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Chicago was split off into the new 'Great Lakes' category this year, probably to give chefs in other cities a chance. ← That's great for the folks in KC and Saint Louis! There's been some grumbling here in Cleveland about our guys still having to go up against the likes of Grant Achatz. Chicago is arguably the culinary hot spot of North America. Ann Arbor and Cleveland are in the neighborhood, which I guess is a good thing. EDIT: Here's the Best Chef Great Lakes award category. Some mighty fine company, to be sure. p.s. this was post # 666 for me. No significance there, I assure you.

Five of us met up at Light Bistro for dinner last night. We sampled a number of small plates. Seared foie gras / pecan pie / vanilla powder A somewhat sweet treatment of the foie, which was delicately seared. Roast quail / heirloom apples / spiced pecans / honey aioli The apples were nicely spiced. Braised oxtails / celery root puree / sour dough The puree compliments the oxtails beautifully. Cuba libre braised pork belly / pineapple carpaccio / chipotle couscous Wow! This is incredibly good. House cured gravlax / flavors of gin / beet and potato cake / cumin cream The beet and potato cake almost deserves top billing. (Well, except that the gravlax is awesome too...) We also enjoyed some marinated olives, marcona almonds, eggplant flan, pickled shrimp, and the blue crab and shrimp cake. And finally, a few desserts: Apple and guava tart Warm chocolate chip cookies Cheese plate

Dinner at CC last night was wonderful. There are pics and comments on the Carrie Cerino's thread. I very much enjoyed meeting White Lotus. Her whirlwind tour of Cleveland food spots this week was impressive: Lola, Fire, Lolita, and Carrie Cerinos, plus a trip to the West Side Market. Not bad for one week... Chef Matt at lolita is accustomed to seeing the eGullet gang takin pictures of the food, but meticulous note-taking is a new twist. We've got a dedicated foodie here!

Four of us had dinner at Carrie Cerino's last night. Since White Lotus is in town, we're enjoying introducing her to some of the great food we have here in Cleveland. We started out with a salumi and cheese board. Prosciutto, finocchiona, salame, and coppa, along with Bel Paese and Parmesan cheeses. Of course we had to have the Blue Egg Ravioli. I't now being served with baby arugula. The sage has been moved into the filling. (No picture - we've posted plenty here before) We shared several entrées. Here's the Carbonara as served: and after the third Blue Egg yolk is blended in: There are a couple of new dishes on the menu. The Tagliatelle Norcia has prosciutto, tomato, broccoli, cannellini beans, and is served in a white sauce. The Duck Scaloppine has house-cured red chile Guanciale and dried cherries and a veal stock and wine reduction. Very tasty. Finally, we managed to eat dessert even though we were already stuffed. We couldn't resist trying the gelato made with the organic blue egg yolks. Look how yellow the lemon gelato is - that's mainly from the egg yolks. We also had orange and chocolate-hazelnut.

I found the complete Top Fifty list online on Wikipedia. There are six US restaurants listed ahead of Alinea, including one from Chicago (Charlie Trotter's at # 30). Has anyone dined at both recently? EDIT: Here's a page listing 51-100 from a more official looking site. The North American voting panel is headed by John Mariani.

As far as I know the tasting menu will be a regular feature. It should be changing frequently, so it isn't listed on the web site menu. You can also assemble your own "tasting menu" by picking a number of small plates off of the regular menu. They have a fixed price if you order four or five small plates, and they'll pace the service to your liking.

Force feeding is not the only way to produce foie gras. Ethical foie does exist, though it's seasonal and expensive. The fact remains that commercial foie is almost entirely produced via gavage. There's plenty of evidence that this can be done humanely, but people tend to anthropomorphize the ducks and geese. You can argue that a duck's esophagus is cartilaginous and isn't harmed by the feeding tube, but the practice just looks awful, and that's the problem.

The skate was almost as good as at Parallax. I say almost only because the skate at Parallax was served on the bone, so it had just the slightest bit more of that special succulence that good skate has. The skate at Fire was filleted, so it was easier to eat. A reasonable compromise, considering that it was very nearly as good. I see that I forgot to mention the dessert course. bittersweet chocolate fondue with mike's marshmallows The "fondue" is essentially a super-rich hot chocolate. Fresh marshmallows made by pastry chef Michael Kittle are light as air.

At Cleveland's Fire Food & Drink, the focus is on fresh top-quality ingredients. Having both a wood-fired oven and a tandoor gives Fire some interesting options in preparing roasted foods. I attended a wine tasting dinner last night. The featured vineyard was Vinum Cellars (Napa). Caleb Taft from Vinum was on hand to introduce the wines and answer questions. saffron linguine with canadian cove mussels, garlic, parsley and lemon butter rosé, napa valley 2005 The pasta was made in-house by one of the sous chefs. The texture and flavor were wonderful - this is a first-rate dish of linguine! The wine was an interesting choice to pair with the pasta - it's a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, deeper in color than many rosés, with lots of fruity and floral notes. crispy quail, honey poached meyer lemons, spring greens, toasted almonds and seared foie gras vio viognier, san benito 2005 I don't know whether they used the wood-fired oven or the tandoor to roast the quail, but it the crisp skin was wonderful and the interior was juicy. The foie was gorgeous, and greens were delicately dressed. The Viognier was more buttery than I expected - a bit like a California Chardonay. lime-coriander dusted skate wing, anjou pear, candied salsify and parsley puree white elephant, california 2005 Skate has a delightful texture when it's done right (as it was here), falling apart into distinct segments. This dish was not overly sweet, despite the presence of pear and "candied" salsify. The latter had a smokey complexity to balance it's natural sweetness. The wine is an uncommon blend of Chenin Blanc, Roussane, and Viogner. tandoor roasted organic valley pork, sage gnocchi, local mushrooms, apples and pork jus pets petite sirah, clarksburg 2005 Both the pork and the mushrooms were highly seasoned and delicious. The gnocchi were excellent. The petite sirah took a long time to open up. It was a bit rough to start with, but eventually took on a deeply fruited richness. pan seared new york strip steak, rutabaga-truffle purée, pea tendrils, foie gras jus and grey sea salt red dirt red, el dorado 2004 The menu listing is incorrect - instead of pea shoots we had golden beets and baby turnips which were sweet and mild. I loved the purée. The wine is a Syrah-Mourvdre-Grenache blend. Fire hosts wine dinners once a month. I think I'll be going to more of these in the future...

Back to Siam Café for another post-New-Year dinner. This time it was an even larger group (three tables) from Slow Food Northern Ohio. Some of the dishes were similar to the previous New Year's feast, but there were quite a few that were new this time. Most notable were the braised abalone and mushrooms, the Pla Red Pik (a perch and vegetable dish), and a fried custard served in a savory presentation. There was one dish that was different from any that I've had in an Asian restaurant. The Braised Ham Hock with Baby Bok Choy was carved table-side. It clearly had been cooked for hours - the texture was moist, tender and gelatinous. Really scrumptious.

Light Bistro again last night, with a larger group this time. I had the five-course Chef's tasting menu. Course 1 Scallops/Bacon/Onion/Banana/Lime The banana and lime flavors add a novel touch but didn't interfere with the main attraction. The scallops were excellent, prepared just the way I like them. The plate had lime zest and fleur de sel scattered about - nice for dipping the scallop pieces. Course 2 Foie Gras/Flavors of Neapolitan Seared foie with chocolate, strawberry, ,and vanilla flavors. Incredibly rich and decadent. Course 3 Squab/Licorice/Quinoa/Carrot/Celery Squab breast cooked sous vide. The licorice added aroma more than flavor - quite enticing. The quinoa's texture pairs nicely with the tender squab breast. The garnish is a corn sprout. Course 4 Veal/Toasted Almond/Goat Cheese I believe the veal was also cooked sous vide since it was perfectly pink throughout. Toasted almond is an inspired partner for the veal. Course 5 Dessert A tasting-sized portion of the Chocolate Crème Brûlée from the main menu. Others at the table ordered the full-sized version, but this was plenty for me. Very rich, with a perfect crackly crust of caramelized sugar. Other folks at the table ordered full-sized entrées or assembled their own tastings from the menu. Everyone who had the blue crab and shrimp cake raved about it. The braised oxtail was also a huge hit. I took photos of a few of the other dishes, and I think Nancy and Stuart took some as well. Bread and Butter The bread is baked in house and is delicious. Brought to the table in little brown paper bags to be passed around. I think the flavors we had were prosciutto, parmesan, and a simple crusty Italian. I've forgotten who makes the butter, but it was from a local source and was fantastic. Spring Garlic Soup This was served with a mound of puffed rice in the center. Very rich and deeply flavorful. Tuna Niçoise Seared sushi-grade tuna, French green beans, and Niçoise olive mousse. My picture doesn't do it justice - this was gorgeous. The friend who ordered it always orders seared tuna if it's on the menu whenever she's trying out a new restaurant. It's one of her favorite things, and I think it's become a sort of benchmark for evaluating restaurants. Light Bistro passed with flying colors. Braised oxtails Served over celery root purée and sourdough toast rounds. I had a taste of this - it was incredible. Falling-apart tender and deeply flavorful. The friend who ordered it shared my opinion that the gentle sweetness of the braise was perfect. We both find that the sweet notes are often overdone with this style of dish, but Light Bistro got it exactly right. White bean, rapini and red pepper cassoulet A vegetarian version of cassoulet.

Hi Jeff. I included Light Bistro in the Google link above. I should have added a comment - I'm surprised that NancyH didn't mention you guys. Hey Cory, your desserts at Lola and Lolita are the best! Fire and Moxie also have good desserts, as does Sun Luck Garden. Gaius: here are links to some of the topics about Cleveland restaurants: Cleveland's Asian Restaurants (Thai place is Ty Fun), included in my Tremont map link. Lola and Lolita Lolita Reviews ( also here ) Light Bistro Carrie Cerino's various

Good point about the locations, germuska. I'll try a little experiment to see if really long links are tolerated by the eGullet server software: Google Maps Mash-up of Tremont and Ohio City EDIT: long link didn't work. Tinyurl to the rescue! Those are a few favorites from those neighborhoods. Many were mentioned upthread. Here's another set of restaurants mentioned in various threads: Misc downtown, East, and South

The nominations have been posted on the Foundation web site: pdf file of nominations Outstanding Chef Jean Joho, Everest, Chicago Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago Outstanding Restaurant Frontera Grill, Chef/Owners: Rick and Deann Bayless, Chicago Spiaggia, Chef: Tony Mantuano, Owner: Compass Group, Chicago Rising Star Chef Graham Eliot Bowles, Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel, Chicago Outstanding Pastry Chef Mindy Segal, HotChocolate, Chicago Outstanding Wine Service Bin 36, Wine Director: Brian Duncan, Chicago Outstanding Service Tru, Owners: Rick Tramonto, Gale Gand and Richard Melman ,Chicago Best Chef: Midwest (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI) Colby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City MO Tim McKee, La Belle Vie, Minneapolis Alex Roberts, Restaurant Alma, Minneapolis Adam Siegel, Bartolotta's Lake Park Bistro, Milwaukee Celina Tio, The American Restaurant, Kansas City MO Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH) Grant Achatz, Alinea, Chicago Carrie Nahabedian, Naha, Chicago Bruce Sherman, North Pond, Chicago Michael Symon, Lola, Cleveland Alex Young, Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor That's all of the "Heartland" nominees I could spot. Congratulations to all! EDIT: Added the breakout of the states for the two Heartland regions, plus some other detail.

One of my favorites as well. What a great post! Oh yeah! Ronnie's pastrami was a life-changing experience. The charcuterie he contributed to the Heartland Gathering last year was memorable, to say the least. Thank you, Ron, for your stewardship of the "Heartland" forum. Those of us from outside of Chicago especially appreciate the encouragement you've offered over the years. Thank you so much for your tireless dedication to Heartland cooking.

I have just a few comments to add to Nancy's post. First of all, it was a delight to meet John and Sukey Jamison. They are producing an extraordinary product, and their dedication to excellence shows. John was looking dapper in his jacket, tie, and neatly-pressed bib overalls . He gave a little speech at the beginning of the meal, giving us some background on why they do things the way they do. There were some great anecdotes from the early years, particularly about meeting the late Jean-Louis Palladin, who was their first chef-customer. He embraced their product as the first lamb he had found in North America that was equal to that from his homeland. (Though the famous Breton pré-salé apparently "tastes of ze feesh". Fortunately, the Jamison lamb didn't bring that to mind). The wine pairings were terrific. Bill Barefoot from 55 degrees (an Ohio distributor) described the wines as they were poured. Here's the Kir-Yianni Rosé that accompanied the first two courses: Aside from the lovely color, this was especially successful paired with the rillette course, echoing the cherry gastrique beautifully. The Château Manos dessert wine was also memorable ; a botrytized Sémillon - Sauvignon Blanc blend with rich fruit (pear? apricot?). Luscious, but not the least bit cloying. A brilliant accompaniment to Cory's beautiful dessert, standing up to the dense fruit of the raisin gelée. This was clearly a labor of love for both chefs Michael Symon and Matt Harlan. They were generous (and patient!) in sharing the cooking methods employed. Enquiring minds want to know! (and it wasn't just me) Symon's introduction to each course was brief and settled on a common theme - let the quality of the lamb speak for itself. Sure, the dishes were gorgeous, and the flavor combinations were inventive. But the lamb itself was always the star of the dish. The roasted leg of lamb from course five speaks to this: the meat was quickly seared and then roasted low-and-slow for several hours on a bed of rosemary. The result was subtly perfumed (but not overpowered) by the herbs, and absolutely succulent. The saffron broth from course two was amazing. The eggplant purée from course four was smokey, complex, intriguing. Can you tell from the picture of the agnolotti that Matt spent a few hours ahem! under the watchful eye of Thomas Keller? This dinner was the second in a series of special events showcasing the farmer/producers who supply Lolita with superb ingredients (The first was the Ohio Honey dinner sponsored by Slow Foods ←).

As far as I know, the small plates will be a permanent part of the menu. (Chef Matt and sous chef Jeff both participate on eGullet, so they can correct me if I'm wrong about that). The menu is online on the restaurant web site. I think they mentioned that there will be a regular chef's tasting menu that will always be available. The menu we enjoyed on Saturday was for a special event, but should be fairly representative of the kind of stuff they'll be doing. I forgot to mention in my original posts that the wine pairings for the tasting menu were excellent and the service was outstanding, even discounting the fact that this is a brand new restaurant that's just getting ready to open to the public.

on to the main event... For this special event dinner, Chef Matt and company prepared a seven-course tasting menu. While these dishes are not exactly replicated on the official post-opening menu, they can serve as an indication of what's in store. Amuse papaya/pineapple/cucumber soda A lively and provocative start to the meal. Served in a tall glass with a long-handled spoon. Course I prosciutto/peas/lavender/mint Where do you find peas this fresh in Ohio in March? Yummy. Course II Seared tuna/rice/vinegar/edamame purée/soy sauce powder A sort of "deconstructed" nigiri sushi. The tuna was top-quality and perfectly prepared. The soy sauce powder is a fun twist on a traditional ingredient, and indicates that chef Matt isn't afraid to employ unusual techniques in the service of flavor. I enjoy the playful aspects of this dish, but in the end it's the flavor that counts. Delicious! Course III duck/braised red cabbage/goat cheese/crisp potato Wonderful layers of contrasting texture and flavor. For me, the most outstanding thing was the braised red cabbage, which had a deep winey complexity. Course IV Licorice Sous Vide Pheasant breast/blackberries/brie fondue The pheasant was just warm from it's gentle sous vide bath - we were instructed to dip it in the hot brie "fondue". Whoa, was that good! Course V Wagyu short ribs/Thai peanut glaze/tater tots/powdered beer Steak, spuds 'n' beer - a sly little tribute to Cleveland dining. The seared wagyu beef had that elusive savor of the perfectly-charred steak. Wagyu can sometimes be over-the-top rich (unctuous, even), but here the surface char was the star, supported by a dense, beefy center. The "tater tot" is an example of the small portions playing with the diner's affections. I wonder how many of those present last night would have gladly chowed down on a big plate of these. Course VI Pork two ways: glazed belly/shoulder sandwich/spicy mustard greens The pork belly was as good as it gets. Indescribably lovely. The mustard greens lived up to the "spicy" label, which made me happy. Course VII Chocolate covered strawberry tartlet A great finish to a superb meal. Light Bistro is a great addition to Cleveland's dining landscape. I'll be back!

When pioneering Cleveland chef Parker Bosley retired from the restaurant business at the end of 2006, he hinted that the space formerly occupied by Parker's New American Bistro would not remain idle for long. This week chef Matt Mathlage and partner Eric Dietrich will open Light Bistro. I attended a pre-opening dinner last night, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Foundation. We started the evening out with drinks at the bar, accompanied by "snacks" - small bites of some very tasty stuff. We had (if I recall correctly) pickled shrimp, foie gras fried rice with seared duck breast, crab-and-shrimp cakes, and house-cured gravlax. Small plates will be a primary feature of the menu, and if what we had last night is any indication, Cleveland diners are in for a treat. When portions are small, it's even more important to present the taste and texture of the food at its best. You've only got a bite or two to make an impression. I was especially wowed by the pickled shrimp (fresh, bright mustardy flavor) and the gravlax, which was delicate and subtly seasoned. It's clear that the Light Bistro crew is already executing on a very high level, and they aren't even officially open yet. more to come...

I joined a large group at Siam Café last night for a post-New Year feast. We had a set menu with selections from the recent Chinese New Year menu. Everything was served family-style on a lazy Susan in the center of the table. We started out with stuffed crab claws. Shrimp paste is formed around the claw meat, it's rolled in rice noodle fragments and deep-fried. Served with a sweet-salty dipping sauce. This was fantastic! Next up was Crisp-fried tofu with assorted seafood. This also had a dipping sauce and was very tasty. I think that there was some sort of seafood stuffing inside the blocks of tofu, but I don't recall what it was. The tofu had a delicate crisp coating. We had a Tom Yum soup with shrimp and mushrooms. I agree with the earlier post by Alex that the broth is a bit bland, but I had a mostly favorable impression of the soup. This is from the regular menu, not CNY. Also from the regular menu is mixed seafood and vegetable in a taro basket. Lobster with green onion Messy to eat, but delicious. Fried whole flounder Some folks were nervous about eating this because of the tiny bones. It's really quite easy to separate the flesh from the bones by pulling it apart. The fish was perfectly done - moist inside and crisp outside. Served with a sauce on the side. I don't know if this fish from one of the tanks along one wall of the restaurant. It certainly tasted fresh enough... Not pictured: Beef Tenderloin with black pepper sauce and Pork in Chef's special sauce. Both were very flavorful. The sauce for the pork was on the sweet side for my taste. Fried Spring Chicken. The chicken was carved into small portions bone-in. There was a small dish of dipping "salt" (msg and spices) that intensified the flavor. Pea-pod leaves with garlic and bamboo heart Some people found the soft texture of the bamboo heart off-putting. I liked it - a nice contrast to the crisp and crunchy textures of other ingredients. The pale grey of the bamboo also looks odd next to the brilliant green of the pea-pod leaves. Not pictured: Stir-fried e-fu noodles and Rainbow fried rice. The dishes had been coming fast-and-furious, so at this point I was having trouble keeping up. Our waiter tried to get the chef to slow down, but the lazy Susan was overflowing. The noodles have a pleasing "tooth" to them and the sauce was quite savory. The fried rice got mixed reactions, I think because the bits of pork were salty. I thought it was good. For dessert, we had Tapioca and taro soup. I like tapioca, but don't especially care for the taro. It's a bit too much like potato. The "broth" was intensely sweet. Altogether a very enjoyable meal with a fun group of friends. Siam Café's menu is extensive. See the photos that stuart_s posted to his Flickr album for an idea of just how many dishes they do there. Very impressive.

At least part of this was published in the Guardian: Statement on the 'new cookery' (Linked on Ruhlman's blog)

Yep. I think that eG member Placebo was also in that episode.

Hi Kris! I think that the menu at Lola changes a bit more slowly than the one at Lolita (no hope of keeping up with that one! ). The "6 A.M. Special" dessert was on the menu even before Lola opened. Ruhlman had it at the friends-and-family pre-opening dinner. I think it's likely that it will still be around by the time you're back in town. Maybe Cory will see this and comment. Whatever the menu is when you are here, I'm sure the desserts will be great!

I attended a dinner at Lola last night celebrating a friend's birthday. The organizer of the dinner arranged with Lola's FOH manager Doug P. to offer us a prix-fixe menu with two choices for each course. Slow Roasted Beets Lake Erie Goat Cheese, Arugula, Honey, Walnuts This is somewhat reminiscent of the dish served at Lolita for the Ohio Honey dinner (but without those totally awesome pork croutons). Slow roasting really brings out the natural sweetness of the beets. ~or~ Smoked Lobster Salad Red Pepper, Cliantro, Lime, Papaya This was split into two side-by-side presentations. Lobster medallions on a papaya puree and a sort of seviche-like preparation of claw meat with zippy pepper-lime-cilantro seasoning. There was also something crunchy (jicama?) in the latter. Both were wonderful, and the pairing worked really well. Foie Gras Sausage Beer & Cheddar Soup, Turnip Kraut, Brioche This is a terrific treatment of one of the standard "luxe" ingredients. It's unmistakably foie gras, but serving it as a sausage gives it a fun twist. Sausage, kraut, mustard and bread. Remind you of something? ~or~ Scallops Butternut Squash, Braised Oxtail, Barley One of the reasons to dine in a really great restaurant is to enjoy scallops done right. Big, gorgeous, plump scallops seared to caramelized perfection on the outside, moist and tender inside. The accompaniments heightened the enjoyment, but seriously you could just plop one of these suckers naked and unadorned on a plate and I'd be happy. Striped Bass Jowl Bacon, Spaetzle, Brussels Sprout Leaves Everyone who had this dish raved about the spaetzle. The fish was good but might have been cooked just a wee bit past the optimal point. The spaetzle-bacon-sprouts combo was perfect, and really could stand on its own without the bass. ~or~ Venison Loin Parsnips, Apple, Pomegranite The venison was tender and not a bit gamey. I think the crisp, sweet julienne of parsnip made this dish. "6 A.M. Special" French Toast, Maple-Bacon Ice Cream, Caramelized Apple Of all of the desserts that Cory Barrett has done in Cleveland, this one has drawn the most comment. I think it's the novelty factor. Yes, you can taste the bacon. And yes, it really is a yummy dessert. ~or~ Pear-Ginger Float Pear Sorbet, Ginger - Lime Soda Little bits of candied ginger give this a spicy kick. I've never had a dessert at Lola or Lolita that I didn't enjoy. Add this one to the list. The sugar cookies are a nice touch. Many thanks to Diane to organizing this party, and to the staff of Lola for making it such an enjoyable evening. And Happy Birthday Beth!

I thought of this post when I saw the following: 'Ethical' Foie Gras from Naturally Greedy Geese.