Here Comes the Neighborhood

You can't have a proper neighborhood without a proper coffee shop. Thanks to the recently unveiled Erie Island Coffee Co. (216/394-0093), E. Fourth Street is one step closer to becoming a bona fide 'hood. Originating on Kelleys Island, the concept raises the bar on typical coffee-shop java, boasting incredibly smooth coffee, espresso and cappuccino. Erie Street's beautiful (and delicious) cappuccino is topped with a swirl of foamed milk and sided by a square of dark chocolate.

The slender 30-seat cafe, located across the street from Lola, is done up in a soothing taupe and wood design, with tables, banquettes and a six-seat coffee bar. In addition to the coffee drinks, teas and smoothies, Erie Street offers a light menu of soups, salads and sandwiches. Called "crushes," the sandwiches are built atop hole-less bagels and heated in a panini press. Breakfast panini run $4.95 while lunch versions come in at $5.95. Free Wi-Fi.

Awards, Present (and Future?)

The 2009 James Beard Foundation Award nominees won't be announced until March 23, but three Cleveland chefs have earned spots as semifinalists. Both Zachary Bruell (Parallax, Table 45, L’Albatros) and Michael Symon (Lola, Lolita) earned spots in the Best Chef – Great Lakes Region category, while Cory Barrett (Lola, Lolita) scored a nod in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category. “This is one of the highest culinary awards in my profession," said Bruell. "It’s an honor just to be mentioned with the people on that list and the past winners. It’s also a huge honor to be representing Cleveland." This year's award ceremony will be held May 3-4 in New York.

In other Symon news: Roast restaurant, in less than a full year of service, has earned a major Detroit-area dining award. The Detroit Free Press recently named Symon's Roast the 2009 Free Press Restaurant of the Year. Now, if he can finally snag that elusive Beard award.

Ken Stewart Adds Another Restaurant

With Tre Belle (1911 N. Cleveland-Massillon Rd., Bath, 330/666-9990), Akron-based restaurateur Ken Stewart has added an Italian bistro to his small, successful restaurant group. The recently opened spot joins Ken Stewart's Grille (1970 W. Market St., Akron, 330/867-2555) and Ken Stewart's Lodge (330/666-8881), the latter of which shares an address with Tre Belle. The loud and lively trattoria offers traditional Italian fare such as chicken liver bruschetta, cured meat platters, pastas and fish. House specialties include thin wood-fired pizzas, rotisserie chicken, and a wide-ranging mix-and-match antipasto selection. While less expensive than either the Grille or Lodge, Tre Belle is by no means cheap. Starters are in the $9-$13 range, pizzas are $16, and entrees start at $19 and soar to $36 for a whole salt-baked branzino. Of course, guests can expect generous cocktails and a wonderful wine list.

Pickwick Kills Lunch Service

Last month, Pickwick & Frolic (2035 E. 4th St., 216/241-7425) quietly stopped serving lunch, another sign of the depressed dining market. Management prefers to call the change simply, "new seasonal hours," promising to re-launch lunch when the weather is once again warm enough to support outdoor dining. Fans of the popular Martini Show, which combines the music of Sinatra’s Vegas with classic supper club dinner fare, can enjoy business as usual.

New Soup for You!

Since 2004, Susy's Soup (216/771-7792) has been providing downtown worker bees with a quick, dependable weekday lunch from its Public Square locale. On April 1, Susy and her (his, actually) soups will relocate to the old Panera spot in Tower City Center. The move will allow for an expanded menu, with more soups, salads, wraps and sandwiches. Susy's is best known for its ever-changing roster of house-made soups, including clam chowder, chicken dumpling and beef barley. Chili is available every day. A breakfast wrap is filled with bacon, egg and cheese, while lunchtime introduces wraps with smoked turkey, tuna and egg salad. Look for extended hours with the move as well.

Shinano Synonymous with Sushi

In sushi circles, Shinano is synonymous with seafood superiority. Back when most Clevelanders were first discovering the joys of a freshly prepared California roll, this East Side restaurant was dishing up traditional Japanese delicacies to sushi-savvy locals. For almost two decades, quality and authenticity were all that was needed to lure diners to Shinano’s modest home in a modest strip center across from a modest shopping mall.

Over the years, though, Shinano watched its fan base shrivel up like day-old fish as customers continued their eastward migration. Diehard groupies occasionally still made the trek, but with so many newer and more convenient options, who could blame them for overlooking an old friend. So, taking a page from the “If you can’t beat them, join them” playbook, management finally decided to pack up the restaurant and ship it off to sunny Solon.

While the move likely does bring the restaurant closer to some fans, it also brings it nearer to some pretty stiff competition. Counting those in Solon, Woodmere and Beachwood alone, there are half a dozen Japanese restaurants serving sushi. That is a pretty crowded field from which to stand out. So, does Shinano stand out?

Based on looks alone, the restaurant isn’t going to attract much positive attention. Shinano traded in one shopping-center address for another. Granted, it traded up. The freshly built suburban digs are spare, sterile and bright – like a doctor’s office waiting room, only with less atmosphere. While the old locale wasn’t exactly a looker, at least it was comfortable.

Of course, what’s important is the food. And what’s really important is the fish. Arriving in pairs as they should, the nigiri sushi is skillfully cut, assembled and presented. Perched atop a smallish mound of moist seasoned sushi rice, the unimpeachably fresh folds of tuna ($5), yellowtail ($5) and salmon ($4.25) all are a delight to consume.

More popular perhaps than the regular sushi are the rolls. From the straightforward to the dizzyingly elaborate, attractive wheels of fish, rice and seaweed roll out from the bar in a never-ending progression. For purists there is the negi hamachi ($5), an austere pairing of yellowtail and scallion. Spicy tuna rolls are all the rage, and at less than a buck a bite, who can resist? Irresistible king crab meat is the star of the Chad’s roll ($8.75), a hefty inside-out arrangement with shrimp, avocado and a shotgun blast of tiny fish eggs.

But diners can’t live on raw fish alone lest they end up like Jeremy Piven. The good news is that diners need not order from the sushi bar to expect quality food. Shinano’s menu of prepared Japanese dishes appears larger than it used to, with scores of vegetable, noodle, meat and seafood items. Demonstrating a high-wire act of timing, the kitchen turns out a Bento box ($23.95) containing brittle-crisp shrimp tempura, smoky-hot salmon teriyaki and still-cool sashimi. Soup and salad are included with the meal, as are veggies and rice.

The mussels used in a substantial appetizer ($5.95) are so hefty they must be butterflied prior to preparation. Dipped in panko and fried crisp, the meaty bivalves are served with a thick Worcestershire-based sauce. Whole grilled squid ($7.50) is as far from run-of-the-mill calamari as one could probably get. Broiled, sliced and served au natural, the charred fish is pleasantly meaty and dense. What the dish lacks is an accompanying sauce or condiment.

There are oodles of noodle dishes, including those built around ramen, udon and soba. If you enjoy your noodles in broth, go for the ramen ($8.50), which is served in an elegant earthenware crock. Suspended in a dark, flavorful broth and topped with slices of roast pork, the squiggly noodles make for a fine lunch. Better suited to dinner is the yaki soba ($9.95), a plateful of stir-fried buckwheat noodles, pork and cabbage in a pungent brown sauce.

Shinano also offers the rest of the “yaki” classics – teriyaki, kushiyaki and yakitori – in a variety of fish, beef and chicken iterations.

Given the heightened popularity of sake these days, I’m surprised and disappointed that Shinano doesn’t stock more than just a handful of warm and cold varieties. The omnipresent Ozeki brand ($7) is the house pour for those who like it hot.

Because many of the servers made the move from Richmond Heights, most have intimate knowledge of the menu. There does, however, appear to be a slowing of the tide when it comes to speed and efficiency, a lapse that hopefully will disappear over time. Fix that and Shinano will be able to hold its own against most of its nearby challengers.

Shinano
28500 Miles Rd. (Shoppes of Solon), Solon
440.498.1614

Wanted: Restaurants for Cleveland Food Rocks Promo

Attention all Cleveland-area restaurants interested in garnering some local, regional and national ink. Cleveland Food Rocks, a homegrown mission spearheaded by Crop Bistro’s Steve Schimoler, aims to leverage the upcoming Rock Hall Induction into a city-wide food and music promo. “This is a chance for restaurants to band together for a little self promotion while offering a fun experience to visitors, and creating good vibes for the entire city,” explains Schimoler. The deal is simple: In return for inclusion on the soon-to-launch www.clevelandfoodrocks.com website, restaurants agree to offer live music and special rock-themed menus throughout the course of Induction Week (March 28-April 4). Bands of any stripe will do, but participating restos are encouraged to create house bands. The Cleveland Food Rocks website is a professionally designed portal that will include restaurant info, website links, maps and promo schedules. Other Induction Week events likely will include celebrity chef dinners, impromptu rock star sit-ins and a heaping dose of frivolity. Interested operators should contact Elaine Cicora (elaine@rollingfireent.com, 216.577.2057). Deadline is February 28, 2009.

Flying Fig Launches Brunch

Karen Small hasn’t rolled out brunch service since her days at Jezebel’s, but the time seems right to do so now at Flying Fig (2523 Market Ave., 216.241.4243, theflyingfig.com). “It’s an idea that I’ve been tossing around for a while,” Small says. “It’s a lower price point [than dinner], which makes sense, plus it alleviates having to do the same things day in and day out.” The Sunday brunch menu adheres to Small’s farmhouse sensibilities, boasting local eggs, dairy and poultry, fresh-squeezed juice, even house-made butter. Popular items include migas, a Tex-Mex scramble of eggs, sweet peppers, chiles and tortillas, duck enchiladas with chipotle mole and a fried duck egg, omelets plumped with gruyere, bacon and scallions, and quiche o’ the day. Service runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Old Angle, New Menu

Change also is afoot at Old Angle Tavern (1848 W. 25th St., 216.861.5643, oldangletavern.com). “As popular as our menu was,” says owner Alex Gleason, “it was time for some changes.” In place now for a couple months, the new lineup was designed with a $12 ceiling, while maintaining quality and consistency. To that end, new chef Donald Pierce has introduced items like flank steak wrap with black beans, rice and salsa ($9, inc. fries and slaw), cheesesteak with grilled onions, fries and slaw ($8.50), and four separate slider platters. Diners also will find a new weekly specials menu, happy hour menu, and beer list.

Is This Bistro Like That Bistro?

Bistro on Lincoln Park picks up where Sage Bistro left off

Another day, another bistro, right? Seems you can’t turn the pages of our newspapers without reading about an ambitious new bistro banking on a tidal wave of good cheer. Invariably, these gastro-pads are helmed by accomplished chef-owners, they adhere to a strict ingredient-driven greenmarket mentality, and they boast menus sprinkled with phrases like house-cured, fresh-baked and just-churned.

While a surfeit of quality is always a good problem to have, there is a certain measure of homogeny descending upon the Cleveland food scene.

At first blush, Bistro on Lincoln Park, which replaced Sage Bistro (on Lincoln Park), albeit two years hence, fits that mold to a “T.” Opened by Pete Joyce, longtime executive chef at Blue Point, the trendy boite employs classic French technique to twist today’s freshest ingredients into creations both traditional and contemporary. Even the space, with its blonde-wood floors, sage-brushed walls and bland impressionist paintings, reminds one of a thousand other eateries.

But take the time to get to know BoLP and a less predictable identity begins to emerge. Featured alongside the now-ubiquitous gratinees, confits and frites are blinis, Bologneses and black beans. You see, this bistro is not bound by Gallic convention; its culinary borders extend to Spain, Italy and beyond.

In the two years since Sage closed its doors, scores of chefs have toyed with the notion of taking over the prominent Tremont space. Joyce, a respected industry vet, was the first to pull the trigger. Always an attractive restaurant, Sage needed little more than a warm body and a fresh coat of paint to bring it back to life. The kitchen, on the other hand, has been pimped out with all the latest gear.

In a down economy, bread baskets often are the first casualty. That, or they come with a tariff. This bistro bakes its own fine rolls and serves them alongside plenty of creamery-fresh butter. What’s more, on most nights diners are treated to a kicky little amuse bouche.

One’s first hint that all is not burgers and frites comes in the form of a chorizo blini appetizer ($7). Bursting with the Latin flavors of smoked sausage, sharp Manchego and pert pickled cabbage, the dish advertises the chef’s range. Scallops, while lovely when fresh, can be about as thrilling as a snail race. Joyce ups the excitement of his scallop app ($11) by pairing the sizeable seared bivalves with a homey corn soufflé. A bed of buttery leeks adds acidic balance.

The only thing that would improve the warm goat cheese tartlet ($9) is a crust with more snap. Okay, any snap. Still, the velvety goat cheese filling set against the tangy tapenade topping makes for dynamic taste interplay. While we’re nitpicking: the French onion soup ($7), on one visit, suffered from an oily broth that coated both the spoon and our taste buds.

Salads here are no mere addendum. Composed with grace and anointed by dressings more akin to elixirs than vinaigrettes, these dinner interludes deserve a place in every meal. The Bistro’s take on frisee aux lardon ($8) swaps the frilly ferns for dandelion greens and ties together the house-cured bacon, toothsome croutons and poached egg with a fragrant lavender honey dressing.

Yes, most bistros turn out reliably satisfying renditions of hanger steak frites ($19) and peppery steak au poivre ($27), and this one is no exception. But for dyed-in-the-wool carnivores, these dishes offer something no other restaurant can – Joyce’s wickedly good fries. Brittle-crisp, aggressively salty and ethereally airy, the frites also escort a lush coq au vin ($15), the poultry stained dark from red wine.

The highlight of the pork entrée ($17) is not the sufficiently juicy pork loin, but the side of celery root gnocchi. Like outsized spaetzle, the squished and sautéed blobs sop up the delicate sauce. Sous vide cookery is praised for the extremely succulent results it produces in meat and fish, and Joyce’s sous vide salmon ($19) is a nice example. Though a last-minute sear undoes much of that effort, most fish fans will find the texture delightfully appealing. Equally appealing is the accompanying salmon “sushi” – salmon-stuffed cabbage leaves that mimic Japanese maki.

BoLP churns its own ice cream ($4), and when paired with the still-warm chocolate chip cookies ($5), it feels like the chef has bundled you up in a Snuggie (S/H not included).

Most glasses on the Bistro’s wine list are north of $9, and until recently many bottle prices began with a “5.” I say until recently because the restaurant has added a “20 under $20” list. Unfortunately, our server decided that our table did not need to know about that more affordable list.


Bistro on Lincoln Park
2391 W. 11th St., Cleveland
216.862.2969

Mad Greek, a Little Less Crazy?

As is the case with the Cleveland Browns, the Mad Greek (2466 Fairmount Blvd., 216.421.3333, www.madgreekcleveland.com) is presently undergoing a reconstruction phase. By hiring classically trained chef Robert Ledzianowski, management has illustrated that it is serious about improving the quality of this Cleveland Heights institution.

“We’re rebuilding,” explains the chef. “There was a lack of refinement in what the restaurant was doing.” Since starting in November, Ledzianowski, who has worked in such notable restaurants as Vue, Table 45 and Dante, has introduced a heightened emphasis on ingredients, technique and presentation. He is working with Greek and Indian food importers to secure more authentic products; he is replacing outmoded kitchen equipment; and he has hired a brand new kitchen crew. The chef has begun crafting his own spice blends, using ingredients like fresh curry leaves and fenugreek. He hopes to add a tandoor oven by summer.

“I am bringing a more contemporary feel to the food,” notes the chef. “We still serve mainstays like spanakopita, dolmades and moussaka, we are just bringing the recipes into this century.” Look for an updated wine list as well. Despite the added quality, customers will see no increase in prices, he promises. “When you’ve been here for 33 years,” says Ledzianowski, “there will be those customers who are horrified that we got rid of their favorite dish. But most of the response to the changes has been really, really good.”

Cleveland Restaurant Deals, Steals

The next few weeks will be good ones for value-conscious diners. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, scores of area restaurants will be offering deals to seduce diners. Then, beginning February 23, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance kicks off another installment of its wildly popular Restaurant Week. To check out the hot Valentine’s Day deals, visit the Cleveland Independents website (clevelandindependents.com). Among them are specially priced dinners from Creekside, Melange, Grovewood, Crop, Light, Luxe, John Q’s, Sapore and more. Many include appetizer, entrée dessert and wine for one low price. Running from February 23 through March 1st, some 40 different downtown restaurants will be offering special three-course meals for just $30 as part of Restaurant Week. This is a great opportunity to try new places like La Strada, Saigon and Bob Golic’s Sports Bar. Many downtown parking facilities will offer special $2 rates during this promotion for those presenting a parking voucher. To print the vouchers and see the complete list of participating restaurants, visit downtownclevelandalliance.com.

L'Albatros Takes Flight

Not since Michael Symon opened Lola: Part Deux has the Cleveland dining scene been so breathless over a new restaurant. With the launch of L’Albatros, owner Zack Bruell apparently has scratched an itch of such fierce intensity that food fans citywide have uttered a collective “Ahhh.”

Like every great restaurant, L’Albatros satisfies a longing we didn’t know we had. It is as if some benevolent soothsayer peeked into our gastronomic subconscious and delivered the antidote for indifference. This is the rare establishment that astutely marries food with setting, demand with execution, fulfillment with affordability. And yet, the concept is utterly, almost laughably, obvious.

“Opening this restaurant was an absolute no-brainer,” Bruell told me, less as boast than confession.

If you can’t deduce as much from the name, L’Albatros is a French restaurant. More accurately, it is a brasserie, meaning that it is the kind of place that serves food people really want to eat. This restaurant is by no means this city’s first, last, or only brasserie, but it unquestionably is its finest. Succeeding where virtually all of its antecedents have not – by being too rarefied, say, or too folksy – L’Albatros rekindles our fondness for bona fide bistro cookery.

Located in restaurant-starved University Circle, L’Albatros has been an unabashed triumph since its mid-December debut. For far too long, visitors to the area have had to make do with an out-and-out paucity of passable dinner options. When Case Western Reserve was looking for a new tenant to take over the historic building that housed That Place on Bellflower, Bruell leapt at the chance.

Completely reworked, the interior will be virtually unrecognizable to That Place diners. Gutted like a fish and rebuilt from the ground up, the contemporary space oozes with easygoing sophistication. Upon crossing the threshold, guests practically walk right into the open kitchen. A snug little bar and lounge area serves as nucleus.

The menu appears to be airlifted from a Parisian brasserie, populated as it is with pearls like onion soup gratin, frisée aux lardon, escargot, cassoulet, skate wing and pied de cochon, which is a fancy way of saying pigs’ trotters. Fear not my finicky friends; one needn’t be a fan only of pig parts to adore a meal here. There are enough tantalizing poultry, steak, seafood and pasta dishes to placate even the most diffident of diners.

Bruell’s French onion soup ($7) is picture-perfect. Served in a crock glazed with melted cheese, the hearty onion-studded brew is deeply flavorful, no doubt abetted by strands of tender beef. Gilded with lard, speckled with pistachios, and topped with grainy mustard, the pork and veal terrine ($7) is as good as I’ve tasted. And once they shed their chill from the fridge, the shredded pork rillettes ($7) proved an unctuous treat.

Salads include the classic frisee aux lardon ($9), a textbook arrangement of feathery greens, chewy bacon nubs and runny poached egg. Like sunshine on a cloudy day, the refreshing radish and cucumber salad ($6) features a blissful crème fraiche vinaigrette.

Few chefs in town have Bruell’s knack for making chicken taste irresistible. L’Albatros’ juicy roast chicken entrée ($19), which includes an airline breast and leg, is made even better thanks to its buttery parsnip-farfel sidekick. In the soul-satisfying veal short rib ($22), a tender bundle of beef barely clings to its central bone. The accompanying mushroom risotto, boasting fat shavings of quality aged cheese, could stand alone as its own dish.

Still, there are moments when Bruell’s penchant for tinkering stands in the way of a dish’s success. Escargot ($8) is meticulously doled out by a server, leaving the diner with all of the meat but little of the dreamy dipping sauce. Without question, cassoulet’s most glorious feature is its thick mantle of bread-crumb crust. Bruell’s deconstructed version ($22) scatters the components about in an open skillet, effectively eliminating the crust altogether. Those elements (lamb, duck confit, sausage, beans) are magnificent, but they never mingle as one.

L’Albatros has talent to spare, from chef de cuisine Andy Dombrowski to the culinary degreed managers. Presiding over the finest cheese program in town is Brandon Chrostowski, a fromager plucked from a top-rated New York City eatery. The stellar wine program is overseen by Rob Rasmussen, a sommelier who knows what you should drink before you do.

The restaurant’s name, by the way, refers to a rare 3-under-par shot in golf. It also can refer to a wearisome encumbrance. “My intention is the former,” Bruell told me. “But I’m sure if I get a negative review they’ll refer to the other.”

No risk of that happening on this blog.


L’Albatros
11401 Bellflower Rd., Cleveland
216.791.7880
www.albatrosbrasserie.com

Hours: Mon.-Wed. 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Thur.-Sat. 11:30 a.m. to midnight.

Dante: Chapter Two

Perhaps more so than even his fans, Dante Boccuzzi can’t wait to begin the next chapter of his Cleveland restaurant story.

“This is why I came back to Cleveland,” Boccuzzi told me. “This is what I came home to do.”

The chef is referring to his new restaurant in Tremont, a project that when completed in May will bring him closer to achieving his culinary dream. Since returning to town from New York, Boccuzzi had been running the Valley View restaurant Dante. On New Year’s Day, the chef severed his ties with the business, which has since reverted back to Lockkeepers (8001 Rockside Rd., 216.524.9404). That location, explained the chef, was never a good fit. The sheer size of the operation compelled him to make financial decisions that didn’t gel with his own.

“My new restaurant will be a fun and affordable neighborhood place, along the lines of Lolita,” he added.

Located in the stately Third Federal Savings building (2247 Professor Ave.), which is a stone’s throw from Lago, Lolita and Fahrenheit, Dante will serve its owner’s signature style of modern American cuisine. “All of your favorite dishes from Valley View, plus lots of new stuff, and some sushi surprises,” noted Boccuzzi. There will be no pizza, he promises. Including the bar and lounge, the main dining area will seat 60. A fully enclosed glass atrium will provide year-round seating for another 40. One lucky foursome will be able to dine inside the old bank vault. The restaurant will boast a lovely courtyard and, best of all, its very own parking lot.

Valerio's to Relocate

Valerio Iorio, chef and owner of Valerio's restaurant in Little Italy (11919 Mayfield Rd., 216.421.8049), is moving his operations. Iorio has purchased a building just up the street, which most recently was home to Battuto (12405 Mayfield Rd.). The move will up Iorio’s seat count from 40 to 55, not counting additional sidewalk space. But the relocation is about more than just adding chairs. “The building has a much bigger kitchen,” explained Iorio, “so we will be able to have a larger menu with more seasonal items.” Once reconfigured, the space will feature a new front bar and lounge. But perhaps the biggest change will take place in the kitchen. “I will be returning to the kitchen to cook for the first time in six years,” added the chef. If all goes as planned, the switch will occur seamlessly sometime in the next month or so.