Monthly Archives: April 2011

Parallax

April 30, 2011 | by Ben 3

Parallax is by no means a new edition to the Cleveland dining scene, but it’s nonetheless highly respected and Sarah and I had never made it there. As we were in the mood for fish and seafood (the specialties of the house), we decided to give it a try with Jonathan. We were happy we did.

The décor is stylish and upscale but not oppressively formal. We were surprised at the coziness of the establishment, which filled up not too long after we arrived at 6pm on a Saturday. Our table had a nice view of the kitchen, as did most other tables.

The menu is fairly extensive, and quite a lot looked good. We started with the short rib potstickers. These were excellent, with tender braised meat that reminded me of Michael Symon’s beef cheek pierogies. The sweet/hot sauce was a nice counterpoint, much better than typical dumpling sauce.

To drink I had the Basilico cocktail, a wonderful mix of gin, basil, grapefruit juice, triple-sec and … continue reading

Craft Collaboration Review / IX Giveaway

April 24, 2011 | by Ben 21

I’ve been tracking the progress of the government-delayed Ohio Brewery beer collaboration, and, despite finding it sold out at Heinen’s, managed to snag a 12-pack at Warehouse Beverage. Overall it held up quite well despite being released six months late.… continue reading

Rye Kolsch (Brew Kettle and Willoughby Brewing): My favorite of the bunch. This was supposedly the beer most likely to go off because Kolsch in theory tastes best young, but that wasn’t the case. The aroma was citrusy hops with the flavor nicely balanced between floral (but not overpowering) hoppiness, sharp rye, and a subtle caramel malt evening everything out. I haven’t had a lot of low ABV rye ales, but this was the best I’ve had (less bitter and more drinkable than Acadia’s). The lightness of the beer’s body combined with the refreshing, complex flavors make for a great session beer. Too bad they’re not brewing more of these.
Barrel-Aged Strong Ale (“Berlot”) (Great

Umami Asian Kitchen

April 22, 2011 | by Ben 0

It’s getting to be the time of year when a visit to Chagrin Falls is especially appealing (even in the rain), and Umami has been on our “to try” list for a while, so we thought we’d check it out.

The establishment is quite small–it looks like it wouldn’t seat more than 15–20 people–and tastefully decorated in cool overtones. Most tables also have a good view into the kitchen.

Based on Dine-O-Mite’s recommendation, we started with the goat cheese dumplings.

As this place has “Asian” in its name, one might expect cheese filled pot stickers. These, though, are a bit more along the lines of gnocchi, but still very tasty with a mild ginger-soy (?) sauce that doesn’t get in the way of the cheesiness. All three of us really enjoyed these.

Sarah ordered the Udon Noodles for her entrée, which was the table’s favorite. The beefy mushroom sauce worked wonderfully with the toothsome noodles. The spicy beef was tender and … continue reading

Food and the Budget

April 15, 2011 | by Ben 0

We haven’t felt up for posting anything on recipes or restaurants since reading this article by Mark Bittman (one of our favorite food writers) a couple weeks ago in The New York Times.

The article is a tad dated; some movement has been made in budget negotiations during the last couple weeks. However, his assertion that Republican budget proposals slash food aid to those who need it while bolstering the incomes of the rich still holds. With Democrats in the minority, many of these proposals will likely move forward.

Here’s the passage the hit me hardest:

These supposedly deficit-reducing cuts — they’d barely make a dent — will quite literally cause more people to starve to death, go to bed hungry or live more miserably than are doing so now. And: The bill would increase defense spending.

Bittman fasted to protest this, and over 30,000 others have joined this effort.

Should we … continue reading