Tuesday, July 15, 2014

5th Annual Beer and Sausage Fest

5th Annual Beer and Sausage Fest this Saturday at Sachsenheim Hall. For $36 ($40 at the door), enjoy live entertainment, beer from 6 different breweries, and 16 styles of brats. 
Purchase tickets in advance at Sachsenheim Hall or Market Garden Brewery.

I went two years ago, and it was a great deal for the food and beers included. A casual night out, enjoying tasty house made brats and craft beer. Don't miss it! 

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Local Tavern Opens in Parma

The east-side chain of Local Tavern has moved to Parma. They've taken over the large bar/restaurant space that recently housed Brew Co. and the Blue Moose prior to that.
The restaurant offers a large outdoor dining area and expansive covered bar, which has always been appealing. Located on Pearl Road, it's high-traffic area of Parma, and there is plenty of parking in the huge lot in front of the restaurant. In theory, a place should do well in this location.

The menu isn't huge, offering a few "Plate Lickers" a.k.a. entrees, but the menu is heavy with burgers, "handwiches" and stuffed burgers. For the smaller appetites, they do have salads and "happy beginnings" a.k.a appetizers. What's with the weird category names? 
First disappointment of the meal was the beer list. Only a handful of craft beer options, and very heavy on your domestic basics. Certainly not the extensive craft beer list that the location's previous tenant offered. I stuck with water.

"R" was drawn to their list of three Signature Stuffed Burgers, and decided on the Beast ($13.99) with short rib, horseradish, mushroom aioli, and Swiss cheese.
They must have to cook them to one temperature only, due to the "stuffing" because he wasn't asked. The bun was soft and fresh, patty quite large and juicy, but overall it really lacked flavor. The mushroom aioli just blended in with the taste of beef, and there was absolutely no hint of the promised horseradish. "R" had to kick this up a notch with ketchup. It was also almost entirely a "brown" burger, which isn't very appetizing to look at.

I ordered the Island Pork Sandwich ($9.99) with sriracha-marinated pineapple, thin-sliced pork, cabbage slaw and a lime-cilantro aioli.
The "thin-sliced pork" had the mouth-feel of deli meat (not pleasant), but the flavors of sweet and mildly spicy were good overall. It just probably wasn't good enough that I'd order it again. Each handheld or burger comes with a side of fries (pretty good), salad (very good), or tomato bisque (we didn't try).

Our server, Rachel, was only average, and was clearly outshone by the server that was waiting on the table behind us. We watched as the other server checked in on, and helped, our server's tables while we were dining. I also had to wait an oddly long amount of time for a bottled beer, once I decided to order a Corona. She came to our table twice during this time period, stating that she was "waiting for someone to get it" for her. The restaurant wasn't busy at all, and both inside and outside bars were fully staffed. Hmmm...

So, long story short, I was disappointed with this new addition to Parma, and we probably won't waste our time returning. Not sure if this restaurant will make it in this location either. Maybe it's cursed?

Local Tavern
5513 Pearl Road
Parma, OH 44129

Two other locations in Mentor and Willoughby Hills.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Fresh Fork Fun- Week Four

We just finished Week Four of the Fresh Fork summer program, and we continue to have fun trying new recipes and cooking with products that we may not have regularly purchased on our own.

A Sunday meal included some scallops purchased at Kate's Fish at the West Side Market, perched on top of mashed cauliflower. A recipe for mashed cauliflower was in our newsletter, so we adapted it slightly to try it for the first time. It makes a great replacement for mashed potatoes.

Mashed Cauliflower
1 medium head cauliflower
1 1/2 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
4 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish
unsalted butter

Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.
Saute the garlic.
Clean and cut the cauliflower into 1" pieces.
Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until tender to fork touch.
Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry.
In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper until almost smooth.
Garnish with chives, and serve hot with pats of butter on top.

We served the scallops and cauliflower with a side of Simmered Beet Greens with Roasted Beets, Lemon and Yogurt. This recipe was also adapted from the Week 4 Fresh Fork newsletter.

Roasted Beets with Lemon and Yogurt (2 servings)
1 bunch of beets with greens
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
chopped walnuts for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Cut the greens away from the beets, leaving about 1/4 inch of stems.
Scrub the beets and place in a baking dish.
Add 1/4 inch water to the dish.
Cover tightly.
Place in the oven and roast beets for 30 to 60 minutes (depending on the size), until easily penetrated with a fork.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Cut away the ends and slip off the skins.
Slice beets and set aside.
Stem the greens and wash.
Heat a large, wide skillet over high heat and add the greens by the handful, stirring each handful until the greens wilt in the water left on the leaves after washing.
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and diced garlic, turn the heat down to low, season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add 1 Tbsp. lemon juice before removing greens from skillet.
Arrange the beets on top of the greens.
Drizzle on olive oil and squeeze on more lemon juice to taste.
Place spoonfuls of yogurt over the top of the beets and beet greens, sprinkle on the walnuts and serve.

We also topped our scallops with a Strawberry Balsamic Basil Reduction.
Viola! More Fresh Fork fun in Week Four.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Veggie U Food and Wine Celebration 2014

The Veggie U Food and Wine Celebration is back this year, but with some new twists. For 10 years, the event was held outdoors on The Chef's Garden farm in Milan. The recreated event will be held in downtown Cleveland at the Hospitality Management Center of Tri-C and Pura Vida spaces on Public Square, and will focus on local culinary talent expressing themselves through the flavors of international cuisines. The Veggie U Food and Wine Celebration (#VUFoodWine2014) will be held July 19, 2014, from 7:00 pm – 10:30 pm.

The fundraiser benefits Veggie U, a non-profit children's education program that teaches the importance of nutrition and sustainable agriculture by providing interactive lesson plans and a classroom garden to elementary and special needs students.
The event's theme "Tastes of the World" will give each of the twelve+ guest chefs at the tasting stations a chance to use their culinary skills to transport guests to their favorite locales or to a region and cuisine style they might not otherwise get to experience. Wine pairings from the best grape growing regions of the world will compliment the dishes, while lively music from Don Disantis will entertain the guests. A wine pull and silent auction will round off the evening, while providing further opportunities to donate to the Veggie U cause.

Featured chefs include*: 
Matt Mytro (Flour)
Andrew Bower (Market Garden Brewery)
Scott Coffman (Pura Vida)
Jeff Jarrett (AMP 150)
Michael Lyons (The Accessible Gourmet)
Matthew Mathlage (Light Bistro)
Karen Small (Flying Fig)
Nate Barker (Hodge's)
Anna Harouvis (Good to Go Café/Anna in the Raw)
Manny Nieves (Grady's Fine Wines)
John Selick (UH Ahuja Medical Center/Sodexo)
Ky-Wei Wong (Tri-C Culinary Arts Program)
Tickets are $150 per person. To purchase tickets and learn more about the event, visit www.VeggieUFoodandWine2014.Eventbrite.com or call 419.499.7500. You can also enter their Facebook contest for a chance to win two free tickets. Visit the contest page here, or email your First Name, Last Name, and email address to Ask[at]VeggieU[dot]org with the subject line "Veggie U Food & Wine Ticket Contest Entry". Enter by July 14, 2014.

This was a great event when it was out on the farm (although a little sweaty in the summer heat), so I'm excited to see the changes that they've made to the event. I look forward to attending. Great chef lineup, more convenient location, and a wonderful cause.

* Final chef lineup still being confirmed.

Disclosure: I was provided with two media passes in exchange for this blog post. All opinions are 100% my own. 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Cincinnati Eats: Bouquet Restaurant and Wine Bar

Okay, well, not really "Cincinnati," but just across the river in Covington, Kentucky. When I travel to Cincinnati for work, I like to stay in Kentucky. It's just minutes from Downtown Cincinnati, but the hotel prices are cheaper and typically include complimentary parking. We've traditionally headed into Cincinnati for dinner, but during this last trip we stayed on the other side of the river and discovered a cute little area in Covington. This strip of restaurants and bars on Main Street was begging to be explored, and I'd love to poke around more.

However, we were headed straight for Bouquet Restaurant and Bar. We didn't have a reservation, which I do recommend, but we were able to grab the last patio table.
It was a perfect evening for street-watching, sipping on a glass of wine, and munching on some small plates. We had a late lunch that day, so some small plates were just what we needed. The menu isn't large, but several items sounded tempting and there were four daily specials to choose from.

The first daily special that caught my eye was the Stuffed Squash Blossoms. They have a very short season each spring, and I like to have them when I can.
These were not the best that I've had, but I did enjoy the delicate flower blossoms stuffed with crab and cheese.

I also ordered the Farm Greens Salad ($7) from the regular menu.
Beautifully plated, it included Greensleeves Farm greens, brussels chips, carrots, spring onions, almonds, and a citrus sumac dressing. It was small, but so good.

Still a tad hungry, "R" and I decided to share the Artisanal Cheese Plate ($15).
It included pistachio relish, seasonal jam and a daily selection of four cheeses. Diners also have the option of adding charcuterie. You can add two cured meats, house mustard, and pickled vegetables for $6, or four cured meats, house mustard, house pickles, and olives for $12. We added two meats.

Don't you love the little sign that accompanied the spread? I wish every cheese plate did that! By the time the waiter leaves, I generally have forgotten what the cheeses are. I liked all four cheeses, a creamy Brie, a bleu, and two hard cheeses. The accoutrements were unusual, and very good. Apple butter and pistachio relish, yum. While Bruell restaurants' and Edwin's cheese plate in Cleveland still reign supreme, this was one of the better ones I've had. A great end to a very nice meal.

Bouquet has a farm-to-table approach, and have been voted one of the Best Restaurants by Cincinnati Magazine. Their approach to putting a twist on classic favorites is fun, artfully plated, and delicious. We'll be back, both to Bouquet and to the historic Main Street strip in Covington. There is more exploring to do, but again, we landed ourselves at one of the best restaurants in the area that night thanks to the suggestion from a Cleveland-area farmer!

Bouquet Restaurant and Wine Bar
519 Main Street
Covington, KY 41011
859-491-7777