Fun Playing With Clam Bake Season, Part 2

After devouring two clam bakes at Solon's Bar 50/20 aka Mish Mosh, we next sampled the Clam Bake at Fisher's American Tavern, right next door to Mish Mosh. Though we give the slight Clam Bake edge to neighbor Mish Mosh, we also had a great time at Fisher's. Fisher's is serving it's last bakes tonight and tomorrow starting at 4pm; Mish Mosh goes through the end of October.

Fisher's basic clam bake includes a dozen clams, half roasted chicken, corn on the cob, sweet or baked potato, clam broth, New England clam chowder, and a roll with cinnamon butter for for $29.95. Extra dozen clams are $12. They also have a New York strip steak bake for $35.95 and a clamless chicken bake for $19.95. We continued our pattern of sharing one full bake, plus a dozen extra clams. On this evening, we decided to get a second cup of clam chowder in addition to our Steak Bake and extra dozen clams.

The chowder was ok, but definitely a food service product. 

This part of the bake was very good. We opted for sweet potato instead of white. Even though the corn wasn't grilled as Mish Mosh's was, it still had a lot of flavor for late October corn. The steak was nicely cooked to medium. And the sweet potato hit the spot for sweetness and texture. We were grateful for the pats of real butter, since the cinnamon butter was actually margarine. I especially liked the jus. 

Bob liked Fisher's clams better. I liked them better than the clams at the first Mish Mosh bake, half of which were a little too big and tough, but equal to the second two Mish Mosh bakes we had (the last after we had Fisher's). Mish Mosh won for presentation and that lovely tomatoey clam broth. Mish Mosh also won for it's house made chowda with fresh clams. It's not fair to compare lobster or filet with NY Strip, though we also loved Mish Mosh's grilled chicken. All the animal proteins we sampled were perfectly cooked by each restaurant.

So, side by side, priced within a couple of dollars of one another in each variation they shared, we give the win to Mish Mosh. But if you are hankering for clams, either restaurant will slake that thirst in style. Get Fisher's until tomorrow, Mish Mosh's Monday-Saturday through the end of the month.

Oh and if you fancy lobster with your bake, Mish Mosh offers live Maine lobsters Thursday-Saturday, and they are tasty!

Our third bake at Mish Mosh was steak - which had been a 12oz New York Strip similar to Fisher's, but switched out the night we dined to an 8oz Filet, still priced at $38. I normally prefer strip to filet, but not that night. 

Cooked to a perfect medium rare!

Straight up Clam Broth no Tomato, Third Mish Mosh Bake

We're going to try to get back to Mish Mosh for the pork ribs before the season ends! Though Fisher's was a very worthy second. Fun Playing With Clams in Solon for one more week!

Fisher’s American Tavern

28020 Miles Road

Solon, Ohio 44139

(440) 349-3736

https://www.facebook.com/fishersamericantavern/

Open for lunch at 11am Mon-Fri (Saturday at noon)

Closes 11pm

Closed Sunday

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.

Fun Playing With Purple Viking Potatoes

As Hanukkah draws to a close with tonight's eighth candle, it seems like an apropos time to show you some of the fun we've had with the Purple Viking Potatoes Bob grew in the garden this year. Potato pancakes (latkes) are of course the seminal Hanukkah treat.

Bob's Potatoes (apologies to Eric Idle and Saturday Night Live)




Baked






Sinfully creamy even before the butter! We remain amazed at the white color of the flesh, and the in-your-face fresh taste - we felt as though we'd never tasted potatoes before. Do get yourself some freshly dug specimens if you can find them.


French Fried



Jeweled explosions of potato goodness.


Mashed (with Garden parsley and local butter)


Baked into Potato Bread

For post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches.


Sauteed in Smoked Duck Fat

If you have never sauteed a potato in freshly rendered (or even commercial) duck fat - you need to try some! Onions, salt and fresh cracked tellicherry peppercorn were all it needed to sing.

And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for: Latkes!







Served as dinner, with Organic Valley Sour Cream and Baked Garden Carrots with Ohio City Pasta Pumpkin Butter.


Fried in Duck Fat



Latkes fried in duck fat deserve a second look, don't they?



The duck that provided the fat (thank you Makinajian Farms, LI, NY).

And so, dinner was served, with a chunk of roasted squash and more latkes. A happy and potatoey Hanukkah to all and to all a good night. 

Fun Playing with Breakfast at Fresh Start Diner

As we embarked on our New York trip, we breakfasted at Fresh Start Diner in Twinsburg. Both of our first two visits to Fresh Start turned out to be for lunch, specifically burgers. This time, we arrived early enough and in the mood enough to sample breakfast. We were well rewarded!



I noticed the above sign near the entrance - and can confirm that though there were a few service hiccups on our first visit, the last two have been nothing but wonderful. Thank you Ladies!


Corned Beef Hash, two eggs and house-made rye toast



This was the best corned beef hash I've ever tasted - the freshness of all of the ingredients and the freshness and skill of the preparation made for a heavenly breakfast for me.




Leisy’s South of the Border Omelet

Bob's omelet was stuffed with sausage, pepper jack cheese, onions, tomatoes, and salsa. Yum.



The made-to-order homefries were simply outstanding - I think I liked them better than Jim's in Solon, and I am very fond of Jim's.


Open wide


Rye Toast Close Up

Next time, I must tear myself away from the rye and try another of the house-made breads. If I can tear myself away from the rye.

And so, I can now report that Fresh Start Diner provides not only a fun burger, but a most fun breakfast experience, loaded with freshly made, sparklingly good tastes at very fair prices.

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.