good flavor and moisture to them. The sauce - even though it was way too much - was actually a nice blend of spicy and sweet. I would do the mixed sauce again in a heartbeat. The sides were another story. The coleslaw had WAY too much mayo in it. Inedible. The baked beans weren't much better. I think if they actually added a little pork and maybe stirred in a little of that mixed sauce into them, they could actually be pretty good.

Would I specifically seek these guys out again? If I lived in the area, I'd order the meats they sell, with the sauce in the side. I'd skip the side dishes all together. I will say that if you are after a heavy smoke influenced meat, this is not that. As far as a visitor to the city, if you're hardcore I'd give it a shot, but if you aren't into eating 'cue in your car you'll probably want to skip it.

King Ribs Bar-B-Q

5610 Georgetown Rd

Indianapolis, IN 46254

(317) 291-2695

Dan's Dogs

2011-09-23T11:03:00.003-04:00

As a little kid, I grew up in Medina. I left after junior high and rarely find myself in that neck of the woods. The city has certainly changed from when I grew up there in the early to mid eighties. Where there was once woods, there are now houses. Shopping centers have multiplied to the point of over saturation. And the Square? Well, it just doesn't seem to be as relevant as it once was.

Just off The Square sits a little hot dog shop named Dan's Dogs (a couple of doors down from the now shuttered Medina Theater). This little diner has the feel of a Johnny Rockets, but has a ton of memorabilia adorning the walls that celebrate the age of Elvis and Marylin Monroe. Dan's Dogs has a fairly extensive selection of hot dogs as well as a large variety of milk shakes and ice cream treats.

Now as far as hot dogs go, there are the casual consumers and then there are the hardcore regional aficionados. I fall in the latter category. My golfing compatriot and I ordered a few different hot dogs, (they also offer burgers but we didn't try them). I'm not going to lie - the dogs were decent but we aren't talking about Hot Doug's here. Was the Chicago-style a true Chicago? No - not even close. Perhaps in spirit, but there was nary a poppy seed to be found, let alone a Vienna hot dog.

Aside from hot dog snobbery - if there is such a thing - the food tasted good. I thought for what Dan's charges it represented a good value, ($2.05-$2.35 for regular, $3-3.20 for jumbo). While we were there a number of mothers came in with kids and you could tell that the little ones were thrilled to be there. There's no doubt Dan's is a hit with the Medina elementary and preschool crowd. They do a brisk business in here and tables turn around pretty quickly.

All told, I would probably warn the dyed-in-the-wool hot dog freaks that it isn't worth a significant drive, but if you're looking for a place that is very kid friendly or just happen to be in the neighborhood - Dan's Dogs is a fun and affordable place to stop.

Dan's Dogs

111 W Liberty St

Medina, OH 44256

(330) 723-3647

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-21T22:30:00.000-04:00

My wife does a fair amount of experimenting with different types cookies. In the past she's kind been all over the place instead of really trying to focus on one she likes and then perfecting it. Thankfully she's zeroed in one of my favorites - chocolate cookies. I've been eating my fair share lately, and I have to hand it to her - she's putting out some seriously good, bakery quality cookies.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

She's more of the soft and chewy type. Me? I fall under the billy goat category. Put a cookie - any cookie - in front of me and I'll happily eat it. I can say that as far as billy goats are concerned this is certainly on the high end of the scale for quality c-chip cookies. Click here for the link to the recipe.

A few notes from the cook:

A smaller scoop yielding about a 50g ball of dough seems to be the ideal size.

Parchment was used instead of a Silpat. I don't know exactly what is but sometimes a Silpat works better for some cookies, and for other cookies it's the other way around.

Sprinkle a high quality fleur de sel. just as you pull them from the oven. It adds a little extra oomph to the flavor of the cookie. She used Le Saunier de Camargue which looks like it was just made by the ocean. It has kind of an irregular look to it that separates it from most sea salts you see. .

Two types of chocolate (58% and 64%) were used. For these, the best "cheap" chocolate was used - Peters from Fantasy Candies. If funds allow for it, use decent chocolate, you'll thank me later.

Normally cooking times vary from oven to oven, but these were taken out (turning halfway through) at exactly 15 minutes and they came out like an Original Cookie cookie *Whoah, '80's flashback*.

Philly: Amada

2011-09-20T22:00:00.000-04:00

There was a time when tapas was a fairly new concept as far as the American dining public was concerned. Chances are, if you asked most people what the word meant - they wouldn't have been able to tell you. The truth is, until the wife and I went to Amada way back in 2006, we didn't really know what it was either.

The experience we got from Jose Garces' restaurant back then was both a blessing and a curse.

It was a blessing because it gave us a true sense of what it meant to eat Spanish style small plates. The decor matched the simple yet high qualiy offerings. Little touches such as the live flamenco dancers on Saturday nights (good luck getting one of those rezzies, they come on at around 10), or uber cool hand cranked meat slicer, are many of the smalls details that create an overall experience you don't get just anywhere.

The curse - like anything that happens to be the best you've ever had, while also being your first time - is that the notion of tapas was so clearly defined by our Amada visit. Many of the places you see today simply place food on a small plate and call it a day. I see these 'tapas' places and say to myself, "You call this tapas? Sheeee-yit!" (To quote Clay Davis.)

Long before Garces was an Iron Chef, the people of Philadelphia have been filing into this restaurant to enjoy the cheeses, cured meats, Spanish specialties. One item that sits squarely on my wishlist - and will most likely stay there - is the Suckling Pig (must order ahead and have a slew of people to share it with). This man cooked what was probably one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I've ever had at the Alex's Lemonade Stand Great Chef's Event.

Amada is what I would consider a moderately priced restaurant. As long as your eyes aren't 10x the size of your stomach and you don't plan on binge drinking, your check with tip will probably hover around the $100-120 range (depending on what you order drink wise).

The Garces empire has steadily been growing since he became an Iron Chef, but take comfort in knowing that the people of Philly have been crowding into this spot way before any of that went down. If you're like us, you'll probably want to walk off dinner before you dive into dessert. Franklin Fountain is just a stone's throw away up on Market Street.

Amada

217 Chestnut St

Philadelphia, PA 19106

(215) 625-2450

www.amadarestaurant.com

Kabab-G

2011-09-19T20:53:00.000-04:00

If you're familiar with the intersection of West 117th and Lorain Road on Cleveland's West Side, then you know that this is THE epicenter of Middle Eastern groceries and restaurants in our city.

Diner about town, Stuart Spivack, told me about a noteworthy kebab place. Since I happened to be in the neighborhood we decided to meet there for dinner.

Kabab-G is a little restaurant that sits between W. 119th and 120th. The inside is modest, but still quite clean with booth style seating and not much in the way of decor. There are 5 or 6 booths that run along the right side of the dininng room, and a more stout dining area to the left with tables that looks like it can accommodate parties larger than four.

The hostess/waitress/cashier does a good job of wearing all her hats despite the fact that English isn't her first language. The portions sizes represent a good value when you consider what they charge. We went with the monstrously large Dinner for Two ($24), which includes hummus and lafa (pita whatever you want to call it), salad, rice, pickled veg, and two of each type of kebab. Stuart warned me that the chicken kebab isn't one of his favorites, but the beef was probably the best he's had here in Cleveland.

The Entree Portion of the "Dinner for Two"

After trying the chicken , I'd have to agree - skip it. It's just boneless, skinless chicken on a stick. No spice. Not much char.

The adona is basically minced lamb pressed together with spices. I'd describe adana as having the texture and basic shape of a McRib. It's better than the chicken but not nearly as good as the beef.

The beef is a legitimate superstar. I'm no spice master, but whatever the heck it is they put on that thing - it's awesome. Not to say that it is some overpowering spice mix, just a little added something that coalesces with the meat and char. Here's the equation in case you're interested: Spices + Beef + Fat drippings + Hot Charcoal = Tasty Beef (S₂ + Bf + Fd² + Q = S₂TBf²)

All told, Kabab-G is a high quality, low cost din. If it's ambiance you're after, then keep driving toward downtown. But if you happen to have a hankerin' for a exceptional beef kabab and a cheap night out, then I think this little hole in the wall fits that description. As with most restaurants that have something people really want - it's cash on the barrelhead.

More Clevo posts here.

Kabab-G
11901 Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44111
(216) 476-3335

Momofuku Ko English Muffins

2011-09-18T23:05:00.001-04:00

A lot of what I choose to cook comes down to just how much time I have available. For the longest time I wanted to try the Ko English Muffins in David Chang's Momofuku cookbook, but never quite had the time. Yesterday I decided to start the whole process and finish them up today.

Momofuku Ko English Muffins

I've found that most of the recipes in this book are not technically difficult. If you read through everything before hand and make sure you've got the right tools and enough time to properly execute every step - it's pretty easy.

I busted out these simply because I just...well...felt like it. There's a link to the recipe at the bottom of the page. Here are some of my notes from the whole process:

I made half the recipe. It halves very well. As is usually the case, I think they would have turned out even better with the whole recipe. Due to the smaller batch the dough probably got a little overworked by adhering to the mixing and kneading times provided.

60 grams most certainly does not make a normal sized English muffin. For that you're going to need probably something in the range of 80-90 grams. That being said, the 60 gram size is actually a nice mini size for less hearty appetites. Regina also thinks they "look cute".

I sifted the cornmeal through a fine meshed sieve and only used the courser corn meal left in the sieve; otherwise the finer aggregates in the cornmeal absolutely coat the dough. If you look at the picture in this recipe for a hollandaise sauce, you'll see what I mean about too much corn meal.

I cut the ones you see above, but WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE COMPLETELY COOL and USE THE FORK TO PRY THEM APART! If you don't wait for them to cool you are going to create a giant mess. Patience Grasshopper.Prying them open provides the "nooks and crannies" that you get from a good traditional English muffin.

I didn't include the chive batons. I really didn't see the point in it.

I didn't do the bay leaf butter either. Hydrating dried leaves doesn't work very well, and I didn't have fresh ones at the ready.

Some type of diffuser plate may be necessary to keep the heat low enough on the cast iron skillet. I used a cast iron fajita plate between the range and skillet to keep a low temp

Link to Momofuku Ko English Muffins from Momofuku, by David Chang, here.

This was my first go at English muffins. I think it's pretty close to authentic. I'd give them another try, or I might try this recipe, which has received quite a bit of praise. This was written by Alton Brown, but I think shesimmers.com does a nice job with the pictures and comments. The recipe on its own does look pretty intriguing because the ingredients are vastly different from this one.

Looking for other recipes that I've done go to the Food page here.

Philly Gets No Respect

2011-09-15T19:56:00.004-04:00

My wife's a huge fan, can you tell?

If ever there was a an East Coast version of Cleveland - Philadelphia is it. Sandwiched between New York and Washington, people look down on Philly and South Jersey like the place is an absolute cesspool. Old stereotypes die hard. Most people still think that South Philly is just as hardscrabble as it was in the days of Rocky.

It's simple: Cleveland will always be remembered for a burning river, and Philly will forever be known as the city that booed Santa Claus.

The truth is, that in terms of population - both city's food scenes are of very high quality. Whether your budget is big (Marc Vetri's tasting menu with white truffle add-on) or the best $8 sandwich you will ever eat (Paesano's).

I find that one of the funniest things, is that when you talk to people from Cleveland about how great Philly is - and vice versa - you get the same constipated look from both sides. The "Why would I want to go to that shit hole when I can go to New York (or in their case Chicago). It's absolutely incredible. I don't really know why that is, but if Cleveland ever had a kindred spirit - Philadelphia is it. We're underdogs, but when faced with the choice of choosing David or Goliath - we go with Goliath. Absolutely mental.

This series of posts is not going to be an effort to persuade anyone to go to Philadelphia. In a all honesty, I don't really care. Go ahead, go to New York for the tenth time. It doesn't really matter to me. But know that you're missing out on a truly fascinating city that has tons of history, down-to-earth people, and is very walkable.

Know that when you go to the restaurants here, you're going to see guys like Vetri, Michael Solomonov (Zahav), Matt Michaud (Osteria) actually working in the kitchen - I've seen it with my own eyes.

Know that using local food isn't something that just started five years ago, Lancaster County has one of the most diverse bounties this side of the Central Valley.

Know that Philadelphians love their food - and will tell you their opinion regarding anything to do with the subject.

Know that this food scene is pound-for-pound better than most cities you'll find in the United States.

So follow us as we talk about some of the treasures that await you in The City of Brotherly Love.

My Ultimate NEO Underdog

2011-09-12T23:05:00.008-04:00

Pizza in Cleveland for the most part is pretty average. I don't mean to sound like a snob, but if you look at the majority of the pizza that is consumed in this town it is no better than most you'll find in other middle-of-the-road pizza cities. We can, however, take solace in the fact that it isn't as bad as the stuff being sold in Columbus.

That being said, you tend to have an attachment to the pizza you're raised on. With any luck you didn't grow up across the street from a Domino's or Pizza Hut. I think in his book "American Pie", Peter Reinhart summed up best:

I have come to the conclusion that there are two kinds of perfect pizza: contextually perfect pizza and paradigmatically perfect.......It's the pizzeria where we have a special history, a memory that is woven together with the flavors, textures, and atmosphere of the place. I think that such a contextually perfect pizza - that is, perfect because of the circumstances of a time and situation - at least aspires, even if it fails, to be paradigmatically perfect as well.

Some of my favorites (Antonio's, Compola's Tasty Pizza, Angelo's) all have a very similar appearance and structure that I like. I think they exemplify the pizza that most of us grew up eating. Sweet Basil does a nice Jersey-fied Neapolitan, Vincenza's the best New York Style incarnation, and deep dish....well....a good deep dish can't really be found here in Cleveland.

So where does Noce Gourmet Pizzeria fall in all of this?

On the Outside Looking In

Would you believe they fall in the "None of the Above" category? Most likely, "California or West Coast" style?

On our last visit to San Francisco, we ate a ton of pizza. You can choose to believe it or not, but San Francisco pizzaioli put together the best combination of toppings I've had anywhere. Toppings are king in SF. There's a bone marrow pizza at Flour + Water that I will be trying the next time we're in Mission.

One would think that the "Sour Dough Capital" would excel in the crust department, but in reality New York and New Haven have them beat by a mile.

So what does this have to do with a little pizzeria that sits in the square of snowy Chardon, Ohio?

First let me tell you that you aren't coming here for the crust, the bread, the dough, the cornicione - whatever you want to call it. That isn't to say it's bad - it isn't. What I'm saying is that people will not recognize Noce's dough recipe as being like anything they've had around here. If I had to describe it, I'd say it has the chewiness of a typical Cleveland Pizza crust, but has the crunchiness of a French bread. In reality, this particular crust holds up really well to reheating.

The Grecian

On the West Coast, the toppings are the star. Here's a list of some of my favorites:

Grecian - Mozzarella, red onion, lamb sausage, feta, tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil with a side of tzatziki sauce. *I did not think I was going to like this, but it absolutely works. The lamb sausage and the feta are applied in small bits so as not to get a big mouth full of one ingredient.

Wild Mushroom - Exotic mushroom mix, roasted peppers, red onions, mozz, chevere, roasted garlic, and olive oil. *I detest mushrooms, but was urged to get this during lent by another customer. The mushrooms are sauteed first and make quite simply the best mushroom pizza I've ever had.

Molto Carne - Italian Sausage, pepperoni, bacon, mushroom, Roma tomatoes, black olives, mozz, and tomato sauce. *This one is for big boys. One hell of a heavy pizza that satiates the meat lovers out there. I can only do about two slices. It's a monster, but it's good.

Quattro Formaggi - Chevre, fontina, gorganzola & mozz cheese, roasted garlic, and olive oil. *Another Lenten special. Simple, yet tasty.

Thai Shrimp - Spicy peanut sauce, shrimp, green onions, sweet peppers, mozz, sesame seeds, crushed chili peppers. *In my opinion, the most "out there" pie on the menu. My wife said it was here favorite (this is a Regina's greatest hits of ingredients). I remember being turned off by shrimp married with mozz, but she singled it out as a fave.

I would veer away from the traditional Margherita (reserved as the measuring stick of a truly good wood fired pizza), Pepperoni (you didn't drive all the way out here just for that, did you?), or the Sausage Combo (the only pizza I didn't like, because there were too many olives.Unless you're an olive freak, ask the kitchen to go easy on the briny little suckers. If you're not a fan, just exclude them all together.)

It gets better! BYO! Most pizzerias have horrible beer and wine lists (the exception being Compola's Tasty Pizza, they have a cooler loaded full of excellent craft beer), but here you have no one to blame but yourself. Pliny the Elder, Golden Delicious, or whatever - it's all up to you. Be warned, there is no place in the square that sells bottles for carryout. There are some grocery stores at the bottom of the hill that you can buy from. I advise planning ahead and bringing something you really like.

This cozy little shop doesn't stay open 'till all hours, so be forewarned that you want to get there before 8:30. I'd hate to see you drive all that way for nothing. If you happen to be in town at lunch, they sell pizza by the slice, as well.

So there it is folks. In terms of not being in the Urbanspoon Top 100 or any other lists that you'll find in Cleveland - Noce Gourmet Pizzeria in Chardon is a heavyweight. Tastefully decorated, BYO, and most of all unique one-of-a-kind pizzas are all here in one place. In my opinion, this is the closest thing to contextually and paradigmatically perfect pizza as you'll find in the area.

Noce Gourmet Pizzeria
125 Main St.
Chardon, OH 44024
(440) 279-0303
www.nocegourmetpizza.com

Bring Something People Will Eat

2011-09-01T22:50:00.003-04:00

With the Labor Day weekend upon us, chances are fairly good that you will have some sort of picnic that requires you to bring something. Typically we try to bring a dish that is not susceptible to heat, while still maintaining some semblance of healthiness.

A friend of ours always has a picnic the week before Labor, so we decided to bring a bean salad and the lemon bars that were highlighted in the previous post (that incidentally brought in quite the audience from Tastespotting).

While Tony Bourdain might not think much ofGuy Fee-ed-ee, we thought Guy's Black Bean Salad recipe was exactly what we were looking for. It would be a welcome respite from the usual heaviness of mayo laden potato or macaroni salads, without the need to have refrigerate.

Guy Fieri's Bean Salad

By the end of the whole affair, the bean salad was pretty much gone. There were a ton of desserts, so the lemon bars didn't get quite as much love. The bean salad, however, was the belle of the side dish ball (and about a tenth of the work).

Is bean salad sexy? No, but it gets much love when lined up against the usual picnic side dish suspects.

Tartine Lemon Bars

2011-08-29T20:21:00.003-04:00

We like bright summery desserts for bright summery picnics. There's really nothing like eating the sweet tartness of a lemon bar as summer draws to a close.

Our "go to" cookbook has been from Tartine Bakery. I have made a number of things out of this book and they have all - with the exception of an ill-fated genoise cake - turned out on the better side of exceptional.

There are recipes and then there are recipes. I don't know how long it took them to write this thing, but they basically take the keys to the Tartine kingdom and toss them in your lap. I can't say enough great things about this book. Get it now!

Before the leaves begin to fall we wanted to try the lemon bar recipe. It is considered bad form to eat lemon bars after Labor Day, right?

Tartine Bakery Lemon Bar

As was the case with damn near everything else we've tried from this book, the lemon bars were spot on. The nuttiness of the brown butter crust, cut the tartness of the lemon perfectly.

Here is a link to the recipe.

Underdog? No. Not Well Known? Yes.

2011-08-25T22:01:00.007-04:00

The Interior of the Former Sail Shop

Chez François is my favorite restaurant in northeast Ohio. Mind you, it is on the very, very western edge of the boundary, but as far as I'm concerned the Chez squeezes into the NEO. While I wouldn't describe myself as necessarily being a francophile, I do have a deep appreciation for well crafted, well thought out food.

But this is not an ode to Chez François, it's a love letter to his little brother Touché.

Housed in a former sail shop that is now the upstairs of Chez François, the bar area is known as Touché. Two-Chez, get it? This charming little bar offers up the crafty food of the more formal downstairs (jackets required), with the flip flop wearing people upstairs.

There are no reservations, which could be a turn off for East Siders (like ourselves) who made the trek all the way out here for dinner. It should be noted that after school starts, there is less of a risk of the place being packed on a weekend night. In the dead of summer you might be waiting a while if you arrive after six.

They offer a prix fixe menu as well as a variety of smaller type plates that are either suitable for sharing or can be ordered as entrees. I opted for the Panini Croque Monsieur ($12.95) and the Pommes Frites, Poutine ($8.95). The Croque Monsieur was not in its typical "fork required" form, but rather a sandwich that was able to be picked up and eaten with your hands. The frites were top with an addictive wine sauce and generously covered with Roquefort cheese.

Panini Croque Monsieur

Regina actually cherry picked an Alaskan Salmon dish off of the prix fixe menu that they charged $15.95 for. She was very happy with the dish itself, noting that the portion size was just right for the price.

The wine and specialty drink selection here is much more diverse than that of the beer. Since it was such a beautiful summer day, I actually passed up the beer all together and opted for a couple of mojitos.

Touché is a great night out (totaling $66 with tip). I've always found the service to be friendly and professional. I can honestly say that I've never had a bad meal in either the bar or the restaurant.

Most people dis it because they say it's too far to drive. I can't say that I'd really argue with that. What I will say, is if you want superlative food and service without the need to get dressed to the nines, Touché should be on your radar.

Touche: A Wine/Martini Bar
555 Main St. (Upstairs)
Vermilion, OH 44089
www.chezfrancois.com

There are Good Food Trucks, and Not So Good Food Trucks

2011-08-24T21:29:00.003-04:00

To some degree I think food trucks are given a little leeway when it comes to quality and the price of what they sell. The novelty, to some extent, seems to tip things into "I'll give them the benefit of the doubt" or "they have limited space so it's good for what they have to work with" territory.

The Cool Haus ice cream truck pushes both of these notions to the limit.

One of the Best Food Truck Designs

Cool Haus gets above average marks for website, concept, truck design and innovation. As far as taste goes - it absolutely sucks. Sorry, I'd be horrified if I went to an ice cream shop and they served this stuff to me for the princely sum of $5 a piece, or whatever they were.

You can eat that wrapper, but it tastes like the photo cake film

I give them credit for the edible wrapper. I think that's a novel idea. But let's think about this. If I just hand you my dirty ass $20 bill and you gave me back my dirty ass change (with my bare hands), do I really want to eat the wrapper that is having money shmutz rubbed into it? Perhaps a paper wrapper would have been a better idea.

The ice cream is heavy on the "ice" and short on the "cream", if you get what I'm saying. Hard as a rock. Refrozen ice cream completely sucks. What could make it worse? How about sandwiching between over baked brick bat cookies?

This was extremely difficult to eat. So much so, in fact, that we tossed them both in the bin after about three bites. The rigid cookies forced the ice cream out of the sandwich like a rock hard turd.

I think to some extent people will say that it's awesome simply because of the novelty. While I don't love the Van Leeuwen ice cream truck, I think the product they sell actually decent ice cream.

To read some people's opinions - Cool Haus is absolutely awesome. With all the good gelato shops in NYC, I just can't get behind what Cool Haus is selling.

Saving Haiti One Bean at a Time

2011-08-23T22:07:00.004-04:00

Whenever Regina come back from Philly we take the scenic route up through Lancaster County (stopping at Talula's Table in Kennett Square), going up through State College (stopping at Wegman's) and then continuing on west on I-80.

Don't get me wrong, I think Talula's Table is an absolutely fantastic place. In fact, they've opened a new spot in Philly called Talula's Garden (in partnership with Steven Starr) that just made Bon Appetit's list of Best New Restaurants of 2011. Anyway, my wife goes nuts in this place. Amy Olexy has the ability to push every last one of my wife's "Cheese Buttons". The cooler fills and the cash register whirs as she runs the gauntlet of the cheese case along the back wall. [This Toy Cow Creamery post was first hatched by a visit to Talula's Table]

While she was in the midst of another cheese binge, I started to read a story about La Colombe Torrefaction's Atelier coffee from Haiti. Now mind you, I guzzle coffee like it's air. And whenever I'm in Philly, my drug of choice is La Colombe. Thankfully the days of walking all the way from Old Town to 19th St. are over since more cafes and bakeries have begun pouring their coffee. There's even a few in NYC and one in Chicago now.

So whenever I was in La Colombe's shop I'd see this pricey bag of Haitian coffee called Atelier. I don't remember exactly what it costs, but it wasn'tt cheap and I had to wonder if the price was a third world sympathy tax or it was actually that good. Well, while the family cheese addict was working her magic, I had a chance to read the story behind this coffee.

I'm not going to rehash the whole thing (you can read it here or even better watch the video below), but imagine "The Most Interesting Man in the World" (It's not often I drink coffee, but when I do - it's Atelier. Stay thirsty my friends.) hunting for coffee in the mountains of Haiti. The story seriously follows that kind of storyline. Essentially this guy found an old coffee bean that was grown way back in the day. These coffee trees were growing wild on this financially devastated country. You really do have to read the story - I found it very interesting.

Needless to say, I bought the coffee. Always a sucker for a great story, I really wanted to see if it was everything the story said it was. When I got home I ground some up and cranked up the Technivorm. Just the smell of the steam coming out was incredible. I poured about half a cup, thinking I might have to doctor it up a little bit with another stronger batch. If I've had a better cup of coffee and can't remember it. On this occasion there would be no doctoring going on. Absolutely fantastic stuff. No cream. No sugar. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I do remember angels singing momentarily. This was about as perfect a coffee as I could ever hope to drink.

If you have the funds. If you have the curiosity. If you love a good story. If you root for the underdog. And most importantly, if you love great coffee - La Colombe's Atelier is one of my favorite things.

The Lime Truck

2011-08-22T18:05:00.006-04:00

Am I the only one who wants to see the guy in the middle completely slice off his thumb?

Apologies in advance for the title. I had to grab your attention somehow. This isn't really about The Lime Truck. *Thank God*

I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy the The Great Food Truck Race, but I've actually found it fairly entertaining. Naturally the only reason I'm watching is because of Chris Hodgson's Cleveland representation.

I will say that to some degree I feel like it has become a bit of an arms race. After watching the original show, it's clear that most of the teams have done a pretty good job of doing the homework and setting themselves up ahead of time in terms of lining up food purveyors, identifying local ethnic communities, etc. The latest Salt Lake City episode was a pretty good example of that. People were getting food on credit, having ready made customer appreciation days held - just crazy stuff that pretty much made the small amount of seed money a trivial matter.

As with just about every reality show there are good guys and there are villains. Chris Hodgson (up to this point) has been cast a good guy. The Lime Truck guys from SoCal have basically attained d-bag status through their countless examples of hubris contained in interviews. These Lime Truck guys (pictured above) annoy the absolute shit out of me. The one in the middle is a complete dolt. Take those silly headbands off! Sorry - that's just the way I feel.

While I find the show entertaining, I'll probably only watch it until Hodgson's Hodge Podge's truck gets eliminated. Here's an interesting article talking about Hodgson's run up to the show. Judging by what I've seen up to this point he should do pretty well. Hodge Podge's concept is well suited for TGFTR. Being a one trick pony seems to catch up to those who can't adapt outside their genre. Being that they're...well...."hodge podge", they aren't cornered into any one type of food. If last season is any indication, Cleveland will have another chef in a food show finale.

A Few Quick Hits

2011-08-03T23:13:00.003-04:00

Battiste & DuPree
Junior Battiste can still bring it. Regina and I went there with the in-laws last tonight (f-i-l is from Louisiana) and he thought it was very good. Always looking to expand my horizons, I opted for the General Jackson Chicken and it was pretty fiery.

I can't tell you how hard it is for me not to get the Shrimp Po' Boy. My little 4'10" mother-in-law lowered the hammer on that sandwich. I mistakenly thought she'd tap out somewhere around the halfway point. Save for a few bites of bread, that sandwich was gone. (No scraps for me.) I was interested to find that he typically gets the bread for that sandwich from On the Rise. Am I surprised? No, every great sammie begins with great bread.

Market Garden
There's a reason why I wait and visit a few times before I put up an in depth post. They have absolutely nailed the space - especially the outside patio. I only drank one kind of beer (a few Pearl Street Wheats). I don't typically like to try a bunch of different beers, so with it being summer I did what a good boy would do - the summer beer thing. That particular beer is decent, but for the most part the style is fairly fool proof.

I will say that, at the urging of my brother-in-law Walt (of Fat Casual fame), demanded that we do the Ellis Cooley inspired Pickle Back. This curious concoction consists of a shot of Jack quickly followed by a shot of pickle juice. The crazy thing is it works. The pickle juice neutralizes the Jack and the Jack neutralizes the pickle taste, leaving you with a cool cucumber tinge in your throat. It's not on the menu, but it should be. They make their own pickles. What the hell?

The food is, shall we say, a bit bland. I don't mean to sound like it's bad food - it isn't. It's executed just fine, but there was a general lack of flavor that most everyone in our party agreed on. I think as a newly opened restaurant that is the easiest fix. Our service was good. The energy was high. The space rocks out. The food just needs to be punched up. There's certainly enough here to bring me back.

Noodlecat
I wanted very badly to like this place, but this is definitely uncharted territory in Cleveland. I think I'm going to wait a couple more months before I go back. It takes some serious balls to do what Sawyer's attempting here. I'll be very interested to see how things evolve over the next few months.

My Favorite Fish Dish

2011-08-01T22:08:00.003-04:00

Favorite dishes have different meanings for different people. I actually think the nostalgia of where you where, who you were with, or what was going on when you first had it, has a lot to do with gaining entrance into your Pantheon of ultimate dishes.

For me the Ginger-Crusted Onaga with Corn, Mushrooms, and Miso Sesame Vinaigrette at Alan Wong's in Honolulu represents everything I love about Hawai'i. The Hawaiian Onaga, combined with the heavy Asian influence (especially on Oahu) and island grown vegetables combine to make this positively sublime entree.

Ginger-Crusted Onaga with Corn, Mushrooms, and Miso Sesame Vinaigrette

During the brutal Cleveland winters I often find myself pining for the sweetness of the fish, the crispiness of the ginger scallion crust, the freshness of the corn you can only get from warm summer-like temperatures. It takes me back to vacations past with my wife (and best friend). These memories are the currencies that provide me comfort during the dark cold days of winter.

As far as restaurant translated dishes go, this one is absolutely spot on. Be warned: there are many small component oils and waters that combine to make the final product. I would suggest making the Ginger Scallion Oil and Chili Pepper Water the day before. These are not difficult things to make, but they do take time. If you have the patience to properly execute each step, you will be rewarded with a dish that literally tastes like it just came out of the kitchen at Alan Wong's.

If you're east of the Rockies you are most likely going to have a difficult time getting your hands on Onaga from Hawai'i. For home gamers like me (in the Midwest) who want to keep it reasonable in price, Snapper from Florida can be substituted. You can access the recipe from The Food Network here.

Zuzu Ramen

2011-07-14T19:41:00.004-04:00

I emailed a friend of mine about meeting for dinner since I was going to be in the New York Metro area for business. She told me she wanted to keep it under $20 for an entree. Since I pretty much spend more money on alcohol than on dinner anyway, it was fine with me.

I had just recently been telling someone about my trip to Ippudo last month. Although they had never been there, they did say the ramen at Zuzu Ramen in Brooklyn was very good.

Not really feeling like making the trek into Manhattan and the fact that my dining partner would be within walking distance of Zuzu Ramen (in Brooklyn) - I figured it was worth a shot.

The restaurant is housed in a little corner unit, with about 20 or so seats inside. The decor is a mixture of reds and tans, and has these surprisingly comfortable "butt hugging" stools. I know they were comfortable because I ate and drank there for some 2 1/2 to 3 hours and never felt like I need to stand up and stretch.

We decided to share an order of the mini pork buns, along with a Garlic Soy ramen for her, and a Zuzu ramen for me.

I can say that the ubiquitous pork buns were probably the highlight of the night. If there is a list of fad foods, the cupcake is still miles ahead, but the pork bun is steadily gaining on them. Granted, I've eaten my fair share of these little treats over the last few years. I'm not going to pretend like I haven't, but this just might be the best pork bun I've ever had. The Zuzu version isn't just a simple slab of braised pork with hoisin wrapped in what equates to white bread-like dough. I would say that they taken that idea and topped it with some finely diced accoutrements that deviate from the traditional, but some much needed crunch and texture. I would order these again in a heartbeat.

The ramen is another story. First lets start with the broth. I thought it was way too one dimensional. I had gone to a couple of places in Hawai'i where I could have drank straight broth and walked away perfectly content. Ippudo, I think, takes broth to the next level and even blows the ramen-ya in Hawai'i away. A cursory survey of Yelp and Urbanspoon had consistently harsh things to say about the broth being too salty or smokey. For me I didn't think it was overly so, I did think there was a lack of depth that the previously mentioned places had. I don't mean to sound like it was bad - it wasn't. I just didn't feel the overwhelming desire drink empty the bowl.

Sam Sato's Cold Noodles

I have found that many people bitched about the noodles, I happened to really like them. Zuzu uses what I've known to be a "cold noodle" that seems to have a firm springiness to it that I really like. I ate a place called Sam Sato's in Maui that did cold noodles with a dipping sauce and these were very similar. These are not the vermicelli-like noodles you see at most ramen-ya. I quite liked this incarnation at Zuzu.

My biggest problem was the size of some of the ingredients in the bowl. When our server, who was very friendly and attentive, brought out the bowl, I was surprised at how large the piece of char sui was. Looking down at the bowl, the slice of pork was was a shade under the diameter of the seven or eight inch bowl. How the hell do you eat that without looking like a wolf from a National Geographic episode? I'm all for more meat, but damn, cut the shit in half so I don't look so "primal" while I'm eating it.

For whatever reason there is an entire baby bok choy that is cut in half vertically and put in the bowl. This I have never seen. Instead of a wolf this time you end up looking like a rabbit with no social grace. There is simply no good way to eat it. The tough bottom portion is hard and inedible while the top has the consistency of wilted spinach. The fibrous nature of the ingredient is difficult to navigate with only a pair chopsticks.

Overall, I thought the food was good. It's not the best I've ever had and it's not the worst. Hardcore ramen fans are probably going to say it's decent. Others that are less familiar may say it's better. The problem is that they charge $10-$15 for their ramen, so the bar is raised pretty high. Like a $20 burger, the more you charge the higher the expectation. I don't think Zuzu ramen meets their price point.

Zuzu Ramen
173 4th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 398-9898
www.zuzuramen.com

Shrimp and Grits

2011-07-03T22:06:00.003-04:00

When I came back from Augusta in April I brought back damn near every kind of grits I could get my hands on. I think all told I ended up with about six different kinds. While I haven't spent a ton of time down South, I have definitely gained a tremendous affinity for their food.

If you want to extend the life of grits, storing them in your freezer will keep them fresh for twice as long. Now I don't know how things are at your house, but in our's freezer space is at an absolute premium. Anytime I can pull out a package of short ribs, or a pint of ice cream I actually feel a sense of accomplishment. Grits on the other hand, don't really give you that same feeling. I typically only scoop out a half a cup at time for the two of us.

Shrimp and Grits

Love her or hate her, Paula Deen has a really good shrimp and grits recipe that's easy to make and came out perfectly for us. Link to recipe here. I've found that I prefer my grits to have a 4:1 liquid to grits ratio (which she calls for). Anson Mills calls for 3:1, but I just find them to be too gummy. I cut the recipe in half and it translated just fine. The good news is if you split this in half there's only 2 tablespoons of butter - the bad news is that there's an entire cup of grated extra sharp cheddar, or is that good news, too?.

At any rate, once you've taken care of the mise en place, this is about as self explanatory as it gets. It's simple. It's fast. And it's pretty damn good.

The Cage Free Tomato put up a post about his trip down to South Carolina. It's pretty cool. Check it out here.

Bac Asian American Bistro

2011-07-02T21:16:00.003-04:00

Located on the edge of Tremont is a happening little place called Bac Asian American Bistro. Housed in the typical Tremont clapboard building, Bac takes up two narrow spaces with the entrance, bar, and kitchen on one side and the dining room on the other.

The decor has a modern yet comfortable feel to it. Even with a full house, like the night we were there, the noise level was comfortable enough to where you could easily converse with those at your table, but not have to yell.

Our server was very attentive and quite knowledgeable on the various dishes on the menu. Since Regina has food allergies, the server was able to navigate her through the dishes that already had certain components mixed together, and which ones could have the items she was allergic to left off.

We ordered the summer rolls and thought they were just okay. I think we were hoping the peanut sauce had a little more kick to it. I think next time we'd go with the lemongrass crab cakes. Can't say that I've ever had that combo before, so I'd be curious to try it.

Regina ended up going with the Crispy Walnut Shrimp. She thought it was decent, but I suspect that this dish will forever be ruined for her because she had an incredible take on this at Little Village Noodle House in Honolulu's Chinatown. (If you ever go to Hawai'i, Village Noodle is an absolute must and needless to say, so is the Honey Walnut Shrimp.) The portion and execution represented a good value at $15, I just think she has to shelve the idea of comparing them to VNH.

Since the night was cool and wet I decided to go for the Pho Beef Noodle Soup. Admittedly, I am a ramen whore. I admit it. I know - Pho is not ramen. The Vietnamese cousin to ramen melds its cinnamon kissed broth with the hardiness of ever-so-rare, ever-so-thin slices of beef that cook in the hot soup. Cinnamon is a weird thing with me, I like it in desserts but not savory dishes. I ran into this same problem at Burma Superstar in SF (thankfully it was just their appetizer - great BTW). I thought Bac's iteration was actually much better than some others I've had in Cleveland. In fact, I'd probably go so far as to say it's my favorite (#1 Pho might have to change their name to #2 or possibly #3 Pho), but then again pho is not my expertise.

All told I'd say there is enough stuff on the menu that would keep my attention during future visits. The setting was nice, but not stuffy. The waitstaff was attentive. And the food represented a good value.

Looking for more stuff in Cleveland? Check this link for our Cleveland page.

Bac Asian American Bistro
2661 West 14th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 938-8960
www.bactremont.com

A Farewell to Strawberries: Momofuku Style

2011-06-30T19:36:00.004-04:00

Strawberry season came late this year. It's a typical sort of thing for us - wait all winter and spring for the season's crop to arrive and then when it does - don't anything with them. There's no doubt we're making a concerted effort to take advantage of the summer's fruit.

A Lone Fragolina

We have some alpines growing in the MGG [Mobile Ghetto Garden], but the reality is that there's a reason you don't see fragolina (baby-sized strawberries) at the farmers market - they take too damn long to pick. This baby strawberries pack a certain "wow" factor into any summer tart, but it's hard to find enough ripe ones to harvest at the same time.

The Mobile Ghetto Garden: Waiting to be deployed to any patch of sunlight

This is our farewell to strawberries for the time being. The Christina Tosi version is like none that I've ever had before. If I had to describe it, I'd have to say that it's somewhere between the softness of a butter cookie, with the volume of a biscuit. The dough is basically rolled in balls, chilled overnight (highly recommended), and then right before they go in the oven, they are rolled in powdered sugar. The sugar adds a sweetness that wouldn't otherwise be there.

The Momofuku Shortcakes with Macerated Strawberries

If I had one word of advice it would be to not overmix the dough. Like a flaky pie dough that is over mixed, these suckers will not rise and became thin and dense - almost bullet proof. If you don't chill them long enough there is no doubt they spread like an oil slick. Christina's recipes are usually written very well, but the four minutes it takes to mix the butter with the dry ingredients was a minute and a half too long for me. I did the recipe by eye the first time with no problems. The second time I took it the four minutes she said and it was over mixed. I did by eye the last time (noting how long it took) and they came out fine. These are hard to overcook, but if you under cook them they are going to suck.

The Momofuku Shortcake is unique and easy to put together. I haven't tried them with any other fruits, but the salty/sweet shortcakes seem to be a pretty versatile item that can be pared with anything with a lot of sugar in it.

Here is a link to the recipe.

Looking for other desserts? Check out our Food page here with a complete listing of our past creations. Enjoy!

NEO Underdog #4

2011-06-29T19:52:00.007-04:00

My next Northeast Ohio underdog is not in the nether regions of Painesville, the blue collar neighborhoods of the West Side, or even the southeast corner of the county - this underdog is sitting right underneath all of your noses, in of all places - TREMONT.

I can hear it now, "Oh, BS. I've either heard of it, or it sucks. In all honesty, if someone had told me to name such a place I would have probably said exactly the same thing - but a funny thing happened on the way to Fahrenheit.......

We typically stop in at Fahrenheit (or Fahrenheit's, as some of the older folk call it) every couple months for some appetizers and an order of short ribs. But on a visit late last year I took note of the pizza place that is attached to Edison's Pub, conveniently called Edison's Pizza Kitchen. I can't tell you how many times I've either walked or driven past this spot and not given it a second thought.

Edison's Pub, itself, is what I would consider a local spot for the ~~Tremontonians.~~ (Is that what they're called? Nope, commenter below says they're called Tremonters.) For the most part, many of the patrons seem to know each other. It's a low key younger crowd with nary a suit or tie to be found.

The three headed monster that is the Edison's Pub/Pizza Kitchen/Next Door Deli combines good pizza (I've not had the subs), great beer, and a fun venue. What you have is basically two originally separate spaces that have been joined together to make one congruent space. On the right side is the pub and on the left is the pizza and sub shop.

The bar area consists of a few different sections. The main bar is in the front and is relatively small (15 seats maybe), and has four microbrews on tap and an entire cooler filled with bottles. They do a really nice job of selecting good seasonal micros - over the winter they carried Bell's Hop Slam which you don't typically find at a four tap bar. For such a narrow selection they always seem to choose I nice variety of beers.

As you walk up a few steps you head toward the back of the building. Off to the left is the ordering window for Edison's pizza and sandwiches. If you're dining in, or having a drink while you wait for your food, you can pay for it and sit in any of the booths while they make it. If you call ahead for a to-go order you can just enter through the front of the shop. Cash and credit accepted.

The patio being graced by my pizza eating compatriot Cheesecake

From those same steps, if you go straight back, there are more booths and a room with a pool table. Directly off the back is a fantastic outdoor seating area. A covered shelter in the back offers protection from the lovely Cleveland weather. A grape vine covered arbor runs along the left side of the space, while a fountain dribbles in front of some octagonal picnic tables. The outdoor area is a great place to be on the few days we have beautiful weather. I love me a warm summer night with good friends, good beer, and good pizza.

Bountiful Toppings, Delicious Dusted Crust

The pizza is without a doubt my favorite in the downtown/Ohio City/Tremont area. The toppings are plentiful. The crust is cooked just right (crispy but not tough, chewy but not doughy). And as I mentioned before, they sprinkle that fine powdery cheese around the perimeter of the pizza. One other thing they do is include a couple packets of honey. I'm assuming it's for dipping the crusts in. This pizza seriously kicks ass.

Edison's pizza is for real. The music is good (indy rock). The outdoor patio area is cool. Edison's Pizza Kitchen/Pub should definitely be on the summer list of places to try.

Looking for more stuff in Cleveland? Check this link for our Cleveland page.

Edison's Pub
2373 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 522-0006

Edison's Pizza Kitchen
2365 Professor Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 298-4484

Ippudo

2011-06-28T19:47:00.006-04:00

When we were in Hawai'i last January I was in ramen-ya heaven (Goma-tei, Tenkaippin in Honolulu, Sam Sato's and Noodle Star in Maui, all of which I have failed to complete posts on). With the heavy Japanese presence on Oahu, Honolulu in particular is a an izakaya hot bed.

When I go to New York, ramen is not really a huge priority for me. New York City is not Honolulu. This tiny Hawaiian island does Pacific Rim food exceptionally well - there's really not much reason to eat a whole lot of anything else. But New York? Wow. You can pretty much point at most any cuisine and there will be at least two or three practitioners of that particular genre who are held in high esteem around the world. Until the last few years the lowly ramen has languished in relative obscurity among the city's endless bounty of restaurants.

That is, until Japanese powerhouse Ippudo NY decided to open its only US outpost in this dining Mecca.

The New York leg of our East Coast trip was purposely left with loose dining plans simply because we knew that we were going to be eating an insane amount of food in Philadelphia.

The Bar/Waiting Area

While walking down through the the East Village, I noticed a lunchtime crowd of predominantly Asian people gathered around a front entrance passing time with their cell phones. With a crowd spilled out onto the sidewalk on a Friday afternoon at two o'clock, this had to be something good. Had it not been for the people outside, I would have walked right past it. With scaffolding obscuring the view of the packed bar area inside, there really isn't anything that lets you know that you have happened upon anything of any note. These people were waiting to get into Ippudo. A quick search on my phone reminded me that I had read about them once (along with nine million other "I have to try this place the next time I go to _____" restaurants.

Regional Japanese Ramen Bowls behind the bar

Since Regina and I had structured things so that we were flexible for dinner, Ippudo's "no reservations" policy was going to be just the ticket for the two of us. When we called at about 7pm the hostess said that the wait was about an hour. She said they'd take our name, quote us a time once we arrived, and even text when our table was up. By the time we got to the restaurant the wait had grown to an hour-and-a-half. Since we weren't really interested in eating dessert there, we decided to put our name down and go chase down some after dinner treats to take back to the hotel.

We walked down to Sugar Sweet Sunshine for pistachio cupcakes, Bisous Ciao for a sampling of macarons, and a few more macarons from The Dessert Truck Works for the infamous NYC Mini-Macaron Crawl. Okay, so maybe you're not into chasing down dessert, but there is no shortage of bars or coffee shops to pop into while you wait for your table to open up.

With desserts in hand, our table was ready. The music is fairly loud, but not so much that you can't hear your server or the people who are sitting next to you. We sat at a two sided bar that is located near the back of the restaurant. The kitchen is an L-shaped affair with low counters that offer a glimpse into what's being made and sort of how they do it.

With the Big Apple BBQ Block Party coming up the next day (and a bag full of desserts), we didn't want to order too much food and have to throw any away. I immediately zeroed in on the Akamaru Modern ($15)- The original "Tonkotsu" noodle soup (a pork based ramen) topped with Ippudo's secret "Umami Dama" miso paste, pork chashu, cabage, kikurage, scallions, and fragrant garlic oil. (Nitamago - Seasoned salt boiled egg $2, Kakuni - Braised pork belly $4 are suggested add-ons. Both of which I exercised my option on.)

Kamo Roast & Nasu Nibitashi

Regina wanted a little of my ramen along with an order of the Kamo Roast & Nasu Nibitashi ($12) - Japanese style simmered roasted duck and eggplant in a chilled dashi broth.

Let me start by saying that the broth in the ramen is one of the most luxurious bits of liquid richness that has ever touched my tongue. In all sincerity, I thought the broth at Goma-tei was about as good as it gets - no it gets better. Screw the egg, the pork belly, and all the other stuff - the broth is so complex, yet harmoniously satisfying, you don't even need the egg or the pork belly (I didn't say I didn't want them - that you didn't need them). Adding the vermicelli-like noodles, a touch of spice, and all of the other stuff and....well....you've just got to try it for yourself. Make sure to order Kae-dama (extra noodles) for $2. For this nominal amount the waitstaff drops an extra serving of the noodles in your bowl to use with any remaining broth.

Regina's Kamo Roast & Nasu Nibitashi was a very clean and simple dish that laid out the bare elements one on top of the other. Regina is very sensitive to spice and slide off the little dab of whatever was on top. I love spice so she just added it to the pieces I ate.

The food here is well crafted. I'd even go so far to say that it is something you have to see (or taste) to believe. As with many things (barbecue, pizza, etc.) I'm sure there are those that would downplay the merits of Ippudo. Regardless of whether you like it as much as I did, I think it's safe to say that you could do far worse and at the very least a must visit at least once.

The interior design is very sleek. The servers are very patient and friendly. The food is very memorable. In terms of ramen-ya in the US, Ippudo may just be ramen heaven.

Looking for more stuff in New York City? Check this link for our NYC Page.

Ippudo
65 4th Ave
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-0088
www.ippudo.com/ny/

Shrimp Salad Rolls with Tarragon & Chives

2011-06-27T22:31:00.004-04:00

I don't know anyone who enjoys buying those $2.50 packages of herbs in the winter time. Not only does it seem to be a crime to pay that much for something that you most likely only need about a quarter of, but it seems that the stuff just lacks any kind of flavor. There' s a sense that your purchasing "herbs in spirit", but not necessarily for flavor.

Needless to say, anytime I can go out to the back yard and pick herbs from my half-assed accidental herb garden or our MGG (Mobile Ghetto Garden more on that at a later date) which consists of 5 gallon buckets that are able to move in and out of full sun with the agility of a master ninja, I feel as though I am somehow stealing. Picking herbs makes me feel like I've gamed the system. You give the lady at the farmers market $3.50 for a plant and just for putting the thing in the ground you get a herbs with at least a street value (or supermarket value) of something in the vicinity of $50.

This a fresh little recipe that takes advantage of the limited palette of herbs in our sun challenged yard. We're flush with chives and tarragon, so I guess in a way I was able to save myself $5 in herbs on this one dish alone.

Shrimp Salad Rolls with Tarragon & Chives

You can use a roll or hot dog bun, but we feel the need to rock the New England-style split top hot dog buns with the flat sides like they use out east on lobster rolls. Butter up the sides. Quickly crisp them on a skillet and toss together shrimp salad. This is about as easy as it gets folks. Summer in a bun.

Here's the link to the Fine Cooking Recipe. To make shrimp rolls just substitute 2# of shrimp du jour for the 1.5# of cooked lobster meat. Would I prefer lobster meat? Sure, but for the money wild caught American shrimp works fine, too.

Looking for other desserts? Check out our Food page here with a complete listing of our past creations. Enjoy!

NEO Underdogs: La Mexicana Grocery & Señor's Tacos

2011-06-23T22:03:00.005-04:00

It's been a couple of weeks since I divulged a NEO underdog, so today I'm digging really deep and pulling out one of my most under of underdogs - La Mexicana Grocery & Señor's Tacos, in Painesville. Since I know most of you aren't going to venture this far east, admittedly it is a drive even for a lot of East Siders, I'm putting it out there for the truly adventurous souls. I say adventurous because even my wife isn't that high on this place - it's a little to Mexican for her.

Señor's Tacos is actually in the front right corner of the La Mexicana Grocery. With a small counter space and a couple of tables this isn't your typical chip and salsa Mexican. If you want chips and salsa you'll have to buy them inside the grocery store. The staff of two speaks spotty English at best, but somehow manage to piece together your order. Make no mistake, the majority of the customers here are Mexican.

That's it folks! That's the dining area. They ARE underdogs.

The few comments I can find on the internets imply that this is authentic Mexican. I'm not going to try and mislead anyone hear and make that claim. The last time I checked, mozzarella is not a traditionally used cheese in Mexico, but here they put it on their tacos. While this might sound weird, it tastes really good because the cheese browns on the flat top and then they slap the melty, crispy goodness on the rest of the soft taco. My favorite is the mozz on chirozo.

Chirozo Taco

My suggestion would be to get a taco or the daily special they offer. The special could be anything from a pork chop to a Mexican stew. While there is an element of the unknown, this is definitely where you're going to find something authentic. I got this sense when I tried to get them to translate what exactly it was, they had a hard time explaining its contents. Usually ranging from $6-$8, there really isn't a fear of losing a lot money on something you don't end up liking.

A Tall Mexican Coca Cola

Let's be real, the Mexican options in Cleveland are pretty limited. I can count on one hand the places I think really do a good job. Señor's Tacos is pretty cool. (Plus they have tall Mexican Coca Colas for less than $2.) I'm not trying to pretend that it's a fancy restaurant. Hell, it's not even a stereotypical Mexican sit-down kind of place. If you come for dinner you're probably going to be disappointed. When you consider it's location it's a long way to drive for a meal that is going to last about twenty minutes. I would suggest stopping out here for lunch. Of course the hard part is finding a reason to come all the way out to Painesville.

La Mexicana Grocery & Señor's Tacos
170 E Washington Street
Painesville, OH 44077
(440) 358-1164

Hill Country Chicken

2011-06-22T22:11:00.002-04:00

I was on the ass end of lunchtime and just wanted something not quite light but not heavy either. Since I knew Regina was making a beeline Waverly Place for the über delish falafel paradise known as Taïm, I knew lunch was going to have to be something that Ms. "I'm allergic to chicken" wasn't able to eat.

*A side note here: Waverly Place is also the home to Mad Men's Don Draper. I am extremely bummed that Don, Roger, Peggy, Lane, and associates will not be with us this summer. The show's premiere typically fell on my birthday, but alas, this year Netflix will be the best I can do. Here's an interesting story about locating Don's address from one of the episodes.

The Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore-esque Interior

I decided on Hill Country Chicken. Since I was going to be in the area the following day for the Big Apple BBQ Block Party, I knew HCC wasn't going to be in the plans.

When you walk in the first thing you notice is the decor. I don't know who did the interior design of this place, but it had a brilliant late 60's early 70's country diner flavor that is superbly put together. With creamy yellow, bright red, and faded blues, the space really sets up the style of its food.

Hill Country Chicken obviously sells chicken along with a host of homey sides, milkshakes, and a plethora of pies. I think the most common gripe I seemed to hear when people walked in was their prices. These guys aren't cheap - if you want to go to KFC it's going to be cheaper - I don't think the people at HCC will argue with that. I think it should be noted that it's not exactly located in a podunk town where you're likely to find podunk prices (even if the interior suggests otherwise). It's Manhattan and I'm sure they're not getting free rent here.

Since it was a late lunch and I knew I was heading to Uppido dinner, I just ordered the three piece chicken tenders ($7.50) and a small side of broccoli salad ($2.50). The chicken's good. Is it the best I've ever had? No, I can't say that it is, but I do think it's good. Nothing in here is cheap, but when you consider the location and the quality of the product, I think the price is in the ballpark.

Will I go back? I doubt it. With sooooo many places to go, here in the city, decent or sometimes even good isn't enough to bring me back. Now my wife and Taïm? That's a different story.

Looking for more stuff in New York City? Check this link for our NYC Page.

Hill Country Chicken
1123 Broadway
New York, NY 10010
(212) 257-6446
www.hillcountrychicken.com

The Peppered Chicken Wing with Soy Blackberry Glazed Sandwich

2011-06-21T20:21:00.002-04:00

I bought a couple packs of the Tea Hills Farms chicken wings last week at the North Union Farmers Market at Shaker Square. I prefer these mainly because they're pretty small and already cut into drumettes, mid-point wings, with points removed.

I've had some onion rolls from Zingerman's Bakehouse that have been sitting in the freezer forever. Remarkably enough, once thawed these things have held up really, really well. With some melted butter and a spell in the skillet, it's go time with a nice crisp.

I had bought the wings with the intention of smoking them, but decided I wanted to make a sandwich out of them. The logical question would be, "Why?"

I'm a sucker for skin. I love pork cracklins, chicharrones, turkey skin, chicken skin - it doesn't really matter. I like the way it tastes. I like the way it sounds between my teeth. I think South Carolina is still trying to recover from all the cracklins I consumed last April. However, a wing roasted in the oven is much different than one smoked in a cooker. When smoked, the skin tends to dry out a little bit and takes on a little more chew than I like. In an oven it seems to crisp up really nice. When you pull them out you can see that fat bubbling under the translucent skin.

The Soy Blackberry Glaze Chicken Wing Sandwich

Add the vast outer surface area of a wing (as compared to the skin:meat ratio of say a chicken leg or breast, and you have the beginnings of a great sandwich. Toss that with the Blackberry Soy Glaze and you've got fun on a bun. The small shreds of wing meat are a lot like a pulled chicken sandwich only there's copious amounts of skin deliciousness on board.

I took the recipe from The Big Bob Gibson's BBQ cookbook and instead of using the smoker - cooked them in the oven. Once the chicken has cooked and cooled down a little bit, I picked the meat off the bone and tossed it with the glaze (which is also in this post). Butter up you favorite bun (in my case a New Yorker poppy seed roll with a pocket of slow cooked onions inside from Zingerman's Bakehouse, and toast it on a griddle. Put chicken to bread. Grab an ice cold beer. You're good to go.

Looking for other desserts? Check out our Food page here with a complete listing of our past creations. Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake (again)

2011-06-20T20:16:00.003-04:00

I had a project last year in Boston that didn't afford me nearly enough time to sufficiently survey the city's culinary offerings. The problem with visiting most bakeries, is that by the time I finish work for the day, they are either closed or pretty much gutted of their wares. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time in pizza joints and bars. One place I really wanted to get to, but never had the time was Joanne Chang's Flour Bakery. Due to the crammed together schedule I was never able to free up the time. (One place that I was able to get to was L.A. Burdick in Cambridge. Open into the evening, this little cafe serves up fantastic baked goods, chocolates, and coffee drinks. I spent a mint bringing home macarons for Regina.)

So we find ourselves coming up against the back end of strawberry season here in NE Ohio. The highly anticipated sour cherries are going to be making their way down from Michigan here in the next week and a half, so Regina and I are doing everything we can to squeeze out the last of the season's strawberry crop. Six months from now we'll be wishing we froze more than we ate.

The traditional biscuit type shortcake is what everyone really thinks of when they think of this popular American dessert. In a previous post I showed you something a little more sophisticated and decadent. This time I wanted to try something a little more familiar, so Regina suggested the Strawberry Shortcake with Balsamic Strawberries recipe from Joanne Chang's Flour cookbook.

The first time I had ever had balsamic vinegar and strawberries was during our visit to Jean Georges in New York. At the time I though it was a seemingly "out there" combination. Now, years later, I think you find it - well - in a lot of places. To quote Forrest Gump, "they go together like peas and carrots."

Balsamic Strawberry Shortcake

The biscuit is a pretty straightforward shortcake recipe. There really isn't anything that jumps out as being unique. I opted to used a very fine baker's sugar (which we love, and tote back from the West Coast whenever we're out there), on the top and perhaps that was a mistake. The granules were entirely too small and dissolved into the egg wash in a matter of ten seconds. I think next time I might try just regular sugar (or maybe even turbinado) so you get that texture of the granules included with the whipped cream and strawberries.

The strawberries are a basically combined with balsamic vinegar (we used a high quality 30 year syrup-like balsamic that we dispense sparingly), sugar, and lemon zest. The recipe suggest combining all of this 30 minutes before hand. We found that the whole thing tasted better when they spent an overnight in the fridge.

Playing off that zing of the lemon (after the photo was taken) we paired it with some very tart lemon yogurt from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. [Great idea, BTW]

Here is a link to the recipe that comes from the book. The Flour cookbook, by the way, is an abundance of very well written recipes that don't require a tremendous amount of skill or technical prowess. I think it would make a very good gift for just starting to cook. That's not to say they're plain run-of-the-mill desserts, just not something that requires a million and one different pieces of kitchen equipment or the skills of François Payard.

Looking for other desserts? Check out our Food page here with a complete listing of our past creations. Enjoy!

My Mini NYC Macaron Crawl

2011-06-18T22:30:00.004-04:00

I was faced with a tough task. How many macarons could I consume and critique in a roughly 48 hour period in the city of New York? Knowing that I had other delicacies on my radar, such as multiple trips to Taim for falafel [easily the best I've ever had], I knew that I had to be strategic in my mac eating approach. Luckily, I had already hit a few spots like Ceci Cela, La Maison du Macaron (aka Madeleine Pattiserie), and Kee’s Chocolates on past trips, so I was in a sense, starting out ahead of the curve. Below are the highlights of my mission: there were some definite favorites and one spot so good that it deserved a repeat visit.

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Dessert Truck Works
6 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 228-0701
www.dt-works.net

Cost: $2.00 each; on the larger size

Highlights:

Salted Caramel, Praline, S’mores (with a marshmallow on top and tucked inside) and the Banana flavored, banana shaped macarons. So cute, you can’t help but like them. Next time, I’m going to do some better advance planning and take one of the popular hands-on macaron classes they offer right in the store.

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Mille-feuile Bakery and Cafe
552 Laguardia Pl
New York, NY 10012
(212) 533-4698
www.millefeuille-nyc.com

Cost: $1.90 each; generously sized – a steal

I found this on a total lark...cutting through the streets from our hotel to the Big Apple Barbeque Block Party in Madison Square Park. I duly noted the macs in the window and did some internet research upon return to my hotel. Initially, I was torn between this spot and François Payard, but after reading this article and learning that this bakery was being run by a pastry chef that trained under macaron extraordinaire, Pierre Hermé, I knew I had to try it.

Edit: Olivier sent this very interesting clarification:

Many thanks for this post ! I very glad you appreciated our best of breed Paris macarons. I wanted to add a comment regarding my work at Pierre Hermé shop.

It's very ironic because you don't learn to make macarons in his shop but all others desserts ... actually P. Hermé has his own macaron factory in East of France where they are made mostly by machines then shipped to all Europe. If you want to make P. Hermé macaron style, which I believe his one of the best, then you have to figure this out by yourself. That was for me a real challenge for a while .... !

Many thanks again and I hope to see you soon at the shop and taste new flavors in a week ("caramel beurre salé" would be the next).

Highlights:

Everything. I’ve never eaten a macaron from France, but I can only imagine that they must taste like these. Light, but still dense…not too sweet and the perfect amount of filling. The first bite was almost like biting into a cloud…they were like no other mac I’ve had before. Hubby and I were blown away. They were so good that we each secretly went back the next day and hoarded some for ourselves. Flavors we loved: Passion Fruit, Chocolate, Espresso, Coconut, Pistachio and a Triple Vanilla that tastes just like vanilla ice cream in a cake cone. While in the shop we learned that they were recently featured in the New York Times (and rightfully so). I hope and pray that they will someday offer macaron classes…I’d jump at the chance to learn from this master.

Bonus: When you order a coffee here, they serve it with a little piece of a brownie on top of the “to go” lid. Coffee + Brownie bite = brilliant!

*How new is it? We had to add it to Urbanspoon!

Sorry guys, Dineomite here. I know this is my wife's post but I don't think she's hyped this enough. If you are in the city and you enjoy good desserts YOU...MUST...GO...HERE. Far and away the closest thing I have seen to macaron perfection. Olivier Dessyn is the real deal and if you've passed up Mille-feuile...well...the only person you've screwed is yourself. The prices here are enough to make your jaw drop when you consider the level of execution. I know the next time I come here, there will be a line out the door. This is an absolute gem of bakery not to be missed. Go ahead, fight the crowds at Baltazar. I'll be at Mille-feuile. Now back to your regular programming......

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Bosie Tea Parlor
10 Morton Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 352-9900

Cost: $2 each, relatively small for the price

Tucked off of Bleecker Street in the West Village, this is a tea shop that happens to make macarons. I’m not much of a tea drinker, no naturally I was not really drawn to their tea flavored fillings, such as Darjeerling. I did however gravitate to the old standard, Pistachio, Lemon and Peanut Butter and Jelly. Unfortunately, the Lemon was a bit stale. However, the Peanut Butter and Jelly was awesome…peanut butter butter cream with a bit of jelly tucked inside. Genius.

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Bisous Ciao
101 Stanton Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 260-3463
www.bisousciao.com

This was the top place on my list after reading so many positive posts. It looks sleek, like a mini version of Paulette in San Francisco. The person helping me accidentally cracked one of the macs while picking it up, so I got it for free: Bonus! Surprisingly, the Pistachio had an off flavor, not at all what I’m used to. However, the Mango Coconut, Lemon, Espresso and Dark Chocolate made up for it.

Looking for more stuff in New York City? Check this link for our NYC Google Map.

Sherry Yard's Strawberry Shortcake sans Star Anise Sauce

2011-06-17T16:36:00.014-04:00

I don't know about some of the other business travelers out there, but the Sunday before going out-of-town on Monday absolutely sucks. It usually starts with waking up and thinking about the fact that your sorry ass is going to have to pack at some point in the day. If you're a particularly sorry, sorry ass, you still have to wash the clothes that are going in the suitcase.

Sundays before a trip always seem to be a sort of a weird day where you're thinking about what time you have to wake up. What time the you have to leave the house. (My math wasn't so good one night and I woke up and hour-and-a-half before my flight was to leave. Shaker Heights. Hopkins Airport. Twenty minutes. Amazing Race. Rapido!, Andiamo!, ¡Vámonos! Made the flight. True story.)

Noooooo!!! Not the suitcase!!!

My answer is to all of this is to cook on Sundays. The pace and anticipation of making a delicious dinner seem to allow me to do a little laundry here and pack a few things there. By the end of the night I've have had a good dinner with my wife and most everything ends up being packed. If I'm really lucky, I've already slipped the suitcase past the dogs and loaded it in the car. [My pug Ladybug knows what the suitcase means and will not let me out of her sight once she sees it.]

With the strawberries finally ripened after the Sprwinter we had here in Cleveland, I had to make a good strawberry shortcake. A classic biscuit style shortcake is easy enough to do, but I really wanted to make something that was a little fancier than that. While not the most engrossing recipe, it was enough to divert my attention from going out of town - biscuits would have been done in no time and defeated the purpose of the exercise.

Hull thy strawberries. We shan't let them go to waste.

If you've not seen this book and love dessert, then you need to pick up Sherri Yard's Dessert by the Yard. (Side note: Sherry will be at the star studded Five Star Sensation event next Saturday.) It's been out long enough that you can find it in used bookstores or sites like Alibris, for a pretty good price. While I don't see myself making some of the things in this book, there are a lot of fantastic recipes and interesting techniques in it.

I was drawn to her Strawberry Shortcake with Star Anise Sauce [click for recipe],because it looked like something that would hold up for more than one night. The "whipped cream" ends up being very thick and rich due to the crème fraîche and heavy whipping cream. Combined with a normal biscuit-like shortcake this would be an absolute chore to eat, but the extraordinarily light, yet firm, "shortcake" with white chocolate incorporated into it, creates the perfect counterpoint to the whipped cream. (No à la mode necessary.)

Strawberry Shortcake sans Star Anise Sauce
(shown: just one sixth of the recipe)

I didn't make the anise sauce because Regina's allergic to oranges. I'd actually encourage you to make the sauce just because it sounds like such an interesting marriage with the shortcake. Also, don't you think Sherry would've wanted it that way?

The recipe actually halves very well - I did it, and assure you that it's easily enough for six people. The picture shows what 1/3 of the halved recipe makes. When spreading the strawberries, don't be stingy or you'll have bunch leftover at the end.

I don't know how many more weeks we have left of strawberries here in Ohio, but I know they're numbered. Give this recipe a try before they disappear.

Looking for other desserts? Check out our Food page here with a complete listing of our past creations. Enjoy!

The Underdogs: Conte's Italian Cafe

2011-06-05T20:57:00.008-04:00

A while back, a friend from high school asked me if I had ever eaten at Conte's Italian Cafe. She told me that it was just a small family run place that served up great food at a great price. Normally I kind of take this sort of thing with a grain of salt, but I think Maggie knows a thing or two about food, so I figured I had to give it a go.

Housed in a small strip mall near the intersection of Sheldon and Smith Rds. in Brookpark, sits Conte's Italian Cafe. The outside of the building does nothing to persuade you to come inside, for all you know this just another run-of-the-mill red sauce joint complete with able bodied deep fry technicians at the ready.

As you walk inside the first thing you notice are Italian tchotchkes that are scattered about the small restaurant. I warn you, do not walk out. Sure there a numerous pictures of the Azzuri, laminated place mats with maps of Italy on them, and crucifixes abound - all hallmarks of a stereotypical Italian restaurant. The only thing missing was a oil painted mural of the Tuscan countryside.

Then you hear Mama in the kitchenbarking orders in her native tongue and you immediately ask, "Where do I sit?"

The bread - I don't know if they actually make the dough themselves - is crusty and hot. The salads, which are included with your entree, are iceberg (not my favorite) and come dressed with a vinaigrette.

The Kitchen

But frankly, I'm not here for bread and salad. No, it's the entrees they rock hard and steady here at Conte's. From what I can see the pasta is made to order. (They had one of the sectioned off pots with the individual compartments for the pasta. Is it homemade? I don't know. I'll ask the next time I go. If there's a fryer here, it doesn't get used much.

The Margherita

We started with a Margherita Pizza with fresh mozzarella. It's clearly not Lucali, but the dough had a good flavor and the pie itself had a nice balance of flavors. I don't know exactly what to attribute it to, but the cheese had an orange tinge to it. I liked it, and at $7 who am I to bitch about its color?

I ordered the Pollo Dello Chef which consisted of chicken stuffed with spinach and mascarpone cheese in a brandy wine sauce, with penne pasta. This a very large serving of food. Unless you are a big eater I just don't see how you can finish the whole thing, due to its size and richness. I would recommend splitting this with someone since it isn't a good candidate for reheating. If you go it alone make sure you wear pants with an elastic waste band. Although I thought they had a heavy hand with the sauce, it was a fantastic dish.

I'm not going to pretend like this is a fancy restaurant - it's not. It is however, a place that you can bring children, people who value price over quality (like my dad), people you value quality over price (like my wife), and pretty much anyone in between. What they charge here - especially for lunch - is completely redic. I've not had the sandwiches, but if they're served on that bread they gave us for dinner you can sign me up. One other side note, my wife is a bit of an eggplant snob and said the thinly sliced stuff they're serving here is up is solid.

Conte's is an underdog if ever there was one. The building's not fancy. The decor is nothing special. The plating isn't very good. But the food is an excellent value. I posted the menu on Urbanspoon. [see link below]

Conte's Italian Cafe
15266 Sheldon Rd
Brook Park, OH 44142
(216) 898-0281

Fat Casual BBQ

2011-05-25T20:08:00.004-04:00

Last night I told you that I was going to be laying out my list of underdogs, dark horses, mudders - whatever you want to call them. These are the NEO eateries I think are flying so low under the radar that they could slip past the Pakistani air defense and kill Osama bin Laden.

I'm starting with Fat Casual BBQ for a couple of reasons:.

First, I think their name is gaining wider and wider recognition - the days of underdog status are dwindling.

Second, one of the owners (Walter Hyde) is my brother-in-law. Listen, I know what he and his partner Scott Slagle are capable of, but I didn't want to make it sound like I was pimping them straight out of the box because of my personal relationship with them.

So with that out of the way, here it goes.....

Fat Casual sits about a minute off of I-271, in Macedonia. This spartan barbecue joint (and I do mean spartan) reminds me of most any of the places you find driving through the South. (That would be a good thing.) As you walk through the door, the first thing you see is the front counter. You order you food. They plate it or pack it up. You go eat it.

There are no servers here, which is the way I actually prefer it). They get in the way. It's smoked meat people. What in the hell do I need a server for?

Fat Casual pretty much runs the gamut on their meat offerings. If you've got people who want leaner, lighter type fare, they've got smoked chicken and turkey available. While I can't say I've had the chicken, I can say the sliced turkey breast is very tender and juicy. Here's a really good link describing a smoked fried chicken they've been experimenting with.

The Sausage

If you happen to be like most barbecue aficionados you probably aren't there for the poultry. I think above all else they do one hell of a job with their beef. More specifically, I think the beef sausage and corned beef are absolute money. The sausage has a surprisingly good texture and spice to it that is very reminiscent of something you'd expect with pork. Another plus to these addictive little suckers is that although they may look like hell as leftovers, they reheat extremely well.

I am also a huge fan of their smoked corned beef. Sometime around St. Patrick's I stopped in and they let me try their rendition of this Irish staple. All I can say is that you have to try it. The smoke is not really assertive, but somehow creates a perfect marriage with the cured beef. The crew here has also been offering up smoked prime rib on Friday nights (read this review). Right now the plan is to do it just for May, but as with anything if it proves to be popular it could find a permanent spot on the menu.

For whatever reason, the people of Cleveland seem to equate barbecue to pork ribs. As I go to more and more places around the country, I've come to the realization that ribs are a personal preference. I like to think of it more like pizza - there's good (which is most places) and then there's bad (which you can read about here). The ribs here are good. I have a tendency to be more concerned with how well they're cooked. Give me a nice tender rib with the slightest amount of sauce and I'm a happy camper. Scott and Walt serve theirs up dry (as in no sauce) giving you the option to "sauce the hell out them" if you so choose. However you like your ribs know that these are cooked long enough to where they're tender, but not overcooked to where they completely fall off the bone.

Whatever you decide on you can't really go wrong. The prices here are better than anything you'll find in the city, while offering food that is at the very least as good, but more than likely better than anything your going to find elsewhere in Cleveland. I tend to be more of barbecue for lunch kind of person, but if you visit make sure to bring along your favorite beer to wash it all down. BYO rules the day here, and probably will for a while since liquor licenses are in such short supply in these parts.

Fat Casual is cranking out monster food at very reasonable prices. If you stop in soon you'll be able to tell everyone years from now that you knew about this place back when they were an underdog. (Okay, maybe a slightly overgrown underdog that should have pretty good odds in his next race.)

Fat Casual BBQ
223 East Highland Road
Macedonia, OH 44056
(330) 748-4690
www.fatcasualbbq.com

The Underdog

2011-05-15T21:30:00.011-04:00

I think it's fair to say that this blog has basically been reduced to the hardest of hardcore readers. We're talking one...maybe two hits a day, and that's only because I check my own page's blog roll for updates every once in a while.

Am I exaggerating a little? Sure. (Okay, maybe a lot.) The truth is I have an affinity for the underdog. As such I have a much lower success rate than those who continually add notches to their dining belts as they scurry to the latest newly opened restaurant.

The hidden, top secret spot is probably the most prized food destination in cities like New York and San Francisco. As soon as word has made its way through the social media channels, and traditional media has administered last rites, locals pronounce it dead and move on to the next secret place that no one knows about. (You have to admit, the idea of ordering barbecue out the back of a barber shop in Oakland has a certain illegal excitement to it. It's almost like being a total maverick and drinking raw milk in front of the cops.)

Here in Cleveland things seem to work a little differently. More often than not, it's a fascination with the new (as in just opened 2 hours ago) than with unknown (ie, I've never heard of anyone associated with this establishment, let alone its very existence). If a well known chef is involved with the production, then word seems to make its way around in short order. But for whatever reason, if it isn't in one of the city's dining hot spots, these places struggle to get people in their doors. People tend to take a "you try it first and let me know how it is" kind of approach.

Between now and Sunday I'm going to outline some places I think warrant recognition as being the real deal. One has been gaining steam recently, and for the most part people will have heard of. Some of the other spots I'm going to talk about will most likely be relative unknowns to those live outside their respective communities or places people have meant to go, but never made it.

Admittedly, I don't read many of the Cleveland blogs anymore because much of it is the same stuff over and over. I'm quite certain they don't read mine because they're sick of reading about pizza. In any case, I think that Tom over at Exploring Food My Way and Doug Trattner at Scene Magazine do the best job of digging up hidden gems in Cleveland. I think its their desire to champion what the smaller places are up to that really adds to the city's culinary tapestry.

In the end I think the Cleveland food scene as a whole would be best served people if people did more to uncover these unsung heroes. After all, if Guy "Fee-eddy" has been there, does it really need to be written about anymore?

Nunzio's Pizzeria

2011-04-24T20:41:00.004-04:00

I was driving through the area on my way to go see a friend. Since this is not a regular route for me, I figured I'd try Nunzio's Pizzeria on my way over there.

From a citywide perspective, these slightly out of the way or relative unknowns can yield some pretty good results. Since this place has been in business for twenty years and had a banner proclaiming "Best in Cleveland 2009 and 2010", I figured at the very least would be good, possibly even great pizza.

The takeout only location I went to on Lorain had quite a few people inside picking up their orders (they also have a location on Detroit and one on Pearl). I was in and out in short order. Service was fast and friendly.

In a matter of minutes I had the box open and was ready to grub. At first sight the pie looked very good. They didn't chintz on the cheese, pepperoni, or the sausage. The crust looked like it was perfectly cooked, maybe even a little overdone. For me, I would rather it be slightly overdone rather than underdone. Nothing sucks worse than underdone doughy pizza.

The Pie

So I take the first bite and......and..............and............it had absolutely no flavor. I thought maybe it was just me, but by the second piece it was quite obvious that for whatever reason the pepperoni and sausage were positively bland. Unfortunately the cheese was not even up to the task of saving the day. Sure it tasted fine, but it had a strange mouth feel to it.

Would I recommend Nunzio's? Stone cold sober? No. If, however, you have consumed a large amount of alcohol, there is a very real possibility that you will blame the lack of flavor on drunkeness. The staff is fast and friendly. The place is very clean. I just don't think it's very good. A switch to more flavorful toppings would probably put Nunzio's in the good category.

Nunzio's Pizzeria
7020 Lorain Ave
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216) 631-4149
www.nunziospizza.net

Momofuku Shrimp and Grits

2011-04-21T19:27:00.004-04:00

There are two kinds of people, those who love David Chang and those who hate him. I happen to be a lover. Er....maybe that didn't quite come out right. More specifically, I love his cookbook.

Since recently completing my programming project from hell (for work), I have found that I actually have time to cook dinners that require more time to make. I actually decided to make Chang's Shrimp and Grits recipe, since I had pretty much pillaged all of North and South Carolina of their grits. On my way home from Augusta, I bought three different kinds of Anson Mills heirloom grits at Rosewood Market in Columbia. I also bought some other kind of non Anson Mills brand that came highly recommended.

From there I got sidetracked on my way through North Carolina where I ended up at a place that mills their own grits using a....get this.....water powered gristmill. The place was so old that the road was named after the mill (and I'm not talking about some bullshit cul-de-sac either. This was like a real road, named after an old school place!) While I was there, I ended up scoring a large jar of cane sugar molasses that you have to taste to believe. Fifty dollars later I was able to make my way back to I-77.

They start out as "True Grit" (until they meet the whisk)

So here we are, up to our eyeballs in grits.

The Good Stuff

While I was gone the bride ordered me up some bacon from Benton's in Tennessee. If you've not had this stuff...well....let's just say you haven't lived. If you go on the internet you can ordered pre-sliced, but since we prefer it uncut from the slab, we just call Allan directly. Great stuff. Ellis uses it over at AMP 150.

The Soft Poach

I also decided to try making the soft poached eggs from the cookbook, and I have to say the instructions worked perfectly. The key was that you had to use something to keep them off the bottom of the pan and the water temp between 140-145.

The Finished Product

So at the end of the day here it is......Blue Corn Anson Mills grits, Sauteed Shrimp, with bacon and a soft poached egg.

The S'mores Ice Cream Sandwich

2011-04-20T23:11:00.006-04:00

The S'mores Ice Cream Sandwich

It doesn't take much to make me happy. While grinding away on a project that has dragged on for the better part of three months, my wife surprised me with this little beauty - a S'mores Ice Cream Sandwich (homemade graham cracker ice cream sandwich with Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams' Askinosie dark milk chocolate ice cream, topped with burnt Plush Puffs marshmallows).

We are both self professed S'mores whores. (Sounds dirty, I know, but to invoke an extremely overused phrase 'it is what it is').

Looking at the picture some might think that she burnt the hell out of the marshmallows, but in this house that's the way we like it. What can I say? That's the way we do. The more burnt, the better...i.e. let's set this sucker on fire and see what it can do. Who doesn't like a little campfire action on a Sunday night?

Regina's tried other graham cracker recipes...this one from Nancy Silverton was acceptable, but in the end she declared that Karen DeMasco's crisp honey graham crackers from "The Craft of Baking" as the ultimate. Interesting story about how Graham flour came to be.

A Survey of some Local Pizza

2011-04-18T22:15:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since I've ripped off a multiple pizza review. I had an absolutely cracker of a pizza on Saturday night, but in all fairness it deserves its very own post. Come to think of it, there's another place that puts out a mean pepperoni and sausage, has a pretty good rolling draft selection, and an outdoor patio. I'll save that one for when it gets a little warmer.

This is a sampling of some decent pizzas, but nothing that is going to make any top ten lists.

I have one other thing on my mind. Restaurant Owners: It is now 2011. Get a FREAKING website. I think the last time I looked at a phone book the country's biggest problem was that the Bush twins were drinking underage. (It's been a while.) Seriously, just put a list of how much your stuff costs and your phone number, that's all I need.

Ohio City Pizzeria
OCP (Yeah you know me! Who's down with OCP? Every last homey!) is a neighborhood pizza shop that turns out a typical Cleveland type pizza. The dough is thicker than you find on the east coast. The toppings are consistent with most of what you find around town. There's nothing that really sets them apart. The shop itself is more geared toward carryout than it is for dine in. The staff was friendly (and even a little amusing). I got a five minute explanation as to why they had run out of takeout menus. It was almost like she thought I was going to hit her because they didn't have them. OCP has a heavy hand with the cheese, which can give you the "rabid dog eating a dirty diaper look" as an entire slice worth of cheese drapes itself over your chin. So sexy.

Ohio City Pizzeria
3223 Lorain Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 281-5252

Pizza BOGO
I had high hopes for this place. Let me just say that the store was ice cold. I'm guessing with the heat lamp they might have neutralized the frigid temperatures in the building. I'll say this: the website is really sharp looking - until you try to use it. When I go to a restaurant's website my primary objective is to look at the menu. That is not any easy thing to do. To see what I mean click here. How many minutes did it take you to figure out what a certain pizza costs?

The pictures of their pizzas make drool slide from the corners of your mouth. Like most things in life though, the pictures lie. Unfortunately I wasn't able to lift off any photos from they're snazzy Flash powered website. I will, however, share with you the picture of my meat lover type pizza. (I tried to find the actual name but got fed up with the website). Let's just say the pictures didn't quite match up. Needless to say, I'd skip this place.

Dude, where's my toppings?

Pizza Bogo
13434 Cedar Road
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
(216) 371-9700
www.pizzabogo.com

Vicinato Pizza and Pasta
I'm going to make this short and sweet - Compola's Tasty Pizza is across the street. Go there and thank me later. I had the white pizza at Vicinato P&P and thought it was very average. It didn't help that I hated the way the guy at the cash register was talking to one of the employees. Move on.

Vicinato Pizza & Pasta
5080 Mayfield Rd
Lyndhurst, OH 44124
(440) 442-9000

Scotti's Italian Eatery
Let's end this on a high note. Be forewarned: Scotti's is CASH ONLY!!! With that out of the way, they're serving up pretty good pizza here in Euclid. This smallish restaurant serves it up to the red sauce crowd, and I have to say the place was hopping for a Thursday night in Euclid. A bar welcomes as you walk through the door, with a stout dining area mixed with booths and tables off to your right. The pizza itself had lightness to the crust that made for easy eating. The toppings are for the most part run of the mill, but on the plus side does not run high on the grease scale. I walked away definitely wanting to go back. Unfortunately, I don't find myself in that neck of the woods very often.

Scotti's Italian Eatery
882 E 185th St
Cleveland, OH 44119
(216) 481-8995

Joe's and Jeni's

2011-04-16T16:38:00.007-04:00

Joe's Deli over on Hilliard, in Rocky River has a massive following. It's pretty much packed all day long on the weekends, and pretty full the rest of the week. West Siders love this place. If I had to describe it, I'd say it's got the feeling of a Perkins (carpeted floor and overall decoration) with the menu and service of those large diners you find on the East Coast (the ones that have the shiny chrome and are also always packed). I think it's more like a diner than a deli, but whatever.

I ordered the Philadelphian which consisted of hot pastrami on rye with sides of yellow mustard and prepared horseradish. The sandwich comes with a pickle split in half lengthwise as well as a fruit cup. Since the sandwich didn't come with fries, I made the mistake of ordering a side ($3.75, ouch!). First off there were a lot of them. Secondly, they weren't cheap. And once they arrived, the sandwich was so big I couldn't come close to eating all of them.

The pastrami was surprisingly very good. Not just, "Oh, nice. I like the way that tastes." But, "Day-yam! I just wasted my $3.75 on those diamond encrusted french fries that I'm not going to have any room for." Slaw (good) + horseradish + yellow mustard + pastrami = fries in the trash.

I was very skeptical about how tasty the food was going to be versus what they charge, but like anyone that sells anything that is reeeeeally good, whether it's Steve Jobs, the local crack dealer, or Joe from Joe's Deli, they have calculated precisely the threshold at which someone says it's not worth it and walks away, or can't help themselves and stays.

Joe's Deli charges a premium, but the service is very attentive, the place is spotless, the food comes out quickly, and most importantly tastes really good. It's the kind of place you can take someone of any age, with any level of palate sophistication and everyone will be happy.

Joe's Deli
19215 Hilliard Blvd
Rocky River, OH 44116
(440) 333-7890
www.myjoesdeli.com

Cheesecake (my brother-in-law) and I went to the Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in Chagrin Falls last Friday night around 10. I have to say, it's been a while since I've seen that many intoxicated middle-aged people (which is saying something since I just got back from the Masters last week). I mean, seriously, more than a few customers were incapable of pronouncing the flavor 'Brambleberry'.

I'm not one to jump to the newest restaurant openings, but Jeni's has pretty much got it's formula down by now, so we figured we'd grab some dessert. The only real criticism I have of the place is that you don't even know they sell sundaes until you make it to the cash register. In the back corner of the store is the menu with the sundaes they offer. I think something a little more visible from the ice cream case would at least let people know they even offer them.

The Cocoa Rococo sundae (dark chocolate ice cream topped with their caramel sauce, whipped cream and nuts) is quite the after dinner treat. I have it on good advice that the Pistachio Honey ice cream sandwich (or what they call a macaroon) is very popular as well.

Some will pass on Jeni's because of the price. Some will pass because of the drive. If neither is a problem, then why not have dinner at Umami and dessert at Jeni's?

Jeni Britton Bauer also has a book coming out in June. If your like us and make ice cream at home, these home adapted recipes should be pretty interesting.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
67 North Main Street
Chagrin Falls, OH 44022
(440) 247-2064
jenisicecreams.com/

Chowhound Wack Job

2011-04-16T15:41:00.005-04:00

Chowhound
I'm a huge fan of Chowhound, but sometimes people can really come up with some interesting threads (and I don't mean in a good way). Take this one entitled: Vacuum Food Sealers. The only reason I clicked on it is because I'm actually in the market for one, but not for the reasons this lady is.

From what I can gather, this woman is afraid that solar flares in 2012 are going to somehow interrupt the food supply chain and wants to be able to freeze food for possibly years. A vacuum food sealer would go a long way to get all of that air out of the package before she puts her pork chops into their long, long slumber. Excuse me, but isn't one of the biggest fears from these flares a possible loss in power? I'm guessing she's also doing her research on $100,000 solar arrays to run the gigundous freezers she'll need to hold her multi-year, vacuum sealed, food stash.

I, too, am afraid of an event in 2012, but it's not going to occur until the first Tuesday in November.......

BTW, if any of you guys have any recommendations let me know.

Washington Place Bistro and Inn

2011-04-14T20:57:00.003-04:00

We had the good fortune of celebrating my brother-in-law's birthday at Washington Place Bistro and Inn. Formerly the old Baricelli Inn, the space has had new life breathed into it. The new owners have gotten rid of the tired '80's/'90's decor, and lightened the mood a bit with a brighter, more contemporary, and less stuffy atmosphere.

One reservation I had was that the interior might be better, but the food wouldn't be on par with what Paul Minillo used to do inside these walls. Fear not. The quality of the ingredients as well as the thoughtfulness of the menu is superb.

I shared the Shrimp and Grits with my lady friend (my first wife) for our appetizer. Since she's a spice wimp she picked out the chirozo and gave it to me in a nice, neat little mini pile. Since I'm a shrimp wimp (okay, I'm not. In fact there's no such thing.), okay, okay, okay, I ate my share of the shrimp, too. Good dish, but what did you expect from a grits whore like myself?

Feeling particularly porkalicious, and always up for anything sweet and spicy (just like my women, er...woman), it was the cider brined pork chop with jalapeno and scallion spoon bread and Chef's Garden spinach. I thought that for $19 it certainly represented a good value. Regina actually said she wished she had ordered the pork chop as well. (She got scallops and thought they were okay, but not that exciting.) Well, duh, their scallops!

Since the dessert flight was going to be taking place back at my crib, we didn't get a chance to sample any of the desserts.

Clearly the new regime here on the Corner of Cornell and Random have done their due diligence. The restaurant has been updated all the way from the bathrooms to the deepest corner of the dining room. The quality of ingredients is top notch. Chef's Garden produce, Jeni's Ice Cream, Western Reserve Bakery bread are all being used on the menu. What I really like is the menu is affordable. It's someplace that you can come for a special occasion and everyone will find something they like. (There's no 'weird food' as my dad call's it.)

For all of the upgrades to the property, quality of ingredients, and quantity of food, I think Washington Place Bistro and Inn represents a good value.

Washington Place Bistro and Inn
2203 Cornell Rd
Cleveland, OH 44106
(216) 791-6500
www.washingtonplacelittleitaly.com

Santo Suosso

2011-03-31T22:45:00.001-04:00

The Santo Suosso's Pizza

Regina happened to be out in Medina for a gymnastics meet and asked if I had any requests for dinner. In an ideal world she'd be picking up the pizza from my childhood - the almighty Rustic Inn. (I'll take a large pepperoni and sausage please.) In an ideal world not only would Rustic Inn still be open, but I'd also have six-pack abs, and possession of last week's winning Mega Millions ticket.

Rustic Inn is long gone, my abs...well, I haven't seen those in I don't know how long, and the Mega Million's? Well, I'm writing this aren't I?

Santo Suosso's is known for making a good pie. This little Italian restaurant opened long after I left Medina as a teenager, but people have told me, "Man, you've got a try their pizza."

My wife got home and handed me the box. Upon opening it, I have to say it looked pretty good. The crust was was very Rustic Inn-esque. The crimped edge didn't have an overly doughy-ness to it. The pepperoni and cheese are what I would consider similar to what you find in this area, but the sausage was a nice addition to both the flavor and texture of the slice.

I'd say this place cranks out out solid pizza. If I was in the neighborhood (in this case the city of Medina), I'd stop in and pick something up. I can't speak about the actual restaurant. I've never stepped through the door. Santo Suosso does, however, offer a full slate of Italian entrees and dessert.

Santo Suosso's
3725 Medina Rd
Medina, OH 44256
(330) 764-9888
www.santosuossos.com

Barbecue Classes in NE Ohio

2011-03-21T20:11:00.003-04:00

Another hour should do it.

There's a saying, "Where there's smoke, there's fire."

I'll take that old adage one step further by saying, "Where there's smoke and fire, there's most likely a group of men nearby swizzling beers and cooking meat."

We're getting to that part of the winter/spring (whatever you choose to call it here in NE Ohio), when men (and women, but mostly men) across the land start to get that urge for a more primitive kind of cooking. Weber grills sleepily rub their eyes as they're rolled out the garage from a long winter nap. Hardware and home improvement stores switch over displays from snow blowers to gas grills and charcoal pits in hopes ensnaring impulse shoppers.

These weekend warriors range anywhere from the fanatical (that would be me, my grill did not get any sleep this winter), to the occasional hot dog and burger griller. It doesn't really matter if you grill or if you barbecue, and there is a difference, various opportunities across Northeast Ohio exist to expand your outdoor cooking horizons.

I've compiled a cursory list of barbecue and grilling classes that are quickly filling up at various locations in the area.

This first class I've actually been to. I can personally attest to the amount of knowledge visiting instructor Chris Marks shares and the quality of class put on by the folks at Heat Exchange Hearth & Patio Shoppe, in North Ridgeville. I went to the Ribs and Chicken class last year and it was an absolute bargain at $75. Like last year, Ribs and Chicken is a longer in depth class on Saturday. I'll be attending the Loin/Tenderloin class on Friday night ($50). Make sure to bring your camera so you can get your picture taken with me, I don't sign autographs!

Seriously, if you have any interest in going to this event at Heat Exchange on April 29 0r 30, I'd call now. Since the class is listed on the KCBS website, there are a number of out-of-towners that attend. I find that I learn as much from the students as I do the instruction. I happened to be seated at a table with a husband and wife that had the same cooker I did and we traded secrets. The students attending were pretty hardcore and asked a lot of really good questions. It was an absolute blast. Click here for more details.

I would say these other classes are geared more toward those who want to cook with fire more so than smoke. Judging by the descriptions I'd say they're geared more toward the grilling end of the spectrum more than barbecue. I've personally taken at least one class from Western Reserve and Paganini and felt that they both gave me what I paid for.

I haven't taken any of Viking's classes, but have heard that you have to be clear on whether it's a demo class or a hands on class. The Barbecue Basics class is classified as a workshop, so I'm guessing that means hands on. The class on April 10th runs from 6pm-9pm and is almost sold out (I told you people were getting the itch), so again don't wait. Click here for more details.

Western Reserve School of Cooking in Hudson has the Outdoor Grilling Series for $312 or $80 for an individual class. The series consists of Grilling 101, Perfectly Grilled Seafood, The Right Cut for Grilling, and Ribs, Ribs, and More Ribs. These classes run on dates in April and May. Click here for more details (scroll about three quarters of the way down the page).

The Loretta Paganini School of Cooking is putting on The Barbecue & Grilling Boot Camp for $195, on May 14th. This is another class that is nearly sold out. LPSC is offering an 8 hour monster of a class that sounds like it's actual barbecue focused. (I'm always leery of barbecue classes that run three hours. What are you going to smoke in 3 hours? Chicken tenders?) The length of this one leads me to believe that low and slow is going to be the order of the day. Two kinds of ribs, pork shoulder, beer can chicken, smoked salmon, and brisket will be the taught.

I realize Old Man Winter is not easily loosening his grip on the weather here in Cleveland, but before you know it there will be leaves on the trees, sunshine on your shoulders, and smoke in the air.

The Single Most Awesome Charity Event

2011-03-15T10:33:00.004-04:00

If there is one charity food event to go to in your lifetime, The Great Chefs Event in Philadelphia is it. The joint partnership of Alex's Lemonade Stand and the Vetri Foundation for Children has put together a lineup of chef talent that aspires to match the tour de force that is Alex Scott's legacy (please read this link to hear about this amazing story).

As these charity events typically go, the venues are usually outdoors and at the mercy of the summer weather. Could be warm, could be hot. Could be dry, could be pouring rain. Tents and port-a-potties are standard fare for these large events. When decided to go TGCE last year, we weren't quite sure how this was going to go over in the notorious Philly heat and humidity.

In this case the venue adds to aura of this event, rather than detracting from it. First and foremost, it's indoors and air conditioned! Secondly, the Urban Outfitters headquarters is one of the coolest building interiors you will ever see, old jib cranes have been turned into lights, industrial artwork is scattered throughout, and the the remnants of its past have been incorporated into the decor. The designers from Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie (who's studios are in the adjacent buidings) make for a wonderful experience.

This year's chef lineup is very similar to last year's with some additions and subtractions:

*new chefs for this year are highlighted in orange

Robert Aiken - Dandelion, Philadelphia, PA
Kiong Bahn - Twenty Manning, Philadelphia, PA
Franklin Becker - Abe & Arthur's, New York, NY
Jonathan Benno - Lincoln, New York, NY
John Besh - Besh Restaurant Group
Chris Bianco - Pizzeria Bianco / Pane Bianco / Bar Bianco, Phoenix, AZ
Marco Canora - Hearth, New York, NY
Andrew Carmellini - Locanda Verde, New York, NY
Jennifer Carroll - 10 Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Tom Colicchio - Colicchio & Sons / Top Chef, New York, NY
Gina DePalma - Babbo, New York, NY
Vinny Dotolo & Jon Shook - Animal Restaurant, Los Angeles, CA
Andrea Forcella - Ol Fa, Bergamo, Italy
Paolo Frosio - Frosio, Italy
Jose Garces - Garces Restaurant Group, Philadelphia, PA
Suzanne Goin & David Lentz - Lucques / A.O.C. / Tavern / Hungry Cat, Los Angeles, CA
Gabrielle Hamilton - Prune Restaurant, New York, NY
Paul Kahan - Blackbird / Avec / Publican / Big Star, Chicago, IL
Mark Ladner - Del Posto, New York, NY
Barbara Lynch - Barbara Lynch Gruppo, Boston, MA
Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson - Frasca Food & Wine / Frasca Caffe / Pizzeria Locale, Boulder, CO
Joseph Manzare - Zuppa / Globe /Tres Agaves, San Francisco, CA
Matt Molina & Nancy Silverton - Osteria Mozza / Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles, CA
Ken Oringer - Clio / Uni Sashimi Bar / Coppa, Boston, MA
Marco Rossi & Francesco Cereda - Osteria Le Cantine D, Bergamo, Italy
Aaron Sanchez - Food Network Star / Centrico
Jonathon Sawyer - The Greenhouse Tavern, Cleveland, OH
Mindy Segal - Mindy's HotChocolate Restaurant and Dessert Bar, Chicago, IL
Michael Solomonov - Zahav / Percy Street, Philadelphia, PA
Hiro Sone - Terra Restaurant / Ame, Napa Valley, CA
Daniel Stern - Midatlantic / R2L, Philadelphia, PA
Michael Schwartz - Michael's Gourmet Food & Drink, Miami, Fl
David Swinghamer - Shake Shack, New York, NY
Michael Symon - Lola / Lolita / Roast /Bar Symon /BSpot, Cleveland, OH
Sue Torres - Suenos, New York, NY
Jonathan Waxman - Barbuto, New York, NY
Rocco Whalen - Fahrenheit Restaurant / Rocky River Wine Bar, Cleveland, OH

It's great to see the Cleveland representation with Rocco, Syman, and the newly added Sawyer. Also added is one of my faves native Clevelander Andrew Carmellini! While most of the people listed actually attended the event Michael Symon and John Besh couldn't make it last year, and sent guys from their restaurants instead.

The thing that seems to be the big sticking point for out-of-towners is that it's held on a Tuesday rather than a Saturday. It actually seems to work out better because people don't seem to drink as much as they would on a weekend night, which typically leads to some pretty bad scenes.

Speaking of alcohol, the representation from local brewers is nothing to sneeze at either. While guys like Sierra Nevada were prominently featured to the front of the entrance, I found what I think is one of the best craft brewers on the east coast - Captain Lawrence. Armed with a few bottles of Golden Delicious, owner Scott Vaccarro got me hooked on his superbly crafted beers. Joe Bastianich and other vintners were offering up their wines as well.

Top to bottom, this event is first class. What better way to honor the legacy of such an amazing little girl than to put together an impressive event like this? If this is the sort of thing you can get away for (and can afford at $300 a person), you have to go at least once. We combine a trip to NYC the Saturday and Sunday before and attend the epic Big Apple BBQ Block Party in Madison Square.

The Pit.......Where do I start?

2011-03-12T21:43:00.006-05:00

Barbecue and pizza are two subjects that are near and dear to my heart. I eat a lot of both. When I travel out the east coast pretty much all I eat is pizza. I take that back, in Boston there are two excellent barbecue joints Redbones, and Soul Fire; in New York Fette Sau is a must visit in the summer. All are very memorable. When I'm down south it's barbecue all the way. I've got the posts started, I simply haven't had time to finish them. Actually, I probably have 75-100 posts started that I haven't finished. Maybe I should do that. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Hawai'i, New Haven, CT.....

I'm getting off track.

With local barbecue so sorely lacking in this town, it was my duty to find out if The Pit was anywhere near as bad as everything I'd heard. The general consensus is that this poor restaurant might be the Gigli of all barbecue.

First, it's found in one of the most underground locations one could possibly choose. I'm not talking about "The Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Station" or "Freeman's at the end of an alley in the East Village", hard to find. I'm talking the "What kind of moron would build a restaurant around the corner from a dead end, that 99.7% of Cleveland never even knew existed" hard to find. The Cheesecake Factory would fail in this location.

The reviews complained about nearly every aspect of their dining experience.

"Is there a space for zero stars?"

"Three rib dinners were,PORK JERKY ON A Bone"

"Ribs were absolutely the worst I have ever experienced anywhere in the entire country. tasted like they were cooked in used motor oil."

or this little exchange with the manager

"He then said he wasn't going to honor the coupon we got offline because he changed his mind on wanting to offer that coupon."

Ouch!

I'm not going to give the blow by blow in writing (okay, maybe a little bit of writing). I think the pictures speak for themselves. One thing I will note, is that this is how the food came out of the kitchen. No sauce was added by me or my barbecue comrade. I will also say that the complimentary cornbread that was given to us at the start was actually exceptional, and I'm being totally serious. Highlight of the meal. Real corn with jalapenos and honey.

Why so much sauce? Probably because it's the only thing containing any moisture.

Dude, where's my chicken and ribs? And which is which? Diabetics beware!

Barely edible.......when they made it two days ago.

Guess the sandwich! Sloppy Joe?

Wrong! *snickering* BRISKET!!!

At the end of the day, the chicken and ribs with two sides were something like $20, the brisket and pulled pork were $8-10 each. Total bill with two Cokes and a tip came to an eye watering $56. For a good laugh read this Metromix review and tell me if it doesn't sound like a paid advertisement. If I had one suggestion, it would be that the owner, the chef, and the Metromix guy visit this The Pit to learn what real barbecue tastes like.

The Pit
25800 Central. pkwy
Beachwood, OH 44122
(216) 292-7427
thepitbeachwoodribs.com/index.htm

The Lenten Season is Upon Us!!!

2011-03-09T22:48:00.003-05:00

What do you think about when you think of Ash Wednesday? Me? Well.......I think about sitting on a Parisian folding chair in Madison Square Park eating a nice juicy hamburger, with crispy fries, and a vanilla milk shake from Shake Shack.

Sorry if I let you down.

Danny Meyer is the shit!

All afternoon I eagerly anticipated a dinner that included the epically fantastic Shrimp Po' Boy from Battiste & DuPree, only to find out the place was closed today. Not cool. I will, however, be going to get that sandwich come Friday because it's THAT good.

Rascal House

2011-02-27T21:59:00.002-05:00

Is there such a category as "college pizza"? You know what I'm talking about. College pizza, at least in my terms, is simply that which yields the greatest amount of pizza for the least amount of money.

When I went to Ohio State pizza places such as as Hound Dog's, Papa John's, and Gumby's were the kings of the cheap college pizza. The product that they crank out nightly is absolutely astounding (and I don't mean that in a good way). These pizzas represent everything it means to be happily poor in one's college years. The memories of ordering said pizzas have everything to do with soaking up the fruits of the handmade three story beer bong and nothing to do with the taste of these pies.

I had been talking about pizza to someone here in Cleveland, and they mentioned Rascal House as having a surprisingly good pizza. As I've said many times before - I'll try anything once. I like to think that I'm a pretty fair person, and if a pizza is going to be ruled worse ever, it would have to beat out Chuck E. Cheese for the title. Why Chuck E. Cheese? Wel,l as a seven year old I distinctly remember telling my mom that it was the worst pizza I'd ever eaten. (Yes, ever - coming from a kid that had been on this earth for a whopping seven years.) One has to assume that it is in fact bad, simply because the untrained palate of a young child is able to pick it out of the lineup.

Rascal House is college pizza. The prices are about a close to the bone as one can hope to value a pizza. If you get a hold of one of their coupons (fairly easy to find on the internet), the savings grow even more. It truly is a wonder these guys are able to make money charging these prices. My guess is that the John Carroll crowd does a pretty good job of keeping the delivery guys busy. Aside from pizza, they also sell wings, sandwiches, wraps, and salads.

Everything about the Rascal House pizza just screams of mediocrity. The ingredients aren't what I would consider bad, it's just that nothing really stands out as good. Everything tastes, well, like standard everyday pizza that you could get at any nondescript pizza parlor in the city. The price is the attraction. Sustenance.

Rascal House serves the local college kids. With Geraci's across the street, and Pizzazz Pizza down on Fairmount, there really isn't any need to for anyone seeking good quality pizza to go to Rascal House. Now if you're looking to wash some cheap pizza down with a case of Natty, I think Rascal House just might be the ticket.

Rascal House Pizza
11316 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, OH 44106
(216) 791-6254
http://www.rascalhousepizza.com/

Rummy's

2011-02-26T22:33:00.003-05:00

All most of us want out of life is a good hamburger, right? I mean, if it came right down to it, would the end of a great day end with a well cooked piece of beef sandwiched between to pieces of bread.

That is what every American aspires to, right?

Well, if you're in Cleveland, there's really no shortage of places one can go for a primo burger. I've had some of the best at places like B Spot, Buckeye Beer Engine, and even *gulp* The Post & Beam. In the same same vein as Post & Beam, the rumblings were that Rummy's Bar & Grille, which I had unknowingly passed many times on the way to Warehouse Beverage, serves up a burger that many say can hold its own.

Always one for a challenge, I decided to find out if this was pure poppycock or if this whole good burger thing really had legs. What gave me pause for thought is when the person told me that they serve the thing on a kaiser roll. In all truthfulness, every burger I've ever had that was served on a kaiser roll has absolutely, one hundred percent, sucked rocks. My gut was that Rummy's burger was going to blow ass, like every other burger served on a the dry, tasteless bun that is known as kaiser.

The bride and I decided to try this little hole-in-the-wall bar on Mayfield to see what all the fuss was about. Rummy's is essentially the stereotypical bar space that you find in most anyone working class neighborhood...locals camped out on a Friday evening, getting their drink and their grub on. The cheeseburger was quite good...swiss cheese & bacon. Most surprising of all was that the Kaiser bun didn't suck; in fact, it nicely complemented the burger.

In the end Rummy's represents a fantastic value. If I had my druthers, I would go when it was warmer. The interior is a bit drafty, but in the spring or summer I would have no hesitation in stopping in for an impromptu dinner.

Rummy's Bar &Grill
4294 Mayfield Road
South Euclid, OH 44121
(216) 291-1389

Osteria Cedro Rustico (Restaurant inside Whole Foods)

2011-02-25T20:31:00.004-05:00

One of my resolutions was to go places and do things I always said I wanted to try. In fact, if you've been reading lately, you'll find that most of the spots I've been going to are places that don't exactly resemble the latest and greatest in restaurant openings. Some places are popular, some are not, but I think it's safe to say that it beats going to the old standby for the tenth time in three months.

After deciding that cooking dinner wasn't in the cards, Regina and I settled on trying The Osteria or Osteria Cedro Rustico, as it's apparently called.

Located inside the Whole Foods on Cedar and Warrensville Center Road, between the produce department and beer and wine section, an arc of chairs ring the counter space. In the middle sits the cooking area where everything is prepared by two cooks.

The Pasta Case

A selection of fresh made pasta is displayed in a case for you to choose from. Once you've selected what you'd like, the pasta is then cooked to order. Regina got the spinach linguini with Parmesan, eggplant, and caramelized onions. I settled on the short ribs and mashers (no pasta).

The Bar

I wasn't sure I was really going to like eating dinner while customers passed by shopping, but the partition around the seating area seemed to create enough of a barrier to where you didn't notice any commotion. The conversation around us was quite lively, too. As my wife and I talked about Top Chef from the night before, the cooks joined in with their opinions. The next thing I know, the two women sitting next to us joined in, and then - the food was ready.

Now I'm not going to sit here and act like the short ribs here are going to cause Rocco Whalen to look over his shoulder anytime soon, BUT the short rib dinner I had also came at about a third of the cost of Fahrenheit's. We felt that for what we paid, it was certainly a good value. Would my dad complain? Probably, but then again he still thinks a coffee should cost sixty cents. Middle aged men aside, I think most people would find the menu here pretty reasonable.

I think Osteria puts out a quality product at a decent price. It may be a restaurant inside of a grocery store, but it shouldn't be mistaken with the old Marc's No Name Restaurant, in Parma Heights.

Osteria Cedro Rustico
13998 Cedar Rd
University Heights, OH 44118
(216) 371-5320

Touch of Italy

2011-02-24T20:44:00.002-05:00

A restaurant is a funny thing. While a business with a normal name isn't going to sway me one way or the other, in terms of wanting to eat there; a good or bad name can. Death Row Pizza in Williamsport, PA, ended up being totally disgusting - but I loved the name. Touch of Italy would fall under the "not so good" category. Really? Just a touch? What country comprises the other 99% of the food?

Touch of Italy is a little restaurant that sits in the strip of stores near the corner of Chagrin Blvd and Lee Rd. Until last fall, I had driven past it a million times and never stopped - simply because I didn't like the name.

9" Pepperoni and Sausage

I'm not going to paint this place out to be the best pizza I've ever had, but for being as close to my house as it is, I thought it was pretty damn good. The crust is a pan style that is remarkably light when you consider the volume the crust has. It looks much beefier than it actually is. I've had pies that I had to finally just tap out, because the dough was heavy and aplenty. I ordered a small 9" and didn't feel the least bit stuffed.

The ingredients on top of the pizza are of decent quality. I thought the sauce had a pretty good balance of tomato versus spice, which I think can really ramp up the flavor on the rest of the pie. I opted for the pepperoni (which looked like the pepperoni everyone else uses) and bulk sausage (the amorphous big chunks, which I like).

It's pizzas like these that keep me scratching down the name of places I see whenever I'm driving around Cleveland. If you do want to try Touch of Italy, I would suggest carry-out. There is more of a bar feel to the space than anything else. If I were to judge the pizza based on the interior, I would have never thought they were serving anything close to this quality.

If you happen to be coming through these parts - give it a shot. It's one of the better pizzas in the Shaker/Cleveland Heights area. Just make sure you get it "to go".

A Touch of Italy
16822 Chagrin Blvd
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
(216) 991-8282
thetouch.biz

Gentile's Bakery & Deli

2011-02-23T20:57:00.003-05:00

By Mrs. DineOMite

I typically reserve dessert for the last meal of the day. However, as fate would have it, I was at a luncheon last summer when I was faced with a platter of cookies from Gentile's Bakery & Deli.

Not having eaten much for lunch itself, I decided to have a few cookies; I opted for a slightly misshapen number that was covered in powdered sugar. One bite of the cookie revealed a rich almond flavor and moist texture. I was immediately searching the platter for the rest of these cookies.

My favorite amaretti

After cherry picking each one and stashing it away for the obligatory "take home" tray, I decided a trip to Gentile's needed to happen ASAP. After multiple trips there this year, I've learned that they refer to them as "Amaretti" and they are made with almond paste. I've tried numerous amaretti from other establishments in San Francisco and Philadelphia, but to date, these little gems are the prize winning Amaretti in my tummy. I think the soft chewiness of this version is what separates it from the harder, crunchier versions I've had elsewhere.

Gentile's isn't exactly next store, so now I buy more than I intend to eat and freeze the rest as they keep perfectly. Whenever my husband is down near the Old Brooklyn area, he knows major points will be scored with a box full of these beauties. At about sixty cents apiece, these make for a great host gift for any party. If you don't see them in the case - just ask. They sometimes have them wrapped up and toward the back where you can't really see them.

Although I have never had one, my brother tells me that the sandwiches here are also of note. Gentile's is certainly worth a detour if you anywhere close (easily accessed from 176).

Gentile's Bakery & Deli
464 Broadview Rd
Cleveland, OH 44109
(216) 351-1161

Mr. Wonderful's Chicken & Waffles

2011-02-22T21:40:00.000-05:00

I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for a good name. As you can imagine, my curiosity got the best of me when I drove past Mr. Wonderful's Chicken & Waffles a few times. Every time I drove down Emery Road, I'd look over at Mr. Wonderful's and think, "Damn, dude has set the bar pretty high for himself."

Imagine walking in the door everyday knowing that you've got to live up to, not Mr. Meh, Mr. Decent, or even Mr. Pretty Good, but Mr. Wonderful?!?!?

This little carryout place sells primarily soul food. Not only do they sell chicken and waffles, but also (on the day I was there) tri-tips, fried fish, and a selection of sides that fall somewhere between Angie's and Boston Market.

Since I wanted some healthy protein for after my workout, I ordered the baked chicken. I was a little disappointed to see it come out of the steam table submerged in some type of liquid. The guy running the counter wanted to know if I wanted any sauce with my chicken. When I asked what they had, he said, "Well, we've got the mild, a sweet sauce, the Miami Hea-."

"Excuse me? Miami Heat?!?!? Are you kidding me?"

"Yeah, I know. I know. I gotta change that shit. That LeBron really screwed me on that deal."

"He screwed us all, didn't he?"

*Chuckling a little* "Yeah, I guess you got a point there."

The front of the store easily had ten people picking up orders. Sometimes you end up with a fairly long wait at these carryouts, but to Mr. Wonderful's credit, they are well staffed, efficient, and friendly.

Out of respect for my Cleveland sports fan brethren I opted to pass on the Miami Heat. The chicken was decent enough, considering I only paid $6 for the entire dinner. In the end Mr. Wondrful's puts out a decent product at decent price for the surrounding neighborhood it primarily serves. I wouldn't make a special trip, but if you're in the neighborhood you could certainly do worse.

Mr. Wonderful's Chicken & Waffles
23041 Emery Rd.
Warrensville Heights, OH 44128
(216) 464-5230
http://mrwonderfuls.com/

Hiroshi's Pub

2011-02-21T20:03:00.005-05:00

Since last summer I have wanted to try Hiroshi's Pub in Beachwood. Located a little further down the strip (on the opposite side of the drive) from Moxie and Red, Hiroshi's Pub is relatively hidden from sight.

The interior has clean looking aesthetic that is rather expansive with numerous little spaces that open off of the main space (perfect for large parties that would like a semi-private space). A large bar with flat screens runs along the left side of the restaurant. As you head to the restrooms an open area of the kitchen on your right exposes the smoker that works around the clock.

I knew I was in for an experience when one of my friends asked for a Coke and the server said sheepishly, "Well, we don't have Coke. We serve "cola"." Seriously? Col-a? I'm not a big soft drink person, but when a place serves cola - it just seems a bit odd.

As one would expect in any respectable pub, Hiroshi's offers up a decent selection of beers (10-15 different micros and macros total). Burgers, salads, sandwiches, barbecue, and sushi add up to what is the largest menu I've ever seen. Yes, even Cheesecake Factory.

I'm not going to give you the play-by-play on what the four of us ordered. I'm just going to say that the Hiroshi's menu could be much more focused. I thought pretty much everything we ordered was bland and unimaginative. The sushi we ordered seemed to be quite large and out of scale with what you would get at a solid sushi place like Pacific East (Coventry). The quality of the ingredients seemed to be middle-of-the-road.

One could make the argument that if a menu has too many different choices, the diner will be paralyzed by the available options. Another argument is that the menu becomes "jack of all trades, master of none". The dishes, while perfectly edible, don't really offer any kind of special experience, either through execution or thoughtfulness, to the consumer.

When it comes to the large menu argument, I fall into the "jack of all trades" camp. Like the Top Chef contestant that tries to put too many tricks into one dish, I think a large menu shows a lack restraint. How can one possibly execute, or expect his line cooks to execute so many dishes at a high level? If they are able to prepare all of these dishes, what does it say about the imagination of each individual offering? I think if Hiroshi's was broken up into a burger joint, a barbecue restaurant, and a sushi place it could be much more successful. While well intentioned, I think Hiroshi's Pub tries to accomplish way too much for just one restaurant.

Hiroshi's Pub
3365 Richmond Rd
Beachwood, OH 44122
(216) 464-4665
hiroshispub.com

Great Lakes Baking Pizza Night

2011-02-18T10:47:00.006-05:00

*Flashback to childhood*

It's Saturday night and my dad smells like aftershave (which I personally have never used), my mom is rockin' the latest fashions from Summit Mall, and I (along with my brothers and sisters) am waiting for Silver Spoons to start. Sandwiched somewhere between Silver Spoons and Diff'rent Strokes, would be the arrival of the evening's dinner.

The Saturday night tradition, at least in our Medina home, was that we always ordered Rustic Inn pizza - one pepperoni and sausage, and one mushroom and peppers. Sadly, Rustic Inn has since gone to Jesus. The pizza of my childhood may be gone, but I'm sure the Saturday night preteen pizza tradition continues across this great nation. Every weekend the children are paid in pies, whilst mom and dad savor their ever-so-brief evening respite from chaos.

My gut tells me that many of the children in Hudson share this very tradition with the "Saturday Night Pizza" at Great Lakes Baking. You see, this bakery is your everyday bakery by day (six days a week, closed on Mondays). However, on Saturday nights they make pizza for carryout.

The Pizzaioli

For me it's all about the pizza quest. Pizza of my youth is for the most part gone. (I consider Antonio's my adopted pizza of my youth, since I made a beeline for that place every time we went to Parmatown Mall. Don't laugh, there was a point in time when Parmatown was the shit. Seriously!) At any rate, I happened to be kind of in the neighborhood (Northfield), so I figured this was one of my rare chances to pick up a Great Lakes Baking pie.

I called and ordered a pepperoni ($13), while I drove in that direction. If I'm ordering Neapolitan I'll typically order a margherita pizza, anything else and it's either pepperoni, or pepperoni and sausage. If you do order over the phone, ask what their special pizza is. The price is typically more, but there's usually some pretty good combinations. I missed out on a blue cheese one that had my name written all over it.

The Oven

The staff, as far as I could see, was mostly teenagers or young twenty somethings. You could tell they clearly enjoyed making these pizzas. The kid that was putting them in the oven was pretty amped about my interest in what they were doing. There are a couple small round tables with a few chairs for those who want to eat it at the bakery. While there were people eating there, I'd probably get your pie to go. It's true that the bakery doubles as a pizzeria quite nicely, but they don't have the trappings that one would typically like with their pie (soda, beer, apps, etc.)

The Slice

As you can see, the pepperoni is not the stereotypical low end stuff you find at most run-of-the-mill neighborhood pizzerias. They sprinkle a moderate amount of seasoning on top that really adds a some extra oomph to the spiciness of the thick pepperoni. GLB offers a Rustic French and a Whole Grain crust. I opted for the French along with the red sauce (white and pesto sauce are also available). Thankfully, they don't go nuts with the cheese or the sauce. As the picture shows there's a pretty good balance of dough, sauce, and cheese that results in a chewy crust with a slice that is not overly greasy.

My verdict? Great Lakes is on the right track. The kids that work there seem to be very excited about the crafting of these pies. I liked what I ordered, but I think next time I'd go with their specialty pizza. The pizza is solid and probably serves up one of the better pizzas in Hudson. (I'm not familiar enough with the pizza around there to say for sure.) That being said, I don't know if it's worth making a special trip from afar to get, especially since it's basically carryout only.

Great Lakes Baking
85 S Main St
Hudson, OH 44236
(330) 342-5878
www.greatlakesbakingcompany.com

Trade Winds Caribbean Foods

2011-02-16T21:33:00.003-05:00

Trade Winds is a combination island grocery store and carryout. This little gem is located across the street from the vast wasteland formerly known as Randall Park (which seems to be amplified ten fold in the dead of winter).

Since I was going to be driving through the area on my way back from the west side, I figured I'd stop in and pickup some carryout for dinner. I kind of already knew what I was going to be ordering when I walked in - even though I had never been there before. A good jerk chicken is hard to find and I figured what better place to try than here.

I gave a cursory look at the menu, but decided quickly on an order of the jerk chicken with a side of red beans and rice. (While not as bad as a misspelled sign, I was absolutely flummoxed by the idea of a carryout business not having any takeout menus - especially if there's no website. Trade Winds has neither a website nor menus for you to take home. Ouch!)

The dinner was somewhere in the range of $8-10, which is about what I would expect to pay for an order of this size. The seasoned pieces of chicken were of good size, very moist, with a jerk sauce poured over the top. While not the baked on blackened kind of jerk that I'm used to, the greenish sauce had a well developed depth to its heat. The red beans and rice also had the jerk seasoning drizzled on top, which I thought was really good.

I can't really speak for the rest of the menu since I've only ever ordered the chicken. The inside of the space is extremely clean, with a modest selection of Caribbean groceries, and the service is very prompt and courteous. My only criticism is the lack of menus for impatient, call ahead types - like me.

Trade Winds Caribbean Foods
4681 Northfield Rd
Cleveland, OH 44128
(216) 663-9463

Island Cuisine: "Where they fucked up the sign - but not the food."

2011-02-11T15:52:00.010-05:00

Sorry, I can understand not having time to update an online menu. I can understand temporarily running out of takeout menus. I can even excuse a restaurant for not having some kind of web presence. But a sign where the name of the actual restaurant is misspelled? Not a good first impression.

The Sign

I'm an underdog guy, so I'm not going to harp on it too much due to the ethnic element. In their defense they certainly aren't the first ethnicity to misspell the word "cuisine". Wanting to make sure there wasn't some sort of alternate spelling I didn't know about, a quick search on Google revealed that pretty much every different ethnicity has made the same spelling mistake. I'm sure the people at Island Cuisine are breathing easier now. But seriously, fix the sign (it is spelled correctly inside in the restaurant).

Ironically enough, the correctly spelled "#1 Shrimp Curry in Ohio" portion of the sign is what lured me in. I'm not sure who handed down this verdict, but if IC thought enough to emblazon it on a sign, it had to be good - right?

The Interior

This is effectively a carryout joint. The inside is neon green and canary yellow. One table with chairs sits in the picture window of the store. A few other chairs are scattered throughout the space for the sole purpose of taking a load off while they get your food together.

The Menu (Note the correct spelling at the top)

I've eaten here three times, and had the shrimp curry twice and the jerk chicken once. IC's shrimp curry is certainly something to take note of. Their curry is a layered flavor that doesn't pack a stinging heat like you get with some of the Thai or Indian curries. I also found the savory rice and beans to be a great counterpoint to the seasoning of the shrimp. Recommended.

What I would not recommend is the jerk chicken. For the money, I'll go to Tradewinds over in North Randall. When I order jerk chicken it has to have a decent kick to it. I want a nice discernible jerk crust on the outside of the chicken. Island Cuisine's relies on a thin almost soup-like gravy to season the meat. Maybe it's been marinated with the jerk, but it's a pretty weak flavor. While I didn't care for the sauce on the chicken it did taste really good when it seeped into the cinnamon and nutmeg of the rice and beans.

Island Cuisine isn't going to wow you with their atmosphere. You won't find any takeout menus, a website, or curiously enough spoons. (Which I find odd, since they serve soup.) I would, however, suggest an order of curry shrimp called in ahead. What IC lacks in refinement, they make up for in soul.

Island Cuisine
20023 Harvard Ave
Warrensville Heights, OH 44122
(216) 491-8250