Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!  

Hope your day is filled with family, friends, good food, and many blessings!

For a peek at some of my family traditions, go here!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

May your Thanksgiving be filled with family, friends, good food, good wine, good beer, and many blessings!

Mangia! Mangia! NEO Food Tour through Little Italy

When Amanda from Clue into Cleveland reached out to me a few weeks ago about going on the next NEO Food Tour through Little Italy, I wasted no time getting a ticket.  Little Italy is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Cleveland and the opportunity to eat at four different places in one visit was not one to turn down.  Little Italy has a certain charm about it that draws both Italian and non-Italian Clevelanders back again and again.  From cute little art galleries to the history and tradition to of course the FOOD I cannot say enough good things about Little Italy.  Our walking tour through Little Italy was the perfect way to learn about this historic neighborhood with four different food stops along the way.

Our evening began on the corner of Murray Hill and Mayfield at one of my personal favorites La Dolce Vita.  La Dolce's owner, Terry Tarintino, would be our guide to the night.  Once our group assembled, we were seated on the back patio to enjoy "una creazione molto particolare culinaria" according to our menu.  We were presented with a beautiful caprese accompanied by a pour of La Lave, a white Terry discovered while in Key West.  I love a nice caprese to start a multi-course Italian meal.  The combination of the freshness of the ingredients, the unique and refreshing wine, and the warm weather set the tone for a great evening.  The slightly sweet tomato and the creamy mozzarella blended nicely together while the basil and olive oil added a nice flavor.  While enjoying this creation, Terry gave us a little history of the building.  Originally, La Dolce Vita was the neighborhood pharmacy.  Now it reminds me of what I would picture to be a small bistro on the Italian countryside (I have never been to Italy, so I would not know).

Our next stop was slightly uphill (Murray Hill) to the newly opened Murray Hill Market.  We were greeted by owner Michele Iacobelli-Buckholtz who told us she opened the market after her child went off to school at NYU.  She was impressed with all of the small family owned markets in Greenwich Village and wanted to bring that home to Cleveland.  The shelves are stocked with the usual market fair intertwined with specialty and imported items.  Murray Hill Market also offers a deli counter and fresh local produce.  Here, Michele prepared for us a wonderful spread of cured meats, fresh parmigiano-reggiano cheese, prosciutto wrapped figs (my personal favorite at this stop), and turkey on pepper jack drizzled with cranberry mayonnaise.  Upon exploring the store further, I found another delicious surprise, Murray Hill Market sells every variety of Jeni's Ice Cream.  Between the deli counter, the fresh daily specials, and Jeni's,  I know I will be back very soon to the market.

While walking to our next stop, Terry told us when he was growing up in Little Italy, family owned markets were everywhere throughout the neighborhood.  Many of the houses were built over a small storefront.  He pointed out where his uncle's hardware store used to he (Now Il Bacio), and where his grandfather lived (and had a dice game) all along the way to Michaelangelo's for our entree course.  Upon entering, Terry mentioned it used to be a privet club and has the most unique urban patio in the neighborhood.  Waiting for us was a large table in the dining room off of the bar.  Sitting down, I felt as if I were a guest at a family dinner hosted by Italian friends.  We were served a three cheese tortellini with parmasan, and prosciutto with peas.  I would hope this dish is on the menu next time I visit Michalangelo's.  The tortellini was cooked to perfection and the parmasan pulled the proscuitto and peas into the pasta component.  Also, we were served a gnocchi in the house Bolognse.  I would recommend the gnocchi for a future visit.  They were not overly chewy or heavy like some gnocchi tend to be.  However, the house Bolognese had both duck and veal in it.  I would have much rather preferred a simple marinara (which was served to the vegetarians in our group) since I do not like veal.  I sampled a little bit and it was just not working.  For those who enjoy veal, try the house Bolognse at Michaelangelo's and let me know your thoughts!

Before heading back downhill for our dessert, Terry showed us this unique patio complete with bocci ball courts.  It has a beautiful view of the RTA tracks, the Case Western campus, and University Hospital.  Along the walk down Murray Hill, Terry would smile and wave at the neighbors while saying a friendly "hello".  This really gave me a wonderful impression of the sense of family and community in Little Italy.  Some of the places and faces may have changed over the years, but the warmth of neighbors and tradition are still strongly felt.  Our final stop was another of my Little Italy favorites, Trattoria on the Hill.  After being lead to the back patio, we were served two different crustinis, one eggplant and the other white bean and tuna, we cleansed our palates and satisfied out sweet tooth with raspberry and lemon sorbets.  Upon leaving with full stomachs, we were given two mini cannoli from Corbo's.  These may or may not have made it to my car.  Afterall, for me, a meal in Little Italy is not complete without a cannoli.

NEO Food Tours have many exciting culinary adventures planned throughout the summer.  Their next neighborhood food tour will be on June 22 in Tremont (my other favorite food neighborhood).  Tickets will go fast and are quite limited.  Pat Johnson and Todd Gauman are hoping their tours and expeditions will develop a relationship between the community and the food.  They hit a home run with Terry Tarintino as our guide through Little Italy.  I could listen to him tell stories and the history of the neighborhood all day, maybe on the patio with a glass of wine and cannoli.  You really could sense his love and pride for his neighborhood and the food we all know and love.

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

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

It's TRIBE TIME here in Cleveland, Ohio!  If there is one thing I love as much as food, it is Cleveland sports especially the Indians.  Win or lose, I love enjoying a game at "The Jake" (yes I refuse to call it by its newish name).  While enjoying Opening Day this past Friday, I notices there were quite a few new options at the concession stands throughout the ballpark.  Food at the game has come a long way from hot dogs, peanuts, and crackerjack, although you can still enjoy those classic favorites and so many more!

This season, Food Network has teamed up with eight Major League ballparks, one being Cleveland, to serve gourmet grub at the games.  Head over to section 172 to try he Food Network steak sandwich.  If you do, let me know if it is worth $12.50.

For vegetarian and gluten free fans, check out the "spuds and suds" stand located in section 164.  Here you can feast on veggie dogs, tofrurkey Italian "sausages", and some gluten free ballpark treats.

If you are looking for something not so healthy, go to the APPetizer Store in section 154.  This stand is a deep fried food lovers dream and a cardiologist's worst nightmare.  Fans can feast on funnel cakes, deep fried cookie dough, fried twinkies, chicken and waffles, and fried shrimp to name a few options.

Each month, Cleats, located in section 164, will be offering a burger of the month created by Tribe players. 

If you are craving a twist on nachos, head to the Market Pavilion and enjoy pulled pork nachos.

For beer lovers, there are two new brew options aside from the $7.75 drafts you get from the beer guy.  If you are looking for a blast from the past, or a cheaper beer option, go to "Your Dad's Beer" located in section 119.  For $4.50, you can enjoy a 12 oz can of PBR, Stroh's, Blatz, Genessee, or Schlotz to name a few.  There is also a beer stand featuring local brews from GReat Lakes, Hopping, Frog, and Buckeye Brewing Company.

If you still crave the classic ballpark favorite like I do, even hot dogs come in a variety of options.  Super dogs, kosher dogs, and foot longs with up to 14 toppings are available throughout the park.  Also note this season's Dollar Dog nights: April 15 against the Baltimore Orioles, May 13 against the Seattle Mariners , June 17 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, July 29 against the Kansas City Royals, August 26 against Kansas City again, and September 23 against the Minnesota Twins.  Make sure those dogs are topped with Cleveland's own Bertman's Ballpark Mustard!

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

Hungry in New Orleans

Since we began talking about going to New Orleans, I could not decide if I was more excited to experience Mardi Gras or all of the wonderful food New Orleans has to offer.  I quickly came up with things I MUST have while exploring The Big Easy ranging from fresh seafood, gumbo, and alligator.  I always enjoyed cajun and creole style cooking, but to have it in N'awlins would be an experience in itself.  After reading this, you may want to start looking into hotels and flights.  Happy Mardi Gras from Hungry in Cleveland!!

Our trip kicked off as any trip to the French Quarter should, sipping hurricanes in the courtyard at Pat O'Briens.  Pat O's is credited with inventing the hurricane back in the 1940's, when bars had a surplus of rum and shortage of other liquors.  The drink itself is a mixture of 4 oz "hurricane mix" and 4oz good rum according to the cocktail napkins.  The does not come from the storm, but the shape of the glass, similar to that of a hurricane lamp.  However, you only need one of this sweet, fruity cocktail, or else you may feel like you were hit by a hurricane.

After walking around exploring, we worked up quite an appetite.  For our first night, we decided to go a little more low key for dinner and try one of the small cafes we passes along the way.  We also wanted to allow ourselves enough time to make it over to St. Charles Street uptown for the first of many parades we would see that weekend.  After consulting a few tour guides, we decided on Cafe Maspero.  Like many of the other bars and restaurants in the French Quarter, Cafe Maspero served local favorites in an open air atmosphere.  We first decided to share an order of jambalaya, which was made from shrimp, andouille sausage, and rice.  I was expecting it to be more of a soup/stew type dish and was pleasantly surprised to see there was no both or sauce.  It was a great start to what was awaiting our palates over the next few days.  The creole spices brought out the mild flavor of the shrimp and the andouille added a nice zest.  For our entrees,I decided on the catfish sandwich, while my boyfriend went with the muffaletta, which is a HUGE sandwich with ham, capicola, salami, pepperoni, olive salad, and cheese on a large round bun.  In his words, think Italian sub on a sesame seed hamburger bun.  My catfish also came on the muffaletta bun.  Overall, very good and very fresh tasting.  I was served a side of horseradish which I mixed in with the ketchup and a dash of Louisana hot sauce.  One thing I noticed about NOLA is they love their hot sauce, and I will not complain about that.        

Jambalaya

Catfish

Muffaletta

Day two began with a nice work out (afterall, we are still trainingfor Cleveland Half-Marathon) which was followed by a trip to the infamous Cafe Du Monde, for beignets.  Originally, I was pla forthe nning to wear a black outfit that day, but at the last minute, changed my mind.  Boy was I lucky!  Our little fried delights were covered in mounds of powdered sugar.  As for the beignets themselves, they were a little piece of heaven along the Mighty Mississippi.  As with many meals to come, we decided on sharing one order.  That way, we would have room to try other foods New Orleans was famous for.  As if we did not have enough sugar with the beignets, we headed to Aunt Sally's Pralines which was right next door.  Hopefully tomorrow, there will be a box of pralines and a king cakewaiting on my doorstep.  A king cake is a traditional Mardi Gras pastry which is very similar to a cinnamon coffee cake.  The top is decorated in the Mardi Gras colors Gold, Green, and Purple which are symbolic of Catholic liturgical seasons.  The Mardi Gras season begins on the feast of the Epiphany (gold), continuing through Ordinary Time (green), and ends on Fat Tuesday, the Day before the holy season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (purple).  In the cake, there is a plastic baby, representative of the Baby Jesus.  Whoever gets the piece with the baby must buy or make the king cake for next year. Since we were all wired up, we continued along through theFrench Market.  Overall, I was disappointed.  I was expecting something similar to my beloved West Side Market.  The French Maket was more of a large flea market, having few local food stands and more souvenir and art tables.  At least we were able to get rid of most of the sugar high and headed to our next dining destination, The Gumbo Shop.  Here we shared two more New Orleans classics, the shrimp po boy and seafood gumbo.  This was my favorite food of the whole trip and I will be attempting to recreate the po boy.  The po boy is hollowed out  french bread and stuffed with seafood or meat.  Most have fried meat or seafood, but ours was cooked in a creole style sauce.  The gumbo was simply amazing!  Gumbo is a thicker soup, usually made with a seafood or meat and the New Orleans "holy Trinity" of celery, bell peppers, and onion.  The perfect thickness and a great compliment to the sandwich. 

Day three began with a soggy cemetery tour through St. Louis Cemetary No. 1 and the jazz brunch at The Court of Two Sisters.  It was here where we filled up on more jambalaya, crawfish maison, and eggs benedict.  It was here, I learned how to eat the little guys pictured to your right.  Pinch the head, gently pull off the shell, and eat the tail.  So delicious too!  There was a jazz band playing setting the perfect atmosphere for more N'awlins favorites.  Since it was set up buffet style, we managed to eat our fill and still have room for pecan pie and bananas foster for dessert.  If you are ever in New Orleans, I would HIGHTLY recommend The Court of the Two Sisters Jazz Brunch.  I just hope the weather is nicer for you so you can enjoy the lovely courtyard.

 Nearing the end of the trip, I realized there were two more food related things we must do before we left, that being eat alligator and go to one of Emeril's restaurants.  It would have been very lucky if one of Emeril's three restaurants served gator, however that was the case.  By the time most of our brunch was digested, we set out to find gator somewhere in the French Quarter.  Our search lead us to the Riverfront Cafe, which served multiple options for enjoying this vicious reptile, including an alligator po-boy.  We opted for the blackened alligator appetizer since we just wanted a taste, and it was the right call.  Our waiter explained the meat comes from the gator's tail and is either cooked or made into sausage.  The blackened alligator bites tasted a little like chicken, only a little more chewy.  The seasonings used to blacken the gator brought out the taste of the gator which may have not been so prominent if we had it fried.  Would I east alligator again, you bet!!  Finally, our night started by going to NOLA, Emeril's French Quarter restaurant.  Since we did not make any reservations, we decided to go right when it opened at sit at the bar.  The idea worked perfectly and we enjoyed cocktails along with crab cakes and more gumbo.  As much as I would have enjoyed a full meal here, the cocktail/appetizer idea was a great experience.  We had a chance to chat with the bartenders about New Orleans, Mardi Gras, and Emeril.  We also met some great people also dining at the bar too.  The only thing that can be said for the food was BAM!  Everything one would expect from from Emeril.  The tomato bacon jam on the crab cakes really kicked this dish up a notch.  I also loved the corn coulis with the crab.  The gumbo had chunks of  ham and andouille sausage  I will admit though, the gumbo from Gumbo Shop was slightly better, but only by thismuch.  Maybe since I more of a seafood person?

Alligator

Emeril's Crab cake

Emeril's gumbo

 Our last meal was breakfast before our flight at The Royal House of Oysters.  I wish I could say I had oysters for breakfast, but I went the more traditional route of poached eggs, bacon, cajun potatoes, and a biscuit.  Oysters were one thing I wanted to eat but never got around to.  The other being red beans and rice.  I guess I will just have to get that on my next trip!  New Orleans food did not disappoint by any means.  My best suggestion is to do a little background research, but just let your guidebooks and local references take you to places unplanned.  Also, asking the locals for their references always works too.  

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

For the Holidays, You Can't Beat Home Sweet Home!

Merry Christmas Week all!  Hopefully, the tree is trimmed, gifts are bought and maybe wrapped, and your holiday food plans are coming together.  Christmas is a season rich in family traditions, and my family is no exception.  My family's ethnic background is Hungarian and Slovak.  Our main Christmas meal is on Christmas Eve before heading to Midnight (ok, 10 p.m.) Mass at St. John's Cathedral.  I would have to describe the meal itself as a nice blend of both old and new traditions.  The menu changes slightly with each year by taking a bit of the old and adding in something new.  Dinner starts with a traditional bowl of mushroom soup, which is made from dried mushrooms and sauerkraut juice.        

Nana would be so proud we are carrying on this tradition, despite the jokes and comments from the sour taste.  To counter the sour soup, we have the oplatky wafer with honey on it.  Oplatky are Christmas wafers usually with an image of the Nativity on them.  They are very similar to the Communion wafers used during Catholic Mass.  We also have shrimp cocktail with our homemade "octopus sauce".  Octopus sauce has nothing to do with octopus, it is just a name I came up with as a little girl for the shrimp cocktail sauce Nana made for Christmas Eve.  We have shrimp because Christmas Eve was my late Uncle Jack's birthday.  Growing up, Nana would prepare whatever my mom and uncle wanted for their birthdays, but Uncle Jack had limited options since Catholics would not have meat on Christmas.  
The main dish is always some form of breaded fish.  In past Christmases, Nana would deep fry ocean perch, however our new tradition is making an oven-fried tilapia, coated in panko and herbs.  I am looking forward to going to the West Side Market with my brother Friday morning to get the fish.  We also would have homemade french fries, cole-slaw, and bobalky which are little bread balls cooked in either sauerkraut or honey and poppyseed.  For dessert we have Christmas cookies and Malley's chocolates.  Overall, that is my traditional Cleveland Christmas, and I would not trade it for anything, even and Italian Christmas Eve with the seven fishes.

One of many things I love about Cleveland is how we exemplify the idea of a Melting Pot.  At Christmas and many other holidays, age old traditions are celebrated and made new again.  And now I will take this moment to ask you: What are your family Christmas/holiday traditions?

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