Fun Playing With Food at Light Bistro

I was waaayyy overdue for a visit to Light Bistro - one of Cleveland's most innovative restaurants. Thankfully, we solved that "overdue" problem last Friday, and enjoyed a lovely meal with friends.

Chef Matt Mathlage's menu has undergone a lot of changes since I last dined at Light. These changes address the economic times in which we find ourselves, by offering several very different dining options at a variety of price points. This had to have been difficult to balance, as Chef Matthlage is committed to using local and sustainable products, which have to drive his costs up. So, in addition to the tapas and entrees always found at Light, Matt is also serving pizza, panini and burgers at price points from $9-16, and a bar menu of hearty snacks ranging from $5-8.

An even better deal is the Happy Hour, from 4:40-7pm, Monday-Friday. All Bar Menu food items are $5.00 each, 5 domestic beers are $5.00, 5 specialty beers are $7.50 , single specialty beers are $2.00-3.00, selected glasses of wine are $5.00, and a selected bottle of wine is $10.00. Selected specialty cocktails are $3.00. We started at the bar, around 6:30pm, waiting for everyone to arrive. I ordered the happy hour bottle, which was a Malbec (and the dark print didn't photograph well enough for me to tell you what it was) - Malbec being the magic word for me!

Once everyone arrived and we were seated, the table was set with filtered water (which, IMHO, every good restaurant should have) and bread service.



The bread comes hot from the oven.



It is served with fabulous Lake Erie Creamery butter, at a creamy, spreadable temperature.





Yum!

We decided to split a pizza and two "traditional" tapas. First up - a tapas:


Chinese Street Chicken / Miso / Sesame / Green Onion

This dish was presented in a Chinese food take-out container.



Although it was succulent and tasty - we didn't get much of miso or sesame flavor.


Chicken Liver Pate / Crostini / Ohio Apple



This was packed with flavor and texture - the apples contrasted perfectly with the creamy pate, which wasn't at all "livery" (butter will do that).

I confess that I wasn't expecting too much from the pizza - as readers of this blog know, I freely admit to having very strong preferences in that department, which few Cleveland restaurants have sated; and pizza wasn't an original part of the Light repertoire. But I should have known to not worry.


Pizza Albondigas - Lamb Meatballs / Tomato Sauce / Mozzarella / Provolone



This thin-crust pizza, baked in Light's bread oven, was excellent. The crust had crunch and chew (though not char), but was still effervescently tender. The toppings were outstanding - the lamb meatball was a few flavor notches over the usual beef or pork meatball one can get on pizza (if one can get meatball on pizza in Cleveland!), and the sauce and cheese brought it all together.

Truthfully, I was almost full after the appetizers! But there was one entree item I wanted, no I needed, to try. The last time I'd dined at Light, one of my dining companions, who is a chef, noted that Light had ostrich on the menu, and he told me that I must try it. Unfortunately, the last order of ostrich available that night was ordered at another table moments before we ordered. Even worse - the diner who received the lucky plate was right in eyeshot! After being tortured watching him enjoy his dinner - I promised myself that the next time I dined at Light - ostrich would be mine!

But first, my dining companions, who all generously shared a taste:


Truffle and Ricotta Ravioli / Sauteed Mushrooms / Balsamic / Parsley Oil

My taste of the ravioli (I passed on the mushrooms, surprise) was lovely. Light pasta, fresh cheesy filling, and a tasty sauce combo.


Caramelized Scallops / Fennel / Red Onion / Orange Salad / Tarragon Sauce

My taste of this dish was the only "miss", for me, of the evening - though the person who ordered it enjoyed it very much. Again, accept that I have a very fussy seafood palate - what is important is that the diner who selected this dish really liked it.


Pork chop / Polenta / Pickled Onions / Champagne Mustard

This dish rocked - a huge portion of Berkshire pork, perfectly cooked, the loin atop a kiss of mustard, the bone standing aside a mug of very tasty polenta.





Grilled Ostrich / Asian Glaze / Spinach with Pine Nuts and Raisins



I'd never tasted ostrich before. And, at the risk of channeling Emeril Lagasse - it tasted like, well, ostrich. The texture reminded me of bison, and the flavor had notes of bison, poultry and just a hint of gaminess - but the overall effect was unique to my palate - most delicious. The Asian-inspired glaze was minimal - a veritable whisper on the dish - and it added just the right amount of "extra" flavor and texture, together with the raisins, which seemed made to accompany ostrich.

So - shame on me for taking so long between visits to Light Bistro. Chef Matt is having a slightly different brand of fun than he started with at Light - a little less emphasis on molecular gastronomy (which I enjoyed, but which might have been a hard sell in Ohio City) and a little more traditional, but nevertheless diverse menu, with something for everyone, at multiple price points. Bottom line is that the food and drink were outstanding, as was our server (also named Matt). We had a large time playing with our food at Light Bistro!

Fun Playing With Great Food on New Year's Eve in Cleveland

We mostly stay home, or close to home, on New Year's Eve. Too many amateurs on the road. But this year, we were invited to join our friends Dave and Beth, and a whole bunch of their friends, for a special New Years Eve dinner at Bar Cento. This would be our first time to visit Bar Cento under the helm of new Executive Chef Michael Nowak and his crew.

Since dinner didn't start until 9pm, we decided to begin the festivities with a stop at one of our favorite, but undervisited places, Momocho. Chef Eric Williams was at the door and welcomed us. Surprisingly, the bar area was busy, but not overly so, as we took a couple of seats at the end. As always, the dim red lights on the first floor of Momocho presented a photography challenge to my limited skills.

We enjoyed a few drinks,


Cactus Flower Margharita

and two snacks:


queso fundito / house made chorizo sausage / rajitas / corn tortillas






guacamole / tradicional


Fresh Made Chips

We enjoyed our nosh and bid goodnight to Chef Williams, who checked out early, to spend NYE with his family at home for the first time in years! And just about 8:30pm, when the last reservations were to begin - Momocho was slammed! It went from brisk to almost-mayhem in just minutes. You just never know.

Shortly before 9pm, we headed around the block to Bar Cento. After being seated and looking at the menu, we eagerly anticipated the seven lovely courses listed on the menu, and ordered up the optional wine pairings.

I do not want to be too critical here - but I also want to be honest. Our dinner was overall a delicious and delightful experience. But I also came away with two big complaints, which I will get out of the way now. Please take these comments in the context of the whole review - it was a terrific dinner at an amazingly fair price. But to not mention the downs would be as unfair as leaving out the ups.

First bad - no one ever explained any of the dishes we were eating. This was a terrible shame, since, as you will see, Chef Nowak obviously put a lot of thought into it that we did not get to share. A corollary of this criticism is that the servers didn't seem to know much about the menu - when one of my dining companions asked our server about the contents of a dish, he said he didn't know. There was apparently no pre-dinner meeting so staff could be educated about what they were serving.

The second complaint is that none of the hot courses was served anywhere near an appropriate serving tempurature. This detracted from our enjoyment of these wonderfully crafted dishes. Kitchen and serving staff need to get on the same page to pull off this kind of dinner successfully.

With those two negatives duly noted - I repeat that this was a tasty, special, terrific way to ring in the New Year.

And so we began:


Antipasti

The menu described this platter, to be shared by four diners, as "Petit Jesus, Prosciutto Americana, Tomme d' Savior, Primadonna, Mushroom Salad, Pickled Vegetables, Roman Money." But no one told us about where the meats and cheeses were made, or what varieties the cheeses were, or what exactly was intended by the whimsical menu description. Was "Roman Money" the lentil salad? Or the salami rounds? No matter - it was all delicious!





The mushroom salad is tucked under the crostini at one o'clock. Despising mushrooms, I passed on that.



These pickled vegetables, on the other hand, were fabulous!



Ah, the power of cheese!



Wikipedia advises that lentils are a traditional Italian New Year's item.


My Antipasti Plate


Salad of Braised Artichokes, Zuchini, Preserved Tomatoes, Baby Lettuces

Bravo! A beautifully composed, delicious salad with homemade petite croutons and a lovely balsamic reduction.


Puree of Cauliflower Soup, Crisp Chickpea, Poached Lobster

This soup would have been outstanding had it been served hot, or at least warm. The scents and flavors tantalized, and the crispy chickpeas were little flavor bombs!



For the pasta course, there were two choices. To my great surprise, my husband opted for the vegetarian course:


Ravioli of Ricotta and Black Truffle, Poached Quail Egg, Parmesan

The perfectly poached quail egg is hiding under one of the raviolis. This dish offered a silky texture and sublime flavors.


Bolito Misto Papperdelle, Capon, Veal, Zampone, Braised Roots

The round meaty item in the center was the Zampone. It took Wikipedia to determine that Zampone is stuffed pig's trotter (I did figure out when I ate it that it was some form of forcemeat), a traditional Italian New Year's item. All of the meats were lovely, though the Zampone appealed more to Bob than to me. The jus was delightful, and the pasta toothsome. The mini-carrots were perfectly cooked. But the temperature of both pasta courses was tepid.

Bob and I broke from our usual pattern of sharing the different choices to both order the same entree - how often are you offered grass-fed beef? The menu gave no clue to the origin of the tuna course, so we both ordered the beef. But one of my dining companions allowed me to photograph his plate:


Risotto Di Tonno, Seared Tuna, Risotto Provencal, Crisp Rapini

I did not taste this dish, but the tuna I saw on another's plate looked like it was cooked way past a sear. However, the people that ordered it seemed to like it - it was crusted with black peppercorn, and accompanied by the cooling tomato risotto and rapini.


Dry Aged Grass-Fed Beef, Rouille, Caramelized Vegetables, Demi

Again, it took Wikipedia to determine that rouille meant "a sauce that consists of olive oil with breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron and chili peppers." It certainly helps to explain the tasty bits of what seemed at the time to be "stuffing" dotting the plate. And though the meat was cooked longer than it wanted to be, it still retained a little pink, and was buttery soft and delicious (if a little colder than optimal), and also delightfully crusted with fresh black pepper.



The beef was served with perfectly puffed sweet potato fingers and a lovely braised slice of fennel bulb that I failed to photograph.


Formaggio - Aged Cow's Milk, Cranberry, Almonds

Another winning course - but I wish I knew what kind of cheese it was!




Crisp Sesame Bowl, Orange Curd, Cognac and Torrone Ice Creams

I am usually not a big fan of sesame, but this presentation and flavor combo blew me away. I would have liked to know if these were Jeni's Ice Creams, which are normally served at Bar Cento and are very popular, but which I'd never tasted before, or some other. I'm going to guess Jeni's, since both of these flavors are listed on their website.



Yum!



Complimentary bubbles toast at midnight for everyone in the house.

And everyone was given a little "goody" bag when they left, which contained two items. A small bottle of bitters (and Italian tradition with which I'm not familiar?) and a lovely macaroon cookie from A Cookie & A Cupcake, Chef Wendy Thompson's new Ohio City venture.





Caramel, I believe.



Notwithstanding my criticisms, I say again - the "new" Bar Cento has a lot to offer, and I look forward to trying more of Chef Nowak's creations. After the dinner ended, and the restaurant re-opened to the public (they serve food until 2am every day), people wandered in and ordered drinks and pizzas - and a wonderful time was had by all!

Happy New Year - good health, and lots of fun playing with your food!