Cleveland Free Times • January 3, 2006


The Best of Bites
The Year of Living Deliciously
by Douglas Trattner

 

Another year, another million or so meals. (Does my ass look fat in these jeans?) How do I do it, you ask? Patience and a steady fork. Here are a few of my favorite morsels gleaned from 2005. Sorry, there will be no voting; otherwise you end up with the Cheesecake Factory as your “Best New Restaurant.”

Hot List: Half-price wine nights, Oregon pinot noir, casual barbecue joints, Certified Angus Beef, Jamison Farms, charcuterie, fair-trade coffee, cheese plates (generally), Baricelli Cheese (specifically), duck confit, Kobe beef, fondue, Niman Ranch, sustainable agriculture, wine dinners, oysters, miso-glazed fish, nut-crusted everything.

Best new restaurant
*Lolita
Most dramatic comeback
*Pier W
Hottest six-year-old
*Flying Fig
Favorite cheap eats
*Pierogies, tater tots and Polish beer at Happy Dog
Best salad
*Vivo’s smoked tuna and fennel salad
Best soup
*Bouillabaisse at Sans Souci
Best appetizer
*Crispy halibut tacos at Pier W
Best piece of cow
*Red’s “aglio-brushed” USDA Prime rib-eye
Best piece of pig
*Fire’s tandoor-fired double-cut pork chop
Best piece of fish
*Lockkeepers’ butter-poached Maine lobster tail
Best raw fish
*Pacific East
Best greasy spoon
*Big Al’s Diner
Best pizza
*Tie between Fahrenheit’s portobello, caramelized onion and goat cheese pie, and Three Birds’ Maine lobster pizza
Best burger
*Patty melt at Mom’s Diner
Tastiest dessert
*Boulevard Blue’s Chocolate French Toast, with raspberries, ganache and raspberry sauce
Most appealing wine list
*Parallax
Best free bar snacks
*Morton’s beef tenderloin sandwiches
Best takeout
*Tie between Bangkok Thai Cuisine and the Soupermarket
Biggest disappointment
*Tie between dinner at Jacob Good and brunch at M Bistro
Restaurants to watch in 2006
*Sarava and Lola

 

The local restaurant scene saw a dizzying
number of changes in 2005
by Douglas Trattner


I AM TRULY AMAZED every year when I compile my annual Year in Review. Even though I chronicle these items weekly in my Bites column, condensing them onto one page really illustrates how dynamic (and volatile) the local restaurant scene is. And this list does not even take into account the openings of numerous carnival-sized chain restaurants.

Restaurant Openings, Closings, & Mutations

*Lolita opens in Tremont.
*Theory closes in Tremont.
*XO closes, reopens as XO Prime Steaks.
*Foundation Room opens at the House of Blues.
*Vue Restaurant and Lounge opens in Hudson.
*The Waterhouse opens in Gateway District.
*Flo Cafe opens — and closes — on West 6th.
*Happy Dog opens on Detroit.
*Moreland Hills’ Lion & Lamb changes hands.
*Stone Oven in Cleveland Heights closes, reopens down the block.
*Parallax adds a three-season patio.
*Blazin’ Bills rebuilds, reopens following devastating fire.
*Dewey’s Pizza opens on Lee Road.
*Tremont’s Grill Fish opens, closes, reopens as Flying Pig Barbecue.
*Crust and Crumb Bakery opens in Cleveland.
*Sushi Rock opens second location in Beachwood.
*Grille Above the Valley closes, reopens as The Shack, then closes.
*Firefly in Bainbridge closes, reemerges as Firefly Seafood and Steak.
*Killer Burrito opens on West 6th.
*Chuck’s Diner reopens in Cleveland Heights.
*Little Italy’s Corbo’s Golden Bowl closes.
*Karma on Coventry closes.
*Snickers moves from West 76th to Detroit Ave.
*Brass Tap Bar and Grille opens in Willowick.
*Falls Grille opens in Chagrin Falls.
*Bier Markt opens in Ohio City’s Fries & Scheule building.
*Crave opens in Akron.
*Jack’s Deli in University Heights reopens around the corner.
*New operators take over West Side Market Cafe.
*Sarava opens in Shaker Square.
*Lakewood’s Pickle Bill’s closes, reopens as Crazy Rita’s.
*C&Y Chinese Restaurant closes, reopens.
*Aura Global Cuisine opens in Broadview Heights.
*Valerio Iorio opens second Valerio’s in Solon.
*Dempsey’s Oasis Tavern closes. Prosperity Social Club opens in its place.
*Ruth’s Market House Grill in Wickliffe closes.
*Vico on East 6th closes. Porcelli’s opens in its place.
*Pier W reopens following major renovation.
*Oenotria wine bar opens in Little Italy.
*Lakewood’s Titanic sinks.Chef Shifts
*Rajesh Kattaria replaces Paul Carter as executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton.
*John Kolar leaves Three Birds to join Ken Stewart restaurants.
*Todd Mueller, a Paris-trained pastry chef, joins Fahrenheit.
*Michael Herschman reports to Vivo as executive chef and GM.
*Scott Popovic departs XO Prime Steaks and joins Fire Food and Drink.
*Adam Schmith resigns as head chef of the Waterhouse.
*Shawn Brozic replaces Michael Herr as chef de cuisine of Century at the Ritz-Carlton.
*Paul DeMelto joins 806 Wine and Martini Bar as chef.
*Kurt Steeber is hired as executive chef of Great Lakes Brewing Co.
*Frank Wielgosiek leaves the West Side Market Cafe for Seattle.Crumbs
*Tink Hall, the Asian grocery, moves from Asia Plaza to new home.
*Feast! Food and Fine Living in Northeast Ohio, a local food mag, is launched.
*Classics becomes Ohio’s first and only AAA Five-Diamond award-winning restaurant.
*Michael Symon competes against Masaharu Morimoto on “Iron Chef America.”
*Constantino’s Market opens in the Bingham Building
*Eric Asimov of the New York Times includes Great Lakes’ Dortmunder Gold in his top 25 pilsners.