Exploring Food My Way: Satisfying the Craving

Red Rover, Red Rover, Let Dante Come Over

2012-07-07T13:00:00.000-04:00

Prepare yourself, gentle reader, for a lengthy blog post today. In trying to give Dante Boccuzzi's new Akron-based D.B.A. restaurant as much chance to impress as possible (or not), I ended up going to the restaurant twice during its opening week and have included both experiences in this one post.

D.B.A. (aka Dante Boccuzzi Akron) is Dante's latest restaurant opening and his first in the Akron area. Located in the old Vegiterranean space situated across the street from Luigi's, it doesn't represent a brand new concept for him, but merely an extension of his current offerings at Restaurant Dante in Tremont and The DC Pasta Company in Strongsville. That being said, there are far fewer restaurants in Akron to compete directly with D.B.A., both in terms of cuisine and price.

D.B.A. was located at 21 Furnace Street, Akron, OH 44308 and can be reached at 330-375-5050 or by fax at 330-375-1670. While there is parking available in a lot across the street from D.B.A., it can be tricky to find a spot as Luigi's shares the same parking space. I was easily able to find a space to park during my first visit on a Tuesday. For my second visit on a Friday night, I gladly paid the $4 valet charge to not have to worry about it.

Once inside, I was impressed at how the interior had been transformed from the rather hard and edgy space of its predecessor to the more broken up and darker look that the restaurant space currently has. One of the problems that Vegiterranean always seemed to have in the past was that when full, the noise levels were extremely high and it was often difficult to have a conversation with dinner companions without having to yell at them. Smartly, the bar area now has a wall between it and the main dining room and the space at the front of the restaurant has been converted into small nooks, each containing three or four tables.

As Dante is also a musician, cleverly, the dinner menu comes presented on an LP album with an actual record inside:

Just as with Dante's other restaurants, many of the dishes are offered at various sizes, from a tasting to an appetizer to an entree sized portion. As a restaurant reviewer, I greatly appreciate this because it can be difficult when going out by yourself to get as many tastes as possible during a single visit. Immediately, my brain began to devise a plan on how to get the maximum number of courses for a minimum amount of cash.

While there was no prix fixe meal available at D.B.A. (at least, my server didn't indicate that there was one available on my first visit), I decided to take matters into my own hands and ordered a five course progression, three from the appetizer section, one from the pasta section, and a final course from the entree section of the menu.

Within just a few seconds of placing my order, standard Restaurant Dante bread service arrived at my table:

The breads are sourced from a variety of locales (one of which is Mediterra in Pittsburgh) and arrived in an old vinyl LP that has been heated, remolded, and shaped into a bread basket. The hummos that accompanied the bread was also identical to what is served at Restaurant Dante. Both were fresh and delicious and a nice way to start the meal.

What came next was the onslaught of food I had originally ordered, each course skillfully arriving at my table only mere moments after my previous course had been removed and new silverware carefully placed in front of me. First up was the half portion of the Mackenzie Goat Cheese appetizer:

I had assumed that the chevre would be inside the fried squash blossom, but it was actually under the dressed salad greens. The squash blossom was exquisitely fried -- crispy, tender, and not greasy -- and seasoned perfectly. All of the elements on the plate worked very well together, but the one standout that made my mouth swoon was the zucchini agrodolce. It was sweet and sour (as the name would imply) with just a touch of heat to it.

The next course was one of the menu's many vegan offerings, the half portion of the Asparagus Salad:

In addition to the shaved asparagus, there were asparagus spears, frisee, pickled Chanterelles, and an eggless bearnaise that served as the dressing. The seasoning of this dish was a bit uneven as the frisee was more heavily salted and the asparagus a little less. But, at the end of the day, when combining a little bit of each element from the plate, everything evened out and I thought it was quite tasty. The eggless bearnaise (I'm assuming the yellow color probably comes from the use of tumeric) worked quite well and gave the salad an acidity and richness that really balanced the other flavors well.

The next course to cross my table was the Crispy Calamari and Rock Shrimp appetizer:

Accompanying the fried items was a chile-spiced mayonnaise and sliced pickled Shiitake mushrooms. The spiced mayonnaise had a considerable amount of heat, but nothing that I would consider excessive. The squid and shrimp were very tender and the coating on both was crispy and not greasy. The only real complaint I had regarding this dish was that the rock shrimp were fairly aggressively seasoned and the calamari a tad underseasoned. Eaten together, they balanced each other out, but woe to the diner who decided to eat three or four rock shrimp in a row.

Having finished three appetizer courses, my fourth course came from the middle portion of the menu. Items from here were available as a taste, an appetizer-sized portion, and as a full entree. I decided to go with an appetizer-sized portion of the Arborio Risotto Carbonara:

The portion was HUGE. It might be because I had already eaten three courses already, but I realized as soon as this was sat in front of me that I should've ordered the tasting size. I immediately knew that I would be leaving the restaurant with leftovers.

Nestled in the center of the dish was a soft poached egg with a small dollop of black truffle puree next to it. The trick, of course, is to break open the egg and stir the contents of the bowl together before eating it (much like the Korean bibimbap). After thoroughly mixing, I took my first bite. First, the good points. It was rich. It was earthy. It was creamy. The pancetta has excellent texture. Second, the not-so-good points. It was incredibly salty. Just to rule out the possibility of the pancetta's salt being the culprit, I made sure I found a forkful that had none in it. I repeated the experiment several more times. I quickly reached for my water. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't inedible. It just wasn't balanced. I ate about one-third of this dish before asking for the remainder to be boxed up.

The final course of this first evening at D.B.A. was the Seared Sea Scallops:

Perched atop three potato cakes, the scallops were dressed with balsamic glazed strawberries and lemon zest strips. In between the scallop mounds was fresh arugula, baby Shiitake mushrooms, and sliced dehydrated strawberries. As opposed to my fourth course tonight, this one was spot on. The scallops were cooked perfectly, seared brown on the outside and beautifully translucent on the inside, the strawberries and balsamic played so well together on my tongue. The salad had a lovely bit of pepperiness to it and the dehyrdrated strawberries really reinforced the fresh strawberry flavor nicely. The only thing I didn't care for was the texture on the lemon zest "strips." While I dig the visual presentation of the strip, I think I might have preferred a more finely grated zest.

My second visit to D.B.A. was during the same week as my first, but this time on a very busy Friday evening. Whereas I had been seated at a small corner table in the main room before, this time we were seated at a small two top right by the front window. One of the trickier aspects of food photography when done in a restaurant setting is the natural light coming in through the windows in the evening. The color temperature of the light can change rapidly as the sun sets and over the course of our two and a half hour meal, I found myself recalibrating the white balance on my camera in between each course and actually having to use light painting on my dessert course because of the lack of good light.

To start off tonight's meal, I went with the half portion of the vegan-friendly Cold Soup:

Made from heirloom tomatoes, it also had a basil cream mousse and was dotted with bits of crisped pita bread. The acidity and sweetness of balsamic vinegar added to the complexity of flavor in this quite delicious and refreshing dish. The seasoning was spot on and the crispy pita added a wonderful textural contrast to the smoothness of the soup and the mousse. Truly, this was an excellent way to start my second visit at D.B.A.

My next course was also from the appetizer portion of the menu and was something I had been eying since I first gazed upon the on-line menu, the Hudson Valley Foie Gras:

Served over a raspberry short cake and topped with duck prosciutto, this dish truly delivered in every way possible. As I took my first bite, I think my eyes must have rolled back in my head just a little bit as I savored the wonderful balance of salty, sweet and tart from the various components of the dish. While this is one pricey appetizer at $19 (indeed it is more expensive than several of the entrees), I decided to consider this my entree for the evening and was very happy that I did. The raspberries, both used as a garnish and baked into the short cake added a very necessary amount of acid to combat the heavy richness of the foie gras. I'd order this again in a heartbeat.

For the next course, my dining companion and I each ordered a "tasting" portion ($5 each) of one of D.B.A.'s pastas and decided to share them with each other. The Pappardelle alla Bolognese is a popular dish at Restaurant Dante and makes its appearance on D.B.A.'s menu, too:

This dish was rich and hearty, the pasta was cooked perfectly, and the veal, pork, and beef ragu that dressed the noodles was present without being too much. Honestly, if I wasn't attempting to get in as many tastes of the menu as possible, I could be a happy man with a nice big plate of this pasta.

I, on the other hand, ordered the Green Spaghetti:

Topped with garlic braised rock shrimp, spinach, poor man's cheese, and finished with crispy bread crumbs, this pasta also delivered, albeit with a little less intensity than the pappardelle. Once again the pasta was cooked and dressed perfectly, but I felt that the rock shrimp were a bit too salty. I had first noticed this when I tried the Crispy Calamari and Rock Shrimp appetizer on my first visit. I'm not sure whether the shrimp themselves are naturally salty or if the coating used on the shrimp is the culprit.

My final savory course on my second visit was the appetizer-sized portion ($12) of the Hong Kong Style Mussels:

As opposed to the appetizer-sized portion of the Arborio Risotto I had ordered during my first visit, this time, the portion was perfectly in line with what I had room for in my stomach. The mussels were tender and flavorful and all except one of them had steamed open during the cooking process. The broth had been infused with chiles, lime and cilantro and while the broth by itself was a bit aggressive in seasoning, when paired with the sweet mussels, it was a nice complement. One thing that was missing from this dish was a nice piece of grilled bread to soak up some of the broth. Fortunately, I asked my server for some fresh bread and she was happy to oblige.

While I didn't have room for dessert on my first visit, on this second one I purposely made sure not to stuff myself such that I couldn't sample something from the dessert menu:

Continuing in the vein of cleverness, while the regular dinner menu was presented on the album cover of an LP, the dessert menu came on the liner notes of a Compact Disc.

After considering all of my options, I ended up going with the Double Baked Chocolate Brownie:

I had originally thought that perhaps the brownie would be more like a biscotti, the twice-baked Italian pastries that are often dipped into coffee or espresso to soften. Instead, what arrived was a nut-free brownie wrapped in phyllo, brushed with butter and then baked until golden brown. Paired with a stone fruit compote, chocolate sauce, and a scoop of apricot sorbet, this turned out to be an unusual, but delicious dessert. The brownie, even though it had been twice baked, was decadent and moist and the tartness from the apricot sorbet did a great job of cleansing my palate from the rich and sweet brownie. The chocolate sauce didn't do a whole lot for me and something like a raspberry coulis might have better served this dessert.

Over the course of two visits, I was able to try eleven of the twenty-nine dishes on D.B.A.'s current dinner and dessert menus. Of them all, while the seasoning on a few of the dishes was a little uneven, and one of them was way too salty, on the whole, I think the flavors were spot on, and most dishes I tasted had no issue with seasoning.

Service between my two visits was interesting. With only a third full restaurant on my first visit, it took approximately one and a half hours to enjoy a five course meal. During my second visit during a busy Friday night service with a full restaurant, a similar five course meal took two and a half hours. As you can imagine, the first visit felt a bit rushed as the minute my plate was cleared and silverware replaced, the next course appeared, really giving me little time between courses to relax. On my second visit, the pacing at the beginning of the meal was much better, but as the courses progressed, so did the lag time between each course. Between the pasta course and the mussels, my dining companion and I probably waited a good thirty minutes.

While the servers during both visits were knowledgeable about the menu, the server during my second visit forgot to bring a glass of wine requested by my dining companion and decided to drop off the final check to our table before we had actually finished our meal. I realize that this is the first week of D.B.A. being open and I can easily chalk up these glitches to the staff getting its collective feet wet. Given a few weeks, these problems should correct themselves.

As you can imagine by looking at the menu and some of the prices I've quoted along the way, eating at D.B.A. can be reasonable or expensive. I had water with both of my meals and the totals for each of my meals, with tax and a twenty percent gratuity were $80 and $65, respectively. I imagine that were you to throw in a cocktail and a glass of wine, you could easily approach $100 per person. That being said, if you stick to three or four of the $5 options or simply choose one entree, you could get away with a check totaling closer to $25 to $30. While this is certainly comparable to what you would spend at some of Cleveland's more upscale restaurants, D.B.A. finds itself on the pricier end for an Akron-based restaurant.

Noise levels during my Friday night visit were light to moderate and I had absolutely no problem carrying on a conversation with my dining companion. Unlike Restaurant Dante where, at times, it can be nearly impossible to carry on a conversation without yelling at the person across the table, D.B.A. was much more conducive to productive conversations.

Everything said and done, I would recommend that you check out D.B.A. The food and the service have a lot of promise and given a couple of weeks to get everything running like a finely-oiled machine, I imagine an experience will be similar to any of Dante Boccuzzi's other restaurants. While the menu isn't a huge departure from Restaurant Dante, it also offers a nice assortment of vegan, vegetarian, and meat-based options that can be enjoyed by all audiences. I know that I am looking forward to returning soon and giving some of the remaining menu items a try.

Tuesday Morning Amusement

2012-06-19T10:41:00.000-04:00

Dear Food Blogger,

Can I offer you and your readers a special discount coupon for organic sesame butter?

While you are probably aware of the nutritional benefits of sesame butter, and despite the fact that the yummy nutty flavor has been in use for decades in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines, sesame butter is not yet common in America. I'm on a quest to change that.

If you reply positively, I will be happy to send you a customized introduction coupon with your site's name that would give your readers an exclusive 40% discount. I will also send materials and images to help you with writing a post.

If you are willing to give it a try yourself, the following coupon already gives you a 40% discount (for food writers only). Please keep this private. Once you agree to post on your site, I will send you a customized coupon for your readers.

Visit here: http://sesamebutter.com/?cgi=rd3

Use coupon: foodblog

(it works after entering the shipping address)

After a long quest for the perfect sesame butter, I decided to make it myself. This premium sesame butter is made from the highest quality organic sesame seeds grown in Ethiopia, crushed in a traditional method using a 90-years old millstone, and is free of nuts or any artificial additives. Healthy and delicious...!

So, what do you say – can I send you a customized coupon for your readers?

I will be looking forward to receiving your feedback.

All the Best,

Tomer Treves

http://SesameButter.com

Dear Clueless Product Pusher,

Thanks for taking the time to personalize your message to me.

Please do me a favor and keep your organic sesame butter. Your marketing effort to rebrand tahini as "sesame butter" feels as silly to me as does calling something like High Fructose Corn Syrup, "Corn Sugar." While I love to use tahini in many of the Mediterranean dishes that I make, trying to pass it off as something else does not sit well with me.

I am usually tempted to pass things along to my blog readers when it benefits them; however, I also keep no secrets from my readers either. If you are giving me a discount on a product, I will disclose it. And as for the offer of assistance in sending me "materials and images to help you with writing a post," I can assure you, were I to take you up on your offer, I'm pretty sure I could come up with plenty of words on my own to describe your product.

I have no problem with the notion of incorporating more tahini into the diet. Your impersonal approach, silly marketing rebrand, and rather shady "let's just keep this between us" modus operandi makes me give this opportunity a pass.

Sincerely,
Tom Noe
Exploring Food My Way

A Week In The Life At The Blue Door Cafe

2012-05-20T13:00:00.000-04:00

I love The Blue Door Cafe and Bakery.

Am I recognized when I walk through the front door? Yes. Am I given seating priority over other customers? Never. Do I ask for special treatment or go off menu when ordering? Nothing that I wouldn't do at any other restaurant. Do I think that the kitchen might take an extra second or two to make sure my plate of food is a stand-out dish both visually and in how it tastes? Absolutely.

Lest I set the bar too high so early in the review, let me bring some reality to the situation. I have been going on a fairly regular basis to Blue Door since they converted over from The Golden Goose just under a year ago. On the whole, the food is creative, very tasty, and fun. Have I ever gotten a bad plate of food -- something I would send back to the kitchen? No. Have I ordered items off the menu that weren't as stellar as others? Yes. It is a sad fact of life that not all dishes are created equal and while I've been knocked out of this world too many times to count with the food here, sometimes a dish can be cooked correctly and seasoned properly, but still only register a "meh" in the taste department.

So why do I love Blue Door so much? Mostly because of the commitment of every single person that works there to provide a positive experience, from the homemade breads and pastries, to the effort to use seasonal and local ingredients as much as possible, to the knowledgeable waitstaff, and to the kitchen team that not only continually strives to innovate new dishes on a daily basis, but also has the chops to be able to pull it off.

While the restaurant has a regular menu which changes very little, the true magic of this place is the daily "specials" menu, which tends to rotate definitely on a weekly basis, and quite often, on a daily one. This week, dishes on the specials menu centered on an Italian theme, some of which were of true Italian descent, others were a nod to an Italian tradition.

Shall we begin the journey with Wednesday, May 16th?

Many times I already know what I am going to order even before walking through the front door. This is because owner Michael Bruno does a great job of fairly regularly updating the status of the restaurant's Facebook page. He'll list out the daily specials for the following day so that customers have an idea of what to expect. Nine times out of ten, that status update will be what prompts me to come in the following day for breakfast or lunch.

So what was today's sirens' song? Fresh Pasta Carbonara:

Made with homemade egg noodles, fresh peas, shallots, Nueske's bacon, and Parmesan cheese, this creamy and salty concoction made my head swoon with delight. I am particularly fond of the fact that from it's very inception, Blue Door has championed the use of the deliciously smokey and salty Nueske bacon, which adds such great depth to any dish it appears in. The fresh peas were delicious and added little pops of sweetness to a pasta dish which could've easily landed on the salty side.

Not wanting me to miss out on the opportunity to try one of the kitchen's homemade meatballs, at the chef's request, my server also brought me one covered in the house marinara sauce:

This was one of the most tender meatballs I think I've ever eaten, probably due to the freshly ground bread crumbs that were added to help retain the meat's moisture. The marinara sauce had a nice acidity to it that complemented the fattiness of the meatball. On the menu, this meatball was intended for the "Not Just Any Spaghetti and Meatballs," also with homemade egg pasta. Had I not been so hot and bothered for the carbonara, I would've gladly ordered this in its place.

On Thursday, May 17th, I returned for lunch and decided this time to try the Italian Sausage Sandwich accompanied by a selection of Fresh Fruit:

Here's a slightly different angle:

Placed in a toasted housemade baguette roll, the Italian sausage was a little bit spicy, substantial, and delicious. Housemade marinara along with roasted peppers and onions also filled the roll and was finished off with melted cheese and a chiffonade of fresh basil. When the plate was first set down in front of me, I had to pause for a moment to consider my line of attack. While I'm sure some could unhinge their jaw and attempt to eat this like a normal sandwich, today I opted for knife and fork. Everything about this plate of food was delicious. And while the interior crumb of the baguette was nearly perfect, the only concern that I had was with the exterior. When toasting a baguette, it can get a bit too crusty for my dental work. The fresh fruit was an excellent complement to the savory sandwich.

When I stopped in on Friday, May 18th, I noticed that some of the specials had been reworked (like the Cannoli French Toast was now a Sicilian French Toast) and new items were listed where others had lived before:

I am ALWAYS up for a good burger and having never had one at Blue Door before, I decided to go with the Mafia Burger with a side of French Fries. Here was one angle:

and a different angle:

So what made this burger so special? For one, the ground beef was local Ohio beef that had been grass-fed. It arrived at the perfect medium-rare I had ordered it. Second, the pesto creme fraiche, organic roasted red peppers, and toasted ciabatta roll were all made in-house. As you can well imagine, the French Fries were hand-cut and fried to a proper crispy golden brown and delicious texture and flavor. While I had read the night before on Blue Door's Facebook page that the bun was going to be a seeded brioche, I was a little surprised that the burger actually came on a ciabatta roll.

If there was one gripe about the burger, it was the ciabatta roll. Don't misunderstand, gentle reader. It was impeccably fresh and had a wonderful crust and crumb. And it was right for the kitchen to split and toast the roll in an effort to avoid a soggy bottom bun from the juicy burger patty. But because of the nature of ciabatta, the crust was tougher to bite through. This meant that with every bite, the interior contents of the burger were being squished out the other end of the roll. A minor gripe to be sure, but when you're working at such an elevated level, every little consideration counts.

I mentioned it to Michael on my way out of the door and he concurred that ciabatta wasn't the best match for the burger, but that he just hadn't had time to get the brioche done that morning. Fair enough.

On Saturday, May 19th, I was completely stoked to see that Blue Door had received a shipment of ripe heirloom tomatoes. There are few pleasures in life as a really ripe tomato and I was excited to see what would appear on the specials menu for the day:

While there was a Salad Caprese on the menu:

I was thinking more along the lines of a sandwich. So, in a moment of foodie inspiration (or desperation, depending on your point of view), I decided to order the Salad Caprese and one of Blue Door's signature croissants, split and toasted on the flattop:

With salad and croissant in hand, I simply assembled the breakfast sandwich I had been envisioning all along:

I mean, how can you go wrong with fresh ripe tomatoes, fresh Ohio basil, fresh mozzarella cheese, 30-year-old balsamic vinegar and an incredibly buttery, flaky croissant? Truth be told that one croissant only used up about half of the salad's contents, so I had a lovely time finishing the remaining salad with my fork. For about a tenth of a second, I thought about ordering a second croissant to make an additional "sandwich," but decided to keep my butter quota in check for the meal. If you have the chance to try this for yourself, do it!

For my final visit, TODAY, I had arrived early enough to consider a breakfast dish instead of lunch. As such, I decided to give in to my sweet tooth:

Any time I order something sweet, I also try to order something to balance it out. In today's case, that would a cup of coffee from local, Akron-based coffee roaster Angel Falls:

Hot and bitter, this was a lovely way to start my meal and wake up in the morning.

The Sicilian French Toast had been teasing me most of the week and a comment from a Facebook friend finally pushed me over the edge:

The French Toast was made with housemade Challah bread, soaked in lemon, milk, cream, and eggs, which had then been griddled and then layered with a lemon pastry cream, topped with Creme Chantilly (aka fresh whipped cream), sprinkled with Vietnamese cinnamon, a chiffonade of fresh mint, fresh raspberries, and powdered sugar. I was surprised at how well the lemon and mint went together. Actually, the whole thing was delicious and while it wasn't the best French Toast I've had at Blue Door (that honor goes to the brandied peach French Toast), if you're looking to satisfy your sweet tooth, this would be the way to go.

Along with the sweet portion of my meal, I decided to add a bit of smokey saltiness with some of the Nueske applewood-smoked, thick-cut bacon:

Honestly, this is some of the best bacon I've ever eaten. It isn't inexpensive, but it is meat, hearty, rich, salty, and smokey all at the same time. I probably shouldn't have gone the extra step because I couldn't finish everything, but every time I taste this bacon, it takes me back to my youth when I would camp out with the Cub Scouts and we'd cook most of the food over an open fire.

So there we have it, gentle reader, an entire week's worth of Blue Door Cafe and Bakery.

Now, I will be the first to admit that Blue Door is not inexpensive. On a fairly regular basis, with tip and tax, each of the meals I wrote about above was anywhere from $15 to $20. Those wandering in thinking that Blue Door is the same old greasy spoon diner it used to be in one of its previous lives will be a bit shocked. In fact, I have seen people sit down, look at the menu, then at each other, get up and leave before ordering anything. Honestly, those aren't the kind of folks that Blue Door cater to anymore.

But if you are interested in nearly everything being made from scratch, local, organic, sustainable food being cooked and seasoned properly, and understand that quality ingredients cost money, then you really ought to check out Blue Door as soon as you can. Do note that while the outside door is now blue, the old sign for The Golden Goose is still standing out in front of the restaurant. That will change at some point, according to Michael, but it is worth remembering in case you are trying to locate the restaurant for the first time.

I've included lots of gorgeous pictures in this write-up from my past five visits (which open up extra large when you click on them), however, I have many, MANY more starting from the day they opened in on my Flickr account. If you'd like to see more pictures, click here. You can even start a slideshow to view them from beginning to end.

There is so much I didn't get to cover during these five visits. Gee, I guess I'll just have to pick another week in the future and repeat the experiment. And that will be fun for both of us!

Destination Italy at Lucca Restaurant

2012-04-29T17:20:00.000-04:00

Opening a restaurant is a daunting proposition. Were you to tell me that you wanted to open a high-end restaurant featuring local and sustainable products, I would assume you were talking about the Cleveland market, where clientele tend to be more aware of this kind of dining option. If instead, you told me that the restaurant in question was in Canton, Ohio, I'd have a tougher time believing you. Unfortunately, just having well-executed food isn't enough sometimes to ensure a restaurant's longevity. You also have to have patrons who are willing to pay for the privilege of a chef willing to go the extra steps to ensure that what is put in front of you represents both wholesomeness and seasonality.

This is exactly the angle chef Josh Schory has taken with his restaurant, Lucca. Located on the corner of Cleveland Ave and 4th Street NE, by 7 PM on a Saturday night, it was abuzz with activity, each and every table filled with hungry patrons. But before I get ahead of myself, gentle reader, first some pertinent information. Lucca was located at 228 4th Street NW, Canton, OH 44702 and can be reached at 330-456-2534. Parking was streetside or in a parking lot just north of the restaurant. The restaurant has both a website and a Facebook fan page.

After being seated, the hostess handed me several menus. First, the regular menu:

And the daily specials menu:

As I began to look over both menus deciding which bits to pick from each, my server arrived at my table with freshly sliced crusty bread and herb-infused olive oil:

The bread, baked at a local Canton bakery, had a wonderfully chewy crust and soft crumb. The flavor of the bread plain was delicious on its own -- paired with the herbaceous peppery bite of the olive oil, it made a wonderful way to start out the meal.

I decided to begin my meal with the Carpaccio Insalata:

Traditionally, carpaccio is incredibly thin slices of pounded raw beef tenderloin that is dressed with various toppings. Chef Schory riffed on the original dish and served thinly-sliced, cured Bresaola as the base. He dressed it lightly with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon, a small green salad and a balsamic gastrique. Salty, sweet, and tart sensations danced over my tongue as I rolled each bite around in my mouth. Although the dish sounds heavy, it was surprisingly light and a perfect segue into my next course.

I was happy to see that many of the pastas came as both full entree-sized portions as well as half-sized portions. After reading over the many choices, I settled on a half portion of the Buccatini with Gorgonzola Dolce:

Accompanying the cheese sauce was pancetta, spinach, parsnips, and a hint of truffle oil. When my server sat the plate down in front of me, I inhaled deeply and was rewarded with a heady earthiness of the truffle. Since buccatini is a hollow pasta, the long strands had not only been coated in the sexy cheese sauce, but also soaked it up into the hollow cavity inside of each noodle. The pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente and the cheese sauce had a wonderful balance between the strong blue cheese flavor and sweetness. Neither overpowered the other. Essentially, this was an adult macaroni and cheese dish, but a far more elevated version than I've had before.

I have but two criticisms for this course. First, the pasta was oversauced. In true Italian cooking, the sauce is considered a condiment (thus, it being called condimento) and should essentially coat the pasta lightly and evenly. That being said, most Americans prefer their pasta drowned in sauce, so if this is your preference, you'll be pleased with the dish as it came from the kitchen.

Second, and this is less of a criticism, and more of a suggestion, the cutlery brought out to consume this course included a butter knife, a fork, and a spoon. While there is a great controversy over whether pasta should be rolled onto the tines of a fork using the spoon as a base, when I asked my server why he brought the butter knife, he answered, "In case you wanted to cut the pasta." As a general rule, pasta should neither be broken before cooking nor cut afterwards.

The first two savory courses behind me, I eagerly awaited the arrival of my entree for the evening, the Sole En Papillote which was being offered on today's specials menu:

The sole was perfectly steamed and incredibly moist and tender. As I took bite after bite, the flesh simply melted in my mouth. One of the benefits of cooking fish in parchment paper (en papillote) is that you end up with fish that is almost always perfectly cooked. The filet of sole came atop salty sea beans and frenched local organic baby carrots. Additionally, fingerling potatoes that had been roasted separately were perched to the side of the fish. Honestly, everything was delicious, but the seasoning on the fish was a bit uneven. If you combined some of the sea beans with the fish, it worked well, but the fish itself could've used a bit more seasoning.

I wasn't sure if I was going to have dessert or not, so I asked my server to recite the list for me. While there were six or seven options, the only two that were made in house were the creme brulee and the fresh fruit parfait. I have nothing against a good creme brulee, but it seems that every restaurant anymore offers creme brulee (and chocolate lava cake, too). Thus that left me with the Fresh Fruit Parfait:

Composed of macerated strawberries and blueberries, the mini-martini glass filled with fruit had been topped with a Grand Marnier-infused freshly whipped cream and garnished with some shaved chocolate. To complement the "mini-ness" of the glass, the accompanying spoon was designed for hands far more delicate than my own. All that said, this was the perfect dessert to finish up the meal. It was only slightly sweet and paired well with the cup of decaffeinated coffee I also ordered.

All said and done, my check with tax came to just under $48 (I only had water to drink). Was this expensive? I suppose that depends on what you normally spend on dinner. I would think that Lucca isn't a place that someone goes to on a regular basis and has a four-course meal. However, most of the full-sized pasta entrees are at $20 or below and you could certainly make a meal out of that, while perhaps splitting an appetizer with a dining partner.

One final note about my experience tonight at Lucca's. Dining out by yourself has its advantages -- primarily, people watching. At several points during the meal, in addition to my server and the hostess making sure I was enjoying the meal, the chef went from table to table asking people if they were enjoying their meal. As it turns out, even though I don't believe I had ever met Josh Schory before, he actually recognized me from the work I've done here at Exploring Food My Way. That being said, others around me were having as equally a pleasurable meal as I was, so I don't believe I received treatment that would've compromised this review.

Do I recommend Lucca? Absolutely. Will I be going back soon? You'd better believe it. I left a business card with my server at the conclusion of the meal and he obviously passed it along to the chef as I got an email not fifteen minutes later thanking me for my visit and telling me about some of the culinary techniques he is trying to work into the cuisine (sous vide and the antigriddle to name two). There are few chefs I have come across where I'd walk in, sit down, and simply ask for the "Chef's Whim." Lucca is a place where I can see myself doing exactly that.

Noticing The Color Purple

2012-04-02T08:00:00.004-04:00

As part of my college coursework, I was asked at one point to read Alice Walker's The Color Purple. An amazing read all on its own, I have always remembered certain quotes, even decades after reading the book and watching the subsequent movie. Most memorable to me was when Shug and Celia are walking down the road and Shug says,

"I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it. "

It took me a while to figure out what that statement meant. My take on the phrase these days is that it is a real shame when you find something so simple, so perfect, so delicate and don't take the time to enjoy and appreciate it fully, it is wasted. It doesn't live up to its potential. I'm here today to tell you that I've found the color purple and it lives in a North Hill restaurant called Ranchero's Taqueria.

Ranchero's Taqueria was located at 286 East Cuyahoga Falls Avenue, Akron, OH 44310 and can be reached at 330-510-2110. Sadly, their web presence is almost completely off the grid. Parking was along the street, or more likely, the fairly large parking lot across from the restaurant.

Speaking of which, here was the front entrance:

What started out as a small operation has grown to include the space next to the original restaurant with a number of tables at which you can sit and enjoy your meal. After being seated, my server left me with the menu:

In addition to the menu, a small whiteboard hung on the wall by the beverage cooler and listed the daily specials. While the daily special during my first visit wasn't anything particularly interesting, I did note that Saturday was "mole" day and Sunday was "menudo" day.

As with every other Mexican restaurant, Ranchero's was quick to deliver fresh corn tortilla chips and salsa:

During my second visit, my chips were accompanied by both a mild and a spicy version of salsa:

The chips were fresh and tasty, but nothing remarkable. The salsa, however, wasn't your traditional tomato, onion, jalapeno, lime, and cilantro. There was something else in the salsa that danced on my tongue -- a slight fruity sweetness. Not so much that it threw off the balance of flavors, but it was completely noticeable. It really added a nice brightness and uniqueness to Ranchero's version of this ubiquitous condiment. It made me think of peach or mango.

The menu was comprised of more traditional and less traditional dishes. If what you seek is your standard complement of burritos and enchiladas, smothered in tons of cheese, you can probably find it without too much trouble. And I'm okay with that because in addition to those more Americanized dishes, you can also find this:

This was the Al Pastor and Carnitas Burrito combination with refried beans and Mexican rice. Seeing that the carnitas tacos also came dressed with nopales (aka cactus pads), I asked if my burrito could have the same and the kitchen happily complied. While the burritos did have finely shredded cheese on top of them, they also came sauced with a creamy queso bianca salsa. The sauce added a wonderful creaminess to each bite.

And speaking of bite, the al pastor burrito had a wonderful combination of savory, sweet and sour (from the pineapple). The carnitas burrito was also a real winner with the cactus salad adding to the overall flavor of the burrito. I think I finished both burritos in record time as they were so delicious. I'll talk about the beans and rice in another minute or so.

Of course, this write-up would not be complete without me going back for a second visit to check out the mole. Even as I sat down at the table and the waiter handed me the menu, I knew what I wanted. When my server came back to take my order, I simply said, "Mole." He then asked if I wanted flour tortillas with my meal or the more authentic corn variety. I asked for corn. During my first visit, my dinner had come out of the kitchen fairly quickly. This time, it took a few minutes. I suppose the anticipation was what had me checking my watch time and again.

Finally, my server approached my table with this incredible plate of goodness:

At every other restaurant in which I've ordered mole, the chicken has come pre-shredded. Adorned simply with freshly chopped cilantro, I thought Ranchero's was a thing of beauty to behold. While there are many different kinds of Mexican moles, one thing to note is that they are usually long-simmered complex sauces comprised of garlic, onions, chiles, spices, and seasonings. In addition to my chicken mole, my server also brought a foil wrapper with freshly steamed corn tortillas,

and a separate plate filled with more of the refried beans and Mexican rice:

I gingerly began to shred the chicken from the bones and discovered that the leg meat was hot, juicy, and incredibly tender. After separating meat from bone, I tossed the chicken in the sauce, grabbed two of the corn tortillas and ran a line of sauced chicken from one side to the other before folding it up. From first bite to last, I was in pure heaven. The chicken was luscious and soft, the tortillas added a small hit of sweetness and the mole added everything else.

As I let the flavors linger on my tongue, individual components of the sauce revealed themselves, like peeling layers of paint off a well-worn wall. There was heat from the chile, citrus notes from coriander seeds, earthiness from cumin, bitterness from chocolate (I'm guessing chocolate), pungency from garlic, and a whole host of other flavors -- each of which perfectly balanced the others, none of which took the lead. Was the mole spicy? My sinuses registered yes, but just barely.

As I savored the flavors, I felt the love that the chef put into this dish and I immediately realized I was seeing the color purple. After greedily chowing down on that first corn tortilla, I took my spoon, pooled some of the sauce in it and brought it to my lips. As I cleaned the spoon of its contents, I closed my eyes and savored the peeling layers all over again. Pure bliss.

I finished up the corn tortillas and the chicken mole before turning to the beans and rice. I appreciated the fact that the beans weren't smothered in melted queso fresco. I also thought that while both components were tasty and fresh, they weren't particularly interesting. Perhaps the beans and rice were there as supporting characters to the burritos and the chicken mole. I'm okay with that. While there were salt and pepper shakers on every table during both visits, everything I've had so far has been seasoned perfectly coming straight from the kitchen.

What amazed me more than the food was that as I sat there last Saturday waiting for my dinner to arrive that the restaurant wasn't completely packed. There were perhaps five tables filled when I arrived and only two when I left. Ranchero's Taqueria may be one of the best kept secrets in Akron right now. I suppose I am doing myself a disservice by telling you, gentle reader, about this hidden gem. But if you are a fan of authentic flavors, of delicious food, of food that will make you thankful that you have taste buds, you owe it to yourself to check this restaurant out.

I should mention that the cost of experiencing heaven in your mouth is roughly $10. I'll be back for the mole often and the menudo soon.

Lenten Project III: Fish Schedule 3-23-12

2012-03-23T09:45:00.001-04:00

Here are the final two locations that I will be visiting for the 2012 Lenten Fish Fry season. First up is the overall winner from the first year I started doing this project, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church:

St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church
8894 Ohio Rt. 14
Streetsboro, OH 44241
(330) 626-3424
4:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Cafe in Stow
4591 Darrow Road
Stow, OH 44224
(330) 688-0200
11:00 AM - 9:30 PM

I plan on being at St. Joan of Arc at roughly 5:15 PM tonight and the Cafe in Stow at around 6:30 PM. Please feel free to join me for either dinner if you are feeling up to it. It has been such a strange Lenten fish fry season with the weather being so warm. In the past two years, I've had to cancel at least one Friday because of impassable roads and inclement weather.

Lenten Project III: Murphy's Law Can Kiss My $$$

2012-03-16T18:00:00.003-04:00

Generally speaking, I am a non-religious man. Spiritual, perhaps, but religious, no. I am also not particularly superstitious. I may not walk under ladders in fear of something falling on me, but I have no problem taking the elevator to the thirteenth floor or opening an umbrella indoors in order to let the fabric dry off after a good soaking in the rain. I seldom read my horoscope and when I do, I always think to myself that the scribblings are so generalized that they really could apply to anyone.

However, after days like today, I have to think some force is out there keeping an eye on me and every once in a while, a perfect storm brews in such a way that my life is suddenly made miserable, at least temporarily. Let me walk you through such an example, gentle reader. While the only person truly in pain is yours truly, perhaps my tale of woe will give you some entertainment in this mad cap world we live in.

The setup actually began back in January, earlier this year. I happen to be a substitute handbell ringer in my mother's church choir. It was an activity I did growing up and throughout high school. After graduating high school, I didn't pick up another handbell for at least fifteen years. I've alternated being a member and a substitute for the last couple of years. To make a long story shorter, every couple of years, various handbell ringing groups get together for ... well, for lack of a better word, a "conference" where we all play the same music, just en masse. Back in January, I agreed to pay my $60 to be a part of this year's festival since it will be in Akron this weekend.

Fast forward to this past Wednesday evening. I had shown up early to my weekly camera club meeting and as this was a competition week, the room needed to be transformed to accommodate the night's activities. One of the other members asked me to help bring the lightbox down from the second floor. As I slowly helped to lower the cumbersome (but surprisingly light) box down step by step, I had an odd sensation in my upper right thigh. I didn't think much about it at the time as it was simply a quick tinge of pain, but that was all it took to strain the muscle.

As I walked back to my car after the camera club meeting, I noticed a slight change in my gait. It wasn't until I woke up Thursday morning that I really felt it. "Eh," I thought, "it'll work itself out as I start walking." It sort of did and by the time I went out to grab some lunch, I was doing better.

Last night, I attended the final handbell choir rehearsal for the upcoming festival. Unfortunately, even with the occasional aid of a wooden stool upon which to sit, I essentially stood for about ninety minutes during rehearsal. When I went to leave, I felt a noticeable amount of pain with each step. Hoping that another night's sleep might help, I returned home, plopped my butt down on a chair (which helps immensely) until it was time to go to bed.

I woke up this morning, hopeful that my time spent lacking verticality would pay off with decreased soreness and pain. Nope, no such luck. I'm okay when I sit, but when I stand and/or try to walk, it's quite obvious that I am in pain. Not crippling pain, but enough pain that I kind of hobble along. Since the festival starts tonight, I knew I wasn't going to be able to get in any Friday night Lenten fish fries in.

But then an idea struck me. Just down the road from where I work is a small complex of buildings housing a local chain that does fresh fish fries and an Acme Super Market right next door to it. If I take my camera with me, I could do a review of the fried fish sandwich at On Tap Bar and Grille and then stop in at Acme and pick up something to help me deal with the pain (as there will be a *LOT* of standing at this festival). So, I made sure to grab my camera bag along with my keys and wallet and headed out to my car.

As I pulled into the very packed parking lot that On Tap and Acme share, I found a spot a tad closer to Acme. Not my preference, but on Friday at 12:30 pm for lunch, it was the only spot available. I decided to do lunch first. On Tap Bar and Grille (one of four locations in the area) was located at 3997 Medina Road, Montrose, OH 44333 and can be reached at 330-668-1116. Here was a shot of the front of the restaurant:

Once inside, I asked to be seated in the lounge area. I find that in general, there are fewer children sitting on that side and it is a more relaxed environment as the tables give you a chance to sit comfortably. While I was handed a menu, I knew what I wanted already and placed my order with my server. The room was pretty packed and I knew that they only did the freshly beer-battered fish on Fridays until they ran out. Fortunately, this was the only thing that was working for me today as they still had fish in the kitchen. After only about fifteen minutes, my sandwich arrived at the table:

The sandwich, available year round on Fridays comes with a standard array of sides, some of which came at no additional expense (Fresh-cut fries, applesauce, cole slaw) and some for an additional $1.00 (sweet potato fries, onion rings, pasta shells and cheese, cottage cheese). Having had all of the sides at some point or another, I knew how much I really don't care for most of the fried items. I would normally get the applesauce as my side, but decided in the "macaroni and cheese" spirit of Lent that I would try On Tap's "Shells and Cheese."

Today's fish sandwich was fried nicely -- the exterior was crispy and not greasy. However, the actual fish, scrod, was a tad on the dry side. That being said, a little of the (not-so-homemade) tartar sauce and a bit of ketchup and I was good to go. The bun has always been a bit uninspired, neither having a deliciousness of its own or imbued by the kitchen staff by say, buttering and toasting the roll first. The tartar sauce had a nice balance between sweetness and acidity. The shredded lettuce and March tomatoes were more or less pointless and I removed them before eating the sandwich.

I could tell that the shells and cheese had been plated first and allowed to sit while the fish was finishing in the fryer as the top of the shells were cold and a bit dried out while the shells at the bottom of the dish were lusciously creamy and still warm. Other than that little bit of discontentment, the shells and cheese were actually quite good and I highly recommend them for the extra $1.

My lunch finished, I paid my check (roughly $9 before tip) and wandered back out into the lovely, sunny Friday air. I dropped my camera bag off on my way into Acme, managed to find a bottle of Bayer and made my way to the front of the superstore to pay for my purchase. It wasn't until I got back to my car that Murphy, poised to strike this entire time, delivered his fatal blow. My car refused to start.

It wasn't the case of a dead battery. I've had plenty of those over the course of my driving history. The starter was trying to turn over the engine, but it just wasn't happening. After assuring myself it wasn't the battery, my thoughts drifted to the starter motor. Well, if it WAS the starter, would I even get any reaction at all when I turned the key in the ignition switch? I tried on and off for the next ten minutes to get my car started with no luck. Beginning to see that I might have to accept defeat and actually call AAA, I first called the Firestone store in the mall located across the street from my workplace to see if they could take it. "Sure, have it towed here."

Next I called AAA where a very helpful woman took down my information and told me that as soon as they arranged for a tow service, they would call me back. Fearing that I might now need a ride to the beginning and ending of tonight's festival plans, I called my mother, who as the group's intrepid organizer, began to escalate her voice in full-on panic attack mode. Fortunately, since I was already in Akron and the festival was in Akron, arrangements could be made for someone to pick me up. As I waited for AAA to call me back, I had time to think about the fact that the car more than likely wouldn't be ready today. And if not, I will have to either have someone pick me up on their way in, or just skip the festival until I can pick the car up. Not exactly what I was hoping for when I signed on back in January.

Half an hour went by with no word from AAA, but at that moment, I noticed a tow truck slowly and methodically driving up and down the car aisles. I got out of my car and flagged him down. I told the driver what was going on and he tried to start the car himself. Rrr, rrr, rrr, rrr. Nothing. "Yeah, it's probably your fuel pump. My guess would be $270 for parts and another $250 for labor." Great. Another $500 put into a car I was only planning on keeping for perhaps a few more months.

He quickly mounted my car onto the metal bars of his tow truck and off we went to drop it off at the Firestone store. When we arrived, I hopped out of the car (painfully, I might add), grabbed my camera bag, and a folder I had snatched from my car just as the tow truck driver arrived at the scene. It had all of the information I needed for this weekend's festival. After dropping off my keys at the front desk, I gave the clerk my cellphone number and suddenly realized the impossibility of the task now set in front of me.

Because of an injury I sustained while helping out at camera club and exacerbated by standing for ninety minutes at the handbell choir practice in preparation for this weekend's festival, I had aggravated the pulled muscle in my right thigh to the point where I had a painful walk and noticeably different gait. I had stopped at Acme to pick up some Bayer to help with the pain, only to leave it in the car, now nicely buoyed into the air at Firestone. I had also decided that since the festival wouldn't allow me the opportunity to attend any Lenten fish fry dinners tonight, I further decided to lug along my twenty pound bag of camera gear in order to get a shot of the food for this blog post.

To get back to my office, all I had to do was walk through the mall to the front entrance, cross the main street and walk up to the front door. However, what would take pain-free and unencumbered people ten minutes to do took me roughly half an hour of painful after painful step. Now, I sit here at the festival, waiting for a phone call from Firestone to tell me that it in fact WAS the fuel pump and oh, by the way, might I have $500 laying around with which to pay for the repairs?

I have a feeling if I didn't have a good sense of humor, I'd be a lot more depressed.

So, there you have it for this week's Lenten fish fry. The good news is that On Tap does a reasonably decent fish fry from fresh fish on Friday's, even outside of Lent. If you're going to get a side, get a non-fried one, even at the premium price if necessary. I do still have reviews from several places last Friday to publish, but I will get those up in the next few days.

I sincerely hope that Murphy got it ALL out of his system for now. I don't think I could withstand another round.

Here are the current rankings so far from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate.

1. Ancient Order of the Hibernians (Akron): Fish, A; Macaroni and Cheese, B-; Cole Slaw, C-
2. On Tap Bar and Grille (Montrose, OH): Fish, B+, Macaroni and Cheese, A-
3. Fat Casual BBQ (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Hushpuppies, B; Cole Slaw, A
4. American Legion Post 281 (Cuyahoga Falls): Fish, B; Cole Slaw, C+; Green Beans, C; Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, B-

Lenten Project III: Fish Schedule 3-9-12

2012-03-09T12:58:00.000-05:00

It has been a CRAZY week at work. I know I've already posted Part I of my second week visits already. I promise to get Part II up tonight or tomorrow morning.

That being said, here are the two fish fries that I will be attending tonight. Please feel free to come along if you'd like.

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (5 to 7 PM)
755 South Cleveland Avenue
Mogadore, OH 44260
330-628-1333

Harbor Inn / Lighthouse Bar & Grill (5 to 9 PM)
562 Portage Lakes Drive
Coventry Township, OH 44319
330-644-1664

I plan on hitting up St. Nicholas right around 5 PM and the Harbor Inn at 6:30 PM. I've been told that homemade pierogi await me at both, so I'm excited to see what I find during tonight's adventure.

Lenten Project III: Week 2, Part 1 of 2

2012-03-05T22:45:00.002-05:00

It seems like every year since I started the Lenten Project back in 2010, there has been a Friday with inclement weather that has either jeopardized or threatened to jeopardize the schedule of fish fries I set before myself. The first year, a mountainous amount of snow fell between Thursday and Friday and caused St. Mary's Catholic Church in Hudson to cancel their fish fry entirely. This led me to visit Duffy's Restaurant in its place (as the restaurant was at the end of the street where I lived at the time) and try their rather disastrous attempt at a fish fry. I still have nightmares about the macaroni and cheese served at Duffy's.

Fortunately, this year the winter weather has been much tamer. That being said, as "fried fish hour" approached last Friday night, storms started rolling through the area. Other than a few monsoon-like moments between the two fish fries on the slate for tonight, the weather cooperated for the most part. The first visit of the evening was to another organization with which I am familiar as several of my friends are members, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, located at 2000 Brown Street, Akron, OH 44319. They are operating their Lenten fish fry from 5 PM to 7 PM until March 30.

Here was a shot of the front of the building:

Parking was all around the building and a small unpaved (and muddy) lot behind the building. Since I had arrived precisely at 5 PM, parking wasn't a problem. While there was a door on the right side of the building that said, "Entrance," this was actually to the bar area. The correct door to walk through (unless you want to walk through the bar) is the double set of doors at the front entrance. Once inside, you'll queue up into a line and wait your turn to order.

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the menu being served at the Hibernians. However, it was pretty straightforward. For $6, you could get an AYCE (all you can eat) fried whitefish dinner with two sides. For $7, you could get either a piece of baked or fried cod and two sides. For $10, you could get two pieces of either baked or fried cod with two sides. Knowing that I still had another fish fry to attend tonight, I opted for the single piece of fried cod. Of the five or six side dishes from which to choose, I went with cole slaw and macaroni and cheese to complete my meal.

Having paid, I was handed a yellow meal ticket. The main hall had been set up with long rectangular tables and chairs. Since it was just myself for the visit, I went up to the bar to procure a beverage (there was a bar area with a bar, but there was also a bar in the main dining hall, too). The Hibernians does sell beer, wine, and spirits (and quite cheaply, I might add), but in order to be eligible to purchase them, you must show a membership card. Fortunately, water and soft drinks require no such identification. I grabbed my glass of water and headed toward the rear of the room.

I sat down and within a few moments, a woman approached my table and asked for my ticket. She returned a short time later with a basket of bread and pats of butter:

The bread was fresh, the pats of butter cold. That being said, this was typical American sandwich bread. Nothing remarkable here.

In an interesting twist, my server brought out the side dishes before the fried fish. Here was a shot of the Cole Slaw:

I originally asked my server if the sides were homemade. She kind of squirmed and said that she really didn't know. As soon as I tasted the cole slaw, I had the answer I needed: this was DEFINITELY homemade. Sadly, in this case, being homemade was not a good thing. While I could tell just by looking at the cole slaw that it wasn't mayonnaise based (which is fine), bite after bite of this incredibly bland dish of shredded vegetables left me wondering if the person who made this actually tasted it before serving it. In addition to lack of salt, there was an incredible lack of acidity. It was like eating shredded crunchy vegetables with a barely acidulated water dressing it.

I moved onto the Macaroni and Cheese:

Having not been particularly impressed with the cole slaw, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this rendition of the American classic had excellent cheese flavor and was creamy without being soupy. The downside was that it had been cooked nearly within an inch of its life and the phrase al dente had long left the building by this point. Remember that I had shown up at 5 PM on the dot for dinner. Imagine how much worse the texture would be on the macaroni and cheese that wasn't served until 6:45 PM. If you like the texture on your pasta to be near mush, this might just be up your alley.

Having just finished assessing the other components of my meal tonight, the star finally arrived:

I'll have to admit, with the two sides being served ahead of time, this lone piece of fried fish looked a little lonely sitting on the plate next to a cup of tartar sauce, adorned by a single wedge of lemon. Visually, I could tell that the fish had been fried very well -- no signs of oil either absorbed by the paper plate or when I put pressure on the crust to cut it with my fork. As I cut into the fish, I was rewarded with rising steam. Unadorned by either lemon or tartar sauce, I tried the first bite of fish and was pleased as punch to find that it was delicious. It was salted well, was juicy and overall tasted like what fish should taste like. It wasn't the juiciest nor the hottest piece of fish I've ever eaten, but for the crap shoot that I collectively call the Lenten Project, this was an excellent piece of fried fish.

I also tried the fish paired with a squeeze of lemon and a bit of tartar sauce. For those that enjoy tartar sauce, it was an excellent pairing with the fish. I doubt the tartar sauce was homemade, but in all fairness, I didn't ask. After finishing with my meal, I packed up my camera gear and headed back out into the wet Friday evening, glad that I had about an hour before the next stop on my pescetarian tour.

I would definitely go back to the Ancient Order of Hibernians for another fish fry, but I would definitely avoid the cole slaw the next time.

Here are the current rankings so far from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate.

1. Ancient Order of the Hibernians (Akron): Fish, A; Macaroni and Cheese, B-; Cole Slaw, C-
2. Fat Casual BBQ (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Hushpuppies, B; Cole Slaw, A
3. American Legion Post 281 (Cuyahoga Falls): Fish, B; Cole Slaw, C+; Green Beans, C; Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, B-

Having A Meal At The Mothership

2012-03-04T13:15:00.002-05:00

Even though Bricco Restaurant opened in downtown Akron in 2003, my first visit ever made to this local chain was at their Cleveland location back in 2008, located across from Playhouse Square. Since then, I've eaten numerous times at Cafe Bricco and Pub Bricco, but never managed in the nine years since the original opened to eat at the Akron location. Last Thursday I decided to complete the cycle -- sometimes it takes a while to go full circle.

The original Bricco Restaurant was located in downtown Akron at 1 West Exchange Street, Akron, OH 44308 and can be reached at 330-475-1600. Valet parking was available, but I opted to park on the street about a quarter mile down Exchange Street and walk to the restaurant. Since it was after 6 PM, there was no cost to park on the street.

I worried slightly that a walk-in for dinner on a Thursday night might have meant a bit of a wait. While the restaurant was fairly busy when I arrived, fortunately, there were a smattering of tables that had yet to be sat. The host left me with the regular dinner menu as well as wine and cocktail menus to examine:

If you examine the menu a little more closely, you'll catch one of my pet peeves of menu writing: capitalization of the key words in the descriptions. This annoys me on two levels. First, it breaks up the reading flow by making the eye stop on certain words (which I suppose is the point). But, it also strikes me as a bit foolhardy to think that you consider your customers not capable of deciphering your menu, so they have to pre-digest it for you.

After placing my order, my server brought out the bread service:

As I unfolded the napkin, I was rewarded to find multiple slices of thickly cut white bread. I decide to make use of my bread plate:

While the bread was fresh and tasty, it wasn't exceptional. The crust had a nice chew to it, but the crumb wasn't particularly remarkable. The butter had been whipped and sweetened slightly and spread easily on the bread.

As I was dining solo tonight, I wanted to experience as much of the menu as possible without going overboard. For my appetizer, I decided to go with the Fried Risotto Balls in Marinara:

While more classically known as arancini, tonight's risotto balls were filled with a mixture of smoked mozzarella and pancetta. Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, these were quite good and I found myself enjoying the contrast of the fattiness of the smoked cheese against the acidity of the tomato sauce. The only criticism I could really levy against this dish was that the pancetta was a bit few and far between.

In keeping along the lines of trying as much off the menu as I could, I was pleased to see that all of the salads were offered at both full-sized and half-sized portions. I decided to follow up my arancini with the smaller portion of the Baby Spinach Salad:

I am a firm believer that a properly "dressed" salad is one in which all of the leaves get a thin, even coating of the dressing. This is why whenever I dine in a restaurant where I think this won't be the case, I ask for the dressing on the side. At restaurants of Bricco's caliber, however, I trust that the individual running the garde manger station (i.e., "cold line") will properly dress the salad leaves. If you take a closer look at the picture above, you'll notice the same thing I did -- namely that the baby spinach leaves were dressed very unevenly. In fact, most of the leaves toward the front and right side weren't even dressed at all. Not a good start.

I tasted individual components of the dish before building a forkful with each flavor and texture. While the slight sweetness from the maple bacon vinaigrette came through, none of the smoke or porky flavor from the bacon was evident in my mouthful. The white cheddar was a nice touch, but the overwhelming sweetness from the candied walnuts dominated the other flavors. The roasted squash didn't really bring a lot of flavor to the party, but it did add a surprising crunch that one normally wouldn't associated with a vegetable that had been roasted. Overall, I didn't particularly enjoy this course of my meal.

For my main course, I decided to go with the Pan-Seared Scallops and Grilled Shrimp:

Served with a apple, bacon, and bacon risotto, the plate also contained tender haricot verts and a buerre blanc. The plating of the dish was a bit one-sided (as you can see from the picture above) and struck me as a tad odd. I would have thought that distributing the scallops and shrimp around the risotto might have been a better choice.

As for flavors, I started with the scallops. As I sliced into the beautifully caramelized exterior of the first scallop, I was rewarded with a lovely translucent interior. The scallops were perfectly seasoned and cooked. The grilled shrimp were also excellently seasoned, but had just a hint of chewiness to them, indicating that they were overcooked just slightly. The haricot verts were seasoned well and had both a softness and crispness to them. The risotto, this time around in its original more liquid form, was creamy, soft, and delicious. There was one bite where it came across as too salty, but it must have been a bite where there was a lot of bacon on the fork as I couldn't replicate it. The buerre blanc, while pairing nicely with the seafood, didn't really add that much to the rest of the dish.

When my server mentioned dessert to me, I was a bit wary about having anything too heavy or rich. Even though I had asked my server to box up half of my appetizer and entree, I was still feeling pretty full. When I indicated that I'd at least be willing to look at the dessert menu, my server proceeded to rattle off a list of tired and predictable stand-ins from decades ago: two flavors of NY-style cheesecake, creme brulee, and the classic, warm chocolate lava cake. All of these were made in-house. The two frozen items, a peach-mange gelato and a sorbet (whose flavor I cannot remember now) were made by an outside local company, Country Parlour.

Figuring that a nice gelato and a cup of decaf might make an enjoyable way to end the meal, I decided on taking that route. While waiting for my dessert to arrive, I pulled up the website for Country Parlour and then, curious to see what other flavors of gelato they had, I navigated to the page containing their flavors. I discovered two VERY interesting things. First, their webpage of flavors didn't list gelato of any kind ... Italian ice, yes, gelato, no. The second was that regardless of the type of frozen dessert, none of them were of the peach-mango variety. Perhaps Bricco was having Country Parlour make something special that only they served.

Right around this time, my dessert and coffee arrived:

While I was impressed with the quantity of the serving, visually, this looked unimpressive. I was expecting several nicely rounded balls of gelato, instead I received a bowl full of frozen wedges. One of the hallmarks of fruit-based gelati is their intensity of flavor. The peach flavor was evident upon taking my first bite, but the intensity wasn't there. Because peach and mango share similar flavor profiles, it is easy to see why pairing them would be a good idea. The mango was imperceptible at the start of the mouthful, and was only barely there at the finish, due to the slight acidic flavor of the mango. In the end, it was still a nice way to end a meal, if not fully meeting my expectations.

When the final check came, I wasn't surprised that my total, with tax, came to a little bit north of $41. While I would say this was on the moderately expensive side of the dining options available, there were enough positive points regarding tonight's dinner that I would still recommend them. Other than the arancini I received for my appetizer course, the one standout criticism I would say concerned me the most was attention to the fine details -- salads that aren't completely dressed and plates that look unbalanced are unimpressive at the level which Bricco seeks to reside. In the end, I think Bricco adds a nice, upscale Italian food restaurant to the downtown Akron dining scene, but it would do them wise to pay attention to every plate that comes out of the kitchen.

Lenten Project III: Tonight's Fish Schedule

2012-03-02T10:40:00.001-05:00

Tonight's Fried Fish schedule for those who might be interested is as follows:

Ancient Order of Hibernians (5 - 7 PM through March 30th)
2000 Brown Street
Akron, OH 44319
330-724-2080

Bialy's at the Lake(s) (11 AM - 9 PM, also on Wednesdays)
433 Portage Lakes Drive
Coventry Township, OH 44319
330-644-7177

I plan on being at the Hibernians at 5 PM sharp when they first open for business and at Bialy's at 6:30 PM. Last Friday I was fortunate enough to have readers attend both locations. If you'd like to join me for either dinner, you are cordially invited. Perhaps this week I can find that 'A+' rated piece of fried fish.

Lenten Project III: Week 1, Part 2 of 2

2012-03-01T12:00:00.002-05:00

After a somewhat successful attempt at getting a great piece of fried fish at my first destination of the evening, my second fried fish dinner involved a stop out and see the guys at Fat Casual BBQ in Macedonia. I missed their Lenten fish fry last year because at the time, I was still only reviewing non-commerical (i.e., not restaurants) organizations. Given that I greatly enjoy their regular menu (and have written about them twice already), they were a shoe-in for a stop on the search for fabulous fried fish.

Fat Casual BBQ was located at 223 East Highland Road, Macedonia, OH 44056 and can be reached at 330-748-4690. Parking was in the lot surrounding the building. Here was a shot of the front of the building:

I arrived slightly after 6:15 PM to find one of the three large tables filled with regulars, the communal table only slightly filled and the only other table in the room, a six-seater, completely open. Knowing that I was being joined by several guests, I claimed the empty table and waited for my tablemates to arrive. Shortly after everyone arrived, we headed up to the counter by the front door to place our orders.

Fat Casual belongs to a category of restaurants known as "fast casual." This means that you order and pay for your food up front and when your order is ready, they will run it out to the table for you. Here was a shot of tonight's special Lenten menu:

Normally, I might have tried the clam chowder in addition to ordering the fried fish dinner, but because this was my second meal of the evening, I decided to exercise a bit of restraint (so says the man consuming two fried fish dinners in one evening). After ordering my dinner, it wasn't ten minutes before this arrived at my table:

This was a Cornmeal-dusted Fried Catfish with Cajun Hushpuppies, Cole Slaw, Tartar Sauce and a squeeze of lemon. From a technique perspective, both the fried fish and hushpuppies were cooked perfectly -- crispy on the outside without being at all greasy. While I normally expect to find finely chopped onions in my hushpuppies, Fat Casual had decided to put a twist on the standard recipe and went a different route with some added cajun seasoning. The texture of the hushpuppies was nice, but the cajun seasoning left me a little disappointed. The catfish was wonderfully moist and I found it amazing that these thin catfish filets which had been thawed from frozen and dusted before frying were still moist and juicy.

The two issues I had with the catfish were that the seasoning in the coating was a bit aggressive. Whereas my earlier fish in the evening had been quite bland, the catfish was close to being too salty. The second issue I had with the catfish was the catfish itself. While I am in no way doubting the quality of the fish, catfish in general has a very unique flavor profile that you either like or your don't. This particular catfish had a very pronounced fishiness to it that may be off-putting to those normally averse to fishy-tasting fish.

I had absolutely no issues with the homemade cole slaw. It was crunchy, creamy, slightly acidic, and barely sweet. It hit on multiple flavor and textural combinations and was (and has always been) one of my more favorite versions of this side dish. The tartar sauce, also homemade, had a better balance between tart, salty, and sweet that my earlier dinner's version did not. One of the co-owners, Walter, suggested that I also try the catfish with the house BBQ sauce, which I did. It was an interesting combination, fried fish and BBQ sauce, but not one that I found worked great together.

While the execution in the preparation of the dishes was flawless, some of the flavors and seasonings were a tad off tonight. Would I go back for another fish fry at Fat Casual? With catfish on the menu, probably not. Were they to switch to a different kind of fish, absolutely. And, of course, I will always return for their mainstay, the barbecued meats and side dishes. That stuff is killer good.

Here are the current rankings so far from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate.

1. Fat Casual BBQ (Macedonia): Fish, B-; Hushpuppies, B; Cole Slaw, A
2. American Legion Post 281 (Cuyahoga Falls): Fish, B; Cole Slaw, C+; Green Beans, C; Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, B-

Lenten Project III: Week 1, Part 1 of 2

2012-02-28T12:35:00.001-05:00

For my first stop on this third year of the Lenten Project, I was happy to be returning to a place where I've gotten pretty good fish fries in the past, The American Legion Post 281 located at 1601 Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. This wasn't my first Friday fish fry at the Legion as they offer these fish dinners starting in the fall through the winter and finish up in the spring. While the fish has never been spectacular, it has always been in the sort of "very good" category and I was looking to a nice piece of fried fish to kick off this year's search for good fried fish.

I pulled into the left parking lot around 5:00 PM to find a nearly packed lot. Here was what the front of the Legion looked like:

After parking, I approached the rear of the building and the entrance to the hall was located at the very center of the wall. Once inside the door, I found myself in the outer room, lined with tables, chairs, and patrons. Moving towards the inner room, I found a bar, more tables, chairs, and patrons, and the kitchen. Here was a shot of tonight's menu:

Here was how the system worked at the Legion. There was a person sitting at a table by the menu on the wall. After giving her my order, my name, and paying for it, she submits the written ticket to the kitchen and gives a carbon yellow copy. Keep this ticket as you will need to submit it when they bring your food to the table. Between the end of the bar and the spot where I ordered my food were several other service tables. One contained such items as napkins, silverware, coffee, etc. The other contained a variety of "side" dishes. There were three salads from which you can choose (you can have one, two, or three), slices of white bread and pats of butter, and other pre-dispensed condiments (such as tartar sauce).

After building up my sides, I was fortunate to find a four-top table open up and cleaned off. I should also mention that drinks were my own responsibility at the bar. After unpacking my camera get and getting it ready, all I had to do was wait ten minutes or so before the food runner called out my name. As she approached my table, I retrieved the yellow ticket from my shirt pocket and we switched ticket for plate. Here was a shot of my dinner tonight:

This was fried whitefish, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. There were other forms of potatoes I could've ordered instead of mashed, and they were available sans gravy, but the green beans were the vegetable of the evening. Let's talk about the star of the plate first. The batter was light, crunchy and grease-free. The fish was moist and tender. The seasoning was nowhere to be found. One could easily make the assertion that since most of the people attending these fish dinners were seniors, perhaps the kitchen was just being prudent and allowing people to season their own food, given the presence of salt and pepper shakers on each table.

One could make that assertion until trying either the mashed potatoes and gravy or the green beans, veritable salt bombs that were straight from the box (or can). While the mashed potatoes and gravy weren't bad, they were also clearly not homemade. I tried the green beans and images of every bad school cafeteria vegetable came rushing to my brain. If you like this flavor, you'll certainly be happy with the results. I personally don't like the taste of canned green beans.

For one of my side salads, I decided on a small dish of the cole slaw:

It was food service, but was decent enough and I appreciated the slight horseradish kick to it.

The other items I had retrieved before sitting down were a slice of the white bread and a small plastic ramekin of pre-portioned tartar sauce:

The bread was ... well, plain old white bread. I did try the tartar sauce with the fish and found it to be a bit too sweet for my taste. It did add some seasoning to the largely unsalted fish, but the sweetness it added didn't help the cause. Fortunately, there was ketchup on the table and I found that because of the acidity and salt in the ketchup, it made a much better pairing with the fried fish.

My meal finished, I asked for a "to go" box and crated up my other large fish filet and cole slaw (I still had one more meal to review tonight and I didn't want to completely fill up) and packed away my camera gear. As I got up to leave, I heard a "Tom?" from behind me. At first I didn't respond, but when the voice repeated the question, I turned to discover that two of my blog readers had decided to come to tonight's dinner and were seated at the table directly next to mine. We chatted for just a minute or two before I thanked them for coming tonight and made my way out into the dimming light.

Would I go back the American Legion again? Absolutely. For all of the negatives I identified above, the notion of fish cooked to order that was juicy and fresh, even if not seasoned properly, would be enough of a draw to get me to return. The fact that the Legion does these fish fries every Friday, even outside of Lent, is a big plus, too.

Here are the current rankings so far from best overall to worst overall as well as an individual grade for each of the major elements on the plate.

1. American Legion Post 281 (Cuyahoga Falls): Fish, B; Coleslaw, C+; Green Beans, C; Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, B-

Lenten Project III: The Search For Fabulous Fried Fish

2012-02-23T22:10:00.001-05:00

It is upon us once again, gentle reader, the season of Lent. And with the season of Lent comes the third annual installment of the Lenten Project. While I am not a particularly religious person, I do look forward every year to a good fish fry. Sadly, and if last year was proof of this, it isn't easy finding a good fish fry. So I've decided to take the fish by the tail and try and improve my odds.

Two years ago, I came up with the idea to use the list of churches and organizations published in the Akron Beacon Journal to determine which churches and organizations to visit during the surprisingly short fish fry season. And because of my love of pierogi, the first year I used the criteria of selecting only those establishments that served both fried fish and pierogi. This yielded me nine different places to visit over the course of five weeks. That first year, I found an overall winner and a runner up where the pierogi were mundane, but the fish was great.

The second year I did the Lenten Project, I decided not to visit any of the organizations from the previous year that were in the lower half of the standings. I again used the criteria of fried fish and pierogi as the determinant for which establishments to try. Sadly, last year's crop were mediocre at best and really, even though there was a church that finished on top, it wasn't a knock-out winner. To top that, several of the organizations I ended up visiting two years in a row not only didn't improve, but some actually got worse. As Joshua so eloquently stated in the 1983 movie Wargames, "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."

Bound and determined to get a nice piece of fried fish THIS time around, when Lisa Abraham published her annual list of commercial and non-commercial fish fries, I immediately realized that the list needed to be in a more computer friendly form so that I can add notes and sort more easily. Thus, I transcribed the entire list into a Google spreadsheet. It is free for anyone to view and no software needs to be installed, but obviously I've set it up so that only I can update it.

Since none of the descriptions in her article listed whether the fish being used was fresh or fell off the back of a Sysco food truck, I took it upon myself to call each and every organization on both lists. What shocked me (and might go a long way in explaining why last year's fish fries turned out so poorly) was that virtually none of the organizations were using fresh fish. Of the forty-three non-commercial organizations listed in the Beacon article, only TWO were using fresh fish. Pierogi fared a little better, percentage-wise. Of the seven establishments offering pieorgi, only two were homemade and one of those was only being offered this Friday, February 24th -- so if you miss it, too bad.

Now, gentle reader, before I get a deluge of emails and comments saying that you can fry up a perfectly nice piece of fish from frozen, I agree. You can. But a good majority of these organizations are getting the fish pre-battered and frozen and simply frying them from that state. There just didn't seem to be an emphasis in the past on putting out a piece of fried fish that was moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside and not greasy. Thus, save a few exceptions where I know that care has been taken to make sure the fish will be at its best, I have decided to only include places where the fish is fresh.

However, given that only two non-commercial establishments are serving fresh, how will I be able to come up with eight to ten places to try during the next five Fridays? I've decided that I am going to open it up to the commercial (e.g., restaurants) locations listed in the Beacon article, too. Instead of telling you where NOT to go as in the past two years, I want to tell you where you SHOULD go. I want you to have options. Just to be sure, I also called (actually, I'm still in the process of calling) all of the restaurants on the list to determine which places I will visit.

Because I haven't quite finished calling all of the restaurants yet, here is the list of places I will be going for a fried fish dinner during the first Friday of the Lenten Project III, Friday, February 24th:

American Legion Post 281 (4:30 to 7 p.m.)
1601 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221
330-920-9379

Fat Casual BBQ (5:00 to 8:00 p.m.)
223 East Highland Road, Macedonia, OH 44056
330-748-4690

I'm planning on hitting up the American Legion right at about 5:00 PM and then venturing my way up to Fat Casual between 6:30 and 6:45 PM. If you'd care to join me for either location, you are cordially invited, no reservations required. Once you arrive, you surely cannot miss me, I'll be the guy sitting by himself with a massively-sized camera on a small tabletop tripod. It's hard to miss, really.

So, with that, the Lenten Project III: The Search For Fabulous Fried Fish officially kicks off for 2012. After finishing up my research on the final twenty-ish restaurants, I will post the remainder of my fish-eating schedule next week. If Lent has a more spiritual meaning for you, I wish you the best during this next forty days. For me, I'm looking forward to some good fried fish!

Preview of Dante Boccuzzi's The DC Pasta Company

2012-02-19T09:10:00.002-05:00

Dante Boccuzzi seems to be on a roll. Having established his very popular restaurant in Tremont, Restaurant Dante, he added Ginko to that list, and starting two nights ago, his latest venture, The DC Pasta Company. The newest restaurant, a collaboration between Dante and Carmela del Busso, was designed around the concepts of affordability and sharing a lovely meal with the other members at your table. The DC Pasta Company was located at 12214 Pearl Road, Strongsville, OH 44149 and can be reached at (440) 238-8500. Parking was in front of the restaurant and the rear of the complex.

My friend and partner in crime for this evening's dinner was Edsel, who not only made the reservation for tonight's dinner, but was also almost immediately recognized by the general manager, John Williams, as he stopped by our table to check on us and introduce himself. While having the food paparazzi suddenly show up at your restaurant can often unnerve the staff, tonight's complement seemed to handle it in stride.

Having arrived slightly earlier than my table companion, I had the chance to check out and photograph the one page menu:

I immediately liked three aspects of DC Pasta's menu. First, it all fit on one page. Second, even though it fit on one page, it had plenty of choices. Third, this menu was definitely designed around affordability. As a patron, you could go a more traditional appetizer - salad - entree route, or if you were feeling a bit more adventurous, you could build a meal entirely on small plates and get to try a greater number of tastes. I'm sure that you can already guess which route that Edsel and I took tonight, gentle reader.

To start out our meal, we decided to order a trio of Le Cose Marinate (i.e. "marinated stuff"):

DC Pasta was offering marinated items that originate both from Italy and are made in house. Tonight we choose the carciofi (artichokes), melanzane (eggplant) and peperoni picante (peppers). While this was the first I've had artichokes where they didn't have that canned flavor, they also didn't have a lot of other flavor either. They were so-so. The peppers, however, really stepped up the game and by the time I tried the eggplant, I was blown away. Of the three, the eggplant was not only delicious, but also paired well with some of the cured meats we ordered.

Next up was the sole appetizer that we ordered, the Fritto di Mare:

This dish was a combined trio of fried shrimp, calamari, and smelt. Honestly, what caught both my eye and Edsel's were the smelt. Smelt is a small oily fish that is by far more popular in Italian cuisine than in American. Always on the lookout for something unique and interesting, when I mentioned possibly ordering this dish to Edsel, he quickly agreed. Served along with the fried seafood was a lemon-caper-olive dipping sauce that most closely resembled a sauce remoulade. The seafood was fried perfectly with a crispy exterior and tender interior. While it could've used just a touch more seasoning after coming out of the fryer, the sauce remoulade made up for this slight shortcoming. This dish is highly recommended.

Along with our marinated vegetables and fried seafood, we decided to add a trio of house-cured meats, or Salumi Affetati. First up was a plate of the Coppa Dolce and Sopressata:

On a second plate was some additional Sopressata and the Mortadella:

All three were delicious, but the coppa dolce and the mortadella really stood out. Each plate was also adorned by several gressini (e.g., breadsticks), which was a very nice touch and added something with a bit of crunch to balance the softness of the meats. With the exception of the Prosciutto de Parma, all of the salumi listed on the menu were being cured at Restaurant Dante. If you are a cured meat aficionado, you'll want to pay special attention to this part of DC Pasta's menu.

Our appetizer portion of the meal now complete, something familiar to Restaurant Dante appeared on our table after ordering our second round of food, the bread service:

Our server dropped off some fresh bread served in a reshaped vinyl record accompanied by a rosemary bean dip. While delicious, I was kind of curious why this was served in the middle of the meal instead of at the beginning. Regardless, Edsel and I scarfed it down with contentment.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the key points of DC Pasta's menu was the ability to customize the dining experience to suit many different moods. All of the pastas were offered as a taste ($4), an appetizer ($8) or as a full-sized entree ($15). Continuing along our sharing theme for the evening, we decided to round out our meal with a pasta tasting. First up was the Bucatini Con Salsa Di Agnello:

The bucatini had been infused with lovely tomato-braised lamb and fresh chopped mint. Of the four pasta tastes we would enjoy tonight, this was by far the stand-out and the one I would have no reservations about ordering as a full-size entree. The lamb was tender and the mint added a lovely bit of contrast that was at the same time unusual and delicious.

Our second pasta was the Lumache e Polipo:

The pasta was dressed with toasted garlic, octopus, snails, broccoli, parsley, and chile flakes. Of the four pastas, this was definitely the most spicy, nothing obnoxious, but the heat still hitting you at the back of the throat after that first bite. The octopus and snails were lovely, having a bit of chew to them without that "rubber band" effect that can happen if overcooked.

The third pasta taste of the evening was the Linguine Alla Carbonara Con Tartufo:

Having had a very similar dish at Restaurant Dante, both Edsel and I knew what we were in for and this dish didn't disappoint. Dressed with a barely cooked egg on top, the first thing Edsel did after we snapped our pictures was to break the egg open and allow the golden, runny yolk to ooze out over the linguine, enriching an already rich dish. While this pasta was indeed delicious, I didn't really pick up too much on the earthy truffle notes that I was expecting. Even without the truffle, this was still a dish worth seeking out.

Our final pasta taste of the evening was the rather unusual Pizzoccheri Con Patate:

Consisting of a buckwheat noodle, this vegetarian dish was also complemented with cabbage, potatoes and Fontina cheese. Interestingly, both the noodles and the potatoes had a rather firm texture to them. One might be inclined to think that they were undercooked, but they weren't. While tasty, by the time I got to this last dish, I was ready to cry "Uncle!" and as such, managed to just get in a taste of it before throwing in the towel.

When the check finally came, Edsel and I were shocked that between the two of us, without wine, we had only managed to spend $44, including tax. For a mere $22 per person, we had managed to try a trio of marinated vegetables, a trio of cured meats, a seafood appetizer, and four different tastes of pasta. If DC Pasta was going for affordability and value, they certainly achieved it. Edsel had also decided to accompany his meal with two glasses of wine, priced at a very reasonable $5 each.

While technically this "review" is a preview since we went on the day after their big opening, there were no service or kitchen glitches during our visit. In fact, our visit was on par with a restaurant that had been open for several months. I can safely say that I really enjoyed my experience tonight at The DC Pasta Company and Edsel expressed more or less the same opinion at the end of the meal. I am still not a fan of the location of this restaurant, but I can definitely recommend that you take the time to find and check them out. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Preview of Amber Li's Restaurant

2012-02-08T21:26:00.009-05:00

New restaurants often have soft openings before opening to the general public. Surrounded by family and friends, every layer of hospitality can be tested -- the kitchen, the front of house, and the management -- in an environment that simulates real-world dinner service, but with people who might be a little more understanding if the experience isn't quite yet perfect. But, of course, to feed people (often for free) and to pay employees isn't a small inconvenient expense. And even with a soft opening, it can still take a restaurant a month or two to really start humming with efficiency.

I knew going into tonight's dinner that Amber Li's Restaurant had only been open for a few days. This meant that there would likely be a few delays and perhaps the wrong soup being brought to the table, but I've developed a keen eye in spotting actual problems versus opening day jitters. Having learned of them from Lisa Abraham's weekly Food Notes section in the Akron Beacon Journal, I decided that a visit was warranted since she wrote that the menu consisted of, " traditional Chinese fare, sushi, hibachi-grilled and Japanese dishes." It was the traditional Chinese fare that caught my eye.

After work today, I hopped in the car and headed to 4195 Massillon Road, Green, OH 44685. The location of the restaurant was inside the Green Plaza, at the corner of Steese and Massillon Roads. There was ample parking in the common lot. If you wish to contact the restaurant, Amber Li's can be reached at 330-899-8856.

Here was a shot of the front entrance of Amber Li's:

Once inside the main door, I noticed the sushi bar located in the rear left of the restaurant with the remainder of the space broken up into tables and booths. I was surprised to see the restaurant only about one-third full as I figured a mention in Lisa's weekly food column would have packed the customers in. I was seated almost immediately, but noticed within moments of sitting down at my table that it had a severe wobble. I thought that perhaps as I settled in that I may have knocked something loose used to level it, but upon checking the floor, I found nothing. I decided to put up with the annoying wobble.

As I prepped my camera for the upcoming pictures, I began to people watch. It became immediately clear who the owner was, Amber Hazel. A native from China, she was the very stressed person running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, her diction being very harsh on one side of the kitchen door and much softer on the other. I sat quietly at my table for about ten minutes before anyone acknowledged me and asked if I would like something to drink. It took another ten minutes before my waitress finally stopped at my table to take my order. Twenty minutes is a bit too long for a restaurant that is only one-third full, so I'll have to chalk that one up to opening week jitters.

Fortunately, when I was sat, the hostess left me with the menu to peruse:

Sadly, the "traditional Chinese fare" for which I was hoping to dine upon tonight ended up being the same Americanized Chinese cuisine served at every other Chinese restaurant in Akron. While I can appreciate Americanized Chinese cuisine from time to time, I find it to be rather boring and often times way too sweet. Never heard of Americanized Chinese cuisine, gentle reader? General Tsao's (aka Tso's) Chicken is a perfect example. This is a dish that doesn't exist in China and has been fine tuned for the American palate over decades since its introduction.

All that said, I have come across a few really excellent General Tsao's Chicken dishes over the years and I figured I would give theirs a try to see if Amber Li's version was at least worth seeking out. I was happy to see the menu indicated that all entrees came with either steamed rice or a California roll. When my server finally stopped to take my order, I asked about this unusual choice as I had never seen it before.

"No, it's just the steamed rice that is available. Amber changed her mind about offering a sushi roll."

That was too bad since I was actually going to order the California roll in place of my steamed rice. C'est la vie.

So, in order to try a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B, here is what I actually ordered:

* Shrimp Eggroll
* Miso Soup
* General Tsao's Chicken, extra spicy
* Steamed Rice

Here was what came out of the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. First up was the General Tsao's Chicken with Steamed Broccoli:

And a plate of what I had originally thought was a California roll, but was actually a Spicy Shrimp roll:

No Shrimp Eggroll and no Miso Soup. As for the appearance of the sushi, I figured that Amber had okayed the substitution of the California roll for the steamed rice since I had asked my server about it. Assuming that the eggroll and the soup would be coming out of the kitchen shortly, I decided to go ahead and dig in to what was already in front of me.

I started with the sushi. As I ate my first piece, several thoughts went through my head. First, the California roll was missing the avocado. All I could taste were cucumber and what I thought was imitation crab. Second, California rolls don't usually have a spicy sauce associated with them. I figured that might just be a personal touch at Amber Li's. Third, and most surprising, the sushi rice was utterly and thoroughly bland. I even dissected one of the six pieces on the plate and tried the rice just by itself. Yup, steamed white rice, nothing added.

Why is this point so important? Su-shi literally translates to "vinegared rice." Sushi rice is made by adding rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt to the rice after it is cooked. This gives the rice a bit of acidity as well as seasoning from the salt. Soy sauce applied at the table would not have helped in this case. Curiously, while dissecting the sushi piece, I also noticed that the imitation crab looked an awful lot like a piece of shrimp. That's because it was! What I thought had been my accompanying California roll for my General Tsao's was actually my server thinking I had asked for a Spicy Shrimp roll instead of a Shrimp Eggroll. D'oh! The final check confirmed my suspicions.

On to the General Tsao's Chicken. It actually wasn't all that bad. The chicken was fried until crispy; the sauce was a bit oily and sweet and could've used a bit of acid to balance the other flavors. The steamed broccoli was a nice touch, but the carrots and green peppers the menu description promised were nowhere to be found. I had asked for the dish to be extra spicy and the kitchen's response was simply to add more whole chili peppers to the dish. Not being a complete moron, I moved the whole peppers to the side of the dish. Overall, I would say this dish was about a medium spicy and not particularly incendiary.

Having finished my sushi and chicken, I realized that nothing else was going to come out of the kitchen for me. After asking for and receiving the check, I finally understood what happened with the Shrimp Eggroll / Spicy Shrimp roll mistake; however, I had still been charged for the Miso Soup. I pointed the mistake out to my server, who quickly removed it from the bill. I could've contested the Spicy Shrimp roll mistake (as the sushi was $6 and the eggroll that I had ordered was only $2), since I didn't correct the error when I first detected it, I decided to pay for it. The check, with tax, came to just under $18.

While there were some components from tonight's meal that I enjoyed, there was a LOT that needs to be improved upon. Quickly. If Amber Li's is running this inefficiently and with this many mistakes a month from now, customers will tire quickly and decide to spend their dining dollars elsewhere. While my personal preference in Chinese cuisine tends more towards the authentic side, if Americanized Chinese cuisine is your bag, once Amber Li's gets it right, this might be the place for you. Since I can get these flavors much closer to home, other than visiting again in order to re-review it, I personally wouldn't make the drive from Akron.

Finding Southern Hospitality At SOHO

2011-12-21T06:30:00.013-05:00

Nolan Konkoski first entered my gastronomic world view earlier this year at the Dinner In The Dark Special Edition event that was held to raise money for a scholarship in memory of Matthew Finkel. At the time, SOHO Kitchen & Bar was just an idea that had yet to come to fruition. Regardless, Nolan's concept of "Southern Hospitality" food was warmly embraced by the crowd that evening and many of my fellow food enthusiasts were greatly looking forward to the addition of this unique concept to the Cleveland dining scene.

Fast forward a few months later when I learned that not only was the Cuban-inspired Lelolai closing, but also SOHO had found its home at the same location as the failed bakery and cafe. While there was still no immediate opening date scheduled, I did manage to keep it simmering on a rear burner, ready to descend upon the restaurant once the doors officially opened for business. Which was exactly what happened several nights ago on a Friday night.

Not knowing what kind of crowd to expect on a Friday night in a recently opened restaurant, I called at around 5:30 PM to see if it would be possible to make a reservation for the same night. I was a little surprised that it was no problem at all to get a four-top table at either 7:30 or 8:00 PM -- my choice. I went with 7:30 PM and actually left my real last name to hold the reservation. I normally try to avoid reservations in order to not tip off the restaurant that I'm coming in for a review, but since there would be four of us tonight, I wanted the security of knowing there would be a spot ready for us when we arrived.

SOHO was located at 1889 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113 and can be contacted at 216-298-9090. Parking was wherever you can find it and fortunately since our four-top came in one car, we needed to only find a single parking spot. SOHO currently does not have valet (at least they didn't that night).

Once inside, the hostess promptly seated us at a table by the front window and left us with the menu to browse:

I liked the fact that the entire menu fit onto one side of the page (the rear was cocktails and other beverages). The menu seemed nicely divided into several sections with each grouping having five or six selections. It didn't feel overwhelming, but at the same time, there was a decent number of choices to fit any appetite.

After our server introduced herself and took our initial drink and appetizer orders, a complimentary basket of fresh biscuits appeared at our table:

Paired with the warm biscuits was a scoup salted honey butter as well as peach preserves. One of the diners at my table noted that the biscuits had a "floury" gritty mouthfeel to them. As far as I could tell, however, the biscuits were cooked all the way through. While I could see his point, it didn't particularly bother me too much. The salted honey butter wasn't particularly noteworthy, but the peach preserves were fruity and just a bit sweet, but not too much.

While the four of us at the table knew we would be sharing tastes all around, we each ordered an appetizer to start. I ordered the Crawfish and Crab Fritters:

I'm not sure why these were called "fritters" as they weren't battered before frying. I suppose we are all guilty of casually using words in a way that can be deceptive, but what was put in front of me were crab cakes, pure and simple. They were placed atop a spicy slaw and then drizzled with both a green onion aioli as well as a blended pepper coulis.

I liked the slight spice to the slaw. I disliked the raw red onion flavor -- it was too strong and overpowered the dish. The crab cakes were just the tiniest bit overcooked, but had good flavor and worked well with the sauces on the plate. The caramelization on the cakes added a depth and intensity to the crab.

My compatriot across the table ordered the Low and Slow Lamb Belly:

Interestingly, the lamb was incredibly mild and didn't have the gamey flavor that lamb often exudes. The finished protein had been topped with collard greens and Benne seeds (aka sesame seeds). As can be expected from the belly of any animal, it was fatty and unctuous, but not over the top. The lamb was very flavorful and the collard greens on top added a brightness to an otherwise heavy dish.

The third appetizer we ordered was truly a southern staple, Pimento Cheese:

Served with homemade BBQ potato chips, this was the clear winner so far (not that the others had been bad). The chips alone was absolutely fantastic and all of us agreed that they were dangerously addictive. I have to admit that I've never had pimento cheese before, but SOHO's version was nicely balanced between the small cheese curds and lots of tasty cheesy flavor. I was a little apprehensive about how much pimento cheese would safely transfer on the very thin chips, but there were no breakages from plate to mouth.

Our appetizers now finished, we moved on to the entrees. First up was my entree, the Smothered Pork Chops:

Served with jalapeno hushpuppies, baby broccoli, and a rich brown gravy, this was a substantial dish. When my server suggested that the kitchen preferred to cook the pork medium, I was in complete agreement. While I will concede that the restaurant was too dark to tell if the interior of the chops were pink, I can tell you that the meat was rather tough and chewy. Not leather-like, but not particularly pleasant either. The hushpuppies were tasty, but a bit overfried and dried out. The gravy, again being tasty, was a bit one-note and a mixture of too thin in spots (which I am guessing came from juices coming out of the pork) and too thick in others. This dish was decent.

My dining compatriot across from me ordered the daily special, the St. Louis-style Ribs:

Accompanying his full pound of heavily spice-rubbed ribs was a potato salad. While I didn't have a chance to try the potato salad, my friend did share a rib bone with me. The meat was hot, but also a bit dry and the rub was very intense, to the point where it dominated my palate and the pork flavor was a bit lost.

The clear entree winner tonight was the Shrimp and Grits that the person to the right of me ordered:

Photo used with permission by Edsel Little. Original located here.

Sadly, I didn't take a picture of it at the time, but fortunately, my friend Edsel did. The shrimp were HUGE and cooked very well. The grits were creamy, corny, and seasoned nicely. As you can see from the picture above, the dish came with asparagus and mushrooms and added a nice complementary flavor. All of us agreed that this was the standout dish tonight.

When it came time for dessert, the four of us decided to split one. Here was the dessert menu for the evening:

There weren't a whole lot of choices on the dessert menu, but having just opened recently, I'm willing to concede that SOHO might want to start small and work their way up. We collectively decided to split the Crispy Beignets:

Of course, when I think of beignets, the first thing to come to mind are the light, fluffy, pillow-like treats served at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. While tonight's version was similarly covered in powdered sugar, sadly the comparison between the two versions ends there. While still warm, these had been overfried and were a bit dry and lacked the tenderness I was hoping to find. The blackberry jam was a nice choice for a dip, but there were still smalls bits of blackberry seeds that had survived the straining process. This gave the jam a grainy mouthfeel for which I didn't particularly care.

I would like to mention that the service was very good. Our server was knowledgeable, prompt, and did a good job keeping us up to date on our order throughout the meal. One of my tablemates didn't care for the first cocktail she received and our server wasted no time in whisking it away and bringing her something else to replace it. As far as the service goes, SOHO gets a resounding recommendation.

Overall, however, for a meal that was over $40 with tip and tax, I was a tad disappointed. Of the four of us at the table tonight, one doesn't feel the need to ever return and the other three of us (me, included), felt that the food was just average tonight. I've heard wonderful things about the food, and I'm hoping that tonight was just a fluke. That being said, based on the strength of the meal we had tonight, I'm going to marginally give you a recommendation to check it out for yourself. I am looking forward, however, to returning for another meal at some point in the future to see if SOHO has managed to work out the kinks.

Dinner In The Dark - Noodlecat!

2011-12-15T06:30:00.020-05:00

Holy moly! I just realized that I haven't written a blog entry about a Dinner In The Dark charity event since April earlier this year. That means that five of these fantastic dinners have come and gone (one month was canceled and another month was skipped due to low attendance) since I have mentioned this wonderful Cleveland-based organization seeking to not only bring together some of northeast Ohio's best chefs, but also help a local charitable cause in the process. While one of the founding members, Ellis Cooley (who was the chef at AMP 150), has left the Cleveland area to return to his home in Florida, he remains a part of the group along with co-founders Brian Okin and Jeff Jarrett (who interestingly enough now presides as chef at AMP 150). The trio has also recently given their website a face lift to feature events, news, bios on the participating chefs, and the pictures that yours truly has taken at prior dinners.

Tonight's dinner was held at Noodlecat, Jonathon Sawyer's recently opened Japanese and American noodle house mashup. This time around, the dinner was being held to benefit Michael Cantu, a Brecksville young man who earlier this year was involved in a gymnastics accident that left him in a wheelchair with many months of hospital stays.

Since the dinner was on Monday night, parking was a breeze. Since there were no downtown events happening that night, the valet next to Lola Bistro on East 4th was only $8 and the walk from the valet to the front of Noodlecat took all of five minutes. For those unfamiliar with the location of Noodlecat, it is just west of the House of Blues on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland.

Once inside the restaurant, my friend Tami and I were quickly shown to our empty table, having arrived prior to the others in our dining party. I quickly got out the necessary camera gear for tonight's shindig and started to get set up. Here was a shot of the front of the menu:

While I know you haven't seen that menu in some time, gentle reader, a lot of the same players involved now are those that have been with the group since the beginning. Probably the one major addition to those sponsoring the event is Fat Casual BBQ, who graciously provided the staff meal for those involved in pulling off this event.

Flipping the menu over, the back contained the usual list of chefs and symbols cryptically suggesting what each course would be:

All were pretty straightforward except for the guy in the lederhosen for the dessert course. Knowing that Cory Barrett used to be the pastry chef for Lola Bistro, we knew that whatever it turned out to be, it would certainly be very creative and tasty.

Having finished examining the menu, Tami and I turned out attention to the platter of sliced bread sitting in the middle of the table:

While most DITD events have started with an amuse bouche, we couldn't figure out if this was a pre-amuse or this was the main event. It turned out that the bread with herbed olive oil was either the amuse or perhaps just a pre-dinner nibble and there was no official amuse. Either way, mix tasty bread with tasty oil and my mouth was definitely ready for what was to come next.

To go along with our pre-dinner nibble, Joe Deluca and Tobin Northrup sent out a cocktail called Winter Eve Warmer:

Served hot, this mulled wine had all of the warming spices from the Thanksgiving and Christmas season infused into it. There was just enough in the glass to give you a warm feeling inside while the first course made its way into the dining room.

Speaking of which, the first course was Chris Hodgson's (from Dim and Den Sum, Hodge Podge, and the soon-to-be opened Hodge's) and was a play on a "Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich":

The patty consisted of a combination of sous vide and ground chicken thighs mixed with foie gras, seared on the flat top. It was served on a toasted bun with a waterlily leaf, roasted jalapeno and orange blossom aioli and a sliced grape tomato. When assembled, this was quite the mouthful, but a tasty mouthful at that. The foie gras had done its job of adding lots of moisture to the patty and when taking bite after bite, it was imperative to keep the slider over the plate, lest you wear the juice. The sandwich also had a very subtle spice, which was enjoyed by everyone sitting at my table.

The second course came to us from Ben Hsu (from Sushi 86):

The sushi "sandwich," as Chef Hsu put it, was actually seared Albacore tuna sushi done in an Osaka style presentation (where the sushi is made by pressing it into a box), Ghost Chile aioli, shredded daikon radish, wakame jelly, celery leaf, and scallions to garnish. I had never tried Ghost Chiles before, but I do know they are the hottest chile peppers on the planet. I was intrigued to see how well the chef had controlled the heat.

I took a bite with a little bit of each component in the dish and my mouth was rewarded with culinary bliss. Chef Hsu completely knocked this out of the ballpark. The fish was tender, perfectly seared on just the exterior. The Ghost Chile aioli was creamy with just a hint of spice, the wakame jelly added a bit of seaweed flavor and the gelatin helped to cool off the spiciness from the sauce. This was absolutely delicious. I would have been a very happy man with four more courses of the exact same dish.

Fortunately, for me, more delectable goodness was on its way. Specifically, the third course from Brian Goodman (of Greenhouse Tavern fame):

Jonathon Sawyer has been prepping himself to serve a meal at the James Beard house in the near future. He and Brian turned to Richard Olney's Souffle a la Swissesse to accomplish their task. The cheese souffle was cooked well on the outside and managed to stay tender, moist, and steaming on the inside. The souffle was nestled in a bowl of pureed mushrooms and chestnuts and was garnished with fresh thyme. This was truly an umami "bomb," if you will, with the flavors of mushroom, thyme, and cheese predominating. It was also incredibly good and more than one of us at the table wished it wasn't so verboten to lick the bowl in a public restaurant.

Normally at this point in the meal, an intermezzo is served to clear the palate from the previous courses and to prepare the palate to receive the final dishes in the meal. While an intermezzo is usually something slightly sweet and acidic (like sorbet), in sticking with the theme of Noodlecat, a plate of pickled vegetables appeared at our table for us to share:

Starting at twelve o'clock on the plate, you have pickled beets, pickled turnips, pickled pumpkin rind, pickled radishes and the small ramekin in the middle held kimchee, that wonderful pungent and spicy fermented cabbage that Koreans contributed to the global culinary scene. Each was good, but I particularly liked the pickled turnips because they had a nice balance between the acidity of the vinegar and a natural sweetness.

The fourth course was presented to us by Scott Kuhn (from Washington Place Bistro & Inn):

The scallop had been encrusted with dried porcini powder before being seared to a beautiful medium-rare. The scallop was soft and tender and a delight to eat, although mine was a touch on the aggressively seasoned side. That being said, the Israeli couscous that was served with the scallop was a bit underseasoned, so perhaps they were meant to be eaten together. Having only one type of mushroom on this plate was definitely not enough, so in addition to the porcini, sauteed Chanterelle mushrooms made an appearance as well as impossibly-thin shaved black truffles.

For our final savory course, Brian Reilly (from Noodlecat) gave us a soul-satisfying Japanese noodle dish with a twist:

This was the more traditional Japanese component of tonight's fifth course -- fresh Ohio City Pasta udon in a kombu broth with Enoki mushrooms, softened kombu, and scallions.

The American twist came to us in a Chinese take-out box:

Inside was a battered and fried halibut with nori on a stick -- Americans love anything fried on a stick after all -- sitting on top of micro-greens. After combining the two components, I ended up with this:

By the time we were served this course, many at my table were ready to cry "Uncle!" because we were so full. Some ate a little, some ate it all, I ate about half. I ate all of the crispy and juicy halibut, which was cooked to perfection. The pasta served tonight was a little bit flatter than regular udon and after much debate amongst my tablemates, a table-hopping Jonathon Sawyer finally put it to rest by asserting that it was indeed a form of udon. The noodles were tender while still retaining a bit of toothsomeness. The broth was characteristically Japanese, light with great depth of flavor. Overall, this was a lovely dish, even if I didn't finish it.

Our final taste of the evening came from Cory Barrett, former pastry chef at Lola Bistro and now executive chef:

It turned out that the gentleman in lederhosen on the menu actually referred to a citrus Bavarian cream on top of an almond spongecake all topped with a white chocolate plaquette. Also on the plate was a lime curd, Mardarin orange and ginger beer sherbet, and a cardamom crumble. Garnishing the sorbet was a single red sorrel leaf. This was the PERFECT way to end the meal. The dessert was both sweet and tart and easily cleansed the palate after so much other food had preceded it. The cardamom crumble almost had a peppery spice to it that was a wonderful foil for the sweetness. Cory may no longer be practicing the pastry arts on a daily basis, but he has lost none of his skills at balancing competing and complimentary flavors.

Our three hour culinary journey at an end, we packed up our bags and headed out into the chilly Cleveland air. Before we left, it was announced that next month's Dinner In The Dark event would be held at Rocco Whalen's Fahrenheit in Tremont on Monday, January 16th at 6:30 PM. While tickets for this dinner are the same $65 base price as all the other dinners, with tip, taxes, and fees, it comes out closer to $86. One big difference is that the Fahrenheit dinner only has fifty seats instead of the usual seventy, so if you're interested in going, I'd suggest you get your ticket sooner rather than later.

The New (and Improved?) Crop Bistro & Bar

2011-11-03T18:30:00.003-04:00

The last time I wrote about Crop Bistro & Bar was nearly two years ago. Since that time, a lot has happened. I've been back numerous times, to enjoy both Sunday Supper as well as the Chef's Table. Steve Schimoler has also closed the original location of Crop and relocated to the gorgeous space on the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue, just catty-corner to the West Side Market inside a completely renovated space previously occupied by an old bank. If you've been to Restaurant Dante, you will have an understanding of how such a space is utilized since it, too, lives inside an old bank. However, I have to say, the new space for Crop will leave you pretty breathless -- it is amazing!

What brought our intrepid band of diners back to Crop tonight was two-fold. First, we were all eager to experience Steve's food after being without for many months while they relocated to the new space. Second, and more importantly, we were there to celebrate the anniversary of friends and fellow food enthusiast Nancy and her husband Bob. While you can certainly attempt to find parking nearby in Ohio City, we decided instead to valet at the front of the restaurant for a nominal fee. For those looking to plug directions into your GPS-enabled device, the new location was located at 2537 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44113. They can still be reached at 216-696-2767 (CROP).

Once inside the magnificent space, we were escorted to the long table facing the open kitchen at the opposite side of the building. Whereas the Chef's Table at the old Crop had been limited to six chairs, the new space had two to three times as many seats. When all six guests had arrived, Steve came over, pleasantries were exchanged, and he offered (and we accepted) a tour of the basement of the new restaurant, which included the enormous vault guarded by a ninety ton door. A work still in progress, when the restaurant manages to finish all of the space on both floors, it will probably be one of the most visually impressive restaurants that Cleveland has to offer.

The physical tour now concluded, we all congregated back at the Chef's Table to begin the gastronomic tour -- the Tour de Crop. For $65 per person, you are treated to a multi-course bonanza of whatever the chef wishes to serve you. I must warn you at this point, gentle reader, as the pictures you are about to see are particularly drool-worthy.

First up was bread service:

The basket contained a combination of very fresh baguette, chewy on the outside with a wonderful crumb on the inside; corn bread sticks; and a slightly sweet compound butter.

Our first actual course was something I recognized from my previous Chef's Table visit at the old Crop -- Deviled Egg with Crispy Prosciutto, Balsamic Reduction and Beet Reduction:

Sprinkled with just a touch of chile powder for garnish, this hit a lot of notes on my palate, spicy, salty, sweet, tart and played the creaminess of the egg and filling off of the crisped Prosciutto adorning the top. This was definitely a nice way to start.

Next up was a dish composed of Raw Tuna, Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil Oil, Balsamic Reduction, and Chiffonade of Fresh Basil:

Anyone who has eaten and enjoys raw tuna (maguro for you sushi-lovin' folks) knows that it has an incredibly delicate flavor and can be easily overpowered by stronger elements. Steve showed a deft hand in combining the components on the plate: each flavor stood on its own, but at the same time helped to elevate the tuna even further and definitely made it the star.

Our third course was the Grilled Mission Figs with Goat Cheese, Honey, Hazelnuts, and Arugula:

While it doesn't take much to put figs and honey together, adding the acidity from the slightly softened chevre and the bitterness and pepperiness from the arugula made sure this mouthful satisfied all the taste points on my tongue (beginning to notice a pattern here?). The ground hazelnuts added a nice textural contrast to the other soft components of the dish.

For our second salad, we were served the Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Supremes, Pistachio-encrusted Goat Cheese, Mixed Herbs, and Orange Basil Vinaigrette:

This was another holdover from Crop's previous location and menu, but it was still a welcome sight. Having become a lover of roasted beets only in the last couple of years, these were flavors that were bright, fresh, and really went well together. If there was one minor criticism, the dish could've used just a touch more salt. Other than that, it was a delight to look at as well as eat.

Ever the one for a dramatic presentation, our next course actually came out in two stages. First, the kitchen staff set a small plate with a perfectly seared scallop sitting atop a wedge of roasted potato. Chef Schimoler followed quickly behind with an incredibly aromatic black truffle cream. Here was how the dish looked topped with the cream and finely minced black truffle:

And here was a cross-section after I cut into it with my fork:

What can I say about this dish? The scallop was cooked expertly -- translucent in the middle and incredibly tender. The roasted potato had a nice crust on the outside and was tender and yielding on the inside. The black truffle foam was rich and creamy and had the heady earthiness from the mushrooms. While certainly not the most colorful plating, the stark black and whiteness made me think of the way that by removing color from a picture, you are left to concentrate with your other senses.

It wouldn't be a Steve Schimoler dining experience if pork wasn't involved at some point in the meal. In tonight's case, the followup course to the truffled scallop was the Braised Pork Belly with Gigante Beans, Brunoise of Carrots and Peppadew Peppers, Confit Garlic, and Roasted Tomatoes in a Tomato Broth:

Whereas the previous dishes had been executed quite well, taking my first bite of this dish caused me to roll my eyes back into my head and for just a split second, enjoy culinary nirvana. The balance between sweet and savory was perfectly balanced in this dish. The pork belly was crispy and yet also amazingly creamy, the pork fat instantly melting on my tongue. The gigante beans, while not really contributing a flavor of their own, had graciously soaked up the tomato broth flavor. If you get one dish on your visit to Crop, this would be the one not to miss.

After such a rich and decadent dish, the next course was a very light and refreshing intermezzo of Lemon Sorbet:

This was exactly what the doctor (or, rather, the chef) ordered and served its purpose in cleansing our palates. My only critique was that it was rather one note. Lemon combined with some type of herb (thyme, rosemary, or lavender) would have really elevated this dish and made it special.

Our final savory course of the evening was a play on Surf and Turf. The "surf" side was comprised of a Seared Tasmanian Salmon, Cauliflower Mash, Mushroom Jus, and Fresh Basil:

Several others at the Chef's Table thought that this dish was underseasoned. While I agree it probably could've used a touch more salt, it didn't particularly bother me. The salmon was nicely grilled on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. The big hit of the dish for me was the cauliflower mash. The only two presentations of cauliflower I have ever really enjoyed are when it is either roasted or served baked in lots of cream and butter. Tonight's version was incredibly flavorful and dare I say it ... delicious! The fresh basil added a bright herbaceous note to the dish as well.

The "turf" portion of our final savory dish was Braised Beef Shortribs, Mushroom Barley, Carrots, Veal Demi, and Horseradish Cream:

The shortribs had been braised until they were incredibly tender -- no knife required. The mushroom barley was thoroughly soft and pliable under tooth, but not broken down or mushy. The carrot cut easily under the pressure of my fork, while managing to avoid the texture of baby food and the horseradish cream really brought a brightness and spice to the entire dish without overpowering it. Personally, I would've liked to have seen a sharper horseradish note to the cream, but as this was geared toward all diners and not just me, I felt that the level of heat worked very well. While I enjoyed the medium-rareness of the salmon, I also enjoyed the thoroughly braised texture of the shortribs.

The first of two desserts were now presented by Crop's newest acquisition, Pastry Chef Lauren Stephenson. First up was a duo of Banana Chocolate Chip Petit Four with Peanut Butter Mousse and covered in Chocolate Ganache and a Salted Caramel Affogato:

Once the hot coffee hit the caramel and cream, it instantly mixed together. I did the affogato first and enjoyed the salty, sweet, and bitter combination of the ingredients. Were there alcohol in this, I probably would have felt like I was back in college. The petit four was clever, but I wished that it was a little closer to room temperature as I think the flavors would've sung together much better (plus you wouldn't have seen the chocolate sweating).

The other dessert, a Tarte Tatin with maple cream, wasn't served individually, but as one dessert for us all to share. Sadly, the tarte was more or less decimated by our group before I had a chance to take a picture of it, but I did manage to get a bite and can say that it was absolutely delicious. When caramel is involved, you worry about the dessert being too sweet. Lauren managed to balance the sweetness and tartness from the apples well.

Our meal now at an end, we each paid our checks, gathered our coats and bags and headed out into the now dark, cool Cleveland air. While there was a very minor issue with one or two of the dishes (slight underseasoning), I very much enjoyed the entire meal, the company, and the new space that Crop Bistro & Bar gets to call home now. As with past visits, Chef Steve Schimoler has a very thorough understanding of flavor and texture combinations and his food never comes across as too fancy or gimmicky, which can be a very hard line to walk. While I don't know that I'd want to do the Tour de Crop every time I go back, it's nice sometimes to let someone else make the decision of what you will be eating from time to time.

Dinner At Beau's Grille

2011-10-31T22:00:00.001-04:00

Last December, I wrote about a lunchtime visit to Beau's Grille located in the Hilton Hotel Akron Fairlawn. I had made a mental note to myself while researching the menu online that dinner seemed a bit pricey and that lunch was much more reasonable. Having had a successful lunch visit, I decided that a return visit for dinner was in order. Clearly my mind must have been preoccupied with other distractions for the last eleven months because my follow-up visit didn't happen until just recently.

In fact, it was completely spur of the moment. On a Thursday night with literally nothing better to do, I pulled out of the parking lot at work and as I drove east on West Market Street, the Hilton's illumination gradually became visible through the falling rain. Taking just a moment to decide, I pulled off into the parking lot for the hotel, grabbed an umbrella and my camera bag, and walked towards the hotel's main entrance:

Once inside the main door, a door bearing Beau's name on it was on the left:

This was the exit from the bar area and not really the proper entrance to the restaurant. For that, I walked into the main lobby, made a left turn, and approached the hostess waiting just beyond the opened double doors. I was a little worried they might be too busy to accommodate a walk-in on a Thursday night, but as the restaurant was only about half full, she greeted me cheerfully and led me to a two top and left me with the menu to peruse:

While Chef Beau Schmidt may indeed rotate seasonal item on the daily specials menu, the printed menu looked eerily familiar to the one I had used during my last visit. If the menu items looked similar, then it didn't surprise me to see the same high prices for the food. I don't mind paying for value, but when appetizers start climbing past the $10 price point, I start to sit up and take notice.

In a rather unusual move, when my water came to the table to take my order, he didn't remove the napkin, silverware, glass, or side plate at the setting across from me, which is usually standard at most restaurants (it frees up the table from unnecessary clutter). Seeing as I needed the extra space to set up my camera in order to get the shots I would need for this review, I moved some of these items to the side of the table and actually stacked the other side plate on top of mine to make room. In an even more unusual move, when he saw that I had moved the other setting, he actually reset the opposite side of the table right in front of me. That was the first inkling I had that something odd was up with the service.

Regardless, after placing my order, my server returned with the Bread Service:

And accompanying the warmed rolls were cold pats of butter:

Generally speaking, I prefer butter being softened when it arrives at the table, even if the bread is warm or hot. While the rolls and butter were good in both flavor and texture, having to wait for the butter to melt on the bread was a minor inconvenience. Were this an establishment that was less expensive, I probably wouldn't have given it too much thought. At Beau's Grille, all of these little details should have already been anticipated.

For my appetizer, I decided to start with the Fried Green Tomato "BLT":

As the food runner approached my table with this nearly toppling tower of tomatoes, I thought to myself that this couldn't possibly be my appetizer as it was large enough for an entire meal. Sure enough, it was mine. In addition to the fresh red and yellow heirloom tomato slices, green tomatoes had been sliced, dredged, and fried to a golden brown. The entire stack had been skewered in order to provide stability and then placed on arugula. Two separate aiolis, basil and red pepper, dressed the salad and crispy pancetta was strewn throughout.

As I removed the skewer and allowed the contents to topple down onto the plate, I began to remember my previous experience during lunch. Yes, Beau's prices are high, but the portion sizes are ENORMOUS, each easily split between two or three diners. Like I mentioned earlier, had this been all I ordered, I probably wouldn't have needed anything else for dinner. Right away, I decided to only eat about one-third of the dish in order to save room for future courses.

As for the appetizer itself, it was quite tasty. The heirloom tomatoes had flavor and just a bit of sweetness to them and the fried green tomatoes were crispy on the outside -- having just a bit of snap on the inside with acidity that balanced out the other sweet flavors on the plate. The arugula added a pepperiness, the pancetta added both salty, chewy and savory elements, and the aiolis provided creaminess. Did it really need two aiolis to be a successful dish? No, not particularly, but other than not being able to separate the flavors in my mouth when eaten together, it didn't detract from the overall deliciousness of the dish.

Since I had ordered an entree, I had the option of either getting a free basic side salad or I could add a half-portion of one of the more "plated" salads from the menu for a small upcharge (I believe it was roughly $3). Since I had been eying one of those salads from the get-go, I decided to go ahead and add it to the line-up for tonight.

Here was the Baby Green, Sun-dried Tomato, Artichoke, Buffalo Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette:

First off, again with the portion size: this was a HALF portion of a salad. I suppose it could've been because I had already eaten so much of my appetizer, but I could've probably done better with half of this "half." I tasted each of the elements on the plate before combining them together into one unified bite. The sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and mozzarella were quite tasty (the softness of the cheese was especially gratifying). The baby greens were fresh-looking and crisp. The balsamic vinaigrette, however, really disappointed because it was incredibly sweet. I understand that balsamic vinegar has an inherent level of sweetness to it by nature, but this vinaigrette had been sweetened quite a ways past that. If you like sweet, gentle reader, you might like this. Personally, I found it unbalanced and unsuccessful for this very reason.

After eating about half of my salad, I pushed it away to wait for my final course. The standard table setting at Beau's Grille was two forks, one knife, and one spoon. I had used the first fork and my knife during the appetizer. When I got my salad, I used the second fork. By this point in the meal, I was only left with my spoon. No problem, I figured. When my server brings out the entree and sees I am missing silverware, he'll get me the appropriate pieces.

Sadly, what actually transpired after he brought me the Cavatappi with Grilled Chicken, Roasted and Fresh Tomatoes, Spinach, Garlic, Basil, Lemon and Olive Oil,

was that he simply dropped the plate off and immediately walked away from the table without checking to see if I needed anything else. Being the ever resourceful foodie that I am, I reached across the table and with firm resolve, broke up the silverware set at the spot opposite me at my table. Having retrieved a clean fork, I dug into this dish. Some of the pasta at the rim of the bowl was a bit tepid in temperature, but the food in the center was still nice and hot. That was the good news.

The bad news, gentle reader, was that the pasta was way overcooked, one step below mush. The pasta was also quite bland. This trend seemed pervasive throughout the dish, actually. I tasted component after component and each was either completely unseasoned or grossly underseasoned. While the server had dropped off grated Parmesan cheese for me to apply to my taste, I knew that even with a generous sprinkling of the salty fromage, it would really only season the top of the noodles. Probably the only really assertive flavor in the dish was the garlic, which I couldn't help but notice because of its slight crunch and incredibly pungent flavor -- and indication that it probably hadn't been sauteed enough before building the rest of the sauce.

I probably don't have to mention this as well by this point in the review, but the serving of pasta was enormous.

In the end, I had my server box up the remainder of my appetizer (at least half) and the remaining pasta (at least two-thirds) and asked for my check. As I suspected after doing some mental math, the check with tax and tip came to roughly $31-$32. I wasn't sure if I was going to eat the rest of the pasta for breakfast or lunch, but I figured for that much money, I'd at least give myself the option.

I'm torn on Beau's Grille. The food and service during my first visit was fairly good. In fact, good enough to spur me to return for a dinner service. While the Fried Green Tomato "BLT" was definitely worth ordering, the cloyingly sweet vinaigrette on my salad and my way overcooked and underseasoned cavatappi left me quite a bit unsatisfied. That the server came off as quite aloof and not particularly helpful, I am only left to conclude that if the restaurant is having a good night, you'll receive the same in kind. If not, well then, I hope you enjoy your pasta mushy and with very little flavor.

No "Mamma Mia!" at Gervasi Vineyards Italian Bistro

2011-10-25T22:00:00.002-04:00

One of the benefits of living in east Akron and working in Canton was that I often stopped at restaurants along the way and was much more versed in the comings and going of Canton and North Canton eateries. Since then, I have moved to the west side of Akron and now live and work in the same vicinity. As a consequence, getting to dinner in Canton is a bit more of an effort for me than it has been in the past. However, after reading extensively about what can only be described as a "complex" due to its enormous size, I knew I had to check out the Italian Bistro at Gervasi Vineyard.

The entire complex was located at 1700 55th Street NE, Canton, OH 44721 and can be reached at 330-497-1000. Getting there was a bit time consuming from my origin, but surprisingly easy. Exit I-77 south at the Everhard Road exit and head east until you run into Cleveland Avenue. Make a left and then an immediate right onto Easthill Street. This will turn into 55th Street and within about ten minutes, you'll come upon the entrance to the vineyard. Turn into the driveway and take it all the way back to the large building at the back of the complex. Ample parking was available in front of the bistro:

Prior to going for dinner tonight, I had read their online menu with great interest and came prepared for the type of food being served. What I didn't expect was that simply showing up on a Tuesday night at 7:30 PM sans reservation was not as fabulous an idea as I had originally thought. Upon asking the hostess for a table for one person, she got a pained expression on her face and basically stated that unless I had a reservation, there were no tables available. There was, however, a communal table that was about half full of "people like me" (e.g., no reservationists) and several two top bar tables. Fortunately, one of the bar tables just opened up, so I took it.

At this point, even with servers passing by my table every minute or so, it took about ten minutes for someone to notice me and bring me a menu. Fortunately, once my server noticed me, service hiccups disappeared. Here was tonight's menu:

It was nice to see that the Italian Bistro was serving seasonal cuisine. The menu was appropriately sized with several selections in each category -- this made it feel uncluttered and not overwhelming. Seeing as there was only one of me tonight, I decided that instead of ordering a larger entree (at a larger price), that I would sample several of the smaller plates.

After placing my order, my server brought out the Bread Service:

The bread had been sliced, oiled, herbed, seasoned and slightly toasted so that it had a crunch but wasn't completely dried out. Not wanting to spoil my meal, I had a slice or two, but pushed them aside in order to make room for the rest of the meal.

I decided to start my meal out with the Butternut Squash Soup:

When someone other than my server (who I assume was a food runner) approached my table with an extremely shallow bowl with several toasted hazelnuts in the bottom, I was a bit confused. He set the bowl down in front of me and produced a pitcher from which he poured the soup into the bowl, covering the nuts. Sadly, the effect was a bit lost because the soup was so thick that as you can see in the above photograph, it didn't even cover the entire bottom of the bowl.

The flavor of the soup was a bit on the sweet side, but I expected that as the menu listed "truffle honey" as one its ingredient. That being said, only one bite of the many I took did I get the remotest hint of truffle flavor. The hazelnuts added a nice textural contrast to the smooth, thick soup and the fattiness from the heavy cream used to enrich it would have been well served by an acidic component to the dish to help cut through it. Overall, I thought the soup was decent.

As I was originally looking through the menu, I noticed that it had four pasta dishes listed. I asked my server if the pasta was made in-house. After checking with the kitchen, she returned and told me that none of the pastas were homemade save the ravioli on the appetizer section of the menu. A little disappointed that a place billing itself as an Italian Bistro didn't make their own pasta, I decided to order the one dish that featured said product -- Smoked Salmon Ravioli with Capers, Horseradish and Dill Creme:

At $12, this meant I was paying $4 per square of filled pasta. I first tasted the horseradish and dill creme. The horseradish flavor and heat were there, but was incredibly subtle. I then cut into one of the pasta squares. The ravioli had a good amount of filling in them, enough to get a substantial taste, but not bursting at the seams. The filling was actually a combination of mashed potato and smoked salmon. I dragged my forkful in the creme sauce and took a bite.

Two thoughts simultaneously fought for attention as my mouth starting sending warning signals northward. First, the smoked salmon was WAY too strong and pretty much the only thing I could taste was the smoke and the salt from the fish. Second, the filling was COLD! Whomever had cooked the pasta had not cooked them long enough. The pasta casing was fine, but the filling itself was at best, slightly colder than room temperature. Thinking I might have gotten a bad one, I cut into both of the other ravioli to discover that they were cooked exactly the same way. This dish was pretty much a fail -- unbalanced flavors that were not executed properly.

For my final course, I decided to try the Creme Anatra Pizza:

While I was pretty certain that the Italian Bistro was making their dough daily, I was curious to see if I could taste the effects of using a pre-ferment or any kind of aging in the dough. Seeing as the pizza oven was directly in front of me, I actually watched as they prepped and then baked my pizza. The pizza, at a $12 price point, seemed a bit on the small side, but came topped with some delicious looking toppings: pulled duck, garlic cream (Ed. Note: Every other time it was spelled "creme" on the menu except here. I wonder why?), mushrooms, spinach, fig jelly, ricotta, and aged provolone.

The crust was crisped nicely, although I would've have personally preferred a bit more color on the bottom. The crust had a nice balance of chewiness and crispiness, but I didn't notice any sourness to the dough's flavor on its own. This leads me to believe that the dough was made without the use of cold fermentation or a pre-ferment (like a biga or poolish). It wasn't until I got to my third piece of pizza that I finally got a slice that actually had all of the ingredients on it. When I finally bit into that piece, my mouth was quite happy. Prior to that slice, previous bites lacked a balance between all of the flavors of the toppings.

All said and done, my bill with tip and tax came to roughly $36-$37 and I left with a few slices of pizza remaining that I took home with me for a snack later on that night. Honestly, I'm a little torn about the Italian Bistro at Gervasi Vineyard. It aspires for greatness, that is for sure. However, the dishes I had tonight ranged from bad to so-so to good. The restaurant has been open for a while now, so I can't chalk up tonight's experience to breaking in a new restaurant staff. In the end, I would marginally recommend you check them out. At this price point, everything coming out of the kitchen, while maybe not fantastic, should at least be in the very good category. Hopefully they will get there soon.

Wild Papaya And The Perfect Curry

2011-10-18T21:00:00.002-04:00

I am continually amazed at how much I have learned about the restaurant industry from writing a food blog for nearly three years. Of course, it seems obvious that if you study something for that length of time, you would naturally pick up a few things along the way, but that honestly wasn't why I started Exploring Food My Way. One of the two most important lessons I've learned so far is that despite your server being the primary point of contact with a restaurant when choose to dine out, slow or "off" service can be caused by far more than just the server's lack of experience or enthusiasm. Knowing when to legitimately gripe about service takes time to develop.

The other important lesson I've taken away from this experience is the extreme volatility of the food service industry as a whole. Servers, cooks, chefs, heck, even the restaurant itself can be there one day and gone the next. I know a server who in one year worked in thirteen different restaurants. That isn't to say that there aren't some longtime stalwarts that have been around for forty, fifty, or even one hundred years (restaurants, not servers). These are clearly the exception to this generalization.

Back in February of this year, fellow photographer and camera salesman extraordinaire Dan at Campus Camera, upon finding out that I write restaurant reviews advised me about a restaurant that was serving up great food, Shorty's Subs and Salads. Even better, the restaurant was just down the road from the camera store. I didn't have time to try it that day, but I returned with a few days to find the restaurant oddly dark at a time when it should have been open. Between the time Dan had told me of the restaurant and a short while later, they had closed up shop.

Fast forward eight months later, I happened to be driving down Main Street in Kent when I drove by the old Shorty's location only to discover something had opened up in its place. Curious, I pulled in to discover Wild Papaya Thai Cuisine. My attention firmly gotten, I noted that it was roughly 5:30 on a Sunday evening and I was suddenly hungry ... for Thai food. I parked my car and approached the main door:

Wild Papaya Thai Cuisine was located at 1665 East Main Street, Kent, OH 44240 and can be reached at 330-677-0916. Parking was in the large lot in front of the building. You can check out their web presence by visiting their website or their Facebook page.

Since I never managed to eat a meal at Shorty's, I was unfamiliar with how the interior looked before Wild Papaya took over, but I have to say that the decor was quite contemporary with a bit of traditional Thai art thrown in for good measure. When I arrived, I was one of only two tables that were occupied. I'm happy to say that within thirty minutes, another six or seven tables were seated.

My server left me with the rather sizable menu in order to take care of recent arrivals at the hostess stand:

As I looked through the menu, I saw a lot of the usual suspects: Pad Thai, Tom Yum Goong, Chicken Satay, just to name three. But I also saw some dishes that were more indicative of a serious commitment to stay true to traditional Thai cuisine. While the menu also listed several Chinese dishes (to be more accurate, I should call them Americanized Chinese), the Thai dishes looked far more interesting. I decided to start out my meal with the Tom-Sum (papaya salad):

Staying with the traditional version of this salad, tonight's dish was made with green papaya which had yet to ripen. Thus, the fruit wasn't particularly sweet (think green tomatoes versus ripe tomatoes). The papaya had been shredded thinly along with carrots and had been dressed in a dressing of nuoc cham -- typically a mixture of lime, fish sauce, chile, cilantro, sugar, and rice wine vinegar. This combination of flavors gave the papaya "slaw" the qualities of sweet, salty, spicy, and acidic. All of the flavors were nicely balanced and the spiciness of the chile was quite subtle, yet still present.

The two yellow hunks of meat placed on top of the salad were chicken that was hot, juicy, and nicely grilled. I could tell based on the flavor of the chicken that this was the same protein used for the satay appetizer. The salad was actually quite large and could definitely be split among two or three diners. My only complaint was that two pieces of chicken seemed a bit light for the amount of salad on the plate. A third piece would have rounded this salad out to the point where one person could eat it for their entire meal.

As I was contemplating what to order for my entree, my server helpfully suggested the Siam Duck. She indicated that it was one of the cooks specialties. While I was a little leery of the $17 price tag, I decided to go ahead and trust her suggestion. A few minutes after finishing my papaya salad, this appeared at my table:

Accompanying my entree was a bowl of Brown Rice:

Before I talk about the Siam Duck, I would just like to go on record as saying I really appreciate an Asian restaurant having both steamed white AND brown rice available for diners. While I certainly don't mind white rice, I know that brown rice is slightly better for me and knowing that it is available, I will always order it over the white. To make it even more enticing, Wild Papaya gave me the choice of either to accompany my meal at no extra charge.

Anyone who has ever watched me evaluate a meal for the blog knows that I rarely dig into a dish thoughtlessly. If the protein has a sauce on it, I taste it. I tend to taste components of the entree before taking the all-inclusive bite. I had been hesitant to order an expensive entree (one of the most expensive on the menu), but upon getting my first taste of the yellow curry, my taste buds exploded with nervous energy signalling the "YUM!" center in my brain. I suddenly realized I was in for a epicurean roller coaster ride.

The sauce was complex, sweet and salty with a hint of vinegar to balance it out. While the menu listed the dish as being served at "one chile pepper" which meant hot, I asked for the dish to be served at "two chile peppers" meaning hot and spicy. While I certainly could've handled much more heat, the spice level was a nearly perfect match for the extraordinary savoriness of the sauce. Honestly, gentle reader, you could have put that sauce over a leather boot and it would've been good.

The duck, which had been clearly finished in the deep fryer due to the crispiness of the skin, was moist and juicy and the skin was crispy without being greasy. Because duck has a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, it must be rendered off during the cooking process or else the result is chewy, rather unpleasant fat that is often better removed than consumed. Tonight's duck wasn't the best I had ever eaten, but I would say it was deftly prepared and tasted very good. Combined with the yellow curry, it was an absolute home run. The broccoli, while steamed, was a bit on the lukewarm side and while the squash and zucchini were softened from the steaming process, the carrots were crunchy to the point of being noticeable.

Those minor quibbles aside, whatever I didn't finish at the restaurant (which was about half), I took home with me and eagerly consumed the next day for lunch. While not as good cold as it was hot, just the thought of the curry sauce accompanying the Siam Duck made my mouth water like the unwitting subject of a Pavlovian experiment.

Dinner tonight at Wild Papaya Thai Cuisine wasn't inexpensive at roughly $28 for my meal with water and tax. That being said, I had enough food for two complete meals at $14 each which isn't bad if you are watching your wallet and need a place to split dinner for two. While this might be a tad on the pricey side for your typical Kent State student, it also means that the place won't be overrun with college students looking for food on the cheap.

Needless to say, I recommend that you give Wild Papaya Thai Cuisine a visit to try out the Tom-Sum and Siam Duck for yourself. I currently live on the west side of Akron and I would be more than willing to drive the thirty minutes each way just to have another dinner there. Of course, now that I have tasted this amazingly wonderful curry, in order to try other items from the menu I will undoubtedly have to bring friends with me when I return; hopefully they'll be willing to trade a bite of heaven from my plate for a bite of theirs.

Grabbing A Nosh At Nosh Eatery

2011-10-14T06:00:00.008-04:00

I first learned of Nosh Eatery & Creative Catering many months ago from my longtime friend and partner in the Veggie-Vegan Project, Paul. We had been discussing potential restaurants to include in the project and Paul had heard that Nosh was to have a fairly good vegetarian and/or vegan selection. He also knew that they would be based out of Hudson, but unfortunately, that was the extent of his knowledge. Fast forward to Labor Day at the beginning of September and I found myself at the annual Taste of Hudson again. Per usual, I made my cursory walkaround of the entire event before deciding which booths I would visit. Wouldn't you know it? Nosh was one of the booths.

Based on the strength of the food at the Taste of Hudson, I finally got around to stopping in for a bite to eat at their actual location. Their storefront was south of downtown Hudson quite a bit and located at 5929 Darrow Road, Hudson, OH 44236. They can be reached at 330-650-6674 and they have the usual trio of a website, Facebook page, and Twitter account so that you can keep track of them.

Nosh Eatery was among a group of four businesses occupying a small building. As usual, the shared parking lot was more than ample and I had little difficulty finding a parking spot. Here was a shot of the storefront for Nosh Eatery:

Once inside, I was asked if my order was for eating in or taking out. After indicating that I would like to eat in, the woman behind the counter gave me a paper menu and told me I could sit wherever I'd like. I picked the table furthest from the front door (to minimize the mixed lighting), sat down and proceeded to study the menu:

In addition to the options on the menu, daily specials had also been chalked onto a board hanging above the coffee machine on the back wall.

I decided to start out my meal with one of the soups du jour, a Bowl of Tomato and Basil Soup:

The soup was piping hot, had just a bit of texture to it, and had a deep tomato flavor. The soup had been pureed, but not completely as there were still small bits of tomato to be found within. The garlic and basil flavors complemented the soup nicely. In lieu of crackers, the soup had come with a small grilled flatbread quarter that had been seasoned with salt, herbs, and of all things, caraway seeds. It was inventive and delicious and if there was anything to complain about for this dish, it was that the dish only came with one of the "crackers."

While many of the sandwiches caught my eye on the menu today, when I saw that today's special was a Philly-style Cheesesteak, I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try:

Filled with luscious expertly grilled cuts of beef shoulder, caramelized onions and peppers, sauteed Chanterelle, fresh thyme, and Havarti and Gruyere cheeses, this was a sandwich with which to be reckoned. The roll (part of a baguette from Great Lakes Baking Company just up the street) was split, buttered, and then grilled to not only give it texture, but also prevent the roll from "sogging out," a dilemma many other sandwich places have yet to solve. From my first bite to my last, I enjoyed this sandwich immensely. It was hot, melty, chewy, earthy, beefy, and savory. If someone had said, "make a Philly-style inspired sandwich but elevate it," this would be the result. The only criticism I might levy would be that the portion size seemed a little small for $7.75.

Inspired by the flavors up to this point and noticing that Nosh's Facebook page had advertised fresh cobbler today, I asked about the dessert selections. Indeed, fresh Strawberry Cobbler had been baked earlier in the day:

Rewarmed and plated, the cobbler was accompanied by fresh chevre-infused whipped cream and a small scoup of buerre noisette ice cream. The plate was finished with some powdered sugar and small streaks of raspberry coulis. I remember the whipped cream from the Taste of Hudson and while you could taste the goat cheese flavor in that version, today's whipped cream was a bit lacking. The brown butter ice cream, however, was heavenly. The cobbler itself was infused with lots of strawberries and if the cobbler topping had been a bit more cake-like in consistency, it would have reminded me more of a clafoutis than a cobbler.

Overall, I found the cobbler to be just borderline on the sweet side -- a cup of black coffee or an espresso would have cut the sweetness to the perfect amount. That being said, I finished the entire portion and would have no qualms ordering -- or recommending -- this dessert again.

My meal at its inevitable conclusion, my server brought me the check and before tip, it came to $16. While I did question the value of the cheesesteak sandwich, everything I had eaten today at Nosh was fresh, hot, and quite frankly, delicious. As was made evident on the daily specials board, today marked the fifty-fifth day of operation. I'd suggest you give them a visit soon so that they can add many more numbers to that ticker.

Authentico Mexicano, Por Favor, Sin Queso

2011-10-10T21:30:00.006-04:00

People often ask me where I get the inspiration for the restaurants I review. Most often, I review what is around me: where I work, where I live, where I go on vacation. Sometimes I stumble upon a restaurant out of sheer dumb luck. Other times I have readers email me and tell me of a place that I haven't reviewed that I just have to try. A very important part of my information gathering process is reading other food blogs. You may have noticed the list of blogs I follow on the right hand side of this blog. I link to those blogs because I think the authors have something interesting and relevant to say and want to encourage you to them out for yourself.

Just recently, I came across a food blog started at the end of June, Dreaming of the Next Bite, that I hadn't linked to and when I went to check it out, I discovered a fellow native Akron/Canton blogger who is interested in covering the local restaurant scene. As I dug into Yvette's blog, I stumbled across several restaurant reviews that she had done in the North Canton area that sounded very interesting. But it wasn't until I came across her review of Jojutlas Mexican Grill that I sat up and took notice.

What caught my eye were two very important distinctions between Jojutlas and nearly every other "Mexican" restaurant in the area: fresh corn tortillas grilled in-house and the very prominent lack of cheese melted over every single menu item. Now, don't get me wrong, gentle reader, I love Mexican American as much as the next gringo, but I know better (and when pressed, most servers of Mexican/Latino/Latina origin will admit) that using gobs of melted queso fresco is an American adaptation.

My whistle thoroughly whetted by the idea of a queso-free meal, I made the trek down I-77 to the Portage Street exit (The "Strip" is off of Portage Street). You will want to go west on Portage Street until you see the Rockne's road sign. Jojutlas Mexican Grill was in the building directly behind Rockne's. Technically the restaurant was located at 4934 Portage Street, North Canton, OH 44720 and can be reached at 330-470-0037. In addition to their website, they also have a Facebook page.

After parking in the ample lot out front, I approached the front of the restaurant:

Inside, I discovered another refreshing surprise: a menu consisting of just a few choices that were simple and straightforward:

Most Mexican American menus that I've seen are usually loaded with a myriad of options from which to choose. Tonight, the decision was narrowed down to between the fish tacos that Yvette had tried in her review and the Tacos al Pastor. Ordering at Jojutlas was a cross between a Chipotle-esque process and a full service restaurant. I placed my order at the window under the hanging menu and told her which sides I wanted along with any additional condiments (e.g., salsas). I then paid for my meal at the other end of the line, took my drink and receipt, and sat at the table of my choice.

Within just a few minutes, one of the servers ran my food to the table and checked to make sure there wasn't anything else she could get me. Here were the Fish Tacos with my included side of Mexican Rice:

Here is a closer shot of the Fish Tacos:

The whitefish had been breaded "Azteca" style, fried until golden brown and crispy, sliced and stuffed into the homemade corn tortillas along with a jicama / red pepper / radish slaw, greens, and a drizzle of chipotle mayonnaise. Although the tortilla near the edge of the plate was a bit torn up, the other two were perfectly round and pliable. I picked one up, took an enormous bite and began to chew, allowing the ingredients to roll around in my mouth.

The heat from the fried fish was nicely balanced with the coolness and crispness of the slaw. The mayonnaise added a little bit of creaminess and spiciness to complement the other flavors. The tortilla was expertly made, adding a subtle "corniness" and was amazingly tender. Honestly, the only criticism I had was that the taco could've used just a touch of lime juice to really make it sing. Something as simple as including a lime wedge with the plate would've taken this from good to great.

For my included side, I decided to go with the Mexican Rice:

"White" rice was also available, which according to the woman taking my order was white rice with lime and cilantro. The Mexican Rice was fresh and each grain was tender and had a flavor that was unlike the versions of this style of rice that I've eaten at other Mexican restaurants. I quite enjoyed it.

Since additional sides were minimally priced, I decided to add beans to my dinner, too. My choice was between black beans and pinto beans ... I went with Black Beans:

The beans were whole and as such, had a textural element to them (as opposed to the more traditional frijoles refritos). The taste was also quite good, again a bit unusual but delicious. The beans had a rich earthy flavor that can only come from a long cooking process. Between the rice and beans, I managed to finish all three tacos and about half of each side.

In the end, my meal with the extra side of black beans and a bottled water came to roughly $10 before tip and tax. I should mention that because you pay after you order and before you sit down, it was a little weird leaving a tip before I actually had service. I paid with my credit card tonight, but if you have cash, you can leave a tip that is appropriate for the service you receive at the conclusion of your meal instead of prior to eating it.

So how would I rate this little out-of-the-way restaurant? Pretty highly, actually, and recommend that if you are in the mood for something a little more authentic and a whole lot less cheesy, drive down to North Canton and check out Jojutlas Mexican Grill for yourself. I know that I am already anticipating a return to try the Tacos al Pastor.

Making Time For Thyme

2011-10-05T06:00:00.008-04:00

When I first heard John Kolar's name mentioned on the old Cleveland Plain Dealer's Food and Wine forum several years ago, it was being associated with a new venture out in Medina, Ohio, called Thyme - the Restaurant (warning: gratuitous use of Flash). I knew the eatery was an upscale kind of place, but unfortunately, I don't get out to Medina all that often (which is a shame, really, since there are so many great places to eat there). Happily, as I collected my camera bag and walked out to my car after work last Friday, for some reason, it seemed time to finally check out Thyme.

Reservations are a mixed bag with me. When it is just me going out for a meal that I intend to review here on the blog, I tend to eschew reservations if I think I can get away with just showing up unannounced. This ensures complete anonymity and impartiality. However, if I think I might have difficulty getting a table (Friday night at 7 PM qualifies), I will go ahead and make a reservation, sometimes under a different name. Knowing that the chef or general manager often checks the reservation books before dinner service starts, my last minute decision at 6:30 PM on a Friday night to eat at this time made this last point moot since unless the person answering the phone knew me by name, it wouldn't have changed my experience.

Thyme was located about a thirty minute drive from Montrose at 716 North Court Street, Medina, OH 44256 and can be reached at 330-764-4114. When I saw the street sign for the restaurant,

I pulled into the moderately crowded parking lot. Having been around in the mid 70s to early 80s, I immediately recognized that the building was a converted and modified Red Barn restaurant. The entrance to the restaurant was actually facing the parking lot:

Once inside, I marveled at the re-purposed space. Through the main doors to the left was a small bar area. The rest of the inside space was devoted to tables, which while cozy, didn't give you the feeling that you were sitting on top of your neighbor. During better weather, a covered patio was also available. Lighting was pretty dim, but fortunately the hostess sat me at a table with a small, but bright incandescent lamp pointed straight down onto my table. She left me to look through the menu:

After taking my order, my server promptly returned with several items for me. First up was a basket of herbed focaccia and a ramekin of softened butter:

The focaccia was fresh and delicious. I didn't bother to ask if the focaccia was house made, but it didn't particularly matter since it was so tasty. The softened butter had a slight sweetness to it and while it matched the slight saltiness of the bread, wasn't required to elevate the flavor of the bread.

The kitchen also sent out a small starter, an amuse bouche, to get my meal off on the right foot:

This was a warm potato and leek soup that had been drizzled with just a touch of chive oil. I raised the glass to my mouth, tipped it back, and drank the entire contents in one gulp. While nothing fancy, it was seasoned properly and the flavor had a pronounced potato and leek essence to it. The chive oil added a small amount of spiciness, but nothing overwhelming. This was definitely a nice way to start the meal.

Always a sucker for gnocchi, especially homemade gnocchi, after seeing that an appetizer-sized portion was available on the menu, I decided to start my dinner adventure with a pasta course:

This was Porcini Gnocchi with Sauteed Spinach, Mushrooms, Porcini Cream Sauce, and a Balsamic Vinegar drizzle. The texture of the gnocchi were ethereally light, occupying that wonderful spot between having a satisfying chew versus dissolving in the mouth. On some of the less coated pieces, I could taste the potato, another great indicator of being freshly made. The mushroom flavor was quite pronounced and while the fattiness from the cream sauce coated my tongue, the acid from the vinegar helped to cut through it. My only complaint was that when I finished the pasta, I was about to reach for a slice of the focaccia to mop up the remaining sauce when one of the food runners swooped in and removed the plate before I had a chance to do so.

Interestingly, my gnocchi had shown up mere minutes after placing my order. In between my appetizer and my entree, however, the wait was a bit longer. It probably only seemed excessive because the gnocchi had come out so quickly. Soon enough, my server returned with my main course, the Double Cut Grilled Pork Chop with Poblano and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese, Asparagus, and Smoked Onion BBQ Sauce:

I had asked for the pork to be cooked to a "medium" temperature and it was. The pork was flavorful, juicy, and seasoned properly. While some of the asparagus spears were a bit thin and wispy, overall they were grilled and seasoned nicely. The smoke flavor in the BBQ sauce was nicely present, but not overwhelming. The pork was nicely complemented by the sauce. However, the big winner on this plate was the poblano and bacon macaroni and cheese. Nice and crusty on top and creamy everywhere else, this was an incredibly delicious version of this American staple. The pasta -- straight up macaroni noodles -- was perfectly cooked and wasn't mushy in the least. While I know that most anything is better with bacon, the addition of the roasted poblano added a subtle sweet and spicy element that really worked.

Having nearly cleaned my plate before indicating that I was finished, my server asked if I was interested in seeing the dessert menu. I figured that since I had already experienced such great success with the regular menu, the desserts must be on par. Right? Here was a shot of the dessert menu:

When I looked at the menu and realized that Thyme only had four desserts, two of which were pretty routine -- namely the creme brulee and molten chocolate cake -- I was actually a bit disappointed. Coming to grips that my choice would be between a cheesecake and a pumpkin mousse, I figured that the Toffee Cheesecake with Candied Almonds, Bruleed Banana, and Toffee Sauce would be the more interesting of the two.

As I've mentioned before, when I anticipate eating something sweet, I will often pair it with something bitter, like espresso or coffee, which was exactly what I did tonight:

The espresso was properly brewed, with full crema floating on top of the murky, bitter liquid sitting below the surface. While I appreciated the raw sugar cube, I skipped it and went straight for the twist of lemon.

Fortunately, only a few moments after my espresso arrived, my dessert made its way to the table:

While the plate definitely gets props for verticality and use of multi-textured components, sadly, this plate could've done with a color outside of the "brown" family -- a sprig of mint would've done wonders to break up the monotone theme. The toffee sauce was pleasant and tasted like, well, toffee. The bruleed banana was nicely caramelized. The candied almonds added a nice textural element.

The toffee cheesecake had its good and bad points. While not overly sweet, it was also a bit "vanilla." I didn't get a whole lot of toffee flavor in the cheesecake and honestly, it needed something to counterbalance the sweetness of the dessert -- perhaps sour cream would have helped. Maybe if the caramel on the banana had been cooked a bit darker, the inherent bitterness would have contrasted better with the sweetness. It just needed ... something. Don't get me wrong, gentle reader, it wasn't a bad tasting dessert. It was just kind of unremarkable considering the level of food I had enjoyed until that point.

The check with tip and gratuity came to just under $50 tonight. Was it worth it? Yes, I think it was. Given that the only non-stellar part of my meal was the dessert (and by non-stellar, I don't mean bad), I would definitely return for another meal at Thyme - the Restaurant. I don't know that Medina has any other restaurants within city limits that are executing food at this high of a level. If you live in Medina and want a wonderful dining experience, definitely check out Thyme. If you live outside of Medina, I still think it is worth the trip.

Hopefully the desserts will attain the same level as the rest of the food in the future.