More Fun Playing with Green Food

I realize that today is Friday and I am writing about Monday's dinner - it has been that kind of a week! Still - the fabulous meal we shared on Monday at Jonathon Sawyer's sparkling new Greenhouse Tavern is well worth waiting for! I urge you to visit this new Cleveland gem and taste for yourself.

When last I wrote about the Greenhouse, we had just attended a "friends and family preview" dinner. We greatly enjoyed this dinner. However, as a "tune up" for opening to the public, (complete with comment cards at the end for constructive criticism) I did not consider it fair to post any criticisms (and any I had were minor). Our dinner Monday was fantastic, with just one minor flaw that I will get to - but do keep in mind that they had been open only about a week when we dined there, so the fact that there was only one flaw is pretty impressive. Another note for those of you who play with your food by taking photos - the light is much better on the mezzanine for that purpose.

Dinner at The Greenhouse begins with lovely On the Rise bread and a dish of Duck Rillettes.







Monday's rillettes was even better than the sample we'd enjoyed at the first dinner. Creamy, ducky, fatty - yum! Our wonderful and attentive server almost took the last bit away - oh no you don't! She brought us more bread, instead.

We started with a selction of "Firsts" and "Seconds" - smaller plates that were easily shared.


Pomme Frites w/ poached egg & chervil

This dish actually comes from the "Halfs" portion of the menu - Tom really wanted to try it. Perfectly cooked frites are plated with raw garlic and rosemary, then topped with poached egg. I'd never considered the combination of poached egg and fries before - but this really worked!


Hand Ground Beef Tartare w/ cold poached egg & wild ramps

I've only ever had beef this way in the Korean style, long before e. coli was a big worry, so I had a little trepidation about it.





By itself, the meat tasted like, well, raw meat. However, once all of the components came together - the ramps, the seasoning in the beef, the beef, crouton, egg, and that incredibly fresh, spicy mustard - it was simply delicious. Now I get it!


French Breakfast Radishes with Butter and Salt

Radish is one of those foods that I can take or leave - and usually leave. Though not as offensive to my palate as cucumber, it is not a favorite. I did sample a piece of this - and if you like radishes, you will love it. I ate about 2/3 of my piece, and gave the rest to Bob - who loved it. The dish is interesting, even to the non-radish lover, because of the lovely salad of greens under the radishes, dressed to impress.

Our next dish was an off menu "special" - all I can say is that it was the star up to this point of the meal and darn well ought to find a regular place on the menu!


Fried Chicken Livers over Savory Bread Pudding with Ramps



As a rule I'm not a huge chicken liver fan - but I'd eat a plateful of these every day of the week if I could get them! The liver was perfectly cooked and not a bit "livery" - and the bread pudding was fabulous - savory yet nutmeggy - a perfect foil for liver!



The liver is to the right.



Our next plate came from the "halfs" again - I'd heard great things about it, which turned out to be true!


Cabbage Gratin w/ raclette cheese & caramelized onions





This dish was like Onion Soup without the soup or crouton (and who needs those when you have cheese???). Several different types of cabbage and onions are caramelized, then covered with gooey cheese and baked down. I kid you not when I say this was plate licking (ok, plate scraping) good.

We moved on to the entrees, or "Thirds".


Steak Frites w/ ohio beef, romaine, aioli & pomme frites

Bob, who'd loved his burger and frites at the preview dinner, loved this - and there was a lot to love!



Beautiful meat, perfectly cooked. The sides of grilled lettuce and frites were also lovely, as was the aoli for dipping.


Tom Cod In Papier w/ fresh black truffle, potato & chardonnay

All four of us were dying to try this, after a bit of a bruhaha about this dish on the Cleveland Food & Wine Forum.



Our conclusion - this dish is delicious! Fresh, sustainably sourced fish, perfectly cooked potato, chardonnay, butter and truffles - and for less than $20!! Edsel indeed chose very wisely.


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

This plate was every bit as declious as the one Bob had enjoyed on preview night. And you have to love the creative recycling evident in the frite wrappers!

I wound up repeating my choice from my prior dinner, and I was very glad I did.


Buckwheat Pasta w/mahogany clams, pancetta & chili

The first time I had this dish, I enjoyed it even though the chili wasn't very prominent. This version kicked the chili factor up (but not too far for those of you timid about such things), which made the dish even better. My only complaint would have been that two of the clams had some grit and I have no doubt that had I told the server, the dish would have been remade for me. However, by this point in the evening, we were getting so full that little miscues didn't matter.

Having worked our way through such a nice variety and quantity of Rillettes, Firsts, Seconds, Thirds and Halfs - Bob and I were too stuffed for dessert. Our dining companions had saved some room, though, and each ordered a dessert, which of course we all shared.

Dessert had been the only weak spot of our preview dinner, so I was delighted to sample these desserts, and find that they are now at the same high level of quality as the rest of the food.


Apple Calvados Tart w/ apple cider gastrique, bitter orange caramel & ice cream

We had tasted a version of this at the preview, and found the pastry a little wanting. This version, however, topped with the inimitable Jeni's Ice Cream, was everything a dessert should be - flaky soft, yet firm pastry, fresh tasty apples, and satisfying topping. Tom - please note that Edsel and I were shooting this dessert at the same time and we also crossed the streams!


Pot de Creme w/ bitter chocolate, star anise & fluer de sel florentine

I'm not a big dessert eater - but this dessert could turn me into one! Rich, creamy chocolate playing perfectly off of the salt and anise flavors, with chewy, chocolately cookies for additional contrast.



We learned upon recieving our bill that Chef Jonathon had comped our desserts - thank you!

Two other notes - the Skatewing has come off of the menu, because it cannot be sustainably sourced. I'm sure Chef will come up with a worthy replacement for it! Also - even though we ate early, they had run out of oysters - and based on our taste at the preview dinner, for good reason - they are fabulous, and happy hour priced at $1 each.

So here we are - our second meal at Greenhouse Tavern was even better than our first - and I have a feeling they will only get better as they are open longer. You may first visit Greenhouse because it is "certified green," or because you heard about the cool light fixtures made from recycled bicycle tires. You may pause to admire the chairs and tables (all made from recycled, materials) and the bar, gleaming with recycled glass. But what will make you want to keep coming back is the beautiful, delicious food at very approachable prices. I am looking forward to playing with Greenhouse Tavern food again soon!

Fun Playing with Food with Jonathon Sawyer and the Wonderful Crew at Bar Cento

Last night was the inaugural "Sawyer Wine Supper" at Bar Cento restaurant, recently opened on the near West Side of Cleveland, across the street from the storied West Side Market. Bar Cento is the creation of former Michael Symon apprentice Chef Jonathon Sawyer. We had played with Jonathon's food once before, at a pre-opening tasting party sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Convivium of Slow Food. I didn't take any photos that night, so this is my first opportunity to share some of the goodies that Chef Sawyer is offering. I can highly recommend future wine and beer dinners at Bar Cento - they are off to a wonderful start!

We began with one of the restaurant's signature items as an Antipasto - handcrafted pizza!


Prosciutto Bianco Pizza Topped with Acorn Fed Lardo, Bird Chilies, Myer Lemon and Marjoram



I've only had lardo once before - and it was served at room temperature. As much as I've grown to like pork fat - that lardo experience was just a little too intense for me. As you can see here, though, the lardo served last night was rendered, leaving bits of meat that tasted like bacon on steroids on the pizza slice, and depositing a lovely puddle of rendered pork fat on the plate. We all sipped delightfully from that pool! And the chilies added an intense bite, which was tamed somewhat by the Toffoli Prosecco di Conegliano that accompanied this course. Overall, an amazing way to start.


Vitello Tonno - Warm Crispy Veal Sweetbread Over Chilled Veal, Sicilian Tuna Aoli, Capers

Without question - the most enjoyable sweatbread I've ever eaten - it made me go "mmmmhh" when I savored the first bite. I don't know if this was due to the fact that the sweatbread was from a younger animal, or the preparation (Chef Jonathon explained that it was not soaked in milk, which is the traditional prep - it was soaked in broth and seasoning overnight prior to cooking). Honestly, the sweatbread was so rich and tasty (and contrasted so perfectly against the chilled slice of meat below it) that the Tuna Aoli almost overwhelmed it - though it was a brilliant touch to infuse the Aoli with Tuna. The 06 Maggio Vini Rosato accompanied this course well.


Insalata - Grilled Scamorza (Fresh Mozzerella Cheese) Topped with Dandelion Greens and Mint, plated over Oilo Sancto ("Sacred Oil")



This is my idea of salad! (Just kidding - I'm all for healthy green salads. But damn, this tasted good!) Chef Jonathon explained about the Olio Sancto, which he cold-infused with anchovy and mint - either of which could have overwhelmed this dish. But there was no clash - only sweet, rich harmony between the crunchy, chewy cheese, the pungent and slightly bitter greens, and the oil. Again, Tracey English was right on with her choice of the 04 Fatalone Primivito for the wine pairing - we liked this wine so much, we wanted to buy 4 bottles of it, but they ran out and we had to settle for two.


Pesca - Wild Striped Bass Macinare

Another example of how you have to make due in Cleveland sometimes when it comes to fish (see my New Year's Eve post about Michael Symon's swordfish collar), Chef Jonathon mentioned that he had hoped to serve Fluke for this course, but had to take what quality fish he could get.

This dish was wonderful. The bass - described on the menu as "the Miller's fish", was served with a fresh herb salad and myer lemon. The filet was topped with a disk of chopped pork of some kind - but this component was not identified on the menu and we didn't get the opportunity to ask what it was. Who cares - it may not have been kosher, but it was delicious! And it went very well with the 06 Vigneti di Marchi Erbaluce di Caluso.


Spring Abbondanza - Roasted Kid Goat, Milk Poached Calf, Suckling Pig, Salsa Verde, Roasted Potato

What a savory trio! The goat meat, which came mostly from the legs of small, tender, young goats, was the standout here. It melted in the mouth! The veal was also lovely. And the pig - I missed a photo-op with the head shortly before service - but this was served with crispy skin and tasty fat. The potatoes were the perfect accompaniment to wipe up every drop of the heavenly drippings! The wine was again well chosen - 05 Podere San Matteo Morellino di Scansano "Sammetteo".


Formaggio - Cheese Course

I am trying to use the flash less; unfortunately, I think these photos really could have used it. Oh well. We were served two cow's milk and one sheep's milk cheese - sorry, I'm not sure which cow's milk was which. I think, from right to left, they are Veneto e'stats Cow's Milk, Cow's Milk from Piedmont and Sheepsmilk from Lombardia. They were served with a gently toasted crostini that had a slightly sweet element in the topping.



And now - a first for my blog, and probably my life. Hold onto your hats, folks:



After a quick taste of each cheese in the proper order (mildest to strongest), I ignored Paul Minillo's advice about the ordering of cheese, and actually consumed my entire portion of the Bleu. I did not give it to anyone at the table - I have witnesses! I ate and enjoyed my Bleu cheese! I need to know exactly what this was and where to get it!

I also very much enjoyed the other two varieties of cheese, and the wine they were all paired with - 04 Valpolicella Classico.


Dolce - Tenuta Il Corno Olive Oil Gelato, Blood Orange, Myer Lemon

Talk about playing with your food! Who'd have thunk you could put olive oil in gelato? But Chef Sawyer did - and it was fantastic, especially with the blood orange. I'll have a gallon of that, please. And speaking of gallons, we tried to acquire some of the sweet and heady wine that accompanied this course and the next - 95 Tunua Il Corno Vin Santo, IGT - but they sold out of it before they got to our order.


Grazie - Chocolate Salumi Style, Grandma's Cookies



Note the bits of pepper at 6 o'clock on the Chocolate - there was also a hint of red pepper somewhere. The heat combined with the rich chocolate and nuts to create a taste sensation that was accentuated by the cookie - which started crisp and finished soft as it had been drizzled wtih liquid - I'm not sure what. A perfect finale to a symphonic meal!

Bravo to Chef Sawyer, to Sommelier Tracy English from Private Reserve, who supplied the wine pairings, and to all of the staff who worked very hard to make this first wine dinner a great success. And please, Chef, feel free to fill in any blanks or correct any wrongs I may have put in this post.

If Bar Cento was closer to home - I'd be a three-times-a-week regular. As it is - we need to get there more often!