Cleveland Food and Brews

Cleveland Indians Ticket Giveaway

2012-05-22T18:01:00.004-04:00

I’m going a little off of my food and drink theme with this post, but I promise to tie food and drink into it at the end!

I've been an Indians fan for all 32 years of my life. I watch them on TV as much as possible and I might just be the biggest Tom Hamilton fan ever!! I also try to attend a handful of Indians game each year. So after Chris Perez’s recent comments on booing, fan attendance, and being "unhappy" I started to think.

First, should fans boo if a player or team is not playing up to expectations? Hell Yes!!! As a paying fans we have the right to boo and cheer, especially considering how much money they players are making to play a game! Personally, I try to be positive when I attend games, but on occasion I’ve thrown out a boo at a hometown player or manager. I don’t care that Chris commented about this, in fact I love his passion for winning and hope it sparks the team and the city positively! Honestly, we all want the same thing…A competitive and winning team!!

Second, I do agree with Chris’s comments on fan attendance. We all need to get down to more games, myself included! It saddens me to see so many empty seats each night, especially when teams like the Pirates and Orioles are drawing larger numbers than us! It doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get in these days, especially the upper deck and bleachers, but I am sad to say that I have not yet been down to the “Jake” this season. (For the record I'm well aware of the name change to Progressive Field, but to me, it will always be The Jake!) Now not being there in person yet in 2012 doesn't mean I have not been watching or listening to almost every single game. It really has been a matter of my personal schedule keeping me from heading down. That is all about to change this summer because I already have tickets for at least 7 games, and I’m sure we will get down to even more games than that.

Finally, I love supporting the Tribe as much as possible, so to help with the cause I’m going to give away five of my BP scratch off tickets which are good for 2 tickets to select Tribe games. This is my way of trying to get the stadium just a little more packed for a winning summer of baseball here in Cleveland! To be entered to win the giveaway just follow the directions below.

And the winner is....Comment #20 by Crystal as selected by Random.org.

There are 3 ways to Enter The Giveaway

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me where your favorite place to eat and drink is outside of the “Jake”.

2. Share this post on Facebook by posting this link: http://hops.me/53y1

Then come back here and post a comment with your Facebook link. You can only do this once, and it counts as one entry.

3. Share this on Twitter:

I want to win 2 tickets to a #Cleveland @Indians Game from @CleFoodandBrews: http://hops.me/53y1 #GoTribe #Windians #BatMagic
Then come back here and post a comment with your Twitter link. This will count as one entry. You can do this every single day. Just make sure to leave a comment each time you tweet!

Rules:

--You have until Monday, May 28th, 2012 at 9:00pm EST to enter.

--The winner will be picked at random using Random.org.
--Only comments with links left on this post will count. If you tweet, facebook or enter in any other way be sure to leave a comment here telling me you did it with the link to that post.
--You must leave a SEPARATE comment for each Entry, otherwise your entry will only count once.

--Winner has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: I am doing this giveaway because I love the Cleveland Indians. The BP Fill-Up Cards are my own.

Emerging Chefs Garden Party Recap

2012-04-24T07:07:00.000-04:00

It has been a few months since we last attended an Emerging Chefs event. When we heard that Chef Jeff Jarrett was on board for Garden Party, we knew we didn't want to miss this event.

Our dinner started with shaved lonzino, which is dry-cured pork loin, and some pork rillette fennel mustard mortadella. This assortment was shared with the whole table and was actually prepared by Chef Melissa Khoury who will be doing the upcoming May Emerging Chefs event.

The first official course of the night was Spring Pea Soup. This came topped with ramp creme fraiche, lemon oil, and pea tendrils. The freshness of the peas used to make this soup was immediately apparent. The soup was lightly seasoned, which was perfect because the combination of the peas, creme fraiche, and amazing lemon oil was a crowd favorite!

The second course of the evening was Mushroom Mousse. It came with a tart cherry compote, micro fennel, and grilled bread The mushroom taste in the mousse was actually pretty light. The sweetness from the compote was a great complement to the earthy mushroom flavor. The best combination was to spread a bit of the mousse on the bread and top it with a few of the cherries. I don't care for mushrooms, but I really enjoyed this dish.

Our third course for the evening was Goat Cheese Gnocchi. The goat cheese used to make the gnocchi came from Lake Erie Creamery. There was also pork belly croutons, asparagus, drunk fig jam (figs soaked in red wine and then pureed), and pepper-crest. The goat cheese gnocchi was good, but a little too dense and the flavor of the goat cheese really didn't come through as much as we would have thought. The pork belly was very tasty and a bit on the smokey side. The fresh asparagus and greens were a nice addition that helped to lighten up the dish a bit.

Our fourth course was Sous-vide lamb loin was paired with farro, fresh peas, cauliflower puree, and a bit of truffle oil. The lamb was absolutely perfect in terms of temperature, texture, and seasoning. I've never eaten farro before, but after tonight I'll be actively seeking it out. The farro, pea, and cauliflower puree was simply amazing. It was creamy with a hint of sweetness from the peas, and the farro added a great texture. This was my favorite course of the night!

Our fifth and final course was the dessert round. For dessert we had baked apple barley pudding, with a cinnamon tuile, and Snowville creamery anglaise. This desert was simply delectable. The use of the barley added so much texture to the baked apples and cinnamon. The entire table sort of went silent while we all cleaned our bowls of this wonderful dessert!

The decor for this event was different from other Emerging Chefs events. The AMP150 vibe was the main focus of the event. The Garden Party theme was very apparent in each course but did not shine through with the venue. Another slight change from the usual Emerging Chefs events was the courses were not paired with cocktails but the price of the tickets remained the same as previous events with drink pairings. Overall, Chef Jarrett and his crew did a great job preparing fresh garden style food. We all loved how he took time to go around to each and every table to discuss the dishes.

The next Emerging Chefs event, Snout to Tail, will be taking place on May 24th and will feature Melissa Khoury of Washington Place Bistro and Inn.

Get your tickets today at: http://hops.me/52i9

Disclosure: A single Media Pass was provided for me. My fiancee's ticket was paid for with our own funds. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% our own.

Spring Fabulous Food Show Info and Giveaway

2012-04-14T11:37:00.001-04:00

Let the backyard barbeque battles begin! The first edition of the Spring Fabulous Food Show pays homage to the masters of the flame April 28 & 29, 2012, at the I-X Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Tickets are on sale now for the best celebrity grillers in the business, from Fabulous Food Show favorite Bobby Flay to first time appearances by Emeril Lagasse, “Barbeque Bible” grilling authority Steven Raichlen, and Weber Grills’ Jamie Purviance!

Spring Fabulous Food Show Tickets on Sale Ticket prices:

One-day Admission ticket: $25 (advanced) online at www.fabulousfoodshow.com, or $30.00 onsite and online April 28-29, 2012, at the I-X Center. Each ticket includes admission to exhibits and seating to see one of your favorite celebrity chefs, and also allows patrons to see other celebrity chefs on the day of the visit -- on a firstcome, first-served basis.
Event Hours: Saturday, April 28 — 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM and Sunday, April 29 — 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Giveaway

Ready for some good news? I've been given two general admission tickets to give away to one lucky reader. To enter the giveaway simply read the directions below!

And the winner is...Random.or has picked comment 24 from Stephanie!

There are 3 ways to Enter The Giveaway

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me which chef you are most excited to see.

2. Share this post on Facebook by posting this link: http://hops.me/4rat

Then come back here and post a comment with your Facebook link. You can only do this once, and it counts as one entry.

3. Share this on Twitter:

I want to win 2 tickets to the @FabFoodShow from the @CleFoodandBrews Giveaway: http://hops.me/4rat
The come back here and post a comment with your Twitter link. This will count as one entry. You can do this every single day. Just make sure to leave a comment each time you tweet!

Rules:

--You have until Friday, April 20th, 2012 at 9:00pm EST to enter.

--Winner has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Hodge's Cleveland Preview

2012-03-29T12:30:00.002-04:00

My fiancee and I were invited to Hodge's Cleveland for a sneak peak at a few dishes last night. I quickly wanted to share them with you so you'll have a better idea of what to expect when you walk in the doors. Outside of the food, the decor at Hodge's is wonderful. If you have ever met Chris at one of his food trucks the restaurant fits his personality perfectly. The outside patio will seat over 100 people and will be a real treat before heading to some Indians games. There is also a hodgepodge selection of brews with something for everyone.

Every table at Hodge's will be treated to a small bite to start their evening. Tonight we sampled two of those selections. First we had Baked Potato Tater Tots served with bacon bits and a sour cream and chive dip.

Next we were served a Corn Bread in a cast iron skillet (do not touch, it is very hot!) It was paired with whipped bourbon maple butter.

For our first taste of the menu items we had Tuna Poppers. These bite sized poppers consisted of a crispy rice cake topped with Ahi tuna and ponzu.

Next we tried Chris's take on Pork and Beans. This was a piece of house braised bacon with pressure cooked pine nuts. It was served with red cabbage and parsley.

For our third tasting we tried the Certified Angus Beef Hanger Steak. The steak itself was marinated overnight in balsamic and once cooked, topped with a fresh salsa verde that was made with numerous green herbs including mint. The steak came with tomato creamed heirloom beans and crispy fried potato shards.

Next we had "Peas and Carrots". This came with a seared lemon scallop topped with a piece of grapefruit. It was served with smashed peas, a pea soubise, a cumin chef's garden carrot and a touch of cilantro.

The final treat for the night was the Fried Apple Pie. Chris told us his inspiration for this none other than McDonald's apple pies we all had as kids. The fried apple pie bites were topped with cinnamon and sugar and then served with a swipe of bourbon caramel.

We are looking forward to heading back to Hodge's Cleveland for dinner one evening and a full review of our experience. In the meantime, I hope this preview gives you an idea of what Chef Hodge has up his sleeve. Cheers!

Stamper’s Grill Pub in Fairview Park

2012-03-29T10:35:00.001-04:00

A special thanks to my good friend Gretchen for this guest review of Stamper's Grill Pub in Fairview Park. Recently, her and her husband Steve decided to visit Stampers and she offered to do a guest review. I graciously accepted and she did a stellar job covering all of the details of their meal!

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Within the past year, Stamper’s has undergone an image transformation. While the bar looks the same both inside and out, the menu, beer list, and music scene have all had a face lift. When a few friends of ours recently visited and spoke highly of the “new” Stamper’s, my husband, Steve, and I decided that we should check it out for ourselves. We were most excited to view the new beer menu as Stamper’s claims to be moving into the craft beer direction, even adding the words “craft and belgian beer” to its new sign and website.

Food
The extensive menu of bar food that Stamper’s used to have has been replaced by a sleeker one-page menu. You can choose from bar snacks, small plates, salads, gourmet burgers, sandwiches, fatbread pizzas (no that is not a spelling error), entrees, cheese, and desserts. There is also a Specials board as you enter.

For some reason, I was in the mood for a fish fry. Every year at this time, I have to sample at least one fish fry from an establishment where I have never ordered one before. I don’t normally eat fried food, but the delicious aroma and crunchy breading always beckon to me in the spring. Fortunately, almost every restaurant has a fish fry special during lent. When I saw fried fish skewers on the Specials board, I was in my glory. Stamper’s offers great Happy Hour Specials, which almost made me order the sliders, as they are half off during Happy Hour, but I simply couldn’t pass up on the fish.

Steve ordered the Grind of the Week burger, which was made of chorizo, a favorite of his. I, of course, ordered the fish skewers, and assuming that they would be small, I also ordered half of the goat cheese salad. Steve and I had just finished completing our tax refund, which may have made us extra hungry, because we also ordered the soft pretzels as an appetizer.

The pretzels weren’t anything special. I feel as if I could have had almost the same quality from the frozen box of Super Pretzels that I used to microwave as a kid. The two redeeming qualities of the pretzels were the sweet and spicy mustard sauce and the lingering softness that the pretzels retained. The ones I microwaved always seemed to get chewy and hard after a few minutes. The smoked cheddar stout sauce was flavorless.

My salad was shockingly bland. Goat cheese is my favorite food. I love it for its funkiness and biting flavor. This goat cheese just didn't have that. The balsamic vinagrette also tended towards the flavorless side. The saving grace of this salad were the candied walnuts and the dried cranberries.

The fish skewers were huge. I was not prepared for this. I’m not sure why I assumed that this was a smaller portion, so it is only my own fault that I didn't ask the server how many pieces were in a skewer order. At first bite, the skewers were everything I had hoped for when craving a fish fry. The breading was crunchy, the fish was flaky and moist, and the tartar sauce was incredible. I’m not sure what exactly went into the tartar sauce, but I would have to guess that jalapenos were present. There was the perfect amount of kick to go along with the thick, creaminess of the sauce. However, when I tasted the fish skewers without adding tartar sauce, there simply was no flavor. The texture was spot on and, to be honest, I’d rather have crunchy flavorless fish skewers than soggy flavorful ones. As the skewers sat for a while (I was eating my salad), they unfortunately, became grease bombs. I couldn't continue to pick them up and pry them off of their skewers, as my fingers kept slipping.

Steve’s burger was also a redeeming food item from our visit. The chorizo was spicy enough for someone who likes things a bit hot, and may have been too hot for people with a sensitive palate. Steve likes his food to have major kick, so it wasn't quite spicy enough for him, however, that isn’t necessarily a surprise as restaurants have to cater to all of their clientele. While he ordered his burger medium-rare, and it was borderline medium-well, it was still moist and juicy. The only real problem with his burger was the bacon on top. The picture doesn't do it justice, but some pieces were crispy and others had bulbous sections of inedible fat that had to be removed prior to consumption.

The french fries reminded me of fair fries and I could have picked at them all day. They weren't crispy, which I usually prefer, but they had the wonderfully fresh potatoey taste that trumped all need for crispiness. Stamper’s chef attempted to fancify the fries by adding sprigs of rosemary. However, at least on this visit, there was no rosemary aroma or flavor to be found.

I would recommend ordering a burger. It was definitely the best bite on the table. Plus there is the added bonus of french fries as a side.

Drinks
The draught list had 24 beers available, plus the always popular domestics like Bud Light. Whoever planned the menu attempted to consider that not every visitor would have craft beer knowledge. Therefore, they set up the menu in a few interesting ways. First, the beers were listed in order of darkness. Beer closer to the top of the menu was lighter and those near the bottom were dark. There was also an advisory about head, and that certain glasses may not be filled all of the way to compensate for a thick head on the beer. One of the major problems with setting up a menu this way is that the color of a beer doesn't always mean it will have a particular flavor. For example, currently on Stamper’s menu is Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. This beer is near the bottom of the menu because of its color. However, this is a hoppy beer that is similar in flavor to an IPA, which are often light in color. If the beer drinker is expecting to get a thick, dark stout, such as those beers that surround the Self-Righteous, they will be in for a surprise, and potentially not a good one.

There are these little symbols all over the menu. And while Steve and I believe that we figured them out, there is no map key for us to be sure. We assume that the little airplanes mean that you can purchase the beer in a flight for the lower dollar amount listed to the right. We assume that the little wine glass means that the beer will taste a bit like a wine, as it was pictured next to a lambic. We are not sure what the boot symbols mean. We are kind of hoping that they mean the beer will be served in a boot, but honestly don’t know and didn't ask.

I ordered a Columbus IPA, which is one of my favorite summer beers. I realize that it isn't summer yet, but the weather was exceptional and people were eating on the patio. Steve ordered a Great Divide Oak-Aged Yeti Stout. Both beers were priced reasonably. The size of the pour was also clearly displayed on the menu so that we knew exactly what we were getting prior to ordering it.
As a craft beer snob of sorts, I appreciate that Stamper’s is trying. They have done a nice job of moving away from all domestic beers. Some of the beers on their list may be a bit common, but others are not. Overall, their beer menu would be a good option for craft beer snobs and those just getting their feet into the craft beer waters.

Atmosphere and Service
We were greeted immediately upon entering the restaurant by the hostess who also became our server. She was extremely friendly and had great knowledge of the food side of the menu. Not once did she appear at our table without a smile on her face and I could overhear her talking to other tables with the same positive persona. The only real snafu was that even though we ordered an appetizer and two dinners, she brought out the pretzels, salad, and fish skewers all at the same time and the burger didn't arrive for another 5 minutes or so. This could have been more of a problem if I wasn't eating with my husband, but we are past the point of waiting for each other to eat, which is good since the longer my fish skewers sat, the greasier they became. Our waitress checked back on us multiple times and empty dishes never sat at our table for long. Either our server swung by and removed them or the owner did. There was a rather long wait to bring our check, however, the place was packed and most likely a bit understaffed for a crowded Wednesday night. We do not fault our server at all for this delay.

The atmosphere at Stamper’s has not changed much since its upgrades. The interior is still decorated the same and there are dark areas in the back and by the bar. What has changed though is that people must no longer feel that this is just a bar anymore. (I've always felt the word “grill” is a distinguishing word for people to bring children inside.) Patrons of all ages were in the dining area. From a family with two small children to another family of high school aged children, everyone was welcome.

Overall, The word “pub” is not a descriptor that I would use for Stamper’s. Pub makes me think of one of two things: either a dark bar that only serves food that can be cooked in a deep fryer, or a gastropub where the food and beer are equally outstanding. Neither of which applies to Stamper’s. I would classify it as somewhere in the middle. Stamper’s is a nice place to grab a beer with friends and eat a juicy burger at the same time.

Burntwood Tavern in Rocky River

2012-03-22T07:15:00.000-04:00

Back in November of 2010 my fiancée and I tried the newly opened Burntwood Tavern in Chagrin Falls. Recently, a new Burntwood Tavern opened in Rocky River, so we ventured over to the Westside to see what this Burntwood had to offer.

Food
My fiancée ordered the Asiago Crusted Chicken ($16). It was served with crispy potatoes and wilted spinach, then topped with fire roasted marinated tomatoes. The crust on the chicken was light and crispy while the inside remained juicy and tender. The asiago however didn’t really come through in the flavor like my fiancée would have hoped. The crispy potatoes were really unique. These smashed and pan fried potatoes were really crispy on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside. We both though this was the perfect starch side for this style of dish. Finally, the spinach that was cooked in a lemon vinaigrette was absolutely delectable. Even though the asiago flavor was minimal at best, this dish was still excellent and we would recommend it.

I ordered the Prosciutto Wrapped Scallops ($24). The 3 medium sized scallops were grouped together and then collectively wrapped in prosciutto. They were then seared & served on a bed of roasted root vegetables and finished with basil oil. When I ordered this dish I expected each scallop to be wrapped in its own piece of prosciutto, so when it came out as a cluster wrap I was somewhat surprised. This wasn't a major issue because the scallops were all cooked perfectly and the amount of prosciutto wrapped around the bunch ended up being just enough to get a piece with every bite of scallop. I personally love scallops wrapped in prosciutto or bacon because of the way the fat from the meat plays on the soft delicate flavor of the scallop. The root vegetables helped to add texture and even more flavor to the dish. These vegetables had a wonderful roasted, almost smokey flavor that really was enjoyable. The dish also came with just a few sweet potatoes chips that were excellent. I wish there would have been a handful of the chips on the dish because were so tasty and added another layer of crunch to the dish. I do think the portion size was a little on the small side though for the price. Overall, I was very pleased with the flavors on this dish and would recommend it to any seafood lover.

Drinks
The drink menu at Burntwood offers everything. Wine lovers will enjoy a fairly extensive and reasonably priced wine list. Cocktail and mixed drink fans will find a pretty unique and hand crafted cocktail list as well. Finally, the craft beer fan will be happy because the Rocky River Burntwood location has nearly 20 taps, plus a nice bottle list. My choice of beverage for the evening was a Brew Kettle 4Cs, while my fiancée decided to go with a nice glass of the house red wine.

Atmosphere and Service

When you walk in the restaurant you quickly notice that there is a large wrap around bar with a large dining area just on the other side of it. The entire restaurant makes great use of the space. Natural brick and recycled wood are everywhere and really make the restaurant a warm and inviting place to eat. We sat out in the patio area which was completely enclosed in glass for the winter. The roaring fireplace just behind us made a great backdrop for our dinner. Our service for the evening was very good too. Our waitress was knowledgeable about the menu and was more than willing to find the answers to all the questions we had. Our food came out quickly, and both dishes were fresh out of the kitchen and clearly did not sit for very long. Overall, we were impressed by the new Rocky River Burntwood Tavern. I would recommend it to both east and west side residents!

Noodlecat in Downtown Cleveland

2012-03-12T06:56:00.001-04:00

Recently, we decided to take advantage of Downtown Cleveland Restaurant week by visiting Noodle Cat for dinner for the first time. I’ve attended a few special dinner events there, but we have never actually gone and eaten off the regular menu. During restaurant week Noodlecat was offering one Goyza, any two bowls of noodles, and one desert for only $30. This deal was too good to pass up!

Food
The Goyza we were offered was a seafood variety. We mentioned that my fiancée doesn’t care for seafood so our waiter offered to check if they had another variety they could substitute. Within a few seconds he was back and offered us the pork Goyza, which made us both very happy. This crispy take on a Japanese dumpling were very flavorful and were amplified by the peanut based dipping sauce. We both enjoyed this very tasty starter.

For my fiancée’s noodle dish, she picked the College Ramen ($9). This came with poached chicken, shiro chicken broth, corn, peas, chive, scallions, & chicken salt. The first comment she made was about how this really did bring her back to her college days at Bowling Green. The flavors in the dish were all well balanced and the poached chicken was very tender. The corn and peas added a little sweetness to the dish. The noodles themselves were cooked perfectly and were delicious.

My noodle dish was the “Roscoe's” Fried Chicken and Ramen (Priced at $13 with two pieces of chicken). I ordered this dish because I was very curious as to how they would prepare the fried chicken after reading the description. It came with two pieces of fried chicken that were coated in panko breadcrumbs, butter, hot sauce, and maple syrup. The noodles came with kale & fried chicken broth. I’ll start by saying the noodles, greens and the fried chicken broth were outstanding. I loved how “slurpilicious” this dish was. It not only had flavor, but it was very fun to eat! The fried chicken however was on a totally other level. The ultra crispy skin was both packed with heat and sweet notes that simply were amazing! After biting through the skin, I found chicken that was perfectly cooked and very moist. This dish for me was a homerun and I really look forward to getting it again.

After these two courses we were both pretty full, but we couldn't pass up on the olive oil cake desert. The cake was light and moist with a subtle orange flavor. A nice ending to a very filling meal.

Drinks
Noodlecat offers Happy Hour every day of the week! It was still Happy Hour when we arrived. The happy hour prices on drinks is a great deal. They only have 4 draft beers, but they are all of good craft quality. I had a Dogfish Head 60min IPA, but they also had the Victory Greenhouse Tavern Lager, Sapporo, and a 4th draft that slipped my mind! In addition to these drafts they carried at least a dozen different canned beers and a dozen different bottled versions too. If you are in the mood to share a brew, they also offer 22oz and 750mL bottles. For how small of a restaurant Noodlecat is, I give them props for offering a very respectable craft beer selection. Of course it wouldn’t be officially a noodle house if they didn’t offer some Sake! I’m not an expert in the Sake department, but from the looks of the extensive list I’m sure you can find something that will suit your needs!

Atmosphere and Service
Noodlecat is a fun place to eat. The décor features many pieces of recycled metal and lumber which looks kind of rustic, but it also has a modern feel as well. The service for the night was excellent. We were clearly ahead of the dinner rush, because the restaurant was not really busy. That being said our service for the early evening dinner was excellent. Our waiter was quick, prompt, and very knowledgeable about the menu. Being knowledgeable about the menu was very helpful for us because we don’t eat at many Japanese restaurants.

Overall our first official dining experience at Noodlecat was a success. We loved the food, my beer was tasty, and the service was excellent. We look forward to going back to Noodlecat, especially once Cleveland Indians Baseball season starts! Go Tribe!

Sunday Supper: Orecchiette with Chicken, Caramelized Onions, and Blue Cheese

2012-03-06T07:20:00.000-05:00

For this installment of Sunday Supper the recipe once again came from our Food and Wine Cookbook and was called Orecchiette with Chicken, Caramelized Onions, and Blue Cheese. We choose this particular recipe because we both were in the mood for pasta, and the combination of chicken and blue cheese really grabbed our interest.

Ingredients we used:

1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, quartered and cut into thin slices
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 pound orecchiette pasta
3 ounces crumbled blue cheese (1/2 cup)

Directions:
1. In a large nonstick frying pan, melt the butter with 2 tablespoons of oil over moderately high heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring frequently, until well browned, about 25 minutes. Remove.

2. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and reduce the heat to moderate. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper and add to the pan along with the rosemary. Cook the chicken until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until almost done, about 3 minutes longer. Add the garlic. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Cover the pan, remove from the heat, and let steam for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into 1/4-inch slices.

3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the orecchiette until just done, about 15 minutes. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and toss with 2 tablespoons of the pasta water, the onions, the chicken with pan juices, the blue cheese, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved pasta water.

Just the smell of the caramelizing onions is reason enough to make this dish. That being said, the taste did not disappoint. The sweetness from the caramelized onions was a perfect balance for the saltiness of the blue cheese. The amount the recipe called for really did strike a perfect 50/50 balance. This balance of salty vs. sweet also really helped the rosemary to remain noticeable, but not overpowering. Finally, the chicken picked up just enough of the garlic and rosemary flavor to also add more depth to the dish. This is another dish from our Food and Wine cookbook that we will be cooking again, just next time for friends and family because it was so good! Cheers!

Dinner in the Dark and Cleveland Chefs for Chardon Charity Events

2012-03-04T10:15:00.000-05:00

There are two events happening simultaneously on Monday, March 19th that I wanted to help spread the word about. The first is the Dinner in the Dark event at Amp150, and the second is the Chefs for Chardon event at Flour. The events will feature some of the areas finest culinary minds and they will be donating the proceeds from both events to the Chardon Community. Below, I'll list some information about each event.

Cleveland Chefs for Chardon at Flour from 5-8 pm
Over 15 chefs will offer tastings in a station-style format. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by clicking HERE.

There will also be a silent auction for a dinner for 10 guests at a location of the winner’s choosing prepared by Iron Chef Michael Symon!!

Some of the participating chefs include:
Rocco Whalen, Matthew Anderson, Lauren Bozich, Marianne Carroll, Matt Myers, Dante Boccuzzi, Brit-Marie, Brian Doyle, Marlin Kaplan, Douglas Katz, Michael Longo, Matt Mathlage, Paul Minnillo, Matt Mytro, Fabio Salerno, Ricardo Sandoval, Karen Small, Wendy Thompson, Michael Tolosa, Eric Williams, and Brandt Evans!

Dinner in the Dark at Amp150 from 6:30-10pm
This event will also feature over 15 chefs and offer tastings in a station-style format. Tickets for this event are $81.57 and can be purchased by clicking HERE.

Some of the participating chefs include:
Chris Hodgson, Mike Nowak, Cory Hess, Anna Harouvis, Jeff Jarrett, Kimberly McCune Gibson, Eric Wells, Brian Okin and Adam Bostwick just to name a few!

Sunday Supper - Roasted Chicken with Bourbon Maple Pepper Glaze and Sweet Potatoes

2012-02-24T07:10:00.000-05:00

This Sunday we decided to invite a few friends over for dinner. Our plan was to roast a whole chicken and when we saw the recipe in our Food and Wine cookbook that called for both bourbon and pure maple syrup we had to try it out!

Ingredients:
2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons fresh-ground black pepper
1 chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons bourbon
Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 425°. In a large roasting pan, toss the sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Push them to the edges of the pan, leaving a space in the center for the chicken.
2. Rub the cavity of the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Twist the wings behind the back and tie the legs together. Put the chicken, breast-side up, in the center of the roasting pan. Coat the chicken with the remaining tablespoon oil, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper, and dot with the butter. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the maple syrup, bourbon, and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and stir the potatoes. Brush the chicken with about 2 tablespoons of the glaze and drizzle the potatoes with about 1/2 tablespoon of the glaze. Return the pan to the oven and cook, stirring the potatoes and brushing the chicken with the remaining glaze 2 more times, until the chicken and potatoes are just done, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer the bird and potatoes to a plate and leave to rest in a warm spot for about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, pour off the fat from the roasting pan. Add any accumulated juices from the chicken to the liquid in the pan. Serve the chicken with the pan juices and sweet potatoes.

Out of all of the Sunday Supper posts I have written up, this one might go down as my favorite! The chicken was moist and packed with a rich maple flavor. I would have liked the skin to be a bit crispier, which could have been helped by turning on the broiler for the last few minutes. The bourbon didn't come out as much in the chicken as it did in the sweet potatoes. Speaking of the sweet potatoes, I could have eaten the whole batch myself they were so good. If you are looking for a very fun and tasty recipe that was fairly easy to execute, I'd highly recommend this one!

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company in Ann Arbor, MI

2012-02-21T07:10:00.000-05:00

On our recent beercation to Ann Arbor, we had dinner at Grizzly Peak Brewing Company. We heard from many friends and even some local Ann Arbor folks that Grizzly Peak was one of the places we needed to visit. I was curious to see what this brewing company had to offer both in terms of both food and beer.

Food
My fiancee ordered the Grilled Steak Salad. This came with grilled hanger steak sliced over a salad of quinoa and mixed greens with manchego cheese, marcona almonds, roasted red beets and a side of basil pesto ranch dressing for $13.95. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium temperature and paired well with the quinoa and beets. The basil pesto ranch dressing was amazing. I am not even a fan of ranch dressing and I would have eaten an entire salad topped with this dressing. The only real criticism of this dish is that my fiancee wished there would have been more nuts and beets to help balance the meat and greens on the plate. That being said, she would highly recommend this dish for the salad/steak lover!

It took me all of ten seconds to make my dinner choice. When I looked at the menu and saw Hanger Steak with a red Thai Chili reduction, I knew I had to order it! The dish was also served with mashed potatoes and fresh sauteed Swiss chard and red onion for $18.95. The steak itself was cooked to a perfect medium. The combination of the steak and the red Thai Chili reduction created a perfect bite. I loved the rich, tender flavor of the steak. The reduction added a perfect balance of both sweet and spicy to everything on the plate. I even ended up dipping every bite of the well seasoned mashed potatoes in this reduction! Simply put, this dish was well proportioned, delicious and very reasonably priced. I'd order this dish again in a heartbeat.

After dining at Grizzly Peak we understand why so many people said we had to eat here. We were very happy with the food, and we gladly eat dinner here again!

Drinks
When we arrived, we had about a 20 minute wait before we were seated. We took this opportunity to order a sampler from the bar so I could see what Grizzly Peak had to offer. The sampler prices were very reasonable. Six four ounce samples were $6.95 and for every sample over six they only charged a dollar more.

From left to right we ordered the Pale Ale, Porter, Warm-Up Winter Ale, Irish Stout, Cask IPA, and the Cask Junicade Red Ale. Of these six the pale ale and the cask IPA were the most drinkable. Their flavors were light but well balanced. The porter and the cask stout were next, but really lacked body for the styles. Finally, the winter ale and the red ale were our least favorite. The winter ale had a very odd spice to it which really threw it out of balance. The red ale had a buttery note which was really off putting and we did not finish the sample. The beers at Grizzly Peak didn't wow either of us. I felt all of the beers were very "safe". Luckily they are owned by the same group that owns North Peak and Jolly Pumpkin, so they had a good selection of North Peak beers in bottles. I picked a bottle of the North Peak Dubious Black Chocolate Stout to drink with my dinner. This 5.5% abv. stout is light in alcohol, but not in body or flavor. This is one of the best session stouts you'll find anywhere, and is available here in Cleveland.

This was the best I could get with the lighting in the bar.

Atmosphere and Service

The atmosphere at Grizzly Peak is what you would expect at a very nice brewpub. Fun, friendly, and a little noisy thanks to the group of guys standing behind our table. Our server for the evening was very friendly and was open to giving suggestions about both food and beer. When I asked her what North Peak offerings they had, she didn't remember, but quickly found out and told me about each and every one in detail. We also liked that the brewery took the time to add recommended beers to each and every dish on the menu.

Overall

Grizzly Peak didn't wow us with their house-made beer, but they did with the food. The good news about the beer is that they carry a full line-up of North Peak beers which are usually very flavorful and very sessionable in terms of the abv. content. If you visit Ann Arbor, we would recommend stopping by Grizzly Peak for dinner and a sampler as we did. If you do, let us know your thoughts! Cheers!

Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week February 27 - March 4, 2012

2012-02-18T13:23:00.000-05:00

Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week kicks off on February 27 and goes through March 4 with more than 40 participating restaurants! Of the 40+ restaurants, each will offer $30 3-course menus for one or two diners, and a $15 lunch option at select restaurants.

A full list of participating restaurants with menus is available here.

New to Downtown Restaurant Week

Pura Vida by Brandt - Wholesome cuisine, craft cocktails, exceptional service in a one-of-a-kind Cleveland atmosphere

Taza – Lebanese grill with vegetarian, fish and meat lover appetizers and entrees inspired by traditional home-cooked meals

Prime Rib Steakhouse- Juicy, melt-in-your-mouth prime rib carved at your table to your specifications from gleaming silver carts

Pacer’s Ribhouse - Award-winning ribs

Noodlecat – A slurpalicious Japanese-American mash-up from Chef Jonathon Sawyer, inspired by Tokyo noodle worship and New York City noodle houses

“Restaurant Week Foodie Dream Package”

Interested in dining downtown for an entire year – for free? Restaurant Week diners will receive a small postcard with their meal at participating restaurants. A QR code on the back of the card will direct them to a form where they can enter to win a grand prize, including gift cards from participating downtown restaurants. Multiple other winners will be selected for special prizes.

Park and eat

During Restaurant Week, several downtown parking facilities will offer $2 parking to diners who show their special Restaurant Week parking voucher. The $2 parking special will be available to diners beginning at 5 p.m. each day during Restaurant Week.

The $2 parking voucher must be printed out prior to using it at participating lots. You can find the voucher here. To see participating parking lots and garages, click here to view the map.

Free Food Giveaway!

The kind folks at the Downtown Cleveland Alliance have offered up a $30 gift certificate to one lucky reader! The $30 gift certificate to Prime Rib Steakhouse that can be used anytime!

And the Winner is..... Comment #13 from @ohionewbie! Congrats and please email me your name and contact information at clevelandfoodandbrews at gmail. Cheers!

There are 3 ways to Enter The Giveaway

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me where you hope to eat during Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week.

2. Share this post on Facebook by posting this link: http://hops.me/jsb

Then come back here and post a comment with your Facebook link. You can only do this once, and it counts as one entry.

3. Share this on Twitter: I want to win a $30 GC to Prime Rib Steakhouse from @CleFoodandBrews and @DowntownCLE: http://hops.me/jsb

Then come back here and post a comment with your Twitter link. This will count as one entry. You can do this every single day. Just make sure to leave a comment each time you tweet!

Rules:

--You have until Friday, February 24th, 2012 at 4:00pm EST to enter.

--Winner has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
--The winner will get their tickets via mail.
Disclosure: The DCA has provided a single $30 GC for this giveaway. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Momocho Mod Mex in Ohio City

2012-01-25T07:05:00.000-05:00

My fiancee wanted to go to Momocho for her birthday dinner. After reading all of the glowing reviews and even seeing them on Unique Eats, we just had to see what all the hype was about. It turned out that we met another couple for drinks before hand and asked them to join us for our meal! This would be our first time eating dinner at Momocho.

Food

We started our meal with the guacamole sampler. This gave us a chance to pick three different guacamole. From bottom to top in the picture below we picked the goat cheese with tomato chile and poblano peppers, the jicama with pineapple, chile habanero, and mint, and finally the garlic confit with bleu cheese, and chile verde. The goat cheese really stood out in contrast to the avacado. I enjoyed how each bite packed a punch. The sweet pineapple and jicama blend was my personal favorite because of the way it blended with the heat that came in late, and lingered on until the next bite. The bleu cheese had a lot of potential, but only a few bites actually got a bite of bleu cheese, the rest was just normal tasting guacamole.

We decided to try several different taquitos for our entrees. At the bottom of the picture we started with the pato, which was slow cooked duck confit with chile ancho and a pomegranate barbacoa. The duck was very moist and tender and the pomegranate sauce really had a nice balance of sweet to go along with the spiciness. This was my personal favorite of the four. Second from the bottom we had the machaca, which was coffee and ancho braised beef brisket with guacamole. Although the coffee didn't really come out, the flavor and the tenderness of the meat was outstanding. Third from the bottom we tried the special for the evening which was the mole beef. The beef was in a chocolate based sauce and the richness of the chocolate stood out. This was my fiance's favorite dish because the beef was even more tender than the braised beef brisket. Finally, the top dish in the picture was the carnitas, which was adobo braised pork with a honey-chipotle mojo. We were told this was one of the most popular dishes, and the flavors explained why. Simple, yet bold spices combined with tender and juicy pork.

To end our dinner some deep fried ice cream was brought to the table for the birthday girl! The presentation of this dish was very fun and the combination of flavor and texture of this dish were amazing. This really was a great way to end our fantastic dinner. I have to say that the hype that surrounds Momocho is well deserved because we would go back and order any of the taquitos again. Momocho offers bold flavors, perfectly cooked protein, and prices that are extremely reasonable considering the high quality of food!

Drinks
Momocho is known for their margaritas so we each decided to try what many consider their best, the cucumber margarita. All four of us felt the amount of sour mix used in the drink was just too much. We asked if it was possible to get it remade, but we were informed that it was already premixed, and would likely taste exactly the same. This was a slight disappointment because we have tried this drink at Momocho before, and this time it really fell flat. As far as beer goes Momocho offers your standard Mexican brews such as Corona and Dos Equis.

Atmosphere and Service
The room was dimly light and the environment is full of flair. The picture at the top of this review is just a glimpse at some of the artwork that is posted up all over the restaurant. Momocho's atmosphere definitely says fun, but also has a very relaxed feel to it which we very much enjoyed. Our server for the night was outstanding. Her service was everything you would want and expect at a restaurant. She was friendly, funny, knowledgeable, and very helpful when it came to questions about the menu and the food. With service and food like we had during this dinner experience it is no wonder so many people rave about Momocho!

Lee Anne Wong Pop Up at Noodle Cat January 21st Giveaway

2012-01-16T09:55:00.001-05:00

Lee Anne Wong's first trip to Noodle Cat for a Pop-Up dinner was a huge success. If you missed the first event, you won't want to miss her second trip back to Cleveland on January 21st at 6:30pm to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Lee Anne Wong is best known for her success on the first season of Bravo’s Top Chef, where she then went on to be the supervising culinary producer. She has competed on Iron Chef America and is the host of Unique Eats on the Cooking Channel. Lee Anne lives and works mostly in NYC, but enjoys traveling and cooking all over the world.

The dinner for this event will feature 5 courses for $69.
The Menu Includes:

Crispy Fish Salad w/ romaine, parmesan & lemon sesame dressing
Char Siu Pork Jiaozi w/ soy chili dipping sauce
Seamed Fish w/ sizzling oil, green onion, ginger & soy
Kung Pao Prawns w/ celery & rice salad
And much more!!

Tickets can be purchased at : http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2671429317/efblike

***And the winner is....Comment #35 by Jen who said...The Kung Pao Prawns sound amazing! Jen, please email me at clevelandfoodandbrews@gmail.com

Giveaway

Ready for some good news? I've been given two tickets to give away to one lucky reader. To enter the giveaway simply read the directions below!

There are 3 ways to Enter The Giveaway

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me which of the three posted courses you are most interested in trying.

2. Share this post on Facebook by posting this link: http://hops.me/bte

Then come back here and post a comment with your Facebook link. You can only do this once, and it counts as one entry.

3. Share this on Twitter:

I want to win 2 tickets to the @bricknmortar216 pop-up featuring @leeannewong! Check out the @CleFoodandBrews Giveaway: http://hops.me/bte
The come back here and post a comment with your Twitter link. This will count as one entry. You can do this every single day. Just make sure to leave a comment each time you tweet!

Rules:

--You have until Thursday, January 19th, 2012 at 9:00pm EST to enter.

--Winner has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
--The winner will get their tickets at the door when they arrive for the event.

Flour Rustic Italian Kitchen in Moreland Hills

2012-01-05T06:52:00.000-05:00

After being open now for several months and with new head Chef Matthew Mytro at the helm, we decided to check out Flour Restaurant in Moreland Hills.
Food
With so many menu choices, we decided to do dinner a little differently tonight. Flour offers you two choices in size for the past and entrees. Instead of getting a single full dish, we each decided to each get two halves, which would allow us to try more food.

My fiancee's first choice was the Local Greens salad. In addition to the fresh local greens it came topped with radish, carrots, tomato, baby cucumber and a roasted shallot vinaigrette. The baby cucumbers were perfect size for the salad and the salad dressing was very refreshing.

I picked one of the three specials for my first choice. It was black pepper papardelle, served with preserved tomatoes, quail confit, roasted parsnips, and a chestnut cream sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly, and the richness from the chestnut cream sauce paired perfectly with the quail confit. I also loved how the tomatoes added a contrasting flavor of sweetness. The last tasting note that I took away from this dish was how the chestnuts were used two ways. Not only were they cooked down in the cream sauce, but they were also used in their raw state. I thought this was a smart use because it added a little more texture to the soft pasta and quail. I would order this dish again, and I'd probably order the full because it was so tasty. Finally, even the half size of this dish was pretty substantial because this style of pasta is very filling.

For my fiancee's second dish she ordered the half portion of the Pumpkin Risotto. This risotto came with roasted Ohio pumpkin, thyme, cinnamon, and clove. The pumpkin flavor was very mild but married well with the creaminess of the risotto. The risotto was garnished with roasted pumpkin seeds which added great texture.

For my second dish, I decided to try one of the wood fired pizzas. I love crispy wood fired Italian style pizza, so I picked the Romana. This pizza came with crushed tomato, garlic, kalamata olives, chili flakes, and anchovy oil. The first thing I always look at when I get a pizza like this is the crust. The outside part of this crust was cooked well, but the middle half under all of the toppings still could have used a bit more cooking because it was not crispy enough. (Edit: To clarify this statement, the center should be softer than the outside in this style of pizza, but the center still needed a few more additional minutes of cooking.) I enjoyed the contrast in flavors between the olives and the somewhat spicy chili flakes, but the anchovy oil didn't do much to add to the flavor. I also noticed that the sauce and tomatoes were so much in the background compared to the other flavors they were almost tasteless. This wasn't a bad pizza, but I was expecting an even, crispy crust with more well balanced flavors.

Overall, three out of the four dishes we ordered were very good. My fiancee had a good overall meal and I was extremely happy with my pasta dish. We will go back to Flour based on these three good dishes, and I will order another pizza to compare with this experience.

Drinks

Flour offers a full service bar with an extensive wine list. Wine by the glass starts at $7.00 and bottles start at $30. They also offered just a few craft beer options. When we visited there were four draft options available. Great Lakes Dortmunder and Christmas Ale were on tap along with Thirsty Dog Old LegHumper Porter and Labrador Lager. Outside of these choices they had a few standard Italian beers such as Moretti and Peroni.

Atmosphere and Service

The look of Flour is very modern and sort of a shock for a rustic Italian kitchen concept. It was not what I expected at all in terms of design, but it was a very inviting space. I really liked how the kitchen was an open concept for the customers to see. There was even seating that would allow almost a chefs table experience. Our service for the evening was average at best. Our waitress seemed to be just going through the motions and really didn't want to offer up any solid opinions even when we asked her. In fact, at one point when we asked her what some of the most popular dishes were she responded with "It is hard to say because we just opened 8 months ago." To me, in 8 months a restaurant and the servers have a very good idea what is popular, and she should have been able to offer up some information when we asked her. The food did come out in a very timely fashion, but it took her quite a while to check to see how our food was and if there were any problems. Overall, I'd expect a higher level of knowledge about the menu, and more willingness to offer suggestions at a restaurant like this. We'll likely go back because most of our food was good, and I'd like to see if our experience is the same or better than this time.

Willoughby Brewing Company Review #2

2011-12-12T18:41:00.002-05:00

Our last trip to Willoughby Brewing for dinner left a very good taste in our mouths. We recently went back for dinner because they had once again updated their menu with some very interesting items. Would this experience be as positive as our last?

Food
For my entrée, I decided to try the Magma Melt. This melt was comprised of a large burger topped with deep fried jalapenos, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, and house made magma sauce. I don’t know if you can tell from the picture but this melt was huge. The two pieces of bread were very fresh, and really stood up to the vast amount of ingredients inside. The burger itself was cooked to a perfect juicy medium, and the magma sauce added just enough kick when combined with the crunchy fried jalapenos. Speaking of the jalapenos, they not only added heat, but they also added excellent texture to each bite. The fries also provided extra crunch to the dish because they were crispy and well seasoned with salt. I was very pleased with this melt, and thought it was a great value for only $11.99. If you are going for a snack, 2 people could honestly split this dish.

My fiancee ordered the Chopped Cob Salad, $11.99. It came with romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, bacon, egg, cucumber, avocado, roasted tomatoes, and black olives. It was supposed to be tossed in a creamy Parmesan dressing, but she elected to get it on the side instead. She really enjoyed the generous amount of avocado but the roasted tomatoes were a touch too garlicky. The chicken was moist and well seasoned and every ingredient in the salad was very fresh.

Once again our food tasted good and was very reasonably priced. I'd rate our food this evening a 4.75/5.

Drinks
Willoughby Brewing continues to impress me with the quality of their beer. Tonight we both were drinking the Moonshadow IPA. What I like most about this beer is that it has a very nice balance of hops and bitterness. I always enjoy a hoppy beer but my fiancée, who is not a hophead, really enjoyed this brew as well. You have to appreciate a beer like this that can please a diverse group of palates. Outside of this IPA, the line up at Willoughby continues to shine and I’d highly recommend stopping in for a pint or two! If you like to enjoy a Willoughby Brewing Company Beer at home, they will fill any growler you bring in. You can sign up for the growler club and after 8 growler fill-ups you earn a free one!

Service
Once again, our server was friendly and prompt with drinks and food. She was knowledgeable about the menu and was open with her thoughts and opinions on the dishes we inquired about. The service we received tonight was equal to the service we had in the previous review. It is nice to see this consistency in the service. Overall, Tonight was another example of why I’ll say Willoughby Brewing is 100% back! The beer that is being brewed is better than ever, and the menu/food has now caught up in terms of quality and variety. If you have not made the trip to downtown Willoughby yet, now is the time to head out to Willoughby Brewing for a tasty food and brew combination.

Key Bank Rewards Week: Free Food Truck Grub and a Giveaway

2011-12-08T17:17:00.001-05:00

That is right, Key Bank is picking up your tab at local food trucks! All you have to do is follow the trucks on twitter to find out their location. When you show up Wednesday December 14th, Key Bank will pay for your food! This is all part of Key Bank's week long rewards event where they are offering different promotions around the great city of Cleveland! To see what else is going on this week just visit Key Rewards Week.

To make your life easy, I've linked the food trucks names below directly to their twitter handles! Happy Eating Cleveland! (As a side note, the number of free meals is limited so be sure to get there early!)

Participating food trucks include:

Sweet! The Mobile Cupcakery

Giveaway

In addition to this wonderful Key Bank Food Event, I've also been given a $25 Key Possibilities MasterCard Gift Card to give away to one lucky reader. You could use this to visit your favorite food truck anytime!

And the winner is comment #6 by Crystal!

There are 3 ways to Enter The Giveaway

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me which truck you would like to get free food from.

2. Share this post on Facebook by posting this link: http://hops.me/855

Then come back here and post a comment with your Facebook link. You can only do this once, and it counts as one entry.

3. Share this on Twitter:

Check out the $25 Key Possibilities MasterCard Giveaway that @CleFoodandBrews is doing at: http://hops.me/855 #KeyRewardsWeek
The come back here and post a comment with your Twitter link. This will count as one entry. You can do this every single day. Just make sure to leave a comment each time you tweet!

Rules:

--You have until Sunday December 18th, 2011 at 9:00am EST to enter.

--Winner has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
--The card will be mailed to the winner.
--Disclosure: I offered two $25 Key Possibilities MasterCard Gift Cards for helping to promote this Food Truck Event. (One for myself and one to giveaway.)

Sunday Supper--Grilled Chicken with Spicy Mango Chutney

2011-11-28T20:11:00.001-05:00

This Sunday Supper was inspired by something I got to take part in earlier this year thanks to the National Mango Board. Back in early August I had the opportunity to judge a food event that featured mangos as the special ingredient. This event was a blast, and thanks to Crystal of Eat Drink Cleveland you can read about it here. Something I took away from this event was just how versatile mangos really are. Besides eating them raw and using them in our homemade mojitos we have never experimented cooking with them. Here is where Mango.org comes in handy. They have a wonderful recipe database, and this Sunday Supper will be featuring their Very Mango Chutney recipe with a few tweaks.

The ingredients used for the chutney were:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 medium onions chopped
3/2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tablespoon ginger
1 jalapeno pepper minced (seeds optional based on your heat preference)
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 large very ripe, soft mangos, peeled, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup golden raisins

The directions for making the chutney:

In a large sauce pan over medium high heat, combine the sugar and vinegar bringing the mixture to a simmer.

Add the onions, garlic, ginger, pepper and salt. Let this come back to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the mango, lime juice and raisins. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes until the mixture becomes the consistency for a marmalade.

While making the chutney we used the indoor grill to cook two large chicken breast that we would then pour the chutney over. The combination of the sweet mango, brown sugar and raisins paired amazingly well with the spicy jalapenos. I loved how this simply chutney took an average chicken breast and made it into an amazingly tasty dish. What is also great about this recipe is that you can change the level of heat to meet your needs. For a sweeter dish just use a less spicy pepper like a banana, or for more heat use a serrano or a habanero!

To add some texture to the main course we prepared a chopped brussels sprout salad with chopped walnuts and grated parmesan cheese. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, and then used roughly 4 parts olive oil to 1 part white vinegar to add even more flavor. This ultra crunchy take on a salad was the perfect side dish to add some texture to our meal. (Thanks has to go out to Iron Chef Symon for inspiring this at the Fabulous Food Show!)

I hope you enjoyed this recipe because we really enjoyed trying it. If you do decide to make this or any of the other Mango recipes please feel free to comment on your experiences here. Cheers!

Andaloro's Ristorante in Willowick

2011-11-21T16:36:00.001-05:00

A few years back when my fiancee was living in Eastlake, we noticed an Italian restaurant in a plaza along Lakeshore Blvd. It was sort of hidden because it was in such a large plaza. We decided to give the restaurant a try since we are always looking for our next favorite Italian restaurant. We were not disappointed and I've wanted to back for nearly two years! Finally, this past weekend we made our way back to Andaloro's Ristorante to see if things were as good as we remembered.

Food
Our meal started out with fresh toasted Italian bread and a dipping sauce that was made of roasted red peppers, olive oil, and parsley. I could have made a meal out of bread and this sauce! I love the addition of the roasted red peppers to the standard olive oil because it added another layer of richness and flavor!

All pasta dishes also come with a side salad. The house dressing is sort of a take on a balsamic and was very good. I also really liked the use of fresh greens for the salad instead of iceberg or romaine.

My fiancee decided to go Spaghetti Carbonara. This dish featured pancetta tossed with egg, black pepper, and Romano cheese in a cream sauce. The cream sauce used in the dish was well seasoned, while the pancetta added just a touch of texture to the properly cooked pasta. The dish was very enjoyable but be prepared to take some home!

I ordered the Pasta alla Diavola. This pasta was served with spicy hot peppers, fresh tomato sauce, and fresh parsley. The pasta itself was cooked perfectly al dente. The tomato sauce was good, but because of the hot peppers it was hard to get a true sense of the sauce's flavor. I really enjoyed the added punch of spice from the peppers and would rate this a 6/10 in terms heat, 10 being ghost chili hot!

Overall, we were pleased with our meal and the pricing. Our food total for the evening was only $24 and we had food left over to take home with us. I look forward to going back and trying a few other dishes, and I'd rate this Italian food a 3.75/5.

Drinks
The restaurant does have a full bar in the back, but we did not get a chance to explore the drink options. We did however get to see the wine list. The wine list wasn't extravagant, but it did offer at least a few options of Red and White that are sure to please everyone but the wine connoisseur. My fiancee enjoyed a $6 glass of Chianti. I decided to pass on beverages for the evening since we were going to Willoughby Brewing Company after dinner to meet some friends.

Service
When we arrived, we were kindly greeted and taken to a table by the door. My fiancee asked if we could sit away from the door because of the cold and we were escorted to the table of her choice. When were seated, our waitress came over promptly to go over the menu and to take our drink orders. She was around all evening, but never overbearing. Our food came out in a timely manner and it was clear that it was freshly prepared. Friendly, knowledgeable, and prompt service is always a plus and therefore I'd give Andaloro's a 4/5 for the evening.

Overall
Andaloro's is a solid Italian Restaurant that offers good food at very reasonable prices. The one thing that hurts them is the location. They are off the beaten path in a plaza, but that should not scare you away from trying this Willowick restaurant! Another plus is you can often find Restaurant.com gift certificates for this restaurant. In fact, we purchased a $25 gift certificate for only $2 recently. The only sad part was we left it at home! Oh well, I guess we'll have to go back to use it for a follow up review sometime soon!

OBA Blog Swap -- Nighttown by Roxanne of Vegetarians Taste Better

2011-11-20T18:03:00.001-05:00

First, a big thanks to Alicia Hansen of Poise in Parma for putting together the Ohio Blogging Association Blog Swap for November. Now...on to the blog swap!

Hello, Cleveland Food and Brews readers! My name is Roxanne and I write a blog called Vegetarians Taste Better. It deals with vegetarian living, dining, and drinking in greater Cleveland. Today is the Ohio Blogging Association’s November Cleveland Blog Swap, and your blog host, Brad, was selected to swap with me. He’ll be posting on my blog today, and obviously, I’m posting on his. We’ll be back to regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow, though, but I hope you take the time to read this post, and if you like what you see, visit my blog or “like” me on Facebook.

I’m a cubicle dweller by day, and a foodie by night, but I like it when both worlds get to intertwine. I have a very generous boss who likes to reward his employees for a job well done, and he often takes us on what I call “field trips” to fun or fancy places around town. We’ve been everywhere from Jeni’s in Chagrin Falls to L’Albatros in University Circle. (Today my team is having lunch at Mama Santa’s in Little Italy – I may or may not be involved in a pizza eating competition with one of my coworkers)

Since I’m…um…more opinionated about food than many of the people I work with and because I have special dietary concerns, I often get to have some say in where we head to. Or I flat out just get to pick. Like my most recent culinary food trip with my coworkers at Nighttown in Cleveland Heights.

I’ve been to Nighttown more times than I can count. I think they have an incredible patio (it’s even nice in the winter if it isn’t bitterly cold outside because they have garage type doors to protect the area), fantastic service, and amazing drinks. And…they have clearly labeled menus. Meaning they have an entire section of their menu devote to vegetarian items. Sure the section consists of two items most of the time, but it makes life a lot easier when you don’t have to play 100 questions with a waiter before ordering.

My recent lunchtime trip was actually my first lunch visit to Nighttown. I’d been there for brunch the month prior, but most of my other stops have taken place at night and typically didn’t involve food. I’d never been seated in the dining room, either. My group was placed right near the stage and I got a chance to admire all of the artwork and architecture of the place. Although I can say there’s a much different feel in the dining room than in other parts of Nighttown, but it was the right vibe for lunchtime.

Our server seemed to have the entire lunch crowd to himself. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of a lunch crowd, but there were quite a few tables that were full. We were able to order drinks just as soon as we sat down, and they arrived right away. Soon after, we were brought overflowing baskets of bread and butter. The bread was crusty and fresh, and my entire table dove right into the baskets and made short work of them.

Only a few people ordered starters. I wasn’t one of them, and it seemed like there was a long lag between when peoples’ soup arrived and my pasta arrived, but maybe that’s just because conversations with some of my coworkers can be awkward.

For my lunch, I ordered vegetarian pasta, which consisted of an olive oil and garlic sauce tossed with pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, and zucchini covered with a sprinkling of cheese. The chef must have been a little heavy handed with the oil, because there seemed to be a lot of it. But a little gluttony now and again never hurts anyone, right?

My coworkers seemed to enjoy their meals, although someone who ordered the house specialty – the Dublin lawyer – was a little surprised at how heavy the dish was. He’d asked the waiter to suggest something “good” and probably should have specified that to him good = healthy. Oh well.

Service throughout the meal was good. Attentive but not overbearing. Since we were at a work lunch, we had to hurry back to work, but it probably would have been nice to stay and enjoy a coffee or a dessert. I guess I’ll have to go back for lunch some other day to do that.

Cleveland Independents Deck Giveaway

2011-11-17T22:25:00.001-05:00

At the beginning of 2011 I purchased the Cleveland Independents deck which gets me $10 off a $30 purchase at over 50 restaurants around Cleveland. My plan was to bounce around town to different restaurants and use these $10 discounts to help cover a little bit of the cost of my reviews. Well...with a little over a month left to use the cards I realize I am never going to use them all, and I’d like to give 10 of them away to one lucky reader! Here is a list of the ten cards you will receive if you win this giveaway!

Blake's Seafood
Corky & Lenny's
Fat Fish Blue
Gusto!
Hyde Park Crocker
John Q's Steakhouse
Luxe Kitchen & Lounge
Marotta's
Pearl of the Orient
Sergio's SARAVA

If you win, feel free to give some of these away to friends and family so they can at least save a few bucks while dining out this holiday season!

There are 3 ways to Enter The Giveaway

*You must leave a separate comment on this post for each Entry!*

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me you would like to win and which restaurant card you would use first.

2. Click "Like" on my Facebook Page and post this on your Facebook Wall:

Check out the Gift Card Giveaway that Cleveland Food and Brews Reviews is doing at: http://hops.me/7yi

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following:

Check out the Gift Card Giveaway that @CleFoodandBrews is doing at: http://hops.me/7yi #CleFood

Rules:

--You have until Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 9:00pm EST to enter.

--The winner will be picked at random using Random.org.
--Only comments left on this post will count. If you tweet, facebook or enter in any other way be sure to leave a comment here telling me you did it.
--You must leave a SEPARATE comment for each Entry, otherwise your entry will only count once.

--Each separate comment is numbered in the order they are posted. The comment that matches the Random.org number wins!!

--Winner has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
--The cards will be mailed to the winner.

PS...if you don't win this one, keep your eye out for another giveaway like this during the first week of December. Cheers!

Hiroshi's Pub in Beachwood

2011-11-15T18:53:00.001-05:00

During the final days of Cleveland Restaurant Week, my fiancee planned to pop into Red Steakhouse for dinner. When we arrived, we were told it was a 2.5 hour wait and decided to walk across the street to Hiroshi's Pub instead. I've looked over the menu before while I stopped in for a drink, and was surprised at how many choices they had.
Food
After hearing our waitress describe the specials for the evening, my fiancee and I were both sold on two specific dishes that sounded amazing. My fiancee picked the house cured bacon wrapped pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes, and vegetables ($21). The pork was cooked to a perfect medium. The bacon that was wrapped around the pork had a mildly crispy texture which paired well with the soft mouth feel of the pork. We both really enjoyed the flavor combination of the tenderloin and bacon and were pleased with this part of the dish. The mashed potatoes themselves lacked any seasoning, and the gravy was a surprise because the dish was not described with it. My fiancee really didn't care for the gravy and thought it just didn't taste fresh. The vegetables served with the dish were tender but were very bland. Overall, the protein on this dish was very good, but it would have been a better overall dish with improved sides.

My choice for the evening was described by the waitress as a Leg of Lamb with pancake potatoes and vegetables ($21). When I ordered the lamb, I stressed I don't like my lamb overcooked and requested it to be cooked medium. When my dish arrived, I was somewhat confused by what I saw. Half of the lamb was cut in to very thin pieces and the other half was just a pile of meat and fat. It was all topped with sauce that I was not expecting. As I began to eat, I realized this was a very strong mint sauce and the lamb itself was beyond well-done. The lamb was almost inedible due to the overpowering sauce and the dryness of the meat. I asked the waitress what kind of sauce was on the lamb. She wasn't aware it was served with sauce and wasn't sure what kind it was. She came back to tell us it was a mint and tomato sauce. I then showed her the condition of the meat and she agreed it looked way overcooked. She apologized and left to talk to the chef and manager. As I waited, I ate the bland vegetables, the potato pancakes (which were actually pretty tasty), and two pieces of my fiancee's pork. When the waitress came back, she asked if there was anything else they could get for me. By this point, I had eaten a small starter salad and nearly half of my fiancee's dish and had lost my appetite. She came back with a tray of deserts and offered me one. At this point in the dinner, I really didn't want any more food and asked that since I did not eat 95% of the lamb that my dish be taken off the bill. She returned with the bill and said that was no problem and apologized for how poor my entree was.

Overall, this was an off night for food at Hiroshi's Pub and based on what we ate I can't give them higher than a 1.5/5.

Drinks
Hiroshi's Pub offers a decent craft beer bottle and draft selection. You will find beers from such breweries as Dogfish Head, Great Lakes, Brooklyn, Goose Island, Thirsty Dog, and Stone. They also had seasonal beers such as Great Lakes and Breckenridge Christmas Ale. During our meal, I enjoyed a very tasty Dogfish Head 90min IPA on draft, while my fiancee had a very fresh Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. Even if you are not in the mood for food, Hiroshi's Pub is a very good place to find a good craft beer offering. 4/5

Service
Even with my disaster of an entree, I have to say our waitress was very good. She was friendly and prompt for the entire evening. She was very knowledgeable about the main menu but we feel the specials were not communicated well from the kitchen to the table. 3.75/5.

Sunday Supper--Beef Brisket Braised in Founders Breakfast Stout

2011-11-13T17:37:00.001-05:00

The inspiration for this dish stems from our love of craft beer. The style of beer that we both truly love equally is stouts, and we wanted to make a dish using this style of beer. I had it in my mind for a few weeks that we were going to braise a beef brisket with a stout. As of a few days ago, we were still not sure what stout we were going to use. I had narrowed it down to Epic Big Bad Baptist, Founders Breakfast Stout, and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. We attended the the Fabulous Food Show this past weekend and I had a chance to ask Iron Chef Michael Symon a question while he was doing a demo. I asked him what beer he would use to braise beef with and he responded with Founders Breakfast Stout. This was music to my ears because with that beer already on our short list. How could we not listen to advice from and Iron Chef?

Most of the prep, cooking, and pictures done for this post were done by my fiancee. The recipe she used was sort of a combination of a bunch that we found online. She started out by giving the 1.75lb beef brisket a rub down of salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and basil. She then heated the Dutch oven to medium high heat with a bit of oil. She then added 2 large sliced onions, 5 chopped carrots, 3 chopped cloves of garlic seared the outside of the brisket for about 3 minutes per side. Next, she reduced heat to low, covered the brisket with stout, and added just a touch more salt and pepper for good measure!

At this point it was time to pop the Dutch oven in the 350 degree oven for 3-4 hours. After about 3 hours we realized the brisket was done and then removed the brisket and set it aside to rest.

I then helped her strain out the onion and carrots and then boiled the remaining liquid to reduce for a sauce.

Once the sauce was done, we plated our dishes and added a bit of sauteed kale and commenced eating!

The first thing we both realized was that the beef was slightly over cooked! As close as she was watching it, it still somehow cooked a bit too much. If we had to do it with this cut of meat again we would take the temperature down to 275-300 degrees and do the same amount of time, or do the 350 degrees but only braise it for 2-2.5 hours. That being said, the brisket still was tasty, and the breakfast stout flavor came through moderately. The carrots and onions, however, were simply to die for. They soaked up every single flavor that breakfast stout has to offer! Chocolate and coffee came through pretty strongly and I could not get enough of this part of the dish. The kale added a bit of texture, which was desperately needed because of the soft meat and vegetables.

If we had to cook this meal again we would love to try a lower, slower temperature with this cut of meat, but would like to try this same recipe with cuts of meat like short ribs or beef shank. I'd love to also try it with pork shoulder or pork shanks! One thing is for sure, Founders Breakfast Stout is both an amazing beer to drink, and an amazing beer to cook with. Cheers!

Pranzo in Willoughby Review #2

2011-11-08T07:39:00.000-05:00

Earlier this summer my fiancee and I went to Pranzo for dinner (Review #1). We were not blown away by the food, but it was good enough that we both wanted to go back for a second review. This past weekend my fiancee's sister picked Pranzo for her birthday dinner, which gave us the perfect chance for a second review!
Food
We were the first table to arrive for the evening. The table of 8 adults and 2 children were treated with a meat and cheese board to start our meal. This was different from our prior visit and we noticed no one else was served the meat and cheese board. What a nice gesture from Pranzo!

After we placed our order, each person received a house salad that was comprised of mixed greens, shaved parmesan, and a sliced cucumber and tomato. The salad was consistent with the salad we had the last time, except this time it had more parmesan. I thought the extra parmesan improved the overall flavor of the salad.

I picked the Butternut and Brie Ravioli from the specials menu for my entree. Each ravioli was stuffed with a puree of butternut squash and brie. It came topped with a brown butter sage sauce. Presentation wise the dish was sort of flat and could have used some color to make it more visually appealing. Any disappointment I had with the looks of the dish quickly left my mind once I started to eat. The pasta was cooked perfectly, and the squash and brie combination was fantastic. The brown butter sage sauce that was hidden below the ravioli had a savory richness that really worked well with the brie. This dish was clearly a case of never judging a book by its cover, and I'd highly recommend it if you see it on the menu.

My fiancee picked the Char Crusted Duck Breast. The dish was described as seared Muscovy duck breast over sauteed gnocchi. It was served with brown butter, herbs, caramelized onions, and veal stock. When the dish came out we both were a little surprised that the duck had already been sliced. Whatever crispy char crusting that was intended had been lost. The flavor of the duck itself was average, with more than a few pieces being on the fatty side. The gnocchi, onions and veal stock were a very interesting combination that worked because of the earthiness. I enjoyed this dish a little more than my fiancee did, and we ended up trading halfway through our entrees because the ravioli was so good. That being said, I would not order this dish again unless the duck was prepared differently.

Overall our food experience was slightly better than our first trip, but the duck dish did disappoint us based on the description. Food wise Pranzo gets a 4/5 this time around.

Drinks
Pranzo is a BYOB establishment that charges a $1.00 corking fee on wine, and a $2.00 per person charge for beer. This really opens the door to the customer to bring whatever they want, and can make for a very fun dinner. Since we were in downtown Willoughby, we brought a few growlers with us and stopped at Willoughby Brewing Company to fill them up before dinner. A 64oz growler ranges in price from $10-$15 depending on style. If you are a craft beer fan, I highly recommend trying this if you head to dinner at Pranzo. The ability to bring in amazing beverages to pair with your meal scores Pranzo a 5/5 in my book!

Service
Our waiter for the evening was top notch. He was very knowledgeable about the menu and more than willing to answer all of the questions we had. We had two young children at the table with multiple food allergies, and our waiter was willing to have the kitchen make special food from scratch just for the children. When our food arrived our waiter gave us appropriate time to try our dishes and then was quickly over at the table making sure everyone was happy. This was a very different experience from our first trip to Pranzo. I'm happy to say, this is the type of service that we look for when dining out. Service this time was excellent, and gets a 5/5.

The Fabulous Food Show 2011 Info and Giveaway

2011-11-02T07:54:00.002-04:00

From November 11th through the 13th Cleveland's IX Center will be host to the Fabulous Food Show. This show offers some of the most amazing food samples and cooking demo's that you'll find anywhere in the country. Add to that, a list of celebrity chefs that includes Cleveland's own Iron Chef Michael Symon, Iron Chef Bobby Flay, Robert Irvine and Duff Goldman and you have yourself a full fledged foodie heaven!

Personally I can't wait for the Kitchen Theater Demos. Last year my fiancee and I got to see Michael Symon host and event that slated Jonathon Sawyer against Dante Boccuzzi and Steve Schimoler. We were so impressed by this event, and Chef Sawyers cooking, that we made next week reservations to visit his restaurant!

Fabulous Food Show Tickets on Sale

Ticket prices: One-day Admission ticket: $25 online at www.fabulousfoodshow.com or $30.00 onsite November 11-13, 2011 at the I-X Center.

2-day and 3-day TICKETS with Specially Reserved Seating:

2-Day Admission ticket (advance sale) $45.00

3-Day Admission ticket (advance sale) $65.00

Convenience fee on all tickets except group tickets and tickets purchased on site.

Each ticket includes admission to exhibits and seating to see one of your favorite celebrity chefs, and also allows patrons to see other celebrity chefs on the day of the visit -- on a first come, first-served basis.

Event Hours: Friday, November 11 — 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Saturday, November 12 — 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Sunday, November 13 — 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

So are you interested in winning two general admission passes? The good people of the Fabulous Food show have given me two passes to give away to one lucky reader! To enter to win free 2 tickets to this event simply follow the steps listed below!

And the Winner is Comment 37!

There are 3 ways to Enter The Giveaway

*You must leave a separate comment on this post for each Entry!*

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me you would like to win and which chef you are most excited to see!

2. Click "Like" on my Facebook Page and post this on your Facebook Wall (be sure to tag @ClevelandFoodandBrewsReviews):

Check out the Fabulous Food Show Giveaway that Cleveland Food and Brews Reviews is doing at: http://hops.me/7u0

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following:

Check out the @FabFoodShow Giveaway that @CleFoodandBrews is doing at: http://hops.me/7u0 #CleFood

Rules:

--You have until Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 9:00am EST to enter.

--Each separate comment is numbered in the order they are posted. The comment that matches the Random.org number wins!!

--Winner has 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: I have been given 1 set of tickets to giveaway. I have also been granted a media pass to attend and cover the event. All thoughts an opinions are 100% my own.