Tree Huggers Cafe

Last year on Saint Patricks day, as everyone took off downtown to get drunk with the mass crowds, a girlfriend of mine and myself decided to try a Vegetarian cafe that we had heard about in Berea. 

As we walked into this little cafe that was located in a newly developed strip mall like area, we noticed there was only enough room in there for maybe 15 tables and a big bakery case.  It was cute, it was quite, and it was very bohemian.  It felt local and there were pictures on the walls of guests pets and other things posted by the people that frequent the spot.  As we sat down we asked the guy next to us who was finishing up his meal what he thought of the place.  He said he goes there a lot for the tea and atmosphere, but the special of the day, the tofu corned beef sandwhich was not a winner.  He did mention that the oat veggie burger was one of his favorites.

We skimmed the menu to find a lot of tofu options.  Some healthy smoothies, teas and the Vegan bakery.

We started with the sweet potato fries, which were great.  As my meal I got a wrap with sprouts, mushrooms, onions, avacados, beans, and a Vegan Greek dressing.  It came with a side of homemade coleslaw, which tasted like staight up cabbage.  The wrap was just ok.  

My girlfirend, by request of the guy next to us, tried the oat veggie burger with a side of a kale salad.

There was nothing good about this meal.  The burger was made with so much oat that you could barely chew the burger.  Then you add the thickness of the bun and texturaly it was all off.  The burger was dry and had no flavor.  The kale salad was nothing exciting either.

We did have some smoothies that I remember being good, but will not bring me back.  They did mention to us that as the Summer was on it's way, they have local bands that play there and it's byob, which I liked the concept of, however, the Summer has passed and I found no reason to return just for that.

Sadly, this will be one of my first posts that I will end with, I do not recommend this place!

Dinner In

After being inspired from last nights pleasant surprise I decided to stay in this evening and cook up something myself. 

I started with a request from David, since he did not leave stuffed last night like I did.

Mac and cheese.

I have made mac and cheese so many different ways.  I feel like this is one of the most versatile dishes. This one started with a red sauce, I added ricotta, mozzarella, gouda, and parm.  Garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and pepper, fresh parsley and bread crumbs.  David was satisfied.  I know, because he wanted to go straight to sleep after he finished his second bowl.  It was more of a baked zitti then mac and cheese, but no matter how it started, it ended well.

My babies as they waited for the food to be ready!

For my dinner I did a grilled tofu with an avocado creme sauce. 

I came across this recipe while watching Giada Laurentiis on the Food Network Saturday afternoon.  It looked similar to what I saw on her show and tasted great. 

After all my cooking this afternoon, I am relaxing with my new favorite pumpkin beer and a piece of  pumpkin roll.  Great way to end my weekend and prepare for the long week!

Light Bistro

Last night as David and I drove around, hoping to decide on a place to eat at some point, we found ourselvs in Ohio City having to choose from one of the many favorites that surround the area.  We started with Momocho, a place I had been dying to try for some time now.  At 9:30pm, however, we were told they were at a hour to hour and a half wait for walk ins.  Obviously, I realized that we needed to return but next time with a reservation in place.  We decided that we might as well just go to Bar Cento, as we know we would not be let down.  As we were parking our car on a side street behind Daves supermarket, I noticed a guy valeting cars, I was totally distracted and of course needed to see what was going on.  As I walked over there, I noticed a small sign that said Light Bistro.  We walked in to find an empty bar, that instantly gave me the feeling of a wine bar.  The lovely gentleman at the door offered us two menus, and so we decided to give it a try since we had been debating on where to eat for like 2 hours. 

As we walked around the corner, we came to a small dinning area, with a booth that lined the wall, a few sets of tables and chairs, and a huge window that gave the room a bigger feeling and lots of character.  There were a few sets of people in there finishing up thier meals when we arrived. 

While we were looking over the menu, I noticed how many things sounded great to me.  The menu was creative and complex, not what I expected walking in, so I was pleasantly suprised.  I wanted to try so many things on the menu it was hard to choose just one.  So I didn't!  Apparently this restaurant is known for the Tapas that they offered, so I ordered a few of these instead of an entree.

David started with homemade chips, which we found to be an exciting menu option so could not turn it down.  They came in a white paper bag, are made in house, and were so yummy!  A must if you walk in just for a night cap one evening. 

I started with a crispy calamari dish.  It was fried calamari, with fried olives in a garlic aioli.

This dish was brilliant! The calamari was cooked to perfection, the batter was thin but flavorful, the olives added a robust flavor to the calamari that made each bite melt in your mouth.  The garlic aioli was sweet and creamy.  Even after that discription, I feel like it does not give this dish justice because of how much I enjoyed it.

I also started with their special drink of the evening, an Apple Tyme Martini.  I will say it was not my favorite drink but it was interesting and different and I appreciate that. 

Next I had sauteed rock shrimp with a white bean puree, fennel and toasted garlic.

This was very different and very exciting to eat.  The white bean puree resembled a mash but was thin and smoother.  The strips of fennel and red onion gave a nice pungency to the shrimp and puree.  This was a hearty meal for me, and would be perfect for a small entree. 

David ordered the beef carpaccio pizza.

Now I know I claim to be a foodie, but we both just assumed carpaccio was a cut of beef.  To our suprise and horror, it was raw meat.  David being the supporter of me that he is, tried to eat about half of it before he figured this out and could barely swallow the next bite.  To the restaurants defense, it looked and smelled interesting to those of you that like raw meat.  

For our final course, I tried one of the many side dishes that sounded appealing.  

It was a goat cheese farro.

The farro's nutty flavor was broken up nicely by the goat cheese.  This would be a great side for almost anything, or a main course for us Vegetarians. 

 Warmed up the next day, was just as good by the way, so that makes it even better.

David decided he was done with the savory items and went with a vanilla bean creme brulee, which he enjoyed so much he was prepared to order a second one.

Lastly, we concluded our quite evening out with a cup of coffee.

Overall I was pleased with our visit to what I will refer to as Ohio City's little secret!  The waiter Lance, was so sweet.  He explained several things on the menu, removed the raw meat disaster from our bill and filled me in on the wine and tapas pairing that the restaurant does on Monday nights.  I will for look forward to returning to this place and bringing along other foodies, you know who you are, so be ready! 

Taza Lebanese Grill

This was a pick from one of my teamates at work as the desired place to go for our team's lunchen today.  It's located at Eaton center on Chagrin.

The dynamic team, minus two of my favorites Tania, who ducked out of the picture and Shaina who did not come out.

We ordered so much food and were able to try bites of a variety of things, so it was totally perfect for how I like to eat out.

They bring out pita bread and a sesame seed dipping sauce, (this I did not get to try, because so many other things were getting put on the table)  I'm sure it was good, because it was going fast.  The hummas however was fantastic, Nicole who ordered it asked for hot sauce to be mixed in, which to my suprise gave an extra bite it did not have before and I very much enjoyed it.

Hannah and I started with Lebanese Jibneh.  This was fried Lebanese cheese topped with crushed pistachios and basil sauteed in olive oil and served on top of a pomegranate sauce with kalamata olives and grape tomatoes garnish.  It was a stunning mix of flavors, the cheese was lighter than a normal fried cheese.  We agreed it was a bit bland, but the sauce's sweetness really made you forget it needed more bite.  I would for sure order this dish again and again.

Tania ordered the tomato couscous soup, which she was thrilled with.  She was not into trying to much more than this, however she still decided she return on this note. 

I also had soup which I did not take a picture of, it was the Lentil soup.  It was good but La Kabob's is still my favorite.

The falaffel was amazing!  The best I have ever tried.  It was crunchy on the outside, with a moist almost creamy middle, packed with tons of flavor.  The garlic jumped out of each bite and the mixture of tomatoes, parsley and tahini that topped it, made this dish so delicious that I anticipated each bite more than the last.

Hannah ordered her classic favorite, the Fattoush salad.  A bed of romaine with green peppers, parsley, cucumbers, garlic, lemon, seasoned pita chips, and olive oil.  I mean you can't go wrong with this combination of ingredients.

Nicole who is a pro at ordering at Lebanese restarurants ordered Mujadara.  This was a bed of steamed lentils and rice, topped with the vegi mixture in the Fattoush salad and toasted onions.  It was quite delicious.  It was hearty, yet not overly heavy.  I only tasted a bite, but it left me wanting more, so I plan to return to Taza and will have to give this dish another go. 

We had a lovely lunch this afternoon.  It was good to get out of the office for a while and of course to be able to try out a new restaurant.  Another great place to try in this area is Paladars Latin Kitchen.  I have eaten there a couple of times, once for lunch and another for dinner.  The dinner is a little expensive, so if I return again, or if you want to just try it out, I suggest a lunch date with this place!



Eddies Pizzeria Cerino

This is one of my favorite local places that I cannot return to enough.

A little more than 2 years ago, around this time of year my cousin Patty and I were looking through one of those local coupon ads and noticed that this new restaurant had a special going for a new pumpkin beer.  As for those of you that do not know, Pumpkin beers are my all time favorite, so naturaly Patty and I decided to go their for dinner.  The place was packed, it was a small area fitting maybe only 20 tables, but it seemed big because of the layout. It felt welcoming, you got the feeling as if you had been here several times before.  The staff were very friendly, and the dark walls, and low lighting were accompanied by beautiful photography that did not only add an authentic yet modern feel to the restaurant but could also be purchased. 

I should mention the restaurant is located in Seven Hills off of Broadview Rd.

The menu is perfect for those of us foodies who find so many things on the menu and just can not imagine ordering only one.   Most of the entrees are served in either half or full portions.  There is also a variety of appetizers, pizzas, salads and sandwhiches.  The menu is for me the most desirable size.  Probably because I have been there enough to try almost everything.  Another thing Eddies does is rotate seasonal items in and out so of course you can always expect to see something different or modified on there.  The first time we went we ordered like two different appetizers, two half portion entrees and a pizza.  It was a great way to start off my relationship with my still favorite place.  That was so long ago I do not remember what we ordered excatly, but I can recall in the past few years some of the things I have tried, and can assure you that you can't go wrong with anything you order from here.

Some of the appetizers that I stick with are the parmesan zucchini planks, one or all of the calamari combinations and any of the soups, the mushroom one that might be around more towards Winter is my favorite. 

All of the pizzas are a hit, just depends on what toppings fit your taste buds more, so I won't pick for you. 
My favorite salad is the house salad.  It has field greens, cran-rasins, sunflower seeds, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.  I don't believe I have tried any of the sandwhiches, but I am sure they are fantastic and now after writing this I may have to try one to fill you in.

One of the best things for me about this place is that I found out about it before I was a Vegetarian, so I was lucky enough to eat several things on the menu that my meat eater friends would enjoy, and confirm that they are indeed delicious. 

Some of the entrees that we have tried are the chicken parm, which is always a winner among my friends I bring here, the meat sauce is fantastic, and the meat balls are yummy.  The shrimp piccata, now that I don't eat meat, is one of my favorites that has remained on the menu for a while.  It's sauteed shrimp in a white wine butter sauce with lemon and capers over angel hair pasta.  I have also modified this by having them serve this to me with an asiago cream sauce that they use in another dish which is also delicious. 

This afternoon I brought my friend Tania here with me for lunch.  To inspire yet another person on the best Italian menu in the area. 

She had my favorite dish on the menu as a meat eater.

She had the Lemon Parmesan Chicken served over angel hair pasta with the asiago cream sauce

Their angel hair pasta melts in your mouth.  It's thin, but hearty.  It's creamy and full of flavor.

What I ordered is the reason that I wanted to go to lunch here today.  I was notified on Facebook that their Butternut Squash Ravioli had returned and I could not wait any longer to enjoy this again since last year.

Of course we know how much I love my Fall Flavors and this dish does not fall short of being perfection in  the flavors I crave.

This is the seasonal Butternut Squash Ravioli in a Sage butter sauce with an amaretto cookie crumble on top.

I should mention lastly their dessert menu is also a must.  Seasonaly they are serving their pumpkin bread pudding, which is delightful.  They also have a chocolate cookie one, a yummy rice pudding and then seasonal cupcakes.

Since the day the doors of this restaurant has opened, they have had much deserved growth and success.  A while back they extended the restaruant adding a very sexy bar, and my favorite, a lovely outdoor area, which sadly has been taken down for the season already.  I promise for an inexpensive lunch or dinner, you must try this restaurant.  I have turned more people on to this place then I can remember, and I am confident you will be doing the same once you have had your first meal here!

Tell them Denise sent you!

 

Rosewood Grill

Located near the square of Hudson, this restaurant is a must for a romantic evening or even night out with the girls.

Hudson is such a beautiful, quite little town.  I love the little square with independent restaurants and well known places that seem independent with the bit of flair the square adds to them.  I love the small shops and feeling like I am in a little town hidden away from the rest of the world.  I had never been to Hudson until I met David, and now I can not get enough of it.  The Taste of Hudson last year really opened my eyes to all the things this area has to offer.  They have a gourmet popcorn shop with over a hundred different flavors, a cute cupcake shop with liquor filled cupcakes, an all green clothing boutique, dip n dots, which is the best ice cream shop of all time, little antique shops, and other unique shops that make you feel like you are on vacation so its easier to spend money. The land itself sits on part of the underground railroad.  The houses look like they are out of a movie, with the extravagant gardens and outstanding architecture.  And of course, the restaurants that surround this area keep me coming back.  I have eaten at a few and next on my list will be Nosh as soon as they open.  But for now, I will fill you in on Rosewood Grill.

We decided to go out to Hudson a few months ago, as Summer was getting into effect.  It was starting to get nice out, but still not enough to sit outside.  The inside of this restaurant has two sides, both so different it gives you the feeling like you are at two different places.  To the left is the bar area, which could be perfect for a casual evening out, or because of the long table in the middle of the room excellent for a party.  To the right is the more dinning area.  Very much the ideal setting for a first date or romantic evening out.  This is where we sat.  The walls are covered in brick.  There are some mirrors lining the walls. It feels like you are in a wine cellar, and even if the room is filled you feel like you are the only ones in the room.  They also have a chefs table, which makes this place even better in my book.

The menu is upscale comfort food.  I will be honest there was not much on this menu that I could eat.  One thing on this menu did stand out to me.  It was a mushroom bread pudding.  I had to have this.  It was paired with some meat dish, so I just asked the waitress to explain the item to me, assuming that it was made with some sort of chicken stock or something.  To my surprise there was not.  As the waitress was asking the chef to explain the dish, he decided to make a small portion for me to try.  I was so overwhelmed that he would do that, I forgot to take a photo.  I can assure you, this was an outstanding dish.  It was creamy and moist like a bread pudding but had the wonderful pungent flavor of the mushrooms layered in each bite.  I will return to this place just for even one bite of this dish again.

What I ended up ordering was good, but no where close to amazing.

It was lobster zitti. 

Even the description was boring.  I need food with more character to it.  Again, it was good, but I could make this and it would probably taste very similar .

David enjoyed his meal though a lot, maybe even one of his favorites.  This is for sure a place for a meat eater.

He had bacon wrapped filet with gouda garlic mashed potatoes.  The potatoes alone were amazing on this dish.

I was a huge fan of the atmosphere of this place.  If I return it will be for the mushroom bread pudding, and the bar.  The bartender at the restaurant at this time had actually been involved in a contest for bartenders testing their creativity.  It was similar to the food show Chopped.  The bartenders were given a basket of mystery ingredients and while being timed they had to create a drink ready to serve.  She ended up winning this contest and so I asked her to create me a drink on the spot.  I do not remember clearly the drink she made for me, but I remember it being expensive but worth it.

The Taste of Hudson

Despite the rain on this Sunday afternoon, David and I headed to The Taste of Hudson. 

We tend to be fans of these all day food events.  The local restaurants come out with a few items off their menu that they sample at prices ranging from $3-$6.  Last year we attended the Taste of Cleveland, which was not so exciting, but we did leave with a ton of freebies from all the vendors.  A few months ago we stoped by The Taste of Tremont.  We were able to sample things from several places in the area that I had been dying to try.  Lolita being the most exciting.  We had a goat cheese and rosemary mac and cheese which was fantastic.  Some of the other places we ate at were Edisons Pizza and Bac which I had been to a few weeks prior, but happy to return for samples.  Needless to say, that day was a success and it achieved the goal in making me want to return to Tremont.  Which is why I hope for it be the destination of our next Food Crawl.  Then last year we did the Taste of Hudson, we left very satisfied, so we were excited when we knew it would kick off again this year.

We came prepared with our umbrellas in hand and anticipating not standing in the lines like we did last year because of today's not so attractive weather.  We were wrong.  Suprisingly there were still crowds of people, and lines at several of the restaurant booths.  The one thing that I dislike about the Taste of Hudson and Cleveland compared to The Taste of Tremont, is that you have to buy a prepaid card to purchase your food.  So that was the first line we stood in, while we debated on how much we were planning on eating. 

We got our first meals at Nosh Eatery.  This was the longest line all day.  We had never heard of this place.  The menu of 4 options was modern, creative and better then some restaurants full menus. 

I had the pistachio crusted french toast made with brioche and toped with goat cheese mascarpone blueberries and black berries.  

This was unbelievable.  In most cases for me french toast is too heavy and too sweet.  This was the perfect amount of both for me.  It was sweet and light and cruchy because of the pistachio.  The mascarpone was an amazing complement to the meal instead of heavy syrup or boring whip cream.

David had corned beef brisket toped with vinegar soaked french fries, shaved carrots and a garlic aioli in between toasted bread.  I was so into enjoying my meal that I forgot to take a picture of his.  I am sad now though because this was his favorite meal and compared it to everything else.

At the end of the day, we stoped back to Nosh and I had the peach and raspberry cobbler with sea salt ice cream.

Again I was please at how amazing the food was.  The ice cream was thin and sweet, the cobbler was fresh and full of layers of flavor.  The bread was toasted and had a crunchy outter crust.

After looking into the restaurants website, I found that this must be a new place.  The website says, Coming Soon and that the website is under construction.  I was disapointed to see I could not look up a menu but looking forward to the opening because I will be there with an appetite.

Next we went to Hudson's Restaurant and I was left hungry since there was nothing on the menu that I could eat there.  David kept with his brisket trend and had a beef brisket topped with a cliantro coleslaw.

 

Next we went to One Red Door, which we enjoyed so much last year we returned to have a lovely dinner here a few weeks ago, which I have yet to post, so stay tuned!

David yet again had brisket.  He really acts deprived when we are in public since he does not get to eat meat for dinner at home as much anymore.  I understand and encourage it though.

This was a BBQ brisket topping their rosemary mac and cheese.

This item was not on the menu when we had dinner at the restaurant, however the mac and cheese was an appetizer.  It was very similar to the rosemary and goat cheese mac from Lolita.  It was very yummy.  David enjoyed this one more because of the less gritty texture this one had compared to the latter.

Lastly, we stoped by D'Agnese's Restaurant.  We stoped at this booth last year, and oddly enough this restaurant opened up closer to our house earlier this year.  We ate there once last year and did not feel like we needed to return.  We felt as if it were an overpriced Olive Garden.  The small portion for the price I can do though.  

I had the fried artichokes in a light butter sauce.

So absolutely fantastic.  This could possibly be one of my favorite fried foods.  I love the flaky outter crust and the sweet like layered bite of the artichoke.  David had a basic penne and sauce.  Yummy, but again, if we are going to do a penne pasta and sauce we will go to Olive Garden and pay a lot less.

Because of the rain, we took cover in the Caribou Coffee.  Yes, I said Caribou not Starbucks.  Standing in line I could barely believe it myself.

We sat in some very comfy leather seats near a fireplace.  The wood ceiling boards, the ceremic mugs that were available (that to my knowledge Starbucks does not offer) and the friendly staff made for an above par atmosphere.  The coffee still after all the right peices did not win me over.  

David had the Turtle Latte, which he was thrilled with because of all the candy peices that topped his steamed milk and whipped cream.   

I had the drink of the month the Honey Almond Latte.  It was ok, but it tasted more like a tea drink then a latte.

Even though I felt like I was betraying all my Starbucks baristas, we relaxed, we stayed dry, sipped our hot drinks while people watching and listening to the rain hit the windows and tents outside and found ourselfs satisfied after a filling day.