Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Tasting at Urban Farmer





 

I, along with nearly 20 other bloggers, was recently invited to a five-course tasting at Cleveland's Urban Farmer, a steakhouse that prides itself on having a relationship with local farms and utilizing local produce, some of which is pickled and found jarred around the restaurant.


The restaurant is a bit eclectic in its decor...

 

 ...perhaps channeling the energy of the first Urban Farmer in Portland (which was named as one of the Best Steakhouses in the U.S. via Travel & Leisure Magazine just last year)...


...and I say this completely as a compliment, as I love Portland, its quirkiness, its food culture and its creativity.

That said...allow to take you along this tasting journey...


Upon arrival, we were given the option of three cocktails...


 ..and I selected the Paw Paw Daiquiri - a bit sweet for my personal tastes but delicious.


 Soon after came a table with bread, two varieties of oysters...


 ...and boards covered in pates, sliced meats, mostardas and jams (bacon jam in particular).


I tried to fit as much as I could on one piece of bread (delicious!).


By the time I got to the cheese...

 

...we were moved into the back room with Portlandia decor...

 

 ...and equipped with our tasting menu.

FIRST COURSE


Beef Tartare with deviled egg

I am a fan of beef tartare and found this to be rather delicious.  An interesting extra of this dish was the addition of beef heart slivers found throughout.  They were tender and added a varied texture.

EXTRA

 

Rolls and cornbread with salted butter

Pretty good cornbread (I didn't try the dinner rolls).  

FYI - I would later use some of this salted butter with my steak.

SECOND COURSE


Chilled Lobster, tomato, avocado, fennel, mint, verjus sorbet

Although the lobster pieces were pretty generous in this dish, it was the avocado cream on the bottom and the verjus sorbet on top that really blew me away.  Since verjus, or verjuice, comes from squeezing unripe grapes or sour fruits, the flavor was very acidic and really different.  I loved it.

This was probably my favorite dish.  Refreshing and different.

FISH COURSE


Seared scallop, corn, candied bacon, tomato

Nice dish overall.  I love scallop and the candied bacon was nice (as well as the bacon jam underneath).  The tomatoes and corn were also subtle and delicious.

MAIN COURSE


Roasted 21 Day Dry-Aged Strip Loin, boulangere potato, summer squash, tallow

Let me simply say that the beef was delicious and very tender and flavorful.  The potatoes that cooked under the steak to absorb its drippings were also rich and delicious.  I left the tallow alone, being that it had an intense flavor and I was getting a bit too full to fully appreciate it.

DESSERT COURSE


 Great Lakes Malted Barley Custard, malt balls, honeycomb

A fantastic finish - a custard that reminded me of smooth tapioca, chocolatey malt balls and honeycomb that tasted like burnt honey marshmallow.  Different textures, different flavors and an overall end-of-the-meal happiness.



If you're interested in an Urban Farmer dining experience, you can visit them online at...  


 ...or simply make your way out to...

 1325 East 6th Street
Cleveland, OH 44114


Be sure to let me know what you get!


. .

Friday, August 15, 2014

My first time in Nashville




After a great first Cincy chili experience at Gold Star (we tried Skyline on the way back up)...


...a trip to a farm in Bardstown, KY...


...some Sesame Street cupcakes from Just Baked (Bardstown)...


...and my wife's 20 year reunion (still Bardstown)...


...Julia and I spent two days and nights in Nashville, TN...


...where we did some honkytonkin' at Robert's Western World...


...whose music gave us the idea...


...to check out Cooter's...


...with the General Lee...



...Boss Hogg and Rosco...



...and all the extras.


Fortunately, Willie Nelson and Family General Store was next door...


...equipped with a Willie-esque fortune teller.


Other stops included Third Man Records...



...the Grand Ole Opry...


 
 ...the Gaylord Opryland Hotel...
 
 
 ...and the Ryman Auditorium...
 
 
 ...all with plenty of Minnie Pearl sitings.

 

But let's not forget about the food!

 
 

Hattie B's

 
 
 
 
  Hot chicken (which was even better with honey) served with some pimento mac and cheese and cole slaw.
 
Delicious!

 
 
Delicious Johnny Cakes with pimento cheese
 
 
 
 Eggplant and Squid Purloo
 
 
 
  Aged Beef Tartare (could have used some toast or bread)
 
Overall a great meal! 

Rolf and Daughters

   
 
 Dry aged beef tartare - the oil and greens accented it
 
 
 
 Farro, green tomato, cucumber, medjool date, urfa biber (really flavorful)

 
 Eggplant, sprouted lentils, fermented chili, peanut butter (wish I had more eggplant)

 
 Hazelnut cream, chocolate torte, peanut, salt
 
 
 Oh - I also got some white anchovies from our neighbors at the next table (he just couldn't get into them).
 
Probably our best meal of the trip (although we really did talk a lot about the hot chicken too!). 
 

The Row Kitchen & Pub

 
Fried green tomatoes with tomato jelly and pimento cheese.
 
 
 
Grilled meatloaf sandwich (too much bread for me).
 
Decent overall.
 
********************
 
In conclusion...
 
 
 
 ...we really enjoyed our time in Nashville...
 
 
...and we're looking forward to our next trip back!