SOHO Only So-So

Time to select the winner of the two general admission tickets to the Great Big Home and Garden Expo...random.org selected lucky #8...Dave from Live to Cook at Home! Congratulations, and I hope that you are looking forward to checking out the show. Email me to claim your prize, and please include your contact information and selected day of attendance. Your name will be held at the door on the day that you select, so go check out what's going on at the Expo. Thank you to all that entered, and to the Expo for providing passes to myself and one reader.

So, SOHO Kitchen & Bar has been on my "To Dine" list since first hearing about it last fall. The concept of Southern cuisine appealed to me, and I was a fan of the owner/chef Nolan Konkoski from his days at Tartine. We spend a lot of time in Ohio City, and I thought that this would be a great addition to West 25th Street. SOHO opened while I was recovering from surgery, so we only just had the chance to check them out last weekend.Aside from a very tiny entryway, I immediately liked the look and feel of the restaurant and bar area. Soft lighting, sleek wooden booths, and muted warm colors helped set the tone of our meal. I do have to note that it was very loud in the main dining area, and some adjustments could be made to help with this. Their cocktail list is inventive, and our friend dining with us enjoyed one of the concoctions- Savannah. She said it was "dangerous", as in you can hardly taste the alcohol and it was deliciously good. I stuck with wine, and "R" tried the Carpetbagger- SOHO signature ale.

We took our time ordering, and started with the Crawfish and Crab Fritters- spicy slaw, lemon, and green onion aioli ($9).I knew from other online reviews not to expect a traditional "fritter", and that the dish was really more of a crab cake. That is just what arrived. It did include sizable chunks of crawfish and crab, the slaw added a refreshing crunch, and the subtle heat of the sauces that were drizzled on the plate accented the flavors of the fritters. I wasn't blown away, but it was a good start to the meal. We also sampled our friend's Jalapeno Hush Puppies ($5.50). They were a little dense and dry, and didn't pack the punch of jalapeno that I was expecting, but the sauce that was served with it was light and refreshing.

For our main course, I ordered the Shrimp and Grits with poached prawns, Anson Miller grits, asparagus, peppers, and wild mushrooms ($17).I read some other reviews of this dish before dining at SOHO, and guests had enjoyed it so I wanted to try it. Unfortunately, I did not care for this preparation and left most of it behind. The shrimp were large and cooked well, which I appreciated. But the overall flavor of the dish was off for me, and I decided that it was the red pepper puree that was drizzled on top of it. It just did not work with the rest of the flavors of the dish, in my opinion, and it dominated the plate. Also, I couldn't help but compare it to the shrimp and grits at Washington Place Bistro, and WPB just blows theirs out of the water.

"R" ordered the Dixie Cheese Steak sandwich ($12) with brisket, collards, beer-cheese fondue, and hot sauce. Our friend had the Fried Green Tomato BLT. Both were served with the house-made BBQ chips, and on the same hearty roll. They each felt that the bread outweighed the proportion of sandwich contents, and that both sandwiches were a little underwhelming on flavor. We also ordered the Deviled Eggs ($5.50) to accompany our main courses.They were a fine deviled egg, but nothing special stood out to me in this preparation.

So, we left feeling a little disappointed in our first experience at SOHO. Certainly nothing was "bad", but some subtle tweaks could help take the quality and flavor of the dishes to the next level. However, the service was great. The server and hostess both paid attention to us, and were attentive and helpful. I asked a few questions about components of dishes, and they were always quick to answer and share. I also appreciate that each section of the menu is priced the same. So, if you order a Starter it is always $9, a Supper $17, and so on. They are still a very young restaurant, so I'm certain that they'll flush out any "bugs" and will continue to be a great addition to a booming Cleveland neighborhood.

SOHO Kitchen & Bar
1889 West 25th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-298-9090

Dinner in the Dark- Special Edition

Last night's Dinner in the Dark was a special version, and one that I am happy I didn't miss. Traditionally for Dinner in the Dark, six talented chefs come together to present a multi-course wine paired meal that leaves diners "in the dark" about what will be served and who is behind the dish. But they put that all aside this time, and recruited 20+ chefs to each do a tasting station. Taking place at AMP150, 260 diners descended upon the chefs and helped raise money for the Matthew Finkle Scholarship- which will help local young talent live out their dream of attending CIA.

Most of Cleveland's best chefs were in attendance, and there was a nice assortment of dishes to sample. There were quite a lot of pork dishes, but with bacon, sausage, tenderloin, pork belly...you just have so many good choice, so I see why several chefs had selected to work with it. We enjoyed strolling through the two rooms of tasting tables, but of course there were some highlights. First up was Chef Rocco Whalen's chicken spring roll from Fahrenheit, which is apparently on his regular menu and now I just can't wait to go and try the real thing. Also in that corner of the room was Ellis Cooley from AMP150, one of the founders of Dinner in the Dark, and his mussels were outstanding. Packed with flavor, and cooked right in front of you. I love a good mussel.SOHO is about to open on West 25th Street in Ohio City, so I was interested to try their dish. It was a light watermelon salad with a jalapeno vinaigrette. The heat of the dish overpowered it slightly, but other than that I loved the balance of flavors and light, crisp texture and it left my tongue dancing. Looking forward to their opening!Another personal favorite was the chorizo pierogi from Melange. I truly enjoy almost everything that these two chefs put out, and I need to get my butt over to Beachwood more often!One station that was causing quite a stir is Fat Casual BBQ. These talented chefs have worked through several great restaurants in Cleveland, and now they've opened "their" kind of place...with some wonderful meats and classic side dishes done well. It looks like we are headed there soon for their Friday special of slow cooked prime rib. One thing to note is that these guys have started catering for the Dinner in the Dark chefs during their regular monthly events, so that the chefs that are working so hard behind the scenes actually get to eat something that night as well. Overall it was a nice event, and it's always fun to see our city's best chefs gather together for a good cause. If you want to attend a traditional Dinner in the Dark, don't miss the June edition at Flying Fig! There are already only 38 tickets left for this event, so don't wait. Kudos to all of the chefs behind this, and thank you for a great evening.