Monday Morsel: Cowell and Hubbard in Cleveland

And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-e-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always love you.......
I had to do it. It's been in my head for the past two days.

Welcome to a new blog post series, Monday Morsel, a snapshot post on a new or newly discovered restaurant. Let's get Monday Morsel properly christened with coverage on one of Cleveland's most anticipated new openings: Cowell and Hubbard.

Cowell & Hubbard A Zack Bruell restaurant

Zack Bruell's new restaurant opened to the public in February 3, 2012, ahead of schedule, much to the delight of throngs of hungry Downtown foodies. Cowell and Hubbard is Bruell's fifth restaurant in Cleveland: Parallax in Tremont, Table 45 at the Intercontinental Hotel on Cleveland Clinic campus, L'Albatros in University Circle, Chinato in the Eth 4th/Gateway District in Downtown Cleveland and now Cowell and Hubbard in Playhouse Square District in Downtown Cleveland.


Venue and Atmosphere: Respecting History

Cowell and Hubbard was a destination jewelry store, founded in 1861 and thrived throughout the early 1900s.  Cowell and Hubbard's website expands on the history.   Click the photos to see an archived photo slideshow that shines historical light on this landmark building.

Although I didn't scope out the entire space, the mood and atmosphere pays tribute both the past and today's Downtown and Playhouse Square. Lush red velvet booth coverings remind you of the theater curtains and etched window glass reflects the name onto the walls in a unique, almost ghostly manner.


Service: More water or bread?
Bruell must have a military training program for his service staff. At every location, his team is incredible and Cowell and Hubbard is no departure.  For an opening night experience, I expected some hiccups. Our server, Tina, though at times had to leave the table to get an answer for our in-depth foodie questions, was well-educated on the menu and had a few personal recommendations. The wait staff kept our water filled and bread plates heaped with carb heaven.

Food: Solid Execution 
Our table of six each got a first course and a main course, sharing bites and laughs.  The menu IS HUGE. I highly recommend perusing the menu online prior to dining. There were a few items that I'm certain will be tweaked based on guest feedback. A friend ordered the whole roasted chicken and it was a little bloody - quite literally. I was nervous to try the shared sample of the chicken because it was so pink. The issue was brought to light and the manager offered a re-fire of the item and assured us that according to the chef, the chicken was in fact the proper color from the roasting process.

Here are a few items that stand out on the menu.

First Course

• Butternut Squash Ravioli with greens, jalapeño and prosciutto 
• It's one enormous ravioli, large enough to share if you're feeling nice. Sweet, savory with a little kick at the end from the jalapenos
• Welsh Rarebit 
• Welsh rarebit is nostalgic for me. I ate it growing up and this evoked all the same memories. I admit I even are a few spoonfuls of the melted cheese on its own. And it was INCREDIBLE. Creamy smooth tangy goodness. I recommend a few additional pieces of brioche.

Main Course

• Thyme Dumplings with broccoli rabe, garlic and pepperoncini
• "Dumplings" don't do the item justice. The pasta was more like gnudi that just dissolved in my mouth. Each piece was pan-fried which added an interesting texture. 
• Lamb Breast with yogurt, mint, preserved lemon, pine nuts, Moroccan spices
• The flavors are intense and mellow at once. Highly-recommend. 

The addition of Cowell and Hubbard to the Playhouse Square district and Downtown restaurant scene delivers everything a foodie expected from Bruell. Make this place a priority. 

Columbus Eats! Columbus Restaurants: A Foodie Crowd-Sourced List

So the BF lives in Columbus. Although it I'm sad to not see his smiling face daily, it presents an opportunity to explore the food scene in our Capital city.


About a month ago, I tweeted for recommendations for good resties in Columbus, Ohio.


HOLY. SHEET.


People responded with so many reco's that I had to create a Tumblr list.

So now, I'm eating my way through Ohio's Capital City on a bi-monthly basis. 

My original list of restaurants was comprised of eleven Columbus restaurants; now, with recommendations of friends and fellow foodies like you, the list has grown to twenty-five restaurants! Tumblr isn't the greatest platform to update a list, so I'm transitioning to the list over to the blog and have named it ... the Columbus Restaurants: Foodie Crowd-Sourced List!  Yeah.... I'm in marketing.  

The first five I've visitsed are included below. Moving forward, I'll post Saturday C-Bus Crowd-Sourced Saturday review.

Columbus Restaurants: Foodie Crowd-Sourced List is comprised of five pieces of info. 

First: the restaurant name.

Second: the number of tweets I received recommending the restaurant. To have made the list, it had to be tweeted at least once. 

Third: the type of restaurant (Should you head there for lunch? Date night? Tuck in for a cocktail?) 

Fourth: when you see "DONE!" this means...um...I've tried the restaurant! A review follows. 

Fifth: a review focused on two elements - food (duh) and atmosphere. 

Columbus Restaurants: The Foodie Crowd-Sourced List 

1. 1.      Northstar (4 tweets) BRUNCH – DONE!
   Food: Sweet potato and turkey hash with poached egg. SO SO good. A little salty which I loved. 
   
   

   Atmosphere: Sit upstairs at the Eton location - incredible people watching. Rocking indie music playlist pumps through the entire place. Sang along to more than one song while eating. I’ll be back to this spot.

   
   

   

   
   

   
   
   2.      North Market (2 tweets) MARKET SHOPPING / BREAKFAST / LUNCH - DONE! 
   Food: Over 30 vendors, with everything from prepared Polish food to pre-packaged spices. Breads, waffles and tea selections were my favorite stands. Mostly prepared / ready-to-eat foods. If you’re looking to make a meal from scratch, don’t go here. 
   Atmosphere: Saturday afternoon = packed with people, all friendly, twenty and thirty-somethings. Clean.
   

   

   
   
   
   
   3.      Starliner Diner BRUNCH - DONE!
   Food: Cajun-style cuisine kicked down a notch. I tried a breakfast taco special and it was tasty but nothing I’d write home about. There was a “Mexican” French toast that I saw come out to another table which made me instantly regret my taco choice.
   Atmosphere: We had a 20 minute wait at 11am on Sunday – prime-brunch-time. Service was quick and efficient and the place prides itself on collections star-shaped clocks all over the walls. Space is tight so I did get to stare at lots of others’ food. Its fun, eclectic and a hipster diner.  
   

   

   Photo courtesy of Columbus Crave Magazine

   
   
   
   
   4.      Haiku DINNER – DONE!
   Food: Salt and Pepper calamari - tempura style with grilled hot Japanese peppers. Unique, tasty. Pad Thai for a main – typically I’m much more adventuresome but I asked for a dish they’re know for and this is what was recommended. Strawberry-infused saki was my rescue to a burning mouth after I realized they weren’t kidding with the hot peppers on the side of the Pad Thai. 
   Atmosphere: On a Friday night, this was a place to be seen if you’re a hipster. We had a 20 minute wait, which gave us time to grab a drink at the bar. I’d visit this place again for sushi.
   
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   5.      Betty (4 tweets) BRUNCH  - DONE!
   Food: I tried Smoky Gravy Sausage & Biscuits ($9) from the brunch menu and it was a damn good choice. Homemade thick, flaky biscuits with a gravy made with chipotle cream, cheese sauce, & salsa with eggs and sausage patties. We walked about 10 blocks in single digits temps after this meal so it kept my arteries from clogging. Basil Bloody Mary = win. Atmosphere: This place was JAMMED at 1pm on Saturday. Its a bar atmosphere, very attentive service and relaxed vibe. We hung out for a solid two hours with no rush.
   

   

   Photo courtesy of Tasting Table

     
   6.      Sage American DINNER
   7.      Lemongrass (3 tweets) DINNER
   8.      M (2 tweets) “DATE NIGHT” DINNER
   9.      Level TAPAS / COCKTAILS
   10.    Dirty Frank’s LUNCH / DINNER
   11.    Surly Girl (2 tweets) BRUNCH / LATE NITE
   12.    Hounddog LUNCH / LATE NITE
   13.    Skillet (3 tweets) BRUNCH
   14.    Z Cucina (2 tweets) DINNER
   15.    Trattoria DINNER
   16.    Aab LUNCH/DINNER
   17.    Latitude 41 (2 tweets) BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER
   18.    Thurman Café (2 tweets) LUNCH
   19.    Basi Italia DINNER
   20.    Third and Hollywood BRUNCH
   21.    Bar Celona TAPAS / DINNER
   22.    Katzinger’s Deli LUNCH
   23.    Rigsby’s Kitchen DINNER 
   24.    Commonwealth Sandwich Shop LUNCH
   25.    fRESHSTREET Takoyaki LUNCH
   
   

New Orleans, Halloween and Voodoo (the Music Festival)

Halloween weekend in New Orleans? Sure, you only live once, right?

A group of twelve of us, from all of the country, flew to New Orleans for the Voodoo Music Festival, a three-day long music concert with over 5o artists, held at City Park in New Orleans.   I could go on...and....on...and...on about the incredible time I had in New Orleans over Halloween Weekend.  But I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Waiting for The Raconteurs. 

The food.

Cochon de Lait or "Pig in Milk" from Cafe Amelia, which was a fab restaurant housed in the Princess of Morocco's house. Click the pics for the Flickr set. 

Epic meal from Cochon in the Warehouse District of NOLA. They know how to use pig. 

Beignets and Coffee @ Cafe Du Monde, a NOLA institution, EST in  1862.

The culture.

Yes. They really do play music in the middle of the street in the French Quarter.

The history

Built in the 1700s. Imagine the stories this building could tell.

Katrina memorial. The far left blue pole represents the highest level of water from the flood in the lower ninth ward. 

The music
Voodoo Music Festival October 28 - 30, 2011

Crowd for Snoop Dogg performance. We were right next to that big tower in the middle of the sea of people. 

My vantage point in the crowd above for Snoop Dogg. 

The friends.

Our attempt at spelling "VOODOO" with bodies. Not too shabby. 

We had so many laughs.
We ate. We drank. We shared stories.  We made stories.
Maybe....the best word to summarize the experience is friendship. We didn't have to talk about it. It just was.
We all got it. Maybe it was the Voodoo?

I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.  Here's photo journey on Flickr. 

See you in 2012, NOLA.  

Bang for the Buck: Goose Island Smackdown at AMP 150

Sitting on my couch after a 12 hour work day (yay, job) eating *er* drinking my dinner and catching up on my DVR shows, namely The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network.  For those not familiar with the show, the program format is simple: Food Network chefs talk in a one-on-one interview style about...wait for it....the best thing they'd ever eaten.

This episode, paired with a Great Lakes Holy Moses, centered around the best "Bang For The Buck" the celeb chefs ever ate. I found a bit of irony in the idea of celeb chefs discussing value at restaurants - chefs who have NYC apartments rent that is more than my annual salary. But it also got me thinking about one of favorite local restaurants who fits the "bang for your buck" bill: Cleveland's AMP 150 restaurant located inside the Marriott hotel. 


Seriously, they understand "bang for your buck" better than most. They describe themselves as a rock and roll restaurant (get the name? *AMP* 150) featuring "modern American cuisine, built upon foundations of flavor, freshness, and innovation....serving tasty selections all priced under $20."


AMP 150 is a standard in my restaurant repertoire in Cleveland. The team meets my three food commandments every time 1.) exception service 2.) absurdly hilarious banter with customers and 3.) fantastic food (some items are sourced from a small garden in behind the hotel!) Chef Jeff Jarrett, who recently took over as Executive Chef when former EC Ellis Cooley headed back to Florida, is a seasoned pro with notches in his belt from DANTE, Lockkeepers and North Side in Hudson. 


If you haven't been to AMP 150 in Cleveland, consider this the best "Bang For Your Buck" special event in town.


It's a Beer and Wine Smackdown with Goose Island! (See, I told you the have a great sense of humor.)


Goose Islands Vintage Ale line and select wines will be paired with 7 courses of food on Sunday, August 28. For my craft beer aficionados, the Vintage Ale line is stilled brewed in Chicago.  

The Smackdown is August 28th at 6:00 P.M.

Ready for the "bang for your buck" part?  The cost is $50.00. Yes. Fifty bucks for a seven course dinner including beer / wine pairings with each course. 
Only way to get a seat is RSVP'ing via email here.  


Honesty moment #1
I am a fan of beer. By "fan", I mean, I don't home-brew (I rent my home, folks) nor do I possess the ability to describe a beer's "drinkability" (that's a pseudo verb which I find hilarious).  
I have a respectable list of breweries on my top five favorite beers*:
1.) Bells Brewery Two Hearted IPA
2.) Great Lakes Brewing Burning River
3.) Victory Brewing Hop Devil
4.) Left Handed Twin Sister
5.) La Fin Du Monde
*I really like IPAs. 


Honestly Moment #2
I'm intrigued by Goose Island as they begin to expand operations post-acquisition by Anheuser-Busch. Goose Island began as a brew pub on Chicago’s North side in 1988. Goose Island's most popular product, 312, is available in nearly every gastropub in the Midwest. Now it’s one of the fastest-growing small breweries in the U.S. since being acquired by Anheuser-Busch in March 2011. The brewery has gotten some bad PR recently, as they shift brewing operations for a few beers to outside Chicagoland. 


Maybe it's because I just returned from a trip to Chicago last week that I'm feeling some love for their hometown brewery gone commercial.

Maybe it's because Obama is a fan of Goose Island. 

The Goose Island Beer and Wine Smackdown is August 28th at 6:00 P.M.and is the first of their new series of events happening last Sunday of the month.

Goose Islands Vintage Ale line and select wines will be paired with 7 courses. The cost is $50.00 and includes all 7 courses of food and alcohol. 

AMP 150 has provided me with two complementary seats to the Goose Island Beer and Wine Smack Down. I'd totally offer you the other ticket but this event is going to be pretty popular and I don't want to see any smackdowns before the event.  I suggest you snag a seat yourself by emailing Nate here.

There are only 20 seats.  Bang bang. 

I want to go to there. ("There" being California, of course.)

I've always said growing up in Cleveland makes you a bit more scrappy than the average American - resilient, if you will.  Personally, I can attest 65% of my scrappiness stems directly from surviving a multitude of Cleveland winters. That alongside my Catholic school education.

Forbes Magazine ranked Cleveland as Worst Winter in America, amongst the other dubious "worst city" titles that 'rag has bestowed upon us in their "rankings." This worst winter title, however, is one I may agree with Forbes.


Yes, Cleveland winter is rough.

"Cleveland snow" by smalltower
Great stuff. Here's his Etsy shop.

Thermal-clothes piercing wind, lake effect snow and a general lack of sunshine forces us to seek refuge and comfort in the simple things in life.  In the end, it makes us all a little tougher and wiser.  Genuinely, who has cat litter, a shovel, emergency blankets and power bars in their trunk as a standard by age 24?  Any Clevelander will have the aforementioned,  plus new tunes to jam out during the 3-hour "I'm going to leave early to beat the traffic" pre-storm traffic jam. (Or those like me, who have all of the above in their vehicle and still scrape ice off the car in 6" stilettos.)

Even the grittiest Clevelander and Midwesterner gets to that point by late February...near-desperation with a pang of terror each time you hear a snow truck drop its plow. When the forecast mentions another snowstorm after three months of frigid fights with Mother Nature, you cling to sanity and briefly consider how quickly you could cash in your car / house / 401K / children for a one-way ticket to Turks and Caicos.





Yes, Jim, we all agree.


Thus, I've begun an annual "I want to go to there" trip in late February and early March. Destination:  Anywhere with temperatures at or above 60 degrees, plus an above average chance for sunshine.  I highly recommend you consider a "I want to go to there" trip if you live in a state in which the weather constitutes little to no sunshine for over 90 consecutive days.  Consider it a mental health necessity.

If your budget won't allow travel, consider an overnight stay to Kalahari (America's largest indoor water park) or a spa trip that specializes in sun lamps and a heated pool. Shoot, if you have to, Jersey Shore-it one day: hit a tanning bed for 10 minutes just to get some UV rays. (I do not condone tanning beds or Jersey Shore.)

This years' "I want to go to there" trip brought me to California.  Despite a blizzard and cancelled flight out of Cleveland, along with snow in San Francisco (first time in 37 years, hurrah!) I made it to the West Coast and back. Visit with friends, laughs, lots of food and - God Bless the USA - sunshine.

Without further ado, I present the "I want to go to there" photo journey.
Turn off the lights, view in full-screen (click "show info" at the top right for locations, albeit my goofy commentary) and here's to some sunshine reaching out to you.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beautyfoodie/sets/72157626085148537/show/

Film Feast Series is a Foodie's Dream

It's a combination of my favorite things:  Cleveland International Film Festival + astounding photography of food + a few of Cleveland's most buzzed about chefs. 

This mecca of pro-Cleveland goodness is an installment of Film Feasts, a genius interactive series from Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF is March 24 - April 3 this year.) Film Feasts is a five-part series combining food, film and art in unique locations.   

The installment I'm giddy for is Food For Thought happening on February 3rd at Taxel Image Studios in downtown Cleveland. Food For Thought will feature a few of Cleveland's media darlings in the culinary industry with Taxel Image Studios serving as a picture-perfect setting. (OK, that last bit was little corny but I had to.)

Co-hosts Barry and Laura Taxel will open their studio doors next Thursday to a group of 75 Food For Thought guests.

Barry Taxel, of Taxel Image Photography, is a renown photographer who's snapped images of cuisine that have made you lust aloud.  See for yourself. 
Laura Taxel is food writer for pubs like Cleveland Magazine, The Plain Dealer and author of Cleveland Ethnic Eats.  Laura just wrote about the event over at  Cleveland Magazine's blog, which has me even more excited.  (Props in the  photo studio?!?  Oh, the fun to be had.)


A few of Cleveland's most buzzed-about chefs will share their Food For Thought and prepare bites to share:

• Chris Hodgson of Dim and Den Sum, Cleveland first food truck (soon-to-be fleet of food trucks) and a brick-and-mortar restaurant on W. 25th, opening Spring 2011.
• Ellis Cooley of Amp 150, a locally acclaimed restaurant.  The chef was recently named Rising Star by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine in December 2010.
• Michael Hershman formerly of Menu6 and currently rumored to be opening secret restaurant venture.   
• Kimberley McCune of Vine & Dine Personal Catering. I drooled over the Guinness Stew Kimberley recently prepared on Good Company, the morning show on Cleveland's NBC affiliate, WYKC.

Excited now?  Yeah, I'm excited too.
Food For Thought has only a few seats left for the February 3rd event.

Tickets are available at www.clevelandfilm.org under "Support Us" or just click the link below.
http://www.clevelandfilm.org/support-us/film-feasts

I was provided complementary seats to Food For Though installment. See you there!

Cleveland Indians Partner with Food Network

The Cleveland Indians have been blazing trails this season...
With the exception of playing baseball (sorry guys).

First Tribe Social Deck (which I had the pleasure of enjoying last night)

photo courtesy of Patrick Shepherd


(Lots of cool CLE tweeps including @GfromCLE, @PatrickShepherd, @thegoldfather, @keithmoehring, @jhirz, @tribetalk)




Now, a brand marketing partnership that makes me wanna dance....

Cleveland Indians' Food and Beverage mgmt company, Delaware North Companies SportService, is teaming up with Food Network to launch a new partnership of menu items, with the Progressive Field being the FIRST stadium to launch the menu.

Signature dishes, created by a team of chefs from Food Network's test kitchen in New York City, will be available on menus in Progressive Field's suites.

Progressive Field's Executive Chef James Major, will over the launch in Cleveland and will assist in other SportService chefs in introducing the Food-network branded items at other ballparks in the coming weeks.

Food Network will provide training and marketing support. Delaware North Companies SportService will operate the menu.
The suite menu items will change every few months and eventually will roll out select food items to concession stands.

A few highlights of the May menu include:

- Hogs in a Blanket :: Quarter-pound knockwurst wrapped in pretzel dough, served with bacon-horseradish mustard sauce

(Holy sweet jesus....yes, they tasted as delicious as they look. Pretzel dough is the perfect texture to balance the knockwurst. Bacon-mustard sauce was a spicy addition)

 - Iceberg Wedges with Blue Cheese and Oven Roasted Tomatoes :: Iceberg lettuce with peppery blue cheese dressing, slow-roasted garlic-hern tomatoes, sourdough croutons and thick-cut bacon.

(It's a salad but you might feel a tad guilty eating it. But there's bacon on it so it has negative calories in my book).

- Beef Short Rib Cobbler :: Red wine-braised beef short ribs with spring vegetables in gravy, topped with buttery biscuits


- Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese :: Macaroni and cheese tossed with spicy buffalo chicken, topped with blue cheese breadcrumbs and baked until crispy

(Surprisingly tasty. Well-prepared with moist chicken pieces. It's basically exactly what you would expect - buffalo mac n cheese - but Food Network style)


Read the "OFFICIAL" PR with lots more boilerplate mumbo-jumbo!





What do you think of the partnership between the Indians and Food Network? 
Will you try some of the menu items when you attend a game (in a suite, of course)?

What's the deal with BACON?!?

I don't eat pork.

But I eat bacon.

I know. I know.
"Bacon is pork. Pork is bacon."

It's the same thing.






So, here's my real dilema.  I want to buy LOCAL bacon.

I'm a huge proponant of LOCAL CLEVELAND BUSINESS.
Support local, folks.
Buuuuuuuttt.....if there's NOT local bacon-eers around.

Do you know of any FARMERS / SMOKEHOUSE / BUTCHERS (from anywhere!) I can buy BACON? I just can't buy my BACON from Whole Foods any longer.










Anyone? Anyone?

("Ma'am, there's bacon on your head")