December Blogger Meetup at Town Hall

 

 Allow me to present you with the best burger I've had all year...

...even over a period of many years.

I got it here...

...at Ohio City's TownHall...

 ...where some of Ohio's best bloggers were treated with some flavorful black-bean-quinoa-falafel steam buns...

 ...and a fantastic raw veggie bowl with some white bean dip (on right) and addicting tapanade dip (on left).

 There were radishes, carrots of various colors, greens, broccoli cousins, radishes, beans, cucumbers, beet slices and more...

...and all of it GMO-FREE (something that should be the case with ALL the restaurant's food by December 31st of this year).

 As many of us enjoyed $3 Happy Hour drafts, we were able to pick our own entree...

 

 ...which led to the above-mentioned grass-fed Kobe cheeseburger...

 ...and I got it to my liking at a delicious bloody medium rare.

I kid you not that I purposefully only ate half so that I could savor the other half the next morning...

...and I did just that!

Besides...

 ...it saved some space in my belly for a bit of chocolate cookie dessert.

A big thanks to TownHall for the grub, the hospitality and the Crowler* that I won.  It was a memorable experience!

If you are interested in reading from other bloggers present that evening, check out:

Clue into Cleveland

Dina's Days

Eat Drink Cleveland

Happiness is a Hot Pierogi
Poise in Parma

ROJ Running
Velezita
Why CLE?

* A Crowler is 32 oz of your choice of draft pressurized in a can so that you can take it home and drink later.

Who will try some octopi?

 

 Like any kid, Max loves a good cheeseburger...

 ...but he also seemed intrigued when I was boiling some baby octopi...

...for a rather delicious salad (octopus, chick peas, pickled onion, roasted red peppers, artichoke heart, cilantro, lemon juice).

And even though he initially looked at it and said, "Let's not eat it," he later showed interest and told me he wanted to eat it.

 So I let him taste it. Kudos to him for trying something new, especially after seeing it in its deconstructed form!      

Our third anniversary...with Jonathon Sawyer?

 Julia and I decided to celebrate our third anniversary in Cleveland...

 

 ...taking advantage of this view at the Westin Cleveland Hotel...

...and getting a fancy 12 course dinner at Jonathon Sawyer's Trentina restaurant...

 ...a place which has (respectively) the coolest bathroom in town.

I'm sure you didn't expect this to be brought up, but it does merit a mention as the toilet seat is heated and there is a remote for front/back rinse action, fan dryer and more.  I so regretted standing during my first visit that I drank large amounts of water to give it all a second go (it was worth it).

**********

Okay...so let's get back to the food...here we go...

 

 We started out with a polenta "crackers" brushed with butter and served with aged meat wrapped around beans and fermented beets...

 

...continuing with a chickpea popper topped with roe and flowers...

 ...oysters on the half shell with liquors...

 

...fluke, cuttlefish noodle wrapped around steamed mussel in buttery broth (served with bread used for dunking...really enjoyed this dish)...

...gathered mushrooms...

...cut-up pasta, dehydrated olives, Ohio farm egg and smoking embers (notice the ember at 12 o'clock on the plate)...

...to where I will briefly pause.

Between and during courses, we chatted with neighboring tables.

First, we chatted with a couple taking leftovers home to one or two of their five children (combined through previous marriages).  As they knew we had one child and planned on another, they were quick to encourage us to also have five.

Another couple was made of the owners of Thaxton's Organic Garlic, who stopped by to drop off some garlic and have a drink and some small plates.  They told us a little of their relationship with Jonathon Sawyer, some of the great meals they've enjoyed at his restaurants, some great meals they shared together, and a little about the Garlic Festival in Cleveland (because that's my expertise).

It was an interesting extra layer of the experience.

Now, let's continue...

 

 ...with some strangolapreti (yummy pasta balls stuffed with cheese)...

 ...rabbit sausage...

 ...sorbetto...

 ...cake with gooseberries...

 ...brown butter panna cotta...

 ...and a macaroon.

We left the restaurant after nearly 3 hours, feeling satisfied and happy to have a looooong sleep in since my mom was watching Max back home.

The next morning, we had breakfast at Urban Farmer...

...where I had this delicious cheddar biscuit with sausage gravy, fennel sausage, a fried egg, fried chicken and lemon marmalade.  Delicious.

After some time at the Cleveland Casino, where we lost all our gambling cash (bastard machines!)...

...we finished our anniversary celebration back with Jonathon once more at Noodlecat...

...where I really love the steamed buns (I could probably live on the steamed buns).

That evening, we took a short walk to burn off the thousands of calories consumed over the past 24 hours...

...and it was a delight to be back home with Max again.

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...  

http://urbanfarmercleveland.com

 ...or simply make your way out to...

 1325 East 6th Street
Cleveland, OH 44114

Be sure to let me know what you get!

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