Archive | September, 2008

Fall Fun Fest and Kettle Corn

by Jamie Ginsberg on 24. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

We took the family to Patterson Farms for Family Fun Day last weekend to enjoy perfect Fall weather here in the Eastern Suburbs of Cleveland. The apples were delicious, the apple juice refreshing and the Kettle Corn…ahhhh the Kettle Corn. Did I mention I have a weakness for Kettle Corn? Crispy, Sweet, Salty…What is not to like?

I have been thinking about how profitable Kettle Corn must be since the Renaissance Faire in SF this summer, which had a huge line and could not pop the stuff fast enough. There was not a big line here, but at $7 for a large bag you do not need a large crowd to turn a profit. I look forward to the Kettle Corn at Patterson’s every year and this year it was as good as I remembered it. I do not envy this guy making the Kettle Corn. He will be doing this same job in a month when it is freezing and people are grabbing last minute pumpkins.

Since I felt obliged to ask if I could take a picture (always feels weird to take someone’s picture without permission), I asked for the secret recipe. Vegetable Oil, Pop Corn, Sugar, Salt. Yes, secrets revealed! Not happy with information I already knew, I asked the question that was really bothering me. “So in what equal amounts of salt and sugar?” I asked casually, as if this hasn’t been bothering me since August. “Nahhh, I just mix it until it is right.” Mr. KettleCorn responded smiling. What? The best tasting Kettle Corn is made by a sense of feel? Does he hang out with my Bubbi and cook?

Bubbi was a great baker and cook, and she never measured a thing in her life. But when she cooked, she put in extra love. She was completely present, working the stove or the mixing bowl. Getting the ingredients perfect, the flavors right. She never made Kettle Corn, but in my imagination she could have cooked at Patterson’s. 4 days later, I am finishing the last of it…Get your self to Patterson’s, enjoy this weather we are having and oh yeah get some Kettle Corn!


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Cafe Toscana – Do you remember Tuscany at Eton Place?

by Jamie Ginsberg on 15. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

Rosie, Mike Amy and I converged on Aurora to check out Toscana. If you like Italian food, you are in for a treat. The wine list is good, if only because there are multiple bottles in the 30-40 dollar range. We started with a 2005 Solane for $36. It was listed on the menu as a 2004 but since I had never heard of it and could not tremember which year was better for Italy, we went ahead and poured it. The wine was light and smooth, easy to drink. The after taste was slightly sour and clearly evident after we opened up the 2006 Rosenblum Zinfandel, Paso Robles ($40). The Zin was smooth with a distinctly chocolate middle. It was hard to finish the Ripasso after tasting the Rosenblum.

The waitress poured olive oil onto plates with parmagiana and assorted spices making an excellent dip for the warm buns. The calamari arrived quickly and was not quite as crispy as promised. After 2 bites my ears started itching and so I stopped eating them. There was a nice lightly dressed mixed greens on the side and that was both appealing to the eye and refreshing to eat. The red dipping sauce was spicy and almost shrimp cocktailesque.

Between the sauce and the wine, I was sweating buckets. It took me nearly 5 minutes to get over my paranoia as to why all 3 people at the table in front of me kept staring at me (which only made me sweat more). Did they know I was the Jamie from www.drunkandfull.com? When I realized the tv behind me was showing the Buckeyes losing to USC I immediately felt better (Go Blue!), although I continued sweating profusely.

The eggplant with Goat cheese was layered nicely and surrounded by a rich marinara sauce.  There was nothing healthy about this. The eggplant was nicely fried with a very typical Italian flavor. Bites of eggplant with warm goat cheese and sauce were a mouthful of flavor. Leave the weight watchers points guide at home for this one.

I got the chopped salad, summer special version, to start. The dressing was light, the salad was cold and crisp, and it was fun to eat. The long string beans got me really excited because I am a huge fan of the under appreciated green bean. These were fresh and crisp and made the salad for me. Rosie and Mike split a Cesar which looked good despite the Anchovies staring at me from across the table. Rosie is a big fan of the anchovy in general, and seemed to enjoy the salad.

Amy ordered up Fettuchini Noodles with Spicy Italian Sausage and mushrooms and picked out all of the sausage and eating it first, leaving no room for the noodles. She has been on a sausage kick lately and this hit home. With a satisfied look on her face she said, pack it up I want the rest for breakfast. Unfortunately, her box which was very considerately wrapped in cellophane made it into Rosie’s bag and I had to listen to her complain no less than 10 times the next day about how much better her pasta was than Rosie’s. Somehow she managed to eat all of Rosie’s leftover pasta with Olivia while complaining the entire time.

Rosie ordered the Pasta with Wild Boar Bolognese. This had the same rich dark look that the bolognese used to have a Tuscany’s. The noodles were large and flat creating a dynamic and interesting plate. The sauce looked like it had been cooking for at least a day and could have been served with cardboard and been delicious.

Mike got the pasta with shellfish extravaganza (muscles and scallops). Checking my notes, it seems he was almost suspiciously quiet about his meal. Knowing he took a box home also I am going to assume he was either not as hungry as me or his dish wasn’t as good as the salmon ;-)

I got the Salmon Special. The presentation was fantastic, nice slab of salmon covered in a light green creamy pesto sauce with a few pieces pieces of asparagus on the side with a small scoop of an orange looking whipped potato. The sauce was everywhere and could have been covering a turd and I would not have complained. My salmon was cooked rare and I have been generally into very well done salmon this year. However, the sauce was so rich and creamy I could not stop eating until my plate was empty. I looked up and realized I was the only member of the “clean your plate club.” This was more cream than I have probably had all year and it was worth every bite.

Dessert was ok, but not spectacular. This is only strange because Tuscany used to have a mind blowing Cassata cake (which you can get at Casa Dolce on Mayfield) and the Tiramisu at Casa Dolce is out of this world. We ordered a Chocolate Mousse Torte and a Tiramisu. Both were ok and we enjoyed eating them. I would love to know why they serve ok Tiramisu when they clearly know what delicious Tiramisu tastes like and even have the secret recipe to make the real thing. This is an easy area with low hanging fruit for Toscana to turn it up a notch and really deliver.

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Taza – Bring on the Tahini!

by Jamie Ginsberg on 15. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

Great Indian Summer night at Taza with Doug, Karen and Amy. The night started with mild drama…ex-high school people were in the house putting Amy and Karen into a tizzy. By the time they recovered Doug was half way thru a mango martini and I had finished a glass of Taft Street Pinot Noir. I always want to get wine at Taza, and I never really enjoy it. At least it is inexpensive ;-)

We basically had a family style meal. They brought out the frsh made pita bread with the dipping sauce of Lebanese yogurt, oil, and olives. Taza’s fresh brick oven pita is always delicious. The Hummus, Babaganoush, Tabouli, and Loubie arrived along with a request for more fresh pita. The regular pita is good, but pales in comparison to the fresh pita (this is also one of the primary reasons to eat at Taza instead of Alladin considering the food basically tastes the same).

You can judge any Middle Eastern restaurant by the Hummus and Taza’s is excellent. Rich, creamy and perfectly balanced. There is always a splash of olive oil on the top that adds an extra bit of decadence.This is a standard at Taza and can be added to anything…anything!

The Babaganoush is perfect. Not too smokey, not too creamy, not too chunky, not too well you get the idea. The baba is great and I almost always order it. I will usually get the baba instead of the hummus if I have to choose. Why? Because the dark side is very strong my friend. And the complexity of eggplant and tahini is irresistible.

The Tabouli is heavy on the parsley with more lemon than olive oil. This may be the healthiest thing in the entire world to eat. I always find myself rolling up one of the decorative pieces of lettuce and adding some hummus to the tabouli.  Whenever I have Taza’s tabouli, I find myself thinking I could eat this every day. I may have to work on making this at home.

Oddly enough we ordered 2 Salads with Falafil and 2 Mujadara plates. The salad is crisp and refreshening and the falafil was crunchy and freshly made. The tahini dressing on the salad was rich and delicious. Taking bites of falafil with the dressing and salad fit in perfectly with a summer night. I would get this for lunch any time.

The mujadara plate is always good, and the leftovers were even good the next morning. The mix of lentils with a bed of think onion rings is good and creates the illusion of healthy (yes I did say onion rings). I usually order a side of hot sauce, but neglected to this time and I regret it. The house made hot sauce is unbelievable and worth paying for. I am usually sweating within minutes of adding it to anything, but it goes with almost everything, particularly the mujadara.

The end conclusion is I always feel a little silly eating at Taza, when Alladin’s is so much cheaper and the food is basically the same. Despite that, the fresh pita, nice patio and upgraded atmosphere are worth paying for and do make the meal more pleasurable. When you need a little Middle Eastern love, head to Taza’s with some friends and order liberally.

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Blue Cheese Guacamole

by Jamie Ginsberg on 12. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

Inspired by Mamocho on the West Side of Cleveland and motivated by a FaceBook Status Update from my old friend Kelly Zafar saying she had been eating too much Guacamole, I made some Blue Cheese Guacamole. On this fine night I was lucky enough to have my youngest assistant, Olivia, in the kitchen with me. I started with 2 avocados from Costco that had been slowly ripening for 4 days. I sliced them in half, pulled out the “seed” and made vertical slices down the avocado halves. With a smooth scoop I spooned the avocado into a bowl and handed the bowl to Olivia who mushed the avocado with a fork. I sliced 2 limes in half and squeezed them into the avocado Olivia was industriously mushing.

I took 3/4′s of a poblano pepper and cleaned the seeds out. Quickly peeling 3 cloves of garlic, I tossed them with the pepper into the mini cuisinart. I squeezed a little lime into the cuisinart and let Olivia take over. Switching between grind and chop Olivia created an alive bright green mush, looking nothing like the dark green poblano we started with. I roughly grabbed a small handful of cilantro stem and all, rinsed it under water twice and added it to the cuisinart. Olivia gave 2 quick chops and we added the mixture to the avocado with a sprinkle of salt. While Olivia returned to mushing, I quickly quartered 4 small tomatoes that were surprisingly ripe (another Costco purchase) and gently storred them in. Last but not least I poured delicous crumbled aged blue cheese (yes, Costco) all over the top and slowly stirred it in. Don’t take my word for it, make some yourself.

The Blue Chese Guacamole was eaten with crappy blue tortillas and baked Salmon. The Salmon was ok but each bite covered in gauc was delicious. Enough said. I opened up a bottle of Ercavio, made from 100% Temparnillo. Gary Vaynerchuck highly recommended this wine on www.winelibrary.com a few months ago and I picked up a case. At $9.99 a bottle and Vaynerchuck saying to buy 2-3 cases, I only regret not getting 2 cases. This is a light summer red that goes down easy. I am always looking for a bottle that I do not feel guilty opening on a random night when it is only me having an extra-large glass with dinner. This is the type of wine I am always looking for. Smooth and easy to drink with all kinds of flavors running thru it. This particular bottle surprised me with a peppery flavor I did not remember from the previous 6 bottles I have tried. That said, like Gary, I suggest you grab a case if you can and drink it on one of those Indian Summer nights that will happen in the next few weeks. I follow Gary on friendfeed and in the emails I get regularly from him (along with 30,000 other fools). If you are interested in wine, you owe it to yourself to follow Gary V. If you can make peace with the fact that he sells most of the wine he reviews, he is funny and real (Ok he screams Jersey but so be it someone has to). I’d hang out with him any time.

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More Pizza!

by Jamie Ginsberg on 12. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

If you like Olives, Artichokes, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and a sprinkling of Mozzarella Cheese, then you would have loved this pizza. I used Amy’s freshly cooked sauce and hand turned dough. It is dangerous to make pizza, you wind up wanting to eat the left overs for breakfast. While not good for a weight loss diet, right now this fits into any diet of people who love to eat. If you can’t grow your own, at least you can make your own.

Amy made her usual Margherita Pizza with fresh made sauce and basil leaves. As you can see the mozarella cheese was flowing freely.Everything was right about this pizza except for the stone board she made it on. This wasour first time using the square stone and we did not use enough flour on the stone. The end result was instead of a nice crisp bottom we had sticky mush for crust. The lesson learned is to cook in your stone and let the flour and olive oil flow freely. Next time will be better…Viva La Pizza!!!

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Sarava – Great Fast Food!

by Jamie Ginsberg on 08. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

Amy and I headed down to Shaker Square with our good friends David & Dana Blocker Saturday night, to dine on the outdoor deck at Sarava. Fine Brazillian cuisine on a slightly chilly night sounded perfect. Truth be told, it was kind of a mixed bag.

We decided to go with all small plates. I ordered the chilled avocado soup and the rest ordered salads. I always want to like the avocado soup, but it may be a great example of when to say when. This smooth avocado green soup was heavy on the pepper and packed a sharp almost bitter heat as a result. This was my second attempt at this soup and I have officially thrown in the towel, it does not live up to the hype in my mind. Amy’s salad was delicious, although somewhat heavily dressed, even for me. David ordered a bottle Santa Eracita (maybe?) and we discovered a Malbec that on a blind tasting I would have sworn was a Syrah. It smelled like sewer (I am sure someone likes that) and had a complex somewhat bold flavor. Being a fanof the Malbec in general, I was a little dissapointed. This might have been better with a stinky blue rather than simply bread and butter.

The small plates started arriving and the real fun began. The tamales were interestingly more of a cornbread than what I traditionally think of as a tamale. That said, the presentation was superb with 3 mini towers on a rectangular plate. A squeeze of lime and the flavor was perfect. I could have eaten all of the onion rings myself, they were thin, crispy and spiced. Delicious. I ate 2 thin fries and was really bummed. They were cold and kind of sucked. We all agreed and complained to the bus boy passing by about the flavorless cold fries and he picked up the plate and walked off. I watched him squeeze the fries and could see by his body language he agreed something was wrong. Minutes later a plate of piping hot delicious fries arrived. Well salted and crispy and hot the fries evaporated quickly. David had a pair of mini-burgers that looked juicy and nothing like the sliders you remember from White Castle (at these prices you would not order 2 dozen burgers like you might have at White Castle). Are you starting to See why David proclaimed this meal to be Great Fast Food?

The Quesadilla was vegetarian and good. Presented as 2 halves rolled like a sushi hand roll they looked elegant and refined on the plate. The taste was light and good, but I was completely satisfied with my small bite. The mediterranean pizza was ok. It would have been better if the crust had been crisp, instead of biting into a mess of mush, but the flavor was good. The Calamari was a nice size portion with a very saucy sauce. None of us were impressed and we left this dish half eaten. This never would have happened at Downtown 140 or Maxi’s. Last and almost least was the Grilled cheese with tomato soup. I really wanted this to be better than it was. Personally I prefer my grilled cheese any day. While slightly stuffed we forged ahead with dessert.

We ordered the Flourless Chocolate Cake and the Coconut Butter Cake. After specifically asking if the Coconut Butter Cake was served warm, a cold flavorless cake arrived at our table without any creme anglaise. We turned to our trusty bus boy and told him the cake sucked. He took it back to the kitchen and reappeared within minutes with a hot delicious slice of cake covered in house made whip cream and oozing creme anglaise. Now this was a great slice of cake. This cake was taken off of the bill, so I am hate to complain. It would be nice if they stepped up to the plate and ran a tighter ship; however, I do appreciate when an item that would reduce your enjoyment reduces your bill instead. Amy and I came here with Scott and Caroline and had the same cake experience but we did not know the cake should be sent back, we just ate the crappy cake and told everyone how bad the cake was. Oh right, you are wondering what happened to the flourless chocolate cake? It was eaten by all of us…of course! The bits of gold leaf on the top let you know this is a classy cake. It was not my favorite grade of chocolate but the consistency was right and the rich buttery chocolate coated my mouth and lit up my taste buds. Dessert had been saved!

As we rolled out and headed East, Amy and I agreed that Sarava was a summertime only outdoor eating experience that did not and would not translate well to winter. We had a rough night of service and akward quality, but the food was gnerally good and the atmosphere was perfect. Although we will not be rushing back, we should go in for the large plates.

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Sausages and Friends

by Jamie Ginsberg on 03. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

What do you do at the end of the summer? PPPPPPPPAAAAAARRTTTTTYYYYYYYYYY!!! We got the kids together for a night of running around and causing trouble. Mike and Carl are beer guys and showed up with a six pack of interesting micro brew each as they normally do. I opened up a bottle of Festivo, excellent Argentinian wine from Michele Rolland. When the Wine Library email went out proclaiming this wine as a must buy I jumped on it. At $13 this drinks like a $28 bottle. Smooth with a nice under body and a medium finish. Bonus points for the label which has that hand made paper feel with pressed flowers in it. I have a growing respect for Mr. Rolland and will be searching out more of his wines.

Carl and Mike set the tone of the night with a steady flow of alcohol and planning for their weekend bike ride. Between bites of the Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese and crackers, they put away their fair share of beer and even tried the Festivo.

The meal was simple, grilled dogs for the kids, Bruce Adielle’s Gruyere and Garlic Chicken Sausages, Dr.Praeger’s Veggies patties for the veggies. The sausages looked great and Alex put one away as he is protesting hot dogs these days. The veggie patty was enhanced by some Whole Foods Chipolte Mayo which was fatty and smooth. I generally prefer exotic mustards over mayos for the health factor, but Rosie insisted I try it and it definitely made the veggie patty more interesting. Personally I need a little more of that smokey chipotle flavor but it was good all the same.

Amy made a corn salad using corn harvested from Judy’s stand at Lake Chautauqua inspired by my fellow blogger Scott. It screams summer and can be eaten any day of the week. It is a nice combination of crunchy chunky vegetables such as radish and green peppers and a sweet light dressing. I feel guilty spilling the secrets of what makes it such a great summer salad, maybe Scott will fill in the blanks.

The women were on dessert with Amy P. juggling Claire and a batch of brownies she whipped up. The brownies were for the kids, but still were missing the rich fudge factor. I am very suspicious she turned up the health factor with the kids in mind.

I have had Amy P’s baked goods before and swear by her breads. Next time I am going to test her by asking for adult brownies, not magic brownies or kind brownies, simply fudgy brownies.

Rosie was hard at work decorating her cheese cake with fresh fruit. My Amy insisted Rosie could not drizzle my shnizzle, uh I mean drizzle fruit liquid on the cheese cake. This was kind of a shame as it probably would have looked really pretty.

That said, this cheese cake was bound for glory. It was properly rich yet light. The berries were fresh and delicious adding a little bit to the cake. The cheese cake was the highlight of the evening and rated a solid 9 in the overall ratings for taste and presentation. Rosie is a ringer as she regularly cooks in her gourmet club. Wait a minute, what happened to the extra point? Why is it not a 10? I’ve got one word for you Lemon! Growing up on NY cheese cake I am a huge fan of the unadultered pure smooth rich cheese cake. The Lemon was a little too forward thinking for me and I almost did not go back for a second piece. Almost.

This was a great way to officially end the summer. With any luck this will not be the last BBQ of the summer, but simply a gentle reminder of how much fun itis to get together and celebrate little more than food and friendship.

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Thai Night at Fire

by Jamie Ginsberg on 03. Sep, 2008 in Jamie Ginsberg

Jan, Bob, Amy & I headed down to Fire for Thai night. We joined Amy & Karen Goldberg for a great night of food and conversation. Fire has been running a special dinner every few months with a guest chef, this dinner was done by the General Manager, Chin.

The menus were simple on natural looking paper. As we sat at the table enjoying Mango, Vodka, Champagne refreshers, I glanced at the menu and felt like I was looking at the itinerary for a 2 week trip. Could there really be 11 courses coming our way? I reached forward and did the unthinkable, I poured myself a beer. There were 3 beers on the table and I decided to try all 3, resulting in me drinking all 3 by the end of the meal, yet another reason to eat with the light weights. The beers were beers, water would have been better. The Thai iced coffee and tea arrived and my liquid issues were done. I am a huge fan of the Thai iced coffee and quickly downed 2 of them, the sugary sweetness lingering in my throat as the caffeine kicked in.

Spring rolls arrived first. The dipping sauce was a classic Thai sauce that you have had a million times. This was lighter yet still sweet. The spring rolls were cleanly fried with a crisp edge, I would swear these had little nibblets of pork mixed in and I decided ignorance was bliss.

The food started arriving and for the next hour it did not stop. At some point the serving order switched from the menu, but I was too full to complain. The beef kabobs with peanut dipping sauce were tender and as you would expect delicious covered in the reach smooth sauce.

Fried egg halves appeared, maybe the Thai version of deviled eggs? I watched in horror as I tossed one back enjoying the cilantro cutting thru the crispy exterior of the hard boiled egg. Strange, yet good.

The fish cakes were delicious. My worst fear of fish cakes is that fishy smell and taste that makes you think it is simply chopped up left over fish.  This was clean and well balanced by the crunch of the cucumber salad. I missed a few shellfish laden dishes. Despite my allergies I have a good eye for shrimp and the shrimp was nice and plump. Maybe the best sign was my ears did not start itching, this is always a great sign the shellfish is fresh and clean.

The tilapia was presented beautifully on a banana leaf and yet was strangely bland and uninspiring. I came in with a bias towards tilapia and I left with the same bias. It was just kind of boring. This is the problem with expectations. I love fish and was looking forward to this being my “main” course and here I was eating bland fish and drinking crappy beer. Expect the unexpected.

Change is good and panang beef is even better. This must have been slow cooked for days. The tender meat was richly seasoned and melted in my mouth. I had 2 servings to make up for the squid and shrimp salad I missed. I wanted to go in for more, but the ground pork was in danger of passing me by.

The ground pork was spicy and delicious. I know the basil added some flavor, but each bite was enveloped in complex layers of heat and spice. My next mission is to get this recipe, it is a must have for Thai night! The Pad Thai arrived and I was mildly irritated that my request for a non shrimp version was denied. As I sat their stuff trying to understand how I could possibly be irritated, a bowl of Pad Thai arrived just for me. As I picked out pieces of chicken I forgot I was stuffed and enjoyed some of the best Pad Thai I have had in Cleveland. I was hoping the Pad Thai would be delicious and it delivered. After all of the delicious food, I felt like I was not only special, but my expectation of great Pad Thai was delivered.

At this point, you may remember that I am generally a vegetarian. I am a firm believer in experiencing life and when in Thailand I eat Thai food…even if Thailand is a one night only dinner at Fire on Shaker Square. There are few reasonable explanations for how I manage to justify Thai Night to myself, the best I can come up with is living and learning are more important than a silent protest against the beef industry. Dessert was delicious fresh made coconut ice cream, unbelievable sticky rice with fresh sliced mango and I seem to remember rolling myself away from the table to have the valet get our car. I knew this was a mistake as I made it, but I was so full I needed fresh air. Leaving Amy and her Mom in the restaurant was a guarantee we would be the last to leave. I leaned up against the car and let the food settle in, Today was a Good Day.

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