Not all of my readers know that I am new to Cleveland, at least relatively so.  I've lived here for just two years now.  We moved here from Wisconsin.  Why did we do so?  That is a long tale, but let me direct you to the initial part of the saga.  Of course, it is mostly about food.

Way back in 1999, as I recall, although I could be off by a year or so, we saw Michael Symon on a Food Network show called Cooking Live Primetime with Sara Moulton.  She would have various chefs on to cook, like Anthony Bourdain way before he was famous outside of NYC.  Anyway, one night she had Michael Symon and Brandt Evans on.  We thought they seemed great--down to earth and making great food.

So, we planned a trip from Beloit, Wisconsin ,where we lived, to Cleveland.  It was about a nine hour journey, and it truly (eventually) changed our lives.

I once met Chef Symon and said, "I have to just tell you that a Chef can change a life, even if indirectly."  He looked at me as he properly should have, like I was a wacko.  But, seriously, if we had not seen he and Evans on TV and thought, hey, let's check out Cleveland, we would have never had any reason to come here.

You can read my write up about this trip, which was written way before there was anything called a blog, at my personal website (which is woefully outdated).

When my sister comes to visit, we ramp up the food and drink adventures, as hard as that might be to believe.  While we ventured to many places this weekend, two were in the more expensive category: Light Bistro and Bar Cento.

Last year I selected Light Bistro as my Favorite Expensive Meal of 2007.  Mrs. Ep and I had quite the meal there, so we expected much of the same this time around.  I was in a word, disappointed.  We went on a Friday night and it was fairly busy, although not overly so.  It took a good five mintues for anyone to get to our table, which is way too long.  Our waiter tried to be a bit too laid back and cool and when he found out Sister Ep is from Chicago, he tried to be overly knowlegeable about the Windy City, which he prefers to NYC, calling Chi-town a "polished apple."  Give me a break. 

But the food is where I was most disappointed in Light Bistro.  Starting with the end of the meal, the chocolate creme brulee had absolutely no torched sugary crust to crack into on top; it was just cold pudding.  The ladies got coffee and the tiny creamer held skim milk.  There is a reason it is called a creamer for God's sake.  The chorizo and cornbread stuffed quail was a highlight, as was the ostrich main course, which Sis Ep loved.  My flatiron steak was overcooked and too tough and the foie gras appetizer had a piece of foie gras that must have come from a really small goose, because it was tiny.  The chopped salad was decent and the cod entree was inventive on a white bean puree with a good zing to it.  Our bill before tip was $193.00 even though Mrs. Epicure drank only water.

Contrast this with our trip to Bar Cento, which any EDR reader knows is my favorite restaurant.  There are reasons for this, and they start with the Chef.  Johnathan Sawyer was at our table no fewer than six times.  He introduced himself to everyone.  He sent complimentary food to our table.  He explained what was new, good, or in limited supply on the menu.  I am not saying I expect a chef to visit my table in every restaurant I go to, nor do I expect free food, but an attitude like this from the chef pervades the staff who stick with him.

Mrs. Ep, Sister Ep, and I went to dinner with BFFs M&J and T too.  We had excellent service from Aren, as always, and great food.  The quadratini with lamb and honey was so good that I ate some of the shared plate and then ordered my own too.  The relatives each got the brick-oven half-chicken, which was juicy, crisp and seasoned nicely.  The whole grilled peas are always a treat, and Mrs. Ep's tomato, onion and mint salad was so fresh and simple that I could have eaten a giant bowl of it.  I enjoyed the mussels steamed in Duvel (although my fave is still at the Old Angle). Pizza, ravioli and antipasto were all well received too.

The house white wine, at $15.00 a bottle, is an absolute steal, and when you get it to go, it (like all of their wines) is 1/2 price, a shocking deal.  You also get access to all of the Bier Markt beers, which must certainly be one of the best selections of quality beer in the USA.  (BTW, I see McNulty's is adding a Corner Bar to their front room, which I think it a great idea and will add a higher comfort level to that room).

We ended our meal with the ice cream sampler, which is 8 flavors of Jeni's ice cream out of Columbus.  These included ice creams, sorbets, and frozen yogurt.  Flavors included coffee, salted caramel, mango, Thai chili (with coconut and peanut flavors too), and a pistachio that was just out of this world.

All of this for $173 for six people.  Best deal and best meal in Cleveland.  Thanks Chef Sawyer.  We are lucky to have you here.

Whenever my stepdaughter is in town, a pub crawl with friends is ordered up, and this visit's serving proved to be an epic event.

We started at The Old Angle Tavern, just the three of us.  Daughter Epicure has developed a love for Buffalo wings, and they have decent wings at the Angle.  Plus Austin 'Walkin Cane' was due to be playing, so we wandered down at 6 and ordered up some wings and PBR's, our usual choice at the Angle.  Austin was forced to play acoustic and quietly because there was a St. Ignatius teacher event crowding the place.  The wings were just OK and the PBRs were lukewarm, and when we asked for extra celery they charged us 50 cents, which seems petty.  Our friend JN showed up and we left to go down 25th street to Dish Global Deli.

Dish was holding a gallery event of sorts to feature a local metal artist's work, and it was packed with people.  Still, we were able to wander back to say hi to Heather the owner and enjoy a complimentary PBR, which even if not super cold, was free, so you can't complain about that.  We were happy to see how busy it was and maybe this can be a small start toward more art events in Ohio City. Why should Tremont get all of the art love?

We walked back home and then drove to Lux, which is the newest Martin Kaplan (One Walnut) project, and we all decided to get the Dazzle, which is a housemade ginger ale and beer shandy.  At $3.00 it is certainly affordable and has a nice peppery bite that Mrs. Ep especially enjoyed.  I am not sure Lux is as casual as Kaplan says he wants it to be, but it is a nice space and is worthy of a visit to try their food.

We wandered from Lux down 65th street to Stone Mad where wandered about and marveled at the stone-, wood- and tile-work while sipping our beers.  JO met up with us there and we appreciated the steady crowd there, which was not too big to make the place feel cramped, even considering the fact that no one was outside because it was too chilly.

Drinks down at Stone Mad, we drove down Detroit to West 58th and into the Happy Dog, where we met up with JN's man MN, all of us happy to see him, though none so much as his happy bride.  We sat at the Dog's wonderful oval bar, where we could watch all of the goings-on, which included a drunk woman slugging her drunk man and knocking him straight off of his stool.  She then berated him in that way that only a white trashy woman can do to her stupefied white trash man.  JO played Galaga, one of my old favorite video games, and I discovered that the Happy Dog has a big Phish poster and numerous Phish bumper stickers on the wall, and I professed by admiration for this old school bar that loves jam bands.  JO and JN told me I was the only dirty hippy that they could be friends with, which I took as a backdoor compliment.

A reggae band got rolling and one of the bartenders wandered over to ask the chic-looking Daughter Ep and JN how to make a cosmo (other customers, clearly not regulars, had asked for one), yet after their explanation, he inexplicably added blue curacao to the drink, yielding the color of spent motor oil in the martini glass. 

We enjoyed a range of beers, from PBR to La Fin du Monde, and marveled as a chubby, middle-aged white guy with two neck tattoos got up and absconded the bells from the band.  Surreal.

We departed the Happy Dog at 11 or so and drove back to Ohio City, making our way to Johnny Mango's where we met up with our friend SK.  In a ridiculous move, we ordered two pitchers of margaritas, one classic and one pomegranate, and proceeded to shut the place down.

We weaved our way down the sidewalk to Old Fashion Hot Dog on Lorain, where we met up with SK's man M, and downed 1:30 am hot dogs--perfect ending.

Two recent meals demostrated the goods and bads of service.  As I saw on a sign today about Customer Service, it said "It takes months to find a customer, but only seconds to lose one."

Cheddar's Cafe, which used to be Snicker's and is now becoming Krazy Mac's is located on West 58th and Detroit and features a nice setting, good food and normally decent service.  They also have a rewards card and send out frequent coupons.  Mrs. Epicure and I went this past week and each brought a coupon worth $10.00.  When our waitress appeared I told her of the coupons and speaking very clearly said, "please give us two checks because you can't put two coupons on one check."  She thanked me for mentioning it.  We ate our meal, which was fine, and then she brought the single check and I knew it meant for trouble.  Still, I gave her the coupons and the check and away she went.  Little did we know that it would then take 30 full minutes for us to get our change.  After 20 minutes, Mrs. Ep went to find the waitress and she was told that the entire bill had to be redone because of the coupons.  Then when she finally brought the bill and the change, she chided us for trying to use two coupons on one bill.  She was an older person and is maybe starting to lose it, but believe me, I was the one losing it at that point.

Contrast that with our very recent trip to Bar Cento, which we frequent on a regular basis.  One person in our party ordered the pollock in seafood brodo, which came in at $17.00.  When the food arrived, most of the rest of us reveled in our pizzas our friend J received her portion of pollock and was not pleased by the strong aroma, which was very likely the brodo.  I tasted it and found it to be strong in aroma, as she noted, and also somewhat overcooked.  These things happen.  We mentioned it to our waiter who was very gracious and almost too concerned about it, but he did right be offering to get her something else and then insisting that he at least provide a complimentary dessert (which was an outstanding selection of ice creams--grapefruit, pear riesling, cheesecake and salted caramel).  The pizzas are huge enough there to share, and they are so tasty that everything was fine in the end.

But add to it that Chef Sawyer came to our table (I asked that he stop by just to greet our friends, but he had already heard about the pollock) and he checked the dish and responded that the fish was fine but that it was the seafood brodo that was likely the powerful odor.  As a perfectionist about many things myself, I could see Chef Sawyer struggle with the fact that the dish was the way he wanted it but the customer did not care for it.  I am sure this has to be difficult, and there are stories of famous French chefs just losing it when customers did not like something that was as intended.

But Chef Sawyer is a pro, and he is a great guy, and he did right by us on this evening, just as he has on every other occasion we have been there.  He understands the importance of service and the importance of relationships, and as much as his outstanding food, that is why we continue to return there.

Krazy Mac's, on the other hand, will have to wait a while before we show back up.

As part of the continuing Cleveland Epicure web world, I give you the Cleveland Epicure blog.