Something New for Canton

Downtown Canton got its first real chef-driven farm-to-table restaurant in July. It’s called Lucca. The husband and I had dinner there recently with people who supply some of the kitchen’s fine local ingredients. At the table were Mindy and Phil Bartholomae of Breezy Hill Farm in Homeworth, who raise an A-to-Z assortment of fruits and vegetables on their 23 acres, which includes three high tunnels so they can harvest year-round. The other couple was Jean Mackenzie and Jim Zella of Mackenzie Creamery, the award-winning artisanal goat cheese producer in Hiram (they had organized the get-together). It was a lovely evening of good food, good wine and great conversation in a pretty, contemporary setting.

Josh Schory, who put in time at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago, was at the stove. He's young, just 29, and this is his first restaurant, owned in partnership with his father, who stopped by to introduce himself. Josh decided to name it after his favorite town in Italy and wants to reproduce the fresh, simple, seasonal dishes that are eaten in this part of Tuscany.
After sampling a variety of appetizers, salads, and a couple of entrees, I can happily report that he captures the spirit of this cuisine and infuses it with Ohio flavors and his personal style.

Bread from nearby Hazel Artisan Bakery dipped in an excellent imported olive oil whetted our appetites for a buffet of shared starters: fried calamari, lightly coated with semolina flour, with roasted garlic and lemon aioli; crispy flatbreads with Prosciutto di Parma, goat cheese and pear jam; and littleneck clams in a fennel pollen butter broth that had us begging for extra bread to sop up every last drop.

A caprese salad, with multicolored roasted beets standing in for the tomatoes, fresh pulled mozzarella, arugula and toasted pine nuts, was next for me. The husband and I shared my succulent grilled herb-crusted lamb chops, which came with housemade gnocchi in a cheddar sage sauce, and his simple but tasty linguini tossed with roasted garlic, toasted walnuts (a nice touch), arugula, basil and pecorino romano. The six of us passed around and polished off a nicely conceived cheese board to finish.

I’m always glad to discover a spot like Lucca, with a dedication to scratch cooking and local sourcing, in one of Northeast Ohio’s urban centers. Admittedly, its a longish drive from Cleveland just for dinner, but not out of the question, especially if you want to support a business like this. But if you’re in the area or live nearby, you'd be foolish not to take advantage of such an exciting and admirable addition to the area's dining options.

Say Cheese

I’ve been eating cheese all my life but last week I had a chance to learn how to taste it and talk about the experience. My host and teacher was Jean Mackenzie. She’s a goat cheese maker and she’d invited me, along with some other people, to her farm in Hiram to giver her feedback about her chevre.

The group of volunteer samplers included Karen Small, chef/owner of The Flying Fig in Ohio City; Shannon Welsh, the Cheese, Wine and Beer Merchandiser for Heinen’s; Geoff Stout of Euro-USA, a food importing and distributing company; Matthew Smith, chef/owner of Umami in Chagrin Falls, and two of Jean’s friends.

Mackenzie Creamery, her little artisan company, has gone from start-up to super successful in just three years. The fresh goat milk cheeses she produces have won prizes and are a favorite of local chefs and consumers. Jean had brought us together to act as an advisory board as she develops new flavors and varieties.

Telling her whether we liked or didn’t like what we tasted was important but it wasn’t enough. There’s a very precise language to describe the sensory properties of cheese, just as there is for wine. Jean had gotten some training in the method from the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese and she was our guide as we educated our palates and built a vocabulary for talking about our perceptions.

We did some blind tests, trying her cheese side by side with similar products from other sources, and were the first to try three new creations. We graded them on a numbered scale from strong to weak for sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and sweetness. We rated the texture and evaluated the overall appeal. Precision was essential. I found it surprisingly difficult to identify what was actually happening on my tongue, and so did everyone else at the table. But the intensity of the effort made for a really interesting and pleasurable couple of hours.

Jean collected the evaluation sheets she had us fill out and took notes during the lively discussions that followed each formal tasting. I can’t reveal what flavor she’ll soon be adding to her line, but I can say with some certainty that, based on what I had last Wednesday afternoon, it will be delicious.

Our group will meet again in the fall. That’s when Jean’s first batch of mold ripened goat milk cheeses will come out of the aging room that’s currently near completion. My mouth is already watering in anticipation.