Because food always is more fun when you partake while on vacation, even if you are still at home!
Breakfast at Garretts Mill Diner, Stow Ohio:
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| Short Stack of Pancakes with Strawberries |
Chef-Owner Brian Krasney does a Steve Schimoler with his air-whip can - house-made Maple Whipped Cream! Bob cleaned his plate.
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| House made biscuits with house made sausage gravy and home fries, poached eggs. |
Brian says more additions to the traditional menu are in the works! My dish was a special in June, but is now on the regular menu and it is well crafted. The eggs were poached perfectly, and the sausage gravy popped with peppery, porky goodness.
Dinner of Grove Hill Happy Hour Small Plates:
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| Pulled Pork Sliders with Coleslaw & Coffee BBQ Sauce |
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| BEEF & CHEDDAR CROQUETTES: horseradish crème fraiche |
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| SPICY GREEN BEANS: pancetta, calabrian chile, parmesan, extra virgin olive oil & basil. |
This new addition to the menu was spicy, but oh so good! Bacon, cheese and fresh green beans? Hell yeah! Grove Hill Happy Hour runs Monday-Thursday 4:30-6:30 and Friday & Saturday 9:00 pm - close.
Breakfast on the way to Louisville at Flury's Cafe, Akron:
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| Eggs Florentine: w/spinach & Hollandaise on a muffin w/homefries |
We found out via GPS that Flury's recently moved to 2202 Front Street Cuyahoga Falls, so you may need to walk a little from the public parking areas. But you will be well rewarded. Somehow, the new location seems even smaller than the original. Come early to get a table!
Lovely fresh spinach and house-made Hollandaise kicked my breakfast up. The home fries, though, seemed like they came from a food service bag. However, Kim says she made them from scratch and I believe her! We will definitely return to Flury's.
Bob's:
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| Pancakes |
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| Chorizo |
Dinner upon our return to Cleveland - Nobu Tei, Solon Ohio; so glad they finally have their website up and their full service liquor permit!
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| Tuna Tartar: Chopped Tuna, Avocado and Spicy Tuna |
I want to love the fish at Nobu Tei, but it just isn't fresh enough. I actually liked this pretty dish very much, but wanted the raw fish to be just a bit more pristine.
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| Red Curry Beef |
The intense Thai flavors in the curries make up for the deficiencies in the fish, well sort of. The Thai food is really, really good here.
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| Pineapple Fried Rice With Duck |
As much as I enjoyed my ducky rice, I kept wanting to drench it in Bob's Red Curry sauce. And, I sort of did.
My last day off would be spent doing laundry. But first, breakfast - Jim's Open Kitchen, Solon:
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| Bob's: Waffle with Strawberries |
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| Mine: Cheese Omelet with home fries, English Muffin |
Finally, after the laundry was done, a last leisurely meal out together at Crumb and Spigot, Chagrin Falls Ohio:
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| Cauliflower Hummus |
Darned if it didn't have the mouthfeel of hummus! Most enjoyable.
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| Pizza with Sausage, Escarole, Hot Pepper, Provolone |
This was the first pizza we've had at Crumb and Spigot that didn't completely work. The pieces of escarole were just a big too big, tough and sloppy. But you can't beat sausage and provolone on a pizza and the sausage is of excellent quality. We enjoyed this pizza despite its flaws.
Gotta love that crust, though!
And so, another Fun Playing With Food vacation came to an end.
