Great Lakes Green Pages

To change Cleveland for the better, we need new ideas.  While there has been tremendous growth in the area of sustainability, clean energy and the like, I think our biggest growth area has been in the food world.  We Clevelanders love to eat, that much is certain.  When I moved here, it seemed all a bit old school.  You could find a great greasy burger, chili cheese fries, or corned beef sandwich within any neighborhood it seemed.  But over the past decade, I have seen Cleveland’s food seem grow and elevate itself in a way that I never thought possible.    A small restaurant with a local following, buoyed Chef Michael Symon to Iron Chef fame and a series of new ventures around the city and beyond.  Chef Jonathan Sawyer started a new green concept and made it to Food and Wind Magazine Fame.  Chef Brandt Evans of Kosta’s went on to open a series of great lodge-themed American Funk Fusion restaurants across the country, known as the Blue Canyon Kitchen and Tavern, and his charm and wit have made him a local celebrity.  Bob Sferra, Rocco Whalen, Steve Schimoler, Ellis Cooley and many more are fast making Cleveland the culinary capital of the Great Lakes.  I remember when Tremont was Lola’s, Kosta’s, and a handful of loud grungy eateries.  Now, you can’t a neighborhood with more great restaurants in the region.  E 4th Street is becoming a mecca for weekend dining and has attracted large scale chains like House of Blues.  Places like Melt, Momocho and others are being featured on television all the time.  But while established chefs are opening great hot spots, there is an underground chef culture that should not be ignored.

These emerging chefs and their contemporaries are coming up with new and innovative ideas to intrigue us.  I first found out about some of these cool folks when I won a T-shirt from the Cleveland Foodie blog.  A hip, fun tee from Stove Monkeys.  Always a fan of local business and food, I wrote about them on several occasions.  So when I heard about their molecular gastronomy event, I was in!  This has turned into a monthly event that is evolving into a culinary showpiece for foodies interested in the odd, but delightful world of interesting food innovation by Chef Matthew Mytro, Mike Schoen and their buddies. (Be sure to follow their exploits on Facebook!)  Then I was introduced to another great company, Dim and Den Sum.  Chefs Chris Hodgson and Jeremy Esterly are changing the way we look at street food in this town.  Veggie and pulled pork tacos, meatball sandwiches, tater tots with exotic spices and toppings are just a sampling of what you might find on their crazy painted food truck.  This truck is just the springboard to a bigger future… a fleet of trucks, a restaurant, who knows?

So when I got the invitation from my new pal, Kimberly Burant and her new company Clear Cut Promotions for an event at the Velvet Dog, I HAD to go.  The event was called “Fearless” and it featured a wide range of participants.  There were cocktails being shaken up by Darko Marinkovic of Chinato that were mixed with exotic elixers from The Lounging Gourmet.  I especially liked The Duchess and The Duke: an exotic combination of gin, lavender, and cucumber.

Then came the interesting fare!  I started off with a fantastic crostini topped with smashed peas, water cress and pickled lamb’s heart.  It was unbelievable and I could have eaten an entire plateful.  The chewy texture of the meat was softened by the pickling and the smashed peas were out of this world.  I want to try and duplicate this myself!

Then I tried the “Superworm:”  basically, if you have ever eaten the worm in the bottom of a bottle of tequila (and who hasn’t?), then you get the idea,  This was a tequila and lime jello shot with a super worm inside.  My new friend Janet of Metromix tried one and it freaked her out a bit, but I was non-plussed.  I followed that with other tasty delicacies, like the braised antelope short rib taco and the wild boar bacon fritter with tomato coulis.  Then there was the “catch of the day.”  Deep fired hissing cockroaches.  It was the talk of the evening, “would you?”  ”could you?”  ”did you see that?” and “Oh my God!” I have to admit, I saw no reason to eat this giant bug.  I figured that it would not add at all to my life experiences and who cares that I could say that I ate a cockroach.  Even if some places consider them a delicacy, the allure of a back street restaurant in China or Indonesia is not quite the same as the rooftop of the Velvet Dog in Ohio.  I enjoyed watching others, though!

So while eating cockroaches may not be your thing, the fact remains that young and vibrant talent abounds in this town.  Starting new trends and creating an entire sub culture of interesting ideas that will make the rest of the country take more notice of us.  Bringing Cleveland back to its hight and rightful place as the capital of the Great Lakes will take time, ingenuity, and fresh clever ideas, and I am proud to have had the chance to meet and hang out with some of the fresh new thinkers that will be a part of it!