Cleveland Chop House and Brewery - Cleveland - November 2007

We ate dinner at the bar of the Cleveland Chop House and Brewery on a Saturday night based on the recommendation of the concierge at our hotel. The restaurant is located in the Warehouse District at 824 W. St. Clair, in Cleveland. There are 3 other restaurants in this small chain of Chop House restaurants. They are located in Washington, DC, Boulder, CO, and Denver, CO.

The place was packed when we got there and got even busier within 20 minutes after our arrival. We were fortunate enough to find a free table in the bar area. There was a big crowd in town for Sunday's Browns game and a Bruce Springsteen concert.

I started with a pint of their American Pale Ale. It was fairly dry and not overly hoppy. It was a very good beer but I wanted something with just a touch more sweetness. Judy ordered an Irish Red which was very good so I had one as my second beer. The Irish Red was a medium bodied beer with a nice balance and just the slightest touch of sweetness that I was after. A couple sitting at the table with us had the American Wheat. They said that the wheat beer had citrus accents and seemed to be lightly hopped. The beer was unfiltered so it had a slight cloudiness to it. The beers cost $4.25 each.

I ordered the Chop House Salad with dressing on the side. (I always prefer to get the dressing on the side since most places over dress the greens resulting in a pool of dressing at the bottom of the plate or salad bowl.) The salad consisted of mixed greens, strips of smoked turkey, Gouda cheese, pumpkin seeds, sun dried blueberries and avocado. The dressing was an herb vinaigrette. The smoked turkey and Gouda really worked well together. The greens were crisp, clean and fresh. The pumpkin seeds were toasted and tender. The blueberries added a touch of sweetness and the avocado added creaminess. The salad was very filling and the portion was adequate as a single course. Cost of the salad was $12.50. (Judy: I like salad that isn't just all lettuce. This one has different taste elements to it)

Judy had the Mussels for $10.50 and a side of seasoned fries. The mussels were clean with no broken shells. They were served in a light tomato based sauce. The fries were seasoned with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. The server said that the seasoning also included herbs but we really couldn't detect any. The cheese flavor was barely noticeable, which was exactly what we wanted and an accompaniment to the mussels. (Judy: I almost always order the appetizer mussels because they usually retain the juice from steaming the mussels, which makes the sauce sweeter. Chop House' mussels were not the best that I've had but they were good.)

Overall, we were very pleased with the restaurant. The service was attentive in spite of the ever growing crowd in the bar area.

The following day we walked around town and found that a lot of restaurants in downtown Cleveland are closed on Sunday afternoons. We were both in the mood for a quick burger so we stopped at the Chop House for lunch. The burgers, $10.50 each, were cooked to a perfect medium and were served with lettuce, tomato and onion with fries on the side. The burgers were excellent... juicey, not greasy and well seasoned. We each had a large Irish Red beer with the burgers. The large beers, about 20 ounces, are $6.00 each.
(Judy: Sometimes, you just have to have a burger and a pint of good beer. Chop House did the job nicely. We had to put in an extra 3o minutes of excercise, but it was worth it.)

After the Chop House, we did a 3 hour visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Lola - Cleveland - 2nd Night

Chef Symon, Chef Burning Chix and Mrs. Burning Chix (Judy)


Yes, this time I remembered the camera. Chef Symon was very gracious and was willing to show us around the restaurant and explained a little about his cooking techniques. (Judy: Chef gave us a signed menu. We had a nice conversation about the Next Iron Chef [without giving us any clues about the outcome], Rocco DiSpirito and their friendship (they had a TV show together). He walked us over to his open kitchen...very nice and expensive kitchen with an army of young kitchen staff.)

As we stated in the previous post, we went to Lola for a 2nd night in a row so we could try out more of the items on the menu. We really wanted to try more of the appetizers and the cheese course. Since we were just having a light meal, we decided to sit a the bar. The bar top was very interesting. It appeared to be alabaster, with lighting from underneath so that the whole bar top glowed.

First, we ordered a bottle of Catalina Sounds Sauvignon Blanc for $34. We really enjoyed the wine's passion fruit, herb and grass notes. (Judy: Very nice on the nose.)

We started with crab gnocchi for $13. Personally, I'm not a big gnocchi fan. There is something about the texture and mouth feel of gnocchi that I don't like. Judy, on the other hand, loves good gnocchi. The gnocchi were served with butternut squash, brussels sprouts and parsley. The butternut squash helped to contrast the slight bitterness of the brussels sprouts. The taste of crab was evident, but not strong. The gnocchi were a little drier than most gnocchi that I've had and I actually enjoyed these. The flavor combinations worked well together. The wine, although very nice, didn't really go well with this dish, most likely because of the brussels sprouts. (Judy: This dish does not have the WOW factor, however, depends on what elements that you have on the fork. Every bite tasted different.)

We also ordered the crispy sweetbreads for $13. Sweetbreads are the thymus glands of veal or lamb. I've had them once before at the Culinary Institute of America, when I was a student there. At that time I thought that they were alright, but nothing spectacular. Chef Symon's version of sweetbreads are served with creamy leeks with a delicate blue cheese and wild mushrooms. I have to say that these were fantastic. The delicate texture of the sweetbreads, leeks and mushrooms worked very well together. The wine really worked well with this dish. I think that the balance of the acid in the wine and the creaminess of the cheese were a hit. (Judy: This is a WOW dish. A nice reward for the brave and adventurous eater. Chef said he does sell about 15 -20 dishes a night for this dish.)

Next we had the apple and pear salad, served with greens, slivered almonds and blue cheese for $8. The apples and pears were thinly sliced cross sections of the fruit. While I thought that the salad was a slightly overdressed, the flavors were very nice. Another hit with the wine.

We also had the beet salad for $9.00 The salad was composed of thick slices of red and golden beets, arugula, goat cheese and pecans. I've been a fan of fresh beets (as opposed to canned beets) for a long time. These were excellent. A very nice salad. By this time, we were running out of wine. (Judy: Ahhh! Beets!!!)

Finally, we had the cheese course. This course can be ordered with 3, 4 or 5 cheeses. We had the 5 cheese course plate for $15. We were actually presented with a plate of 6 cheeses and quenelle of a fruit compote. The standard 5 cheese plate consist of 3 cows' milk cheese, 1 goats' milk cheese and one sheeps' milk cheese. The extra cheese was a nice cheddar cheese. The goat cheese was a nice humboldt fog which was a little less "goaty" than most goats' milk cheeses that I've had. It was my favorite cheese of the plate. We enjoyed the cheese course with glasses of Old Codget Tawny port for $7 per glass. (Judy: I love cheese course (not very Chinese), the only thing I do not like high end restaurants' cheese courses is that they give you thin slices of cheeses. Ken said it's because some of the cheeses can be very expensive.)

Cleveland - November 2007 - Lola

Starting today, the food blog comments are being written by my wife, Judy, and myself!!! She adds an extra dimension to my technical style of writing.




Judy and I ate at Lola on Wednesday, November 7, 2007 and then again on Thursday, November 8th. We went back a second night just for the appetizers and cheese plate because there were so many interesting appetizers on the menu that we really wanted to try.
Lola is located downtown Cleveland at 2058 East 4th Street.
When we arrived Wednesday, Chef Michael Symon was being photographed for another news article. He is in high demand since he is one of the finalist on "The Next Iron Chef". It is easy to tell when the Chef is in... you can hear his unique laugh across the restaurant.
The decor of the place is modern with low lighting. There is an alabaster bar at the front of the restaurant, which can be seen from the street. At the back right, you can see the open kitchen.
Now about the food:
We were presented with a small amuse bouche of house cured pancetta on a small brioche roll. It had a very nice, slightly smokey and salty flavor. Perfect for the start of a great meal.
We then had the beef cheek pierogies with wild mushrooms, a touch of horseradish and creme fraiche. The price was a bit high, $12, for only two pierogie, but the flavor and textures were fabulous. The pierogies were served al dente with a touch of sauce and fresh herbs. The filling had a deep, rich flavor. (Judy's comment: They taste like very good pot stickers, but $12 for 2?????)
We also had the charcuterie of the day, which consisted of 4 different house prepared sausages or cured meats, pickled vegetables, small slices of brioche and a coarse grain mustard for $12. While all meats were excellent, the most memorable was the 5 thin slices of lamb sausage with juniper and citrus. (Judy: Fascinating, first you test the slight gamey taste of lamb, then at the end, it finishes with orange. Wow!!) There was a cured ham was very similar to serrano ham from Spain. It was served as 4 or 5 paper thin slices. It reminded me of the serrano that we had in Malaga last year.
For entrees we had the smoked Berkshire pork chops and the sturgeon.
The pork chops were thick sliced, boneless and served medium. They were cut into pieces about 2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches thick. There were served over a creamy, cheesey polenta (Judy: The polenta by itself is so creamy and dreamy. Eat it with the pork and the sauce, it just make the pork chop taste heavenly.) and topped with barbecued pickled onions and a few thin slices of hot peppers. They were the best pork chops that I've ever eaten. Very tender and moist with a bit of heat and sweetness from the peppers and onions. The creamy polenta made an excellent sauce for the dish.
The sturgeon consisted of 2 pieces of sturgeon, probably 3 to 4 ounces each, about 1 1/4 inches thick. It was served with clams, chorizo, and braised swiss chard. The flavors worked very well together. Overall, the dish was very good. The fish was just the slightest bit overcooked, almost as if it was left on the burner for 10 seconds too long (Judy: It's hard to pass my taste buds, when you are 10 second beyond perfection). Sturgeons are bottom feeders so they have a hint of a muddy taste, similar to catfish. Even so, this flavor element worked well with the braised greens. (Judy: I usually eat each element by itself than all together. For this dish you need to eat all elements together.)
Our waiter recommended two desserts, the "6 a.m. special" and the mocha parfait. Both desserts cost $9 each.
The "6 a.m. special" was very interesting and very good. It consisted of french toast made from brioche, an maple flavored ice cream with bits of smokey bacon incorporated into it. (Judy: When I tasted the bits of bacon, my reaction is "Oh my goodness!") , and caramalized apples. The tiny bits of bacon added an extra twist to the dessert that made it really special (in a good way).
The mocha parfait consisted of a rich chocolate creme topped with a coffee granite and bits of walnuts. Again, it was excellent. (Judy: Yum!!Yummy dark chocolate cream)
We ordered a bottle of Joseph Drouhin Vero Pinot Noir for the meal since a lighter red wine would work well with the various dishes we ordered. It was a nice wine for the meal. Cost of the bottle was $40. This wine normally retails for about $25 so the restaurant's markup wasn't bad. (Judy: I was nicely surprised at the different tastes and the complicity of the wine as I tasted the different dishes)
The service in the restaurant was excellent.
I'm glad that we don't live in Cleveland. I would probably go broke from eating a Lola on a regular basis.
Judy mentioned to the waiter that I had graduated from the same culinary school as Chef Symon. At the end of the meal Chef Symon sat at our table for a brief chat. He seems very likable in person. Unfortunately for us, we left our camera at the hotel so we didn't get a picture of the 3 of us. (Judy: Nice guy. His wife is the sommelier for their two restaurants)
We'll write about our followup visit in our next entry. We remembered the camera on the followup visit.