Café Tartine Opens for Breakfast

Tartine Bistro in Rocky River has been a longtime favorite in this household. Its French classics with an American twist are always delicious, and thoughtfully prepared and plated (seriously, follow them or Chef Michael on Instagram for some gorgeous plates of food). 

Restaurants are responding to the pandemic in different ways, and sometimes that means pivoting to new concepts. While they are back open for full-service dining, Tartine also just added a Café Tartine "grab and go" or casual dine-in breakfast option. So we headed there on opening day to check it out.

In addition to some tempting pastries, you'll find easy items like berries and yogurt or granola and a Keep it Simple breakfast sandwich ($10).

Me? I can never pass up a Croissant. 

They also have larger plates better suited for grabbing one of their patio tables and a cup of coffee, like the Parisian Omelette, Burgundy Benny, and Bordeaux Breakfast ($15). I went for the build-your-own Crêpes section ($10), where you can choose 3 items from savory and sweet ingredients.  

I had the smoked spinach artichoke and bacon. I'd love to see the pancake a little thinner and less oily, but remember this was day 1 and takeout eaten at the Rocky River Reservation just down the street. 

The café is open Tuesday - Saturday from 8AM - noon and on Sunday from 8AM - 3PM. Parking is available, but limited, in the free lot connected to the shopping center. You order at the bar and then wait for your takeout order or grab a table on the patio or inside. If you choose to dine in, service is limited to just delivering your food. There were pandemic precautions in place like signage, masks required, plexiglass dividers in some areas, and hand sanitizer available. I think they'll find their groove quickly with this new concept, and we found another way to enjoy and support one of our favorite restaurants. 

Café Tartine at Tartine Bistro

19110 Old Detroit Road

Old Detroit Shopping Center

Rocky River, OH 44116

(440) 331-0800

Tartine Bistro Private Dinner

Look, it's all fun and games popping in to new restaurants and trying things for the first time. But, there's something special about the tried-and-true spots that keep you coming back for more. Tartine Bistro in Rocky River is one of those for me.

Fortunately, my friends snagged an auction package at Flavors of Northeast Ohio this fall for a six-course, wine-paired dinner for six guests in the private room at Tartine. We decided to celebrate the January birthdays in our group using this package, and WOW did it exceed all expectations.

Chef Michael Grieve had crafted an amazing six-course (plus two!) meal that showed off his creativity, stunning plating, and all sorts of great pairings. His brother BJ had selected the perfect wine pairings, and left us snapping photos of wine labels so that we could track some down.

While the great company would have been enough for us, we were certainly all bright-eyed and drooling over what was in store for us!

What hit the table first was an Amuse of Duck L'Orange Explosion.

We continued on with the courses, each beautiful and delicious, like the Scallop Potato with creme fraiche, chive, and bacon.

A crowd favorite was the single bite Foie Gras Torchon with blue cheese, citrus, honey, and pickle.

A delicate Foie Gras Torchon with duck consomme, blackberry, and celery followed.

The last savory course was Big Ol' Shrimp with sweet potato gnocchi, pear, rapini and caviar. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, and the gnocchi left us begging for more.

For dessert, a Strawberry Tartare with bone marrow ice cream, lemon, poached apple, and bacon sugar. Yes, BONE MARROW ice cream. Served...in a BONE. It was so cool.

The meal and experience was wonderful from start to finish. We had an evening full of deep belly laughs, and the staff were such good sports about our probably rowdy behavior. It's a good thing we were sequestered away in a private room.

If you haven't been to Tartine before, please do. And give Chef Michael a follow on Instagram for some of the most beautiful plating that I've seen in Cleveland. His feed will leave you drooling on your screen.

What's one restaurant that continues to draw you back in?

Tartine Bistro
19110 Detroit Road
Rocky River, OH 44116
(440) 331-0800

Tartine Triumph

I...finally...made it to...Tartine! For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you know that I tweeted several months ago that "R" and I were on our way to Tartine Bistro in Rocky River for the first time. With a gift certificate in hand that expired that day (oops), we arrived and quickly found out that they were closed for a private wine dinner. Which apparently happens a lot- beware. It happened to be the owner who greeted us at the door, and he graciously assured us that he didn't care if the gift certificate had expired if we came back at a later date. I was immediately impressed. Well, I successfully made my way there last night for dinner and drinks with two fabulous blends (that's blog friends, right Allison?).

Both had been there before, so I didn't have to spend too much time navigating the menu. Suzanne and I decided to share the Roasted Dates- bacon, goat cheese, and port wine syrup. Bacon-hello! Goat cheese- yes, please! These little nuggets were the perfect size to just pop in your mouth, and the blend of flavors and texture were spot on. I knew that I was in for a good meal.

Then I moved on to the Roasted Beets salad- braised pistachios, goat cheese, and honey vinaigrette. I happen to love beets and "R" does not, so when I see a beet salad on the menu when dining out- I am inevitably drawn to it. Mix in a combination of some of my favorites, like pistachios and goat cheese, and I'm sold. The surprising twist is that this dish was actually a salad- lettuce and all. Which I was not expecting. The vinaigrette was light and tangy, and really let the two different types of beets shine. Based on Suzanne's and our server's suggestion, I ordered the Duck Confit tartine (pictured above)- creamy brie, fig & roasted shallot preserves, and cracked pepper for my main course. This open-faced sandwich is served on thinly sliced and toasted baguette and topped with rich duck meat, melted brie, and a smear of the preserves underneath. The dish is rich, but it is expertly served with a side of greens lightly sauced with a vinaigrette. It was a perfect combination, and I was able to take a few bites of the tartine and then cleanse my palate with the greens before digging back in. I really thought that this dish was excellent, and I would order it again in a heartbeat. With half of the appetizer, a salad, entree, and three glasses of the House White on my bill, I thought it was very reasonably priced. With tax and tip, it only ran me $52 for a great meal.

We were seated on the small-ish patio outside the restaurant. However, the front of the restaurant is actually a series of doors and on a nice evening (like last night) they are all open- allowing the staff and guests to move freely between. It was nice to be able to be seated outside on a gorgeous night, but still be able to enjoy the atmosphere of the main dining room. I had a great view of the dark wood accents, tin ceiling, soft lighting, exposed brick and wine bottles galore. There seemed to be a great mix of guests dining there- young, old, casual, classic, business attire, and lots of tables filled with women gabbing over glasses of wine.

I can finally cross Tartine off the list of 10 New Restaurants to Try for my 2010 New Year's Resolution. Now I just need to get "R" over there- he'll love it!

Tartine Bistro
19110 Detroit Road
Rocky River, OH 44116
(440) 331-0800