Bar Symon Flies into Avon Lake

“This is really my style of dining,” says Michael Symon of his just-launched Bar Symon. “This is very similar to what the original Lola was like when we first opened it.”

While Lola has trended a bit upmarket since the move from Tremont to East Fourth Street, Bar Symon is gloriously – even raucously – informal. Billed as an American brasserie, the Avon Lake eatery raises the volume, lightens the mood and eases the tariffs on what we have come to expect from a Michael Symon Restaurant.

Changes to the old Swingos Grand Tavern space have introduced a spirit of levity to the proceedings. Guests who cross the threshold immediately find themselves near the long bar, which has been straightened out from its prior curvilinear shape. Illuminating the bar is a row of warmly glowing bare bulbs, a look borrowed from other Symon eateries.

The exuberance of the bar extends to the farthest reaches of the room now that the space has been opened up from end to end. Concrete floors don’t offer much in the way of sound dampening, but faux tin ceiling drop panels do help. Thanks to subway tile walls, schoolhouse pendant lights and groovy etched mirrors, the restaurant boasts the timeless look and feel of a New York City saloon.

Fans of Symon’s boldly flavored fare will not be disappointed. On the Big Board ($17), a variety of fragrant grilled sausages are coupled with sourdough toasts, pickled veggies, and two kinds of mustard. Ours featured spicy lamb and mint, pork and fennel, and kielbasa – all made fresh in house. Other starters and snacks include fresh-shucked oysters ($2), duck confit sliders ($6), and deliriously enjoyable pork cracklings ($4), which are presented in a little wooden pig.

Some familiar dishes appear on the menu, like a cheddar burger with fried egg ($9/inc. fries), and the rightly famous mac and cheese with chicken, goat cheese and rosemary ($14). New for this diner was a heaping helping of finger-licking fried chicken ($15) drizzled with honey and truffle. Barbecue fans will dig the mountain of tender smoked and braised pork butt ($15), crowned with a richness-cutting pickled cabbage slaw. Nightly spit-roasted specials will range from roast pork and goat tacos to Greek lamb and prime rib.

Those in search of "lighter" fare will doubtless gravitate to the grilled walleye or trout (both $17), or the mussels steamed in white ale ($10) with chilies and garlic.

Entrees include sides, like fried Brussels sprouts, bacon creamed corn, and the svelte and crunchy Lola fries, anointed with rosemary and served in a stainless cup.

Heading up the kitchen is Lolita alum Matthew Harlan. Managing is Nolan Cleary.

Bar Symon
32353 Walker Rd., Avon Lake
440-933-5652

Bruell Announces New Eatery

Zack Bruell has confirmed that he is in the process of opening what will be his fourth Cleveland restaurant. Appropriately enough, it will be on E. Fourth Street. If all goes as planned, the chef-owner of Parallax, L’Albatros and Table 45 will add a new Italian eatery to his portfolio by late fall. “I’ve got the right people in place at my restaurants to allow me to do this now,” Bruell told me.

Expect the chef to do for regional Italian fare what he did for French bistro food. “This will be my take on Italian food,” he explains. “I’m going to Italy to do some research.” While Bruell refuses to nail down particulars, he did offer some pithy clues as to what diners can – and cannot – expect: “Will this be a spag-and-ball joint? No. Will there be pasta? Yes.” The restaurant will occupy a warehouse space at the corner of E. Fourth and Prospect, one of the few remaining sites on the strip. “They saved the best for last,” Bruell asserts. The 7,500-square-foot space will be designed by architect Ron Reed.

Le Petit Triangle Not Long for this World?

Say goodbye to Le Petit Triangle Café (1881 Fulton Rd., 216.281.1881, petittrianglecafe.com) as we know it. The beloved Ohio City eatery is expanding, perhaps giving rise to Le Petit Triangle Plus Rhombus Café. Okay, so there are no ill-fated name changes planned, but diners can expect a whole new footprint. “We took over the next-door spot,” explains owner Joy Harlor. “It was a peaceful takeover,” she promises. The old Kimo’s Sushi space will add another 30 seats to the mix, key for those busy weekend nights and Sunday brunches. The two spaces will connect through a large passageway near the rear of the restaurant. “The original space will become more bar-like,” adds Harlor. Look for seats to wrap all the way around what was the small exposed kitchen. A new prep kitchen next door will free up considerable space while affording Joy the space to bake more in-house pastry. Look for a mid-summer unveiling.

Duvel Green Invades Cleveland

Congrats to Sam McNulty and the Bier Markt (1948 W. 25th St., 216.274.1010, bier-markt.com) for being the first bar in the Midwest to secure Duvel Green, that brewery’s new draft beer. “It’s a golden ale with a subtly complex flavor,” explains McNulty. “This easy-to-drink beer has the potential to usurp Stella Artois as the go-to Belgian session beer.” Look for Duvel Green also to pop up at Tremont Tap House, Melt and Cave du Vin.

Matt Harlan to Head Up Bar Symon Kitchen

After 11 years in Tremont, first at Lola then Lolita, chef Matt Harlan is heading west to Avon Lake. When the doors open to Bar Symon (June 29), Michael Symon’s American brasserie, Harlan will be the man running the kitchen. It’s clear that the move is a bittersweet one for him.

What’s it like leaving the restaurant after so long?
It’s hard, absolutely. I’ve met so many great people. I’ve got a ton of great memories. The worst part is leaving Tremont. I love the wackos down there. I love being close to downtown, getting the game crowds. But hey, I guess we have a new baseball stadium in Avon.

What will you miss most from the Lolita menu?
I’ll miss making pizza. Pizzas are a blast to make. There’s no rhyme or reason to them. Every pizza has its own personality.

Who’s taking over at Lolita?
Andy Strizak. He’s been with us for a year and a half.

Will folks notice any changes?
Nothing’s changing. We love what we’re doing there. The only difference is that Andy will start to put his twist on things instead of me. I’m passing the torch on the cured meats, pig roasts, pizzas.

You’re going from a wide-open kitchen to a closed one. What will that be like?
It is definitely going to be different. But I’m going to be able to walk off the line when I want. And I will have an open-kitchen door policy, so people can always drop in and say “hi.”

Apart from one guy, you hired a whole new crew. What do you look for in a cook?
I’m not overly concerned with work history, or if someone went to culinary school. I look for personality and work ethic. You give me a good first impression and you’re practically in.

What’s an American brasserie?
I have no idea. We’re shooting for a tavern-like atmosphere. This is not a white-tablecloth restaurant – the most expensive item is $17. We will have 40 beers on tap. And we want the best food to go with the best beer.

Tell us about the food.
We’ll have raw bar items, grilled sausages, sandwiches, a bunch of sides. We will offer a daily beer-battered fish. And like Roast [Symon’s Detroit restaurant] we’ll have a spit-roasted daily beast.

Will you have input on the menu?
The first menu is all Michael. Moving forward, changes will be mine. Lolita went through five changes until we landed on the format that worked best.

Sun, Fun, and a (So-So) Burger in a Bun

On a gorgeous summer day, there may be no sweeter patch in town than the narrow spit of land known as Whiskey Island. Sporting a hedonistic disposition not unlike Put-in-Bay, the county-owned parcel at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River is a popular spot with boaters, birders, babes and the sand-volleyball players who love them. In addition to a 250-slip marina, Whiskey Island boasts the 20-acre Wendy Park, a picturesque retreat hugging the shores of Lake Erie. And serving as social director and sustenance provider of this perfect little ecosystem is the Sunset Grille.

Though it’s just a little over a mile down the road from Edgewater Park, the area surrounding the Sunset Grille seems to exist in a parallel universe. Pull up on a sparkling summer evening and you’ll swear you’ve been teleported to South Bass Island. An eclectic mix of hipsters, young professionals and the working class sip ice-cold Coronas at wooden picnic tables while a DJ blasts beachy Buffett tunes. Boaters load up coolers before boarding their crafts for a sunset cruise with mates. League volleyball players grab a last-minute burger in preparation for the first serve of the night. This may be one of the few places in Cleveland where the sign reads: “No shirt, no shoes, no problem.”

Given the setting, nobody would expect – or even desire – four-star cuisine. When the dress code calls for flip-flops and shades, the menu rightly should follow suit. But unfussy food needn’t be “cheap” food. Some of the hottest trends in dining right now include upmarket snack bars dispensing high-quality burgers, dogs, fries and shakes. If only the loveable Sunset Grille could learn that casual can coexist with delicious.

The Sunset Grille claims something even NYC’s famed Shake Shack lacks: a historic timber-frame boat shack just feet from the surf. Tall ceilings, spinning fans and wide-open windows fill the festive room with a breezy vacation vibe. At the center of it all is a long wooden bar, fashioned from the hull of a retired sailboat. Here, you practically have to “come aboard” to order a brew. Though the beer list trails trends as well, there are enough choice brands to quench most thirsts ($3/domestic; $3.75/imported).

When you serve 500 to 800 people on any given weekend day, as Sunset Grille routinely does throughout summer, it’s obvious you need to devise a menu that can be executed with all deliberate speed. Salads, burgers, dogs and fried things are the natural choices, and that is precisely the route taken here. Unfortunately, most of those items barely rise to the gastronomic level of satisfactory. Some are just plain off.

It only takes one nibble of our mozzarella sticks ($6) to detect a familiar flavor: squid. Obviously prepared in the same deep fryer as the calamari, and most likely in an old batch of grease at that, the cheese sticks possess an off-putting fishy flavor that even the marinara sauce can’t obscure.

Despite its billing on the menu, I’m going to presume that the cheese fries ($5) are physician-approved for the lactose intolerant. Smothering the life out of a mound of crispy fries is the sort of pale-orange goo that is normally found at a ballpark concession stand.

Real cheddar cheese is used in the chicken quesadilla ($7), and it makes a huge difference. The large flour tortilla is stuffed with grilled chicken, scallions, tomatoes and cheese. It is grilled, carved into wedges, and served with plastic tubs of sour cream and salsa.

Had my burger ($7.25) remained on the grill long enough to vanquish that last bit of inner chill, it would have been a highlight of the meal. Instead, I’m compelled to slather on fake mayo and nibble my way around the edges where the meat is fully cooked. It is a decent hamburger, all in all, the kind one can find at pubs throughout town.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the buffalo chicken sandwich ($7.25). Clearly another pre-prepared frozen product, the chicken arrives bearing a preternatural cherry hue that resembles neither Buffalo nor chicken. An odd plastic flavor prevents us from finishing even half the sandwich.

Management may be starting to get the message. Just recently, a coal-black barbecue rig rolled onto the scene, and the kitchen has begun smoking pork shoulders, chickens and various other meats. Whether the crew can reliably turn out enough quality barbecue to feed the masses has yet to be seen, but if it can, the Sunset Grille is destined for Great Lakes greatness. After all, it is one of Cleveland’s only true lakeside dining spots. That alone makes it special.

Sunset Grille at Whiskey Island
2800 Whiskey Island, Cleveland
no phone

McNulty's Speakeasy Gets NY Times Nod

In his recent article on the resurgence of speakeasy-like saloons, former Times critic William Grimes mentions Cleveland's own Speakeasy, Sam McNulty's soon-to-open bar located beneath Bier Markt.

*****

Their name is legion: the Varnish in Los Angeles; Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco; Speakeasy in Cleveland; the Violet Hour in Chicago; Manifesto in Kansas City, Mo.; Tavern Law in Seattle (scheduled to open later this month). Everywhere, it seems, fancy cocktails are being shaken in murky surroundings.

At Speakeasy, in Cleveland, which really does go the extra mile down the nostalgia highway by distilling its own gin, a chandelier over a basement stairwell indicates the way to passers-by on the sidewalk. “When it’s on, the speakeasy is open,” said Sam McNulty, the owner.

Here's the link: Bar? What Bar?

Pizza Champion... of the World!

I never expected to find the region’s best pizza in Highland Heights. But that was before I met Anthony Pilla.

“I am not a chef,” says the enthusiastic 21-year-old. “I am a pizzaioli. I don’t cook the appetizers. I don’t make the soup. My sole dedication is making pizza.”

Pilla’s domain is Crostatas, an attractive pizzeria opened last fall by John Quagliata. Brother to Carl, and founding partner in Ristorante Giovanni's, Quagliata set out to craft the most authentic Neapolitan-style pizza that money, talent and passion could attain.

After knocking to the ground an Arabica Coffee House, Quagliata built a sharp villa-style eatery boasting a tile roof, sun-filled interior, and open kitchen. The centerpiece of that kitchen is the beautiful wood-burning pizza oven. Built by hand over the course of a week by Italian craftsmen, the oven is the key to achieving what Quagliata matter-of-factly calls “good pie.”

To folks like Quagliata and Pilla, pizza is a black-and-white issue: You either do it right or you don’t. Doing it right means using specific ingredients, techniques and equipment in an attempt to master the elusive art of authentic Neapolitan-style pizza.

“With Neapolitan pizza,” explains Pilla, “less is more. You want people to actually taste the dough, to taste the sauce, to taste the fresh mozzarella. When a pizza has only a few ingredients, you can’t hide anything.”

Pilla’s days begin at the oven. He coaxes yesterday’s lingering embers into a fresh blaze of fragrant hickory wood. Unlike almost every other pizza oven in town, this one is fueled exclusively by wood fire. And to reach the optimal internal temperature of 950 degrees Fahrenheit by lunchtime, Pilla needs to feed the beast bright and early in the morning.

When the fire is rolling, Pilla turns his attention to the dough. Like everything to do with Neapolitan pizza, there are strict rules governing the process. Working in a small temperature-controlled room, Pilla combines precise amounts of finely milled Italian flour, fresh cake yeast, water and salt. The ingredients are blended in a special mixer that employs menacing mechanical arms rather than whisks, paddles or dough hooks.

For the dough to achieve the proper flavor, texture and lift, it is left to rise slowly overnight in coolers. When the time comes to prep the dough for the oven, it is treated with the utmost respect. Stretching is done by hand on a floured marble slab. Rolling pins are forbidden. And you will never see a serious pizza chef play with his or her dough as though it’s a dog toy.

“The less you mess with the dough, the more it will pop the second it hits the hot stone,” Pilla explains. In a 950-degree oven, it takes a pizza just 90 seconds to cook. If the pizza is going to “pop” – or rise satisfactorily – it had better not take its time.

Pilla, as is dictated by pizza code, uses only imported San Marzano tomatoes, which ripen on the volcanic slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Because it would be a shame to cook away the bright, summery freshness of these tomatoes, Pilla simply stems and squeezes the fruits by hand before combining them with some salt and Sicilian oregano. The cheeses that top Crostatas’ pies are only those found naturally occurring in Italy: mozzarella di bufala, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Grana Padano. Same goes for toppings. Customers will find Italian sausage, artichokes, prosciutto and roasted garlic. What they will not find is pepperoni.

“We don’t serve pepperoni pizza because that’s an American thing,” says Pilla. Asked how customers respond when informed that they can’t order their favorite flavor, the pizza chef says, “It gives us the perfect opportunity to explain who we are, what we do, and why we do it.”

When one of Pilla’s pies hits the floor of the hellishly hot pizza oven, it springs up like an angry cobra. Those willowy pockets of air quickly transform into achingly crisp blisters that shatter on contact. The rest of the dough is chewy but far from tough. And it tastes delicious.

The best pizza on Crostatas menu is the Margherita ($14.50). It is the perfect marriage of crust, tomato, mozzarella, basil and extra virgin olive oil. Purists will doubtless seek out the marinara ($9.75), minimally topped with sauce, herbs and olive oil. Pizzas like the Classico ($14.75), with 24-hour roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions and sautéed mushrooms, while tasty, tend to obscure the art beneath.

Apart from some traditional and well-executed Italian appetizers, salads and dessert, the menu is largely confined to pizza.

“You go through all this trouble and expense to make authentic Neapolitan pizza,” explains Quagliata, “why serve pasta?”

Crostatas
558 Bishop Rd., Highland Hts.
440.449.7800