Cal of Dine-O-Mite described the feel of Pier W to us as indistinguishable from a West Coast restaurant.  The view out the window, even in winter, is beautiful, a panorama of lake Erie fading off into the distance.   Cleveland could use more places like this that take advantage of the coastline. 

We started with the grouper tacos, which were stuffed with fresh fish, avocado and cilantro and very neatly plated.  They were very yummy.

I ordered absinthe (Lucid, I think–they have quite a selection) to start the meal.   It included a sugarcube on a slotted spoon over which one poured hot water.  I very much enjoyed it*

For our entree, we split the surf and turf: filet mignon, lobster tail, spinach, and roasted potatoes.  We added a few crab-stuffed shrimp (we were splitting, after all).  Like every other aspect of our experience, everything was flawless.  The steak was cooked to medium rare, and seasoned just to the point where the salt enhanced the filet’s flavor rather than overpowered it.  The lobster tail tasted very fresh, and the shrimp went down very easily.

We really enjoyed our experience at Pier W and look forward to returning. 

(Full disclosure: we were initially seated in a closet-like back room.  I asked the hostess what was going on, and we were promptly escorted to our reserved table next to a window with flowers I ordered for the occasion.  As a bonus, we were given a free champagne “consolation” for the initial seating which we were never charged for). 

* Absinthe, as far as I can tell, is traditionally served with ice-cold water.  I liked the absinthe so much at Pier W that I bought a bottle, had it with cold water, and hated it for its sharpness and astringency.  I’ve sold the remainder of the bottle to a friend (to be delivered tomorrow after band practice), but had a 1/2 oz. yesterday with hot water just to see if it made a difference–it was good.  But I guess it’s already sold…

P.S. My band just made a video:

Okay, this is shameless self-promotion, but isn’t that what bands do?

Jonathan and I arrived early to wait for Sarah to complete her volunteer orientation at the APL, so I had an Arrogant Bastard on draft and perused the menu while Jonathan sketched in his art book.  The beer was excellent, mostly quaffed before Sarah arrived.

To start we ordered the specialty pizza of the month:

It was excellent and original with zucchini, beets, feta and marscarpone cheese atop a garlic and oil sauce.  There were no herbs or spices notable, but none were necessary: the combination of fresh ingredients made the pizza.

We also ordered the Guinness and Onion Soup and beef sliders.  The soup was a decent (but not exemplary) rendition of French onion soup and the sliders, while tasty, were a bit overdone.  We weren’t asked about doneness, but my guess is that, as they seemed fresh, we might have been able to order them more rare.

Jonathan had the grilled cheese.   He skipped the tomato and onion but kept the bacon. This was a great sandwich, loaded with mixed cheeses and perfectly crisped bacon on thick, buttery bread.  The fresh cut fries were excellent, too, very well browned and crunchy but soft inside.

The service was good as well.  The waiter was quickly able to suggest kid’s options despite the lack of a children’s menu, and he quietly asked us (not Jonathan) about a ginger ale refill.

We’ll definitely return to the Old Angle to further explore their menu.  Unlike many local gastropubs, they offer  a variety of vegetarian options including halloumi cheese sliders, Maha’s (of the West Side Market) felafel, fried ravioli, and a veggie wrap.  And the grilled cheese would have been very good even without the bacon.

The decor and seating are far better than in previous incarnations of the dining cars.  The rich reds create an warm, classy atmosphere.  The seats are comfortable, and the aisles are wide enough so that one doesn’t feel cramped (as was the case previously).

We started with the Ceasar salad, which was very generous for a lunch portion and had olives instead of the traditional anchovies.  The salad was very tasty, and we might try olives in a homemade Ceaser sometime.  We also were served bread, which seemed to be the Pugliese from Stone Oven (no complaints there).

Clyde’s has really good lunch drink specials: house wine for $2.50 and PBR or Budweiser for $1.90.  I don’t typically drink with lunch, but as it was a day off and the prices barely exceeded those of pop, I chose a house white.  It was unremarkable but quite drinkable, and the pour was generous, not a small lunch size.

I ordered the pulled pork with spicy barbecue sauce ($8.50) which came with fresh cut “pommes frites.”  The pork was nicely cooked and the fries were excellent.  They might want to consider taking the word “spicy” off the menu, though.  The sauce was tangy and definitely not overly sweet like commercial sauces, but there was barely a hint of spice.  I asked for hot sauce on the side (which was unfortunately Red Hot rather than Tabasco).  The buns for the sandwich are excellent–toasty and buttery–but there was a bit too much bun vs. sandwich for my taste.

Sarah has the chicken sandwich ($8.50) and added bacon.  The breast meat was very nicely charred and tender.  The toppings were well-chosen: roasted red pepper, asiago cheese, lettuce and tomato.  This is definitely something we’d order again.  The mashed potatoes were also good and clearly tasted homemade.

We very much look forward to visiting Clyde’s again.  The atmosphere and prices are excellent, and the food is very good.  There’s also quite a variety of dishes–Salad Nicoise, Eggplant Parmesan, Steak, etc.–that we’re excited to try.

I could reprint the recipe for the salad above (on p. 162 of the book), but a set of numbered steps and ingredients isn’t really necessary.  Just cut up fuji apples into large cubes (or thin wedges), coat them with kimchi puree (I pulsed it in a spice grinder) and lay them on top of a 2:1 combination of greek yogurt and maple syrup.  Top with bacon (or smoked jowl, if you can find or make it), and argula dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper.  The apples can be left in the kimchi from 1 minute to six hours in advance, depending on how intensely you want the flavors to penetrate. 

This turned out great even with substandard Giant Eagle apples and decent supermarket bacon, but I can’t wait to make it again with New Creations bacon and apples from the North Union Farmers Market.

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While many of the recipes in Chang’s book are long and involved (e.g. Ramen Broth) many are, like the above, simple recipes based on novel ideas.  His ginger scallion sauce takes 10 minutes to make and totally transformed ramen noodles.  It would probably be good on just about anything.  We’re also excited to make his fried chicken (brined, then steamed, then quickly fried sans breading and topped with ginger / garlic vinaigrette) and his pork buns.  While the initial prep for the buns is a bit involved–baking the buns and a simple pork belly recipe–the final assembly is just topping the buns with the pork, quick pickled cucumbers, scallions and Sriracha.

Chang’s voice in the book is also great.  He begins his 2–3 day long chicharrón (fried pork skin) recipe with the following (warning: profanity alert)

A chicharrón to start the meal.  I’m sure some people saw it as a little “fuck you” to kick off an $85 menu, and I can’t say that there wasn’t some of that in serving a fried pork rind to start a fancy dinner.

He goes on to defend the dish as being the perfect amuse-bouch, and no one would scoff at the labor involved in making chicharrónes (this is one recipe I probably won’t try).

When I first perused this book at the store, I was a bit intimidated by some of the obscure Asian ingredients.   Sarah decided she wanted it, though, and we’ve both been excited about making more from it ever since.   Jonathan has also been happy with the results.

Ariyoish had a weeknight beer special the night we visited–a 22 oz. Japanese Beer for $5–so I had a Kirin. Sarah had a hot tea, and Jonathan had a Japanese soda called Ramune, which was offered to him at no charge.  The bottle–which is “corked” with a glass marble– and flavor (melon) intrigued all three of us.   Our waiter told us that they’re available at the CAM Asia Market on Miles Road.

We had spring rolls for our appetizers, which were very good and had a nice herbal (lemongrass?) and mushroom flavor. 

Sarah and I split a Bento box for our entrée.  The sushi (California roll) was quite good, as was the seaweed salad and melt-in-your-mouth shrimp tempura.   The Bento Boxes come with a variety of entrees, and we chose beef with scallions.  The meat was tender and strongly flavored with an aroma of carmelized onion.   Miso soup and salad were also included.  We’d definitely order this again, and there’s plenty for two people, especially if you order an appetizer.

Jonathan had edamame (which he really enjoys) and pork gyoza, which come either steamed or fried (we chose the latter).  Jonathan was a little taken aback that they were deep fried (they’re typically pan fried) but took to them eventually.  Sarah and I tried them as well and found them very tasty.  Ariyoshi is very family-friendly: we saw a number of other people there with kids, and the staff is very accomodating.

We enjoyed our experience at Ariyoshi and look forward to returning soon!

My version is probably around 10–12% ABV (“The Exception” is around 14+%) and is drinkable after a few months (before that the flavors are too harsh, and it tastes mostly of alcohol).  Now on it’s fifth month, it’s extremely good and definitely the best beer I’ve ever brewed.

It’s also quite food friendly.  I had it a few days ago with a chicken, bacon, avocado and balsamic marmalade sandwich based on a recipe from Tom Colicchio’s ‘wichcraft (the recipe is excerpted on amazon.com):

The sweetness and smoke went well with the bacon and marmalade. 

The recipe below adds grains of paradise to Right Brain’s stated ingredients, but these probably add a very minor flavor note considering how much other stuff is in this.

Holy Daze Barley Wine (after Right Brain Brewery’s “The Exception”)

6 lbs extra light dried malt extract
3.3 lbs wheat malt extract
1 lb smoked malt, cracked (I used Breiss, from Rozi’s in Lakewood)
1 lb honey
1 lb grade B maple syrup
1 lb corn sugar, plus ½ cup for bottling
5 grains of paradise (optional)

Boiling hops: 1 3/4 oz. Chinook + 1 oz. Liberty (26 HBU)
Finishing hops: 1 oz. Liberty + ¼ oz. Chinook

Boil 1 gallon of water with smoked malt, then strain out malt.

Add all remaining ingredients except for finishing hops and grains of paradise and bring to the boil in a very large pot (ideally 3–4 gallon size). Watch carefully to prevent boiling over.

After 25 minutes at a low boil, add grains of paradise. After another 20 minutes, add finishing hops, then boil for 2–5 more minutes (depending on how out front you want the finishing hops to be—shorter boiling equals greater prominence). Sparge into your fermenter to make five gallons. Ferment until bubbling stops (or it only bubbles once every 20–30 seconds), then add ½ cup corn sugar and bottle.

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I’d recommend using a plastic fermenter or 6+ gallon glass carboy for this. I used a five gallon glass carboy, and, because of the intensity of the high gravity fermentation, I lost about a gallon to the blow off hose.

Also, the instructions above aren’t really detailed enough if you haven’t brewed before, especially in terms of equipment and sanitation. I’d recommend picking up Chalie Papazian’s The Joy of Homebrewing for more on this.

I named this months ago, before the brewmaster (John Niedermaier) at Right Brain coined their Christmas Ale “Holly Daze.”  He and I must think alike, which might mean he’s thinking of getting some of his beers in bottles and making them available in Ohio?  (So I don’t have to homebrew just to get beer as good as Right Brain’s).

We started started with the cheese plate, which we all enjoyed.   It included a cocoa inflused cheese, a beer infused goat cheese, a complex but not overwhelming blue cheese and an unbelievably sharp aged cheddar (our waitress accurately described it as reminiscent of bacon).   Sarah and I liked all four, and Jonathan liked everything but the blue.  For anyone interested, the cheeses are listed below:

We also ordered “Dr. Katz’s pickles,” which were a great combination of vinegar with subtle heat and sweetness.

Our meal also came with some good, hearty multigrain rolls.  Even the olive oil stood out, and our waitress told us it was a Brazillian brand called Montevecchio.  Zagara’s carries it, but they were unfortunately out when I checked a few days ago.

Our second course was the beet and endive salad.  Everything meshed beautifully, and the Meyer Lemon viniagrette really brought out all the flavors.

I ordered the pork chop for my entree.  While very nicely seared and flavorful, it was a tad more well-done than I would have liked.  This was partially my fault as I said “medium I guess” for the doneness which was probably reasonably interpreted as “he doesn’t really know what he’s asking for, so make it well-done.”  The polenta was rich and sharply flavored, but it still didn’t succeed in making any of us bigger fans of polenta.

Sarah had the diver scallops, which were very good.  The Israeli couscous and almonds married well with them, making an excllent dish.

Jonathan had the Millgate Farms cheeseburger.  The burgers at Fire are their hidden gem, somehow unlike any others in how dense, rich and satisfying they are.  Even cooked to medium-well, I was happy to share some of the burger Jonathan was too full to eat.

None of us had room for dessert, which we’ll have to save for our next visit.

The restaurant itself is kind of small and compartmentalized.  The decor is rustic.  The servers seemed to be primarily female and they were wearing German bar-maid dresses.  We stopped by on a Saturday afternoon and found the restaurant pretty full, although we did not have to wait around for a table.

We browsed the sausage buffet, but it did not seem too fresh so Ben and I decided to share the sausage sampler and order a side of potato pancakes.  We tried to convince Jonathan to order some sort of sausage, but he was more in a cheeseburger mood.

The Sausage sampler was plated on top of sauerkraut and served with a side of German potato salad and apple sauce.  The German potato salad was vinegary and warm like my Mom’s but it was not quite as flavorful as my Mom’s (she uses bacon, yum!).  The apple sauce was chunky and sweet, and the sauerkraut was average.  We were not impressed by the sausages.  They were good, but they were not “Wow” good.  They were all moist and had a satisfying snap to the casing.  Our favorite sausage ended up being the garlicky knockwurst, second place went to the bratwurst and a tie for last place was the not-so-spicy bahama mama and milder mama.

The potato pancakes were served with the same applesauce and were pretty good.  They had a slight onion flavor and were nice and crisp.  Although I still like my Mom’s better — with apple sauce and sour cream.

Our verdict on this place is that it is OK, it is good winter weather stick-to-your-ribs food but I don’t think we’ll need to make a return trip.

Superior Pho is in a plaza of sorts, and you can’t really get there unless you go in a back entrance, which is a bit hard to find.  This place is very much worth finding, though.

We started with the shrimp rolls ($3.95), which were quite good.  The peanut dipping sauce added a nice vinegar element as well.  Jonathan also enjoyed these.

I ordered the Banh Mi pork sandwich ($3.95), which has been praised by Nancy Heller* and on the Cleveland Sandwich Board.  It’s well worth ordering.  The pate adds a rich meatiness, and the jalapenos and other vegetables add sharpness and complexity. 

Comparisons to #1 Pho are inevitable, so we had to try the chicken pho ($6.45).  The broth was notably fuller than that at #1 Pho, and we overall preferred this version.  As with any pho, there were plenty of fixings to add.

Finally we had the shrimp fried rice ($7.95), which was eggier than Chinese fried rice and also had a good fish sauce flavor. 

The setting of Superior Pho is much more modest than #1 Pho.  The lighting is bright fluorescent and the strongest ambiance is from the loud hum of the cooler.  Their food is outstanding and very reasonably priced, though, and we’ll definitely return.

* We feel like we’ve been copying Nancy a bit on our restaurants lately (e.g. the B-spot), but we actually visited Superior Pho a week before she posted but have been a little lazy about posting ourselves.

The longest prep time was for the slow-roasted beets (from Michael Symon’s Live to Cook).  They take over an hour in the oven, and that doesn’t include making the vinaigrette, etc.  The combination of the beets, blue cheese and walnuts was exquisite, though, all heightened by the balsamic orange vinaigrette.  In the words of Bridget Callahan, “ridonkalously” good.

I was the only one who really enjoyed the dates with pancetta, almonds and chillies (again, from Live to Cook).  Jonathan tried a raw date earlier and really liked it, but his reaction to the dish was basically “why did you f&*% up my dates?”   Sarah doesn’t like dates in any form.   This left me with almost a half pound of dates to myself.  The sweet / savory / spicy / herbal (from the pancetta) combination was truly elevating, and the chewiness of the dates with the crip almonds and pancetta made for a great texture.  I polished off most of 2–3 servings (for better or worse).

The main course (way simpler than everything else) was the scallops skewered with rosemary (until that ran out and I had to use toothpicks) wrapped in homemade bacon, marinated briefly in olive oil & lemon juice, and seared on a grill pan.  These were quite good overall, but it didn’t help that the main ingredients came from the freezer (which was not the case with the other dishes).  The dish was inspired by Steve Raichlen’s How to Grill.

Eating a good meal at home was a nice change of pace, and we’ll be doing more of that soon.