Velvet Tango Room

Velvet Tango Room

2095 Columbus Rd

Cleveland, OH 44113

Drinks: June 14, 2013

Party of Six

Clockwise from my drink (the one with the Maraschino cherry, natch!) Aviation, Cereza de Cal, KatyDid, Whiskey Sour, Hemingway Daiquiri, Old Fashioned

Clockwise from the tequila drink redux: Cereza de Cal, The Last Word, Blood and Sand, French 75, Moscow Mule, Ninth Ward(?)

The Velvet Tango Room makes cocktails for people who don't mind waiting for a good drink. It has an old-fashioned way of hand-shaking ingredients not found on the menu of your average sports bar. There's no guessing as to the price of these handcrafted libations-- each cocktail will set you back a stiff $18.  Each drink takes a while to mix so you might be clinking your full martini glass with your friends' half empty tumbler.

Since we were a larger party, we sat in the back room that is only accessible through a door that doubles as a full length mirror. A two-drink minimum is required with the reservation, and if your crowd fancies good mixed-drinks then it is well worth your while. It was an experience.

Press the Eject

This band is as good as chocolate cake!
 

MUSE

This is my first attempt at taking iPhone pictures at a live concert. These are from the MUSE show in Cleveland on February 28 at the Q. I'm still getting used to a decent camera phone so these aren't the greatest shots. Also, I didn't want to snap pics and miss the actual performance. 

We started in the general admission floor section. We were pretty close to the stage (stage left to be precise) and got closer as the night went on. This a picture of the bass player Chris at stage level, drummer Dom in the background, and the lead singer/guitarist Matt on the screens above.

Washed out picture of rock god, Matthew Bellamy.

I moved to a seat during the second half. I'm glad I did since it gave me a chance to see the stage as a whole. It's hard to see, but there were screens below the stage floor, behind the group and in the drop-down pyramid overhead. It was incredible to say the least! My favorite use of the setup was as a giant roulette wheel to pick a song. It was between "Stockholm Syndrome" and "New Born." I was happy that it landed on Stockholm Syndrome since it's one of my favorite songs from Absolution. 

If they are scheduled to play an arena near you, you should check it out. Unless you hate good music, spectacular light and sound production, or are generally not awesome.

NYC

I spent a whirlwind day in New York City this past spring to celebrate a good friend's birthday. One of the purposes of this trip was to see the Spider-Man musical, which was still in previews at the time. The signs were everywhere!

The show was... interesting... I wouldn't call it good, in fact, it didn't really make much sense. Even the name of the show is puzzling. After seeing it, I have no idea who or what turned off the dark. Someone must have turned on a light at some point, but it wasn't the one over my head. There were some very cool things in it: the webspinner girls at the beginning, the comic book set pieces, the villains' costumes and the performance of the Green Goblin were pretty spectacular. And I would recommend seeing it for the amazing wire work, especially the fight scenes between Spidey and the Green Goblin. But if you want to be entertained with a coherent storyline or memorable songs, then you should see something else.

We visited the Apple Store.

Saw the fun subway signs and weird buildings.

H & H Bagels was pretty awesome, if no frills. They had fresh bagels, cream cheese and some drinks, but they had no coffee and were not located anywhere near a coffee shop. Sadly, H & H has since closed for business.

We went to the Jekyll and Hyde Club for lunch, which had talking inanimate objects and decent food.

I liked the way these two businesses were side by side. I wish we had time to have some noodles while there. Of course, we hit a Starbucks.

Two of my favorite things. A food truck and a duane reade.

This sign contains so much delicious food! Biscotti! Cupcakes! Soup! Risotto! and Oatmeal! I don't know why we didn't stop there!

This was a great sign that we came across on the day of the supposed Rapture.

Goodbye New York! Hope to see you soon!

Eighties Mania!

Back in April, I won tickets to the Eclipse tour, which is a concert headlined by Journey. The other two bands are Night Ranger and Foreigner. It was my ultimate I-wouldn't-buy-these-tickets-but-would-go-if-they-were-free concert. Here's the official trailer for the tour!





The show was actually great! My concertmate and I knew we would be running late , but we saw most of it. I was mainly interested in seeing Journey anyway, and we caught their whole set. They played some songs from their new (who knew?) album, called "Eclipse" and all the songs I wanted to hear except "Who's Crying Now?" Their lead singer, Arnel Pineda, has a voice that deserves to fill an amphitheater or arena. He sounds a lot like Steve Perry, but he managed to make the songs his own. And you could tell he was having the time of his life! If you don't know his story watch the video from CBS Sunday Morning. It's a little corny, but sweet.

Folksy Trio

I saw a great live concert the other night on what was possibly the hottest night of the year. The first performers were The Secret Sisters, Brandi Carlile was the opening act and the top-bill was Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs. If the show hasn't hit your town yet, I highly recommend catching it. It was pretty perfect from start to finish, although there was a minor gaffe where Ray forgot the words to a song (that was actually kind of cute.)

Here are some clips of the performers I saw, which are great, but pale in comparison to the live concert.

Madd Chefs

Madd Chefs
1091 Pearl Road, Suite C
Brunswick, Ohio 44212
330-225-7049
Dinner: December 31, 2010
Party of Five

This was the amuse bouche. Baguette topped with brie, candied walnuts and eggnog reduction(?) Sweet and savory.

Crisp greens tossed with maple balsamic vinaigrette and topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, Gorgonzola cheese, candied nuts and dried cranberries. (Modified description of the Bistro Pear and Gorgonzola Salad from the Madd Chef's website.) Good salad, but the tomatoes were unnecessary in my opinion. Maybe they work better with pears instead of cranberries.

Butternut squash ravioli and mushroom ravioli. I ruined this dish for one of the other diners when I joked that it was amazing what they could do with Campbell's mushroom soup. The squash one was the better of the two, although the mushroom might have been made with portobellos, which I don't really care for. They were also served only slightly warm so they may have been better hot.

Crab cake. I'm told it was good, but I don't like crab cakes, unfortunately.

Ribeye steak with cauliflower puree and asparagus. Definitely the best course of the night. Nice steak and tasty sides. This was also the only course where we were able to pick what we wanted. Oddly, most (all?) of us picked steak.

Eggnog canoli egg roll, dark chocolate dipped pineapple, chocolate banana torte topped with whipped cream and a raspberry.

Not pictured are the soup course and the apres-dessert glass of champagne with fresh raspberries. Overall a good meal. I would definitely go back and give it another try.

Melt Bar and Grilled

Melt Bar and Grilled
13463 Cedar Road
Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
216-965-0988
Dinner: July 25, 2010 (takeaway)

Mighty Macaroni Melt

Although it took me a few weeks to get to the Cleveland Heights Melt after it first opened, I've made good use of my Big Cheese Club card in last couple of months. In fact, I visited there a total of five times in July! On my first (July 2) and last (July 30) visits I ordered the sandwich of the month, which is the Firecracker Chicken: hot diablo blackened chicken, cool sliced avocado, sweet grilled pineapple and pepperjack cheese. My second visit I got my usual order of the Big Popper: fresh jalapeno peppers, cheddar & herbed cream cheese, beer battered and served with mixed berry preserves. Both sandwiches blend a little bit of sweet with a decent amount of heat. The cheese in each goes so well with both sweet and spicy elements and truly binds the sandwiches together.

On the third visit, I tried the Tokyo Tuna Melt: Asian marinated grilled yellowfin steak, ginger wasabi dressing, lettuce, tomato, muenster. I ordered the tuna rare, which was probably a mistake since the sandwich was a little too fishy to be truly delicious. It was good, but not great.

Pictured is the Mighty Macaroni Melt that was available for one day only in celebration of Christmas in July. The sandwich is creamy homemade macaroni and cheese that's breaded and fried to a golden brown and grilled with American cheese on thick sliced white bread. It was carb-o-licious!

Whether I order in or get takeout, I always skip the slaw and order double fries for an extra $.25. The slaw is too peppery for me to be enjoyable, which is too bad since I like most coleslaws. On most of my visits I was denied pickles because I was told by both servers and hosts that the pickles come with the slaw and not the sandwich. However, on my last visit my waiter told me that pickles are free(!) and that whoever told me differently was wrong. He gave me a large side of pickle slices for no charge.

My only complaint, which is not really a complaint, about Melt would be the servers and hosts/hostesses. There is definitely a "Melt" attitude that the front of house workers exude. I know they're very busy, and I've been told that they don't get breaks so maybe that's why the staff isn't overly nice. They aren't rude or nasty, just not especially friendly. They ARE all extremely knowledgeable about the menu and make helpful suggestions about drinks, but getting one to smile is like trying to break a guard at Buckingham Palace!

Most people who have heard of Melt know that the wait for a table can be hours long. Even a takeaway order can take over an hour to be ready. I would suggest going mid-afternoon (2-3 PM) or after 10PM if you can. Or head straight to the bar and eat there with little to no waiting.

Top Chef 2010

I went to a fundraiser at St. John Medical Center which was a competition between four local chefs: Ellis Cooley, Jonathon Sawyer, Jonathan Bennett and Regan Reik. Actually, it was two competitions since there was a winner by popular vote and a winner by judges vote. One of my favorite food experts, Ted Allen was the host and one of the judges. The other judges were Al "Bubba" Baker and the 2009 winner of the Top Chef event, Brandt Evans. I took pictures of the food because it was mostly pretty and delicious. The descriptions aren't mine but are from the souvenir program.

Terrine of Beets and Lake Erie Creamery Goat Cheese, Beet Gastrique and Beet Paper

Sirloin of Beef Roulade Short Ribs, Corned Beef, Lobster Carrot Puree and Parmigiano

[Not Pictured]

Beets are one of my favorite vegetables and the goat cheese complimented them very well. The beet paper was insanely sweet and crunchy. I'm not sure how I missed taking a picture of the entree. It was hearty and satisfying, but there might have been too many ingredients fighting for attention. The slight sweetness of the corned beef paired well with the naturally sweet puree and the short ribs were more tender and tastier than other beef ribs I've had. The appetizer tied for my favorite of the night and the entree was my second favorite making Chef Cooley the winner of my vote. Sadly, he did not win.

Fois Gras Steamed Clams with Butter, Red Onion Brulee, Late Harvest Viognier Vinegar and Grilled Bread

Ohio Lamb Crepinette with Heirloom Vegetable Ratatouille

Chef Sawyer's clams were my other favorite appetizer of the night. They were perfectly cooked and were not in the least bit chewy, as is often the case with clams. The broth was light but packed with flavor and was oh so good to dip the [not pictured] grilled bread. I *might* have had three servings of the clams. I'm not the biggest fan of the gaminess of lamb, but the crepinette made the best of it. The ratatouille was more of a sauce than a layered side dish, which allowed me to enjoy the entree as a whole since I could use the stewed vegetables to mask the lambiness of the meat. Anyone who enjoys the taste of lamb would have given the dish 4 stars.

Spiced Poach Shrimp, Coarse Gazpacho and Whipped Cilantro

18-Hour Ohio Pork Shoulder, JB's Grits and Spicy Peach Slaw

Chef Bennett's creations won the fan vote, which really surprised me. My shrimp was poached to perfection but didn't have a hint of spice. The gazpacho was more like a bed of thinly sliced vegetables with a slight kick and was only vaguely reminiscent of the taste of gazpacho. It was good, but not great. I would be impressed if a friend served it, but disappointed if I ordered it in a restaurant. The pork was outstanding. It was tender and juicy and was the star of the plate. The grits were a touch too sweet for my taste, and I didn't really like the peach slaw. The fruit tasted pickled and had spices that hid any natural peach flavor. However, I can't say enough good things about the crunchy pork cracklings that were not in the description but made a surprise appearance on my plate. I wouldn't doubt if those pork rinds were what won over the voters.

Forest Mushroom Terrine, Sorrel Ice Cream, Sorrel Coulis and Aged Balsamic Dressing

Copper River Salmon with House-Made Pancetta Wrap, Ohio Strawberry Jam and Mustard Green Pierogi

These plates won the judges vote, which is hardly unexpected since they were by far the most beautiful dishes of the night. The appetizer looked like it would have been bursting with earthly mushroom and sweet leek flavor, but was sadly bland. The liquid-nitrogen made ice cream was cool in more than one way, but unfortunately tasted like sorrel, which is bitter and overpowering. It also stuck to the plate. The entree was my favorite of the night. The sweet-on-sweet combination of salmon and strawberry jam worked so well and the salty goodness of the pancetta was the right accompaniment. And unlike the sorrel in the appetizer, the bitter greens in the pierogi made a great counterpoint to the fish. And the mini-size was too cute. My only complaint were the pin bones in my salmon.

Bonus Pre-Dessert compliments of Chef Sawyer! Peanut Butter Cookie pictured atop Ted Allen's book, "The Food You Want to Eat"

Tiny cupcakes from A Cookie and A Cupcake in Tremont

More tiny cupcakes.

People seemed to like the cupcakes. I tried one chocolate and one yellow. Fairly standard fare.

Dewey's Pizza

Dewey's Pizza
18516 Detroit Avenue
Lakewood, OH 44107
216-228-2299
Dinner; April 12, 2009
Party of Two

Candied Walnut and Grape Salad

Half Socrates Revenge and half Wild Mushroom pizza

Even though I've been to the Dewey's on the eastside for both eat-in and take away many many times, I've never taken pictures or written a review of the place. I guess I had to go to the westside location to get the job done.

Dewey's has some of the best pizza around. Both locations have windows where you can watch the dough being tossed and the rest of the pizza making taking place. In fact, both stores have a similar look to them. Comfy, bright and cheery.

You can't really tell from the picture I took, but the crust is thin like a New York pizzeria. It's that magic blend of crispy and chewy and a perfect base for the white or red sauce and lots of toppings. Our pizza had a boatload of toppings. The pies never want for toppings, but this was a little ridiculous in a good way.

You can order any pizza as a half with any other pizza regardless of whether one has red sauce and one has white sauce. I always get at least half a Wild Mushroom pizza unless I'm ordering with someone who hates the smell of garlic. I prefer the white sauce, but the red sauce is good too.

I've had most, if not all, of their salads, which are truly phenomenal. The candied walnut and grape is one that I've ordered frequently. Diner 2 has a walnut allergy so we got them on the side. I ate them all.

The menu always includes a seasonal salad and pizza. I hope they bring back their strawberry and macadamia nut salad because that was killer.

I don't like to get negative in my reviews, but I will say that I was sorely disappointed with my westside Dewey's experience because they did not have my beloved Barq's Red Cream Soda on tap. They have Mr. Pibb on the westside! Who prefers Mr. Pibb? I told the waitress, "That's why Cleveland Heights is better."

Sergio's Sarava Desserts

Sergio's Sarava
13225 Shaker Square
Cleveland, OH 44120
216-295-1200
Dinner; November 4, 2008
Party of Two

We each had a three-course dinner that ended with fantastic desserts. My dining companion and I took shots of all three courses, but the appetizers and entrees didn't photograph as good as they tasted. Also, I kind of forgot all the details of the first two courses and their descriptions aren't online. So, here are pictures and descriptions of the yummy desserts.

SERGIO’S COCONUT BUTTER CAKE – whipped cream, crème Anglaise, toasted coconut
A pretty dense cake that was made richer by the bed of cream it sat on and the dollop of cream that topped it.


OURO PRETO TORTE – black-gold chocolate cake. A dense, flourless cake topped with chocolate ganache and sparkles of real gold leaf

But, I remember the details of my first visit to Sarava (no pictures) in great detail.

Dinner; October 25, 2008
Party of Two

Cocktails
Diner 1 - Mojito
Diner 2 - Mojito mocktail

Shared Street Plates
Crisp Spanish Cheese with kalamata olive and caper-spiced tomato sauce
Prince Edward Island Mussels simmered in a lemon-pepper butter broth
Sticky Ribs with a hoisin BBQ glaze

Diner 1
Pan-Seared Sea Scallops in a ginger-cider reduction with lemongrass and coconut milk, rice and crispy fried spinach (substituted for the seasonal vegetables)
Coconut Butter Cake (see picture above)


Diner 2
Mojito mocktail
Brazilian Beef with black beans and rice, farofa, fried spinach, orange slices and carioca tomato relish
Ouro Preto Torte (see picture above)

The hoisin glaze on the Sticky Ribs started smoky and ended sweet. The scallops' sauce was similarly complex but started spicy and ended sweet. No matter what you get there you should order the fried spinach. It has a crisp texture that just about melts the minute it hits your tongue. The mussels were not at all fishy or chewy and the sauce was the type you wanted to pick up and drink after the dipping bread was finished. The Spanish cheese was no ordinary fried cheese with tomato sauce. My dining companion stated that although she doesn't really like fried cheese she loved this street plate. Maybe it was the sauce.

The food was all about taste and texture and was fresh and delicious.

I'd definitely go back and I'm sure to end my meal with the Coconut Butter Cake. It was delicious warm and cold.

And their Mojitos are to die for.

Cleveland Restaurant Week(s)

This past Sunday started Cleveland Restaurant Week, which is actually two weeks (excluding Saturdays) from November 2-7 and 9-14. During these weeks, participating Cleveland Independents restaurants offer three-course prix fixe menus at (relatively) cheap prices. I've had good, great and phenomenal experiences with restaurant week dinners in the past, and I'm looking forward to the ones I have scheduled this time around.
I'm behind on my restaurant reviews since I didn't have my camera for my recent dining experiences at Henry's at the Barn, Melt and Sergio's Sarava, but I took some shots at my first restaurant week dinner at Sarava (yes, it was good enough to go twice in less than three weeks) so maybe I'll do them all in one post.

Coconut Macaroons

From the Baker's coconut recipe. On the bag of coconut the chocolate dip was optional. I dipped one (in milk chocolate, the only kind I had on hand) and wasn't impressed with the results so I didn't dip the others. But I used the leftover melted chocolate to make chocolate covered raisins so it wasn't a total waste.

It's kind of hard to discern the chocolate covered raisin blobs on the black plate. I don't have a picture of the chocolate dipped macaroon since I ate it before I took these shots.

I had been thinking about making macaroons since I watched the "No Pork, No Pressure" episode of Dinner: Impossible. The episode was shot around Cleveland and has Chef Michael Symon making a Passover dinner for the congregation of a synagogue that's right down the street from me. I wish I was invited to the Seder because everything he made looked really delicious.

The episode also made be hungry for brisket. Luckily, Jack's Deli and Restaurant (14490 Cedar Road, University Heights, Ohio 44121) has a great brisket, and I had it for dinner last Friday. I'll have to do a proper review of that place sometime.

If you missed the show last Wednesday, it'll be on again September 13 at 3:00pm and September 14 at 11:00pm. Of course it's bound to be shown at other times too since the Food Network plays a lot of repeats.

Irv's Sandwich Shop

Irv's Sandwich Shop
2164 S. Taylor Road
Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
(216) 321-6812
Brunch?; June 18, 2008
Party of Four

Barnyard Omelet with Home Fries and Raisin Toast

(My) Barnyard Omelet with Home Fries and Raisin Toast

Pancakes with Bacon

Corned Beef Sandwich with Seasoned Fries

Irv's is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday and serves breakfast until about an hour before closing. It might be called a sandwich shop, but you should try the omelets. Unfortunately, it has a storefront that is easy to drive by.

Don't miss it!

I'm not the biggest fan of eggs. I do like a good omelet though. And the omelets at Irv's are so much better than good. I told one of my fellow brunchers about Irv's awhile ago, and she wanted to try it for herself while in Ohio.

If you are in town for a week and only have time for one omelet you should get the Barnyard Omelet because it's stuffed with bacon, ham, sausage, green peppers, onions and American cheese. The egg part of the omelet is thin and rolled around the filling in such a way that you never get too much egg in any bite.

Omelets come with your choice of either home fries or grits, but they are always out of grits when I go. The potatoes were nicely breakfasty, and I managed to eat most of them even if they were my second choice. The raisin toast was awesome and makes me wonder why more restaurants don't offer raisin as a toast choice.

I sampled the pancakes and found them not-too-sweet, which is how I like them. I didn't taste the corned beef sandwich but was told it was good. The seasoned fries had a kick that complimented their extreme crunchiness and would make a good substitute next time they are out of grits.

In case you can't tell from the picture (taken on a camera with an enviable "food" setting), the Barnyard Omelet is huge! My fellow bruncher finished hers and I ate all but a couple bites of mine. The cook grinned as we left and asked, "Did you finish the Barnyard?" "Just about" I said. I think he was impressed. So was I.

One Walnut

One Walnut

One Walnut Avenue

Cleveland, OH 44114

216-575-1111

Lunch; June 9, 2008

Party of Two

Lobster Nachos with Guacamole, Lobster, Chips and Sweet Soy

Prosciutto Tart with Caramelized Onions, Spinach & Fresh Mozzarella
with Mixed Green Salad




Risotto with English Peas, Pine Nuts and Parmesan with Grilled Chicken




"Berries in the Snow"
White Chocolate Mousse with Berries and Fresh Mint


Mint Green Tea Crème Brûlée (background)

The last time my lunching companion and I were at One Walnut, we had a three course dinner with wine pairings that blew us away. Their sommelier really knows his/her stuff. However, this time, neither of us had alcoholic beverages and still had a fantastic three course meal.

The lobster nachos weren't new to us since the topping (without the chip underneath) was an amuse-bouche on our previous visit. The chips tasted like flour tortilla chips or some other light delicate crisp. The ingredients were a great combination that managed to keep their distinctiveness.

I added chicken to the risotto (food rut broken!) on the server's suggestion-- she suggested it because I was worried that the risotto wouldn't be filling. I LOVE risotto and this was perfectly al dente. The taste was good and got better when I stirred the dark sauce around the outside of the dish (sweet soy again?) into the rice. But, the whole thing was nearly ruined by the garnish of greens that you can see on top of the chicken in the picture. They were extremely bitter and smelled a bit foul when warm. I think the kitchen may have forgotten the chicken (before it reached the table) because the greens were both under and over the chicken. Once I removed them I really enjoyed the entree. The nuts and peas were slightly crunchy and really complimented the toothiness of the risotto.

If my lunching companion wouldn't have ordered the tart, I would have since I'm a sucker for anything with prosciutto, cheese and/or spinach. The bite I had was delicious. The flavors were strong but the flaky crust held its own. It looks like a piece of pizza in the picture but it was very pretty in person.

I've had a lot of yummy desserts lately, but since white chocolate mousse is one of my most favorite desserts, this one wins for best dessert I've eaten recently. The berries were so fresh and the mousse rivaled the one served in my all time favorite dessert (which might still be found at The Drake Hotel in Chicago.)

I didn't try the crème brûlée because I don't care for it. It's one of the very few desserts I refuse unlike French silk or banana cream pies, which I'll eat but don't prefer. It looked nice...

After lunch we went across the street to the newly relocated Phoenix Coffee where I had a great vanilla latte.