Trio

I've only been to One Eleven Bistro in Medina twice, but both meals were very good. So, when I heard that the same guys behind that restaurant were going to open Trio in Tremont, it became one of the most anticipated openings ever for me.

Located in the former Bac space on West 14th Street, Chef Anthony Scolaro and his team went in and did a quick face-lift. The space is brightened up with lots of cool gray hues, modern sleek lighting, wood feature wall, and great new artwork and logo features. I particularly love the cityscape piece in the bar area, check it out.

The main dining room is tucked around a big wall, with lots of natural light coming in from their main street patio.

It's always a good sign when so much of the menu is calling out to you.

We decided to share the Carbonara ($9) Black garlic pasta, botarga yolk, pecorino pepato, guanciale, black pepper, and chive. It was a little over-sauced, but otherwise we did like it. I think the flavor of it could be punched up just a bit though for this to be a home run.

We also split the Crispy Head to Tail Pork ($12) with crispy pig ear, crispy belly, and crispy tail. I wasn't sure what this dish would look like when it came out, but the pork was prepared three ways and each was quite different. A few small tweaks are needed to perfect this dish, but it was still pretty good.

The entrees were executed a bit better, and we enjoyed both! We did some 50/50 sharing, which is always the way to go if you can agree on dishes.

We ordered the Wagyu ($37) with potato salad, dijonaise, demi, and espelette. The beef was soooooo tender, and the demi was thick and decadent.

We also shared the Duck Two Ways ($20) as a roulade, breast, stone fruit, porridge, nectarine, lavender, and cherry duck jus. The demi from the first dish appeared on the second plate too, and it paired just as well with the duck. But the porridge was the surprise favorite on the plate. The texture and flavor paired so well with the duck.

It was really like having two dishes in one, which was great!

Our serve was attentive and friendly. He came from One Eleven Bistro, and you could tell he was proud of the new place.

A few small tweaks to make here and there as they are getting their feet wet. It's literally been like only a month. But, I think this has the potential to be another go-to for us, and they are certainly going to produce the food and experience that Tremont diners expect.

Trio
2661 W 14th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 952-7035

One Eleven Bistro in Medina

An outing with the CLE Dinner Club last week took me out to Medina again. This time, it was to One Eleven Bistro.

It's a very comfortable and casual atmosphere, with a focus on local ingredients and Chef Anthony Scalaro's sophisticated, gorgeously plated, and diverse menu. I was quite smitten with the stunning West Side Market canvas on a back wall. They really do love to highlight Ohio, and feature one week every month that crafts a special menu around one locally grown produce item. They always seem to be hosting fun events and themed menus, so check it out.

For our group, we had a special four-course menu.

Duck Confit Flatbread with a cherry gastrique, candied walnuts and crumbled bleu.

A touch dry for me, this was my least favorite course, but it was still enjoyable. The combination of duck, a sweet element, and bleu cheese always works, in my opinion.

Local Greens with dried fruits, crispy root vegetables, and a raspberry vinaigrette.

Which ended up being my favorite course of the night. I wanted to bottle that dressing, and loved the technique of frying the beets and getting them not a bit greasy. It added a great crunchy texture to the salad, and Chef Scalaro talked us through how to do it at home.

Seared Pork Tenderloin with creamed corn, smashed yukons, pepper relish and cuitlacoche.

Another highlight in the meal, this dish was simple but interesting, thanks to the relish and cuitlacoche.

Chocolate Mousse Tart with cocoa nib, pistachio, coffee syrup and caramel tuile (tuile not pictured).

This meal left me wanting to drive back to Medina for another visit. That's always a good sign.

One Eleven Bistro
2736 Medina Road
Medina, OH 44256
330-952-1122