I have a couple of items on today's agenda to tell you about, gentle reader.
First, I was contacted several days ago by Jason Owen, owner and proprietor of the website Hot Sauce Planet. Based out of Indiana, they sell a variety of sauces, from BBQ and hot to many, many more. He wanted to tell me that for the week of June 6th, all readers from Exploring Food My Way can receive a 10% discount on their entire purchase by using the coupon code "10off" during the checkout process. So, if you are in need of some summertime sauces to spice up your cookouts, take this opportunity to save a little cash and stock up.
Second, it is time to begin our next gift card giveaway. Last time I kept the contest open for two weeks and that just felt a little too long. Most of those who left a comment did so within the first couple of days. So this time around I'm going to limit the contest to one week. I am offering a $15 gift card to Musketeers Bar and Grill, located at 3027 Brecksville Road, Richfield, OH 44286. I won the gift card when I attended a Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser for my friend Jen, whom I've known since high school. Musketeers was generous enough to provide the space for this second annual event as well as some complimentary pizza, chicken wings, and salad. Having only had such a narrow spectrum of the items offered on the menu, I can't really speak to the rest of the menu, but hey, with $15 off for very little work, it's worth giving them a try.
The same rules apply as the last time. The contest starts at midnight on June 6th and closes at midnight on June 13th. I will use random.org to pick a winner from the list of applicable comments left on this post. To enter the contest, simply leave me a comment saying that you'd like to win the gift card. You may leave more than one comment if you want to increase your odds of winning, but make sure you leave a non-anonymous post or leave your name in an anonymous post so I will know who actually won. Once I post the name of the winner, he or she will then have one week to contact me and make arrangements to transfer the gift card.
Do make sure you check back to see if you've won. With the AMP150 gift cards, only one of the three initial winners contacted me and after a week, I ended up picking two new winners!
Good luck!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Grandpa, Still Gone And Still Not Forgotten
Today marks the second anniversary of my grandfather's death. It seems a little odd that one year ago when I wrote up a blog entry recalling some of my favorite memories relating to my grandfather, I remember feeling a fire inside of me. It was as if my fingers couldn't type fast enough and in one fell swoop, everything that had been pent up in my brain and simmering for so long just flowed from my fingertips to the keyboard, already edited and ready for publication.
Today's entry has not been as forthcoming. It isn't that there is a lack of stories I could recall. Oh, no, I've got plenty of those. I simply think that I may have moved on in the grieving process and while I do really miss my grandfather, I firmly believe that I've stopped mourning for him. I miss him, sure, but the pain has subsided. Actually, I don't even know if that's the right way to say it, because before my grandfather, I'd never lost someone so close to me. All I know is that a year ago, I had angst. Now? Not so much.
My grandmother and I sit around now and occasionally bring up how much he used to like to both grill outdoors and enjoy his Manhattans, speculating that he may have liked the cocktails a touch more than the cooking. I remember doing post-dinner walks with my grandfather when I was a little boy, exploring the new housing developments that had sprung up near their home on Dohner Drive. My grandfather was in the habit of chewing on scallions to keep the mosquitoes at bay. I don't know what kind of repelling effect it had on the mosquitoes, but I'm sure my grandmother wasn't too fond of it.
I have fond memories of butter basted eggs in the morning; not-so-fond memories of ham salad sandwiches for lunch, perched in front of the large console television set watching Dorothy Fuldheim on the mid-day Channel 5 news; the ever present mid-afternoon Shirley Temple, my glass of lemon-lime soda studded with as many of the maraschino cherries as I could humanly fit (and that my grandparents would allow); and the occasional snack I would enjoy in the evenings, when a favorite past-time of my grandmother's was to play Down And Out, a dice game where you roll and move sliding tiles.
My grandparents' house was where I learned what Peter Pan peanut butter tasted like. Our house had always been a JIF household, and the notion that all peanut butter was NOT created equal was somewhat of a revelation to me at such a young age. To this day, even though when I have a choice I will pick an all natural peanut butter, I can always tell when a restaurant uses Peter Pan. It has a very particular sweet and salty flavor to it.
I think what I will always regret, and I suppose this must be the final stage of grief, is that I won't be able to share those communal experiences, like eating and talking, with my grandfather anymore. I speculated a year ago and I think it is still an appropriate notion that my grandfather would be, if nothing else, fascinated by the idea of what this blog has turned into. He would've even been more fascinated to learn that through such little promotion of my own, I have managed to attract a core of loyal readers.
I don't know that he would've understood the technological components behind writing a blog (my grandmother has a very tenuous grasp on the concept at best), and I don't know that I would've wanted to get into another, "But what the hell is DOT COM?" two-hour discussion with him, but I think the underlying principle that I've somehow shared my experiences with you is an idea he could connect with strongly.
My grandfather and I disagreed on a lot of topics, politics being among the most common. And I will concede that we even had differing opinions on some aspects of food. He was always of the opinion that the potato should come on a plate separate from the meat and a sprig of parsley was all that was required to dress up a nice steak. Personally, I enjoy a plate with a bit of height and pizazz. But the one place where we always came together was on taste. He may not have known much about how to prepare most food, but he knew a good plate of food when it was put in front of him.
Once again I will find myself in the not-so-uncommon position of being at the Velvet Tango Room after work today and I intend to enjoy a Tango Manhattan on his behalf.
Grandpa, I just wanted you to know that I'm trying my best to take care of Grandma with the time she has left here with us and that we are looking forward to that point in the future when you two can be the loving and cantankerous couple once again.
Today's entry has not been as forthcoming. It isn't that there is a lack of stories I could recall. Oh, no, I've got plenty of those. I simply think that I may have moved on in the grieving process and while I do really miss my grandfather, I firmly believe that I've stopped mourning for him. I miss him, sure, but the pain has subsided. Actually, I don't even know if that's the right way to say it, because before my grandfather, I'd never lost someone so close to me. All I know is that a year ago, I had angst. Now? Not so much.
My grandmother and I sit around now and occasionally bring up how much he used to like to both grill outdoors and enjoy his Manhattans, speculating that he may have liked the cocktails a touch more than the cooking. I remember doing post-dinner walks with my grandfather when I was a little boy, exploring the new housing developments that had sprung up near their home on Dohner Drive. My grandfather was in the habit of chewing on scallions to keep the mosquitoes at bay. I don't know what kind of repelling effect it had on the mosquitoes, but I'm sure my grandmother wasn't too fond of it.
I have fond memories of butter basted eggs in the morning; not-so-fond memories of ham salad sandwiches for lunch, perched in front of the large console television set watching Dorothy Fuldheim on the mid-day Channel 5 news; the ever present mid-afternoon Shirley Temple, my glass of lemon-lime soda studded with as many of the maraschino cherries as I could humanly fit (and that my grandparents would allow); and the occasional snack I would enjoy in the evenings, when a favorite past-time of my grandmother's was to play Down And Out, a dice game where you roll and move sliding tiles.
My grandparents' house was where I learned what Peter Pan peanut butter tasted like. Our house had always been a JIF household, and the notion that all peanut butter was NOT created equal was somewhat of a revelation to me at such a young age. To this day, even though when I have a choice I will pick an all natural peanut butter, I can always tell when a restaurant uses Peter Pan. It has a very particular sweet and salty flavor to it.
I think what I will always regret, and I suppose this must be the final stage of grief, is that I won't be able to share those communal experiences, like eating and talking, with my grandfather anymore. I speculated a year ago and I think it is still an appropriate notion that my grandfather would be, if nothing else, fascinated by the idea of what this blog has turned into. He would've even been more fascinated to learn that through such little promotion of my own, I have managed to attract a core of loyal readers.
I don't know that he would've understood the technological components behind writing a blog (my grandmother has a very tenuous grasp on the concept at best), and I don't know that I would've wanted to get into another, "But what the hell is DOT COM?" two-hour discussion with him, but I think the underlying principle that I've somehow shared my experiences with you is an idea he could connect with strongly.
My grandfather and I disagreed on a lot of topics, politics being among the most common. And I will concede that we even had differing opinions on some aspects of food. He was always of the opinion that the potato should come on a plate separate from the meat and a sprig of parsley was all that was required to dress up a nice steak. Personally, I enjoy a plate with a bit of height and pizazz. But the one place where we always came together was on taste. He may not have known much about how to prepare most food, but he knew a good plate of food when it was put in front of him.
Once again I will find myself in the not-so-uncommon position of being at the Velvet Tango Room after work today and I intend to enjoy a Tango Manhattan on his behalf.
Grandpa, I just wanted you to know that I'm trying my best to take care of Grandma with the time she has left here with us and that we are looking forward to that point in the future when you two can be the loving and cantankerous couple once again.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Extra Helpings: Dim And Den Sum
I first became aware of the newest food concept in Cleveland, mobile food, several months ago through social media giants Facebook and Twitter. It seemed that two guys who had cooked together at Fire Food & Drink in Shaker Square had begun nursing a concept that has proven to be popular in other major metropolitan locales. Given that Cleveland has had some long standing rules governing food trucks, they had an uphill battle in making their vision a reality.
I have written about mobile food before, namely my review on the taco truck in Akron. However, as anyone who checked it out will tell me, the taco truck is more a taco cart because it is mobile only after hooking it up to something with an engine. The twist for Dim and Den Sum was that it would truly be a truck that changes location daily and dispenses food right from the back.
As the Food Illuminati got wind of Chefs Chris Hodges and Jeremy Esterly's plan, there was a groundswell of support. Here was exactly the kind of success story that foodies love to talk about with anyone who'll listen. Having finally taken care of all the start-up tasks associated with opening any business, the duo began targeting a few initial locations to begin gauging where they'd have the most impact. Sadly the first couple of opportunities to visit the truck were inopportune times for me, such as 11 PM - 2 AM on a Friday or Saturday night in Cleveland. When I heard that they would be making some lunchtime appearances via their Facebook and Twitter pages, I was thrilled to finally be able to track them down myself.
Last Thursday, my friends Nancy, Edsel and I met up over on the southeast side of Cleveland on Emery Road. Sure enough, as I pulled into the parking lot and down the drive, I spotted the brightly painted truck. After parking and getting closer, I took this photograph:
While the entire menu is available on their website, every day is just a little bit different in terms of menu offerings. I'd imagine that there will always be good sellers, like the PBLT, but as ingredients come and go, items will be added and dropped accordingly. Here was a shot of the menu during my second visit:
Unfortunately, I didn't get a good shot of the menu the first time I ate at the truck.
Having read others' impressions of some of the menu items, I knew that I needed to get one of three things: the Jjang Dawg, PBLT, and Sum Tots. For my first visit, I decided to go for two of the three. I walked up to the front of the truck, where Chef Hodges sister was working taking orders and making change and ordered the dog, tots, and a bottle of water. I paid my $9, dropped the remaining $1 in the tip jar and prepared to wait for my food.
Even though the line wasn't too long at that point, I was impressed at how fast the food came up in the rear of the truck. I took my dog and tots to a nearby picnic table sporting an umbrella to shade us from the mid-eighties sun.
Here was a shot of my Jjang Dawg:
This was a locally produced hot dog with pulled pork, tangy slaw, smashed tots, and topped with a soy BBQ sauce. The first thing I noticed, and this seemed to be fairly true of all the food served at Dim and Den Sum: This was messy food! Tasty, but messy. The hot dog had been grilled nicely and the casing gave it a nice snap. While the tots on top were tasty, they didn't really do a whole lot for me. This was a nice hot dog, but to my taste buds, it lacked a strong impact. The pulled pork was there, but really only in texture. For me, it was missing that great balance of flavors, sweet, salty, spicy, sour. It was a good hot dot, but not a great one.
The Sum Tots, however, were outstanding:
I don't know how they fry these little golden morsels of potato-y goodness, but each tot stayed crisp from the first to the last, even having been covered in a slightly spicy and sweet sauce applied right before serving them to me. I can't speak to the provenance of the tots, but the execution in frying them was simply superb. Having seen them on two different menus now, it was also apparent to me that the chefs were willing to take more liberties with them; the toppings tend to change often.
As we were eating our meal, Chef Hodges stopped by our picnic table to garner some feedback. I made an offhanded comment that I expected the sauce on the Sum Tots to be a little spicier than it was. He then told me that they also have a homemade hot sauce and asked if I wanted to try it. Both myself and my lunching partners all agreed that we would. After he returned with a sauce bottle, he applied a bit to the corner of my cardboard tray. I have to say that this was definitely hotter, reminiscent of a Louisiana cayenne pepper sauce. The sauce definitely added some zip and heat to the tots, which were eagerly gobbled up by the three of us.
Before finishing up our lunch, Nancy offered to let me try one of her Chicken Nachos:
Her portion had been fairly large and between the nachos and her very own order of Sum Tots, she found that she didn't have any more room in her stomach. The flavors of the nacho chip were nicely balanced. I can definitely see myself ordering this for lunch the next time it is on the menu.
Having finished our lunch, we cleaned our spot up and pitched the trash in the canister in front of the truck and returned to our respective places of business, each eager to return and try something else of the menu.
Ironically, I had mentioned during my first visit how much I would like it if the truck was a little closer to where I work. Today's trek basically had me taking a two hour lunch, with an hour of it just in driving time alone. Apparently, someone must have heard and agreed with me because it wasn't a day later that I read on Facebook that on Tuesday, June 1st, the truck would be in the parking lot of the Cleveland Cinemateque on East Boulevard right next to the Cleveland Institute of Art and across from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Knowing that this was literally a five minute drive from where I work, it was a no-brainer to make the decision to return for a second visit.
I parked on East Boulevard closer towards Severance Hall at one of the pay meters. As I got close to the location, I spotted a now familiar sight through the pine trees:
Technically, the Cinemateque was located at 11141 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106, but since food truck isn't associated with CIA or the Cinemateque, the phone number listed on Google won't do you much good.
It was good to see the gang back in action after such a busy weekend in Oberlin and doing publicity on Channel 3 on Monday morning. Apparently, they were completely slammed the entire weekend and a lot of their supplies were used up, like the homemade bread they had been using for the sandwiches. Since I had already had the tots, I decided to go with two sandwich items instead. First up, I ordered the Beef Shank Taco. This was actually what Edsel had the last time we went. Here was a shot of what he ordered from our previous visit:
And a shot of what I ordered today:
Filled with long braised beef shanks, corn-cilantro relish and drizzled with a teriyaki glaze, they were served in a soft flour tortilla. The beef was definitely tender, but unfortunately in my first bite, I received a huge piece of fat. While certainly chewable, it didn't have a particularly good mouth feel. However, once I removed that piece from my mouth, the rest of the taco was tasty. As with the Jjang Dawg, the taco was good, but not great. It lacked the same burst of flavors that I missed when I tried the hot dog. I also think that for $3 per taco, there should be a little more meat; it was just a wee-bit skimpy.
Having finished my taco, I turned to the PBLT:
And here was a shot with the crown of the bun removed:
Think of this as a regular old BLT (Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato) with luscious pulled pork. With the addition of a Sriracha mayonnaise and thick cut bacon, this sandwich was a complete knock-out. I absolutely loved the flavors of this sandwich. The thick cut bacon added a wonderful smoky saltiness and the tomato was perfectly ripe, adding that necessary sweetness to cut some of the other bold flavors. I noticed that the sandwich had been served on a regular hamburger bun instead of the freshly baked rolls that Chef Hodges had been bragging about last Thursday. Apparently the rolls were one of the casualties of the Oberlin weekend. I look forward to trying the sandwich when it is seated on the proper bread. It's hard to believe the sandwich could get better, but I'm certainly willing to try it again (and again).
As with last time, as I was finishing up my PBLT, Chef Hodges came over to me and asked what I thought. At first I thought it seemed odd that this was the second time in two visits that he was soliciting feedback, but as I thought about it, it began to make sense to me. Dim and Den Sum had really only been serving food for about a month now and any new restaurant that has only been open for such a short period of time should always be tweaking and adjusting the menu so that every item really stands out on its own. I gave him the same feedback you are reading here and he seemed genuinely interested to hear it. I hope both he and Chef Esterly continue in this tradition of garnering feedback from customers, whether or not they are food bloggers, because it shows me that they are committed to putting out some seriously tasty food.
I was also pleased to learn that the invitation by the Cleveland Institute of Art to sell their wares every Tuesday from 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM at the Cinemateque was open-ended. I know that I won't be able to make it every Tuesday for lunch, but you can bet I'll be there at least twice a month. I know it's kind of cool to be able to tweet your location every day to your followers, but having some regular stops can only help to establish your name and reputation.
I highly recommend that you search out this novel Cleveland food gem wherever they land for the day. The food was tasty, the concept was pretty nifty, and the chefs running the mobile kitchen obviously care about using quality local ingredients. Sure a few of the offerings need to be tweaked a bit to maximize their flavors, but given how long they've been operating, it doesn't surprise me in the least. Now the hard part is just having to wait until next Tuesday to go back.
I have written about mobile food before, namely my review on the taco truck in Akron. However, as anyone who checked it out will tell me, the taco truck is more a taco cart because it is mobile only after hooking it up to something with an engine. The twist for Dim and Den Sum was that it would truly be a truck that changes location daily and dispenses food right from the back.
As the Food Illuminati got wind of Chefs Chris Hodges and Jeremy Esterly's plan, there was a groundswell of support. Here was exactly the kind of success story that foodies love to talk about with anyone who'll listen. Having finally taken care of all the start-up tasks associated with opening any business, the duo began targeting a few initial locations to begin gauging where they'd have the most impact. Sadly the first couple of opportunities to visit the truck were inopportune times for me, such as 11 PM - 2 AM on a Friday or Saturday night in Cleveland. When I heard that they would be making some lunchtime appearances via their Facebook and Twitter pages, I was thrilled to finally be able to track them down myself.
Last Thursday, my friends Nancy, Edsel and I met up over on the southeast side of Cleveland on Emery Road. Sure enough, as I pulled into the parking lot and down the drive, I spotted the brightly painted truck. After parking and getting closer, I took this photograph:
While the entire menu is available on their website, every day is just a little bit different in terms of menu offerings. I'd imagine that there will always be good sellers, like the PBLT, but as ingredients come and go, items will be added and dropped accordingly. Here was a shot of the menu during my second visit:
Unfortunately, I didn't get a good shot of the menu the first time I ate at the truck.
Having read others' impressions of some of the menu items, I knew that I needed to get one of three things: the Jjang Dawg, PBLT, and Sum Tots. For my first visit, I decided to go for two of the three. I walked up to the front of the truck, where Chef Hodges sister was working taking orders and making change and ordered the dog, tots, and a bottle of water. I paid my $9, dropped the remaining $1 in the tip jar and prepared to wait for my food.
Even though the line wasn't too long at that point, I was impressed at how fast the food came up in the rear of the truck. I took my dog and tots to a nearby picnic table sporting an umbrella to shade us from the mid-eighties sun.
Here was a shot of my Jjang Dawg:
This was a locally produced hot dog with pulled pork, tangy slaw, smashed tots, and topped with a soy BBQ sauce. The first thing I noticed, and this seemed to be fairly true of all the food served at Dim and Den Sum: This was messy food! Tasty, but messy. The hot dog had been grilled nicely and the casing gave it a nice snap. While the tots on top were tasty, they didn't really do a whole lot for me. This was a nice hot dog, but to my taste buds, it lacked a strong impact. The pulled pork was there, but really only in texture. For me, it was missing that great balance of flavors, sweet, salty, spicy, sour. It was a good hot dot, but not a great one.
The Sum Tots, however, were outstanding:
I don't know how they fry these little golden morsels of potato-y goodness, but each tot stayed crisp from the first to the last, even having been covered in a slightly spicy and sweet sauce applied right before serving them to me. I can't speak to the provenance of the tots, but the execution in frying them was simply superb. Having seen them on two different menus now, it was also apparent to me that the chefs were willing to take more liberties with them; the toppings tend to change often.
As we were eating our meal, Chef Hodges stopped by our picnic table to garner some feedback. I made an offhanded comment that I expected the sauce on the Sum Tots to be a little spicier than it was. He then told me that they also have a homemade hot sauce and asked if I wanted to try it. Both myself and my lunching partners all agreed that we would. After he returned with a sauce bottle, he applied a bit to the corner of my cardboard tray. I have to say that this was definitely hotter, reminiscent of a Louisiana cayenne pepper sauce. The sauce definitely added some zip and heat to the tots, which were eagerly gobbled up by the three of us.
Before finishing up our lunch, Nancy offered to let me try one of her Chicken Nachos:
Her portion had been fairly large and between the nachos and her very own order of Sum Tots, she found that she didn't have any more room in her stomach. The flavors of the nacho chip were nicely balanced. I can definitely see myself ordering this for lunch the next time it is on the menu.
Having finished our lunch, we cleaned our spot up and pitched the trash in the canister in front of the truck and returned to our respective places of business, each eager to return and try something else of the menu.
Ironically, I had mentioned during my first visit how much I would like it if the truck was a little closer to where I work. Today's trek basically had me taking a two hour lunch, with an hour of it just in driving time alone. Apparently, someone must have heard and agreed with me because it wasn't a day later that I read on Facebook that on Tuesday, June 1st, the truck would be in the parking lot of the Cleveland Cinemateque on East Boulevard right next to the Cleveland Institute of Art and across from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Knowing that this was literally a five minute drive from where I work, it was a no-brainer to make the decision to return for a second visit.
I parked on East Boulevard closer towards Severance Hall at one of the pay meters. As I got close to the location, I spotted a now familiar sight through the pine trees:
Technically, the Cinemateque was located at 11141 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106, but since food truck isn't associated with CIA or the Cinemateque, the phone number listed on Google won't do you much good.
It was good to see the gang back in action after such a busy weekend in Oberlin and doing publicity on Channel 3 on Monday morning. Apparently, they were completely slammed the entire weekend and a lot of their supplies were used up, like the homemade bread they had been using for the sandwiches. Since I had already had the tots, I decided to go with two sandwich items instead. First up, I ordered the Beef Shank Taco. This was actually what Edsel had the last time we went. Here was a shot of what he ordered from our previous visit:
And a shot of what I ordered today:
Filled with long braised beef shanks, corn-cilantro relish and drizzled with a teriyaki glaze, they were served in a soft flour tortilla. The beef was definitely tender, but unfortunately in my first bite, I received a huge piece of fat. While certainly chewable, it didn't have a particularly good mouth feel. However, once I removed that piece from my mouth, the rest of the taco was tasty. As with the Jjang Dawg, the taco was good, but not great. It lacked the same burst of flavors that I missed when I tried the hot dog. I also think that for $3 per taco, there should be a little more meat; it was just a wee-bit skimpy.
Having finished my taco, I turned to the PBLT:
And here was a shot with the crown of the bun removed:
Think of this as a regular old BLT (Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato) with luscious pulled pork. With the addition of a Sriracha mayonnaise and thick cut bacon, this sandwich was a complete knock-out. I absolutely loved the flavors of this sandwich. The thick cut bacon added a wonderful smoky saltiness and the tomato was perfectly ripe, adding that necessary sweetness to cut some of the other bold flavors. I noticed that the sandwich had been served on a regular hamburger bun instead of the freshly baked rolls that Chef Hodges had been bragging about last Thursday. Apparently the rolls were one of the casualties of the Oberlin weekend. I look forward to trying the sandwich when it is seated on the proper bread. It's hard to believe the sandwich could get better, but I'm certainly willing to try it again (and again).
As with last time, as I was finishing up my PBLT, Chef Hodges came over to me and asked what I thought. At first I thought it seemed odd that this was the second time in two visits that he was soliciting feedback, but as I thought about it, it began to make sense to me. Dim and Den Sum had really only been serving food for about a month now and any new restaurant that has only been open for such a short period of time should always be tweaking and adjusting the menu so that every item really stands out on its own. I gave him the same feedback you are reading here and he seemed genuinely interested to hear it. I hope both he and Chef Esterly continue in this tradition of garnering feedback from customers, whether or not they are food bloggers, because it shows me that they are committed to putting out some seriously tasty food.
I was also pleased to learn that the invitation by the Cleveland Institute of Art to sell their wares every Tuesday from 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM at the Cinemateque was open-ended. I know that I won't be able to make it every Tuesday for lunch, but you can bet I'll be there at least twice a month. I know it's kind of cool to be able to tweet your location every day to your followers, but having some regular stops can only help to establish your name and reputation.
I highly recommend that you search out this novel Cleveland food gem wherever they land for the day. The food was tasty, the concept was pretty nifty, and the chefs running the mobile kitchen obviously care about using quality local ingredients. Sure a few of the offerings need to be tweaked a bit to maximize their flavors, but given how long they've been operating, it doesn't surprise me in the least. Now the hard part is just having to wait until next Tuesday to go back.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Happy Hour At The Velvet Tango Room
Having started a new consulting position in Cleveland recently, I find myself on a very tight schedule with regard to when I leave in the morning. If I am running more than ten or fifteen minutes late, that can mean the difference from slowed, but continuous driving to the start-and-stop traffic that I personally find annoying. Additionally, if I grab something quick for lunch and take it back to my desk and eat it, I can leave early enough in the afternoon that I can enjoy a stress-free drive home.
Sadly, this gives me much fewer opportunities at lunchtime to explore the restaurant scene around my client. I decided that on one day per week, usually Friday, I would take a lunch break and go someplace local. However, in doing so, that means I would be leaving one hour later, and trust me when I tell you that trying to leave downtown Cleveland via the freeway at 5:00 PM on a Friday afternoon can be simply a horror story if you don't enjoy sitting in traffic.
My very first Friday working at my client, I decided to skip the aggravation of the fully packed freeway and instead of trying to head away from downtown Cleveland, I would go to the very belly of the beast and embrace the Happy Hour at the Velvet Tango Room. I have written about the Velvet Tango Room twice before and now that I am employed again, it seemed like a wonderful way to welcome the weekend as well as wait out the traffic. As a bonus, I had the opportunity to sample two new drinks that will be showing up on the official VTR menus come early June, so consider part of this review to actually be a preview, if you will.
Besides giving you the scoop on several of the drinks on the new menu, I was also happy because I was meeting up with some friends, both old and new. And as it turned out, we not only got to sample some of VTR's delicious beverages, but also their food. I arrived shortly after 5:00 PM and even though the bar was still pretty empty, I was warmly greeted as I took my seat at the expansive mahogany bar opposite the front door. As I sat down, the bartender, Hillary, recognized me from my previous visit two weeks ago. She asked me if I wanted to see a menu and I indicated that I was interested in something from the upcoming menu. Having discovered that I actually do like gin-based drinks when poured and mixed properly, I was feeling no fear when asking her to make a selection for me. The only restriction, I told her, was that I prefer my drinks to be on the drier (i.e. less sweet) side.
"How about a bourbon drink?"
"Absolutely."
My bartender proceeded to mix a combination of Bulleit Bourbon, St. Germain Elderberry Liqueur, fresh lime juice, Falernum, and a few dashes of bitters into the stainless steel shaker along with some cubed ice. The Falernum, as Paulius put it, gives this cocktail it's characteristic "Creole spiciness." A quick shake back and forth and the now chilled liquid was strained into a martini glass. Here was The Ninth Ward:
This was a delicious and refreshing way to begin my evening tonight. Each of the ingredients could be tasted on their own and yet as a sum total, they mixed together so nicely. As with all of the drinks I've had at VTR, this one was superbly balanced. My first friend arrived just after having been served The Ninth Ward, and after I let him taste mine, he insisted on having the exact same thing.
Next up was a cocktail that I have had a few times before, but never written about, The Last Word:
I thought that the Aviation had been my all-time favorite cocktail at VTR until I tried this remarkable concoction. Where the Aviation had been a combination of gin, fresh lemon juice, and Maraschino liqueur, The Last Word was a slight variation consisting of gin, fresh lime juice, and Chartreuse. As with the Aviation, the taste was crisp and clean, but The Last Word brought an extra level of sophistication to the party. It's as if the Aviation were simply a gateway drink to something more grandiose. It was during this cocktail that our third party member showed up. When the fourth finally showed, we moved from the bar to a four-top table just across the room.
As we sat down, we cool feel the gentle cooling breeze blowing in from the open front door. At this point, all introductions had been made, the four of us were enjoying the end of another work week as well as some fine cocktails when someone spoke up about ordering some food. The only other food I had ever had at VTR was during the special Bar DeVille visit in October 2009. I knew that some of the food that VTR sold was of a pre-cooked / pre-prepped variety, but since everyone else seemed to be hungry, I went along for the ride.
We decided to order two plates of food. The first of which was a fruit, cheese, and cracker plate:
The cheeses consisted of Tillemook Cheddar, Gouda, and what one of the bartenders, Rick, described as a Amish yogurt cheese. There were both water and rice crackers available as well as fresh grapes, dried apricots and cranberries, and toasted almonds. We greedily devoured the entire plate and were even supplied with additional crackers when our supply ran low.
The other plate we ordered was speck on bread:
Speck is a cured pork product that unlike prosciutto, is de-boned before curing. After being cured in salt and various spices, it is then cold-smoked. What you end up with is what we were served today on the plate: luscious slices of cool pork served atop whole wheat bread and adorned with a slightly sweet, slightly piquant mustard. For just a bit of acid to help balance out the fattiness from the pork, a small dish of cornichon was also served.
Having finished both plates of food in what seemed like only a matter of minutes, I decided to finish out my evening tonight at VTR with an old favorite, a Tango Negroni:
What differentiated a Tango Negroni from the conventional was that in place of the sweet vermouth, VTR's own wine reduction was used. I find that the Tango Negroni balances out the bitterness of the Campari much better than standard vermouth. Instead of an overwhelming bitter orange flavor, you get a slight sweetness to the drink as well. And while the Tango Negroni was not new for the summer like The Ninth Ward and The Last Word were, sometimes it is nice to come back to an old friend now and again just to rediscover how good it always was.
Fully relaxed and sated from food, drink, and great conversation, we paid the check and disbanded into the cool Cleveland night. I had not only successfully managed to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic, but also had the opportunity to try out some wonderful new cocktails at the Velvet Tango Room. To make a great time even better, because we had gone for Happy Hour (which ended at 7 PM), all of the drinks were 1/3 off. I knew that whatever stressors my previous week had brought me, I could at least start the weekend off on the right foot.
Sadly, this gives me much fewer opportunities at lunchtime to explore the restaurant scene around my client. I decided that on one day per week, usually Friday, I would take a lunch break and go someplace local. However, in doing so, that means I would be leaving one hour later, and trust me when I tell you that trying to leave downtown Cleveland via the freeway at 5:00 PM on a Friday afternoon can be simply a horror story if you don't enjoy sitting in traffic.
My very first Friday working at my client, I decided to skip the aggravation of the fully packed freeway and instead of trying to head away from downtown Cleveland, I would go to the very belly of the beast and embrace the Happy Hour at the Velvet Tango Room. I have written about the Velvet Tango Room twice before and now that I am employed again, it seemed like a wonderful way to welcome the weekend as well as wait out the traffic. As a bonus, I had the opportunity to sample two new drinks that will be showing up on the official VTR menus come early June, so consider part of this review to actually be a preview, if you will.
Besides giving you the scoop on several of the drinks on the new menu, I was also happy because I was meeting up with some friends, both old and new. And as it turned out, we not only got to sample some of VTR's delicious beverages, but also their food. I arrived shortly after 5:00 PM and even though the bar was still pretty empty, I was warmly greeted as I took my seat at the expansive mahogany bar opposite the front door. As I sat down, the bartender, Hillary, recognized me from my previous visit two weeks ago. She asked me if I wanted to see a menu and I indicated that I was interested in something from the upcoming menu. Having discovered that I actually do like gin-based drinks when poured and mixed properly, I was feeling no fear when asking her to make a selection for me. The only restriction, I told her, was that I prefer my drinks to be on the drier (i.e. less sweet) side.
"How about a bourbon drink?"
"Absolutely."
My bartender proceeded to mix a combination of Bulleit Bourbon, St. Germain Elderberry Liqueur, fresh lime juice, Falernum, and a few dashes of bitters into the stainless steel shaker along with some cubed ice. The Falernum, as Paulius put it, gives this cocktail it's characteristic "Creole spiciness." A quick shake back and forth and the now chilled liquid was strained into a martini glass. Here was The Ninth Ward:
This was a delicious and refreshing way to begin my evening tonight. Each of the ingredients could be tasted on their own and yet as a sum total, they mixed together so nicely. As with all of the drinks I've had at VTR, this one was superbly balanced. My first friend arrived just after having been served The Ninth Ward, and after I let him taste mine, he insisted on having the exact same thing.
Next up was a cocktail that I have had a few times before, but never written about, The Last Word:
I thought that the Aviation had been my all-time favorite cocktail at VTR until I tried this remarkable concoction. Where the Aviation had been a combination of gin, fresh lemon juice, and Maraschino liqueur, The Last Word was a slight variation consisting of gin, fresh lime juice, and Chartreuse. As with the Aviation, the taste was crisp and clean, but The Last Word brought an extra level of sophistication to the party. It's as if the Aviation were simply a gateway drink to something more grandiose. It was during this cocktail that our third party member showed up. When the fourth finally showed, we moved from the bar to a four-top table just across the room.
As we sat down, we cool feel the gentle cooling breeze blowing in from the open front door. At this point, all introductions had been made, the four of us were enjoying the end of another work week as well as some fine cocktails when someone spoke up about ordering some food. The only other food I had ever had at VTR was during the special Bar DeVille visit in October 2009. I knew that some of the food that VTR sold was of a pre-cooked / pre-prepped variety, but since everyone else seemed to be hungry, I went along for the ride.
We decided to order two plates of food. The first of which was a fruit, cheese, and cracker plate:
The cheeses consisted of Tillemook Cheddar, Gouda, and what one of the bartenders, Rick, described as a Amish yogurt cheese. There were both water and rice crackers available as well as fresh grapes, dried apricots and cranberries, and toasted almonds. We greedily devoured the entire plate and were even supplied with additional crackers when our supply ran low.
The other plate we ordered was speck on bread:
Speck is a cured pork product that unlike prosciutto, is de-boned before curing. After being cured in salt and various spices, it is then cold-smoked. What you end up with is what we were served today on the plate: luscious slices of cool pork served atop whole wheat bread and adorned with a slightly sweet, slightly piquant mustard. For just a bit of acid to help balance out the fattiness from the pork, a small dish of cornichon was also served.
Having finished both plates of food in what seemed like only a matter of minutes, I decided to finish out my evening tonight at VTR with an old favorite, a Tango Negroni:
What differentiated a Tango Negroni from the conventional was that in place of the sweet vermouth, VTR's own wine reduction was used. I find that the Tango Negroni balances out the bitterness of the Campari much better than standard vermouth. Instead of an overwhelming bitter orange flavor, you get a slight sweetness to the drink as well. And while the Tango Negroni was not new for the summer like The Ninth Ward and The Last Word were, sometimes it is nice to come back to an old friend now and again just to rediscover how good it always was.
Fully relaxed and sated from food, drink, and great conversation, we paid the check and disbanded into the cool Cleveland night. I had not only successfully managed to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic, but also had the opportunity to try out some wonderful new cocktails at the Velvet Tango Room. To make a great time even better, because we had gone for Happy Hour (which ended at 7 PM), all of the drinks were 1/3 off. I knew that whatever stressors my previous week had brought me, I could at least start the weekend off on the right foot.
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