The Taste of Fusion

Chef Steve Schimoler knows how to blend cooking and science as well as anyone. His definition of simplicity, however, could use a bit of work.

“[The dishes] are actually deceptively simple. I don’t overcomplicate stuff,” said Chef Steve of his culinary concoctions. “The smoked trout, we finally got it perfected now. It only took me 15 years to get it right.”

It is that commitment to his craft that has lifted the current owner of Crop Bistro & Bar in Ohio City to national notoriety, warranting showcases such as The Fusion of Food and Science at the Great Lakes Science Center on Monday night. Chef Steve, who has been featured on Food Nation, the PBS MasterChef series and served as a two-term president of the Research Chefs Association, is notorious for his innovative creations that mesh food and science in order to attain distinctive dishes that are both tasty and healthy.

“The whole foundation of cooking is science. It’s all about heat transfer and physics and chemistry,” said Chef Steve. “What we’re going to do is get more in-depth to understand the physiological and psychological connection of how we eat.”

The evening, which played host to more than 125 VIP guests from prominent local businesses, began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. The two specialty drinks featured were a watermelon margarita and a Caprese salad “appitini” — a fusion of a food appetizer and a martini.

Caprese salad "appitini"

Cherry tomato veggie bombs (stuffed with vegetable cream cheese), Cropspacho shooters (with yellow peaches, carrots and cucumbers), steak truffled mushroom crostinis (with grilled rib-eye, asiago and goat cheese, and a trio of mushrooms) and the now-perfected trout cakes (with smoked trout, celery, apple and horseradish crème fresh) were just a few of the creations accompanying the beverages.

Cropspacho shooter and smoked trout cake

This was followed by a quick culinary experiment for those in attendance, using vanilla and different milks and creams to examine the impact fat content has on taste. Each attendee was presented with 2 percent milk, half-and-half and heavy cream. Using a dropper, small dribbles of vanilla were placed in the 2 percent milk until it reached a distinctive vanilla flavor for each individual. The same amount of vanilla was then added into the half-and-half and heavy cream before being tasted, displaying how the higher the fat content, the less vanilla flavor that came through. Chef Steve was able to show and tell how a lack of fat, sugar or salt in a dish does not also invoke a lack of taste.

Our food experimentation station

The final treat of the night was a demonstration by Chef Steve on how he prepares his crème anglaise, as well as a bit of his own background and history in the “food-science” field.

“My father was a veterinarian, and I grew up very heavily involved in science and biology. The cooking part was because we entertained a lot,” said Chef Steve, all while preparing his signature dessert sauce. “I was always intrigued by the influence of science and food. From an early age, I tried to understand what, 35 years later, I’m doing tonight.”

Each guest was able to try the crème anglaise poured over a dessert of cornbread, mixed fresh berries, cracked black pepper, basil, tarragon and balsamic syrup. Chef Steve’s crème anglaise uses less eggs and 2 perent milk instead of cream to bring the fat content down, while also mixing in fenugreek, a rare spice found in curry. The trick of fenugreek is that it adds a maple smell and taste to the dish without adding any unwanted fat or calories.

The cornbread and berries dessert, covered in créme anglaise

A quick Q&A session was interspersed among the bites of dessert, with Chef Steve continuing to stick to his simplistic guns.

“People take for granted the most basic things: Boiling water is science,” said Chef Steve. “When you look at how we approach cooking, I look at it more analytically in the sense that I’m trying to understand what impact those roles — the physics of cooking — play.”

Even with Chef Steve Schimoler’s guidance, understanding the scientific aspect was still a tad challenging. But tasting the difference? That was easy. 

E. 4th’s Maron closes Envy, nightclub & problem tenant

Cleveland Magazine’s November issue has been out for about a week now, and Ari Maron, my latest profile subject, has already made one part of my new article about him obsolete.

Maron says Envy, the troubled nightclub on West 25th Street, has closed. Maron, Envy’s reluctant landlord, bought out the club’s liquor license and lease.

Maron’s company, MRN Ltd., owns most of East 4th Street and drove that block’s resurgence as a nightlife spot. Now, Maron, 33, is trying to bring a similar approach -- creative landlording based on ideals about cities -- to Ohio City and University Circle. Lots of high-profile tenants, such as Crop Bistro, have moved into the Maron family’s properties near the West Side Market lately.

Envy, a tenant MRN inherited on West 25th, threatened to upset the budding new resurgence. A man was shot to death outside the club in September.

Now, Maron intends to tear the former Envy down to create parking for a planned international traveler’s hostel. The Plain Dealer has the full story here.

To read “Urban Active,” my profile of Maron in the new issue, click here.

Restaurant Scene-Ery

In terms of settings to eat and drink, the landscape has gotten much more exciting in the past week. Dante Bocuzzi and Steve Schimoler, the bold, visionary impresarios of these two new restaurant productions, each deserve a round of applause. I'm not talking about the food. What has me so jazzed at the moment are the places, not the plates. Both are something special and they couldn’t be more different.

I got my first view of Ginko, Bocuzzi’s Tokyo-style sushi lounge in Tremont, at a kickoff event last Wednesday night. I was last in here over a year ago, when construction upstairs was still in progress. This was a dark, dirty basement with a toilet in the corner. It’s hard to believe the transformation. The look is not like anything else in the town and hard to describe. My best shot: bento box, the tidy little Japanese compartmentalized container, meets Dr. Seuss … in the 22nd century. The small underground spot, tucked under Dante Restaurant, suggests a futuristic fantasy funland. One wall features irregularly shaped and back-lit glass panels in bright reds, blues and creams. It was designed by Giancarlo Calicchia, a multi-talented sculptor and painter and Bocuzzi’s business partner, and fabricated by Streets of Manhattan, a local studio. Another is covered in textured red paper that looks lacquered with black trim. Other areas are done in glossy white and black subway tile for a sort of uber-modern yin and yang effect. A couple of flat screens showed a steady stream of anime.

The room is dominated by a curving concrete sushi bar where water flows under glass. Suspended above it is a silvery drop ceiling in what I call a “fish breath” motif. It’s dotted with bubbles like the surface of a lake when the residents are biting. More counters and stools rim the perimeter. There are two spacious booths. A panel in the table can be removed and a hibachi set in the opening for on-the-spot cooking. That should make for a good time.

Over in Ohio City, at the corner of Lorain Avenue and West 25th Street, Crop, the next generation of Schimoler’s popular Warehouse district bistro and bar which closed in the spring, begins serving tomorrow night. I was there on Monday for a “housewarming” party. Housed in a former bank, built back when they were housed in palatial digs, it is without a doubt the grandest, most imposing and striking dining room in the city. My reaction on walking in midway through the remodeling was a deep inhale and an “oh my god” exhale.

The scale is over-the-top awesome. A high and ornate coffered ceiling, huge arched windows, fat columns and 1925 mural dominate. The restoration work has been meticulous, and the redesign inspired. There’s a bar at one end and space for a coffee shop and artisinal foods mini-market and wine store at the other where you can buy some of the products you taste. In between is an open kitchen with chef’s table seating at a counter. Theater lighting adds drama. Downstairs, the former vault, with its “don’t-even-think-about-breaking-in steel doors (one weighing 70,000 pounds, the other 90,000) and bronze gates, will be used for private (and surely memorable) gatherings.

And after long waits and more work than most of us can imagine, Ginko and Crop are ready for guests. So go and see what I’m talking about for yourself. Both are pretty much guaranteed to knock you out before the first bite.

Mango Hometown Tour challenges chefs from Crop, Moxie

With the help of 160 mangoes, one Cleveland chef's true talent will come to fruition.

His talent for cooking with mangoes, that is.

The National Mango Board will bring its Mango Hometown Tour to Cleveland this Friday, July 29. Chef Steve Schimoler of Crop Bistro & Bar and Moxie chef Jonathan Bennett will face off from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Moxie. Each will create a mango-inspired seafood dish with a Cleveland flair, and three local experts will judge to determine a winner.

Bennett, who often creates desserts, salads and sauces with mangoes at Moxie, will be making a combination plate.

"My dish includes a mango and crab fritter with mango ketchup and a green mango slaw," he says.

While Bennett and Schimoler cook, guests will learn how to cut the fruit and get the chance to taste different mangoes and mango-inspired drinks.

"Most people should go to this event to learn how to cut a mango," laughs Bennett. "They're not the easiest things to cut, but I truly think they're the most sensual fruits."

Attending the Mango Taste-Off is free to the public with a reservation.

Boil, Boil, Toil, and T-Bone

Shakespeare and electric blues make an unlikely but fine Friday night pairing and I highly recommend the experience. My downtown entertainment double header began at the Hanna, intimate new home on East 14th for the Great Lakes Theater Festival. Kicking off the inaugural season is the Bard’s gory tragedy Macbeth . Two things I really loved about this lively production were the blood-cleverly depicted with yards of satiny red cloth that attackers pulled magician-like out of the wounds along with their swords, and the two taiko drummers, stage right and left, pounding out the sounds of tension and excitement. My favorite characters were the three white faced witchy spirits- brilliantly conceived and costumed, they had an intense eerie presence and moved like dancers around the stage.

About that stage- it thrusts out into the audience and has sections that go up and down so actors miraculously appear and disappear. The restoration of 1921 theater- meticulous and lovely- has also turned it into a fine place for live performance. The acoustics are so terrific that no microphones are needed. We sat up in the balcony and heard every word, even the whispered ones. Next time I go, I want to try watching from the banquette in the lounge/bar area.

When the play ended, the husband and I headed over to Crop Bistro in the Warehouse District. All the sturm and drang of Shakespeare’s Scottish kings left us hungry and thirsty. He prefers single malt scotch or Maker’s Mark but I like a cleverly crafted drink. My libation of choice was a Twisted Vine martini- a beautifully balanced mix of muddled grapes, sauvignon blanc, Stoli citros, and a splash of elderflower syrup. But then I discovered a new seasonal drink- the AT & B- and have become an instant fan. It’s made from vodka infused with fresh apples, local cider, tarragon, and champagne- a sort of healthy tasting blast of fall with bubble and buzz. For sustenance, we dipped deep into the late night menu- a wonderful flatbread with roasted squash on top, lamb sliders, and an irresistible mash-up of chopped Angus beef, fries, cheddar, pickles, onions, and bbq sauce called a Shrapnel.

Every other Friday night starting 10:30 or 11 PM, chef/owner Steve Schimoler trades in spoons for drum sticks and cymbals. The Crop band has a solid core of players but friends, colleagues, employees past and present, local musicians, and the random, unexpected passing-through-town players are welcome to join in. The set list is hard driving and eclectic: Eric Clapton, T-Bone Walker, Pink Floyd, and ...

The fall season at the Hanna runs through November 8, and performances of Macbeth will be alternating with Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods. The Crop Band plays October 17, 31, and November 7. For a great night out, book tickets and a table.