Cleveland Foodie

wine bars

Michelle V — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 02:02:00 +0000

For the January issue of Cleveland Magazine, I wrote a brief article highlighting some of the area’s wine bars. Included in the roundup were: 806 Bistro, 87 West, North End, Royal Vine and The Fairmount Wine Bar. The article briefly touches on each bar’s atmosphere, food offerings and pairing suggestions.

If you’re a wine drinker, we’re fortunate in that we have a pretty decent selection of places to check out regardless of your location. If space and word count weren’t an issue, the article could have easily covered much more – including other wine bars worthy of a visit. On that list would be Market Avenue Wine Bar, La Cave du Vin, Bar Ceno, The Wine Bar and The Wine Room. Of all the wine bars, I’d have to say Market Avenue is perhaps my favorite, although 87 West and 806 would be up there – both for the patios. And while it’s technically not a wine bar, sitting on the patio at Baricelli with a glass of wine and cheese plate tops my list of favorite things to do in the summer. Wine and atmosphere aside, this is the best place to go if you love cheese.

north end in hudson

Michelle V — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 17:17:00 +0000

Good friends of ours recently moved to Hudson so we made plans to see their new place and grab dinner. My friend suggested North End, right on 91. Years ago I used to work for a boutique PR shop in Hudson and would regularly grab lunch or pick up wine on the way home at the North End Market. Then, it was a wine shop and deli with the best soups and salads. I was surprised to hear it became a full-service restaurant and wine bar now known as just North End. The outside remained the same, but the inside was pretty different. The small restaurant, which was comprised of maybe 15 – 20 tables, was nestled in between all the wine. You feel as if you are in a small, quaint wine cellar – it was nice. I started off with a flight of cabs and three cheeses from Baricelli. This was perhaps my favorite part – they carry over 40 cheese varieties from Baricelli! As a cheese addict, I was in heaven. Between my flight, then two additional glasses of cab, I definitely needed more than cheese in my stomach. On special that night was mussels in a tomato-based rich broth filled with big chunks of tomatoes and many other spices I unfortunately can’t remember (probably due to all the vino). But it was delicious – and the mussels were huge. My husband had a Kobe beef burger, so he was in heaven. I can’t remember what our friends had, but everyone loved their meal. And since it was our first visit, they brought us complimentary dessert – chocolate cake, perfect. Another really great meal and we are already talking about when we can go back.

cheese please

Michelle V — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:09:00 +0000

My favorite dessert is cheese. Forget chocolate after dinner. I can’t think of a better way to finish a meal (or start one!) then with a full-bodied glass of wine and a plate of stinky, rich, creamy cheese. And I’m not alone. A lot more restaurants in Cleveland are offering cheese as dessert and offer a separate cheese menu. Many places are getting their cheese from Baricelli. That’s right, Baricelli is not just for fine dining anymore and recently opened a cheese store to the public, which I visited in early spring. I was expecting a little shop dedicated to all the varieties from around the world with friendly staff knowledgeable in their aged goat, sheep and cow milk cheeses. I was picturing a wine cellar, but with cheese. Instead, I found a large walk-in cooler and one employee who didn’t know much (I was told I came at a bad time, though). The cooler was filled with lots of varieties and I quickly recognized all the different cheeses I’ve sampled at other places and had perma grin from the sights and smells. But it was all a bit intimidating and with the one lone employee watching me and Jamie waiting outside, I felt rushed and left empty handed. So for now, I’ll have to stick with the Baricelli selections found at Lolita, Marotta’s and North End Market in Hudson (they have the best selection of them all). And for my at home cheese fix, I’m happy with the selections at Miles Market, Heinen’s and Whole Foods.