Summer has ended :(

Today is really my last day of summer break. I will most likely continue to keep eating once the school year starts and there is a change I will write about it here. Recently I have eaten a bunch, but did not take photos of everything. These include Crop Kitchen,  Ninja City, Bodega on Coventry and some great places in Florida.

The first place that I must talk about (and will DEFINITELY be going back) is Coquette Patisserie on Euclid in the Uptown area near Case.  I apologize for the pictures, it was very dark and I did not take any photos of the splendid atmosphere. I like it. I may abandon my housing search and just move in.  Here is the Menu…. (to be honest I feel their website is a little disappointing considering how classy and wonderful the location is in person). I was there with a bunch of classy guys, although John and I seemed most excited about the chocolaty offerings.

They have lots of fun pastries, macarons ( which I believed is pronounced Maawh-kah-rqohhnns) as well as champagne. We also went there after going to the East side location of Happy Dog, so it was a pretty drastic change of environment…but equally caloric.

  This is the Chocolate Triomphe. It is 7$ but is absolutely worth it and so decadent that is easily a satisfying dessert for 2. The hazelnuts on top were wonderful and if the supreme court rules it legal I may marry the ganache. If you are one of those idiots individuals who says “I don’t really like dessert, we probably shouldn’t be friends and maybe you shouldn’t go here either”.   Here is a sampling from the website:

I think I was a late adopter on the macaron craze.  I didn’t get it at first. I enjoy them now, and love the implied pretentiousness of them. Coquette also delivers in this area, as they have a wide array of flavors. I tried the peach and cherry-limeade.  They are standard 2-in cookies and are $2 each. For an additional mere quarter you can have them dipped in dark chocolate.  From what I gather, they always have a certain number of flavors but they alternate having some fruity, nutty and chocolaty. Some of the interesting flavors offered include amaretto, milk chocolate-chai,  raspberry rose, praline, Guinness float, cantaloupe-paprika and lingonberry.   Look at that hand modeling.   look how cultured we look. or suspicious.
  I know I tend to make my mother seem like a slightly crazy person on here, but I am actually excited to bring her here the next time she visits Cleveland ( and i believe a mango macarons and cheese cake are acceptable entrees before ordering desserts).

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Did you know that the little stand in the middle of Whole Foods locations make delicious and affordable lunches? They do. I will not go on and on about it but burgers/burritos are 7$, Large salads are 10 and the full entrees are mostly 12-15. And they are all huge portions.

  Ryan got a large burger where you get to customize everything and sweet potato fries.
  Anthony got a kale salad with lovely zebra beets because (#wholefoods) and a tahini vinegrette dressing. Unlike Ryan and I, he was hungry again later, because, well it’s kale.

  I got a massive chimichanga (i have no idea if I spelled that right and the spell check is trying to make it “Michiganite”)  style chicken burrito. Everything was fresh and light that I think that cancels out the fact it was the size of a medium housecat.  They also bring you seasoned popcorn and make the food directly in front of you. I recomend it if you want a quick, fresh tasting lunch.
  so long summer.  Here’s to a magical year two of teaching!

“Can you make the margarita without the alcohol?” Lopez with the parents

My parents came up to Cleveland to look at a condo that I was potentially interested in purchasing. Long story short, I am glad they did… I tend to ask questions like “can I have a puppy here” and “oooh can I paint the walls” whereas my father asks realistic things about loans and construction. I (we) have decided to not continue with that property. Afterwards my parents wanted to go eat and my mother’s usual request was simply somewhere with a nice patio. I chose Lopez in the Cedar- Lee area of Cleveland Heights. I had never been there.     MENU HERE
  (my mother becomes a super -coordinated ninja whenever you try to capture her image in a picture. I’ve been trying for year…if the loch ness or bigfoot people are looking for another challenge I’d appreciate one smiling photo of her)

I was a little upset and Mexican food is generally comfort food (carbs! Cheese! Salsa!)  They had very light and tomato-y salsa that I enjoy. Also the small patio is very festive and nice, and it was a perfect night for it.

I did not feel like making any decisions and the wonderful waitress was very passionate about the food offerings.
  They offer cactus margaritas, something I had never had so of course I jumped on that when it was suggested (also it was happy hour time).  I really enjoyed the vibrant color of it and couldn’t really place what the taste reminded me of (some sort of childhood candy maybe?). It was good although others might say it wasn’t strong enough.  My mother wanted a festive drink as well. I wish I could have taken a picture of the waitress’s face when she was earnestly asked by my mother if they could make flavored margaritas without any alcohol.  It was like time stood still and the waitress was waiting for the “no no no i’m just kidding”. it never happened. After a few seconds of crickets she said they made ‘Mexican lemonade”. It wasn’t bad (also this restaurant puts small squeeze bottles of agave nectar on the tables…which is good, on everything). I am not sure what made it particularly “Mexican”…it tasted just like a Lemon Shake from a festival without being AS diabetes-inducing.

The waitress recommended the charred caesar salad and the scallops. I ordered both to share with my mother. Although by the time the food arrived I was barely hungry,thanks to the lovely chips and salsa.  Something that I was completely unaware of until just now (trying to look up the menu online). RICK BAYLESS helped open this restaurant 29 years ago! Not sure if that means something to you but he is a culinary giant (he was the winner of the first season of Top Chef Masters).  He is all about elevating Mexican cuisine to something beyond quick enchiladas (don’t get me wrong, I love a Speedy Gonzales combo meal).

I was a bit skeptical when she recommended the Caesar salad. I am not really a fan of salads with creamy dressings, and I feel like Caesar salads are sometimes both boring and tiring too hard.

This one was different. FIRST OF ALL IT WAS HUUUUUUGE (and only $8). Like way more than I was expecting. The dressing was a caper vinaigrette (capers are not normally something I like, and the taste was strong but not unpleasant). The best part was the ‘croutons’ which were actually anchovy fritters. I know it sounds a little odd to be like ‘the best part of the salad was the crouton’ (kinda like saying the best part of the play was the lighting- it is important but typically something that enhances the more key parts). No. these are amazing. Mostly you anticipating something typical and boring, and then…POW with flavor. I would order this again for just those, or maybe ask to order a side of them (actually I did ask, but only half hearted since we were already given soo much food).

Scallops are maybe my favorite sea food. I tend to stay away from seafood at mexican restaurants since I am usually underwhelmed and it is usually more ‘fishy/salty’ then I am used to. I liked these, didn’t love them, but still glad I tried them. They came with cucumber noodles and a caviar served over a salty smoked salmon. There was, as anticipated, a lot of saltiness in the dish, at least to my palate and I could barely handle the salmon.. I enjoyed the scallops themselves, they had a good sear on them. They were a special so I do not remember the exact price (9-12$ range I believe). 

My father ordered the skirt steak fajitas ($19). My father always wants steak rare, but orders it Med.Rare and is consistently upset when the meat he orders comes out as he ordered it, not how he imagined it.

This time it was a little closer to Medium, and the manager came over and quickly brought a replacement that was a little bloodier and what my father wanted. Like the salad, it was gigantic.

Overall, if you want to deviate away from typical mexican cuisine, and are SUPER hungry go there, especially on a nice night to enjoy the patio area. I still am not 100 percent sold on Mexican seafood, but I will keep trying. It has a great atmosphere and I totally get why it is a Cleveland/East side institution. I am genuinely excited to go back and try more items.

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Join me next time when my mother orders her favorite drink, rum and coke, but virgin and without the coke 😛

Boy brunch at SOHO

Some of you may be familiar with Sondheim’s The Ladies who Lunch .  Here’s a clip from the Movie Camp….there is some language in it….   Well this is actually my first review from the perspective of  The Boys Who Brunch. Teenage Anna Kendrick has not sung about us…yet.

We went to SOHO on West 25/Ohio City. It is a much better idea to go brunching in this area on Sundays, as the Market isn’t open and is possible to get a parking spot within a 2 mile radius. 

They now have a very nice patio area, but it is small and we decided to skip waiting and sit inside.

Like many restaurants, they have a Clevelandy-industrial design motif.
My dining companions this morning were Ryan, Anthony and John- this was his first Cleveland Brunch.

I had been to this establishment years ago but for some reason always overlook it when I consider all the restaurants  in the area. 
I appreciate the small things restaurants do, like bringing out coffee cream in small little metal vessels and having fancy brown-sugar cubes. They serve fresh, delicious biscuits with a peach jam and herbal butter that are simple but rather tasty.
  

I ordered the “Biscuits” and Gravy. Normally quotation marks make me a little weary, does anybody really want to eat a “fish” taco or a banana “smoothie”?

Instead of using biscuits, which I already said were delicious, they use cheddar hushpuppies. They had a little kick to them. It was served with a sausage gravy and scrambled eggs. For some reason I didn’t think the portion was huge when it came out (I ended up barely finishing it and not being hungry again until late into the evening). It was a good bruchvestment for $12. I liked it and was very satisfied. I would have appreciated slightly more sausage/gravy.  The hushpuppie give it a slightly more artsy presentation than normal slathered biscuits.
  
John got the Chicken and Waffles ($14). Note, he is from the South and gave some of his review in an exaggerated accent, so clearly the fact that he liked the chicken means it is acceptable. They use local maple syrup and put rosemary in the waffle. The chicken was appropriately crispy (of course I tried it).
 The other two gentlemen both ordered the S’uthern Benedict ($12). Poached eggs, fried green tomatoes, country ham, Tabasco hollandaise, breakfast potatoes. It was very pretty, although I will admit that I am not a huge fan of hollandaise or the taste of tobasco in general, but the visual appeal was undeniable.

Nobody ordered a brunch drink, but I would be curious to try to Bing cherry mimosa. Also it’s worth mentioning that our waitress was a pretty fun individual.
Overall, the food was tasty, the atmosphere was pleasant and the number of obnoxious movie references made by myself and group was off the charts.  I enjoyed it and would now probably want to go back to try their non-brunch offerings.

I Like to be in America

Rincon Criollo (I called it “Raccoon Puerto Rico” a few times). Gordon Square

I have wanted to try this place for a while. All i knew of it was that Cleveland scene always put it on their online places, it was apparently authentic, they close kinda early and it was Puerto Rican.

For the record I did NOT break into any songs from West Side Story, not even a “Mambo!”

I went with Patrick since he lives down the road and is easily persuaded to support local places.

I was not that hungry since it was a super early dinner. I wanted to try the Mofongo but was told it was large (But I still said the word a bunch). I then asked the waitress what I should order.

Without skipping a beat she mentioned their keystone dish, their famous jabarito sandwich.

Steak tip, Swiss, mayo and vegetables between dried plantains instead of bread.  I ordered light mayo, it still had a bunch.  It was good, and the perfect size, and maybe gluten free (I was sure to gluten-load the next day to make up for it). I understand why people like it but am confused how one would get it to go. To me this seems like a dish that needs to be consumed immediately as I feel re-heating the plantains would make them hard to eat.
This is strange complaint, but the prices were almost too low. My sandwhich, their Signature Dish was only 5.50.  I felt like I should spend more, so I got some Tamarind juice. I don’t know what I expected it to taste like but it reminded me of a slightly tart fruit punch.

(Sorry for it being slightly blurry, I was just really excited to eat mine)

Patrick got the  #1 White rice, beans and beef steak, which was only a few dollars more than mine and rather HUGE. He spoke little which is a good indicator or quality. We both just kept commenting on how affordable everything was  and how much money we were saving (we may have sounded like a commercial for car insurance).

The place is not fancy, the tables and chairs do not match and the cups are plastic. I went to Puerto Rico once a few years ago, so I am in no position to gauge how authentic this place was but it made me feel slightly cultured as well as feel pretty (oh so pretty).

Also, if you go in the morning you can take advantage of their absolutely- absurdly low priced breakfast items.

Don’t go for the atmosphere and make sure you are aware of their early closing time, but I enjoyed this place (although I still have no idea what the name translates to).