Charlene's Top 3 CLE Restaurants

As a part of today's Ohio Blogging Association's All State Blog Swap, I'm happy to introduce you to Charlene from Life in the CLE. Head on over to Charlene's blog to check out my tour of Great Lakes brewery!  On this day, bloggers from around the great state of Ohio are guest posting on one another blogs as a way to help to get one another in our blogging community. For a full listing of blog swap participants, please visit Poise in Parma today.

One of the things that Stephanie and I have in common (beside both playing on BvBCLE Football Teams), is our love of Cleveland food. My group of friends and I have all decided that we all have our go-to spots and our favorite chefs in town. One of the best things about living in Cleveland? The fact that we have so many great spots in town and so many wonderful chefs. This year, I had the wonderful opportunity of getting to know some of these chefs better and also seeing them show their Cleveland pride while celebrating the West Side Market 100th Birthday.

My top 3 favorites? I selected based on food, atmosphere and staff - all three make a huge difference in a dining experience. My top three are pretty obvious choices but here are my go-to’s in town:

1. The Greenhouse Tavern - Jonathon Saywer. Reasons I love this location: It’s on the gorgeous East 4th Street. GHT has a beautiful rooftop bar where you can enjoy a great view of the city, while enjoying a fabulous mixed cocktail (my favorite is the Smartie). The food is to die for. Seriously. I recently took a client to GHT for dinner and every course, from the special Fifth Quarter to our entrees was cooked perfectly. 
2. SOHO - A newer Ohio City spot, the southern feel touches this Northern girl’s heart (even though I’ve always wanted to move south...specifically Dallas or Austin). A great brunch menu is always important and this one is a favorite. The drinks are fun and when celebrating the WSM100 with friends on a cold, rainy day, the staff went above and beyond to make sure we had warm apple cider with rum. One of my favorite brunch drinks is bourbon & bubbles - two of my faves!
3. Hodge’s Cleveland - Chris Hodgson. This spot has quickly become my home away from home. A great, affordable menu with fun spins on classics, Hodge’s is a place where you are sure to find multiple entrees that you will enjoy. The new fall menu features plenty of seasonal food and I can’t get enough of the new gnocchi dish or the spaghetti squash. If you are looking for a great drink - you cannot go wrong with the Pete Rose. My favorite thing about this restaurant though - it just feels like home. I’ve become friends not just with Chris, but also with his staff. There’s something to be said for a staff that knows your favorite drinks and calls you by name. 

Those are my three go-to’s when I have friends, family or clients in town and want to show them a great evening. What’s yours? 

Tuesday's Tidbits

Happy Tuesday!  I hope all of my fellow CLE runners are recovered from this past weekend!  We all did awesome and should be proud even if it was not our best race.  Next week is the perfect week for refueling since there are so many great food event going on.  Here's a sampling!

*The third C-Town Chow Down will be taking place on Sunday at Lincoln Park!

*Monday May 23 a special Dinner in the Dark will be held at Amp 150 to benefit the Matthew Finkel scholarship fund.  Over 15 chefs are teaming up for this event which already sounds delicious!

*The Greenhouse Tavern will be opening its NEW rooftop patio this Sunday at 6:30 with a rooftop beach party.  They also will be hosting a Whiskey Dinner on May 25th for $35/person.

*Farmers Markets are opening up throughout Northeastern Ohio.  Here is a list cleveland.com has put together.  SUPPORT LOCAL FARMERS AND BUSINESSES!

*Washington Place Bistro is holding it's May food and wine dinner on May 26.  $60 will get you a five course meal with wine pairing.  Also be sure to check out their new patio!

*NAKED SUSHI is back and bigger then before!  Tickets for the May 26 event are available for $15 through Stove Monkeys or $20 at the door.

*May 26th is a busy day for Cleveland Food lovers! The 17th Annual Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards Party will be held on 5/26 at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown.  This is the pefect chance to try that restaurant you have been meaning to go to while still enjoying your favorites.

*The Emerging Chefs are bringing the tastes and festivities of New Orleans to Cleveland!  Mardi Gras en Mai featuring Chef Chris Quinn will be taking place on May 27 with the West Bank of the Cuyahoga being transformed into the banks of the Mississippi.  

*A Memorial Day Weekend tradition in Cleveland will be returning again this year to Nautica Pavilion.  The Marc's Great American Rib and Music Festival marks the beginning of summer May 27-31!

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!

Tuesday's Tidbits

Happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day and is enjoying this warmer weather we are having here in Cleveland.  There is quite a bit going on in the Cleveland food world over the next few weeks, so without anything further...

*Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week kicks off Monday and goes through February 27.  Over 40 restaurants are offering $30 prix fixe dinners and some are offering $15 lunches.  This is a wonderful opportunity to check out a new Cleveland restaurant or revisit an old favorite.  Also, throughout the week, many restaurants will be holding various tastings and events.  Be sure to take advantage of the $2 parking voucher.

*On February 24th, Washington Place Bistro and Inn will be holding its first wine dinner.  For $50/person, you get 5 course meal paired with four different wines (the dessert course is served with coffee).

*Also on February 24th, the  Thirsty Dog Brewing Company (of Akron, Ohio) will be holding The Dog Days of Winter at Wonder Bar.  The tasting is free with the purchase of the Restaurant Week prix fixe, or $5 on its own.

*Speaking of tastings, every Saturday, Little Italy Wines holds a wine tasting.  Selections vary by week.  Stop in after dinner at one of the many wonderful restaurants in Little Italy.

*I am excited to attend my second Emerging Chefs event next Wednesday, Sacrilicious, featuring Chef Jeff Fisher of Touch Supper Club.  This event it SOLD OUT.

*Great Lakes Brewing Company is tapping it's newest seasonal selection today, "The Dopplerock".

*Metromix Cleveland is currently looking for YOUR votes for their "Best of Metromix".  Be sure to vote soon and vote often for your favorite Cleveland restaurants in numerous categories.

*Spring Training began today for our Cleveland Indians.  Be sure to mark April 15, May 13, June 17, July 29, August 26, and September 23 on your calendar for Sugardale Dollar Dog nights!

*Lilly Handmade Chocolates will be holding it's monthly Craftbeer Ice Cream Floats on February 26.

*On March 3rd, The Greenhouse Tavern wil be holding a very special dinner.  James Beard award winning chef Jeff Michaud will be teaming up with Jonathon Sawyer to prepare a 6 course family style meal.  The cost is $97/person.

*If you have not heard the good news, Michael Symon will be opening his third B Spot in Crocker Park.

*I am also currently obsessed with homemade guacamole and Xochitl tortilla chips.  These chips come in a variety of options including no salt, organic blue corn, and cajun.  They are also gluten and preservative free.

Until next time...Follow your heart, fulfill your hunger

Greenhouse Goodness

"Tuesday's Tidbits" is taking a week hiatus since I have not had time the past few days to blog about last Friday night.  I promise, it will be back next Tuesday full of juicy tidbits about fabulous food events around Cleveland.  So what is so great that is causing this hiatus?  CLEgal may have alluded to our Friday night in her most recent Why? Weekends post.  (P.S. While you are visiting WhyCLE, enter her contest!!)

CLEgal and I always love an excuse to go to The Greenhouse Tavern.  Chef Jonathon Sawyer's eco-friendly spot on East 4th Street quickly became one of our favorite CLE restaurants since it opened its doors in 2009.  The eclectic atmosphere, the location, and of course, the food keep us coming back for more.  With a menu that changes seasonally to ensure the freshest ingredients, there is always the anticipation of what Chef Sawyer will have waiting for you in the kitchen.  Nationally, The Greenhouse Tavern has been recognized by both Bon Appetit and Food and Wine Magazines.  It also has been featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate as Iron Chef Michael Symon's guilty pleasure (the gravy frites).  Last Thursday, as CLEgal and I were tweeting, we both noticed Greenhouse was offering a free Green and black organic chocolate pot du creme with any chef's tasting purchased.  Free chocolate just sweetened up our Friday night dinner decision.  Or so we though...

Bread and goat's milk butter

Devils on Horseback

The Chef's tasting menu allows you to select a first, second, entree, and half of your choice for $44 (yes, there are vegetarian/vegan options available too).  After enjoying our first round of drinks and the bread and butter , CLEgal and I decided to share the chef's tasting menu since we both came to the conclusion, it was quite a bit of food. Afterall, we needed room for the pot du creme.  For our first, we were in agreement to get the Devils on Horseback.  What's not to love about dates wrapped in bacon and filled with chocolate and Fresno pepper.  The perfect first course to start off the evening.    

Crispy Chicken Wings Confit

For our second course we had to go with my favorite menu item, the crispy chicken wings confit.  Now these are not your ordinary wings.  Whatever Chef Sawyer does to the wings to make them fall off the bone melt in your mouth delicious is some sort of magic.  They are flavored with jalapeno, lemon juice, garlic, and scallions which all blend so well and compliment each other perfectly.  They are not greasy or lacking anything.  The only problem with this dish is when they are all gone.  I have been to Greenhouse and made these my meal, whether it is lunch, dinner, or a post Tribe game snack.  No trip here is complete without them.

It was around this time CLEgal and I were checking our texts and tweets when we both received this:

"@HungryInCLE @whycle Glad you're here! Come say hi to the kitchen!" from @thegreenhouse.   

Duck Pasta

Ohio Apples and Tokyo Turnips

Organic chocolate pot du creme

As we awaited our entree with half, we both decided "Why not!"  Being the social media savvy bloggers we are, we both tweeted earlier about having dinner at The Greenhouse.  We couldn't help but wonder if it was Chef Sawyer himself who sent the tweet.    For our entree, we selected the duck pasta, which was strozzapreti pasta with duck livers, duck skin cracklings, Ohio apples, red onions and toasted bread crumbs.  As a great compliment to the apples in the pasta, we chose the roasted Ohio apples and Tokyo turnips for our half.    Don't be intimidated by the description of what is in the pasta.  The crunch from the livers, cracklings and bread crumbs adds to the dish and the 


apples add a subtle sweetness.  Overall, I would recommend this combination.  One we cleared our plate, the server brought us the black and green organic chocolate pot du creme.  Very rich, very creamy, very chocolaty.  It was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.  Even though we were enjoying all of this wonderful food, we kept thinking about that tweet.  After paying the bill, we finally headed downstairs.  We went up to the kitchen window and asked who sent a tweet to HungryInCLE and WhyCLE.  To our pleasant surprise, Chef Sawyer spoke up.  We ended up talking with him briefly about his restaurant and food.  Since he was busy in the kitchen, and we had a Salt n Pepa concert to attend, we left with his business card, fulfilled hunger, and smiles on our faces.  Now, we have even more reasons to look forward to our future visits to The Greenhouse Tavern.  Thank you Chef Jonathon Sawyer!

  

Until next time...follow your heart, fulfill your hunger!