restaurant review: Chinato

I’m on a mission: to complete what some Clevelanders have lovingly named the “Tour de Bruell”.  After my previous work visit to Table 45 back in January, I made my second stop on the tour: at Zack Bruell’s new restaurant on East 4th Street downtown, Chinato.

c/o Chinato's Facebook fan page

From the website:  Zack Bruell, award-winning chef and restaurateur, announces the opening of Chinato, an old-meets-new Italian culinary concept on Cleveland’s East Fourth Street.  Chinato, named after a flavorful Italian after-dinner wine enriched with herbs, spices and Cinchona bark, is Bruell’s fourth restaurant within the city of Cleveland.

Bruell designed Chinato’s menu to highlight the simplicity of all Italian cuisine, not limiting himself to one region or technique. “Authentic Italian food is simple and flavorful – regardless of whether you’re in Tuscany, Sicily or Campania,” said Bruell. “I wanted to stay true to that.”

Last week’s visit was for a work meeting, and only one of the lovely ladies knows about the blog, so I decided to leave the camera at home. No delicious visuals on this one.

SIDENOTE: Like any fine, Italian inspired restaurant, Chinato is featuring a special St. Patrick’s Day menu today from 9AM to 5PM. The menu includes a lot of the usual lunch menu, plus the traditional corned beef standards for the holiday. Italian or Irish, they all are probably delicious. Moving on…

c/o Chinato's Facebook fan page

One thing that Mr. Bruell always seems to get right is the atmosphere of his dining establishment. Walk into one of his spaces and you know the exact vibe he wants you to experience while dining.  In the picture above, we sat at the table just in front of the window on the left. I sat in the booth seat and had a fantastic view of the restaurant and kitchen during my meal. On a weekday at noon, the restaurant was packed, but the staff had no problem keeping up.

When we were seated, we immediately received a piece of warm, freshly made bread. The bread had a perfect balance of herbs running through it – probably rosemary being prominent – that made me want to tackle the bread boy and steal his basket of baked goodies. Once again, it was a work meeting, so there would be no jumping of random men. Again, moving on…

For my meal, I stuck with the lunch classic of soup and salad. To start, I selected the Tuscan Onion soup.  While it reminded me of a French onion soup, it was better than ANY French onion soup I have ever had. The broth was more of a puree than broth, which had a great flavor. In the middle, a “crouton” of bread sprinkled with cheese. Simply delicious.

For my salad, I chose the Arugula with julienne of pumpkin, roasted turnips, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. When ordering, I asked for my dressing on the side. The waiter informed me that the salads were very lightly dressed, so I dropped my request.  Remember: I’m not a fan of over sauced/dressed items, so I was depending on my server’s knowledge of the dish. Luckily for me, he was right: just the perfect about of vinaigrette was evenly distributed on each component. Looking back, I don’t remember the turnips, although if they were there, I’m sure they were tasty.  Another solid starter option on the menu.

One of my fellow diners shared a few bites of her Fennel salad with orange, olive, tomato and ricotta with me.  This was quite the treat.  If you are looking for a different sort of salad to start, pick this option. Light and filling at the same time, the heartiness of the olive and ricotta worked with the rest of the ingredients. The few bites I had made me wish I ordered an extra salad.

Other selections ordered by the table included the Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Pizza with garlic and mozzarella, and the Salmon with escarole and white beans.  The ladies ate practically every bite of each of these items, saying they definitely planned to return in the future.

I agreed with them: I do plan to return for dinner, but would like to finish my tour first. I still have to get to L’Albatros in University Circle and Parallax in Tremont.  Perhaps in the long run you have SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO…

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restaurant review: AMP 150 Bar and Restaurant

Upon my recent discovery of Restaurant.com, I purchased an amazing $300 worth of gift certificates for a mere $24. $200 worth of them are for a local sports bar at a golf range (Hans is a BIG fan of their buffalo chicken wraps), but I managed to score some certificates for some restaurants that have been on my “must eat” list. One of those restaurants was AMP 150 Bar and Restaurant.

From their website: “AMP 150 is a 200-seat restaurant and bar with an open casual feel playing up-beat rock and roll and serving tasty selections all priced under $20. For chef Dean, being “free” is a given and a way of life, not a marketing tool. With a farm to table approach for over 20 years in his restaurants, chef Max has spent his life exemplifying how ingredients define the experience.”

What intrigued me most about AMP 150 Bar and Restaurant was its strong social network presence. I remembered seeing their posts on Twitter offering some great deals. Sunday afternoon, I mentioned in a Tweet that we planned to eat at AMP150 later that evening. Within moments, AMP 150 direct messaged me saying “let me know when you get here”.

Upon our arrival, I mentioned to our server about my Tweet earlier in the day. While looking at the menu, our server informed us about their commitment to fresh ingredients: the chicken used was all free-range and the beef all grass-fed.  For drinks, Hans ordered a Spaten lager from Germany off the beer menu. I stuck with a Lake Erie Cocktail. Someone had to get the big guy home at the end of the evening.

Before our drinks arrived, Executive Chef Ellis Cooley came to our table to introduce himself. I asked for some recommendations from the menu. He then asked if he just sent some items out, if we would be open to trying some of his dishes. Hmmmm. Let’s see: offering delicious food to a foodie and a man with a bottomless pit for a stomach? That would be a yes.

For my starter, I ordered the BABY ARUGULA SALAD with Candied Walnuts, Blood Orange, Parmesan, Citrus Vinaigrette:

What a fresh way to start a meal. All of the sweetness from the candied walnuts, orange and vinaigrette balanced well with the greens and cheese. Note that I asked for the dressing on the side, but that’s just me being me. I ate every bite of this salad.

For his starter, Hans ordered the CHICKEN PAPRIKASH with Grandma’s Dumplings, Bacon, Fried Shallots:

Chef Ellis would later tell me this was a “Southerner’s take” on the traditional ethnic dish. He takes the white and dark meat from the free-range chicken and assembles it into a circle mold, that is then sliced into “patties” (my word, not his). That Southerner boy got this dish right. It had a strong smoky flavor, which made it the right kind of memorable. While Hans was thrown off by the unusual presentation, he ate ever bite.

I had trouble deciding between a few items, so imagine my glee when Chef Ellis sent out the BRAISED RABBIT CAVATELLI with Fall Greens, Candied Garlic, Mint compliments of the kitchen:

I took one bite and I think I lost consciousness for a few minutes. While originally described to me as “heavy”, it was anything but. The rabbit was so tender. The cavatelli was incredibly light, like little pillows of glorious starch in my mouth. If I knew just how phenomenal this dish was, I would have just ordered two rounds of it for my meal.

For my main course, I ordered off the small plates menu and got the GLAZED CHESAPEAKE BAY COD  with Bok Choy, Broken Shrimp, Edamame, Smoked Onion Broth:

The cod’s glaze was a bit heavy in texture for my palate, but had a great Asian flair. I had never seen such itty bitty shrimp before! And with the edamame, it was a lovely dish. But my mind was still focused on that rabbit dish from the course before.

As another gift from the kitchen, my cod was paired with the ROASTED CAULIFLOWER with Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts, Beet Vinaigrette:

The perfectly roasted cauliflower had just enough goat cheese to make this dish decadent. The beet vinaigrette was a surprise and gave it a nice kick.

For his main course, Hans ordered the HOUSE MADE CORNED BEEF SANDWICH with Swiss Cheese, Mustard Aioli, Onion Roll:

This was one solid sandwich. Super yummy. AMP150 used Orlando onion rolls for the sandwich – definitely worthy of a bonus point in my book.

Hans also ordered a side of HAND CUT SEA SALT FRIES with Lemon Aioli:

Thick cut fries seasoned perfectly with sea salt – how can you go wrong?

Hans made it thru half of his sandwich and half of the fries before calling it quits. I finished my cod, but couldn’t do the same with the side of cauliflower. We were stuffed to the gills & to-go boxes were in order.

When our server returned with the boxes, she informed us that dessert was on the house that evening. Who were we to turn down that offer?! After finding some room in our bellies, Hans chose the MILK CHOCOLATE PANA COTTA with Salted Caramel, Malted Hazelnut Shake:

He also sent out a special treat: a selection that wasn’t even on the dessert menu! We were the first people to try the Goat Cheese Brownie with Goat Cheese Ice Cream & Pine Nut Brittle:

OH. MY. GOD. I am not a sweets person, but when I eat desserts, this is how I want them. DONE RIGHT.  I could have eaten a gallon of the goat cheese ice cream.  Luckily, Hans took a strong liking to the brownie, as he started dunking it in the pana cotta. GENIUS. What a way to end a meal!

After we finished our meal Chef Ellis came back out to our table to see how we enjoyed our meal. He stayed and chatted with us for at least 15 minutes. I was so happy to hear about his way of reaching out new audiences, his approach on his food, and that he loved being in Cleveland.

RUN. Do not walk. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Get yourself to AMP 150 as soon as possible. I can honestly say that it was the best restaurant dining experience of my life. If you plan it in advance, check them out on Twitter and send Chef Ellis a message: he’ll make sure you have the food experience of your lifetime too!

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restaurant review: Light Bistro

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we decided to use one of our Cleveland Independents gift certificates and try Light Bistro in Ohio City for dinner on Saturday night: 

c/o Light Bistro's Facebook page

From Light Bistro’s website: 

“Chef Matt [Mathlage] calls his style of cooking, “progressive American,” and that lends itself to an assortment of interpretations and permutations. There are, he says, infusions of Eurasian, French, and Italian cuisine as well as representational dishes from the Carolinas, low country Louisiana, the southwest, everything modified to reflect decidedly Midwest flavors. The menu features 20 small plates, 10 to 12 traditional large plates, either for sharing or for a solo indulgence.” 

my view from our table :: c/o LB's Facebook page

I was delightfully greeted by the hostess, then the owner, then a waiter’s assistant, another server, and then our actual waiter. Everyone seemed extremely happy to be working that evening! 

I started with my usual: a white wine: “Aligote, Domaine de Regusse, 2007 France”. Hans went for a more hearty choice: a bottle of Guinness: 

 

After great debate we ordered: I started with their Farmers Market Salad with Summer Vegetables and Balsamic Vinaigrette: 

 

Pretty much straight forward: lots of veggies. standard but tasty vinaigrette. probably overpriced. I really don’t care as I was extremely pleased to get some veggies in my stomach. 

Our waiter previously brought bread: a French baguette and a Parmesan roll. Both freshly baked on premises. We’re talking straight out of the oven and onto our table. MMMMM warm bread, with excellent butter from the West Side Market. Did we turn down seconds? Hell no. 

Hans started with a thin crust pizza: the Shrimp Verde with Baby Shrimp, Basil Pesto, Mozzarella and Provolone: 

 

Of course, I snagged the smallest piece. Upon having my first bite, I regretted ordering a main dish. I could have just easily worked on half of this pizza and been content. Lots of cheese, lots of pesto. Could have done with a few more shrimp, but I’m demanding when it comes to seafood, especially when it is this good. The crust was crispy all the way thru. No soggy crust. Major points for that. 

Hans also ordered the Kobe Burger, that SURPRISE! came with fries: 

 

This was one JUICY burger. Almost too juicy, as Hans ended up needing to snag a few extra napkins from a nearby table. Topped with (I believe) havarti and arugula (Hans told the waiter to hold the mushrooms), the burger had a great taste to it. The bun was a great compliment to the hefty burger and held its own, even with the ridiculous amount of liquid coming from the burger. I didn’t try the fries, but Hans said they were “tasty”. After rocking about 7/8 of the burger and 1/2 the fries, my hubby realized he ordered FAR TOO MUCH food and practically passed out in a food coma. This is always a good sign to know that Hans enjoyed the meal and was overall content at the end. 

For my main, I chose the Roasted Halibut with Basil Gremolata and Ratatouille Vegetables: 

 

I was so excited when this was placed in front of me, I started to dig in before taking the photo! I am not exaggerating when I say I could easily eat this every night for dinner. Everything was perfectly seasoned. The topping on the fish was incredibly tasty and really enhanced the fish perfectly. I could have used a few more veggies (surprise, surprise), but I practically licked the plate clean. I obviously HATED it! 🙂 

After receiving our check, the manager stopped by our table to see how we enjoyed the meal. I mentioned that everything was excellent, but that my one note for improvement was including the fact that fries were served with the burger on the menu. He gave me a look like “woman, you’re crazy”. I gave him one right back. He grabbed the menu, then realized the emission was because we happened to select a holiday weekend. Light Bistro had a special menu, so they focused on their special four course offering. In doing so, they scaled back “regular” menu. When the holiday weekend menu was written, they forgot to mention fries were included with the burger.  Really, no big  deal in the long run. The manager apologized, but I told him to not worry. It hardly mattered in the end because we really enjoyed our meal at Light Bistro. 

Will I return? Heck yes.  I need to enjoy their FULL regular menu ASAP! Plus, the customer service was remarkable. If you want to be taken care of AND be well fed, make some reservations today.

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restaurant review: fire food & drink

TODAY’S POINT OF BALANCE: Don’t forget to comment on my last post for your chance to win a t-shirt or tickets to a great event sponsored by Stove Monkeys! You just have to comment! ANYONE can win!

This past Sunday, I was lucky enough to enjoy Sunday Brunch at one of the top restaurants in Cleveland: fire food & drink:

I wanted to check out fire food & drink for a very long time.  It is located in the Shaker Square district, which is surrounded by a black hole of mangled side streets that some people call Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights.  Even though I’m pretty good when it comes to directions, I always take a wrong turn in this area, so I was a bit stressed when I realized I was going to be a few moments late.  I’m a Westsider and anxiety prone – what can I say. Luckily, fire offers complimentary valet parking to their guests. It’s their way of saying “thank you” to their customers. LOVE IT.

This was another work meeting = no pictures to share! You’ll just have to go to fire and enjoy these fine dishes yourself!

One of the lovely ladies I brunched with suggested doing a “Best of fire” brunch, where we ordered a bunch of items and enjoyed family style.  Being the breakfast fan that I am, I happy obliged. 

We started by sharing a housemade sticky bun. OH. MY. GOODNESS.  Over the years, my eating patterns have changed DRASTICALLY and I rarely crave sweets.  Since trying this breakfast treat, I haven’t stopped thinking about the gooey caramel and soft dough that was presented to us. Since I was incredibly giddy to get the rest of the breakfast selections, I held back, ate just a few bites and shared with the rest of the table. And most importantly, didn’t lick the plate clean. I was trying to show SOME professionalism, even on a weekend.

We ordered a bunch of items which we somehow fit on our table for five: 

The heavens opened and the angels sang as the lovely pile of three lemon souffle pancakes with blueberry compote was placed down in front of me. Lightly dusted with powdered sugar, the lemon in the pancakes was a wonderful surprise.  Hans loves blueberry pancakes as much as he loves gnocchi, so when there was half a pancake left, I made sure to snag it for my man.

The vegetable frittata of the day had spinach, mushrooms and brie. It’s like the chef KNEW I was coming that morning. Served with a small pile of green with vinaigrette (which I never got to), the brie was perfectly distributed in every bite. YUM. Within the frittata, the spinach and mushroom were cooked thru without being soggy.  I would definitely get this on my own if ordering in a normal dining scenario.

Not something I would normally order, the breakfast pizza had sunny side up eggs with bacon and cheese.  Somehow, I managed to get the only piece without bacon. WTF.  But I was perfectly satisfied with the perfectly cooked egg & cheese combo I did receive. The crust was the perfect combo of a crisp bottom and a doughy top layer. Overall, another solid savory breakfast item.

The only dish I did not try was the house cured salmon plate with a bialy’s bagel, egg salad, shaved onion and capers.  I am not sure why I never got to this dish, but the presentation was well done, with plenty of each component to enjoy. One of my fellow diners was extremely happy to just eat that dish for her meal, so we let her!

But my favorite had to be the almond stuffed french toast strawberries with toasted almonds and snake hill farm maple syrup. The pieces of french toast were melded together with an almond paste that sang in my mouth. Used to having them in the summer time, the fresh strawberries paired with the nuts and syrup made this savory breakfast girl a sweets lover for a morning.  I went back for seconds AND snagged the leftovers to take home to Hans.

Upon their arrival in Parma, I’m happy to report that my leftovers warmed up nicely in the microwave where they were happily enjoyed by my hubby.

I have to also mention the service at fire was outstanding. Our server was perfectly in tune with our table: offering refills at the exact moments they were needed, clearing plates, checking in with us just enough over the course of our two hour visit.  She was able to answer all our questions regarding the food choice. One of our diners had a severe nut allergy, so when we suggested just having the almonds on the side of the french toast, she was able to inform us of ALL the ingredients in the almond paste between the toast layers.  Major kudos to her.

After this visit, I know see why Travel + Leisure Magazine named fire food & drink “one of America’s best Sunday brunches”. If you have the craving for a solid breakfast on a Sunday, venture out to Shaker Square. You might get lost on the way, but at least you can park your car for free when you get there!

FEBRUARY RESTAURANT REVIEWS TO LOOK FORWARD TO: We’re going to Light Bistro for Valentine’s Day dinner (thanks again, Cleveland Independents), and I’ll be hitting up Zack Bruell’s new place Chinato at the end of the month for a work meeting.  I love this new job!

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