Palladion

This summer, Mos Burger has naan: Naan with curry on top, naan with avocado on top, and naan with taco fillings(!) on top. They also have lassi drinks. With the heat right now, I could definitely go for a Mos Burger lassi (if I were anywhere near Japan...) Mos Burger Naan

Ha, I was just at that 1/2 Price Books earlier today. I noticed the nearby Chuck E Cheese and wondered if that was the one that you'd be going to. Find anything good there? ------- Alex Parker

Kristin (and anyone else in the Cleveland area who's interested), I'm certainly interested in carpooling (and I should have access to a car). I'm quite flexible with times... I just today requested August 4th off, so I'm planning on attending the cullinary archive tour on Friday. Given that the first event on Sunday is at 10:30, I don't think we'll be able to attend... ------- Alex Parker

Pictures are ready now. I simply had a busy weekend and wasn't able to spend the time writing a post. Chef Dominic and his staff really put together a treat of a meal for us. We started off with the salumi board: The board had coppa, which Dominic created in-house, as well as a variety of salumi sourced from Armandino Batali in Seattle. The mole salumi, with its complex, slightly-sweet, mexican-inspired flavors, was particularly delicious, but all of the choices here were top-notch, obviously coming from craftsmen who are devoted to their craft. The salumi board also included two cheeses, parmagian and a balpaiso [sp?], which, for me, stole the show. The salumi was served with bowls of olives and peppers in olive oil and bread. After a bit of a break, most of us had the Blue Egg Ravioli as an appetizer. This came to the table as a single ravioli in sage butter: Cutting into the ravioli broke through the raw yolk in the center, letting the juices flow out and mingle with the ricotta inside the ravioli and the sage butter on the outside: This was simply luscious. This would be a disaster with anything less than exceptional ingredients, but, the combination used at Carrie Cerino's was superb. A great way to showcase the Blue Eggs. After a light salad (I ate less than a fifth of mine, as I was saving room), the entrees arrived. Most of us had ordered the Copper River Salmon, which we caught at the very end of their run this year. I ordered mine rare, and that's how it came, with a center still wild with essence of salmon. This Copper River Salmon, though, could probably stand being cooked to medium-rare (or even medium), because of its high oil content. Chef Dominic surprised us with a plate of spaghetti carbonara to share, which he said is the dish that he's most proud of. Like with Kristin, it was, for me too, the best carbonara I've ever had. Each plate is made with three (!) of the blue egg ravioli yolks, two stirred into the sauce in the kitchen, and one left whole for the customer to stir in him or herself. Along with the blue egg, the other star in the dish was the house-cured guanciale, which was full of flavor. Chef Dominic was an incredible host; he spent a lot of time talking with us at our table throughout the evening and led us on a tour through the kitchen. I never realized just how large the restaurant and banquet halls there are. I had a great time and I'm sure I'll be back before leaving for Chicago this fall. Carrie Cerino's is definitely worth the trip. ------- Alex Parker

Tink Hall (sometimes spelled Tink Holl) is the name of the Asian grocery store that used to operate out of the Asia Plaza (same building as Li Wah restaurant). They moved a few years ago to a newer, larger location on E. 36th street. Tink Hall carries a lot of various asian ingredients, but it definitely doesn't have everything. Hana (up on Mayfield Road) is probably better for Japanese ingredients, but I haven't been there since I came back from Japan. In fact, I just read about Hana in the Plain Dealer; they've apparently started selling prepared Japanese foods. Check out the article here: http://www.cleveland.com/food/plaindealer/...8220.xml&coll=2 ------- Alex Parker

You're talking about CAM (Cleveland Asian Market), right? It's big and clean. Actually, it's huge. I don't remember all that much about the place, as I wasn't able to spend that much time inside. I think prices were about the same or better than at Tink Hall. They didn't have all of the produce I was looking for, but they do have a decent selection. More choices that Tink Hall, but still not all encompassing (particularly for Japanese foods). They may not have some of the specialty herbs that Tink Hall does (lately, Tink Hall always seems to have Thai Holy Basil in stock, which makes me happy). They have a nice prepared food area, with various Chinese foods available (including roasted duck, which they cut up for you when you purchase it). I remember that a lot of my Japanese friends bought nattou there (and seemed to be happy they were able to find it).

It doesn't look like it's been mentioned, but Aladdin's Bakery, which is not affiliated with the Aladdin's Eatery chain, has some great food. It's not a restaurant... it has prepared food and takeout as well as middle-eastern supermarket fare (sauces, dried beans, herbs, rices, pastes, cheeses, and the like). They've even got a small olive bar. The food there is cheaper and more strongly flavored that the food from Aladdin's Eatery. I really like their spinach pies, rich with feta cheese and lemon. They also sell various pita sandwiches, "pita pizzas", salads, kibbeh balls, and other assorted dishes. A lot of the Cleveland supermarkets sell pita bread from Aladdin's Bakery, but it's fresher and cheaper to buy it from the source. The Bakery is located very close to Downtown, on Carnegie, near East 13th (across Carnegie from Paterson's nut shop). Edit: Wrote the wrong street...

I've been meaning to go to both Slyman's and Pho Hua (or whatever that pho and ban mi shop is called now) for a while now. I work just a mile or two away, but I still haven't gotten around to running out there for lunch yet. I'm definitely going to hit both sometime this summer, because I'm heading off to Chicago in the fall. ------- Alex

I dined in a party of three this evening at Lolita. We arrived quite early, just after 6:00. I think I saw two other parties in the restaurant at the time. All three of us are fairly light diners, so we decided to split all of our food, to allow us to sample more of the fare. We ordered three small plates, a soup, the big board, and a single pasta entree. As I expected, the server was surprised that was all we were ordering. Inexplicably, all of our food was brought to our table at the same time. We were served the big board first, as as we were still working on our first few liersurely bites, we were served the soup, the small plates, and the pasta in quick succession. This made everyone feel rushed and somewhat overwhelmed by the food, and I almost asked the server what the problem was. With all of the large dishes the restaurant uses, along with the long boards used for serving the big board and the small plates, it almost didn't fit on the table at the same time. The restaurant was almost empty, so it obviously wasn't a need to turn the table quickly. The last time I had eaten at Lolita, my companion and I had ordered in the same way, and our food had come out in the normal progression, one item at a time, allowing us to easily pace ourselves. This had been on a busy Friday evening, yet today, on a very slow Wednesday, we were hit with all of the food at once. We felt somewhat pressured to rush through the soup and pasta before they cooled off. The next time I eat there, I am going to be sure to specify how I want the food served. From the small plates: The omo is no longer on the menu. We tried the sausage with yogurt, which was very satisfying - the tart yogurt helps cut through the grease from the sausage. The spinach pie was so-so - I thought the filling was somewhat bland. We also had the crispy pork with beets and honey, which was very good, though I still miss the crunchy beets from the beet salad that was served when the eGullet group dined there last summer. The soup, which one of my companions was dead set on ordering, was a cream soup with potato and wild mushrooms. It was actually quite good, very earthy, particularly from the mushrooms. The big board this time included a date and apple paste along with the mustardo and the truffle honey. The big board was again a hit, and I thought the herimeri was incredible. I wish they'd given us more. The pasta that we had was a linguini with clams. Again, the choice of one of my companions - I had been pushing for the heritage pork. The pasta was good, though not as standout as the thicker pasta I had eaten there before. For dessert, we split three small plates. The crispy lemon meringue was refreshing, delicious, and light, though I wish more was included - it was basically a small meringue cookie topped with a tiny dolop of lemon stuff (I don't know the technical pastry term). The rice pudding coroquets were very nice, though my companions didn't like their somewhat savory nature. Finally, we had the Turkish coffee semifreddo, which was a warm sweet layer on top of a bitter ice cream layer. The sweet part was too sweet and too thick - the first person to try it didn't get to the ice cream layer and ended up eating a spoonful of super-sweet goo. Before ordering, we asked about that Turkish coffee semifreddo, and the server described it as being similar to a creme brulee with coffee flavors. I have no idea why it was described as such... It was largely a successful meal, with the exception of receiving all of the food at once. I was almost annoyed to the point of sending the small plates back and asking them to be made up again when we were ready for them. Two of the small plates sat on the table for at least half an hour before we got to them. In the end, I decided not to make a scene, but, again, I'm going to be sure to specify how I prefer the food be served the next time I am there. ------- Alex Parker

Thai sticky rice needs to be steamed, not just cooked, so I don't think that any rice cooker will be able to handle that rice correctly. It would be wonderful if they could, though. I have the Zojirushi 5-1/2 cup Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker, and it's been very good... reading through this thread has definitely made me want to try cooking oatmeal in it for breakfast, something I hadn't thought of before. Before the Zojirushi, I bought a cheaper Panasonic model, which the store clerk said had a non-stick cooking bowl - it didn't, and it was a horrible mess to clean. Took it back after one use and paid the extra to exchange it for the Zojirushi model.

Hi Kristin, I've been catching up with other things for the past few months, but have started browsing eGullet again daily. I ate at Lolita a few months back, but I'm not sure I can remember enough about it for a good discussion. I ordered the beet salad again (because the last one was so good) but it was much different this time around - the beets were soft, rather than crunchy; the truffle honey wasn't nearly as pronounced; it used a different cheese (which I'm forgetting right now); and it also included pancetta. I vastly perferred the version that we had at the eG meet last summer. Getting a little off the topic here... I hope you and your family have been doing well. Have you done a foodblog recently? I'll be looking at carpooling (if anyone from the area [or passing through] is interested), particularly given the dire warnings that have been sounded for gas prices this summer.

I'll definitely be there if I can manage it. I missed out last year because I was out of the country. It sounds great already! ------- Alex Parker

Hi Kristin. Hope you're enjoying your time here in Cleveland. I have a few friends that live very close to that restaurant, so I've been eaten there twice since returning to Cleveland. I've been impressed both times. Well, more the first than the second, but the second time we were getting takeout, which hurt the quality of the food a little. But eating in was cheap and delectable. The handsome selection of cakes in the display case in the front is a little incongruous with the rest of the food served. On a related question, you've mentioned a really good gelato shop in that area... is that Le Geleteria, a few shops down from Aladdin's? I haven't stopped in yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. ------- Alex Parker

Now that I'm back in the Cleveland area, I'm interested in this as well. I had dinner at the Siam Cafe last week. I didn't think much of their Tom Yum, honestly. It was lacking in flavor, all the carefully balanced spiciness, saltiness, sourness was nowhere to be found. I like my Tom Yum to be redolent with lemongrass, keffir lime leaf, and galangal -- their's wasn't very fragrant. The gai pad krapow (chicken with spicy basil) was all right, but suffered from a lack of the specific basil flavor that I'm looking for. I'm not entirely sure why. Everyone else liked it, but I thought it was lacking. It was spicy, but it was not the peppery-spiciness that holy basil is famous for. Though now that I think about it, the menu doesn't actually say "krapow" or "holy basil". The Chinese dishes fared better (or perhaps I'm just less exacting with those). Also, those two Thai dishes that we chose depend very heavily upon specific ingredients which may be difficult to locate here. JASNO (Japan-America Society of Northeast Ohio) has (or perhaps had, I've been gone two years and out of touch) monthly dinner discussions at Shinano, in Richmond Heights. I can't really discuss the quality of the food that they serve, as I knew very little about Japanese cuisine before going to Japan, but the JASNO people think (or thought, anyway) that it's the most authentic that's available in the Cleveland area. I do remember that I really liked their katsudon, though I can't remember much about it. If you go there and can read Japanese, make sure you get the Japanese-language menu. There are some items on that menu that are not written on the English menu. ------- Alex Parker

The best yakisoba I've had was at Fuugetsu, a popular chain of Okonomiyaki restaurants in the Kansai area. While I thought their okonomiyaki was decent, the yakisoba was awesome. As this was an okonomiyaki restaurant, the yakisoba was cooked right at the table. In a nice gesture, they handed everyone little paper bibs, to protect clothes from splattering oil as the noodles cooked. A couple of other nice touches: first, they laid down onto the cooking surface a little oil and some very fatty pork and let the pork fat melt, to flavor the other ingredients. Secondly, the noodles were excellent: they were much thicker than the noodles normally used for yakisoba, and were pleasantly chewy. Not as thick as, say, udon, but noticably thicker. Instead of a sauce, they used a "spice" concoction from a shaker. I've tried making my own sauce in the past, using ingredients like worchestire sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and the like, but still haven't gotten anything really nice. Anyone have a good recipe? ------- Alex Parker

Wonderous pictures! That picture of the food market in Osaka also jumped out at me, as I recognized the place from my own trip. A friend and I happened upon it by accident, on our way from one of the subway stations to Den Den Town, the electronics area. That was on January 3rd, so most of the shops and restaurants were shut down for the holidays. Still, I definitely felt a lot of the character that you describe. No pretenses, no flashy, mechanical advertisements, just a simple market, well-used. We happened upon the market purely by chance, but I am quite thankful we decided to wander inside. We originally entered the market to find a bite to eat and eventually, after much wandering, found a stall selling some wonderful takoyaki. Though it wasn't open at the time, you can see the stall we ate at in the picture that you posted: Quite an interesting (and delicious) takoyaki: in addition to the tako, they also put a piece of cooked potato in the takoyaki. I'm guessing you visited Tsukiji shortly before the recent change to disallow tourists from entering the Tsukiji auction area. If true, do you know how close you came? ------- Alex Parker

Thanks so much for that write-up! I'll go ahead and give it a shot soon (maybe this weekend. One question, though. How much mochi-ko comes in a box? I've only ever seen it in bags here in Japan, and I've seen it in different sizes, including 200g bags and 1kg bags and some in-between. Yes, I decided not to stay for a third year, so I'm headed back to the States at the end of July. Both sad and excited. Sad and excited on the food side of things too: I never became interested in food until I after I came to Japan, so I'll have an entirely new world to explore in Cleveland. Right now, I'm trying to figure out what places here in Tokyo I want to eat at before leaving... I really doubt daifuku are available in Cleveland, which is why I'd really like to learn to make my own. It's such a lovely and versatile little dessert. ------- Alex

Those daifuku that you made look great, even if the yomogi ones are on the paler side. I've sworn off yomogi-flavored daifuku, after the last couple that I bought allowed their yomogi flavoring to overpower everything else. Can you go into a little detail about how you prepare the mochi side of the daifuku? I've become quite enamored with daifuku and other Japanese confections since coming to Japan, but I'll be returning to the States in a few months, and I don't really think they're going to be readily availble in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. I tried a mirowave preparation using jyoushinko (上新粉) but it would either dry and and clump up, or it would stay liquid, with a very "raw" flavor (the flour would not incorporate). Anything you can share on ingredients or technique would be greatly appreciated. ------- Alex Parker

Tonight, I stopped in at Seven Eleven to pay a bill. Remembering Kristin's raves for the Tandori Chicken chips, I checked to see if they had 'em... and they did. I felt obliged to buy a bag. I really like the flavor. They're barbecue flavored chips, but without the sweetness or the strange lingering aftertaste that I've always associated with babecue flavored chips. ------- Alex Parker

You'll be able to find quite a lot of quick foods or snacks in or very close to those two malls. I think there are something like three imagawayaki/taiyaki vendors there. There are also a takoyaki vendor, some bakeries / pastry shops, and prepared food shops. I agree with smallworld, about how Nakano evokes a shitamachi feeling. It has spirit, enthusiasm, and eccentricity. A fun place to explore. I imagine you won't have any problems finding enough interesting food to keep you satisfied for a week. ------- Alex Parker

I went to one with a friend while in Osaka over the Winter holiday. My friend and I both made similar comments about how such a restaurant would never be able to operate in the US. It was sort of interesting to do ourselves, but the quality of ingredients and preparation was much higher at the more traditional kushikatsuya that we stopped at earlier in the trip. Plus, I can't eat enough to make that style of all-you-can-eat place truly cost effective -- it's not like regular kushikatsu is particularly expensive. It's also something that you order by the piece, so people eating alone or in pairs don't really gain much by heading to a buffet. Some of the pictures from a site linked to in the Watashi to Tokyo blog are incredible. Yum. ------- Alex Parker

Just remembered another two native ingredients: sweet potatoes and pecans, both of which have already been mentioned in pie form. You're going to have plenty of options for desert. ------- Alex Parker

Potatoes! ------- Alex Parker

I've never been to one of the Costcos in Japan (too far to travel without a car), but Costco concessions stands are an attraction even in the US. My relatives in the San Francisco area eat there occasionally (when they're feeling lazy), and will often buy takeout pizzas to eat at home. I've heard that the ones in Japan serve food that is similar, if not exactly the same, but I don't have any personal experience. ------- Alex Parker

I've just begun making it on a regular basis. I make the dashi from prepared fish flakes and kombu (I'm not [yet?] willing to go so far as to use the dried fish blocks). Last night: the traditional, silken tofu and wakame. ------ Alex Parker