It is upon us once again, gentle reader, the season of Lent. And with the season of Lent comes the third annual installment of the Lenten Project. While I am not a particularly religious person, I do look forward every year to a good fish fry. Sadly, and if last year was proof of this, it isn't easy finding a good fish fry. So I've decided to take the fish by the tail and try and improve my odds.
Two years ago, I came up with the idea to use the list of churches and organizations published in the Akron Beacon Journal to determine which churches and organizations to visit during the surprisingly short fish fry season. And because of my love of pierogi, the first year I used the criteria of selecting only those establishments that served both fried fish and pierogi. This yielded me nine different places to visit over the course of five weeks. That first year, I found an overall winner and a runner up where the pierogi were mundane, but the fish was great.
The second year I did the Lenten Project, I decided not to visit any of the organizations from the previous year that were in the lower half of the standings. I again used the criteria of fried fish and pierogi as the determinant for which establishments to try. Sadly, last year's crop were mediocre at best and really, even though there was a church that finished on top, it wasn't a knock-out winner. To top that, several of the organizations I ended up visiting two years in a row not only didn't improve, but some actually got worse. As Joshua so eloquently stated in the 1983 movie Wargames, "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
Bound and determined to get a nice piece of fried fish THIS time around, when Lisa Abraham published her annual list of commercial and non-commercial fish fries, I immediately realized that the list needed to be in a more computer friendly form so that I can add notes and sort more easily. Thus, I transcribed the entire list into a Google spreadsheet. It is free for anyone to view and no software needs to be installed, but obviously I've set it up so that only I can update it.
Since none of the descriptions in her article listed whether the fish being used was fresh or fell off the back of a Sysco food truck, I took it upon myself to call each and every organization on both lists. What shocked me (and might go a long way in explaining why last year's fish fries turned out so poorly) was that virtually none of the organizations were using fresh fish. Of the forty-three non-commercial organizations listed in the Beacon article, only TWO were using fresh fish. Pierogi fared a little better, percentage-wise. Of the seven establishments offering pieorgi, only two were homemade and one of those was only being offered this Friday, February 24th -- so if you miss it, too bad.
Now, gentle reader, before I get a deluge of emails and comments saying that you can fry up a perfectly nice piece of fish from frozen, I agree. You can. But a good majority of these organizations are getting the fish pre-battered and frozen and simply frying them from that state. There just didn't seem to be an emphasis in the past on putting out a piece of fried fish that was moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside and not greasy. Thus, save a few exceptions where I know that care has been taken to make sure the fish will be at its best, I have decided to only include places where the fish is fresh.
However, given that only two non-commercial establishments are serving fresh, how will I be able to come up with eight to ten places to try during the next five Fridays? I've decided that I am going to open it up to the commercial (e.g., restaurants) locations listed in the Beacon article, too. Instead of telling you where NOT to go as in the past two years, I want to tell you where you SHOULD go. I want you to have options. Just to be sure, I also called (actually, I'm still in the process of calling) all of the restaurants on the list to determine which places I will visit.
Because I haven't quite finished calling all of the restaurants yet, here is the list of places I will be going for a fried fish dinner during the first Friday of the Lenten Project III, Friday, February 24th:
American Legion Post 281 (4:30 to 7 p.m.)
1601 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221
330-920-9379
Fat Casual BBQ (5:00 to 8:00 p.m.)
223 East Highland Road, Macedonia, OH 44056
330-748-4690
I'm planning on hitting up the American Legion right at about 5:00 PM and then venturing my way up to Fat Casual between 6:30 and 6:45 PM. If you'd care to join me for either location, you are cordially invited, no reservations required. Once you arrive, you surely cannot miss me, I'll be the guy sitting by himself with a massively-sized camera on a small tabletop tripod. It's hard to miss, really.
So, with that, the Lenten Project III: The Search For Fabulous Fried Fish officially kicks off for 2012. After finishing up my research on the final twenty-ish restaurants, I will post the remainder of my fish-eating schedule next week. If Lent has a more spiritual meaning for you, I wish you the best during this next forty days. For me, I'm looking forward to some good fried fish!
Showing posts with label Lisa Abraham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lisa Abraham. Show all posts
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Preview of Amber Li's Restaurant
New restaurants often have soft openings before opening to the general public. Surrounded by family and friends, every layer of hospitality can be tested -- the kitchen, the front of house, and the management -- in an environment that simulates real-world dinner service, but with people who might be a little more understanding if the experience isn't quite yet perfect. But, of course, to feed people (often for free) and to pay employees isn't a small inconvenient expense. And even with a soft opening, it can still take a restaurant a month or two to really start humming with efficiency.
I knew going into tonight's dinner that Amber Li's Restaurant had only been open for a few days. This meant that there would likely be a few delays and perhaps the wrong soup being brought to the table, but I've developed a keen eye in spotting actual problems versus opening day jitters. Having learned of them from Lisa Abraham's weekly Food Notes section in the Akron Beacon Journal, I decided that a visit was warranted since she wrote that the menu consisted of, " traditional Chinese fare, sushi, hibachi-grilled and Japanese dishes." It was the traditional Chinese fare that caught my eye.
After work today, I hopped in the car and headed to 4195 Massillon Road, Green, OH 44685. The location of the restaurant was inside the Green Plaza, at the corner of Steese and Massillon Roads. There was ample parking in the common lot. If you wish to contact the restaurant, Amber Li's can be reached at 330-899-8856.
Here was a shot of the front entrance of Amber Li's:
Once inside the main door, I noticed the sushi bar located in the rear left of the restaurant with the remainder of the space broken up into tables and booths. I was surprised to see the restaurant only about one-third full as I figured a mention in Lisa's weekly food column would have packed the customers in. I was seated almost immediately, but noticed within moments of sitting down at my table that it had a severe wobble. I thought that perhaps as I settled in that I may have knocked something loose used to level it, but upon checking the floor, I found nothing. I decided to put up with the annoying wobble.
As I prepped my camera for the upcoming pictures, I began to people watch. It became immediately clear who the owner was, Amber Hazel. A native from China, she was the very stressed person running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, her diction being very harsh on one side of the kitchen door and much softer on the other. I sat quietly at my table for about ten minutes before anyone acknowledged me and asked if I would like something to drink. It took another ten minutes before my waitress finally stopped at my table to take my order. Twenty minutes is a bit too long for a restaurant that is only one-third full, so I'll have to chalk that one up to opening week jitters.
Fortunately, when I was sat, the hostess left me with the menu to peruse:
Sadly, the "traditional Chinese fare" for which I was hoping to dine upon tonight ended up being the same Americanized Chinese cuisine served at every other Chinese restaurant in Akron. While I can appreciate Americanized Chinese cuisine from time to time, I find it to be rather boring and often times way too sweet. Never heard of Americanized Chinese cuisine, gentle reader? General Tsao's (aka Tso's) Chicken is a perfect example. This is a dish that doesn't exist in China and has been fine tuned for the American palate over decades since its introduction.
All that said, I have come across a few really excellent General Tsao's Chicken dishes over the years and I figured I would give theirs a try to see if Amber Li's version was at least worth seeking out. I was happy to see the menu indicated that all entrees came with either steamed rice or a California roll. When my server finally stopped to take my order, I asked about this unusual choice as I had never seen it before.
"No, it's just the steamed rice that is available. Amber changed her mind about offering a sushi roll."
That was too bad since I was actually going to order the California roll in place of my steamed rice. C'est la vie.
So, in order to try a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B, here is what I actually ordered:
* Shrimp Eggroll
* Miso Soup
* General Tsao's Chicken, extra spicy
* Steamed Rice
Here was what came out of the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. First up was the General Tsao's Chicken with Steamed Broccoli:
And a plate of what I had originally thought was a California roll, but was actually a Spicy Shrimp roll:
No Shrimp Eggroll and no Miso Soup. As for the appearance of the sushi, I figured that Amber had okayed the substitution of the California roll for the steamed rice since I had asked my server about it. Assuming that the eggroll and the soup would be coming out of the kitchen shortly, I decided to go ahead and dig in to what was already in front of me.
I started with the sushi. As I ate my first piece, several thoughts went through my head. First, the California roll was missing the avocado. All I could taste were cucumber and what I thought was imitation crab. Second, California rolls don't usually have a spicy sauce associated with them. I figured that might just be a personal touch at Amber Li's. Third, and most surprising, the sushi rice was utterly and thoroughly bland. I even dissected one of the six pieces on the plate and tried the rice just by itself. Yup, steamed white rice, nothing added.
Why is this point so important? Su-shi literally translates to "vinegared rice." Sushi rice is made by adding rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt to the rice after it is cooked. This gives the rice a bit of acidity as well as seasoning from the salt. Soy sauce applied at the table would not have helped in this case. Curiously, while dissecting the sushi piece, I also noticed that the imitation crab looked an awful lot like a piece of shrimp. That's because it was! What I thought had been my accompanying California roll for my General Tsao's was actually my server thinking I had asked for a Spicy Shrimp roll instead of a Shrimp Eggroll. D'oh! The final check confirmed my suspicions.
On to the General Tsao's Chicken. It actually wasn't all that bad. The chicken was fried until crispy; the sauce was a bit oily and sweet and could've used a bit of acid to balance the other flavors. The steamed broccoli was a nice touch, but the carrots and green peppers the menu description promised were nowhere to be found. I had asked for the dish to be extra spicy and the kitchen's response was simply to add more whole chili peppers to the dish. Not being a complete moron, I moved the whole peppers to the side of the dish. Overall, I would say this dish was about a medium spicy and not particularly incendiary.
Having finished my sushi and chicken, I realized that nothing else was going to come out of the kitchen for me. After asking for and receiving the check, I finally understood what happened with the Shrimp Eggroll / Spicy Shrimp roll mistake; however, I had still been charged for the Miso Soup. I pointed the mistake out to my server, who quickly removed it from the bill. I could've contested the Spicy Shrimp roll mistake (as the sushi was $6 and the eggroll that I had ordered was only $2), since I didn't correct the error when I first detected it, I decided to pay for it. The check, with tax, came to just under $18.
While there were some components from tonight's meal that I enjoyed, there was a LOT that needs to be improved upon. Quickly. If Amber Li's is running this inefficiently and with this many mistakes a month from now, customers will tire quickly and decide to spend their dining dollars elsewhere. While my personal preference in Chinese cuisine tends more towards the authentic side, if Americanized Chinese cuisine is your bag, once Amber Li's gets it right, this might be the place for you. Since I can get these flavors much closer to home, other than visiting again in order to re-review it, I personally wouldn't make the drive from Akron.
I knew going into tonight's dinner that Amber Li's Restaurant had only been open for a few days. This meant that there would likely be a few delays and perhaps the wrong soup being brought to the table, but I've developed a keen eye in spotting actual problems versus opening day jitters. Having learned of them from Lisa Abraham's weekly Food Notes section in the Akron Beacon Journal, I decided that a visit was warranted since she wrote that the menu consisted of, " traditional Chinese fare, sushi, hibachi-grilled and Japanese dishes." It was the traditional Chinese fare that caught my eye.
After work today, I hopped in the car and headed to 4195 Massillon Road, Green, OH 44685. The location of the restaurant was inside the Green Plaza, at the corner of Steese and Massillon Roads. There was ample parking in the common lot. If you wish to contact the restaurant, Amber Li's can be reached at 330-899-8856.
Here was a shot of the front entrance of Amber Li's:
Once inside the main door, I noticed the sushi bar located in the rear left of the restaurant with the remainder of the space broken up into tables and booths. I was surprised to see the restaurant only about one-third full as I figured a mention in Lisa's weekly food column would have packed the customers in. I was seated almost immediately, but noticed within moments of sitting down at my table that it had a severe wobble. I thought that perhaps as I settled in that I may have knocked something loose used to level it, but upon checking the floor, I found nothing. I decided to put up with the annoying wobble.
As I prepped my camera for the upcoming pictures, I began to people watch. It became immediately clear who the owner was, Amber Hazel. A native from China, she was the very stressed person running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, her diction being very harsh on one side of the kitchen door and much softer on the other. I sat quietly at my table for about ten minutes before anyone acknowledged me and asked if I would like something to drink. It took another ten minutes before my waitress finally stopped at my table to take my order. Twenty minutes is a bit too long for a restaurant that is only one-third full, so I'll have to chalk that one up to opening week jitters.
Fortunately, when I was sat, the hostess left me with the menu to peruse:
Sadly, the "traditional Chinese fare" for which I was hoping to dine upon tonight ended up being the same Americanized Chinese cuisine served at every other Chinese restaurant in Akron. While I can appreciate Americanized Chinese cuisine from time to time, I find it to be rather boring and often times way too sweet. Never heard of Americanized Chinese cuisine, gentle reader? General Tsao's (aka Tso's) Chicken is a perfect example. This is a dish that doesn't exist in China and has been fine tuned for the American palate over decades since its introduction.
All that said, I have come across a few really excellent General Tsao's Chicken dishes over the years and I figured I would give theirs a try to see if Amber Li's version was at least worth seeking out. I was happy to see the menu indicated that all entrees came with either steamed rice or a California roll. When my server finally stopped to take my order, I asked about this unusual choice as I had never seen it before.
"No, it's just the steamed rice that is available. Amber changed her mind about offering a sushi roll."
That was too bad since I was actually going to order the California roll in place of my steamed rice. C'est la vie.
So, in order to try a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B, here is what I actually ordered:
* Shrimp Eggroll
* Miso Soup
* General Tsao's Chicken, extra spicy
* Steamed Rice
Here was what came out of the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. First up was the General Tsao's Chicken with Steamed Broccoli:
And a plate of what I had originally thought was a California roll, but was actually a Spicy Shrimp roll:
No Shrimp Eggroll and no Miso Soup. As for the appearance of the sushi, I figured that Amber had okayed the substitution of the California roll for the steamed rice since I had asked my server about it. Assuming that the eggroll and the soup would be coming out of the kitchen shortly, I decided to go ahead and dig in to what was already in front of me.
I started with the sushi. As I ate my first piece, several thoughts went through my head. First, the California roll was missing the avocado. All I could taste were cucumber and what I thought was imitation crab. Second, California rolls don't usually have a spicy sauce associated with them. I figured that might just be a personal touch at Amber Li's. Third, and most surprising, the sushi rice was utterly and thoroughly bland. I even dissected one of the six pieces on the plate and tried the rice just by itself. Yup, steamed white rice, nothing added.
Why is this point so important? Su-shi literally translates to "vinegared rice." Sushi rice is made by adding rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt to the rice after it is cooked. This gives the rice a bit of acidity as well as seasoning from the salt. Soy sauce applied at the table would not have helped in this case. Curiously, while dissecting the sushi piece, I also noticed that the imitation crab looked an awful lot like a piece of shrimp. That's because it was! What I thought had been my accompanying California roll for my General Tsao's was actually my server thinking I had asked for a Spicy Shrimp roll instead of a Shrimp Eggroll. D'oh! The final check confirmed my suspicions.
On to the General Tsao's Chicken. It actually wasn't all that bad. The chicken was fried until crispy; the sauce was a bit oily and sweet and could've used a bit of acid to balance the other flavors. The steamed broccoli was a nice touch, but the carrots and green peppers the menu description promised were nowhere to be found. I had asked for the dish to be extra spicy and the kitchen's response was simply to add more whole chili peppers to the dish. Not being a complete moron, I moved the whole peppers to the side of the dish. Overall, I would say this dish was about a medium spicy and not particularly incendiary.
Having finished my sushi and chicken, I realized that nothing else was going to come out of the kitchen for me. After asking for and receiving the check, I finally understood what happened with the Shrimp Eggroll / Spicy Shrimp roll mistake; however, I had still been charged for the Miso Soup. I pointed the mistake out to my server, who quickly removed it from the bill. I could've contested the Spicy Shrimp roll mistake (as the sushi was $6 and the eggroll that I had ordered was only $2), since I didn't correct the error when I first detected it, I decided to pay for it. The check, with tax, came to just under $18.
While there were some components from tonight's meal that I enjoyed, there was a LOT that needs to be improved upon. Quickly. If Amber Li's is running this inefficiently and with this many mistakes a month from now, customers will tire quickly and decide to spend their dining dollars elsewhere. While my personal preference in Chinese cuisine tends more towards the authentic side, if Americanized Chinese cuisine is your bag, once Amber Li's gets it right, this might be the place for you. Since I can get these flavors much closer to home, other than visiting again in order to re-review it, I personally wouldn't make the drive from Akron.
Friday, March 25, 2011
This Just In ... News You Can Use
I don't often put up posts talking about current events or linking to other items I find on the web. However, today I have some happy and some very sad news. Let's start with the sad news first.
I learned just yesterday that a favorite local gourmet market and sandwich shop, Market Gourmet @ Montrose, will be shuttering its doors for the last time today at 3:00 PM. I received a message from Jeff Winer, owner and chef, stating that while he made a valiant effort to stay profitable over the last ten months of existence, with the lack of customers and the skyrocketing food costs, it just didn't make sense to continue losing money. While I have no financial stake in Market Gourmet, this has been my go-to lunch spot for the last six months at least twice a week. I personally will miss his sandwiches, especially the homemade roast beef and the roast turkey.
Roast Turkey Sandwich on Pretzel Bun
Homemade Chicken Enchilada Soup
Because he needs to get rid of as much inventory as he can, all wine has been marked down by 15% and the other gourmet items have been marked down a WHOPPING 50%! Market Gourmet carried high-end chocolates, oils, vinegars, spices, cheeses, charcuterie, and many middle eastern items. While I am sad to see Jeff's hard work end this way, it just goes to remind me that making it in the food service industry is incredibly difficult. Jeff had great products, but many times, having a great product just isn't enough to succeed.
Jeff's next move will be to join the crew of the StrEat Mobile Bistro food truck in Cleveland. Which serves as a very convenient segue to my next, happier topic for this morning.
This coming Sunday, March 27th from 11 AM until 3 PM, there will be a conflagration of food trucks happening at Lincoln Park in Tremont, Ohio. While Dim and Den Sum sort of started the mobile food truck craze in Cleveland, there has been an explosion in available options for diners willing to track these trucks down. Represented on Sunday will be:
- Seti's Polish Boys
- Dim & Den Sum
- Cakes Plus
- Traveling Treats
- Umami Moto
- StrEat Mobile Bistro
- Jibaro
- Pranzo Forno Wood Fired Pizza
- Oh! Babycakes
From what I've been told, there will also be live entertainment, although exactly what, I'm not entirely sure. The weather forecast this morning indicated dry, cold weather for Sunday, but hopefully a nice warm front will move in and make this a sunny and warm outing for lots of hungry customers. It appears that this may be a fairly regular gathering if enough interest is generated, so I plan to be there to grab some snapshots, lots of food, and will write it up on the blog for all of you to see for yourself.
And, finally, my happy news.
When I did the inaugural Lenten Project last year, honestly, it was a time in my life when I had a lot of time on my hands and was looking for something exciting to do on a Friday night. At the time, I don't know that my blog was popular enough for me to get more than a smattering of interest from curious readers. When I contacted Lisa Abraham at the Beacon Journal and told her of my plans, I'm sure her first thought was probably, "Whatever, crazy person!"
But, by mid-summer, I noticed that quite a few people had read part or all of the original Lenten Project series, and by the time I was contacted by Lisa to do an actual newspaper article on local food bloggers (Mike Vrobel, author of the fantastic blog DadCooksDinner being the other blogger she interviewed), she made a point of mentioning the fact in her article about my Herculean fried fish and pierogi journey.
After announcing the schedule for this year's Lenten Project, I was surprised to see many more people engaging me through email, Facebook and Twitter making suggestions, asking questions, and generally being interested. While the list of churches, clubs, and organizations from which I drew was the one published in the Akron Beacon Journal, fellow food blogger Alicia and her husband Hans from Poise in Parma have embarked on their own version of the Lenten Project, looking for good fish fries in their neck of the woods. In fact, as an extra treat next Friday, April 1st, we will (hopefully) be teaming up forces to review a fish fry somewhere between Akron and Parma.
Not to be left behind, Lisa Abraham ran a piece in the food section of the Akron Beacon this week doing her part to contribute to the fish fry love that is happening during Lent. Instead of evaluating church fish fries, she went out to the local fast food restaurants (which included Swenson's, too) to see who had the best fish sandwich. While I don't know that I'd want to eat five fish sandwiches in a day (much less a single sitting), I admire her willingness to go that extra mile for her readers.
Well, that's it for now, folks. I'll be having my final sandwich, the roast beef on pretzel bun at Market Gourmet for lunch today, and then it's off for two fish fries for dinner. Feel free to join me at either dinner if you'd like, I'm always up for some company. In case you are curious, my fish fry schedule is on the Community Calendar on the right hand side of the blog.
I learned just yesterday that a favorite local gourmet market and sandwich shop, Market Gourmet @ Montrose, will be shuttering its doors for the last time today at 3:00 PM. I received a message from Jeff Winer, owner and chef, stating that while he made a valiant effort to stay profitable over the last ten months of existence, with the lack of customers and the skyrocketing food costs, it just didn't make sense to continue losing money. While I have no financial stake in Market Gourmet, this has been my go-to lunch spot for the last six months at least twice a week. I personally will miss his sandwiches, especially the homemade roast beef and the roast turkey.
Roast Turkey Sandwich on Pretzel Bun
Homemade Chicken Enchilada SoupJeff's next move will be to join the crew of the StrEat Mobile Bistro food truck in Cleveland. Which serves as a very convenient segue to my next, happier topic for this morning.
This coming Sunday, March 27th from 11 AM until 3 PM, there will be a conflagration of food trucks happening at Lincoln Park in Tremont, Ohio. While Dim and Den Sum sort of started the mobile food truck craze in Cleveland, there has been an explosion in available options for diners willing to track these trucks down. Represented on Sunday will be:
- Seti's Polish Boys
- Dim & Den Sum
- Cakes Plus
- Traveling Treats
- Umami Moto
- StrEat Mobile Bistro
- Jibaro
- Pranzo Forno Wood Fired Pizza
- Oh! Babycakes
From what I've been told, there will also be live entertainment, although exactly what, I'm not entirely sure. The weather forecast this morning indicated dry, cold weather for Sunday, but hopefully a nice warm front will move in and make this a sunny and warm outing for lots of hungry customers. It appears that this may be a fairly regular gathering if enough interest is generated, so I plan to be there to grab some snapshots, lots of food, and will write it up on the blog for all of you to see for yourself.
And, finally, my happy news.
When I did the inaugural Lenten Project last year, honestly, it was a time in my life when I had a lot of time on my hands and was looking for something exciting to do on a Friday night. At the time, I don't know that my blog was popular enough for me to get more than a smattering of interest from curious readers. When I contacted Lisa Abraham at the Beacon Journal and told her of my plans, I'm sure her first thought was probably, "Whatever, crazy person!"
But, by mid-summer, I noticed that quite a few people had read part or all of the original Lenten Project series, and by the time I was contacted by Lisa to do an actual newspaper article on local food bloggers (Mike Vrobel, author of the fantastic blog DadCooksDinner being the other blogger she interviewed), she made a point of mentioning the fact in her article about my Herculean fried fish and pierogi journey.
After announcing the schedule for this year's Lenten Project, I was surprised to see many more people engaging me through email, Facebook and Twitter making suggestions, asking questions, and generally being interested. While the list of churches, clubs, and organizations from which I drew was the one published in the Akron Beacon Journal, fellow food blogger Alicia and her husband Hans from Poise in Parma have embarked on their own version of the Lenten Project, looking for good fish fries in their neck of the woods. In fact, as an extra treat next Friday, April 1st, we will (hopefully) be teaming up forces to review a fish fry somewhere between Akron and Parma.
Not to be left behind, Lisa Abraham ran a piece in the food section of the Akron Beacon this week doing her part to contribute to the fish fry love that is happening during Lent. Instead of evaluating church fish fries, she went out to the local fast food restaurants (which included Swenson's, too) to see who had the best fish sandwich. While I don't know that I'd want to eat five fish sandwiches in a day (much less a single sitting), I admire her willingness to go that extra mile for her readers.
Well, that's it for now, folks. I'll be having my final sandwich, the roast beef on pretzel bun at Market Gourmet for lunch today, and then it's off for two fish fries for dinner. Feel free to join me at either dinner if you'd like, I'm always up for some company. In case you are curious, my fish fry schedule is on the Community Calendar on the right hand side of the blog.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
It's Officially On: The Lenten Project II
With the release of this year's list of churches, clubs, and organizations from the Akron Beacon Journal, I have decided to revisit last year's gargantuan fish fry and pierogi eating juggernaut: The Lenten Project. While last year's winner, St. Joan of Arc Church in Streetsboro, Ohio, has been excluded from official judging, I do intend to finish out the Lenten Friday fish fries with a stop for my final dinner on April 15th. There will be some repeats from last year from those places that offered a better dinner as well as some new faces. For those that fared poorly in last year's competition (i.e. the bottom half of the results list), in order to make room for potentially new (and hopefully better) contestants, I will give those a pass.
While the Beacon Journal's list is extensive, once you narrow down the offerings to those institutions listing both fish and pierogi on their menu, it becomes much more reasonable. To encourage reader participation, I intend to list the date and time of my visits to each destination and I will add them to the Community Calendar that appears on the right hand side of the screen. Like last year, the judging will be fairly straightforward. I will attempt at each location to buy a meal that provides a combination of both fish and pierogi (and any other interesting looking side dish) and provide a letter based assessment of the food (A - B - C - D - F).
Since there are invariably more fish fries to attend than Fridays available, there will be some weeks where I have an early meal and a late meal. One lesson I learned from last year's effort was that a two-meal day can produce a quite lengthy write-up (especially with pictures). To help minimize this problem, my early meal will post on the Saturday morning following the visit and my later meal will post on the Sunday morning after that. In this way, you aren't overloaded with reading and I am not overloaded with writing.
Even though the fish fries go through April 15th, my intention is to have the judging completed by April 8th so that you can take what I have said for each of the meals and decide which dinner to attend on that final fish fry night.
Okay, enough rules and explanation. Here's the list of fish fries in the mix this time around (note, the times listed in bold are when I plan to arrive):
March 11th
St. Mary Church (5:00 PM)
340 North Main Street, Hudson
330-650-0722 ext. 244
Our Lady of Guadalupe (6:30 PM)
9080 Shepard Road, Macedonia
330-468-2194 ext. 38
March 18th
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (5:00 PM)
Greek Community Center
129 S. Union Street, Akron
330-434-0000
(Dinners only run until April 8th)
March 25th
Queen of Heaven Church (5:00 PM)
Parish Life Center
1800 Steese Road, Green, Uniontown
330-896-2345
St. George Romanian Byzantine Catholic Cathedral (6:45 PM)
11223 44th Street NE, Canton
330-492-8413
April 1st
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (5:00 PM)
755 South Cleveland Avenue, Mogadore
330-628-1333
April 8th
Slovak J Club (5:00 PM)
485 Morgan Avenue, Akron
330-786-9972
Polish American Club (6:45 PM)
472 East Glenwood Avenue, Akron
330-253-0496
The hours and menus for each of the locations listed above will appear in the respective calendar entries on the EFMW Community Calendar.
And, just in case I haven't made it clear, you are more than welcome to join me for any and all of the dinners I've listed above. While food is always a good thing, sharing a meal with a friendly face is even better. For those of my gentle readers celebrating the Lenten season, I wish you the best. For those just celebrating the vast choices of fried fish for the next six weeks, grab your fork and get your bottle of Tums ready.
While the Beacon Journal's list is extensive, once you narrow down the offerings to those institutions listing both fish and pierogi on their menu, it becomes much more reasonable. To encourage reader participation, I intend to list the date and time of my visits to each destination and I will add them to the Community Calendar that appears on the right hand side of the screen. Like last year, the judging will be fairly straightforward. I will attempt at each location to buy a meal that provides a combination of both fish and pierogi (and any other interesting looking side dish) and provide a letter based assessment of the food (A - B - C - D - F).
Since there are invariably more fish fries to attend than Fridays available, there will be some weeks where I have an early meal and a late meal. One lesson I learned from last year's effort was that a two-meal day can produce a quite lengthy write-up (especially with pictures). To help minimize this problem, my early meal will post on the Saturday morning following the visit and my later meal will post on the Sunday morning after that. In this way, you aren't overloaded with reading and I am not overloaded with writing.
Even though the fish fries go through April 15th, my intention is to have the judging completed by April 8th so that you can take what I have said for each of the meals and decide which dinner to attend on that final fish fry night.
Okay, enough rules and explanation. Here's the list of fish fries in the mix this time around (note, the times listed in bold are when I plan to arrive):
March 11th
St. Mary Church (5:00 PM)
340 North Main Street, Hudson
330-650-0722 ext. 244
Our Lady of Guadalupe (6:30 PM)
9080 Shepard Road, Macedonia
330-468-2194 ext. 38
March 18th
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church (5:00 PM)
Greek Community Center
129 S. Union Street, Akron
330-434-0000
(Dinners only run until April 8th)
March 25th
Queen of Heaven Church (5:00 PM)
Parish Life Center
1800 Steese Road, Green, Uniontown
330-896-2345
St. George Romanian Byzantine Catholic Cathedral (6:45 PM)
11223 44th Street NE, Canton
330-492-8413
April 1st
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (5:00 PM)
755 South Cleveland Avenue, Mogadore
330-628-1333
April 8th
Slovak J Club (5:00 PM)
485 Morgan Avenue, Akron
330-786-9972
Polish American Club (6:45 PM)
472 East Glenwood Avenue, Akron
330-253-0496
The hours and menus for each of the locations listed above will appear in the respective calendar entries on the EFMW Community Calendar.
And, just in case I haven't made it clear, you are more than welcome to join me for any and all of the dinners I've listed above. While food is always a good thing, sharing a meal with a friendly face is even better. For those of my gentle readers celebrating the Lenten season, I wish you the best. For those just celebrating the vast choices of fried fish for the next six weeks, grab your fork and get your bottle of Tums ready.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Lenten Project II: Time To Break The Rules
As any follower of this blog has no doubt determined by now, I ALWAYS publish something on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sure, I throw in a little something extra from time to time, but those three days are IRON CLAD! You can count on me ... well, until now. Since the Lenten Project II is starting this Friday (more information to come on Wednesday), I just won't have time to post five times a week like I did during last year's fish fry odyssey. In order to balance out the posting schedule, I've decided to post my write-ups on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (for my first fish fry of the evening from Friday) and potentially Sunday (if I had a second fish fry to attend) during the weeks in Lent.
The good news is that this madness is truly temporary and will only last a little longer than a month or so until the end of the fish fry season. The list of local Akron organizations that are doing fish fries won't be published in the Akron Beacon Journal until Wednesday morning, so I won't be able to announce my list of destination dinners until a little later than normal. However, I want to make sure I give all of my readers ample opportunity to join me for a Lenten dinner if they so choose. Sadly, no one joined me last year, but I'm hoping some of you might want to come out on a Friday night to join me for a bit of good food (hopefully) and fellowship (definitely). No reservations are required and I'll publish where and when I'll be over the next five weeks. You can also check the community calendar to see what my eating schedule will be.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I'll be happy to respond to any concerns. I always hope that the organizations that put on these meals realize that this is a special time of year and go out of their way to do something unique. From last year's results, I realized that too many places were relying on Mrs. T's frozen pierogi and food service frozen fish that you can get any time of the year. Let's hope this year is different!
I look forward to dining with some of my gentle readers over the next couple of weeks. And for those celebrating the Christian holiday of Lent, I wish you the very best.
The good news is that this madness is truly temporary and will only last a little longer than a month or so until the end of the fish fry season. The list of local Akron organizations that are doing fish fries won't be published in the Akron Beacon Journal until Wednesday morning, so I won't be able to announce my list of destination dinners until a little later than normal. However, I want to make sure I give all of my readers ample opportunity to join me for a Lenten dinner if they so choose. Sadly, no one joined me last year, but I'm hoping some of you might want to come out on a Friday night to join me for a bit of good food (hopefully) and fellowship (definitely). No reservations are required and I'll publish where and when I'll be over the next five weeks. You can also check the community calendar to see what my eating schedule will be.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I'll be happy to respond to any concerns. I always hope that the organizations that put on these meals realize that this is a special time of year and go out of their way to do something unique. From last year's results, I realized that too many places were relying on Mrs. T's frozen pierogi and food service frozen fish that you can get any time of the year. Let's hope this year is different!
I look forward to dining with some of my gentle readers over the next couple of weeks. And for those celebrating the Christian holiday of Lent, I wish you the very best.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Extra Helpings: 2010 March of Dimes Auction
The 12th annual March of Dimes Akron Signature Chefs Auction has come and gone for year 2010. For myself and lucky reader Cheryl, who happened to win two free tickets for herself and a guest courtesy of the March of Dimes, we got to experience some of Akron's finest food and wine purveyors in a casual and fun setting. While the doors opened at 5:00 PM and didn't close until the auction was over around 9:00 PM, my primary role as co-judge today took place mainly between 6:00 and 7:30 PM, where we tasted, sampled, and tasted again some thirteen different dishes from various restaurants and catering companies.
Some of the usual suspects that I've already reviewed were there: On Market Catering / Market Gourmet at Montrose, Olde Harbor Inn, Old Carolina BBQ, and Chowder House Cafe. Others, such as The Rusty Nail, Mr. Zub's Deli, Nick Anthe's, and The VegiTerranean are definitely now on my "To Eat" list. While I am not going to go into too much critique about the food here on the blog, I definitely wanted to showcase the dishes that each vendor brought to the table. Literally.
Plus, in an effort to continually improve my food photography, I have recently invested in a new digital camera, a Canon PowerShot G12. Technically still a point-and-shoot, it has some really nifty features and represents a major step up from my old standby, the built-in camera on my HTC Incredible Android phone. While there are still quite a few blog posts queued up over the next month featuring images from the latter, today's entry will be an introduction to the incredibly advanced image quality of the new G12. If you feel so inclined, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of the photography (or anything else for that matter).
Before I start talking about the food, here was a three panel board talking about the services and the critical mission of the March of Dimes:
March of Dimes Poster
So much has been accomplished over the years, but there is so much more to do to eliminate birth defects in babies.
Without further ado, on to the food!
First up was Chef Louis Prpich from the Chowder House Cafe:
Chowder House Cafe
This was his Three Little Piggies, a whimsical dish of bacon wrapped pork tenderloin over pulled pork. This is currently available on Chowder House Cafe's menu.
Next was a selection of cheeses from Lucky Penny Farms:
Lucky Penny Farms
Lucky Penny presented us with two kinds of goats milk cheeses tonight: Greek Feta and Chevre. The Feta was tossed with herbs in olive oil and the Chevre was smeared over an almond biscuit and topped with a little local honey and salted almonds.
Chef Mary Wills from The Good Fork brought us two tastes tonight:
The Good Fork
The first taste was the modicum of simplicity: Mustard greens with Greek Feta that had been dressed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
The second dish was butternut squash soup that had been adorned with a small strip of crispy New Creations Farms bacon:
The Good Fork
Chef Scot Jones from The VegiTerranean couldn't be at the event tonight, but he sent his Sous Chef in his place with this lovely soup:
The VegiTerranean
Butternut seemed to be the vegetable of the evening tonight! This was a Butternut Squash Bisque infused with roasted shallot, Vidalia onion, and rosemary which was then topped with a local apple cider reduction and a sprig of fresh sage.
The chefs from Olde Harbor Inn brought this exciting rolled savory dish to our table next:
Olde Harbor Inn
This was a sweet corn lobster crepe filled with mushroom and topped with a bit of micro-greens and a perfumed drops of white truffle oil. I could smell the truffle oil way before I tasted the dish.
One of the few female chefs at the event tonight, Tera Long from Nick Anthe's, presented our only pasta course for the evening:
Nick Anthe's
She presented us with a chargrilled halibut ravioli with lemon-infused pesto, Asiago and Parmesan cheeses, and shallots.
Chef Jeffrey Winer from On Market Catering / Market Gourmet at Montrose, made quite a showing with this small, but powerful bite:
On Market Catering/Gourmet
Chef Winer gave us a Persian Shiraza salad in a small pretzel cup dressed with a bit of grapeseed oil and topped with a lusciously creamy yogurt and mint sauce. (This was actually one of my favorite pictures from tonight.)
Mr. Zub's Deli, a restaurant recently added to the Akron scene, decided to submit one of their homemade soups:
Mr. Zub's Deli
Mr. Zub's Deli was actually serving six of their soups tonight, but the one presented to us was a Spicy Tomato Bisque. With spice from both Jalapeño chilies and cayenne powder, this caused a mild two-alarm fire in both the front and the back of my mouth.
The chef from The Rusty Nail presented us with a lovely seafood course:
The Rusty Nail
This was a perfectly a la minute seared scallop seasoned with dried sage over a roasted butternut squash puree and brown butter sauce.
For our final savory course, the folks from Old Carolina BBQ Company gave us something not particularly BBQ-y:
Old Carolina BBQ Company
On the plate was a soft flour tortilla containing a Baha-style mahi mahi that had been prepped in a spicy citrus rub before being grilled and accompanied by a garlic aioli (which, yes, gentle reader, I realize is redundant), corn, cilantro, and a wedge of lime.
Our first dessert course today came from Chocolate Mischief:
Chocolate Mischief
From noon going clockwise were the pumpkin tart, the coconut walnut brownie, the cinnamon buttermilk cookie and the gingerbread cookie.
Jenn Thomas from JennCanCook.com presented a second round of cookies with her entry:
JennCanCook.com
Again from noon going clockwise, this time we had the peanut butter blossom, the coffee caramel chip cookie, and the hazelnut orange peel cookie.
Our final sweet and overall course was from the West Side Bakery on Market Street:
West Side Bakery
This final bite of the evening came on a stick. Specifically it was an incredibly moist spiced cake ball that had been coated (a la chocolate truffle style) in milk chocolate and then drizzled with decorative swirls of additional chocolate.
So there you have it, gentle reader: a full stomach and a look at all of the food the judges had the privilege of tasting tonight. After tallying and averaging out all of the scores (which ended up being handled by yours truly), it turned out that Olde Harbor Inn, with its Lobster Crepe took top billing. Following closely behind in second place with their Butternut Squash Bisque and Apple Cider Gastrique was The VegiTerranean and in third place with their Baha-style Fish Taco was Old Carolina BBQ Company. While my personal favorite didn't make it into the top three (On Market Gourmet, if you were wondering), at least my personal score for spot number two matched the final outcome.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank both Nici Hefflefinger, who helped to organize the event and the judges; Joe Harvey, who seems to curiously have his hand in anything culinary related; and my fellow judges: Jane Snow, Lisa Abraham, Catherine St. John, and Michael Ferris, previously the Executive Chef at Vaccaro's Trattoria in Akron and who has now opened up his own company, Gourmet By Design Catering. It was truly an honor and a privilege to have my name next to those gastronomic stalwarts.
So that's all for this year's event. I hope you enjoyed eating vicariously through my photos and I am eagerly looking forward to next year's gathering. Hopefully, I can return as a judge and get to relive this wonderful and important event all over again. If you weren't able to attend the auction this year but would still like to make a much needed donation to the March of Dimes, please feel free to click here.
Some of the usual suspects that I've already reviewed were there: On Market Catering / Market Gourmet at Montrose, Olde Harbor Inn, Old Carolina BBQ, and Chowder House Cafe. Others, such as The Rusty Nail, Mr. Zub's Deli, Nick Anthe's, and The VegiTerranean are definitely now on my "To Eat" list. While I am not going to go into too much critique about the food here on the blog, I definitely wanted to showcase the dishes that each vendor brought to the table. Literally.
Plus, in an effort to continually improve my food photography, I have recently invested in a new digital camera, a Canon PowerShot G12. Technically still a point-and-shoot, it has some really nifty features and represents a major step up from my old standby, the built-in camera on my HTC Incredible Android phone. While there are still quite a few blog posts queued up over the next month featuring images from the latter, today's entry will be an introduction to the incredibly advanced image quality of the new G12. If you feel so inclined, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought of the photography (or anything else for that matter).
Before I start talking about the food, here was a three panel board talking about the services and the critical mission of the March of Dimes:
March of Dimes PosterSo much has been accomplished over the years, but there is so much more to do to eliminate birth defects in babies.
Without further ado, on to the food!
First up was Chef Louis Prpich from the Chowder House Cafe:
Chowder House CafeThis was his Three Little Piggies, a whimsical dish of bacon wrapped pork tenderloin over pulled pork. This is currently available on Chowder House Cafe's menu.
Next was a selection of cheeses from Lucky Penny Farms:
Lucky Penny FarmsLucky Penny presented us with two kinds of goats milk cheeses tonight: Greek Feta and Chevre. The Feta was tossed with herbs in olive oil and the Chevre was smeared over an almond biscuit and topped with a little local honey and salted almonds.
Chef Mary Wills from The Good Fork brought us two tastes tonight:
The Good ForkThe first taste was the modicum of simplicity: Mustard greens with Greek Feta that had been dressed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
The second dish was butternut squash soup that had been adorned with a small strip of crispy New Creations Farms bacon:
The Good ForkChef Scot Jones from The VegiTerranean couldn't be at the event tonight, but he sent his Sous Chef in his place with this lovely soup:
The VegiTerraneanButternut seemed to be the vegetable of the evening tonight! This was a Butternut Squash Bisque infused with roasted shallot, Vidalia onion, and rosemary which was then topped with a local apple cider reduction and a sprig of fresh sage.
The chefs from Olde Harbor Inn brought this exciting rolled savory dish to our table next:
Olde Harbor InnThis was a sweet corn lobster crepe filled with mushroom and topped with a bit of micro-greens and a perfumed drops of white truffle oil. I could smell the truffle oil way before I tasted the dish.
One of the few female chefs at the event tonight, Tera Long from Nick Anthe's, presented our only pasta course for the evening:
Nick Anthe'sShe presented us with a chargrilled halibut ravioli with lemon-infused pesto, Asiago and Parmesan cheeses, and shallots.
Chef Jeffrey Winer from On Market Catering / Market Gourmet at Montrose, made quite a showing with this small, but powerful bite:
On Market Catering/GourmetChef Winer gave us a Persian Shiraza salad in a small pretzel cup dressed with a bit of grapeseed oil and topped with a lusciously creamy yogurt and mint sauce. (This was actually one of my favorite pictures from tonight.)
Mr. Zub's Deli, a restaurant recently added to the Akron scene, decided to submit one of their homemade soups:
Mr. Zub's DeliMr. Zub's Deli was actually serving six of their soups tonight, but the one presented to us was a Spicy Tomato Bisque. With spice from both Jalapeño chilies and cayenne powder, this caused a mild two-alarm fire in both the front and the back of my mouth.
The chef from The Rusty Nail presented us with a lovely seafood course:
The Rusty NailThis was a perfectly a la minute seared scallop seasoned with dried sage over a roasted butternut squash puree and brown butter sauce.
For our final savory course, the folks from Old Carolina BBQ Company gave us something not particularly BBQ-y:
Old Carolina BBQ CompanyOn the plate was a soft flour tortilla containing a Baha-style mahi mahi that had been prepped in a spicy citrus rub before being grilled and accompanied by a garlic aioli (which, yes, gentle reader, I realize is redundant), corn, cilantro, and a wedge of lime.
Our first dessert course today came from Chocolate Mischief:
Chocolate MischiefFrom noon going clockwise were the pumpkin tart, the coconut walnut brownie, the cinnamon buttermilk cookie and the gingerbread cookie.
Jenn Thomas from JennCanCook.com presented a second round of cookies with her entry:
JennCanCook.comAgain from noon going clockwise, this time we had the peanut butter blossom, the coffee caramel chip cookie, and the hazelnut orange peel cookie.
Our final sweet and overall course was from the West Side Bakery on Market Street:
West Side BakeryThis final bite of the evening came on a stick. Specifically it was an incredibly moist spiced cake ball that had been coated (a la chocolate truffle style) in milk chocolate and then drizzled with decorative swirls of additional chocolate.
So there you have it, gentle reader: a full stomach and a look at all of the food the judges had the privilege of tasting tonight. After tallying and averaging out all of the scores (which ended up being handled by yours truly), it turned out that Olde Harbor Inn, with its Lobster Crepe took top billing. Following closely behind in second place with their Butternut Squash Bisque and Apple Cider Gastrique was The VegiTerranean and in third place with their Baha-style Fish Taco was Old Carolina BBQ Company. While my personal favorite didn't make it into the top three (On Market Gourmet, if you were wondering), at least my personal score for spot number two matched the final outcome.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank both Nici Hefflefinger, who helped to organize the event and the judges; Joe Harvey, who seems to curiously have his hand in anything culinary related; and my fellow judges: Jane Snow, Lisa Abraham, Catherine St. John, and Michael Ferris, previously the Executive Chef at Vaccaro's Trattoria in Akron and who has now opened up his own company, Gourmet By Design Catering. It was truly an honor and a privilege to have my name next to those gastronomic stalwarts.
So that's all for this year's event. I hope you enjoyed eating vicariously through my photos and I am eagerly looking forward to next year's gathering. Hopefully, I can return as a judge and get to relive this wonderful and important event all over again. If you weren't able to attend the auction this year but would still like to make a much needed donation to the March of Dimes, please feel free to click here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
