Fun Playing With Clam Bake Season, Part 1

Not Wabbit Season. Not Duck Season. Sadly, not even Baseball Season for Cleveland in a few more days. But - it is Clam Bake Season! After seeing the post by Fishers American Tavern in Solon about their clam bake, we were excited to try it. It's available Thursday-Saturday now through the month of October. We'd just had Taco Tuesday there two days prior, and it wasn't crowded at all, so I didn't make a reservation, even as the clock slipped to 5:45pm. And the parking lot was completely jammed. Cars were parked on the lawn next to the parking lot. We knew this meant that the restaurant would be completely filled and very cramped. 

Sad, we looked at each other and Bob said, "how about Bar 50/20 next door?" Though we both were jonesing for clams, we decided it could wait for another day. Then we walked into Bar 50/20, and learned that they also have just started their Clam Bake Season, they just haven't told anyone yet. Well, I'm telling you! And we got to dine on the patio during a perfect early fall evening, so it was a win-win.

We had decided before leaving the house to share one clam bake and order an extra dozen clams so we could each have a dozen. As we anticipated, that was more than enough food for the two of us.

First course, a mug of Clam Chowda. Big chunks of potato and bacon rounded out the goodness. We shared it and it was a perfect portion.

The stars of the show! The dozen steamed clams were 2 varieties, not all Little Necks as stated on the menu. I prefer the Little Necks, but all were enjoyable, especially since they were delivered in a bowl of tomato-infused broth! The Honey Pomegranate Roasted Sweet Potatoes seemed like a pre-Rosh Hashonah treat (since both honey and pomegranate are traditional items for that festive New Year meal), and were a real step up from the traditional baked or boiled white potatoes. As we predicted, we barely made a dent in the Garlic Herb Roast Chicken, after polishing off our clams. Both the chicken and the corn were redolent of the grille and full of flavor. The breast meat was even more delicious dipped in that tomato-ey broth! 

Do NOT wait till you get home! Bar 50/20-Mish Mosh is offering three different meat options with this bake Monday-Saturday, and adds an additional choice of 1.5# Steamed Split Maine Lobster Thursday-Saturday. Instead of chicken, you can choose a half rack of Dry Rubbed BBQ Basted Baby Back Pork Ribs, or Black Angus NY Strip Steak. Prices are: $28 for chicken, $33 for ribs, $37 for steak, and $56 for the lobster, which come in alive and stay that way until you order them. The extra dozen clams were $13.

Fun playing with Clam Bake Season started for us at Bar 50/20, and we'll be back to try some of the variations, but there will also be others, I hope, before we're done. Fishers does take reservations . . . .

Bar 50/20 aka Mish Mosh

5020 Brainard Road

Solon, Ohio 44139

(440) 349-7300

mishmosheatery@gmail.com

No website, FB page: https://www.facebook.com/bar5020/

Open for lunch and dinner M-TH 11:30am-11pm, Fri-Sat until 1am

Reservations accepted and encouraged

Fun Playing with Food (and friends) at Lake House Restaurant in Lakewood

September 19 is "Talk Like A Pirate Day." My Mensa friends, who love a good joke, pun or excuse to be a little silly, set up a lunch by the water (Lake Erie) to celebrate. I'd never heard of Lake House Restaurant in Lakewood before, but it was a "fun to play with" discovery yesterday! Sadly, I didn't get any photos of the attendees, some of whom sported their Pirate finest, but ARGGHH did we have a great, inexpensive meal accompanied by a four star lake view despite the gloomy weather! The restaurant is a physically old, old-school diner-like space in a mid-rise residential building, with close, free parking, that serves up classic (and a little newer school) comfort food and diner grub, with beer if desired, six days a week. 

I loved that so much of the food was made from scratch (or nearly so), though my first taste, of a Guinness Pretzel Bite served with a cheddar cheese dipping sauce ordered by a table-mate, definitely felt Sysco-y (though warm and tasty).

But it was mostly uphill from there. 

House-made Clam Chowder

Our group numbered over a dozen, so I can't really fault them for serving this lovely soup a little to the cold side. But the microwave would have rubberized the beautifully tender clam meat, so we enjoyed it as served. Nicely done.

Cajun Pasta

Bob just had four teeth extracted, and so was limited to mushy food. Lake House Restaurant offers several pasta dishes that come by default with meat and/or seafood, but which can also be ordered "plain" - this option served Bob well: penne pasta tossed with a cajun spiced alfredo sauce and tomatoes. Topped with parmesan cheese, it tasted creamy with a little bite, and "gave" nicely without being mushy. I enjoyed my bite even without the chicken that normally accompanies it.

I took a flyer on the signature dish - Fresh Lake Erie Perch: Lightly breaded and fried, served with sautéed onions & parmesan topped pierogies, and coleslaw. Experience has taught that a dish like this would either be very good or very bad. Happy to report the former!

House made cole slaw

What a difference fresh-made makes! Creamy, clean and crisp. Half came home for dinner.

Fried Perch, Pierogies, Tarter

Another perspective

Half of this portion came home for dinner; it was a lovely value at $16 plus $2 for the cup of soup. The fish glistened with freshness under it's hot, crispy coat, cleverly plated over iceberg lettuce strips to keep it from getting soggy on the plate. I didn't get to learn if the pierogies are made in house or sourced, but they were fresh not frozen and the sauteed (not deeply fried) dough had a delightful pillowy lightness, encasing freshly mashed potatoes. The onion topping was nicely caramelized and accented with grated cheese and parsley. I would return for this meal again and again if I lived nearby!

Other diners in our party sampled various diner-style comfort foods, including patty melts served with house-made chips, wraps, salads, and one peanut-butter cup encrusted dessert that looked lovely. Service was exuberant and attentive, another reason to return for more. 

Lake House Restaurant is open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Tuesday-Saturday, and Breakfast and Lunch only on Sunday. A great little fun place to play with your food with a view!

Fun Playing With Food Trucks and Seafood in Boston

Since life has slowed just a bit, it seems like a good time to continue my report on our Boston trip. July seems like another lifetime ago, with warm sunny skies and a whole city at our fingertips! We moved to a downtown hotel to attend a convention the day after visiting Gloucester. A first order of business was to go on a whale-watching cruise. We encountered a number of humpbacks and enjoyed a very satisfying tourist experience.

Of course, we'd need to eat before embarking on the trip. A series of food trucks alternate at a traffic loop just across from where the boats go out; when we arrived, none of them was quite open yet, so we had time to ponder our choices. Though really, when you have a choice called "The Bacon Truck," pondering isn't really necessary.

Benny's crepes looked good - but not as good as BACON!

The Grilled Cheese: bacon, tomato, cheddar, havarti

The Hangover: Bacon, Hash, Fried Egg, Cheddar, Havarti

Our dinner that evening was less successful. Though recommended by local Chowhounders, Tapeo disappointed on almost every level. Perhaps our small appetites and lack of alcohol consumption had something to do with it, but food, and especially service, were lacking.

Paella

Our lunch the next day at Atlantic Fish Company went much better. 

Clam Chowder

Soft Shell Crab BLT w/Avocado, salad, dressing

Bob's lunch made me jealous! Mine, below, was good, but his was exquisite!

Grilled Local Scallops, corn cake, broccoli w/butter

It was a mistake to get the scallops grilled; they wound up a little dry.

The corn cake was marvelous, though. 

We really went over-board (so to speak) on being touristy for the Fourth of July. My history-buff husband wanted to go out on a lunch cruise to watch the USS Constitution come into the water, cruise the harbor,turn around and make a 21 gun salute. Normally, this occurs every July 4, but immediately following the 2014 edition, the Constitution went into drydock for a multi-year repair project, so this one was special. 

The weather was dreary, but the lively crew kept our spirits up for a fun afternoon! After the turnaround, they proceeded to give a detailed harbor tour that was interesting and entertaining.

The USS Constitution as she floats

We didn't expect much from the lunch buffet, but we were pleasantly surprised.

Clam Chowder

Lobstah Rolls!

Lobster Roll was the feature of this better-than-I-expected lunch buffet. The potato salad was also freshly made and pretty good, and the chowda seemed like a good quality food service product. The beef tips were kind of meh, but I wasn't really there for the beef, anyway. I skipped the salad, tortellini, chicken fingers and chicken salad rolls. 

A fun time in Boston Harbor playing with food and history despite the soggy weather, and some tasty eats!