NancyH

Lunched at Bangkok Thai today with officemates. They had Pad Thai and I had my camera: The peanut smell was enticing, and they both enjoyed it. Note the lime slice - Tom, they must have heard you! I had "Crazy Noodles" for the first time - Medium-thick rice noodles stir fried with choice of meat (chicken for me today) Thai Chili Sauce, Thai Basil (which infused the whole dish with flavor), onion, hot pepper and exquisitely crisp vegetables. I asked for it "**" spicy, as indicated in the menu, but I think it was spicier than that. No complaints from me, though. Ironically, it was a slight language barrier that brought the extra hear, but not what you might expect in a Thai restaurant - our server was Russian! It was an excellent, inexpensive lunch. Crazy Noodles

I just realized that I posted the wrong photo of dessert from Vie - this is what Bob actually had: German Chocolate Cake Butter Pecan Ice Cream, cocoa nib tuile, toasted coconut and pecan frosting I'm not sure which diner's dessert I put in the post. Oh well, it was all good!

One key to making it through the Thursday odyssey was sharing - Bob and I cut things in half and shared them at many of the stops, and otherwise left things over (which did not go to waste, as Ronnie and Julie brought a cooler along anticipating there would be leftovers). The saddest part of that was only being able to eat about half of my snapper at Flamingo's.

My pleasure to accommodate, Nsxtasy! marinated and wood-grilled sturgeon, sweet potatoes, roasted cipollinis, organic crème fraiche, and roasted nichols farm brussel sprouts Chilean Sea Bass Sorry - I don't have a photo of your dessert from Vie. My complete photoset from our trip is here.

The weekend before Halloween, my husband Bob and I treated ourselves as a 12th Anniversary Present to a long weekend in Chicago. EGullet's own Ronnie Suburban and his wife were kind enough to take time from their busy lives to show us where the great eats may be found in this awesome food town. All 165 of my photos can be viewed at link to Flickr, but I've uploaded some choice ones here to whet your appetite. We started by driving up from Cleveland on Wednesday, October 24. We met Ronnie, his wife and 10 year old son (an amazing foodie in his own right, for one so young), as well as EG friend Nxstasy, at Vie Restaurant, 4471 Lawn Ave, Western Springs, IL, (708) 246-2082, website. Vie emphasizes local and sustainable products, and treats them very well. We began with an Amuse: Shrimp and Jicama Both Bob and young Lucas opted for the Quail appetizer, which was most delicious: I started with Warm Red Kuri Squash Flan, with Honey, Vinegar, shaved Asian Pears, candied pumpkin seeds and arugula. The candied pumpkin seeds took this dish to exceptional heights and the flan was darn tasty also! Bob's salad course consisted of Butternut Squash Salad served warm with chestnuts, preserved pears, house made boar salami and pecorino: It was really the boar salami that convinced Bob to try this dish, and he was not disappointed (and I loved the squash). I had the most fabulous beet salad, made unique by the addition of pickled herbs, roasted marcona almonds and preserved cherries that absolutely rocked! I must share with you an image of the honking hunk of foie gras Nxstasy enjoyed (and which he was kind enough to share): Seared and served with spiced Scottish Shortbread, date puree, roasted sunchokes and honeycrisp apples. For his main, Bob had Berkshire Pork Loin & Sausage: Braised red cabbage sauerkraut, fingerling poatoes and pickled carrots. Focus on the luscious sausage! I enjoyed the Pan Roasted Loup de Mer: Sustainably farm raised seabass, cannellini bean puree, local tomato jam (yum!!), arugula, spanish olives with sweet & sour scallions - the olive treatment was extraordinary! I have to share this next one - Ronnie's amazing Braised Goat entree: Goat Leg marinated and grilled, with cripsy spaetzle, roasted and pickled turnips, mustard sauce and blueberry mostarda. I was grateful for a taste of this amazingly good dish. Moving to dessert - the Chef treated each of us to this lovely Grape Trio: Local Grape Trio: Concord Grape Soup, Niagra Grape Sorbet, Fresh Grapes Even though we were stuffed - we all ordered a dessert! I got the Local Sweet Corn Cake: Maple and White Chocolate Cream, Maple Candied Walnuts, Corn Tuile I don't know how they got such sweet corn in such quantity at this time of year - but I approve!! Bob got the Molten German Chocolate Cake: Butter Pecan Ice Cream, cocoa nib tuile, toasted coconut and pecan frosting. An amazing end to a fabulous dinner. But this was only the beginning! Thursday, we did an 8 stop tour of some of the best eats Chicago and environs have to offer! We started at the original location of the now-franchised Al's Italian Beef: It's all about the beef, baby! Next - Jim's Original Polish Sausage, 1250 S. Union Street, Chicago, (312) 733-7820. Bone-In Pork Chop Sandwich Polish Sausage We next headed for Chinatown. Our first stop there was Chiu Quon Bakery, 2242 S Wentworth Ave, Chicago, (312) 225-6608. This is a Shanghai style bakery, with a dizzying assortment of baked and steamed buns, Western-influenced but still Chinese cakes, and rice dishes. We sampled two baked buns - sausage (lap cheong) and pork, but we were in motion and failed to get any photos. Our next stop: We enjoyed the fiery Szechuan treats served here - after running into Mr. and Mrs. Nxstasy! Hot Cabbage Amuse String Beans in Spicy Black Bean Sauce The combination of pressed tofu, whole black beans and fresh green beans, together with the numbing effect of Sichaun Peppercorn, was amazing. Spicy Shredded Potatoes This one was new to our hosts, but familiar to us thanks to Jo-Mel! Chef's Special Dry Chili Chicken This baby was hot! Crispy without being a bit greasy. For the next course, we stopped at this pork fat mecca: 1113 W 18th St Chicago, IL 60608 (312) 829-4757 We ordered ours with extra skin. House-made Dipping Sauce Out hosts insisted that a recent comer to the local food scene had BBQ that couldn't be beat - and they were right! On our way to this location, my cellphone rang. It was Alinea, advising us that yes, we could squeeze a third person into our reservation for Saturday night. I immediately called Edsel and told him to come on up to Chicagotown! But I digress. Smoque BBQ is apparently becoming a local favorite, and is featured on a Food Network program that is running now: Diners, Drive Ins and Dives Smoque BBQ 3800 N Pulaski Rd Chicago, IL 60641 (773) 545-7427 This version of brisket was topped with the house made BBQ sauce Uhmm - crunchy Pulled Pork Pulled Pork with Vinegar "Mop" You can also see the amazing made-from-scratch fries in this photo. St. Louis Ribs And the best damn Mac 'N Cheese this Mac 'N Cheese lover has ever tasted! Mr. DeMille - I'm ready for my close-up! I don't know how we found the intestinal fortitude (or room) to go on - but a true Chicago hotdog seemed in order. We learned about the great debates that go on about Chicago dogs - Vienna or Superdawg? Ronnie decided to have us try Superdawg this day, with a chance to compare with a Vienna dog another day. What I liked most about the Superdawg was the tomato-based relish (as I abhor the taste and texture of anything cucumber). However, the "proprietary" dog lacked snap (since it had no casing), and was very mild in flavor. It was still an enjoyable stop. Surely, you might think, we'd be done by now. Well . . . not exactly. Ronnie had one more treat in store for us, at this newly expanded place: 2401 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL 60659 Here are the highlights of this stop: Dipping Sauce Paratha Spicy "Broast" Chicken Chicken Boti Kashmiri Tea, savory, with nuts and spices Whew - what a long day of eating! We were done. We began Thursday at Frontera Grill and enjoyed a tasty lunch (or was it breakfast?): Amuse This went well with a Margarita! The appetizers were all a little small for the price, and a little underwhelming, though tasty. Guacamole Enchiladas - Corn Tortillas rolled around Huitlacoche ("inky corn mushroom"; aka corn smut or fungus) and roasted vegetables, doused with tomatilli-corn sauce and topped with jack cheese. We liked the smut better than we thought we would, but we still think it is an acquired taste. Garnachitas de Pato Corn-masa "boats"; with red chile braised duck, black beans, grilled red onions, orange dressed sunflower greens and homemade cheese. This was Bob's entree: Puerco Otonal Pork loin in a sauce of roasted dilicata and ancho chilies, spaghetti squash with grilled red onions, Applewood-smoked bacon and grilled green beans. We both liked this a lot. I went with the daily special: Pork Tamale with Pea Shoots This was also very good - we all liked the entrees much better. It was odd - all of these Latin servers - and virtually no customers of any color other than white. Oh well - it certainly was a meal worthy of our tour. But lunchtime was not over just because this meal was over! I had expressed interest in sampling "real" Chicago deep dish pizza. Pizza is a bit of a passion for me (see my pizza thread). So Ronnie took us to one of Chicago's "originals": 6649 N Lincoln Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712, (847) 673-0800 While I enjoyed the opportunity to sample this Chicago staple, I felt that this pizza simply lacked profundity. When dinnertime rolled around, we re-convened, with Mr. and Mrs. Nxtasy, for Mexican Seafood at Flamingo's Seafood, 1590 S Busse Rd, Mt Prospect, IL 60056, (847) 364-9988, which was relatively near our hotel where we had some business later that evening. It was a most enjoyable meal, with generous portions and fresh flavors; these are the highlights: Complimentary Ceviche tradicional de Dorado estilo Flamingo's - Mahimahi Now - that's a serving of Gaucamole (topped with fresh crabmeat) Clams, Mussels, Squid and the most amazing tiny tiny scallops in hot tomato sauce. Whole Fried Red Snapper with mojo de ajo (Garlic). Yum. Mexican cheese pie with caramel sauce and chocolate sauce Saturday morning, we met Edsel at one of Ronnie's favorite breakfast places - Prairie Grass Cafe, 601 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook, IL 60062, (847) 205-4433. Since they specialize in variations on Eggs Benedict - that is what Bob and I had, together with an order of their house-made sausage! Traditional Eggs Benedict for Bob "Signature" EB for me: Poached Eggs over Sauteed Spinach, Bacon and English Muffin, Roasted Tomato Hollandaise, Gently fried Breakfast Potatoes Since our Alinea reservation was not until 8:30pm, we decided to try one more delicacy before parting for the day - an authentic casing Vienna Dog at fRedhots & Fries: 1707 Chestnut Ave, Glenview, IL 60025, (847) 657-9200 Dog with the works - but hold the pickle relish (Bob gets the pickle slice) I liked the snap and the poppyseed bun, but Bob felt it lacked flavor. Oh well, the dog wars go on! Saturday dinner at Alinea was amazing. Edsel took the photos (I haven't figured out how to get a good exposure without flash); you can see them here. Edsel stayed around for another meal on Sunday - I guess it was "brunch" - probably the best Thai meal I've ever had! 3930 N Sheridan Rd, Chicago, IL 60613, (773) 327-5253 My first thought as we walked up to it was - what a dump! But oh, the marvelous food they are making there - not dumbed down a whit! And pleasant service and a comfortable, if ramshackle, interior. Tom Kha - Rich Chicken Soup with a Red Curry Base and lots of coconut milk Thai Beef Jerky Spicy Papaya Salad House-made sausage Fried Chicken Moo Ping - Grilled Pork Skewers Shrimp Mousse Dumplings Believe it or not - those were just the appetizers - and we cleaned the plates! Here are the mains: Crispy Onchoy - Green Thai vegetable in a tempura-like batter, perfectly fried and served with greens, pork and shrimp Spicy Basil Chicken with Preserved Eggs Sorry I didn't get a good image of the eggs - they were fantastic! Boat Noodles with Beef This dish borrowed liberally from Chinese cuisine in its use of Star Anise and the slow braise. We loved it. Duck Curry Pad Thai Omlette Nutty Dessert Blueberry-filled dessert At the end of this meal, Edsel bid us goodbye and headed back for Cleveland. But we had this last night yet to go on our tour. After considering several possibilities, Ronnie decided that we should try Paprika, a Hungarian restaurant that had a successful life downtown for years, but which had moved to the suburbs (near our hotel) about a year and a half ago. It wasn't a standout by any means, but we still enjoyed our meal: Langos - Deep Fried Garlic Bread Combination Plate Goulash Close Up The Beef Goulash was the best part of the plate, along with the Spaetzle. My mother used to make Goulash, and this had some similar textures and flavors. The Chicken Paprikash had nice flavors, but the chicken was dry and overcooked, as was the Broccoli (overcooked, that is). Stuffed Cabbage Roll Pork & rice filling. It was good - but to my Jewish palate, sour cream just did not go with it. Wiener Schnitzel - good, but lacked profundity House Made Cherry & Apple Strudels - A Happy Ending After dinner, we said goodbye to our intrepid food friends, and prepared to return to Cleveland second thing Monday. But of course, first thing Monday, we would have to eat! Ronnie suggested that we might try The Depot American Diner or Top Notch for our last meal. But when we started out Monday, we were tired and didn't want to deviate from I290 once we got on it. Luckily, we found a cozy greasy spoon right around the corner from our hotel in Arlington Heights that provided the perfect road food: The place certainly had character! And cooked-to-order food at cheap prices! Double cheeseburger with fries "Hamburger Steak & Eggs" served with buttery grits and toast This meal held us all the way back to Cleveland. If you are interested in reading about what we ate when we got back to Cleveland, check out my blog at Fun Playing With Food! Thank you Ronnie & Co for a food and culture filled weekend of great eats!

Hire a local attorney who has some experience buying/selling restaurants and related issues to advise you. Good luck! NancyH (an attorney in real life)

The new menu at Lolita just keeps getting better and better! Bob and I dined there last night with White Lotus, Edsel and tino27. I avoided duplicating photos of items posted above, but there were some items that deserve a rerun. First - we shared with Chef Matt (and Chef Michael, who stopped by the restaurant shortly before we sat down for dinner) a beautiful Linus-O-Lantern carved by my office's receptionist for us - since we were spending Halloween at Lolita, it seemed appropriate to share it! We ordered some appetizers and pizzas for White Lotus to sample. She raved about the stuffed dates, which are truly heavenly, and the Wings, also photographed previously. We cleaned our plate of fried pig ears, which were amazingly crisp and almost light - just returned to the menu - and which are accompanied by the most perfectly pickled, yet still crispy vegetables: We also enjoyed the Warm Olives appetizer, which was a first try for all of us: We shared two pizzas: Tomato Basil Duck Prosciutto and Blue Egg - "Before" Duck Prosciutto and Blue Egg - "After" We were almost too full to continue - but we were determined to finally crack the "entree" section of the menu. We ordered two, which also entitled us to two sides. We opted for the creamed corn, which even at this late date is amazingly sweet and toothsome, and the polenta, which is cheesy-corny perfection (both of which are shown above). First entree: Braised Pork Cheeks, Roasted Onions, Chili & Parsley This dish wasn't really spicy, but had deep and tasty flavors. Roasted Chicken, White Beans, Arugula, Oven Dried Tomato and Salsa Verde We would not normally order chicken out - but this was no ordinary chicken! Sourced from a local farm, it had rich flavor and perfectly crispy skin. Chef Matt then asked us to sample and comment upon a "work in progress": House-made Tagliatelle with Beef Cheeks and Mushrooms I am always a sucker for homemade pasta, so this dish made me very happy. I hope it makes the menu! We still need to try the lasagna and the hangar steak - and those Pig Roasts are still happening every Tuesday, weather permitting!

My husband and I dined at Alinea on Saturday and we were most impressed with both the food and the service. Edsel drove up from Cleveland Friday just to dine with us (we were doing a longer visit to Chicago). tsg20 - so sorry to hear that you were disappointed.

What drove the date for this past year (mid-July) was that the Church where we held the Saturday festivities was mostly booked up by the time we committed to them, leaving us only 2 choices. I'd suggest finding the facility and getting available dates from them; that will narrow it down.

Last night, we attended yet another wonderful beer dinner held in a prominent Cleveland restaurant. fire entitled the evening "octoberfest celebration". We were served some marvelous food, and tasted delicious beers, including a couple I'd never tried before! The evening began with fire's house-made, delectable bread service: The amuse was accompanied by a shot glass of Guiness: "irish breakfast" boudin noir, baked beans and quail egg Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale accompanied the next course - Pumpkin and Roasted Celeriac Soup with Pumpkin Seed-Cardamom Brittle: The soup was served piping hot - when swirled with a spoon, contrails of brittle streaked and sweetened the soup. It was a masterpiece, and the beer matched perfectly, accenting the pumpkin in the soup and the spicings. Next came a salad - Beer Braised Radicchio, Grilled Apples & Pears, Pancetta Vinaigrette and Fried Cranberries: We enjoyed this salad with Founders Red's Eye, described as containing a notable amount of rye grain. The beer was perfumed with citrus and spice that played off of the bitterness of the radicchio. The cranberries were slightly spicy, adding to the complexity of the course. The next plate contained pan seared Diver Scallops, Curried Fingerlings, Swiss Chard, and Lemongrass Foam and Blood Orange Beurre Blanc: The Victory Hopdevil Ale, named for the prominence of the hops, was a perfect foil for the mild scallops and spicy chard. Our palates were refreshed by the kitchen's next offering, a Beet Sorbet topped with a slice of Candied Horseradish - and yes, it absolutely worked! Our table agreed that the best was yet to come (after we tasted it, of course) - a fabulous made-from-scratch ravioli stuffed with braised boar, topped with slices of Pan Seared Boar Medallions, and plated over Chestnut Puree with sides of Mushroom-Fennel Ragout and Mini Carrot, and Boar Jus: A View Inside the Ravioli And the perfect beer served with this perfect dish was . . . Founder's Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale - a rich, sweet brew that did not overwhelm the more delicate aspects of the dish. I don't know how they got the boar meat stuffing in the ravioli to be so tender, but oh my, it was melt-in-your-mouth good! And there was one more course yet to come! After a pour of Weyerbacher Old Heathen Imperial Stout - which was perfectly balanced between malt and hops - we were presented the following plate: Pomegranate Swirl Ice Cream Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans Molten Chocolate Cake What can I say except yum? How about this - many of you know that I have a total aversion to all things coffee - the result of a major burn inflicted on my tender skin by Mom's coffee when I was about 3 years old. Well, since I try to not let my food taboos keep me from playing with my food, I tentatively tasted the very outside of one of the espresso beans. It tasted so good (and the rest of the dessert had been so good) that I bit a little harder - it kept tasting good - so I added a little more pressure. Unfortunately, I did wind up biting the bean - and I'm sorry to say that to my coffee-averse palate, the bean itself tasted awful. My fault, I should have known better! Still, there was more Imperial Stout to wash it down - so a happy ending was had by all! Kudos to Chef Katz and his talented staff (someone please fill in the names; I did not get them and they deserve to be recognized for putting this feast together). And Cleveland - keep those beer dinners coming! It's more fun than a bottle of wine!

Wednesday October 10, our table of 4 EGulleteers enjoyed the first Farmers Dinner presented by Light Bistro. Special guests James Falb, of Country Gristmill and Riverbank General, and Monroe Stutzman of Stutzman Farms, provided most of the foodstuffs that wound up on our dinner plates. And it was a wonderful dinner! We started with an amuse of Green Onion Hushpuppies served with a whipped Honey Butter, that was presented in a shotglass topped with honey granules: The first course was a cold Mint Tea Smoked Chicken with a Carrot-Lime-Basil puree: The skin topping the chicken morsels was perfectly crisp and redolent of tea smoke: The flavors of the puree burst off of the plate and onto the palate, with the micro-basil adding an extra dimension: As always, Lake Erie Creamery Butter accompanied the bread service, which came to the table after the smoked chicken course: We enjoyed two types of bread, hot from the oven! First - Olive Bread, studded with beautiful olives that made butter unnecessary: The second type was a straightforward whole wheat roll - dense and toothy: The breads were followed by a rich Butternut Squash Soup, which contained apple, bits of Hot Italian Sausage made from the Stutzman Farm pork, and a heavenly ricotta stuffed ravioli: The flavors were fabulous - though it was served somewhere between hot and cold, and we couldn't tell if that was intentional or not! A second chicken course came next - a morsel of the fabulously fresh bird was wrapped in bacon and plated over smoked potato puree, and topped with a luscious Peach Leather made in the Light Bistro kitchen from the last of the season's local peaches: I was too full to eat more than a taste of the final savory course - but it made a fabulous lunch today! Citrus and chile braised spare ribs were served with fig BBQ and an amazing cold corn pudding (that is the yellow rectangle you see below), simply cooked peanut potatoes, and a slice of sweet fried green tomato that melted in the mouth: Close up of the Spare Ribs Thankfully, dessert was light. But it was most satisfying and creative! Chef Matt made Carrot Panna Cotta, topped with Pecan Brittle and a Cream Cheese Foam - even though I was too full for my last meat course, I was able to enjoy this treat: Chef Matt - if you are out there - give us a shout and remind me what that sweet drop off to the right was! As I mentioned up top, most of the foodstuffs were provided by Stutzman Farms. Their products are available at the Shaker Square Farmers Market, and at Riverbank General, an Organic Store located at 5539 Butternut Road, Canal Fulton, OH 44614, near State Rt. 21. Country Gristmill, represented by James Falb, also specializes in chemical free foods, including dairy, free range eggs, grass fed pork, produce, baked goods, baking flours and breakfast grains. PM me if you are interested in their contact info. We look forward to dining at Light Bistro again soon!

Which equipment did you want to know about? As for the sausages - the Yamato was completely consumed (both the vegetarian loaf and the almost vegetarian except for the casing links), but Bob made fewer of them than the others. I just asked him, and he thinks it was the Cluck and Moo (and I must give my mom credit for coming up with the name - it is the name she always uses for a BBQ of beef and chicken products).

Tino - the gathering chair - who had the Bosch/Surreal vision - especially enjoyed how surreal the bread was!

This past weekend, my husband Bob and I catered Hospitality for about 150 people at a Regional Gathering ("RG") held by a social club we belong to. We did not invent all of these methods ourselves, but the expansion of Hospitality at our gatherings from chip and dip affairs to full blown meals has evolved with the help of many of our members who love food (and who are very intelligent and creative). For the first time this weekend, I tried to photodocument our doings (which is extremely difficult when you are the person in charge) for your amusement. The name of the event was Hieronymus Basch and the theme was surreality. The event is a social event and a fund raiser for the local Mensa group scholarship fund. First - the cooking! Bob and I worked for weeks to prepare and freeze many of the food items you are about to see. I also worked the sales to obtain beverages and snack foods at the best price, and piled the products up in my living room. In my basement, a supply of equipment including chafing dishes, roasters, coffee urns, and serving implements, awaited the big weekend. Next - moving out/in, from our home in an eastern suburb of Cleveland to Lorain County Ohio, and the hotel where this event will take place, on Thursday. A crew of volunteers and a U-Haul are employed to make this happen. Between Thursday evening and Friday morning, the Prep Room is set up in a hotel sleeping room that has had most of the furniture removed: Classroom tables are stacked to give us storage for food - snacks, produce, ingredients, breads, etc. The hotel supplies us with 6 small refrigerators; some of our gatherings actually rent 2 full size fridges for a weekend. Three butane stoves will be our "cooktop" for reheating soups and sauces. A similar set up, with a single Iwatani high powered burner and an electric bucket warmer (an idea I got from an EGullet post) are set up in my sleeping room next door, for reheating Pierogie on Friday and for cooking 12 pounds of pasta on Saturday. It is necessary to do this because we are already planning to run an 18 quart electric roaster and coffee urns in the main prep room; one more electrical device will overload the circuits and pop the breaker. The bucket warmer is necessary because even with the high btu output of the Iwatani, the stove is not enough when we start with 16 qts of water and need to keep recovering the boil after each batch of food is cooked. The bucket warmer gets us to the boil and keeps us there! As Friday afternoon draws near, cans of pop and beer are placed in bathtubs in the sleeping rooms adjacent to the main serving room (over a plastic liner); the tubs are then filled with ice to chill the beverages and keep them chilled. Snacks are set out in the main serving room - bowls of chips, crackers and candies, as well as cheese cubes and chopped veggies (ready to eat from a local purveyor). A hotdog rollergrill is set up in one of the auxiliary rooms. Volunteers roll in with brownies and cookies they have baked, to be put out on the sweets table. Long time member Robert shows up with a 5 gallon Igloo of home made punch that tastes delicious (and goes wonderfully with rum). A keg of microbrew from Rocky River Brewing Co. arrives and is set up, along with wine and malt beverages. And then, we get to full tilt re-heating and prepping a buffet dinner spread for about 130 people. My "sous chef" arrives from Cincinnati and begins heating three soups on the burners pictured above (which, unfortunately, I did not get pictures of). Her contribution is "Basched Potato Soup", which is a big hit. I offer Squashed Soup (made from assorted winter squashes) and Soft Construction with Boiled Beans, which is actually from an Emeril recipe for Chicken, Bean and Bacon Soup that is most delicious. The soups are served in crock pots. Next up are two cold main dish salads, and a salad bar. This Spinach Cous-Cous Salad was prepared with a recipe inspired by Linda and Fred Griffith: The salad bar set up is rather ingenious - I wish I had thought of this! I neglected to get a photo of "The Concert in the Deviled Eggs", but they were lovely. The hot buffet began with "Bob's Surreal Sausage Spot" - my husband has had way too much time on his hands since he retired, and thanks to Ruhlman and Polcyn, has been playing with his food with delicious results. In order to get maximum bang for our budget buck, he sized them to fit 1/2 a hot dog bun. No photo - these were devoured before I could get my camera! Interestingly, the vegetarian sausage loaves were devoured! We did not make these pockets of goodness - the Church Ladies in Parma supply them. One of our members made the onions and sauerkraut accompaniments. These yummy buns were made at Koko Bakery in Cleveland's Chinatown, and are highly recommended. These were inspired by a RecipeGullet recipe that called for beef; turkey really works well with the peanut butter! Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of the featured dessert, which was three crock pots of Chocolate Mess - a delicious combination of chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding powder, oil, eggs, sour cream and chocolate chips, which is allowed to cook in the crock pot at low setting for about 5 hours - delicious with strawberries, caramel sauce and whipped cream! On Saturday and Sunday mornings, my faithful sous-chef Virginia served up a Continental Breakfast of Fruit Salad, Cold Cereal, Bagels, Breads & Spreads, Muffins, Yogurt and, Saturday, 5 dozen Dunkin Donuts and 2 boxes of Munchkins - all of which disappeared before lunch on Saturday! Saturday Lunch was the Surreal Pasta Meal. We started with 12 pounds of assorted shapes, sizes and colors of pasta, and it wasn't enough! We had over 150 people in the house when we served lunch. I offered meat and vegetarian options to accompany the pasta. First, the meat: I created these meat shapes using cookie cutters! I was amazed at how popular the vegetarian items were. I made around 26 pounds of ground meat into meatballs, and have several pounds left. I made about 120 eggplant balls, and they all disappeared! The secret ingredient in my tomato sauce: sundried tomatoes! Chef Dominic, owner and executive chef of Carrie Cerino's in North Royalton, was kind enough to teach me how to make his Mama's White Sauce. It holds together in the chafing dish for about an hour from the time it is fully melted. The hot buffet was accompanied by surreal bread created and baked for us by tino27 (Tom Noe): The bread consisted of one strand of roasted red pepper and black peppercorn bread and another strand of basil pesto bread. The bread was a huge hit! And thank goodness, because we ran out of pasta. I grabbed the leftover cous-cous salad from the night before and heated it, so there would still be pasta on the line, but a couple of people enjoyed meatballs and sauce on Tom's fantastic bread. Sweets set out with this meal included the following surreal cream puffs made by Mary Ann, the onion and sauerkraut lady: And surreal nut brittles created for us by Farmers Market Fudge at Cleveland's storied West Side Market. The varieties included Chipolte, Habanero, and Wasabi. Thankfully, the hotel provides the Saturday dinner, so our last task was floats: Home Brewed Root Beer Floats, Mudslides a la mode, or Oompah Loompah Stout a la mode, made with a local ice cream from Scoops & More. No photos of this - I fell asleep after putting the fixings out for service. After Sunday's Continental Breakfast, we packed everything up in the truck and returned it to my basement. Until the next RG.

No - I think it was Hunan Cottage where that happened.

We recently attended two "Beer Tasting" dinners. The speakers at each dinner pointed out the challenges of pairing food and beer, versus pairing food with wine. We thought both restaurants - Blue Canyon and Boulevard Blue - did a fabulous job. I wonder if we will see a trend of Beer Tasting Dinners - fire is having one in October! Blue Canyon's dinner was August 27, 2007 and featured beers from Great Lakes Brewing Company. The first course was Seared Sea Bass topped with a coriander panko crust, and plated in Blood Orange Butter that made us all look around for bread to sop it up: Even the slice of orange was delicious! This dish was served with the Holy Moses White Ale, a crisp Belgian style that cut the butter without overwhelming the fish. Next up was Bacon Wrapped King Salmon with Fava Bean Succotash, House BBQ drizzle and Chive oil: King Salmon wrapped in bacon - does life get any better than this? Paired with the assertive yet gentle Elliot Ness Lager, it was another winning combination. Our next course was Duck Confit with Mustard Peach Glaze, and Cashew-smoked tomato spoon bread: The slightly smoky spoon bread, and the rich duck fat paired well with the Dortmunder Gold - a style I find a little hoppy for a drinking beer, but which complimented the foods perfectly. The next course is straining my memory for all the details - a cut of the pig Chef Brandt called a "Pork Wing" was braised in Commodore Perry India Pale Ale, and served with wild mushroom goat cheese risotto: I forgot exactly where this cut of pork is from [Edsel - can you remember??], but there are only 2 per pig, and they braise out to become incredibly tender. The dish was served with, appropriately, Commodore Perry IPA. Again, I usually find this beer too hoppy to drink as a stand alone, but the flavors of the dish tamed the bitterness of the hops very well. The final meat course was a slow braised beef short rib, with Espresso Infused Veal Stock and Caramelized Onion, plated with a unique Cocoa Spaetzle that was probably the most intriguing item we were served. The cocoa was a perfect foil for the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter that accompanied this course. For dessert, Susan Guel continues to invent amazing sweets. For this dinner, she concocted a Chocolate Dortmunder Custard Strudel with Guinness ice cream: Neither the name nor the photo do this dish justice - it was like a sweet Turducken, with pastry wrapped around chocolate cake, which had a custard layer between it and the pastry, there was also a fruit layer and something coating the pastry as I recall - and the most delightful candied nuts and brittle on the plate, together with the ice cream. My only complaint of the evening is that they repeated the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter with this course. I would have preferred a Stout, or even the Octoberfest Beer that was current when the dinner was held. Still, it was as delightful a dining experience as any wine tasting dinner I've been to. Boulevard Blue's dinner was September 17. Boulevard Blue is a small restaurant on Larchmere Boulevard, near Shaker Square. The kitchen is headed by Chef Matthew Mytro, who was not in the house for this dinner as he was tending his new venture, Paladar See photos here. Chef Matt's staff and Chefs Richard and Harlan did a fabulous job presenting five courses paired primarily with Belgian brews. We began with an Amuse: Chorizo on Crostini with Zucchini, dressed with Olive Oil & Balsamic We enjoyed the Amuse with the First Course Beer, Duvel Belgian Golden Ale. The first course was a Goat Cheese Panna Cotta topped with a Sous Vide Onion Salad. The plate was also drizzled with lightly toasted nuts that complimented the panna cotta well: The next course really surprised me. I've never much cared for mussels, no matter where or how presented. So, I was very impressed with the small, fresh tasting morsels presented to us over a potato puree, accompanied by cubes of sauteed winter squash: This was paired with Weihenstephan German Hefeweissbier, which refreshed the palate with every sip. Up next was probably the most tasty dish of the evening - Duck Confit Rillettes with Saffron Gnocchi, plated with an exquisitely reduced Cherry Sauce that was so good, one of our tablemates asked for more! The Cherry Sauce was intended to compliment the Rodenbach Sour Flemish Ale, which it did - but the Ale was also perfect to cut through the richness of the duck confit that had been wrapped and fried in more duck fat. We were all feeling somewhat full at this point - but there was one more meat course to go! Grilled Filet of Beef over Parsnip Puree with Potato and cooked in Goosefat, Java Stout Demiglace, Frisee Salad Served in an oversize bowl, this dish packed deep flavors that were complimented nicely by the Trappistes Rochefort Ten Belgian Ale. Dessert was simply amazing: Molten Chocolate Cake Drizzled with Anisette and topped with an Oatmeal Stout Frozen Sauce I usually can take chocolate or leave it, but in this case, I cleaned the plate! The Frozen Sauce was different, and helped to cut the intensity of the chocolate a bit. This was served with Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout - a slightly dry stout that contrasted well against the intense sweetness of the molten cake center. If we get to the beer dinner at fire, I'll report back on this thread.

If only we were in the neighborhood!

Not sure how to rescue your beans, but let's talk about the pot for a moment. Is it a non-stick pot? I used to have terrible trouble braising brisket in a non-stick roasting pan (a good quality Calphalon). I realized that the non-stick coating sucks up liquid the way eggplant soaks up cooking oil! Perhaps add some stock to the pot when you re-heat the beans?

Who cares how the sandwich is cut? As our hero Henry Reed said in the classic children's book Henry Reed's Babysitting Service to the unruly child, for whom he was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (and who whined because he cut it "wrong"): "It's all in little pieces by the time it gets to your stomach."

That's a double ooch! (Cue Banana Splits theme music.)

They relocated to, I believe, Willoughby after they lost their lease in Chinatown.

I grabbed a quick take-out lunch from Bangkok Thai today - Mee Yok Mu - choice of meat (I had chicken) with garlic (and I mean LOTS of garlic), soy sauce, orange juice, red peppers, snow peas, green peas, baby corn and green onions in light chili sauce served over green noodles and bean sprouts. It was a very interesting and tasty dish: I did not notice much orange flavor, and there were no green peas, but that was fine with me! I did notice fish sauce - I suppose they don't list that as an ingredient because it might turn off the locals. Anyway, the peppers, snow peas and green onions were fresh and tasty (I passed on the canned baby corn). The green noodles continue to intrigue me - I didn't notice any spinach flavor, but they are definitely a little different than regular wheat noodles. And they were perfectly cooked, I might add - just a bit al dente so they had bite. Another intriguing thing in this dish was the placement of the bean sprouts under the other ingredients, where they got soft as they soaked up the sauce. Usually in Thai dishes I have had, the sprouts are on top or on the side, where they stay crispy. I really like the sponge effect here! I ordered the dish medium spicy, and it packed a very pleasant punch. I liked the balance of flavors in the sauce, which was light yet spicy. Overall, a great lunch choice! I look forward to continuing my exploration of the menu at this wonderful new Asian restaurant!

The quest has not yet ended. Tino27 and I lunched at Vincinato in Lyndhurst earlier this week, and he took shots of the "Cleveland Pizza" we enjoyed. Vincinato makes an excellent example of Cleveland Pizza, probably in part because they have a real pizza oven and not one of those conveyor belt things. Unfortunately, Tino was not happy with the quality of his pictures, so he hasn't yet posted them - I may need to do a repeat. In the meantime - there is a new pizza game in town in Cleveland - at Michael Symon's Lolita in Tremont! Lolita has just debuted it's fall menu, which is a return to smaller plates, smaller prices, Greek influenced food and - best of all - Neapolitan Style Pizza! Chef Matt and Pastry Chef Cory are doing the Verace Pizza Napolitana certification training, which they will complete in September, and they are following the AVPN standards. The result is amazingly thin crusted, beautifully topped pizzas. We enjoyed a schmorgasboard of them last night - you can see our reports and photos Starting here.

Yes, we did eat at Lolita two nights in a row - a fortuitous result of Edsel's employer sparing him a business trip this week. Tuesday was for Pork - but Wednesday was for Pizza! Edsel, Tino and our friends Kay and Lana convened at Lolita, where we were warmly welcomed by Michael and Liz Symon and Matt Harlan. I wondered if they thought we were kidding when we told them as we left Tuesday that we'd be back on Wednesday, when our wonderful server Sue surprised us with a special pizza, which Michael created just for me (and which, he emphasized, is not on the menu (though it might be, if there was a demand for it!)) - a Meatball Pizza! Those of you who have followed my Cleveland quest for New York-style pizza at this thread, know that I was raised on NY pizza topped with sliced meatball. Although Michael has sworn me and my camera to silence on the whole pie - I don't think he'll mind if I tease you with a slice: Oh - what a wonderful way to start our Lolita pizza odyssey - the meatball on the pizza is the same veal-pork meatball that is now an Entree - light and fluffy from braising in Tomato Broth, it is normally served in brodo with Fontina, Pancetta and Pine Nuts, with the diner's choice of one of six sides. And the crust - thin with a little crunch, but tender and chewy - not exactly New York Style (which is really a bastardization of this Neapolitan style) but completely satisfying. Before diving further into pizza-land, we had to share some appetizers. The Beet Salad and Chicken Livers were as wonderful the second time around as they had been the first time. We could not resist the lure of the mostly house made salumi, and opted for the Berkshire Prosciutto, which was served with three relishes - fennel, mango and cherry, and leeks? (help me out Kay, you who took copious notes all evening), and crostini: Another winning choice is described on the menu as "Roasted Chicken Wings - cilantro, chilies and lime." These were the best darn wings I've ever had - marinated and sauced in a delightfully spicy concoction that did not overwhelm the chicken flavor, but left hands and mouth tingling, and topped with strips of pickled green and red Jalapeño pepper: The Plate The "Drumstick" The, um, "other" part of the wing Our final appetizer perfectly complimented the heat of the wings - Roasted Dates stuffed with almonds, garlic, pancetta (are you really surprised?) and parsley. The word "sublime" was coined to describe food like this - velvety smooth and creamy, though with bite from the accouterments, richly flavored and just sweet enough: Once she tasted the Polenta under the Chicken Livers (which of course sopped up a lot of flavor from the topping), Kay had to try the Polenta Side dish on its own - and while we were at it, we couldn't pass up the fresh Ohio Sweet Corn with Cilantro and Chili side: Ohio Sweet Corn - A Beautiful Thing Liz Symon describes the dish below as a dish flavored with Cilantro for people who don't like (or can't digest) cilantro - it is cut very finely to lend an extremely subtle tone to the dish, which, by the way, is plate-licking good. Usually, cheesy polenta is mostly cheese and not much polenta. As Tino said, this Polenta was right on the edge with its saltiness - but was otherwise perfectly balanced between corniness and cheesiness - with a little sugar and cream, it would make an awesome dessert! However, just as the star of our show the previous night was Mr. Pig - this night belonged to Pizza! First - a blank canvas awaits the artist's caress: Next, fully loaded with its toppings, it is fired like fine pottery in Symon's Inferno: The result looks almost too good to eat: Tomato, Fresh Basil and Olive Oil Pizza But as my friends can tell you (and as you can tell from looking at me), the way food looks (good or bad) has never stopped me from eating, and this pizza was so amazing that I didn't stop for a slice shot. Our next pie was Anchovy - oregano, garlic, and olives: I have always found anchovies a little too fishy for my taste, but I was determined to try these. Edsel commented that they were cured in vinegar rather than oil, which makes a lot of sense, considering how oily anchovies are to start with. I actually ate a couple of bites with the anchovies before I passed the remaining fillets to Kay, who was delighted to receive them. While I can't say that I loved them, it was like good Bleu Cheese which I will always taste and appreciate, even if it's not my favorite flavor. I'm glad I tried them - I could tell they were top quality. Based on Edsel and Kay's feedback, anyone who likes anchovies will love this pizza (and the pizza was darn tasty without the anchovies on it): The most luxurious pizza we experienced was the one topped with Duck Prosciutto, a fresh Blue Egg, Goat Cheese and Rosemary. Words fail me: For those of you who have been lucky enough to sample Dominic Cerino's Blue Egg Carbonara - imagine it on Pizza, with duck flavor: The Yolk Awaits It's Magic Moment Ahhh - That's Better But we were not yet finished - we decided to try one more pizza - topped with Sopressata, Basil, Buffalo Mozzerella, Tomato Sauce and Olive Oil - Bravissimo! As you can see - there is a sprinkling of red pepper on this pizza as well, lending a bit of pleasant heat to the pie. A perfect ending. Well, an ending for Bob and I - our companions actually still had room for Pot De Creme! That one is pictured a few posts above. We couldn't believe that this was only Lolita's second night of full scale pizza making - the crusts were perfectly crisp and minutely charred, with a tender bite and expertly proportioned toppings. Lolita's pizza is simply fabulous. Next - we'll need to sample the new pastas and entrees. And we would enjoy the company of EGulleteers - so feel free to PM me if you'd ever like to join us!