Fun Playing with Lunch at Casa Dolce

Bernie, who is Jamie's dad and who has a part-time office in our suite (a crackerjack federal tax lawyer), is usually in the office and game for lunching on Mondays and Fridays. This past Monday, there were just three of us - and Anna proclaimed that we should try someplace "new." I remembered the lovely Italian inspired bakery and small restaurant called Casa Dolce, that had been originally opened by a Little Italy Chef-Owner, but sold some time ago to Mayfield Heights locals. We hadn't been there in a couple of years, so that qualified as "new," right?

We wound up having two delightful lunches at the "new" Casa Dolce this week - we returned on Wednesday because Anna just had to have the Tuna Pomodoro sandwich again!

Monday, I started by taking a bunch of photos of the savory foods in the case - these are sold "by the pound", but a lunch composed from these freshly prepared goodies is reasonaby priced and the counter folk have a good sense of portion.



The first thing I saw - and ultimately my lunch selection.


Ratatouille - No Rats Here!


One of my absolute favorites - mac n cheese!






Lunch!

Baked pasta with Ricotta and Grilled Vegetables - magnifico! The beet salad that I chose to accompany it was likewise delicious - real (not canned) beets, perfectly cooked and dressed to impress! The whole plate came to about $7.


Fresh Brewed Unsweetened Ice Tea with Lemon Ice

More yums - a perfect way to sweeten tea! I understand that they give coffee a similar treatment - but I'm not terribly interested in that.

After we finished, I shot a little of the "bakery" side of the place:











As I was shooting desserts (thank goodness I don't have much of a sweet tooth, or this place would be deadly), this plate came out - and I was determined to try it on my next visit!



Cafe Dolce had a few different dishes out on Wednesday. In case you are wondering, I failed to get a shot of Anna's Tuna Pomodoro sandwich (which looked positively delicious) on either visit. Guess that means I need to make another visit.







Last time, Anna had gotten a half Tuna Pomodoro and salad ($7.50) and upgraded to the Beet Salad for a $1 upcharge. This time, she did the other $7.50 option of her half sandwich with soup.


Cauliflower Soup

One of the people who served us (shame on me for not getting names) had made this soup, from scratch. I had a taste - it was just creamy enough to be a treat, without overdoing it. It was simple, fresh and tasty. And the half sandwich was as generous a portion as the soup.


Italian Wedding Soup

My partner James is a little weirded out by the food photography, so I snapped this shot of his soup while he was distacted with something else. It sure looked homemade and edible, and James, whose last name ends in a vowel, pronounced it delicious. His sandwich - a turkey, cheese and hummus wrap with lettuce (just the description of that didn't sound like a good combination to me) did not garner as hearty a review, but there was nothing not to like, other than the odd combination.


Eggplant Rollatini and Sauteed Cauliflower

This plate, derived mostly from plants, was most delicious - and again, around $7. I am so sold on having another locally owned lunch place, making tasty food from scratch - I don't know why it took us over a year to get to Margie Axelrod's lovely place. But we will return to play with her food much sooner than that, I assure you!

More Fun Playing with Green Food at the Greenhouse Tavern

We were invited to join some friends at The Greenhouse Tavern last Friday for dinner. Twist my arm!

Friday was an especially bad allergy day in Cleveland - I'd been coughing much of the day and nothing was helping. One of our dining companions, who'd also arrived a little early, suggested something with ginger might help - and gosh darn if he wasn't right!

Ginger Flip
Goslings Rum, Egg White, Ginger Beer, Powered Sugar, Fresh Nutmeg

This cocktail was simply amazing - rich and tasty, and deeply satisfying. And not at all too sweet (which was my concern when I almost didn't order it).

After our table of 8 was seated, we ordered samples of virtually all of the "Firsts" on the menu.


Bread Service: On the Rise Bread, Pork Rilettes



I love the concept of serving rilettes instead of butter or oil with the bread - and the pork was delicious. But I thought it was a little too dry and sparse to accompany bread. For that reason only, I still prefer the duck rilettes that were served previously. The server said they intend to mix it up - fine with me!

Organic American Prosciutto w/ grilled bread

We'd tasted this during the preview dinner April 7 - a little taste goes a long way - magnificent!

House Made Fromage Blanc w/pickled thyme & grilled bread

Another repeat from our first dinner - a unique treatment of the house made cheese.

Crispy Chicken Wings w/ jalapeño, scallions & garlic

The chicken was so tender, it was falling off the bones. Exquisite.



The caramelized jalapeno really makes this dish.

Red Wine Braised Olives w/ niçoise, alfonso & coquina olives, ramps

I knew ramps would show up someplace! These tiny olives tasted heavenly together with the smooth caramelized ramps.

French Breakfast Radishes w/ butter & salt

We'd tried this on our last visit to The Greenhouse, and I'd found the radish a little too bitter for my taste (I'm not a big radish eater). I was so glad that I decided to give it another try - this radish was sweeter and tastier - who knows, maybe I'll learn to like them after all!



Moving on to Seconds (though the Chicken Wings actually also come from that section of the menu) - Edsel opted for the Fanny Bay Oysters w/ horseradish vodka & meyer lemon mignonette. He pronounced them fabulous.

English Pea Fritter w/ mint, cilantro, butter beans & housemade yogurt

This is a new menu item - and because I adore spring peas, I had to try it. The portion was so large, however, that sharing was easy!









Yum! Creamy and pea-y on the inside, crispy and yogurty on the outside - I loved this dish.

Ohio Beef Burger w/ raclette cheese, pomme frites & house beer vinegar

Bob went again for the burger, and it was done to perfection.

I decided to combine 2 Halfs for my main, instead of ordering a Third.

Wild Ohio Asparagus w/ poached egg & fromage blanc

I had just read on a food blog about poached eggs over asparagus, and had planned to make it for my Saturday breakfast. No need, thanks to Chef Jonathon.





The cheese - the same stuff (with the pickled thyme) that we'd enjoyed as a first, happily married with the egg yolk and asparagus to make a satisfying dish.


Gnocchi with Brown Butter



I know that this looks like a small portion. And at eight pieces, it sounds like a small portion. But it was incredibly filling - the butter was browned to perfection, and danced around the ethereally fluffy pasta pillows, complimenting the crunchy bits of pancetta that accented the top of the dish. I could barely finish my plates.

Roasted Tea Hills Chicken w/ ohio asparagus, herb salad & natural jus

Edsel ordered this - my taste was succulent, juicy and flavorful. Tea Hills Farm makes you re-think your instinctive disdain for chicken.

As we chatted and digested, Chef Sawyer dropped by the table to say hello. Our companions ordered desserts, but Bob and I could not. Chef sent over a cheese course for the table to sample.



Unfortunately, I missed two people's descriptions of the cheese, other than it was a cow's milk cheese that is aged. It was so delicious, I couldn't help but nibble a bit, even though I was full. The candied almonds and walnuts were a delightful accompaniment.


Fresh Plum Clafoutis

Edsel's dessert, which he let us taste - fresh and fabulous!

And so, our third dinner at The Greenhouse Tavern was overall the best - they really seem to be hitting their stride on both the food and service; it was practically flawless. We look forward to playing with the food there again soon!

Fun Playing With Jewish Soul Food In East Northport NY

And so, our trip to NY ended on June 1, 2009, with a visit to Bagel Boss Cafe located at 1941 Jericho Tpk. East Northport NY 11731. We had intended to grab a quick bite (and something to go) and get on the road. We ended up spending over an hour playing with the amazingly fresh and delicious kosher foods of the Bagel Boss. My Nutty Uncle Jerry Heller rightfully refers to this kind of food as "Jewish Soul Food."

The Jericho Tpk. location is the only one in the 13 store chain that has a "Deli Boss" section of fleischicks or meat items. The other 12 Bagel Bosses are strictly dairy restaurants. Since they are Kosher, meat and dairy must be strictly separated. This Bagel Boss Cafe pulls it off with great aplomb.

First - a few items from the "meat" section:



Though Jack's Deli makes an acceptable knish, and Mister Brisket carries frozen Oceanside Knishes - there is nothing like a fresh Kasha Knish.



Speaking of kasha - another family favorite - Kasha Varnishkes.



Into the milchiks side of the place - a dairy lockshen kugel, or noodle pudding. I had a taste of this at mom's house and it was yummy.



Bagel Boss features a fabulous display of made-from-scratch savory salads. My mother is partial to the Honey Mustard Tuna.





Bagel Boss turns the traditional salad bar on its head by keeping it under sanitary wrap - you tell the server what you want, and they portion it into your "chopped" salad container.





I didn't ask what kind of blintzes these were - but they looked delicious!



It wouldn't be Jewish Soul Food without dessert. A little something you should dunk in your coffee maybe?



We brought this ubiquitously New York Black & White Cookie back to our friend Linda, who just had knee replacement surgery. She is another transplanted East Coaster living in Cleveland.

And now - the moment you should have all been waiting for - the FISH case!


Smoked Whitefish


Herring


Baked Salmon


Sable Fish


Smaller Whitefish "Chubs"


Lox!

Yes - the stars of our show - Nova and Belly lox - and who really cares about the Nova, anyway? It's all about the belly - which is fast disappearing as Americans worry about their salt intake and ignore flavor considerations.

Bob and I ordered almost the same breakfast - belly lox. Mine on Bialy, his on Poppy Bagel with Onion, both with house-made cream cheese, side salad and a pickle. We even picked the same side - a beautiful looking tomato-onion salad.

We sat. Interesting table signs:



Milchiks is milchiks and fleishiks is fleishiks.



This was a meal of great beauty and flavor.




Mine


Bob's

We took home a full pound of belly lox, a package of the house made, no-gums-or-stabilizers cream cheese, three knishes and two sandwiches for the road - off the bone turkey for me, and Kosher salami with mustard for the shaygetz (Bob). The folks serving us were so tickled with our enthusiasm that they offered us a complimentary dessert - we selected an absolutely decadent full-sized pastry/cake with fresh apple, caramel, chocolate and nuts. Unfortunately, though it tasted delicious, it got tossed around and a little smooshed during the 8+ hour drive home. Did I mention we were hauling the guts of a full sized freezer in my Edge?

After we got home, and enjoyed our wings and things at The Annex on Monday night, we jumped into our goody bag for breakfast on Tuesday:





Yum. Here is a look at a complete sandwich, a couple of days later, on a D&R Bagels Everything Bagel:





During the week, I enjoyed my kasha knish for lunch with a touch of mustard:





I enjoyed my Spinach Knish, which was interestingly all spinach and no potato, on Sunday, under poached Hensbury Farm eggs:







And I still have a potato knish for lunch tomorrow! And Belly Lox in my freezer! Life is good, playing with such wonderful food!

More Fun Lunching With Jo-Mel (and Friends) at Chengdu 1

I first blogged about Lunching with Jo-Mel at Chengdu 1 last year. Jo-Mel is the EGullet.org handle for the wonderful lady who first immersed me in Chinese food and culture. This year, we convened at Chengdu 1 in Cedar Grove NJ on May 29, together with Duke Geological Laboratories friend Steve and several EGullet friends - Tracy and Kurt, and Rachel and her mom. The restaurant is located at Pilgrim Shopping Center, 89 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove NJ 07009, (973-239-7726). Although Cleveland has a respectable Asiatown, one thing we still do not have is a genuine Sichuan restaurant, so I greatly enjoy a meal at Chengdu.

To aggravate me further- I'd had a rather emotional discussion with my mom right before we left for New Jersey - so I left my camera there. Thank you to Tracey Zisa Dutschmann for the use of your photos - the balance of the photos are from my cell phone camera, which I don't even know how to use!

Though the servers initially brought us the standard fried wontons and duck sauce, once they realized who we were (lovers of the "real deal") spicy broccoli and peanuts appeared on the table.



We started with the amazing Baby Wontons - this photo is from 2007:



Next up - spicy lamb:






Tracey Zisa Dutschmann

My favorite dish of the day - from the "specials" menu - Ma Po Tofu with Fried Fish - perfect!




Tracey Zisa Dutschmann

Shredded potatoes with chili. Yum.


Tracey Zisa Dutschmann

Stir Fried pea leaves with garlic. Delicious.




Tracey Zisa Dutschmann

This is a dish that Jo Mel taught me to make - steamed spare ribs coated with rice powder (which can be purchased in the Asian grocery, or simply made from rice with a food processor). This version was so tender that the meat fell off the bone - fantastic!



It was served with chunks of potato.

Tracey Zisa Dutschmann

This dish was from a wall special - "baby" eels with yellow chives.



The taste of this dish was incredibly good - but I just could not get over the visual of the little eels and only ate a couple of them.

Jo Mel recommended a "new" book for use in deciphering Chinese menus and getting the best food at any American-Chinese restaurant:



This is on my list to get.

Since we had eight people at the table, we actually avoided having a huge bag of leftovers to take back to East Northport - in fact, other than a few eels, we pretty much demolished everything on the table. We look forward to returning, to play with great spicy food with good friends.