More Fun Playing With Burgers and Drinking Lemonade at Michael Symon's B Spot

Another three visits means another blog post about B Spot, located in Woodmere Ohio. This would be the fifth such post. First. Second. Third. Why so many posts, you may ask? It's simple. When I upload my photos to Flickr - nothing gets so many hits or comments as my photos from B Spot. Is it the food? Is it the photos? Is it Michael Symon? Beats me. All I know is that so long as it continues to be good - and so long as there are menu items I haven't written about yet - I'll be posting.

I wrote the above paragraph several B Spot visits ago, and it is still true. Though I don't want to overload a single post (which means I'm saving photos from my most recent visits for later), I do want to share some "breaking" news.

About two weeks ago, B Spot started serving made-from-scratch lemonade. Now, this is not just any made-from-scratch lemonade. This lemonade is sweetened with Ohio Honey instead of sugar. Ohio Honey is pure, raw honey harvested with love by local Slow-Food members Lucy and Charlie Wellhausen. And - it tastes delicious!



Sorry for the fuzzy photo. This one is better:

My dining companion and I really loved this lemonade. Now, since it is made from scratch from primo ingredients, it costs a little more than a soda ($3.50). And, when I sampled it a week and a half ago, I was told that there are no free refills. Please do not let this deter you from trying it. After all, you expect to pay this much (or more) for a craft beer, and you don't expect free refills there. This is a fabulous, refreshing, unique lemonade (you really can taste the honey). So - enjoy!

Returning to my exploration of the B Spot menu, I had sampled two out of the three types of wings - the sriracha and the lime & cilantro. There was one left to try, and a recent visit with my husband and  our friend Tom provided the perfect opportunity.


Roasted Garlic & Parm Wings

 

While these wings were mighty in size, texture and tenderness, they were our least favorite of the three varieties offered (I am evenly split in loving the other two). While I love garlic, especially when it is all caramelized and creamy as here, we all agreed that it did overwhelm the other flavors and textures a bit. Which isn't to say that we didn't devour them, because we did. The chicken meat is so plump and flavorful; I've never seen so much meat on a wing.

Tom also tried this Symon staple:


Tomato Blue Cheese Soup 


He was expecting something a little spicier - but reported the flavors were spot on. Since he had a cold, we didn't share!


My burger was the only one at this lunch that was new - as I predicted when Michael first told me about the weekly one-offs - the Smasher's Specials are making it impossible to complete my self-assigned task of tasting and photographing the entire menu!


Loaded Potato Skin Burger 

 

The burger patty sat atop sour cream and chives, and under half a baked potato stuffed with bits of real bacon, cheese. More sour cream was drizzled on top.

 

Thought the flavors were good, I felt that the sandwich needed a little more moisture. To the rescue came the Coffee BBQ sauce. Yes mom, you read that correctly. Coffee BBQ sauce. Me, who despises all things coffee, loves the Coffee BBQ sauce at B Spot.

Next visit to B Spot - even though I've shown you this one before, I really liked this photo of my dining companion's burger:


Thin Lizzy - burger with caramelized onions, cheddar, pickles (hold the mayo)

I was again seduced by the Smasher's Special:


Chicago Beef



Jus 


As it happened, another dining companion ordered the same, and his was a tad more photogenic:





This fabulous combination of tastes and smells had me totally channeling my favorite Chicago purveyor of this classic: Al's #1 Italian Beef. The perfectly spiced and cooked roast beef was piled on the burger, then topped with house-made giardiniera - a pickle of sweet peppers, hot peppers, and carrot. And provolone cheese, which isn't on a real Italian Beef, but which worked very nicely on the burger, oozed and goozed it's way down the sandwich. After a dip in the jus - it was heaven in my hand!



And from the last visit to B Spot for this post - yet another Smasher's Special, which did not have a catchy name, but damn did it taste good:

 
Burger atop cole slaw, topped with BBQ Beef, Cheeze Whiz and Onion Ring 

Let me start by saying that I am an absolute sucker for the B Spot cole slaw - I really wish they'd offer it as a free-standing side. So even though whiz isn't real food, I decided that I had to try this combo. I was not disappointed.

 

Though the BBQ beef could have easily overwhelmed the burger - it didn't - it merely complimented and moistened it from the top.





This one was finger-licking good.

Those darn specials! How will I ever get through the rest of the menu? Jamie - to the rescue!


Cheeseburger with Swiss

Though I think that by the end of this meal, Jamie was wishing he'd followed my lead! Not that he didn't love his burger (he did) - he just saw how amazing mine was!

And so, another round of playing with B Spot Burgers comes to an end. Though, my hairdresser is located two doors down from B Spot, and I seem to have another haircut coming up in my near future . . . .

Yet More Fun Playing With Burgers etc. at Michael Symon's B Spot

This is my fourth post about Michael Symon's B Spot in Woodmere Ohio. First. Second. Third. This may seem excessive (or obsessive) for a burger-beer spot that's been in business for a mere two and one half months. In fact, I'm not sure when or why I decided to blog my way through the entire burger menu (it was a sort of joke I posted because a friend and fellow blogger is blogging his way through Symon's Live to Cook). Perhaps it has something to do with B Spot's close proximity to my office in Lyndhurst, Ohio. Perhaps it is impacted by the wallet-friendly price points. Or perhaps - I just love playing with the food at B Spot, and I want to share my enjoyment with you! Besides, there have been a few changes at B Spot since I last wrote about them that I'd like to share with you.

Before getting to food - please be advised that a flat screen television - ONE television - has been installed above the B Spot Bar. No doubt, this is a compromise, since the room is small and really doesn't need a tv, but folks hanging at the bar might like to watch their sports (and B Spot proprietor Michael Symon is a huge Cleveland sports fan). Thankfully, the tv was dark and silent during Friday's lunch.

And now, the reason we're all here - the FOOD!

My friend Tom has already blogged about this lunch, which took place January 12, but I wanted to share my perspective also. We started with a "Bad A** Shake" - a B Spot menu category I hadn't yet explored. Again, it was my upbringing - we'd never have a dairy drink with a burger (even if it was a cheeseburger!). And the closest I ever came to drinking shakes at all growing up was the Friendly's Fribble, which was usually consumed as a stand-alone item and not a meal accompaniment. But Tom is a dedicated shake-and-burger kinda guy, so we decided to split the Vanilla Bean Apple Pie Bacon shake.

 

 

So why the heck did I even order an iced tea?? Silly girl. Seriously - this is a delicious shake - with bits of real apple pie and cooked bacon in the mix, blended with locally produced Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream. (N.B. - the ice creams and gelatos at the other Symon restaurants are all house made - but they sell too many shakes at B Spot to even consider doing the ice crean in-house.) Not only did I love the shake - I have to confess - it went really, really well with our burgers. 

Tom opted for the Red Hot, which I had already sampled and blogged about here. My choice was:

 

Philly Witt burger with ipsteak, cheezewhiz, onions

Simply decadent.

 

 

As Tom noted on his blog, Chef Michael Symon was in the house this day, which proved most convenient, as he answered some of our questions about the food. He told us that the Whiz on this burger is indeed the processed commercial product  - when he visited Philadelphia, he was given an education on cheesesteak etiquette, and learned that in Philly, an authentic cheesesteak must be topped with Kraft Whiz and no other cheese. He employs that knowledge at B Spot to tasty effect. However, what I began to realize around this B Spot meal is that I almost prefer the burgers without additional meats on top - the La Frieda beef blend is so tasty on its own, that it's hard for any other meat topping to compete with it.

Anyway, Tom and I selected our next food item after discussing with the Iron Chef about how people talk about eating healthy (which causes those who feed them to stock "healthy" food items, like salad) but how the reality is that most of them don't eat all that healthily, at least when they are "out" (and that is my experience in catering, also - I can't tell you how many boxes of salad we donated to the charitable agencies after the 1800 person event I catered last summer). Michael's restaurant Bar Symon 86'd its dinner salads in January, after serving all of 17 orders during the prior month. And B Spot is obviously not a health food Mecca. So what did Tom and I do? Instead of ordering onion rings, fries, chips or wings - we ordered one of these to share:

Chili & Cheese brat with beanless chili, shredded cheddar

Even Michael laughed when we pointed out how we'd chosen to eat "healthy" by skipping the fried food.

All laughter and kidding aside - this was only the second time I'd tried a brat at B Spot, and for whatever reason, I liked it better than I had the first time. I liked it the first time, but it just didn't wow me; Tom surmised that the Stadium Mustard I had on it the first time might have overwhelmed the flavors a bit.

The bratwurst still has the only weak link (you should pardon the expression) I've discerned in the entire B Spot menu so far - the bun. Whereas the burger buns were re-tooled slightly after B Spot had used them for a few weeks, the brat bun remains seriously lacking in profundity. The burger bun is custom made for B Spot by Orlando Baking Company; while Orlando also makes the brat bun, I don't know if its a custom product or off-the-rack. All I know is that it  falls apart, and really doesn't add any flavor or texture to the party. Which, when the brat is slathered with house-made chili and oodles of cheese - matters a whole lot less!

 

I leave this lunch description with a caution - even half a shake is darned filling! Good thing we skipped the fried stuff. Even without it, we each took half our burger for the next days lunch.

Onto the next few lunches, where the changes kicked in: 

Greek Burger - Topped with House-Made Gyro Slices,  Feta Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Tzatziki Sauce (on the side because I asked for it to be)

By the time this lunch rolled around, B Spot's menu had undergone a few changes. Gone were two burger choices that I had not gotten to try yet (I'm guessing they didn't sell well): Jersey Boy burger with pork roll, whip sauce, provolone, pickled green tomato, and Greggy Burger burger with braunschweiger, mustard, red onion. Also gone was the outsourced Veggie Burger patty used on the Why??. 

More important than what was eliminated was what was added - the "Smasher's Special" (a weekly one-off) and a new look for the Why?? - portobello mushroom replacing the veggie patty, and bleu cheese being replaced by the diner's choice of cheese, with the same pickled onion and arugula as before, and the choice to add bacon at no charge. Since mushrooms do not interest me in any whole form, I will focus on the Special, which on this day was the Greek Burger shown above. Happily, Chef Symon was also in the house when I arrived for this lunch, and he confirmed that the luscious slices of Gyro meat came from a lamb loaf that was made in-house.

Crestfallen, I realized that I might never get through the whole burger menu if they keep this up every week! One bite of this sandwich equaled instant happiness. Forget what I said above about other meats not able to compete with the burger.





I asked for the tzatziki sauce on the side because I knew that it was loaded with cucumber. How did I know this, you might ask? Well, in a total coincidence (so Michael swore), my friend Dave, who is blogging Live to Cook, had blogged this recipe from the book that very day! I did use some of it on the burger - I just employed cucumber-portion control so I could enjoy it. And enjoy it I did - I heartily recommend this burger if it is available when you dine at B Spot.

My prediction that the one-offs were going to make it impossible to taste the whole menu seemed to be coming true when I next visited B Spot for lunch, together with my husband and our good friend Edsel. We all ordered the Smasher's Special almost before our server finished describing it!


Burger topped with Chorizo, Pepperjack, Lettuce, Red Onion, Pickled Jalapeno (served on side)

The jalapeno on the side was the kitchen's idea - as our server explained - they hadn't quite figured how to get all of the goodness to stack on the bun!

These two shots are pre-jalepeno:






And this after a judicious addition:




BTW - one of those little touches that I love is that some of the pickled jalapenos are red. It is so hard to get ripe, red peppers from either the retail market or food service - and those are the best. The chorizo wasn't really spicy at all - house manager Sam told us that they weren't happy with the product, and would be switching to a different one before the end of the week. Didn't matter to us - we all loved it! Bob even ate every last one of his pickled peppers!

This seems to be as good a place as any to note how wonderful the service has been at every B Spot visit so far. Even when they are slammed, which often comes towards the end of my meal (I tend to get there before noon to avoid waiting for a table), service is gracious, considerate and helpful. When "business" lunching, or otherwise lingering after the food is gone - I have never been made to feel hurried or pressured to let them turn a table. It seems that this is the flipside of the "Symon Says" rule that parties aren't seated until they are complete - once everyone is there and seated, you will not be pushed away just because the last bite is gone. Works for me.

At my last visit on Friday, I finally got to sample the shake that is modeled after the one Michael described on the Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" as, well, the best shake he ever ate. Sorry I don't remember the restaurant (though I think it was in Philly) - if someone knows, please shout out in the comments.


Chocolate Banana Marshmallow Shake



This was one tasty shake! Since I shared it with my dining companion, I didn't get to taste the marshmellows until they were mixed in with the shake (and obviously, cold). Next time - I need to snag a spoonful before we share, so I can get the full effect of the bruleed marshmellows against the icy shake.


Shroomage burger with portabella, blue cheese, lola steak sauce, caramelized onions

As we were perusing the menu, my dining companion, who hadn't been to B Spot yet and was trying to decide on a burger, agreed to order the Shroomage so I could take a photo (since it is the only burger on the menu that I would never order for myself, due to the huge hunk of mushroom - which kind of makes the sandwich, so it would be silly to leave it off). She liked it, but wasn't totally wowed by the combination. However, she will be back!


Lola burger with fried egg, bacon, pickled red onions, cheddar and mayo 

Not since the days of Lolita's Kobe Burger (which went off the menu there several years ago) have I enjoyed a burger dripping with egg yolk so much as I enjoyed this one.

 


We also shared the Chips with parmesan fondue, which I've showed you before:





My dining companion reminded me that the chips make a wonderful vehicle for tasting the sauces on the table. I've gotten so blase about the ever-present sauces; but when she said that, I suddently realized that I hadn't actually tasted them all yet.





To me - one of the ultimate "fun playing with food" things is when a chef takes an ingredient that I don't care for, and creates a food that I find delicious using that ingredient. I realized the moment I tasted it that I didn't just like - I LOVED the Coffee BBQ sauce - so much that I schmeared it onto my remaining Lola Burger half before consumption. (For those of you who don't know this - as a toddler, I was severely burned with blazing hot coffee. I still "wear it" - a large, ugly scar on my body, and a total aversion to all things coffee on my palate and in my olfactory sense.) If it has coffee and I like it - it's gotta be pretty darn special.

And so - another round of fun playing with the burgers and such at B Spot brings us a few changes in menu and decor, and a continued consistency in food and service that keeps me coming back for more.

Fun Playing With Brunch at Bar Symon

We drove an hour each way to experience our first brunch at Michael Symon's Bar Symon today. Drive two hours just for brunch, you say? I'll admit, I was more partial to a meet-up on the east side when we first started discussing this with some friends, but now, I am very glad they prevailed upon us to go west.

While I was enjoying my freshly squeezed orange juice (which I did not get a good photo of, sorry), a server dropped this plate on our table, courtesy of Chef Matt:

Freshly Fried Donuts Over Honey and Nutella

 

Oh, yes. And that little bit of orange that you see above is orange zest. This isn't on the menu - but it should be!

Eggs Benedict: grilled ham, poached eggs, hollandaise, hash browns

I did not get to taste this, but the diner to my right was very happy with his brunch plate.

Symon Burger: w/fried egg, cheddar, bacon & fries 

I thought it was kind of ironic that Bob ordered the burger, since B Spot is so close to where we live (and both burgers contain the same meat, custom blended and ground by Pat LaFrieda in NY), but I can't complain because I got a bite of it! I also got a bite of the Pork Pastrami Hash that another tablemate ordered - it was tasty. But I have to say, I think my plate was the winner (ah, it feels good to eat on The Pork Side):

Biscuits & Gravy: 2 eggs, bacon, scallion, cheddar biscuits, sausage gravy 

 

The sausage gravy was so tasty that I could have skipped the poached eggs entirely. But I didn't.

The yolks were wonderfully bright and runny. Just the way I like 'em.

The biscuits were studded with bits of chewy bacon, scallion and cheddar. The combination of biscuit and egg yolk was a well made match - but oh my that sausage gravy - fresh, well seasoned sausage meat popping with flavor, nestled in smooth and creamy gravy, with more of that flaky, cheddary, bacony biscuit underneath. This is serious comfort food and highly recommended.

We were so full from our Bar Symon brunch that the chicken and dumplings we'd planned on making for dinner tonight got bumped to tomorrow.  Looking forward to playing with the new Bar Symon dinner menu too!