Bar Cento

[NancyH]

Last night was the inaugural "Sawyer Wine Supper" at Bar Cento restaurant, recently opened in Ohio City on the near West Side of Cleveland, across the street from the storied West Side Market. Bar Cento is the creation of former Michael Symon apprentice Chef Jonathon Sawyer (who was one of Michael's sous chefs on the last Iron Chef America that Michael participated in). We had played with Jonathon's food once before, at a pre-opening tasting party sponsored by the Northeast Ohio Convivium of Slow Food. I didn't take any photos that night, so this is my first opportunity to share some of the goodies that Chef Sawyer is offering. I can highly recommend future wine and beer dinners at Bar Cento - they are off to a wonderful start! Below are some highlights - you need to look at my blog to see it all!

We began with one of the restaurant's signature items as an Antipasto - handcrafted pizza. This version was topped with rendered lardo and chili.

Vitello Tonno - Warm Crispy Veal Sweetbread Over Chilled Veal, Sicilian Tuna Aoli, Capers

Without question - the most enjoyable sweatbread I've ever eaten - it made me go "mmmmhh" when I savored the first bite. I don't know if this was due to the fact that the sweatbread was from a younger animal, or the preparation (Chef Jonathon explained that it was not soaked in milk, which is the traditional prep - it was soaked in broth and seasoning overnight prior to cooking).

Insalata - Grilled Scamorza (Fresh Mozzerella Cheese) Topped with Dandelion Greens and Mint, plated over Oilo Sancto ("Sacred Oil")

This is my idea of salad! (Just kidding - I'm all for healthy green salads. But damn, this tasted good!) Chef Jonathon explained about the Olio Sancto, which he cold-infused with anchovy and mint - either of which could have overwhelmed this dish. But there was no clash - only sweet, rich harmony between the crunchy, chewy cheese, the pungent and slightly bitter greens, and the oil.

Pesca - Wild Striped Bass Macinare

This dish was wonderful. The bass - described on the menu as "the Miller's fish", was served with a fresh herb salad and myer lemon. The filet was topped with a disk of chopped pork of some kind - but this component was not identified on the menu and we didn't get the opportunity to ask what it was. Who cares - it may not have been kosher, but it was delicious!

The meat course was a trio of kid goat, veal and suckling pig. This was followed by a cheese course - and yes, I ate the whole thing - including the Bleu!

Dolce - Tenuta Il Corno Olive Oil Gelato, Blood Orange, Myer Lemon

Who'd have thunk you could put olive oil in gelato? But Chef Sawyer did - and it was fantastic, especially with the blood orange. I'll have a gallon of that, please.

Grazie - Chocolate Salumi Style, Grandma's Cookies

Note the bits of pepper at 6 o'clock on the Chocolate - there was also a hint of red pepper somewhere. The heat combined with the rich chocolate and nuts to create a taste sensation that was accentuated by the cookie - which started crisp and finished soft as it had been drizzled wtih liquid - I'm not sure what. A perfect finale to a symphonic meal! Welcome to Cleveland, Chef Sawyer and crew!

[Chris Hennes]

Insalata - Grilled Scamorza (Fresh Mozzerella Cheese) Topped with Dandelion Greens and Mint, plated over Oilo Sancto ("Sacred Oil")

This is my idea of salad! (Just kidding - I'm all for healthy green salads. But damn, this tasted good!) Chef Jonathon explained about the Olio Sancto, which he cold-infused with anchovy and mint - either of which could have overwhelmed this dish. But there was no clash - only sweet, rich harmony between the crunchy, chewy cheese, the pungent and slightly bitter greens, and the oil.

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This looks excellent---thanks for the photos. I have a question about the salad you liked so well: I am not familiar with Scamorza. Which part of this image is the cheese? I see some melty-looking stuff in the lower left, and the red stuff in the middle: gotta be one(or both?) of those, right? If the red stuff isn't cheese, what is it? If it is, is it red because it is smoked, or from the grill, or what? I love cheese, I just don't know anything about it!

[NancyH]

This was one of those photos when I should have used flash! Scamorza is a type of Mozzerella cheese that is crisped in a hot pan. The melty looking stuff is the melted cheese, the reddish part is the part that was crisped. I'd never had this before and it was pretty amazing.

Edited February 1, 2008 by NancyH (log)

[LuckyGirl]

Nancy, as always I enjoyed your post on your blog.

The wine dinner at Bar Cento was great. I attended with my husband and another friend.

Here's a Wiki on scamorza-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scamorza_cheese

The scamorza we were served at the wine dinner was smoked and the kitchen sort of grilled/melted/browned it on a flat surface. Do you know how when you make a grilled cheese sandwich if some of the cheese gets out of the sandwich and on the pan it gets brown and crispy? That is what the scamorza we were served was like.

[edsel]

Last night Bar Cento hosted a special wine dinner for Slow Food Northern Ohio.

M. F. Richter Riesling Dinner

Dr. Dirk Richter was on hand to introduce wines from his family's vineyard in the Mosel.

Back in the day, they supplied wines to the Zeppelins crossing the Atlantic.

Chef Jonathan Sawyer prepared a menu to accompany the wines.

1st Course & Pairings

Salo rye pizza w/ assorted charcuterie

Speck, Mettwurst, Mortadella & horseradish

Richter Riesling Brut Sparkling Mulheimer Sonnenlay 2000

Richter Riesling classic (dry style) 2006

The pizza was topped with (I think) rendered house-made lardo. I beautiful nutty-tasting crust, accented by porky goodness.

The house-made charcuterie was awesome. There was, of course, a platter of delicious pickled vegetables along side.

2nd Course & Pairings

Crispy Spiced Hake Fish

Curry, Jerk, Chili, and house garum

Richter Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling 2006

M. F. Richter Zeppelin Riesling 2006

The hake was flaky and moist, with a perfect crisp crust. The three seasonings (curry, jerk, chili) were subtle. The house-made garum dipping sauce was a hit! (more on that in a bit).

3rd Course & Pairings

Boudin noir w/ challenging cheeses

St. Agar blue cheese, petit Muenster, Goose Liver & grilled bread

Richter Braunberger Juffer Spatlese Riesling 2005

Richter Veldenzer Elisenberg Riesling Auslese 2003

The sweetest (and most premium) Rieslings were accompanied by more charcuterie and some wonderful cheeses. In addition to the cheeses listed on the menu, there was also a gorgeous taleggio.

At the end of the evening Chef jonathan came 'round to say hello. I had to ask about the house-made garum. He brought over a bottle of the stuff:

Awesome!

Larger photos on Flickr.

[NancyH]

The pickled vegetables were amazing! Though I passed on the mini-pickles, I loved the fennel, turnip, pepperoncini and fresh beets. The pickled turnip intrigued everyone at our table.

There is a photo of the pickes on Flickr.

[edsel]

We're way overdue for an update on this topic. Jonathon Sawyer has long since moved on to start his own restaurant to much acclaim.

Chef Michael Nowak has stepped up to command the talented staff at Bar Cento, and I'm happy to say that the food is as good as ever. The menu is frequently refreshed with tasty updates.

Crispy fried quail with collards and parsnip purée

Hanger Steak w/ mushroom vol-au-vent

Mushroom Pizza

The kitchen stays open late, which is a big plus. Great food, reasonably priced - can't argue with that!