Sans Souci Revisited

If you’re anything like me, there’s a good chance you haven’t been to Sans Souci for a long time. With so many great restaurants around town and new ones opening all the time, it’s easy to forget this place, two decades old and with no street ‘face’, in the downtown Renaissance hotel. And there’s no denying that the food has not always been all it could be: it doesn’t take more than a single disappointing experience to bump a restaurant off anybody’s list. But I’d been hearing about staff changes and re-visioned menus and decided to visit recently and find out what was going on for myself. Glad I did.

The husband and I had a lovely meal there. The dining room, with a timeless charm that has held up well over the years, is still a pretty and comfortable space. The wine list has appealing options. Table service and plate presentations are high end (but prices are moderate). The kitchen is in the capable and experienced hands of Executive Chef Brett Montgomery and Executive Sous Chef John Aldewereld, and the dishes we ate were delicious.

Things got off to an excellent start with a generous complimentary basket of rolls and flatbreads accompanied by honey butter, a mix of olives, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts, and basil pesto. We then did some serious small plate grazing- my favorite way to eat. I loved the chorizo ragout (they make the sausage in-house) that topped seared scallops and creamy herb polenta. The tender boneless beef short rib was glazed to a patent leather shine and shredding the caramelized Brussels sprouts into a sort of slaw was a nice touch. A recommended glass of French Bordeaux was indeed a fine match-up. Also had- and enjoyed- the down-scale upscale combos of potato pierogi with duck confit and mushrooms, and mac ‘n’ cheese made with orzo, smoked salmon, and Lake Erie Creamery goat cheese. Also tried a light but full of flavor fish entrée: sea bass served with a poached egg, pickled carrots and radishes-a nice contrast- spinach and green beans. Some of these will be on the spring menu that starts March 19.

Both chefs stopped by the table to chat and encouraged me to return for the brunch buffet. Though I generally prefer to have my morning coffee and croissant in pajamas, this could be enough to tempt me into an AM outing. In addition to all the standard cereals and pastries, they offer cheese crepes and strawberry sauce; Belgian waffles; eggs Benedict; fingerling potatoes; and marinated tomatoes with mozzarella. It’s just one more good reason to go or go back to Sans Souci.

Delicious Memories

A couple of weeks ago I came upon an article about the famed French chef Paul Bocuse in Atlanta Journal Constitution. An iconic culinary personality and one of the first to come out from behind the kitchen door and be known by name, Bocuse has just been proclaimed Chef of the Century by the Culinary Institute of America. I met him in 1993 and reading about him brought back some wonderful memories. He was in Cleveland and part of the launch of Sans Souci, the lovely Mediterranean themed restaurant that continues to operate in the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel downtown. I was among a small select group of local journalists invited to attend a dinner he prepared. The delivery of that invitation is something I’ll never forget. A limo pulled into my driveway and when I answered the door the driver presented me with a gorgeous basket. It was lined with a golden yellow cloth napkin embroidered with the restaurant’s logo, and a bottle of olive oil, some herbes de Provence, and a note requesting the pleasure of my company. Bocuse and Chef d’ Cuisine Claude Rodier prepared an extraordinary meal. We sat in at a large table set up beside the stove. It was my first chef’s table experience and among my earliest professional encounters with a master and a celebrity. I came home with an apron and as autographed cookbook, Bocuse’s Regional French Cooking. Both have been well used over the years. His recipe for pears poached in Beaujolais has become my go to dessert for impressing guests. What I’m thinking about today are how many other big names and major players in gastronomic universe I’ve met, interviewed and written about since then. It’s been a privilege and I’ve had more fun than I could have imagined. Although I put in long hours and toil diligently to get the writing as good as it can be, on occasion I’m embarrassed to describe what I do as work. I’m still having a great time and I still love sharing the stories about what I discover. With all this on my mind it seems like a good moment to voice my appreciation to the publications and the editors that have given me these opportunities, and to all the readers like you, for whom I do it. Thank you.