Virtual Holiday Cookie Classes

Our local chefs and businesses are delighting me every day with the innovative ways they are pivoting their plans and talents to survive these times and meet the new needs, and my friend Chef Adam Bostwick is just one of those folks. 

He started Adam Bostwick's Kitchen, with custom culinary experiences and a weekly family-style chef-quality meal (pick-up in West Park or delivery within 10 miles). Mr. H and I have been enjoying the prepared meals (generously feeds about 4 and comes with reheating instructions) for months. Seriously, get on his email list for more info!

This holiday season, he's launching a series of virtual Holiday Cookie Classes that are fun for the whole family.

They've been filling up quickly since launching promotion, so he may add additional classes. 

I think this is a great activity to do with your kids or grandkids, a way to connect with family or friends that live out of town, a way to learn a new skill, or just an excuse to fill your kitchen and belly with some sweet treats. Check the classes out, and happy baking!

Tales from Social Distancing...

As we enter Week 11, it still seems a little surreal that it's been that long. I drove a car this weekend for the first time since March 16. Weird to think about. 

But we're hanging in there in at home. Now enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of full-blown Spring.

There are still a handful of chilly and damp days, so one of those evenings we ordered in Gnocchi al Burro from Trattoria Roman Garden in Little Italy. I can't speak to the rest of the menu, but that gnocchi makes an appearance once a year for us!

Do you remember when I recently visited Tapatia's Taqueria? Well we discovered their sister restaurant Hacienda Tapatia, and it was just as good. I still prefer the Chile Poblano from Cozumel, but their version of Chile Rellenos slid into the #3 spot for me (close behind Luchita's).

We're still supporting The Black Pig once a week, and we recently enjoyed their Pasta Night for 2. Their house made pastas have always been excellent, so it was great to experience them again.

I have always loved getting lost in a good book and used to devour 5-7 books a week when I was a kid on summer break, but as an adult I don't read much fiction anymore because I have a hard time putting a book down once I'm reading. It often leads to staying up into the wee hours of the morning until I finish, and then I pay the price for days. With self-quarantine, I decided it was a perfect time to distract my mind and dive into a couple of books. My new gorgeous bookmark from Oceanne makes it feel extra special. Any recommendations?

One of the things I'm enjoying about takeout these days is focusing on foods that we (by "we" we all know I mean Mr. H) don't make at home. Indian falls into that category, and we enjoyed Chicken Tikka Masala from Tandul in Tremont. They have the best Garlic Cheese Naan that I've had locally.

I'm really missing "my people" during this. So Mr. H and I decided to take a random day off of work, whip up some Ramp & Spinach Pesto (thanks for the recipe, Meghan!), and deliver jars with a note to a few of our favorite neighbors. It felt great to take that time to step away from the stress of work to do something nice for people we care about and miss.

The last takeout experience that I want to share with you is the Walnut Shrimp from Li Wah in AsiaTown. It's always been my favorite dish there if I'm not doing dim sum, and after eating it again, it inspired us to try and make a version at home this week. Fingers crossed!

Stay tuned later this week, because I've been slowly starting to tackle takeout from 2020 To Dine Challenge restaurants to still try and complete the list this year. Only 5 more to go!

Li Wah
2999 Payne Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114

Tandul
2505 Professor Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113

The Black Pig

2801 Bridge Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113

Trattoria Roman Garden

12207 Mayfield Road
Cleveland, OH 44106

Hacienda Tapatia
1572 W. 117
Lakewood, OH 44107

Der Braumeister 12 Beers of Christmas

Der Braumeister is hosting their annual 12 Beers of Christmas Tapping on Wednesday, November 21st. The night before Thanksgiving is one of the most popular bar nights, and you could spend it sipping on rare and exclusive holiday brews while noshing on traditional German food. I got a sneak peek last week!

 I hadn't been to this charming, old-world restaurant before.

I couldn't decide if this cabinet of nutcrackers was fun or creepy. Maybe both! I loved it.

But we were there for the beers!

Try them all in a flight and be sure to add some German food. Reservations required, and this event will sell out! Reserve your spot by calling 216-671-6220 and receive an early Christmas gift from Der Brau--- a retro beer glass or mug filled with candy for your table. Two seatings are available, 6-7PM and 8-9PM.

Now we also got to sample of their food at the preview tasting. I learned that raw, salted, and buttered radishes served with beer is a German tradition. One that I quickly became addicted to!

We also sampled charcuterie...

...Sauerbraten with burgundy, ginger and juniper marinated Ohio beef in a sweet and sour sauce and served with spätzle and red cabbage...

...Rheinlander Platter with a smoked pork chop, bratwurst, potato croquettes and red cabbage.

We only had small bites of the food, so Mr. H and I decided to stay and order dinner after the event. We started with the German Lox with Nova smoked salmon, pumpernickel bread, euro cream smear, cucumber, lemon and fresh dill. I would have preferred that the bread be toasted, and it needed a little salt and squeeze of the lemon to really pop the flavor, but it was a nice light start to the meal.

Speck Rahmschnitzel with pork pounded thin and dusted in flour and sautéed in a creamy sauce with bacon and onion and served with Cleveland Kraut and mashed potatoes.

The meal left us wanting to come back and try more, so that's always a good sign!

Check out Der Braumeister if you haven't been, and use Wednesday's 12 Beers of Christmas Tapping for an excuse to head there soon.

Der Braumeister
13046 Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44111
(216) 671-6220

Disclosure: I was invited to attend a media preview tasting event with a guest in exchange for sharing event information. All opinions stated are 100% my own.

Gene's Place

Today, I want to share with you the other diner experience that we recently had in the West Park neighborhood of Cleveland. A Sunday morning brought us to Gene's Place to Dine.

Upon entering, we were greeted by two things...this guy...

...and popcorn.

Genius. I was loving it already.

Another very large place, so we had no wait and plenty of different dining spaces to choose from. We were directed to the back left room, and it was a really funky space with plenty to look at.

I don't really stray too much from my classic diner plate of eggs, toast, and bacon...but every once in a while, I have a craving for French Toast. That usually happens when I see the words "Texas Toast" or "thick-cut" on the menu. Gene's listed it as thick-cut, so I had to go for it.

With two eggs (cooked your way) and a side of meat (bacon, for me), this plate of food hit the spot.

No complaints here.

Also, I loved our server's Gene's t-shirt. It said something like "You have to eat anyway, and we could use the money." We got a good chuckle out of that one.

Gene's, I'd visit again!

Gene's Place to Dine
3730 Rocky River Drive
Cleveland, OH 216-252-1741

George's Kitchen

Mr. H and I have been on a diner kick on the weekends recently, with a quest to try new-to-us spots. Twice, recently, that quest drew us to the West Park area of Cleveland. Not by design, just simple dumb luck. One diner, we enjoyed, and one I could do without.

Our first diner trip was to George's Kitchen on Triskett Road.

Apparently, it is a popular neighborhood spot, because not only was the line quite long and the wait quite lengthy, but my Instagram posts that morning got a lot of comments/likes. I wish that we could share the same enthusiasm, but we really didn't care for it.

I ordered my standard, eggs over-medium with wheat toast, bacon, and hash browns.

The toast was hard and dry, eggs under-cooked, and the potatoes were woefully close to raw. They might have been the worst ones that I've had in a while. Mr. H's corned beef hash omelet was only average, and the meal didn't leave either us wanting more.

Two things to mention, though. Some of the lunch food walking by us looked really appealing. We were only provided with the breakfast menu; although them seemed to be serving both. Also, I had heard that the servers don't write down your order, and that they go call it out over a microphone into the kitchen. It's kind of fun to watch!

The place was huge, compared to most diners. We were seated in the smaller, front area of the restaurant (pictured below), but there was a large dining room as well.

So, it seems like many of you have been to George's Kitchen before. What have you ordered? I don't know that this experience could draw us back there, when there are so many other places to try.

Do you have a favorite diner in your neighborhood that we should visit next?

George's Kitchen
13101 Triskett Road
Cleveland, OH
216-671-0430

AMP 150 Special Dinners

I was recently invited to attend the AMP 150 Reunion Dinner, and as usual...these three chefs did not disappoint. The six-course meal was outstanding, and every time that we thought that we had a favorite dish, the next course topped it.

Something that did stand out to me was that my favorite course came from the current Executive Chef, Jeff Jarrett. While the restaurant had some talented hands in its creator and its first Executive Chef, it's Jeff that continues to shine.

He has a new toy in the kitchen, and we got a taste of what's to come from that...

Country Ham-wrapped Sous-vide Veal with local corn puree, chanterelle conserva, and a truffle demi.

We begged him to add it to the current AMP menu. Hopefully, he took the hint!

Jeff has always got something up his sleeve, and he shared some exciting plans with us that I hope to unveil soon.

Their special dinners and tasting events are truly where they shine, in my opinion. They have another one coming up: Friday, September 20th- Cocktail Dinner. A five-course meal paired with original infused cocktails from AMP 150. Tickets are $50 a person. The event will begin at 6:30PM. Make your reservation now by calling 216-706-8787.

Disclosure: I was provided with one ticket to the Reunion Dinner in exchange for pre-promotion. I chose to share this post with you on my own, as well as sharing the upcoming event information. All opinions stated are 100% my own.

Fish Fry Friday

Looking for a good fish fry this Friday? Head on over to The Public House in West Park. This Kamm's Corners eatery is known for its fish fry, so get there early. Even at 5:30PM last Friday, we were looking at a 45 minute wait for a table.

However, that Lake Erie perch fish fry was totally worth it. Personally, perch is my favorite and I'll choose that any day over haddock or cod. For $14, the Perch Dinner included six large fillets of lightly-breaded perch, a thick slice of fresh Italian bread or Irish soda bread, coleslaw (a little too much mayo for my taste, but great crunch to it), and a generous side of French fries. For just $2.99, you can substitute two locally produced potato and cheese pierogies as your side dish. "R" and I both opted for that swap.

The place was packed on Friday night, and service was a little off. I'm sure that they are just swamped during Lent. Beware of the parking situation. The lot is small, and shared with Panini's next door.

I've never been to a fish fry at a local church around Cleveland. So many of them offer a fish fry on Fridays this time of year. Do you have a favorite fish fry location?

The Public House
17219 Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44111
216-252-6608

Taco Tuesday- Lion on Lorain

These next two weeks are just nuts. I looked ahead in the calendar, and I was only home two nights out of two weeks. Some of it is work, some of it is play. But Tuesday was the only night this week that I didn't have something going on in the evening. Instead of heading to the grocery store, "R" and I decided to make a last minute Taco Tuesday excursion. This time...Lion on Lorain in West Park.

Over the summer, a small group of us had breakfast there on a Sunday. It was memorable, and not in a good way. The brunch menu is 4-5 items, but most of us decided on a classic breakfast of eggs, potatoes, bacon, and toast. Our hearts were originally set on an omelet, but our server made a mistake by telling us that we could customize it. In fact, it is only served one way and most of us changed our minds after hearing what was in it that day. Anyhow....the breakfast food was fine, but nothing special. I did think that it was unusual that they serve honey spread right onto the toast without letting the customer know that this is how it is prepared. What if I don't like honey? It was delicious, but unusual, and I think it is worth servers noting. The scary part of the meal? The ketchup bottle! She brought it from the kitchen, and it had clearly sat too close to a heat source. It was so warped and discolored that no one was brave enough to use it. Don't worry folks, we snuck it into the trash can when she wasn't looking. It was repulsive.

Why am I sharing this with you? Well, this experience was very disappointing and I wasn't in a hurry to head back. But, in the quest for Taco Tuesday-- I knew that I had to. I had heard really good things about their tacos.

This week, they were offering 10 different kinds of tacos.

Many sounded great, and we had a hard time selecting. I went with the Black and Bleu taco (ground beef, lettuce, mushrooms, onions topped with homemade bacon bits, crumbled bleu cheese, and Lion BBQ sauce) and the Puerto Rican taco (rice and beans with lettuce, Puerto Rican slow-cooked pulled pork, fresh mozzarella, and Lion hot BBQ sauce).

The Black and Bleu (right) was probably my second favorite of all that we tried. It was a little heavy on the romaine lettuce, but after I pulled a bit out-- it was fine. The bacon bits were super crunchy, and added great texture. Something that would have taken this taco over the top would have been if the crumbled bleu had been warmed a bit to start melting into the taco. I would order this one again.

The Puerto Rican taco (left) was disappointing. The pulled pork had barely been heated up, and cold pork is just tough and lacking flavor. Also, the rice was impossible to keep in the tortilla.

My favorite taco that we tried was probably the Shepard's Pie taco with ground beef, lettuce, baked Shepard's Pie, and topped with mozz-prov cheese and BBQ sauce. It was so unusual, and brought me back to memories of eating my mom's homemade Shepard's Pie. Worth noting-- it was "R's" least favorite taco. To each their own.

The tacos are $2 each, and come with a small side of chips and salsa. The are pretty good sized tacos for the price, and Lion on Lorain is certainly being creative with the toppings. Overall, they were good but not great. A step above your typical cheap tacos, but not quite in the same category as Deagan's or Touch Supper Club yet. From my personal Taco Tuesday adventures, I'd compare them to the tacos at Sachsenheim Hall in terms of quality. However, Lion on Lorain has much better, and more interesting, combinations going on. So far, I'd say that they are the winner in that category. I like how each taco has a name too.

It was a fun Taco Tuesday night out, but it didn't necessarily leave me wanting more from Lion on Lorain. Have you dined there? What did you think? I'd like to go in for dinner sometime. They do a great job of promoting their specials online, and they often sound appealing. I think it's worth one more shot before I make up my mind.

Lion on Lorain
12703 Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44111

Get "AMPed" for Emerging Chefs' Next Dinner

If you read my review of the March Emerging Chefs' dinner, then you know just how fun, creative, and tasty these events can be. The April event is already promising to be one that you shouldn't miss! Emerging Chefs "specializes in creating distinctive events around emerging chefs, culinary trends, and destination dining experiences." This month's event ("Dinner by Design") is featuring AMP 150's Chef Ellis Cooley, who has made quite a splash in the Cleveland culinary scene since he arrived not too long ago. Known for his farm-to-table beliefs and creative culinary concoctions, Cooley has created quite the following. So whether you dine at AMP150 often or you still haven't made it over there to sample his cuisine, this event is for you...

Tickets are just $55, and they include a multi-course meal with cocktail pairings. It's being held in the hallway of the Tyler Elevator Company building on Superior Avenue from 6-9PM on Wednesday, April 13th. Just click here to purchase tickets, but don't wait! As I write this post, the Chef's table is SOLD OUT and there are only 30 general admission tickets left.

I actually dined at AMP150 last night with some friends. Cooley's famous Mushroom and Truffle Soup is back on the menu this season, and I made the mistake of missing it last year.Well, I wasn't letting that happen again, and I'm so glad that I didn't. This creamy soup was so light and fluffy that it felt like velvet on my tongue. The texture is hard to describe because it was really something special. Mushrooms obviously have a very earthy flavor to them, but this soup was well balanced and it didn't overwhelm. A friend dining with me that doesn't care for mushrooms even enjoyed her first taste so much that she went back for a second sample.

So get over to AMP150 this season for his mushroom soup, but also don't miss the upcoming Emerging Chefs' dinner on the 13th. I hope to attend, and can't wait to see what this creative chef comes up with!

A Tour of Chef Cooley's Garden

Last night, the local chapter of ISES (International Society of Event Specialists) hosted an event at the Cleveland Airport Marriott featuring Chef Ellis Cooley from AMP 150. The event was titled "Culinary Trends: From the Garden to the Table". It included a cooking demonstration and tastings from Chef Cooley, and a tour of the 1/4 acre garden that he and his team installed this spring just past the parking lot on an unused piece of overgrown land owned by the hotel. Other people saw weeds and asphalte- Cooley saw corn, cucumbers, peppers, herbs, and more!

The evening started with the cooking demo and samples of the dishes that Chef was using to highlight his definition of farm-to-table. We tried a beet salad with Ohio-made goat cheese, a scallop perched on top of Ohio-grown corn "pudding", sliced heirloom tomato on toasted bread, and a sausage-stuffed pepper. Cooley had literally picked the peppers from their garden at 2PM. It doesn't get any fresher than that!

The second portion of the event included a detailed tour of the garden by Chef Cooley himself. As he walked through the cucumbers, squash, and peppers you could tell that his own blood, sweat, and tears are in that garden. He is pretty proud of their first attempt- and he should be!

It was a fun evening- filled with tasty samplings, networking, cold cocktails in the courtyard, and the chance to finally see Chef's vision of a garden come to life.

AMp 150

4277 West 150th Street

Cleveland, OH 44135

(216) 252-5333

Something to Get "AMP"ed About

Chef Ellis Cooley has been making a splash over at AMP 150 in the Airport Marriott since arriving in Cleveland- not only in the dining scene and among foodies but on the social media network as well. Utilizing Twitter, Facebook, and most recently Foursquare- Cooley is communicating with and engaging his customers and potential diners very well (in my opinion). Asking diners about their experience, offering deals and freebies to patrons, listing specials and events, and even hosting a "Tweet-up" and earning everyone a swarm badge through Foursquare...it's all working for him. People have certainly been buzzing about AMP since its opening, and I finally got the chance to have dinner there last night at our monthly Blogger Dinner.

For full disclosure, this is not my first time dining there. "R" and I took my parents there for Mother's Day Brunch, but we left feeling very underwhelmed by the food and atmosphere. I swore to not judge based on a buffet (they are hard to do well), but I think my expectations were a little higher than usual based on the reputation they were building for themselves. I will say that the desserts were amazing, and I'm dying to know if they made that cheesecake in-house. In the end, my mom enjoyed brunch and being in Cleveland on Mother's Day so that's all that matters. Moving on to my meal last night...

The dinner started with Chef Cooley greeting our table and talking to us for quite some time about everything that they have coming up this season. I knew that he was trying to use local product and stay seasonal as much as possible, but I had no idea that they actually change the menu on a weekly basis- swapping at least two or three items each week. I love that! They are building an outdoor dining area, and Cooley hopes to feature family-style "Sunday Dinners" out there this summer. He also told us that the garden is thriving and the bees are busy making honey on the roof. It's exciting to see his plans come to life.

I knew that I wanted to try at least two things from the menu in order to get a better sense of the style and quality. Something to note is that nothing on the menu is over $20, by design. After some recommendations from the chef and our server, I decided to try the Apricot Gnocchi ($8)- shaved asparagus, parmesan, and apricots (pictured above) and the Rabbit Spaetzle ($8)- peas, speck ham, and tarragon. Both dishes are from the Small Plates section of the menu, which are designed to give you a tasting and allow you to pair them with other dishes to create a full meal. Two was a perfect decision, and I left feeling full. I won't go in to a lot of detail, but both dishes were very good. You can tell that Chef Cooley puts a lot of thought into pairing his ingredients, and each dish was well-balanced in flavor and texture. He did tell us prior to the meal that the rabbit dish was about to change for the season and would be a much lighter version, which is a thoughtful decision because I did feel that it was a little heavy for a warm summer evening. I just hope that it reappears next winter!

I still can't get over facing the hotel lobby while I dine, so I think that I need to request a table in the back next time- but overall Cooley's talent shines through on the menu and the food will keep you coming back. I look forward to dining there again soon, and keeping an eye out for what he has planned next.

AMP 150
4277 West 150th Street
Cleveland, OH 44135
(216) 252-5333