Cru Uncorked

Mr. H and I celebrated my birthday a few weeks late, and he surprised me with dinner at Cru Uncorked in Moreland Hills.

Fine-dining French in a château-like setting, it's quite unlike any other Cleveland area restaurant I've seen. Starting with a very grand entrance.

With several separate, cozy dining rooms and fireplaces galore, it was warm and inviting on a chilly winter night.

While the interior was elegant and high-end, I'd also like to go back in the warmer months and take advantage of the outdoor terrace seating.

As we settled in and placed our order, an amuse-bouche arrived at the table. Which is always a pleasant surprise and a nice way to kick off any fine-dining experience.

We decided to share a dish they are becoming known for, the Seared Foie Gras Preparation (MP) with seasonal accoutrements. That night's included a pear and luxardo cherry sauce. Rich, decadent and it spread nicely on the two types of bread served.

We also shared the Escargot Cocotte ($16) of braised snails, forest mushrooms, tarragon, pearl onion, bacon, and garlic. This combination of flavors was unlike other escargot I've had in the past, and we really enjoyed it.

I ordered the Halibut ($48) with sauce verjus, golden raisins, capers, marcona almonds, and pommes puree.

Mr. H got the Potato Scaled Snapper ($45) with citrus rosemary crème and melted leek fondue.

Beautifully plated and both really nice fish dishes, we were really happy. But as you can see, the price tag is steep. The same quality fish and presentation can run you at least $10 less in other great Cleveland restaurants.

The portions are not huge (but were appropriate), and the dining experience is not rushed, so we had room for dessert! Mr. H did not care for the pudding-like texture of his Apple Verrine ($14) with white chocolate caramel crème, apple confit, almond crumble, warm caramel sauce, and green apple sorbet. However, the tableside presentation was fun to watch. I had the Chocolate Stone ($12) with dark chocolate mousse, caramel chocolate cremeux center, and crème fraiche ice cream. Which really did look kind of like a river rock!

Service was some of the best I've had in Cleveland, and we enjoyed our craft cocktails as well. I'm sure that the wine list would prove to be full of fabulous options.

It's just across the street from Flour, and they offer complimentary valet parking.

For the price-point and setting, this should be reserved for a special occasion. It was certainly a special meal, and felt quite birthday treat-worthy.

Cru Uncorked
34300 Chagrin Blvd.
Moreland Hills, OH 44022
(440) 903-1171

Sunday Brunch at Flour

It's Friday, we made it. I'm ready for the weekend. One thing that I love about weekends is the possibility of a tasty brunch. We tend to stick to our favorites close to home, but sometimes we venture out to try something new. We had that opportunity recently, when I was invited to Flour in Moreland Hills for a tasting of their Sunday Brunch menu.

Chefs Matt Mytro and Paul Minnillo had put together quite the spread, and it gave our group a great sense of what to expect from the menu.

It was served family-style, and we started with Salmon Pastrami and Truffle-Parmesan Tater tots.

The salmon itself was too strong for my personal taste, but the delicate crepe that was served with it just begged to be stuffed with all kinds of breakfast goodies. The tater tots were a big hit at the table, and these weren't your average tater tots. Gourmet fried goodness.

Then, we tried Paul's Sausage...

...huge, nicely-spiced, patties of quality sausage.

Fried Chicken with a cabernet-buttermilk ranch and sriracha sauces arrived, and were a huge hit at the table. This chicken would go great with a waffle! The Breakfast Pizza had pancetta, sunny-side egg, and peperonata.

We also had French Toast with marscarpone cheese, stone fruit, and peanut butter powder.

It was decadent, sweet, and a crowd-favorite.

I needed another savory bite after that, so I saved my favorite dish for last. I really enjoyed the Eggs Benedict with mortadella and hollandaise.

What a feast we had! But, it really did give us a great sampling of the menu, and I can confidently recommend their brunch. The food, overall, was fantastic, and there are enough options that everyone should be able to find something that they love. This brunch was worth our drive from Old Brooklyn, and I'd go there again on my own.

Sunday Brunch runs from 11:00AM - 2:30PM.

Mmmm, now I'm dreaming of Sunday Brunch and it's only Friday morning...

Disclosure: I was invited to a special tasting of Flour's brunch, with a guest, in exchange for my honest review. We also received a $25 gift card to use at a later visit. All opinions are 100% my own.

Flour
34205 Chagrin Boulevard
Moreland Hills, OH 44022
216-464-3700

@CLEDinnerClub at Flour

Last night, the monthly CLE Dinner Club outing took us east to Flour in Moreland Hills. I've only been to Flour three times previously, so I was looking forward to a return visit. But, first...a cocktail was needed after a very stressful day at work.

Then, it was time for the group to settle in for the meal. The special menu greeted us, and my mouth began to water.

I love how they created a hashtag for every dish, and even for themselves. Very savvy in this social-media world we live in now.

We heard from the chefs first, about their concept, personal culinary histories in Cleveland, and how this restaurant is a mash-up of "old school" and "new school" techniques and flavors.

Meet chef Matt Mytro, the New School.

And Cleveland culinary icon, chef/owner Paul Minnillo, the Old School.

He is best known for his 20+ years at the Baricelli Inn in Little Itlay, where Washington Place Bistro now lives.

The meal started off with a bang, with Ramp Agnolotti. These little clouds of pasta were cooked perfectly, oozing with cheese when you cut into them, and the ramp sauce and pickled ramps were truly lick-the-plate worthy. I wanted an entire bowl of them, and they remained my favorite dish of the night.

Then, we had a Whipped Burrata served with a tomato seed vinaigrette and garlic chips. Toasted bread arrived to schmear the burrata on, and the table grew pretty quiet as we all enjoyed.

The last savory course was Beef Short Ribs with a preserved tomato fregola, a "mock bone" and pesto.

The "bone" was made out of potato, and they used an apple corer to achieve the shape and presentation. Very creative! The meat absolutely fell apart to the touch of a fork, and this dish was another winner.

I was posting each course on Instagram last night, and the dessert course certainly drew the most attention. The Nutella Panna Cotta was not only pretty to look at, it was delicious and a great end to the meal.

The white chocolate arancini that accompanied the panna cotta was certainly interesting. I've never had an arancini made with sweets, instead of the rice and cheese that we're used to. Clearly, this was a "new school" technique.

The dinner earned itself a spot in the CLE Dinner Club Hall of Fame, in my opinion. It was one of the best, and I swear that wasn't the Flirtini talking. Hehehe. It left me wanting to return to Flour, which I guess, is the point of these dinners.

If you'd like to join the group, just follow @CLEDinnerClub on Twitter or "like" the page on Facebook. I always enjoy the experience, and can't recommend it enough.

Flour
Moreland Hills Towne Center
34205 Chagrin Boulevard
[at Som Center Road]
Moreland Hills, OH 44022
216-464-3700

CLE Dinner Club Checks Out Fountain

It is really exciting when a meal or an event is so good that I just can't wait to share it with you. This is why I blog.

And it happened the other night at the CLEDinnerClub outing to Fountain in Moreland Hills. Located in the same plaza as Flour, and just a short drive down the road from the heart of Chagrin Falls, it was pretty easy for the west-siders to get to. When I walked in, I was struck by how different it was compared to what I was expecting. It was much bigger, and most of the dining room was split into small sitting areas with coffee tables, big leather chairs, and other soft seating. It was begging us to settle in for a bottle of wine and a slow meal of many small shared plates. We hadn't even tasted the food, and I already pictured us coming back. But the food, ahhh the food...

Our table of 14 was treated to a truly special meal, courtesy of Chef Brian Okin (of Dinner in the Dark fame)- who took over the Fountain kitchen not too long ago. There was a lot of food consumed that night, so I'll get right to it.

We started with shared boards of Charcuterie and Cheese, before the first course of a FOUNTAIN SCALLOP- seared scallop, speck, creamy polenta, and truffle honey oil.This was my favorite dish of the night, and it set the tone for the meal. The larger pieces of speck were a little chewy, but other than that the dish was exceptional and I'd love to have a whole plate of them. A perfect sear on the scallop, soft and creamy polenta, and the truffle honey oil just brought it all together.

Next up, WILD MUSHROOM CONSERVA- wild mushrooms steeped with fresh herbs and olive oil, frisee, and a poached quail egg.Frisee is just not a green that I personally enjoy too much, but that being said- it was a nice salad. The dressing was light and herbaceous, and the poached egg with the slightly warm mushrooms was delicious.

Course three was a LOBSTER PASTA- seared lobster, sweet and hot peppers, fresh basil, gruyere crema, and papardelle pasta.This was a crowd favorite at the table, and probably my third favorite course (and all three were close). I am a lobster nut, so when I saw the plate set down in front of us with a gorgeous half tail- I was thrilled. The gruyere cheese sauce was faint enough to let the rest of the ingredients shine, and the pasta was cooked perfectly. My only objection to this dish was the amount of cooked peppers. I love the flavor of peppers, but don't really like to eat cooked peppers. After finishing, we discovered that my serving had about double the amount of peppers in it. I should have switched plates with "R".

We still had two courses left to go, but Okin surprised us with two family-style plates to share as a "snack" in between the pasta and the final savory course. Here is a shot of the Seared Lamb with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes:The meat was so tender, and it stole the number two spot in my mind. During our "snack", we also enjoyed a Baked Eggplant dish.

The last savory course was up next- PORK OSSO BUCO- braised pork shank, seasonal roasted vegetables, creamy polenta, and gremolata.You just touched the meat with your fork, and it fell right off the bone. Even though I was pretty full at this point, I still managed to eat most of the meat, half of the polenta, and all of my veggies. The baby brussels sprouts and carrots were both delicious, and the carrots (from Chef's Garden) had a caramelized sweetness to them that was unique.

Now, I am not normally a "sweets" girl. Give me salty and savory any day, and I'm always going to choose a cheese plate for dessert when given the option. So, the fact that I was stuffed and we were headed into the final course- dessert, I was content in thinking that I was done. I was wrong, because this is what came out:It was a OHIO APPLE CREPE- caramelized local apples, brie, and a sherry raisin reduction. The crepe was light and fluffy, and the flavors of the sweet apples and brie worked so well together. Add in a bit of the sherry raisin reduction to your bite, and suddenly I had eaten half of it.

This meal was truly one of the best multi-course meals that I've had in a long time. Usually, you have at least one that doesn't fit your personal taste, or was a stumble in the kitchen- but not here. I think you can see that the menu was well-thought out and progressed nicely, and each of the dishes were executed with great flavor balance and beautiful presentation. Looking at their menu online, it appears that about half of the dishes that we enjoyed are currently on the Cuisine Lounge menu.

It left me wanting more, and isn't that the point? I cannot wait to get back over there. A big thank you to Chef Okin and Fountain for hosting (and spoiling) us, and to Joe G. for coordinating these fun CLEDinnerClub outings where we all get to explore new places, enjoy wonderful meals, and meet new friends. The next one is set for the end of March at Washington Place Bistro.

Fountain
34105 Chagrin Boulevard
Moreland Hills, OH 44022
216-755-1225

Dining at Flour

In an effort to get out to the east side of Cleveland more often, a recent Girls' Night Out brought us to Flour- Paul Minnillo and Chris DiLisi's (formally of the Baricelli Inn) newest venture. Offering rustic Italian fare in a sleek, but casual, atmosphere was what they were going for, and I personally think that they delivered.

They offer a small area for patio seating out front, but this evening we decided to dine inside. Picture lots of clean lines, minimalist decor, tons of stainless steel, and plaid shirts on all the waitstaff (this last bit I found a little odd). Our server was pleasant, attentive, and knowledgeable about the menu, although she had some missteps later in the evening and also proved that she knows nothing about how a cheese plate should be presented and enjoyed (start with the mild, end with the stinky).

This particular group of diners LOVES a good cheese plate, so we decided to share the 7 Piece Formaggi ($19) with strawberry compote and crostini as a starter.Overall, it was a decent cheese plate but I don't think that it lived up to Baricelli cheese fame, and it certainly couldn't compete with our personal favorite- L'Albatros. But the cheese selection was nice, although every good plate with this many varieties should include a bleu- in our opinion. But we were off to a good start.

I decided to try the Melon salad ($11) with arugula, ricotta salada, chili, and lime.There were a few different types of melon in the salad, and they were all crisp and refreshing. The chili added a subtle heat to the dish, but we agreed that it was "missing something". Maybe some prosciutto? I don't think that I would order it again.

Then on to the main course- Gnudi ($18 entree portion) with pancetta, corn essence, corn salsa, and crema.Some helpful tweeps had suggested this dish to us, and it didn't disappoint. This was the highlight of the meal for me, and the portion was so large that I was able to take half of it home for lunch the next day. The gnocchi were a probably little dense for some people's taste, but the wonderful sweet corn flavor and crispy pancetta bites just did it for me. It was a little rich towards the end, but I really enjoyed the dish and it reheated nicely. I would order this again in a heartbeat.

So, overall we enjoyed checking out one of the area's newer additions, and I think that they will continue to thrive. The (free) parking and location are convenient, the food is good with some standout dishes, and the atmosphere is casual yet modern and sleek.

Flour
34205 Chagrin Boulevard
Moreland Hills, OH 44022
216-464-3700