Out and Around Cleveland

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The last two months have been an absolute ball buster in terms of travel. It's been pretty much one week home, one week gone. While it sounds fun in theory - especially with trips at or near New Haven, CT, NYC, and Boston - it is a bit of a drag since you're alone. That being said, I have been in Cleveland long enough to try some pretty good food.

No, that ain't sugar

I don't live on the west side so I don't typically get to Blackbird Bakery very often. If you haven't been there I would recommend dropping in and trying some of what they're serving up. Unlike On the Rise in Cleveland Heights, Blackbird has a fairly large seating area for enjoying coffee and bakery (and waiting in line). The one thing I always have to buy when I go is their chocolate chip cookies. I know they're not the first bakery to think of this (I haven't seen others in Cleveland doing it), but they lightly sprinkle some kosher salt on the bottom of the cookies. More likely, I think they just sprinkle the salt on the sheet and then set the dough on top of it. I guess how they do it doesn't really matter - these damn things are good.

Blackbird Baking Company
1391 Sloane Avenue
Lakewood, OH 44107
(216) 712-6599
www.blackbirdbaking.com



We finally stopped at Grotto Wine Bar in Shaker Square after driving past it...oh...fifty times. While I wasn't all that thrilled about my short rib with mushroom risotto, I thought Regina's Duck with blackberry frangelico glaze, goat cheese & candied walnuts was exceptional. It is a wine bar. There isn't much of a beer selection, but I will definitely go back.

Grotto Wine Bar
13101 Shaker Square
Cleveland, OH 44120
(216) 751-9463
www.grottoshakersquare.com



Lastly, I have to include a plug for Humble Pie Baking Company. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not much for pie. Give me a southern style cobbler with a pie crust topping and I'm happy as a clam. I say this not because I consider Diane Sikorski a friend, but because I really think her pies are very good. These pies have a very clean and light taste to them that doesn't sit in the pit of your stomach. You can go here to here on Facebook to "like" Humble Pie's profile and find out where she'll be serving up these suckers.

A Very Pleasant Surprise

How many times have you seen a food layout in a magazine and said to yourself, “Wow! That looks really cool! I’ve got to go there.” Well, our first Brazilian restaurant experience was actually spurred by a story in Philadelphia magazine. They had gorgeous pictures of these delicious looking sandwiches. Tempted by the people at Philadelphia magazine we went down to check it out.

When we got there it was just a little hole in the wall kind of place. Some of my greatest food finds are hole in the wall places, so I wasn't really bothered. To make a long story short we go inside and order. We didn’t really look around too much, just ordered and sat down. What a mistake. We sit down at a table and notice that there is a bit of a fly problem, okay, a really bad fly problem. But we already ordered and paid for the food. What were we going to do?

The food comes out and it has a very little in common with what we saw in the magazine. So we decide to hurry up and eat the food and get out of there. As I’m eating my sandwich I’m looking at the window gagging. What had been a noticeable amount of flies, now totaled by weight, more protein than was on my sandwich. We couldn't even finish the food. We had to walk. It was probably the worst restaurant experience not related to service that I’ve ever had in my life. That was my last Brazilian meal.

…until Tuesday

Since Sergio’s Saravá is so close to home we decided to give it a shot. When we attended the Annie Chiu benefit over the summer a couple of my favorite items were from Sergio’s. I’ve probably been to Fire a dozen times, Sasa maybe 5, and not once had we gone to Sergio’s Saravá. I know a lot of it had to do with our traumatic Philadelphia magazine episode. How stupid could I have been to lump SS with the Musca domestica petting zoo in Philly.

I can’t say enough great things about this place. Since it was November we didn’t get to sit outside, but the outdoor eating area is easily the nicest on the east side. I put it in the same category as 3 Birds. The interior is beautiful, but not to the extent that it’s uncomfortable. It actually has a very intimate setting because the restaurant is broken up in to smaller spaces.

If the setting is great, the food is even better. Since it was Cleveland Independents’ Restaurant Week (actually two), I went with the restaurant week menu for $30. What a buy. I ordered the Louisiana Style Gumbo with crawfish, Xim Xim, and Coconut Butter Cake. Incredible. All three dishes hit the mark. The one thing I love is that they gradually built up the flavors in the Gumbo and Ximi Ximi. Too often you get these dishes and they’re packed full of spice and the depth of flavor just isn’t there. With this food you can taste how these flavors harmonize to create a unique and delicious flavor. They were just so enjoyable. You would think that something as simple as Coconut Butter Cake wouldn’t be anything to get excited about, but that too was really good.

Will I be back? Without a doubt I’ll be back. The setting was great. The service was attentive and the food was incredible. If you haven’t been here you’ve got to try it. I really enjoyed my evening here. And guess what? No flies.

UPDATE December 16, 2008

What we had:

Appetizer: None

Entrees:
Regina: BRAISED SHORT RIBS – tender-roasted with a guava glaze. Served with steak fries (substituted with fried spinach) and house slaw 21.5

Cal: FEIJOADA (Fay-JWAD-ah) the ceremonial party dish from Brasil. A rich black bean stew simmered with linguiça sausage, smoked bacon, ham, and pork loin. Served over rice, with farofa, fried spinach, fresh tomato relish, and orange slices. 21

Dessert:
Both: SERGIO’S COCONUT BUTTER CAKE – whipped cream, crème Anglaise, toasted coconut 7.5

Thoughts:
Her dish was fantastic as usual. Extremely tender braised beef. She had a full side of fried spinach, I had a partial. This is a photo-worthy dish. The spinach takes on this flaky, iridescent look to it that is visually stunning. However, it is as tasteless as it is beautiful.

My entree was really good as well. It was a huge serving that I boxed halfway through.

The coconut butter cake is simple and delicious. I would put it in the Cleveland top ten desserts. We also picked up a couple jars of the "Ripe from Downtown" Salsa that Sergio helped formulate in conjunction with Cleveland Botanical Garden's Green Corps. The organization provides seasonal employment for city teens to learn gardening and small business skills. The cause is great, the salsa is even better. Sold at the Shaker Square Farmer's Market, it's one of my favorites. I like to put in my favorite chili recipe which I'll eventually write about on this blog.

Sergio’s Saravá
13225 Shaker Sq
Cleveland, OH 44120
(216) 295-1200
www.sergioscleveland.com

Sasa Matsu

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I met my wife down at Sasa Matsu down at Shaker Square. This is the new incarnation former Matsu down at Chagrin and Van Aken. While I enjoyed the food at the former location the service could be very slow and the seats were absolutely the most uncomfortable I'd ever sat in. In the end, I'd go there because it was close to my house and I didn't go there with the expectation I was going to get out anytime soon.

So how does the new location stack up?

To start, the uncomfortable seats are now located outside. There are much more comfortable chairs indoors. That's a huge improvement right there. I guess I don't mind them being outside when I can enjoy the beautiful weather. There's also an outdoor area that the other one didn't have. The interior space is a huge improvement that is a more modern and sleak design.

But how's the food?

The food was always good. I didn't have a problem with it before; but they've really taken the menu and added a lot of diversity to it. They've taken things and essentially made a Japanese tapas offering. They have the dishes separated into small, medium, and large. We ordered the fried calamari, Sasa fries, kobe meatballs, daikon wraps, and snow mountain roll. We didn't order anything off the large part of the menu since they are more entree type dishes. My two favorites were the kobe meatballs and the snow mountain roll. The kobe meatballs came in a group of four and glazed with a soy yuzu sauce. The snow mountain rolls had crab meat, shrimp tempura topped with a mayo sauce and masago. What I like about these is that there's this satisfying crunch in the middle followed by zing at the end from the mayo and masago. The menu is quite diverse. I would even go so far as to say that there is something for even the most finicky eater.

How's the service?

The service was vastly improved. Josh was our server and he does a really good job. One thing that I really love is when a server knows the menu inside and out and seems genuinely excited about the food that is on the menu. He's been our server both times we've come here.

Top notch.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't jump and down when my wife suggests Japanese but I'd put this place in the same category as Sun Luck Garden. It's very similar in price and quality. If there was an award for most improved restaurant I think Sasa Matsu gets it. The whole dinner was very pleasant. I think is the perfect place to bring a party of four or more so that you can try all of the different offerings on the menu. I encourage everyone to give this place a shot.

December 23, 2008
We ordered: The Fire Roll, Snow Mountain Roll, Kobe Beef Meatballs, and the Calamari. Pretty much the standard lineup for us. As always, a good time with good food.

A Perfect Night to Eat Al Fresco at fire food & drink

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Today was the first time it hasn't rained at some point during the day for two weeks! Here in Cleveland (and more so in other places) it just keeps raining. Tuesday, however, was the streak breaker. It was an absolutely gorgeous day out. When we get weather like this in Cleveland it means only one thing.....dinner al fresco. You really have to capitalize on these opportunities because they can be elusive even in the summertime.

I call weather like this "living room weather", because it's not a tad bit too cool or a tad bit too warm, it's like sitting in your living room with the thermostat on the perfect temperature.

Where does one go on a day like this? Well, if I want to stay close to my house it's Fire food & drink. That Doug Katz kicks ass.

Sitting in the great outdoors of Shaker Square my wife and I opt for the cheese plate to start with. I like the cheese plates at Three Birds and Flying Fig a little more but this one isn't bad.

She has taken a serious liking to the Arctic Char that has graced the menu for the last couple of months. Up until she first had it a couple months ago she had never had it before. Served with the skin on (which is quite crispy) it is somewhere between trout and salmon. Not as oily as salmon, but a little meatier than trout. The char also comes with white asparagus risotto and grilled asparagus.

Not only does Char have a nice flavor but it is also has Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch List's "Best Choice" rating. You can actually pick up one of these small guides at the hostess station to put in your wallet or purse. It has lists of different fish that should and shouldn't be bought due to overfishing or environmentally damaging fishing practices. I really appreciate that Fire cares so much about sustainable fishing, a prime example of walking the walk.

I always get something different when I go there because I think life's too short to eat the same thing over and over again. While I was very tempted to get the Hudson Valley duck (which is well executed and would highly recommend), I got the pan roasted organic chicken with Amish polenta and glazed radishes. The organic chicken had a well seasoned crispy skin. If there was one thing I was a little nervous about it was the polenta. I have visions of Blue Canyon when I think of polenta, it's not a good vision.. It was a very good accompaniment to the chicken. Combined with the rhubarb a jus and the radishes (which didn't taste the way I thought they would, good thing) the dish had a good proportions of each item.

We both ordered the strawberry rhubarb crisp with vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately the server thought we were going to share so we only got one. That was fine with me, I let my wife have it and I went a few doors down and got some East Coast Custard afterward.

My dinner was a beautiful end to a beautiful day. Hopefully we can finally get summer started and string some sunny days together.