BYODDD Blogger Dinner

Last night our monthly blogger dinner took on a new twist: BYODDD. "Bring your own Drink, Dish, or Dog". Hosted by the lovely Alicia over at Poise In Parma and her dog Grady (see below), we gathered for dinner, drinks, and of course...dogs on her back deck. It was an amazing evening to be outside. Fall is knocking on the door and even though it was more than warm enough to be outside, there is a crisp in the air that wasn't there a week ago. My favorite season is just around the corner!

I wish that I could even begin to list all of the fantastic dishes that Alicia (and her wonderful mom, who I swear is a dog whisperer) prepared for us. The spread was long and tasty, with something for everyone. After a busy week at work, I was looking forward to a cold drink on the deck. Apparently so were the dogs, as you can see from above! The pups wandered around all evening, and I think that they had more fun than we did. My dog, Lizzie, was a bit overwhelmed by the other 5 but she started to warm up by the end. Maybe she'll be a little more receptive to Bacon's forward advances next time! Bacon is Suzanne's little black Boston Terrier pictured above- and our source of entertainment all night. That boy has got some ENERGY.

It was a fun Friday evening, and just what I needed during this busy time at work. The evening ended with lots of sweet treats, prepared by some of the other amazing blog ladies. We all know that I can not cook, so my contribution was wine. I can always be counted on for that. Trust me- you don't want me to bring a dish to pass at any party you are hosting. It was great to see old blends (blogger friends) and new. I love that there is always at least one new face at our dinners. It's wonderful to see the girls that I am getting to know well, but the chance to meet new Cleveland bloggers is fun. I always leave our monthly gatherings looking forward to the next one! Thanks again for hosting, Alicia (and Grady, of course!).

Taste of the Browns

The Cleveland Browns and the Cleveland Foodbank are partnering up for the 12th Annual Taste of the Browns event on Monday, September 13th at Browns Stadium from 6-9PM. This event is a football fan's and foodie's dream. The event features 25 of Cleveland's top high-end restaurants, all cooking up a signature dish for guests to enjoy while they mix and mingle with current and former Browns players. Does it get any better than that for our city that loves both our football team and fabulous food from our independent restaurants?

This foodie is drooling over the fantastic menu:
Sans Souci- Provencal Chicken with Farce, Tomato, Gastrique, and Foccacia
Don’s Lighthouse/Don’s Pomeroy House- Baked Crab Cake, Maine Lobster Corn Relish, Smoked Tomato Beurre Blanc
Bar Cento- Ohio Sweet Corn Veloute with Black Truffle and Duck Confit
Johnny’s Downtown- Applewood Smoked Veal Short Ribs with Autumn Squash Risotto and Crisp Mushrooms
Sushi Rock- Sushi Rock Surf & Turf: Sushi Maki Roll and Beef Tenderloin Skewer
Crop Bistro- Balsamic Popcorn and Buffalo Popcorn
Fahrenheit- Ultimate Gameday Hotdogs: Mini Kobe Hot Dogs, Ketchup, Mustard, Crisp Cucumbers, Diced Heirloom Tomato, Crunchy Bacon, Soft Rolls, Scallions
Lago Restaurant & Wine Bar/Grotto Wine Bar- Veal Tortellini and Lobster Gnocchi
Momocho- Adobo Braised Wild Boar Tacos with Pickled Jalapeno Mustard
Blue Point Grille- Lobster Bisque
Light Bistro- House-made Chicken Confit with Herb Polenta and Lake Erie Creamery Goat Cheese
Melange- "Dirty Chips": House-made Chips, Sonduel Bleu Cheese Fondue, Tomato, Scallions
Lucky’s Café- Mac and Cheese with Bacon; Gingerbread Roasted Peach Triffles
Hyde Park Restaurant Group- Slow Roasted Pepper and Herb Crusted Tenderloin, Sweet Potato Au Gratin, Bite-sized Beet and Goat Cheese Napoleons with Balsamic Syrup
Zack Bruell Restaurants: Parallax, Table 45, L'Albatros, Chinato- Parallax Sushi Selection; Indian Chicken Tikka Marinated in Yogurt and Spices; Brasserie Chop Salad; Pasticcio with Raddichio
John Q’s Steakhouse- Cognac, Mustard and Peppercorn Crusted and Roasted Tenderloin
Downtown 140- Phyllo Spring Roll with Forest Mushrooms, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese Fondue
Three Birds- Creamy Lump Crab Salad with Chipotle Spiced Corn Bread

The best part about this event is that all proceeds benefit the Foodbank, which provides food and support to over 600 local hunger programs in Northeast Ohio. For every $1 donated to the Cleveland Foodbank, it can provide 4 meals in a hunger center. So for the $150 Taste of the Browns ticket price, that's 600 MEALS! You get to enjoy amazing food prepared by our area's best chefs, meet Browns celebrities, listen to live music, win fantastic auction and raffle packages...and provide meals to those in need. It's a great event, and one that you shouldn't miss.

For more information, visit www.cleveland.com/tasteofthebrowns. Hope to see you there!

A "Crabby" Morning

"R" and I didn't get to spend much time together this weekend, so we woke up on Sunday morning and both had a craving for a good brunch. He had plans that afternoon with friends, so brunch was a great way to start the day together. We quickly and easily decided to use a gift certificate to Latitude 41. On our last visit, and first visit ever, I really didn't enjoy my meal. But "R" had loved his pizza and has been talking about it ever since. I was ready to give them another shot, and I've heard nothing but good things about their Sunday Brunch.

Fall was in the air yesterday, and after settling into a comfortable booth we helped ourselves to steaming mugs of their Cinnamon Coffee- very unique. After my required sugar and creamer were added- it was perfect, and the coffee warmed me from the inside out. Did I mention that we had taken the motorcycle there? Yeah, not the best decision ever.

Several items sounded good on the brunch menu, but one kept jumping out at me: Chesapeake Stuffed Omelet ($8.5)- lump crab meat & artichoke cream cheese mix (pictured above). All omelets are served with Lat 41°n breakfast potatoes and toast. When the dish arrived, there was a surprise- hollandaise sauce! As you can see, the omelet was completely smothered with the creamy, rich sauce. Even though it was broken and had started to separate, it was a welcomed component and enhanced the flavor of the omelet. The omelet was light and fluffy, crab meat was flavorful without being fishy, and the artichoke cream cheese mix was smooth with a great punch of artichoke flavor from time to time. I was lovin' this omelet! The breakfast potatoes were also very good and clearly made in-house. The only component that wasn't a shining star was the toast. Some homemade bread, not the standard pre-sliced grocery store version included, would have just pushed this dish over the edge. Even though I don't eat jelly or jam very often, I did appreciate the chunky homemade jelly that accompanied the plate.

"R" was craving that Southern BBQ pizza that he had the first time, but decided to go for a breakfast version instead. He ordered the Pizza for Benedict-pizza dough layered with spinach, mozzarella cheese and choice of protein topped with poached eggs and hollandaise sauce; served with a side of Lat 41°n breakfast potatoes. Diners have the choice of five protein toppings, and "R" went with the Maryland Crab Cake ($10.5). See, it was a crab-filled morning for us! His pizza was very good (they really know how to make a good crust!), and a great portion size for breakfast. I would happily order this dish as well.

At the end of the meal, I can more than say that Latitude 41 redeemed themselves in my eyes. Now that I've witnessed first-hand their famous Sunday Brunch- we'll be back, and soon.

Did I forget to mention that it started raining just as we left the restaurant? It made for a cold, and wet, ride home!

Latitude 41°n
5712 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216) 961-0000

I've Found The Best Fry!

So every restaurant has an "off" night from time to time. Every restaurant makes poor decisions every once in a while. All staff members of any restaurant team sometimes don't perform to the best of their ability. It's only when these nights, these decisions, these performances happen often that it becomes a problem.

Last night, Reddstone had one of these rare nights in my opinion. Thankfully, we've been there before and I could easily recognize that it was just a bad night. There were some things that were just plain wrong about our meal and overall experience there last night, and I'll only touch on them a little because we all know that it happens. I wouldn't even bother to write about this dining experience if it hadn't been for a major discovery worth telling you about.

To touch on the bad...We were seated directly in front of the live band and told that "if it was too loud, let them know and we could change tables". Well we quickly realized that it was and made mention to our server, but by the time a table was free we had been served our meal and felt it wasn't worth moving. Thankfully, the band was good. But I watched as several of the tables seated after us moved away. It was just too loud to talk, let alone enjoy your meal. The band was playing from 6-9PM- peak dining hours on a Friday evening. I think if the band had come on around 9, it would have more appropriate.

The second fail of the evening has a little to do with the band and a little to do with the food. I ordered the Reddstone Burger ($9)- grilled sirloin, smoked bacon, cheddar, and a fried egg. Having had an amazing burger there during our first visit, I was craving one and my decision was easy. During our blogger tasting event, we had tried a version of the All American Burger which came with the Reddstone Special Sauce. I had enjoyed the spicy mayo, so when I ordered my Reddstone Burger I requested a side of the special sauce. When my burger arrived, the side of sauce was clearly not the special sauce I had been looking for. The band had been too loud, and our server hadn't understood my request. I did appreciate her quick response, and the special sauce arrived shortly at our table. The issue is that when I received the bill I saw that I was charged for the side of special sauce, and I was charged for the first sauce as well. Not cool. The biggest fail of the evening happened once I took my first bite of the burger. The hearty bun was dried out and hard- beyond what toasting it should have done. It was pretty obvious that it was an old bun, and even the juicy meat and ample amount of sauce that I used couldn't save the bites from being dry and unappealing.

Alright, I hate writing about the short comings of a meal or dining experience so here is my big discovery of the evening- SWEET POTATO FRIES. Holy moly, Reddstone has THE most AMAZING sweet potato fries that I have ever tasted. And I've tasted many. The fries were much thicker than a standard-cut sweet potato fry. They had a great crisp to the outside and were all soft and gooey on the inside. The real winning point of this preparation was the seasoning on the outside of the fries. It was a blend of sweet brown sugar and salt. Both ingredients worked in harmony without overpowering the other- a perfect marriage of salty and sweet. The portion was perfect too, because I think too many of these would overwhelm you with the bold flavor. "R" devoured his and began to eye my plate. You can order these fries for an additional charge instead of the house shoestring rosemary french fries. They were out of the sweet potato version during our first visit, and now I understand why. Reddstone should seriously consider making the sweet potato fries their house specialty instead of the only so-so shoestring fries we had previously. These fries are outstanding.

So there's my tip for you. Thanks for sticking through my negative comments about the experience last night, but once you try these fries you'll know that it was worth it. So go forth and dine!

Reddstone
1261 West 76th Street
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216) 651-6969

The Feast!

Well yesterday I made it to my very first Feast of the Assumption in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood. I've spent three summers living in Cleveland (hard to believe time flies that fast), and we finally made it there after all of the hype. Was it worth it? The jury is still out...

Late last week I sent a tweet out asking when the best time to go was. We were looking to experience the festival in its glory, but avoid the "peak" times and crushing crowds that I had heard so much about. Some of you mocked my question, but several of you offered key advice. So we headed out early Sunday evening, and while I didn't see the rest of the four-day-long festival- I thought we were there at a perfect time. The streets and patios were full, but it was easy to navigate up the main street and the lines weren't terribly long at the food stands. If there was a line at all, you knew that whatever they were serving was popular! Like the stromboli line.

Parking was a bit of a pain, and expensive in my opinion since you are about to head into a street festival and drop a bunch of money on trying different food samples and supporting the stands filled with apparel, jewelry, artwork, and other goods. At first, we headed to the outskirts of the festival trying to find free or cheap street parking- it was a No Go. So then we investigated parking lots and garages several streets away- only to discover that they were charging the exact same $10 that the lots right next to the festival were charging. We headed back up to a garage close by and grumpily paid the $10. If we knew the neighborhood a little better, then I am sure we could have found cheaper parking. Any suggestions for next year are welcomed!

It was once again very hot and humid in Cleveland yesterday, but when we arrived around 5:30PM it was starting to break. We wound our way through the street festival sampling gnocchi from Gusto!, ciabatta pizza from Orlando Baking Company, pesto pasta from La Dolce Vita, a fresh meatball stromboli (the line was worth the wait), and we ended with a cold tiramisu from Presti Bakery. With our bellies full and people-watching quota complete, we headed home.

All in all, it was a fun summer Sunday evening and The Feast was worth experiencing even just once. Now will we be back next year? We'll have to wait and see...