Cleveland Foodie

cleveland rocks and so does its food (tell me why and win $50 to crop)

Michelle V — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:31:00 +0000

Since landing in Cleveland in 2005, chef Steve Schimoler has made quite the impression. After his term ended at Nestle in Solon, he could have packed up his knives and headed anywhere given his impressive background and talent. But no, he decided to stay in Cleveland and open Crop Bistro in the summer of 2007. And that would have been enough for most – but not this chef. He fell in love with our city and wanted to make a bigger impact. He went onto launch Local Crop, an online farmer’s market that connects Northeast Ohio farmers with local chefs, and most recently, Cleveland Food Rocks, a collaborative effort among local chefs to put our wonderful independent restaurants in the spotlight as the Rock Hall induction ceremony finally comes home.

Beginning March 28 through April 4 – Rock Hall induction week – 16 restaurants will feature a special food or drink item centered around the Rock ‘n’ Roll theme and will have live music one night during the week.

Just like the Renegade Lunch, this is another idea I just love — our local chefs working together to promote our city and each other. Chef Schimoler’s objective for this concept was to champion the dining scene to the estimated 40,000 visitors that are expected to take over Cleveland that week and boost business at local, independent restaurants.

According to Elaine Cicora, Crops’s chief storyteller, Steve came up with the idea a year ago. As a drummer and a chef, he is very tuned into the synergy of food and music, and immediately saw this as a natural way to leverage the excitement of the inductions into a showcase for the city’s great dining scene. In addition, he also was committed to developing the project as a truly collaborative, grass-roots endeavor and wanted to encourage the community to come together to spotlight our wonderful city — not merely as a money-making opportunity, but as a real celebration of Cleveland’s great clubs and restaurants.

The Music

The project’s grassroots focus is also seen in some of the music that restaurants are featuring : Sergio’s Sarava, for instance, will be featuring a samba trio made up of the restaurant’s bus boys; Metropolitan Cafe is featuring acoustic jazz provided by their multi-talented servers; and of course, Cream of the Crop (Steve’s band) will be playing at Crop on April 3 featuring Crop staffers and former staffers.

This is really a big deal for our city. The inductions are finally back and it’s great to see so many businesses, organizations and the community in general working together and joining in the excitement.

In addition to Crop, participating restaurants include: Bar Cento, Bistro on Lincoln Park, Brother’s Lounge, Fahrenheit, Grotto, Grovewood Tavern, Gusto, Johnny’s, Lago, Luxe, Metropolitan Cafe, Michaelangelo’s, Prosperity Social Club, Sarava and Wonder Bar.

Here’s just a sampling of what you’ll find:

–Luxe / B.B. King’s Cajun mac ‘n’ cheese

–Metropolitan / Strawberry Fields Forever (spicy shrimp tossed in greens with strawberry shallot vinaigrette)

–Michaelangelo’s / Black Sabbath’s sweet leaf mint martini + Sinatra cover band

–Fahrenheit / April 1, 4-course tasting menu, only $32 + Material Girl martini

For a complete list of live music and special food and drink creations, click here. By the way, be sure to head to the Rock Hall on April 4 – admission is FREE all day.

Win $50 to Crop

So what’s better than all the new treats hitting diners’ plates next week? Eating for free. Playing off the popularity of the six-word phenomenon, sometimes referred to as American haiku, you can win a $50 gift certificate to Crop Bistro. Here’s how:

Legend has it Hemingway was once asked if he could write a story in six-words. His reply, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” He was said to have called it his best work. In 2006, Smith Magazine partnered with Twitter for a six-word challenge (another brilliant idea). Soon, there will be a foodie six-word book from Smith Mag (more on that later).

Playing off this idea, tell me why Cleveland Rocks in exactly six words and the gift card could be yours. Share your words in the comment section and be sure to include your e-mail so I can notify the winner. Deadline is Friday, April 27, at 9 a.m. Good luck.

For inspiration, watch this video. Even if you’re not going to participate, still watch – it’s that good. And be sure to head out during Rock Hall week to help our chefs show off our city.

new additions to bistro on lincoln park

Michelle V — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:06:00 +0000

When we first visited Bistro on Lincoln Park back in December for Metromix, the chef promised that a happy hour was not far off, along with an affordable wine list. This past weekend, we found ourselves back at Bistro to celebrate our friend’s birthday and learned both are now in full swing.

In addition to the restaurant’s regular wine list, you can also order from the 20 under $20, which features a good mix of reds and whites. Not one to pass on a good deal, the table quickly ordered a few bottles. Even if you think you’re only going to have one or two glasses of wine, it’s just more cost-effective to order from this list, considering you can cork what you don’t drink and enjoy at home later.

Following in Lolita’s delicious footsteps, Bistro also offers two daily happy hours Monday – Friday, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., then again from 9:30 p.m. to close (10:30 on Fridays).

For $5, you can try:

Lamb Sliders, peppered aioli, micro fennel on homemade slider buns
Croque Monsieur, house-made duck prosciutto & raclette cheese on English muffin
Country Sausage Ragoug, fresh sausage, forest mushrooms & roasted chestnuts over polenta
Pizzelle mini, hand-made pizza dough served with fresh tomato sauce and parmesan reggiano Tuscan Beef Stew, slow braised beef served over creamy polenta

As for our meal last Friday, cheers from all around the table. I had the scallop special over wilted spinach and a deluxe hash brown of sorts and the goat cheese tart to start things off. Two visits and two good meals. Service was friendly, too, and the restaurant itself was nicely packed. No doubt that will continue with the addition of the happy hour menu.

q & a with chef pete joyce

Michelle V — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:17:00 +0000

Recently, chef Pete Joyce and his wife opened Bistro on Lincoln Park in the old Sage space in Tremont. My husband and I went there for dinner in early December. We thoroughly enjoyed both the space and the food and would highly recommend visiting if you haven’t already.

1. What are the top 5 spices every home chef should have? Salt, pepper, thyme, cinnamon and chipotle

2. What is your favorite and least favorite thing to make? Favorite thing to make is duck confit; least favorite is nothing – I love to cook.

3. What is your favorite thing about Cleveland and what drives you nuts? It’s a small town with all big city things to do. People in this town think the traffic is bad, and it’s really not.

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

5. You’re having a dinner party, top 5 songs on your play list? Linus & Lucy (Vince Guaraldi), The Last Waltz (The Band), Crash (Dave Matthews), Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton) and Ride Wit Me (Nelly)

6. Favorite restaurant in Cleveland? Flying Fig

7. What restaurant do you miss? None

8. What place(s) have Clevelanders yet to discover? Bistro on Lincoln Park

9. What’s your last meal on Earth? Foie Gras

10. Most unusual food you have ever tried? Lamb eye balls and brain

11. Most famous person you have cooked for? Derek Jeter

12. If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing? ski bum

13. Where do you grocery shop? I don’t, my wife does (Heinens)

14. Favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to food? Foie gras

15. If you could be any other chef for one day, who would it be? Thoma Keller

16. Favorite TV show? CSI

17. Favorite kitchen gadget? Japanese Mandolin

18. What is the best plate of food you have ever had? Duck Confit, Balthazar, NYC

19. Favorite meal from your childhood? Mom’s baked chicken

20. What’s on your iPod? What’s not on my iPod? These things can hold so many songs it’s not even funny. The Band, Beatles, Grateful Dead, Phish, Clapton, Bob Dylan, Little Feat, Neil Young, Rolling Stones, The Who.

21. What’s your signature dish? Sous Vide Salmon

22. Why should someone visit you for dinner? Because the Bistro is different. It offers variety, great food, great service and a warm, inviting atmosphere with reasonable prices.

23. What’s the inspiration behind your restaurant? Passion for great food.

bistro on lincoln park

Michelle V — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:08:00 +0000

One of the last restaurants we went to before I had the baby was the newest addition to Tremont, Bistro on Lincoln Park, for Metromix. Chef Pete Joyce and his wife purchased the former Sage space to open this Mediterranean restaurant.

Overall we really enjoyed it, both the food and atmosphere. Joyce, and his sous chef Cory Hess, shared a little of the restaurant’s future plans, including a happy hour menu and a special wine list featuring 20 wines under $20.

Joyce also discussed his approach to cooking and what people can expect from his restaurant(part of the article is below; for the rest click here):

At Bistro, everything on the menu is homemade—from the bread and desserts right down to the mustard and ketchup. Joyce says he takes pride in knowing nothing comes through the back door in a can and that whenever possible, local ingredients are used. The chef’s philosophy is simple: by starting with great ingredients, you will end with a great product.

Joyce and Hess use classical cooking techniques mixed with modern technology. The kitchen is equipped with a cryovac machine, which is basically a giant food saver that allows the chefs to utilize sous-vide cooking (sous vide is French for under vacuum and is nothing more than a hot water bath with an exact temperature control that allows for precise cooking and to maintain the integrity of ingredients). The chefs will then take foods that have been cryovaced and cook them in the immersion circulator.

The mix of classic and modern cooking techniques works. On a recent visit, we started with a bowl of the onion soup gratinee with venison broth and raclette cheese and the verts aux lardons salad with baby greens, house cured bacon, lavender-honey Dijon dressing, croutons and a poached egg nestled in the center. For dinner, we opted for the steak and frites and ratatouille ravioli with oven-dried tomato and caper butter.

The starters were each fantastic, including the risotto ball amuse bouche with gruyere and truffle oil. The soup had a rich and luxurious taste while the small salad featured generous amounts of the thick-sliced bacon and hearty croutons. The only slight disappointment was the dressing—it wasn’t as flavorful as expected, but the poached egg made up for it.

As for the entrées, the tender steak boasted good flavor but was almost overshadowed by the incredibly addicting fries. The fries, while not necessarily as good as the highly coveted and widely popular fries at Lola and Lolita, were definitely in the same league. As for the ravioli, the simple and aromatic dish was happily cooked slightly al dente and overall, incredibly fresh and flavorful, especially the chunks of tomatoes.

Other popular menu items include the grilled pork loin with Roquefort-celery emulsion, seared tuna with sweetbreads and golden raisin vinaigrette, chorizo blini, Spanish black bean cake and chocolate chip cookies with milk for dessert.

The menu, which features nothing over $23, will change seasonally.