The Taste of Success

   The restaurant business is tough and most places have a relatively short shelf life. Moxie, a white tablecloth establishment in Beachwood serving creative American food, is the exception to that rule. Busy since the day it opened and typically packed with regulars, Moxie marks its 15th anniversary this month. Owner Brad Friedlander is clearly a smart guy with a keen understanding of what diners want, and his partner Chef Jonathan Bennett is terrifically talented, not to mention one of the nicest human beings you'll ever meet. Together they've managed to buck the odds and arrive at this celebratory moment.
  So the pair and their staff are in a partying mood, and everyone's invited. For three nights, January 24-26, they're bringing back favorites from the past, many from the original opening night menu. Guests can feast on the likes of crab cakes with roasted peppers; lobster ravioli; crispy chicken livers with roasted apples, bacon, spinach and port wine sauce; long bone rib steak with garlic mashed potatoes; herb crusted striped bass with tomato tartar sauce; baked hot chocolate, grilled banana split, and fudge brownie sundae. Better yet, prices on all these dishes and and the rest of the Anniversary Dinner specials, served 6-11 PM, are reduced- more than you'd have paid in 1998 but less than you'd expect to spend in 2013.

  There will be musical entertainment. Perhaps some table hopping by Friedlander and Bennett, providing diners a chance to engage in  hand shaking, back slapping, cheek kissing and other congratulatory behaviors. Reservations are required, 216-831-5599. 

  I've been a Bennett fan from the start, have followed the ascending arc of his career and written about him often. And I'm happy that the husband and I will be there to help kick things off on Thursday evening. We're  guests of the house. Touched and surprised I asked what prompted the generous invitation. The answer was, "You helped us get here and you're part of the story."
   It's a good story, with many chapters yet to come.

Mondays with Moxie

Jan. 9 was the first Pizza Monday at Moxie in Beachwood. The new wood-burning oven was fired up and turning out wonderful pies. I was there to try them at the kickoff for this once-a-week-only special. Right now, there are three versions: a classic red white and green Margherita with fresh mozzarella, tomato, Romano and basil; the Funghi made with oyster mushrooms from Killbuck Valley farm, Fontina and a toss of aurugla after it's baked; and a Calabrese topped with slices of spicy salami, fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil and slivers of garlic. Don’t ask me to name a favorite because I thought all were superb. photo courtesy of of Michael McElroy

Executive chef Jonathan Bennett and his crew are making hand-shaped, Neapolitan-style rounds, each one beautiful in its irregularity. The crust is really outstanding — thin on the bottom, puffy at the edges, with the right crisp to chewy ratio. Charring, a characteristic of wood-fire baking (Bennnett calls it "leopardness" for the pattern of dark spotting) adds a dark, smoky note. Long-fermenting dough is one of his secrets. Another is a lot of trial and error. A pleasant tempered perfectionist, Bennett admitted to me that he’d spent the month of December experimenting to get every detail right.

“When you’re working with just a handful of simple ingredients, every little thing, every step matters,” he says. In addition, he got schooled in the craft at an intensive, four-day training course taught by certified experts with the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana in Marina del Rey, Calif., where he did nothing but make pizza for 8 to 9 hours each day.

I also had a great, not-your-usual salad composed of juicy marinated grapes, frisee, walnuts and sheep milk feta, and a bowl of heavenly warmed olives. I sampled the meatballs small plate too, not because I needed more food, but because I needed to taste them. Verdict: delicious. I discovered that dipping the thicker pieces of the pizza rim into the red sauce they come in is an excellent idea.

Another incentive to show up here at the start of the work week is that all bottles of wine less than $100 are half price on Mondays. It’s an incredible deal. The server helped me select the terrific Tikal Amorio malbec from Argentina that normally sells for $64.

With the Monday options of pizza and bargain vino, Moxie has managed to redefine when the weekend begins and ends. You might also want to come in on Thursday, Jan. 19. The restaurant is having a whiskey dinner featuring five courses paired with brown spirits from Ireland, Scotland, Kentucky and Tennessee. $65 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations required, 216-831-5599 or here.

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.

Go for the Grapes

The likelihood of snowstorms and white outs that keep us at home is slim. The 35th International Film Festival, which keeps any of us sitting in the dark for eleven days, is over. So it’s a good time to get out and I’ve heard about some great opportunities for wine enthusiasts this month.

Battery Park Wine Bar

Tonight, April 6th, winemaker Steffan Jorgen of Bergevin Lane Vineyards in Walla Walla Washington will be at Battery Park Wine Bar to guide guests through an eight pour tasting, with appetizers to compliment them. The two hour event begins at 6 PM. Cost is $15 per person. Battery Park’s owner and wine expert Mike Graley has also started doing regular Last Wednesday of the Month Wine Tastings. You get to try 16 of his wine picks plus some small plates for $20. You can buy a bottle of whatever you like at retail prices. Next one is April 27. For info to RSVP, call 216-631-9463

Moxie
Two standout dinners on the calendar. Call immediately to ask if there are seats left at Moxie for tomorrow night’s five-course Darioush wine dinner (April 7). The Napa Valley winery is known for its limited production Bordeauz style estate wines. Executive Chef- and culinary mastermind- Jonathan Bennett is doing a really inventive menu to pair with chardonnay, viognier, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon that includes seared tuna plated with a yuzu croquette, sesame brittle, and the intriguingly named “pliable wasabi;” and roasted squab plus grilled asparagus, poached egg, and white truffle. Service starts at 7 PM, the price is $99 per person (plus tax and gratuity), and reservations are required, 216.831.5599.

Chez Francois
Wed., April 13, Chez Francois in Vermilion offers a six course meal with paired wines from Oregon’s Maysara Winery where grapes are farmed bio-dynamically. Winemaker and owner Tahiene Momtazi will be on hand to talk about the family’s innovative growing philosophy and vineyard practices as guests sip their Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, a Rosé, a selection of three different Pinot Noirs, a dessert Riesling . John D’Amico, co-owner and top chef, has planned an impressive line-up of dishes: roasted heirloom carrot and curry soup; phyllo crusted shrimp with warm pineapple and apple compote; sea bass in a tomato tapenade crust; duck cassoulet; roast veal tenderloin; and apple crepes with quince cream. $ 85 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Call 440-967-0630 for reservations.

Lilly Handmade Chocolate
For those on a more modest budget there’s no better deal around than the weekly tastings at Lilly Handmade Chocolate in Tremont. Prices this month range from $3.50-$4.25 (plus tax). Your money buys four wine and beer samples paired with the prefect truffles. It’s a casual first come, first serve, while supplies last kind of thing, Fridays 12pm-6:30pm, Saturdays 11am-6:30pm; and Sundays 11am-2:30pm. Complete beverage list for each weekend here.

Salut!

(Photos: Battery Park Wine Bar, Maysara Winery)

Staycation Dinner at Moxie

If they were handing out free trips to New York City, I’d elbow the young and the elderly out of the way so I could be at the head of the line. Once I got there, my primary activity would be eating with some arts and culture pit stops along the way. But alas, no one’s offering me such a no-cost junket and it’s a staycation summer for me. From what I hear, I’m not the only one.

So imagine my delight when I learned that Chef Jonathan Bennett and the folks at Moxie have arranged to bring a little taste of New York to Cleveland. Actually it’s a taste of Istanbul by way of Midtown. On Monday night, August 2 the acclaimed master of Turkish cuisine Orhan Yegen will step into the Beachwood kitchen to cook a five course dinner. Bennett and staff will get hands on experience preparing such traditional specialties as tarama (fish roe spread), cacik (yogurt and cucumbers) and lamb shanks. Those lucky enough to get a place at the table will be served dishes that echo the menu at Sip Sak, Yegen’s Manhattan restaurant. (You can also follow his entertaining blog here.)

Yegen is famous for his food which he’s been making in this country since 1977 at more than a dozen different restaurants he’s opened (and sold, closed, or left). Over the years he’s earned kudos from the James Beard Foundation, Food and Wine Magazine, Gourmet, Newsday, Forbes and a long list of other publications. Yegen is equally famous- or to be more accurate, infamous- for his opinionated, unedited and eminently quotable remarks. The media typically describe him as a quirky character- that’s code for unpredictable, highly entertaining, and occasionally insulting. I think he sounds like a fascinating fellow who operates without a script or handlers, and that rare sort of person that is willing to tell you what he really thinks.

The prix fixe dinner starts at 7 PM. Cost is a reasonable $50 per person including wine pairings plus tax and gratuity. Reservations required. Call 216-831-5599. Maybe Orhan Yegen, who dislikes being called a chef, will have time to visit with guests, an experience that has the potential to be memorable. And no doubt the always charming Jonathan Bennett will make the rounds of the room to insure that everyone is happy. This could be the first dinner in a series: Moxie may host more of these events featuring out of town chefs bringing their style and skills to our town. It's a whole new way to think about culinary tourism.

Five Reasons to Eat Out

My in-box is fat with all kinds of good news from the restaurant world. Read on, then make plans and reservations.

“The Patios of Larchmere” is a neighborhood promotion that starts today, June 9th, and continues through Sunday, June 13 . The street is packed with interesting places to eat breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. Menu 6, Felice, Vine and Bean, Flying Cranes, Larchmere Tavern and Acadmey Tavern, all with outdoor seating, are offering menu specials and deals for the next five days plus a chance to enter a raffle and win a $250 Larchmere Shopping Spree. I love this street and its unique mix of businesses and shops. If you don’t know it- this week is the perfect time to visit and explore.

More dining in the sun and under the stars at Chinato. The East 4th Street spot has just added sidewalk seating. For ideas about what to order, check out my review in this month’s Cleveland Magazine.

There’s also an addition to the downtown dining scene: Zinc Bistro, Bar and Bakery just opened. For now, the French inspired café created by Chef Tom Quick, is only serving dinner, but hours and options expand next month.

Chef Michael Annandono and his crew at Michaelangelo’s will be working harder beginning this week. The outstanding Little Italy restaurant has begun doing lunches Tuesday through Friday. When I heard a friend was getting married, I immediately booked a table for mid-day just us girls celebration.

The folks at Moxie, The Restaurant want to know what people think of their new small, medium and large plate menu. (For the record- I think it’s wonderful). You get a reward for sharing- your thoughts that is, not your food. Go there, eat, then send them a message at moxietherestaurant@gmail.com with your feedback- praise, critiques, favorite dishes, and suggestions all welcome. Be sure to include your name, complete mailing address, email. You’ll automatically be entered in a weekly drawing for a $100 Moxie gift card. There’s also a monthly drawing for wine dinner for two. This is one of those can’t lose propositions so you definitely want to take a shot. At the very least you’ll get to enjoy Chef Jonathan Bennett’s great cooking.

Family Values

Don’t let the title of this post fool you. I’m not about to start talking cultural politics here nor am I planning to stir up controversy by voicing my opinions on some hot button socio-religious issues. Fact is the highly charged buzz words were chosen by the folks at Moxie to describe what’s going on there this month.
The Beachwood restaurant, not exactly known as a bargain dining destination, is offering special prix fixe meals until January 30. And what a price it is: $50 (plus tax and gratuity) for two people AND just $20 (plus tax and gratuity) for each additional person. This is a deal that’s hard to refuse, especially when the food’s coming from Chef Jonathan Bennett’s kitchen, so bring your parents, the in-laws, the kids, the cousins…

The Family Values Menus change weekly but always include a salad, entrée, two sides, and dessert. Here’s a sampling of what you can expect…but be warned, reading the following list will definitely make you hungry: baby spinach & dried pear salad with warm date vinaigrette and goat cheese; buttermilk fried Bell & Evans chicken; all day pot roast with natural jus; roasted carrots with thyme glaze; garlicky Tuscan kale; Yukon gold potato cheddar gratin; pecorino risotto; lemon meringue pie; chocolate baked Alaska; de-caf tiramisu.

If you haven’t ever gotten up close and personal with a plate of Bennett’s cooking, now’s definitely the time to try it. If like me you’ve visited this stylish restaurant before and already know how talented he is, then there’s extra motivation to make a reservation. Other members of Cleveland Independents, an association of locally owned and operated restaurants, are also offering their own version of bargain meals. No matter whether your voting tends to swing left or right, these are Family Values everybody can support.

Photo by William Beck

Forking Out

The food prepared by local chefs for Monday night’s Bastille Day party and fundraiser at Greenhouse Tavern was absolutely amazing, and left no doubt that Cleveland is a top tier town when it comes to dining. Anyone who says different clearly doesn’t get out enough and has no clue as to what’s going in our restaurant kitchens. Because I made paté for the event (see my post from last week), I got to don an apron, pitch in as a helper, and at least look like I was part of this impressive bunch. It was an honor, and the effort of actually preparing a dish for the buffet was a reminder of how incredibly hard these people work in order to bring us good things to eat.
Friday night, July 17, I’ll be at Moxie for the 6 PM “Who’s the Boss” grill-off between restaurant owner Brad Friedlander and Executive Chef Jonathan Bennett. I’ll be eating professionally as one of three judges tasked with determining the ultimate winner of this heated competition. Word’s been leaked that Friedlander is calling on some top talent for an assist with his roast pig and jumbo shrimp, while Bennett, who plans to cook tuna and lobster, aims to capture extra votes by adding his two adorable kids, dressed in chef’s coats, to his team. The public is invited to join the fun, and enjoy the food. Patio diners who choose the guys’ creations as a dinner special can weigh in before we judges make our final decision. 216-831-5599 for reservations.
My next scheduled event chowdown is The First Ever Rock n Roll BBQ Throwdown, July 26 at the Beachland Ballroom, 1-5 pm. I have no official role, and am free to graze just like everybody else on the spread set out by the participating chefs, many of whom also contributed to Monday night’s shindig, representing more than 20 restaurants including Crop, Bar Cento, Fahrenheit, The Greenhouse Tavern, Moxie, and Dante (opening soon- we hope- in Tremont). Always generous in supporting other people’s causes, this time they’re raising money for their own organization Cleveland Food Rocks, a non-profit collaborative of Cleveland-area restaurants and food-service operations dedicated to promoting and encouraging a vibrant local dining scene. Let’s show them we appreciate all they do and their contributions to our quality of life. Tickets are $25 in advance and can be purchased online, or $30 cash or check at the door. Live music by local bands is part of the mix. The party happens rain or shine in the tented parking lot, 15711 Waterloo Rd., Cleveland.