It is a cool time to be alive and living in Cleveland!
You can say what you want about this town, but one thing that we have over many of our counterparts across the country is great food! I was pleased to be invited to the Local Food Cleveland meetup at Greenhouse Tavern. The cool thing was that it was held on the rooftop of the restaurant. I am excited to see what they end up fully doing with the space, and what they grow up there. The plan is to have a greenhouse on top for the restaurant to grow some of its own produce and to also have some rooftop dining. The view is interesting, and you can look down on the crowds of 4th Street. I would love to dine here under the stars….
And then there was Yumm! We left the Local Food event and walked a little around downtown. Since most folks were engaged in the Cav’s game,
the city was a little quiet. We made our way over to the Mercury Lounge for a special event held by Matthew Mytro and his buddies at Stove Monkeys. I first saw the concept of molecular gastronomy on Top Chef a few seasons ago. It looks so fun and playful, and still delicious. I was thrilled to be able to try some of these cool treats myself. We had some nitrogen poached ice cream (yes, we started with dessert) which was quite tasty. Think dipping dots-only delicious. Then we moved on to tempura battered egg yolks. These were egg yolks that were frozen and covered in tempura batter, then deep fried. They came out crispy and cooked on the outsides, but soft and runny inside, and were served with a chive aioli. What a weird and delightful way to serve eggs… next came the chicken satay. It was a skewer of white meat chicken, grilled, then wrapped in a fluffy coating of curry cotton candy. They finished with some “exploding berries” but we didn’t stay to try them. I heard from some other folks that were there that they were absolutely fantastic! Sorry, the quality of the images is terrible…
But not to worry, if you didn’t make it. Chef Mytro tells me the plan is to continue this event every month! On the first Monday of the month, you can come down to Mercury and experience some wild and crazy concoctions. I can’t wait for next month-save the date for June 7th!
Also there was Chef Christopher Hodgson and Chef Jeremy Esterly and the newest Cleveland addition to the food scene: dim and den sum. This is Cleveland’s first and only gourmet street vendor. This is not your NY Knish stand or the usual hot dog cart! These guys are serious! Serving “Soul food with Asain flair” using as many locally sourced ingredients as they can find, these guys are churning out some tempting food at a price you can afford! Yeah, you can get crispy tater tots with foie gras to go with your Dim Burger or Veggi-rito. Or one of their 3 specialty tacos… or a PBLT-that’s pork shoulder confit, thick cut bacon, tomato jam, and sriacha mayo. Check out their site, and follow them on twitter and facebok to find out where they are going to be. Don’t miss out on this portable culinary treat!
I managed to make it to a NEO chapter of the USGBC networking event at Blue Canyon. Chef Brandt Evans was one of my first bosses here in Cleveland at the old Kosta’s in Tremont. Twinsburg is bit of a haul for me, so I don’t get to the Blue like I would like to. As always, the appetizers were first rate, and quite a few people showed up. Even more impressive is the level of service they maintain at the Blue Canyon. I was amazed at how pleasant and thoughtful everyone was and how attentive the staff was, not just to me, but to the other patrons in the restaurant. This is what keeps them in business! Our room even had its own deck-what a way to relax and enjoy meeting new people.
Yeah, it’s a great time to live and eat in Cleveland….
Tags: Cleveland, local food, restaurants
wow, those places sound awesome! thanks for the tips. i’m going to check them out soon!