Belly Up to the Bar

The evening featured creative cocktails and specialty beers but seating was at linen draped tables not barstools. The event was last week’s “Bar” Dinner at Melange in Beachwood. Co-executive chefs Adam Bostwick and Matt Creighton decided to riff on the wine-centric meals hosted by so many fine dining spots, by pairing spirits and brews with playful versions of standard pub and tavern fare. I was invited by the restaurant’s owner Andy Zelankofske, who wanted me to get acquainted with what his chefs can do. And I have to say that by the time I was done eating my way through the six course tasting menu I was impressed. These guys brought skill and inventiveness to the food, and infused the proceedings with an appealing sense of humor. They’ve been cooking under the radar, and I’d say it’s definitely time for them to get some well-deserved attention.

Here’s my course by course account of the experience.
1) Shot and a Beer: Thyme infused whiskey sour for sipping. A rich, creamy, lick the bowl good cheese soup for slurping made with Dead Guy Ale, Gouda, and caramelized onions. As soon as I was done I wanted more.

2) White Mary and Potato BLT: The seasonings for these pale Bloody Mary’s, made with Chopin Vodka and clear tomato water, were frozen Popsicle style. Stick was good for stirring. A slice of herb roasted potato was topped with some pork belly, bacon mayo, oven dried tomato and micro chives. Mmmmm.

3) Fish-n-Chops: Seared scallop crusted with shredded phyllo, plus shoestring pickle fries, dill dust, and malt vinegar “caviar” bubbles that burst in the mouth. It was a terrific combination set off by a sour German style ale made by Bruery, a California craft brewer.

4) Burger and a Beer: Short rib pavé made by braising meat, pulling it off the bone and pressing it into a cube and searing. It was served in room temperature tomato broth- that’s the “ketchup” element, with a bit of cheddar, a dab of mustard sauce and cornichon salsa (the stand in for pickle slices). Not much more than a bite like all the dishes so far, this one disappeared fast. I was slower downing the accompanying Chimay Blue Label.

5) Wings and Champagne: This was fun food. Flutes filled with Riondo pink prosecco and a plate of three chicken wings confited to crispy perfection in their own fat and coated with an effervescent hot sauce that added a seltzer-like buzz to the roasted chile burn, along with a spoonful of shaved celery salad spiked with bleu cheese powder. I maxed out and couldn’t eat the last piece. I wish I had it here right now.

6) Coffee and Dessert: They revved up the high test mocha java with espresso syrup, Sambuca, and Frangelica. A basket was brimming over with hazelnut biscotti, zucchini madelines, donut holes with lime curd filling, and planks of dangerously delicious peanut bacon brittle- full as I was I found it impossible to stop eating the stuff.

Bostwick and Creighton came out to describe every dish. I enjoyed putting faces with names and getting a sense of what these chefs are all about. You can have a chance to do that too. At the start of the evening Zelankofske had told me that if the event was a success, he’d plan another one. Apparently the consensus was two thumbs up because he just announced that Melange will be doing these "Not another wine dinners" every other month. Tentative date for the next reservation only bar dinner is May 18. Check the website for details.

Czech Mates

The first few minutes of Protecktor has the feel of a 1930’s Sam Spade noir piece. The opening scenes are a jarring Kaleidoscope, a little silly, a little over the top, so it comes as a surprise when the film turns serious and dark and fascinating, very fascinating.

The Nazi occupation is always fertile ground for tension. As Hitler’s regime occupies Czechoslovakia, life becomes more and more uncomfortable for a married couple. The wife is a film actress of Jewish descent, so her problems are obvious. Confinement in their small apartment chafes at her free spirit. The walls will not hold her.

The husband, a minor-level radio announcer, finds himself in a slow, reluctant march to the Furor’s tune. Soon, almost by accident, he finds himself the voice of Nazi propaganda, not a great gig when you have a Jewish wife.

There are other layers to Protecktor, such as the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, but the heart of the film is the husband. The film gives him no point to get off of this train of events, which we know must end badly. It is unsettling to realize that most of us, in his same shoes, would take the same steps – resistance seems so futile and so dangerous that the unreality of the occupiers quickly becomes the new reality.

Events are not always clear, motives are not always obvious, but the Protecktor will stick in your mind and fill it with questions. — Bob Carson

Fri., March 26, 11:30 a.m.; Sun., March 28, 4:25 p.m. To view trailer, click here.

Danish Twists

The small country of Denmark has sent a boatload of great films to the Cleveland International Film Festival. Headhunter is good, but it is not the usual Danish knockout.

A former hotshot reporter named Martin Vinge (who is in every scene) is now a big-time headhunter. Hired by the owner of Denmark’s largest company, Vinge must find the firm’s new leader — as long as it’s not be the son of the retiring owner.

But the son will not be passed over without a fight. Let the corporate intrigue begin.

There are more twists than a Chubby Checker reunion. Several of the twists don’t quite ring true: a sick son that can only be treated by a special doctor, a female newspaper reporter sidekick who seems to have more power than Lois Lane, and Vinge’s excellent relationship with his ex-wife (this always strains credibility).

Still, I’m a sucker for corporate double and triple crossing. Headhunter looks great and is beautifully acted. The film relies on suspense with a minimum of violence and romance. Denmark looks great. Despite a few potholes in the plot, headhunter is worth the ride. — Bob Carson

Thu., March 25, 1:50 p.m.; Sat., March 27, 9:40 p.m.; Sun., March 28, 1:25 p.m. View the trailer here.

Silent Treatment

Three days with a wealthy, dysfunctional family as they attend the patriarch’s funeral is hard sledding. Still, it’s a fascinating ride as Lea, a 21-year-old student studying in France, returns to Catalonia for her grandfather’s funeral.

Her father, Josep Maria, and her French mother, Joelle, have been separated for some time, but keep up appearances for the funeral. Their split is not the only thing that's troubling about the family. The relationship between Josep Maria, his two brothers and his sister, who shows up at the last minute and has written a thinly veiled novel about the family, are painfully realistic and strained.

There is very little plot in Three Days With the Family; instead you are witness to these unhappy people, their family skeletons and where they are buried. Relationships are partially revealed with a look, a glance, silence or a few words, putting Lea in the running for an award for “Most Prickly Female in a Slowly Paced Spanish Film.”

Do not expect any resolution and do not expect to leave the theater dancing. You will leave the funeral thinking — even if it’s just to pause for a blessing that you’re not part of this family. — Bob Carson

Wed., March 24, 2:15 p.m.; Thu., March 25, 7:15 p.m.; Fri., March 26, 9:30 a.m. View the trailer, here.

Be Bizarre

I just read an article about culinary adventurers who search their city’s restaurants for the weirdest, wildest, most off-putting fare imaginable: seafood that’s still wriggling when it goes in the mouth, pig brains, bugs and duck embryos. In New York City they’ve formed a club, calling themselves Gastronauts, and their quest for unlikely foods takes them way beyond the organ meats and animal parts that scare off most ordinary diners.

I have no doubt that Cleveland chefs would have a hard time finding an audience for foods that exist at the extreme edges of edibility. But some are determined to get us to push our boundaries at least a little.

Brian Okin is one of them. At Verve, his restaurant on Carnegie Avenue, the reigning idea is to reinvent American comfort food, updating it with contemporary style and international flavors. He knows that our grandmothers used every anatomical bit a critter offered from gizzards to feet and it inspires him. I recently had dinner there and sampled two dishes rooted in this tradition.

For his cleverly named “Pigs in a Blanket” appetizer Okin makes fried croquettes from slow cooked trotter meat pulled from the bony foot and ankle that he coats in panko breading. The meat was moist but not fatty like the pork belly that’s showing up on menus everywhere, and some mostarda and pecorina chief set it off nicely. In “Liver and Onions” he plays with this old fashioned workingman’s staple by pairing slices of veal liver, which had the rich butteryness of fois, with scallions and rosemary mustard vinaigrette. I liked them both very much.

Next time I go, I’m planning on trying the Offal and Eggs: veal sweetbreads with a mushroom and sweet potato frittata. Or if it’s lunchtime I’ll go with the Offal burger, which stacks those same sweetbreads on a bun with speck, talleggio, and a smear of cinnamon aioli.

None of these would get those NYC Gastronauts excited — they hunger for much stranger stuff. But for a dining public that favors steaks and chops, a meal at Verve can be a deliciously dangerous walk on the wild side.

Z is back

As expected, the Cavs have re-signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas, bringing the 7-foot-3 veteran back to Cleveland in time for a championship run.

Cavs playoff victories wouldn't have been the same without him. Though Z was born in Lithuania, he's "as true a Clevelander as any of us will ever be," we said last May. Read Jeannie Roberts' Z profile here.

Con Jobs

Chameleon, a stylish Hungarian thriller that follows the rather seedy trail of a gigolo/con man and his trusty sidekick, is like a fine feast marred by a single overcooked side dish.

The movie is well filmed, well shot and well acted. It offers a plot with several neat twists, including the hunky main character, Gabor, working as an office cleaner to pick potential female targets by analyzing trash.

Gabor and Tibi take their scam on the road and raise their sights to the beautiful ballerina-daughter of a millionaire. She’s injured her knee so severely that she may never dance again — leaving her open to Gabor’s hustle. He’ll introduce her to a famous orthopedic surgeon, who is the only one capable of making her whole again.

And while his film is a lot of fun, easy on the eye and keeps you guessing, that plot premise is completely overdone: There is only one doctor in the whole world that can perform the miracle operation that drives the action, and, of course, the doctor will not operate without serious nudging from the protagonist. This is so lame, and … it is the third film I have seen in the last month that uses this same ridiculous theme.

It’s refreshing to see the rich, famous and beautiful have as much time finding medical treatment as the rest of us. Hopefully, when you have a medical issue, the one miracle doctor you need will be at the Cleveland Clinic or University Hospitals and not require any special prodding or pressure to help you. — Bob Carson

Tue., March 23, 9:30 p.m.; Wed., March 24, 4:30 p.m.; Fri., March 26, 9:15 a.m. View the trailer, here.