After Party, After Sandy

 I was hanging out at Noodlecat late Saturday night,  mingling with some of the hard working chefs who so generously donated time and talent to the utterly fabulous and financially successful West Side Market Gala. As if he hadn't already done enough,  'Cat owner and chef extraordinaire Jonathon Sawyer, who worked with Michael Symon on the big fundraiser, rolled out the welcome mat for an afterparty. He wanted to be sure that those who worked the main event also had a chance to kick back, relax, and enjoy some nice food and drink. Ben Bebenroth, who's own Spice Kitchen and Bar had been closed last week due to the power outages that crippled so many Cleveland neighborhoods, was outside grilling.

Eric Williams and I chatted about how Storm Sandy had hurt us here. Momocho, his Ohio City restaurant, was dark for three days. He lost about $5,000 worth of food and the building suffered some serious wind and water damage. He estimates his total losses at $15, 000, a lot for a small business but not much, we agreed, compared to the hit taken by those on the east coast, including some of the chefs scheduled to be here for the Gala. I mentioned reading an article in The New York Times about how tough things were for that city's hourly wage workers: their desperate attempts to get to work despite the dangers and transportation shut down because they couldn't afford to miss a day of work, and the despair of those who  lost desperately needed income when their employers didn't or couldn't open for business. Williams told me that, worried about his own people, he had gone to the bank, made a cash withdrawal and paid his staff for the days Momocho was shuttered. "I did it," he said, "because it was the right thing to do."

He didn't tell me this to boast or make himself look good. I wasn't on the job and he had no reason to think I'd write about it. We were just two people chatting about what had been going on. But thinking about it afterwards, I realized that I wanted to share the conversation because it encapsulates both some of the grief the hurricane left in its wake and the way people step up to help one another in times of crisis. The entire evening- the super efforts Symon and Sawyer made to find replacements for the chefs from out of town who were not able to make it here; how everyone pulled together to insure that the fundraiser went ahead as planned including Williams who cooked for the event; Bebenroth showing up with his usual smile despite a hellish week and troubles of his own; and my exchange with Eric- was a little story within a big a disaster and a testament to resiliency and goodness.

SoHo at Momocho

Chefs Nolan Konkoski and Eric Williams have come up with a cool and clever twist on the pop up restaurant idea. For one night, on Aug. 22, Momocho, Williams’ Ohio City place, becomes SoHo Kitchen, Konkoski’s new spot a few blocks away on West 25th Street that’s due to open in mid-September. To pull off this bit of culinary theater, they’re changing everything from the sign out front to the printed menus and the food on the plate.

The two guys have some history: Konkoski worked at Momocho for six years. In fact, he helped open it. Williams, excited to help out a friend, colleague, and soon-to-be neighbor, told me “this is going to be a fun fantastic blow-it-out-of-the-water event with lots of surprises.”

Meant to spark some buzz about the restaurant to come, this reservations-only teaser meal offers a preview of the Southern-inspired, modern accented fare Konkoski and his partner (in life and business) Molly Smith plan to serve, along with some of the cocktails and beers that will be on their list. There will be a three-four selections in each category: appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks. Prices will range from $8 to $18 per item. Given the name, an acronym for SOuthern HOspitality, I expect they'll also be dishing out a warm friendly welcome, too.

There are only 100 seats available throughout the night from 6-9 p.m. To be sure you get in on the shrimp and grits and guarantee your portion of chicken and waffles, better grab the phone and call 216-694-2122 right now.

Movie Munchies

Every year I scan the Cleveland International Film Festival program book to see what’s cooking. Literally. Because there are usually at least a few food focused and culinary- themed movies plus others in which eating, cooking, or serving play a major or supporting role in the story. I star each one on my personal schedule- a long, complicated and aspirational list covering a broad swathe of the world and a wide range on interests that is subject to change- and try to see them all. The effort shapes the days and nights from March 18-March 28. I may not be able to get to each and every one- life, work, and pure visual exhaustion sometimes interfere- but I always intend to. And for me the hope that runs through the ten day stretch is half the fun.

I’ve carefully combed through the 100 plus pages of Films A-Z and found a veritable feast of thought provoking things to see.

-Bananas
a documentary from a Swedish director and producer, that explores the legal battle over Dole Food Company’s use of a harmful pesticide in Nicaragua. Sponsored by fire food and drink
March 27, 2:15 PM, March 28, 4:30 PM

-Colony
a partnership between two filmmakers one American the other Irish, the documentary is a look at the honeybee crisis and their importance to our food supply. Fest folks describe it as visually stunning
March 25, 9:35 PM, March 28, 7:20 PM

-Cooking History
a documentary comedy about war and food. Impossible to imagine and therefore essential to watch .
March 23, 7:15 PM, March 25, 2:25 PM

-Ingredients
a cinematic essay about the rise of the local food movement and the meaning of a sustainable food systems with an on screen appearance from Alice Waters
March 19, 4:50 PM, March 20, 2 PM followed by a discussion, March 21 11:45 AM

-Mid-August Lunch
an Italian movie so no matter what else it is about, the storyline, as the name suggests, really does include shopping, cooking, family gatherings around the table, and much drinking of wine
March 27, 7:30 PM, March 28, 12:10 PM

-What’s on Your Plate?
follows two kids as they learn where their food comes from so its no wonder the North Union Farmers Market is among of the sponsors
Match 27, 11:45 AM, March 28, 2 PM

Foodish
-A Matter of Size
one of those whoda thunk subjects- an overweight Israeli, whose mother complains about her fat sonbut fixes him food nonetheless, bands together with others of his size to form the country’s first sumo team that gets wrestling lessons from the owner of a sushi restaurant . how can i not see this?
March 20, 7:45 PM, March 21, 4:45 PM

-Villon’s Wife
based on a group of short stories. a Japanese woman takes a job at a pub to repay her n’er-do-well husband’s debt, thrives in this new life, and becomes empowered to change her relationship to him
March 23, 11:40 AM, March 25, 6:45 PM

TV TIME OUT

-Shifting from big screen fare to television, mark your calendars for Monday, March 22. Momocho will be featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives at 10pm on the Food Network. The viewing party is at Eric Williams' other place The Happy Dog on West 58th and Detroit. Fun begins at 8pm

The Case of the Vanishing Server

You go to a highly recommended restaurant, a place where you’ve heard the chef and the vibe are amazing. You’re primed, excited, and ready for a special experience. The menu looks good. You order. You eat. But at some point, or many times, during the meal- whether it’s early on between the aps and the entrees, or at the end when waiting for the check- your server is nowhere to be seen. If the disappearing act happens more than once over the course of an evening or lasts way too long, it becomes annoying, aggravating, and, at worst can even take some of the shimmer off an otherwise perfect outing.

My server was noticeably absent and incredibly slow Friday night at Momocho. A friend and I went there for dinner and had great food: blue crab guacamole, carnitas, and Vera Cruz style calamar, washed down with margaritas. We weren’t in a hurry and didn’t demand a lot of extra attention. But throughout our two hours at the table, our guy was just gone, unavailable to refill water glasses, invisible when we were thinking of ordering a second drink, and seemingly on a cross town trip between taking our credit cards and returning with receipts to sign.

So what gives when this happens? A cigarette break or a smooching in the storeroom? A sudden need to text or talk cell to cell? Or something more sinister- say alien abduction? I might have entertained such questions, and gotten in a snit about his apparent and repeated desertions, had I not recently read a post about the subject on Slashfood . It offers an education about what else might be happening. Check it out before you dine out again and don’t forget to scroll through the comments.

Grasshoppers selling well at Momocho

When we hit Ohio City's Momocho recently, we already knew about the grasshopper taquitos that had been added to the menu. What we didn't expect is for our server to tell us they were sold out of them for the evening, when we showed up for our 8:30 reservation.

No worries. We weren't going to try the grasshoppers anyway. But it's interesting that many brave diners have been ordering up chef Eric Williams' quirky new dish. Our server told us the wings and legs are removed from the grasshoppers and they pretty much take on the flavors of the ingredients with which they're prepared. Other facts: They are crunchy (no surprise there, really), and they are imported from Thailand.

But we had to ask our server the big question: Has she tried them? Yes. Apparently, Williams had our server taste his newest creation before telling her what she was munching on.