Thursday, December 8, 2011

Michael Symon's Lolita

Finally after discussing eating here for the last several months, my friend Hannah decided to have her birthday party here.  Of course I was excited, not only to eat here but to be around a group of people who would allow me to try their dishes as well.  I had been once before, but only for drinks during The Taste of Tremont.  It was the perfect size, the bar is right in front of you when you walk in, with the open Kitchen at the end.  Then the large open dinning room is filled with several tables, including my favorites, the ones in the corners that have curtains covering either side making it feel private and elegant.  Also, where we were lucky enough to sit, a big booth like table lining the window over looking Tremont.

Now on to the food.  I started with the Roasted Beets Starter.  After eating at Quince, beets have become one of my favorite things to eat.  This starter definitely did not let me down.  It was served with fennel, kalamata olives and feta.  Almost like a deconstructed salad, I loved it.

Lesile started with the cured meat pate, this consisted of pork, duck, foie gras and black currants.
It was also served with bread and raw carrotts, as to make it look good I guess, I mean it worked but as far as taste, Lesile was pleased.

Hannah started with something she had been looking forward to for several weeks, maybe even the main reason we went, the Roasted Bone Marrow.
Hannah seemed to very much enjoy the bone marrow.  It had a strong meat smell and a funny slimy like texture, but even the other ladies seemed to enjoy it, so for all you brave meat eaters, give this one a try!

The other set of girls order the Garlic Bruschetta.  It look and tasted great and went fast!

A few of the girls decided to give the pizzas a try for their entrees.  Lesile enjoyed the mushroom pizza.
This pizza was loaded with Killbuck Farm mushrooms, rosemary, garlic, Ohio swiss, and toped with arugula.  It was big, smelled great and tasted fantastic.  Even more perfect was the fact that she had left overs because it was so big.  That is my favorite way to eat a pizza, because it is almost always better the next day.  I will go back for this pizza any day.

Another one of the girls had the Soppressata pizza.
Tomato sauce, spicy salami, ricotta, and basil made this pizza sound desirable to any one that eats meat, I was sad I could not take a bite of this one! 

The pizzas were a huge hit this evening as Maire also ordered pizza.  Keeping with her simple yet fantastic taste she stuck with a margherita style pizza.  Which was sure to please.

Renee ordered the Porcini Crusted Sirloin.  Again, this was another entree this evening that I was craving to take a bite of.  Based upon description, presentation and smell.  This dish was so outstanding it inspired Renee to photograph of it.  That made me proud. 

Michael Symons's menu is not quite designed for a Vegetarian, I respect this, but had it not been for the fish of the evening I would have been stuck eating a plethora of side dishes.  The special was a walley atop a bed of pureed cauliflower, with pickled cauliflower, arugula and sliced almonds.
 The pickeld cauliflower was not a fav of mine, but the puree was perfect, as well was the fish and all the flavors that surrounded the fish. 

Hannah's entree was also one of the specials this evening.  Now, this does not happen often, but the full description of this dish has slipped my mind.  The level of creativty of this dish went above what I have experienced yet in my journey.  Hannah enjoyed the dish, again leaving with left overs which were just as good the second day.  The dish reminded me somewhat of a beef wellington in apperance, but what would be puff pastry on this dish was some sort of animal fat.  Then stuffed inside was a thyme or rosemary flavored sausage.  In most cases I pay close attention to what my meat eaters are enjoying, I just missed it on this one. 

Each of the entrees included a side dish.  It was hard to only pick two, because in this category I had several choices.  We had been craving the fried brussel sprouts since we looked at the menu.  The brussel sprouts were pan fried with anchovies, capers and walnuts. 
These were amazing.  I could have eaten this as my entire dinner.  They were crispy yet remained soft on the inside and the flavors of all of the other ingredients cooked around them married wonderfully.

The other side dish we got was the soft polenta with mascarpone and parmesan.
I related the taste of the polenta to that of grits.  It was creamy, cheesy and packed with flavor.  I had some to take home and was just as good that morning and I have craved it ever since.  It's amazing that something so simple left me so satisfied. 

Lastly, as much as we all wanted dessert, we just tasted Hannah's birthday Pumpkin Panna Cotta.
This was a perfect dessert, because it paired sweet and salty, by being toped with pumpkin seeds.  I also love almost anything pumpkin so that helped.  It was a yummy dessert that we all agreed on.

In conclusion, check out Lolita's in Tremont.  Of course, I just love Tremont and if for nothing else you should stop in for a drink, while there peak at the menu and get a feel for the ambiance.  The staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, and the bartenders were efficient.  They were also extra attentive as I felt I never wanted for anything, it was right there as I needed it.  
Michael Symon and his menu is inspiring, if I ever decide to eat meat again, Lolita or his other Cleveland restaurant Lola, will be the first place I go.