Fun Playing in Sanctuary

Cleveland food truck pioneer Chris Hodgson and his Driftwood Restaurant Group partner Scott Kuhn have teamed up with Twin Tier Hospitality at the Doubletree Hotel in Beachwood Ohio in the newly minted Sanctuary Restaurants, to, as their website says, "reinvent the in-hotel dining experience with an expertly crafted menu, expansive wine list, and farm fresh ingredients." Driftwood Group, under Hodgson's supervision, not only has taken over restaurant and room service in the hotel, but also all of the event catering. This is an exciting hotel trend, first seen in Cleveland at the Airport Marriott's AMP 150, of bringing in true food professionals and offering creative and locally sourced menus at value price points. A second Sanctuary project is on tap for the West Side of Cleveland in 2015, as the former Holiday Inn Westlake is also transformed into a Doubletree. Bob and I were recently invited to a complimentary soft open-preview of the menu. My opinions, as always, are my own. And my conclusion was - this menu is fun!

Hanky Pankies

Chorizo, Tillamook Cheddar, Fig Jam, Crostini, was served as a passed hors d'oeuvres together with the restaurant's "signature cocktail," the Beehive, composed of Old Forester Bourbon, St. Germain, lemon, ginger-honey and soda. Since I'm not a big bourbon fan, I decided to try the Sparkling Pear on my own dime. This libation mixed Absolut Pear, Honey Syrup, Amaretto and Lemon Juice, and I liked it much better than the bourbon. These crafted cocktails generally range from $9-11 each.

The Hanky Panky packed a substantial flavor and texture punch for a little crostini.

Bread Service

Warm and fluffy.

"Sanctuary Pesto" and Whipped Butter

No one told us what the signature aspect of the pesto was, but it was fresh and pleasantly garlicky without being overwhelmingly so. The butter spread easily on the soft bread.

Blue Crab Hushpuppies

One of Chef Hodgson's signatures is the fried . . . anything. Here, this skill produces a succulent crispy ball of crabby goodness, with just enough breading to hold it together, and a refreshing "Old Bay'onnaise" topping to round it out (you may also find the bits of cucumber refreshing, I however preferred them on the plate).

French Wedge

This plate featured Tomato, Hard Egg, Pickled Red Onion, Bacon, Blue Cheese Crumbles, White French Dressing. I loved the choice of a very approachable bleu cheese that wasn't too strong, and the White French Dressing, which was also muted enough to allow the great flavors of the pickled onion and bacon to shine through, making the whole dish much more than the sum of its parts.

Seared U-10 Sea Scallops

Everyone at the table marveled at the perfectly cooked Risotto underneath the scallops and I agreed that it was delicious. Fried Golden Beets, Caramelized Apples, Butternut Squash, Fried Sage, and Apple Gastrique also accompanied the scallops, which were expertly seared while tender in the middle. A dish I would happily eat again and again.

Certified Angus Beef Hanger Steak With Frites

Served rare, our table of food forward diners thought highly of the steak preparation. We also loved the garlicky Salsa Verde atop the meat. The shoestring frites were crispy and not too assertively seasoned, and were accompanied by a thick Malt Vinegar Aioli.

Chocolate Mousse

The dessert was the only course that didn't hit a home run, though it was by no means a strikeout. The salted caramel was understated, though the whipped cream happily tasted of a fresh beating. The packaged pretzel rod seemed a bit stale and didn't really contribute the salty kick the kitchen was probably shooting for. The mousse itself, however, delivered on its airy chocolaty promise, so no harm done.

Sanctuary serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and each menu has a combination of hotel menu standards and Chef Hodgson's more creative and locally sourced items, all at very fair price points that should make Sanctuary a destination for outside diners in addition to hotel guests. The facility also touts a wine bar, and several flexible types of seating areas. We had fun playing with our tastes of Sanctuary and look forward to trying more. 

Fun Playing With A Gem in the Raw: Tim Bando's Grove Hill

July 2014 has been a roller coaster. It started with an amazing meal at Jonathon Sawyer's Trentina (blog post on that to come shortly), then a week plus in Boston enjoying fresh fish, seafood, and great friends. My fiftieth birthday was approaching at the end of the week, and I had been planning culinary adventures to celebrate it for months. Then, it happened -- the crud descended the night before and crushed all the plans. I spent my big day going from doctor, to lab/xray, to pharmacy, to the couch, to sleep.

After a week of misery, the fog began to lift, so we took a chance on getting a seat at Tim Bando's one-and-one-half week old Grove Hill in Chagrin Falls (the website isn't really up yet; you'll get better info on their Facebook page). I didn't want to make a reservation, in case the cough wouldn't permit me to go out at the last minute, so we hoped 6pm would be early enough to get a table. We missed it by that much (the diner ahead of us got the last one). The cheerful hostess suggested the bar, but at first that didn't appeal - were there tables at the bar area, I asked? She said no, but as we headed out, we saw a communal "sidebar" that can hold up to 7 people next to the bar, looking out the front window, with comfy leather stools. And only two of the seven seats were occupied. Sold. I hope they come up with a better name or description for that table, since it's the bar area, but not the same as sitting at the bar; in fact, it was quite lovely, except for the aggressively perfumed plants on the window sill.

Service was mostly expert, though the bread service was delivered by a runner who didn't tell us what the components were. Despite a couple of flaws, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and it was a worthy consolation prize for the recently cancelled festivities.

Bread Service: Whipped Soft Butter, Garlic, House-made Hummus

The bread was assertively crusty with a melt-in-your mouth middle. I don't know what the garlic cloves were intended to be. They didn't seem soft roasted and weren't spreadable, but they didn't taste pickled either. Cut up, they went nicely with the soft whipped butter. The bean dip tasted very fresh with an herbaceous pop, but was a bit too salty. 

Roasted Corn

Bob's roasted corn was topped with Calabrian Chili Aioli, Pecorino, and Basil. Not local corn yet, but close enough to be enjoyed, accompanied by a great balance of sweet and slightly spicy flavors, with mouth hugging creaminess from the aioli bringing it all together.

Grove Hill Chicken Soup

This chickeny elixir is thick with orzo, chicken meat, carrots, celery, onion and chili oil, and topped with parsley. Though it needed a big pinch of salt, this creative approach to Grandma's chicken soup made this sick girl feel like she'd had the most comforting bowl of poultry penicillin ever. Be forewarned that the chili oil heat is pronounced, so if it is not your favorite flavor, steer clear. 

Texas Cut Sirloin
Summer Bean Salad, Herb Butter, Fries

Bob's steak was cooked to a perfect medium-rare and crusted nicely, though it was also a bit under salted. The bean salad offered an unexpected but welcome pork-infused flavor punch, and the crispy fries rounded out the plate nicely.

Seared Scallops
Polenta Croutons, Truffled Corn, Chives

This dish would have been magnificent if the Polenta Croutons hadn't been cold. The scallops, my first seafood since enjoying local/super fresh products in Boston, were a very good quality product, well seasoned and perfectly seared. The warm corn salad complimented the seafood with both texture and acid enhancing the natural pairing of corn and shellfish. The Polenta Croutons were a great idea and had nice flavors, but they needed to be served hot and crispy to really impress. 

Desserts are made in house and sounded delicious, but the portions were so generous that we hadn't even cleaned our dinner plates. Guess that means we'll have to get back to Grove Hill for another meal!

We had fun playing with our dinner off the bar at Grove Hill. The deft hands in the kitchen and in service are cranking out both creative and more familiar comfort food, at very reasonable price points, and it all bursts with flavors, colors and textures that left me hungry for more. The restaurant also offers a full raw bar; I haven't seen that menu posted anyplace on line, but the regular menu is on the Facebook page. I expect the few flaws in seasoning and temperature will work themselves out as everything settles in, but I really hope that they re-think those stinky flowers by the window seats (I love roses too, but not right by my dinner plate or wine glass). I'm excited to try additional offerings from the regular and raw bar menus and playing with food at Grove Hill after hitting the farmers' markets later in the summer; they are supposed to start serving Saturday and Sunday brunch sometime in August.

Grove Hill
25 Pleasant Street
Chagrin Falls, OH 44022
(440) 247-4800
Closed Monday

Fun Playing With Food in Chicago, Last Part

Our time in Chicago was marked by a roller coaster of weather. Ice storm Sunday, followed by seasonally cold Monday, nearly record-breaking warm and soggy Tuesday, falling towards seasonal and wet on Wednesday, then going into the deep freeze as we waited for the bus Wednesday evening after a delicious dinner at Little Goat Diner. We woke early on Thursday to a polar zone, complete with a biting wind that took the breath away. But we were going to make the best of our remaining time here, beginning with a repeat visit to Lou Mitchell's Restaurant, which we'd had to rush through on our last visit. The cold weather deterred me from taking any outside photos (you can see this exterior of this classic place on their website), but once we were inside, it was like coming home. There is something about this place that channels The Catskill Mountains for me, though the olfactory triggers were less pronounced this time (probably owing to the winter season). 

Complimentary fresh-baked donut holes always grace the entryway

Tell me that this glass of iced tea doesn't make you feel like you're at The Nevele or Kutsher's. The size and shape of the glass, the overly generous slice of lemon and the taste of freshly brewed tea just take me right back.

Complimentary Orange and Dried Plum (Prune)

Our last visit was at lunchtime; I assume that this nosh is standard fare at the breakfast hour. Another nice hospitality touch.

I asked our server about the contents of this bottle (and it's siblings scattered throughout the tables) - she said she'd been instructed to say it was all real maple syrup, but admitted than some customers had questioned this. Sadly, the customer is usually right, and it turned out that there was quite a bit of sugar water in this bottle. A shame, because Lou Mitchell's not only prides itself on making almost everything served from scratch, but we noticed on this visit that the menu touted a number of "local" and "organic" items, as well as the real butter served with pancakes, waffles etc. I'd have gladly paid a reasonable upcharge for pure maple syrup to accompany that real butter.

Pecan Bun

Bob was still pretty stuffed from his All American Burger, Smoked Fries and Mac N Cheese from dinner the night before, and so ordered only coffee (which he pronounced very good) and this bun. We could see trays and trays of freshly made-in-house bakery, so I wondered why they toasted it. Still, it was very tasty.

Belgian Malted Bacon Pecan Waffle

Real syrup or no - this was a mighty fine waffle. Bacon and pecans just go together so well, especially with maple flavors. More comfort food to comfort the discomforted.

The Silversmith not only honored our request for a late checkout, they didn't put a time limit on it. Though I can't guarantee you that kind of accommodation "in season," they really do seem to be a very customer-friendly hotel. So, we waited to shower and pack until after breakfast. We debated whether we had enough appetite to share another meal downtown, or whether we should wait and try to find palatable eats at Midway Airport. After some internet research suggested we'd be disappointed with anything we tried to eat at the airport, one last meal downtown seemed in order. But where? The weather was even more bitterly (single digit) cold than it had been earlier in the day, with a nasty wind that would make mass transit impractical. And there were time constraints.

We wound up at the restaurant of Iron Chef Jose Garces, a short cab ride down the street: Mercat a la Planxa. Our EGullet group was supposed to dine here that fateful Sunday in 2008 (later switched to Burt's Pizza). The restaurant offers The Catalan Express for lunch - two courses plus soft drink for $18. As that name implies, the cuisine is Spanish, and particularly focused on Catalonia. The bar is at street level, and the restaurant up either a flight of stairs or  a short elevator ride. It is most beautiful, with an open kitchen, and tantalizing smells enticed us to our table.

Alas, Mercat was the only meal of our trip (other than the water/sugar-maybe some real syrup described above) to not deliver an exquisite experience. Not that it was bad; it just didn't wow as the other places did, with either food or service. The soup course wound up the star of the meal.

ARROZ A LA CAZUELA WITH SHRIMP, CHICKEN, CHORIZO SOUP WITH ARTICHOKE CONFIT & PIQUILLO AIOLI

Neither bowl of soup was piping hot. Bob's soup tasted good to me, but he confirmed that the shrimp had a lingering flavor of sodium tripolyphosphate.

SOPA DE FORTMAGE Y CERVEZA IDIAZABAL AND ESTRELLA DAMM SOUP WITH TRUFFLE AND POTATO

You can see how a skin formed at the top of my cheese soup, from sitting under the heat lamp. Why this happened is a mystery, since it was after 2pm, and there weren't more than 6 tables occupied in the place. Still, the flavors of this soup, which included luscious cheese, speck, potato and truffle, were winners.

THE MERCAT BURGER 8 OZ BLACK ANGUS BURGER WITH LA PERAL, PADRÓN PEPPERS & RED WINE ONION JAM

I don't know what possessed Bob to order a burger after the magnificent patty he'd enjoyed last night. But burger he did. The burger was good, though nothing extraordinary, and the house made chips were cold and a bit salty.

VIEIRES I ALBERGÍNIA DIVER SCALLOPS A LA PLANXA, ROASTED EGGPLANT PUREE, ARTICHOKE SALAD

My entree was the only outright disappointing dish of the trip. I judge all scallops against those prepared by Cleveland's Brandt Evans, and these simply didn't cut it. A day or two older than they wanted to be and a little cold, the scallops sat atop an artichoke relish that I found inedibly sour. The off-green roasted eggplant puree added nothing to the visual appeal of the dish, though it tasted ok. However, between the waffle breakfast and the cheesy soup course at Mercat, I did not feel unsatisfied as we hailed a cab back to the hotel for our final departure.

The weather cooperated enough that we were only a bit late returning to Cleveland, but we weren't hungry enough to eat - a compliment to the many chefs whose food we'd played with in Chicago over the past week.

As much as I enjoyed Chicago's food scene, I can't help but appreciate a moment we had at Girl and The Goat. While perusing the menu, we noted how we were still a little sated from lunch at The Gage, and our server exclaimed, "but you have to have room for pig's face!" Smilingly, we ordered the goat belly instead, explaining that we can get pig face in Cleveland (at The Greenhouse Tavern). So, win lose or draw - it is a wonderful life, isn't it? Filled with fun playing with food, this time in Chicago.

Fun Playing with Palate Pleasing Food

We've known Cleveland-area Chef Jeffrey Jarrett for almost five years and we are excited that Chef Jeff  has finally opened his own restaurant - Palate, in Strongsville.  After sous cheffing for Matthew Mathlage (The Leopard, Aurora Ohio and Light Bistro, Ohio City) and Dante Bocuse (Dante, Tremont), he most recently ran the kitchens at Lockkeepers in Valley View and  North End in Hudson. Even more important, he and his wife Tammy have five children - three by the normal methods (apologies to Harry Chapin) and two adopted from orphanages in China. Both of the adoptees are special needs children. Jasmine is vision impaired, and sweet Jewel completely blind. Jeff and Tammy (and their  three boys) are themselves very special for taking these two children into their hearts and home - it tells you something about the people behind the food at this particular restaurant. So, be aware before I even start my discussion of Palate, that I am biased in favor of Jeff.

Bob and I were excited to be invited to the Palate "Friends and Family" preview evening on Monday, December 27. My food blogging friend Tom had already made a reservation for us to dine at Palate on its "official" opening night that followed, so what follows is drawn from two nights' experience at Palate. (You can read Tom's description of our Palate dinner at Exploring Food My Way).

The tables are covered in white linen, and the front of the house does a fine job living up to those white tablecloths. Service is attentive and knowledgeable. Fresh cracked pepper was offered with each course as appropriate to the dishes ordered. The table was de-crumbed and silverware replaced as needed throughout dinner. Glasses were re-filled promptly. The dining experience is simply a delight.

Palate's menu presently contains six items each in the "small plates" and "greens/soups" categories, and 10 entree options. This presents the diner with choice, but not so much choice as to be overwhelmed. Even so, after two visits, we still haven't tasted everything that looked appealing on the menu.

Bread is made in house by Sous Chef Lauren Stephenson, and served with luxuriously soft butter.

citrus-cured hamachi, beets, horseradish cream, pickled red onion, lemon basil vinaigrette

The photo above is from our second dinner and represents two portions ($5 per portion).  I loved this dish both times I ate it - pristine fish and tender beets contrast with the pickled onions and horseradish creme. I loved every component on this plate, though I wanted more horseradish intensity in the creme. But then, we grow horseradish in our backyard.

buttermilk fried chicken livers, cheesy polenta, spiced honey, grilled scallion salad

The livers were very good - crunchy on the outside and gentle on the inside. I especially liked the creamy polenta, which paired marvelously with a bite of the liver and the spiced honey.

crab cake, corn flake, candied hot peppers, apple butter

This plate contains two pieces of the crab cake, which is served by the piece (like the hamachi, $5 per piece). I loved the candied hot peppers, which contrasted nicely with the crab meat.

soup of the moment

Tonight's soup was potato, bacon and cheese. Pure comfort food, well executed. 

fried goat cheese, roasted beets & apples, greens, cranberry honey gastrique

Bob and I shared this the first night, and Tom enjoyed it on Tuesday - it was one of my favorites. Crispy, yet creamy goat cheese patties top a salad that is bigger than it looks. Packed with texture from the beets and apples and intense flavor from the gastrique - I could eat a big plate of this for dinner and be a happy girl!

palate Caesar - romaine, dressing, brioche crouton, roasted garlic/parmesan meringue

Is Strongsville ready for a salad that has real anchovies in it? I hope so, because I adored this salad! I'm not generally a huge anchovy fan, but the combination of flavors and textures on this plate totally worked for me.  Caesar salad is traditionally started by combining raw egg, garlic, salt and anchovy filet and creaming them together - we learned about this at The Leopard, where it was prepared tableside for us (before Jeff's tenure there).  Jeff here skillfully plays with those elements and makes them tasty and approachable. The warm meringue covered the egg component, and had a touch of sweetness that played very nicely off of the subtle fish flavor from the tasted-but-not-seen anchovy. The house-made brioche croutons broke easily and provided nice crunch against the creamy garlic, and just the right amount of absorbency without getting soggy. Did I mention that I adored this salad?

In fact, all of the salads we tasted both nights were fabulous - not a bad note among them. 

mache pit - goat cheese, pistachio, honey, pomegranate, lemon vinaigrette

Order this salad and you'll fully understand why it is served in a clear bowl. It is fun to play with (the name describes how it is put together) and fun to eat! Bob had this Monday, our friend Edsel ordered it on Tuesday - it is a true "mache pit," built from the bottom up.

braised beef short rib, parsnip polenta, garden vegetables, pan sauce

Bob's Tuesday entree was a Jeff Jarrett signature - short rib. Cooked nicely, with a hint of chocolate in the sauce - this plate was so good that Bob even ate his broccoli!

scallops, celery root puree, apple slaw, gremolata, salsa verde

Both of our dining companions ordered this entree and reported their enjoyment. The scallop I tasted was cooked perfectly, and Edsel did let me also steal a swipe of the creamy celery puree. Yum.

The great consistency Bob and I noted in both meals was the veritable perfection in the purees, vegetables and sauces (in almost infinite variation of styles) on the plates. Jeff is truly gifted at creating unique plate elements that work on all levels -  visual, smell, taste, texture and with some, playfulness. Our only complaint was that some plates needed a larger quantity of some of these accouterments, but I expect that this will work itself out as the kitchen becomes more accustomed to plating Jeff's creations. Of course, Jeff also excels at good old fashioned comfort foods - hold the gastrique, candied fruits, vinaigrettes, meringues, confits, and gremolatas, and you get my Tuesday entree:

flat iron steak, mac n’ cheese, braised green beans



The. Best. Mac N Cheese. Ever. Nothing fancy or cutting edge; no pork or seafood. Just a perfect custard-like texture, rich cheesy flavor and crispy topping. 



The green beans were braised with bacon, and tasted so good that I had to share them with my tablemates. I mean, who gets that excited about winter green beans?



The steak was cooked to a perfect medium-rare and had nice crusting accented by cracked black pepper and other seasonings. Oh, and what do you know - there was a small pool of sauce on that plate after all. Shhhh - this was still an amazing plate of completely approachable, familiar, and satisfying food.

Lauren's desserts are a veritable bargain at $5 each:


deconstructed s’more: marshmallow meringue, graham cracker sablé, chocolate ganache

I loved the meringue, and any dish that invites play prior to ingestion works in my book. The warm topping nicely melted the chocolate onto the cookie.


beet parfait: pomegranate molasses, spicy chocolate cookie, chocolate curl

Beet desserts seem to be the fashion in Cleveland this year, and this one does not disappoint. If you like beets at all, you should love this dish. I loved the combination of the beet sorbet with the chocolate curl.


dark chocolate mousse, devils food cake, dried cherries, parmesan tuille

Bob and I shared this dessert the first night and Tom got it the second - and all who tasted it pronounced it "plate licking" good. Though we all agreed that the cheese in the tuille clashed a little with the chocolate - the dessert as a whole tasted so good that a little clash didn't matter. The two types of chocolate paired with cherry combined deliciously.

I need to note that, as is customary, the Friends and Family night meal was comped. The next night, the four of us enjoyed dinner expecting to pay for our meals, but at the end, we were again comped (thank you Jeff!).

As with any restaurant open for less than a week, Palate still has a few kinks to work out. But I am confident that Chef Jeff, General Manager Christopher Von Alt, and their staff will do their utmost to provide a completely enjoyable dining experience should you venture to Strongsville and visit with them. And with price points between $4-8 for small plates and $13-20 for entrees, I am already looking forward to a return!

A few months before opening Palate, Jeff joined with Cleveland chefs Brian Okin and Ellis Cooley (AMP 150) to start Dinner in the Dark. Each month, a group of chefs prepare a multi-course wine dinner for an audience willing to dine without advance notice of who is cooking or what is being cooked. All proceeds from each dinner are donated to a different charity. The next event is January 17, at Palate, and will benefit the Cleveland Sight Center. Please call Palate at (440) 238-8500 to make your 6:30pm reservation ($65). We'll be there, and we hope that you will be too!