Molto Bene!

I discovered this restaurant serendipitously while walking from India Garden. We wandered in and made a mental note to return we not full of naan. This was coupled with my friend Alec seemingly being a paid spokesperson for this restaurant.

It is small inside. They don’t take reservations but I guess you can call ahead (although they initially told us it would be a long wait since there were groups that called ahead, but they actually seated us immediately after we decided we would wait the potential hour). If you have a group bigger than 6 I’d imagine it will be hard to go on a Friday/Saturday night. For being such a new and small place they have a pretty impressive website.

It wasn’t going for the typical /cliched “typical Italian/rustic/Tuscan ” decor or trying to be hyper-modern. It was kinda kitschy in a wonderfully homey way.  Lots of wall decals/ bright colors and an overall clean aesthetic. It’s cute and fun. There is a charm in the fact that it feels like a little gem that not everyone knows about yet.  The staff was friendly and seemed passionate about the food. 

I try to take stealthy photos of the space. I waited for the party next to us to leave so it didn’t look like I was a investigating them. 

Carbs. (yes I realize that I can use that as a caption for every photo here). I felt artsy trying to incorporate the Leaning Tower into this photo…)

We asked for a recommendation for an appetizer and were told to get the crostini ($9). Salmon, sausage, eggplant, and tomato/mozzarella. These were good by all accounts but were exactly what you’d hope they would be. The bread was perfect, this was just a safe dish.

Both of us ordered pasta in a white sauce, so they look very similar. I got the cheese tortellini with broccoli (I ordered it without bacon). $16. These were very large dishes… as in I took a significant amount home. I could really taste the ricotta inside the pasta and the sauce had a rich and wonderful flavor. There was a fair amount of broccoli but I guess I wanted more. This dish came out sooo hot that I had to wait awhile before I could attempt to eat it. 

The salmon linguine with pistachios. This was a HUGE serving and the fish made the sauce completely different than the tortellini. I generally don’t like fish in a pasta sauce. This was fantastic and somehow even a bigger portion than the tortellini.

Fun fact: they make the gelato for many places in Cleveland, but it seems to be cheaper here. For 4 dollars you get a rather large 2 scoops. Everything about dinner was good but the gelato was SUPERB. We got the pumpkin and peanut butter chocolate chip together. The pumpkin was better than Mitchell’s flavor. We also got fig & brie and pistachio. I realize how “adulty” those flavors sound together and fig generally seems boring, it was the opposite. Fig isn’t usually a flavor that I would choose over other more typically exciting fruits, but it was great. I guess they have other desserts on the menu, but everyone in the place was eating gelato (actually everyone had multiple To-go containers because they wanted to leave space for the gelato).

I always forget the difference between ice cream/ gelato/ custard… TURNS OUT GELATO IS HEALTHIER (according to one site that came up when I googled, I stopped there since I was satisfied with that answer.) Please let me live in ignorance to this if I am wrong.

OVERALL: What they lack in seating and parking they make up for in other ways. This place has an abundance of charm and carbs. The menu has the Italian standbys and some fun variations ( there were lots of things I would want to try on a subsequent visit) and the portions are beyond generous. The gelato is creamy perfection. For a fun night out or date, this would be a great choice.  Again, and I don’t know if I can stress this enough, get gelato!

It’s blurry because its a screenshot from a live photo (there was only a brief instance when I looked up from the gelato…).

Trying some newer places that I’ve heard mixed reviews about…

So I tried 2 newer west side locations (and then I have some brunchy fun pictures for yall).

First, Eric and I went to Xinji (which, despite having taken Japanese in college, have no idea how to pronounce… or what it means). This Ohio City ramen place created a lot of social media/internet buzz when it opened. Some people were saying this was the best noodle place ever while others were lamenting that it wasn’t as good as the wanted.  So, I was excited but a little hesitant as we made our way over.

The inside is sparse and open. Hipster. LOTS of modern light figures. I didn’t mind it. It was a nice departure from the typical, cliched, Asian restaurant decor, but still reminiscent of what you’d expect from a place where chopsticks are used.

I will spare you all my pumpkin rant. (okay, I won’t…why do we hate on pumpkin’s popularity so much? White culture has a lot to be ashamed of, but enjoying pumpkin with lots of lovely spices in the autumn is not one of them! It is delicious, let’s keep our vitriol directed to things that are truly deserving and horrible). That being said we ordered the PSL fried wontons. They were delightful, obviously. The inside was sweet and creamy. There was a coffee reduction drizzled on top.  They were not very savory,  borderline dessert, but I never mind that in a dish (if there was a scoop of ice cream and no cabbage it would be lovely. We were given 4 for $6 which seemed like a great appetizer prize. Also, they were rather pretty/presented well.

Korean Fried Chicken ($9).  This was an alright dish- I have come to the conclusion that I don’t *love* fried chicken.  The sauce was tangy, slightly sweet and a little spicy.  There was nothing wrong with it, I just liked the other two dishes considerably more.

The veggie ramen (mushroom broth) with extra bean sprouts*.

The shredded teriyaki tofu and bamboo shoots were a FANTASTIC addition to this bowl. I often joke that I am often an accidental vegetarian. The mushroom broth was light but flavorful.

If you have ever gone with me to get Pho… you know how I will ask for “as many extra bean sprouts as possible”.  They are my favorite textural veggie in rice or soup. I will always eat all of them.

Overall, I was very pleased with the meal. When we initially sat down they served ice water with cucumber. Now… I know some people really like this, but cucumber is one of the few flavors that I am really not a fan of,  especially in water. I was quickly brought another one. Actually, the service was great in general. We asked that the dishes be brought out as they were finished with the noodles last and it was a great little 3-course meal. I would definitely go back for the veggie ramen.

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I’m not sure if any of you have heard of the Water Garden Cafe (also in Ohio City on Lorainne). It has been open since last February and has an extensive vegan/vegetarian menu for brunch.  Vegan Chicken and Waffles (with cauliflower) definitely jumped off the menu as something we needed to try. 🙂

So the large water feature was nice, as was a lot of the decorative touches. Something I REALLLLLY appreciated about this place was the environmental awareness (we were told the floor was made of reclaimed wood and in the restrooms, there were cloth towels that would get rewashed. These type of decisions really make me feel good about supporting an establishment.

Tofu Scramble with multigrain bread. I wanted a little more avocado and broccoli. It was tasty.  The sole server (who is also the manager) told us it is pretty much just her and the owner/chef working. Having a kitchen staff of one is hard when they have lengthy brunch and lunch menus as well as vegan and non-vegan offerings.

Our brunch guest decided to not get vegan, but really liked (and couldn’t finish all of ) his breakfast burrito.

Overall, this place offered a large selection of vegan options. We did have to wait a considerable amount of time. The sole server/manager informed us that the kitchen is staffed only by the owner/chef. I don’t know how feasible such an operational plan is, especially if they start getting more and more customers. This could be exacerbated by the fact that the menu is lengthy since there are vegan and non-vegan options of almost everything. I enjoyed the food and like when a place seems super committed to their values.

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Also, donuts are SOOO trendy right now. I was super excited to try City Girl Donuts in Rocky River. I had heard some people who were disappointed, but that did not deter me from donut deliciousness. It is really hard to gauge a place when they first open. I was VERY impressed with these donuts.

We decided on the Mixed berry, banana creme, peanut butter- chocolate long john and the daily special of pear-mascarpone. The white and dark chocolate shavings, the cookie pieces … there were so many delightful touches. Also, she referred to it as a “sophisticated pear” but I like to think she was calling us a “sophisticated pair” 😛

They had SOOOO much filling. Be careful/ have napkins ready!

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Now I just have some fun (mostly brunch) photos to share.

I have talked about One Blue Door in Cuyahoga Falls before. Go for brunch (but if you go on a weekend, expect a wait… or if there are only 2 or 3 of you just sit at the bar! The banana’s foster French Toast (above) and the Salmon and eggs (below) were HUGE portions and wonderful. Although, honestly, the almond croissant we ate in the parking lot which was roughly the size of a football, was one of the BEST things I’ve eaten in a while.

This brunch place in Chicago is maybe the most photogenic restaurant ever. Seriously, look at the website! The biscuits and lamb gravy were spicy, the muesli had caramelized bananas and the funnel cake had fruity pebbles sugar on top.

A vegan pumpkin-chocolate cheesecake in Chicago. Made out of a soy-based vegan cream cheese, it was delightful and did not have a “this is a vegan substitute feeling”.

Some brunch Items from Le Petit Triangle in Ohio City… which were delicious but we wanted the crepe to be MUCH bigger.