Coventry Welcomes New Asian Restaurant
Que Tal? announced its closing after 13 years on Coventry. Replacing it will be a Thai/ Vietnamese/ sushi restaurant, according to Clyde Mart of J.J. Hermann & Associates, the broker representing the newtenant. “The owner is a skilled professional who operates a Thai restaurant in Boston. Her sister and brother own Bangkok restaurant in Lyndhurst. This is a family-owned business. The reason they chose Coventry is because the area is very similar to where they are located in Boston,” he explained. The new 100-seat restaurant is being remodeled and is tentatively scheduled to open in mid-April. Mart said this will be a “casual, mid-scale priced restaurant.” Takeout service will be available.

International Flavor Comes to the Street
Coventry is quickly becoming Cleveland’s most diverse restaurant district, with the upcoming opening of Bodega. A tapas and wine bar, the restaurant is slated to open by the second week of
April. According to owner Said Ouaddaadaa (pronounced Sy-eed Wadada), “There is nothing like this in Cleveland, or in the State of Ohio. This is a new concept that has not yet made it to this area. It’s popular in other major cities and throughout Europe. It’s simple. It’s good and it’s not expensive.” Ouaddaadaa chose Coventry because “it’s a very busy street and it attracts a younger clientele.”

Approximately 25 varieties of tapas ranging in flavor from northern Mediterranean, Spanish to Moroccan French as well as over 200 martinis and 300 different wines from around the world will be the restaurant’s focus. Wine tastings and jazz, seven nights a week, are in the planning stages.

A Moroccan native who is now a resident of Cleveland Heights, Ouaddaadaa received his culinary training at Club Med under the direction of the chef from the prestigious Parisian Maxim’s restaurant. “He wanted to learn how to sail and I wanted to learn how to cook so I taught him sailing and he taught me cooking.” The owner of the Uptown Grille, located near the corner of Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Roads in University Circle, he previously owned Club Isabella.

1. What are the top 5 spices every home chef should have? Whole black tellecherry peppercorns (so much better than pre-ground), crushed red pepper (really can pick up a boring vegetable), fennel seed (love it on veggies, fish, pork, chicken, etc.), thyme (backbone for so many braises, stews and such) and cumin (can’t have that “true” Mexican flavor without it).

2. What is your favorite and least favorite thing to make? Favorite – anything roasted, least – consommé.

3. What is your favorite thing about Cleveland and what drives you nuts? Favorite – the people, least – weather.

4. If you could cook for one person, real or dead, who would it be? My mother.

5. You’re having a dinner party, top 5 songs on your play list? Alison Kraus – The Lucky One; Bonnie Raitt – Dimming of the Day; Dave Matthews Band – Bartender; Jerry Garcia, David Grisman & Tony Rice (Pizza Tapes) – Amazing Grace; Nora Jones – Feeling the Same Way; Willie Nelson – The Party’s Over (sure let’s people know when to leave).

6. Favorite restaurant in Cleveland? Without getting into trouble with some of my friends, I will stick to ethnic – Bangkok Thai on Mayfield Road.

7. What restaurant do you miss? Sticks – love that BBQ.

8. What hidden gem have Clevelanders yet to discover? Moosehead in Westlake.

9. What’s your last meal on Earth? A Pig Pickin’ (or better known as a pig roast above the Mason-Dixon Line).

10. Most unusual food you have ever tried? Chicken brains; didn’t go back for seconds.

11. Most famous person you have cooked for? Cooked a burger for Dave Thomas (most ironic) and for George W. Bush (most famous, liked or not).

12. If someone hasn’t been to Moxie in awhile, what can they expect to find that’s different? We’ve been slowing upgrading the look of the space, tableware and food consistency.

13. What’s your favorite cheese on the menu? Right now, Timberdoodle from Woodcock Farms in Weston, VT (timberdoodle is another name for the woodcock bird).

14. Where do you grocery shop? Heinen’s and some local farms around my house in Bay.

15. Favorite guilty please when it comes to food? Sweets – any kind, any time.

16. What is the one thing you learned from working with Doug Katz that you will always remember? He really reminded me that you can use tried and true classical techniques in the real world today.

17. How much of your menu features items from local farmers and which farmers do you frequent the most? Winter 10 percent and summer between 30 and 40 percent. I like Pickering Hill, Nagel Farms, Speigleburg, Veggie Valley, Patterson, and a few others on the west side.

18. If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing? Architect. The two are so similar – we design and build for the enjoyment of others, per se.

19. If you could have one chef leave their post and come work for you, who would it be? Tough question. I don’t know if that is possible, but if I must choose, it would have to be Thomas Keller. The man has such a solid foundation of skills, but I’d rather him work with me not for me.