Lunchtime Party

Hints of sunshine and blossoms on the trees remind us it's time to part from our desk and eat lunch outside.

Make midday a celebration with weekly Walnut Wednesdays, starting tomorrow through Sept. 25 at the up-and-coming NineTwelve District at  East 12th Street and Walnut Avenue.

From 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. this week, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance brings food trucks, including Umami Moto, Fired Up Taco Truck, DonutLab and more to the district as local band Faction plays covers from a wide range of musical genres.

Samantha Severo, DCA marketing and public relations specialist, sees the events as a way to bring some added excitement to the city's central business district. "We want to show that neighborhood and that side of town that there is foot traffic," she explains.



And on May 16, don't miss the first of four once-monthly Pop-Up Parties taking place in Perk Plaza. Delight your ears from 5-8 p.m. with the sounds of Justo Saborit Latin Soul as you dine on food truck treats and sip local brews from Great Lakes Brewing Co. This year's after-work parties feature a new element: shopping. Treasures from Cleveland Handmade and other local artisans will be available during a sidewalk sale with a flea market feel.

The E-Line trolleys now have extended hours in the NineTwelve District, making it even easier for Clevelanders to get their weekday lunch fix.

Walnut Wednesdays and Pop-Up Parties give the downtown workforce something to look forward to this summer while bringing new energy to the neighborhood surrounding renovated Perk Plaza. "You can see people who pour out of these buildings," Severo says, "just showing how lively it is."

Burgers, Beer and Bikes

  I recently  stopped by Nano Brew in Ohio City for a bite. The brewpub, located in the former Garage Bar, is a small space, all exposed brick and reclaimed barn wood, has a 24 seat bar and about 8 high-top tables. For decor, there are some vintage bicycles on display, a nod to owner Sam McNulty's favored mode of transportation, and a couple of shiny fermenting tanks. The place feels like it's always been here, a relaxed, friendly corner bar only with better food and beer.

The microbrewery, another project from the passionate and prolific Sam McNulty, an entrepreneur, suds aficionado and neighborhood developer responsible for Bier Markt, Bar Cento, and Market Garden Brewery. The focus here is on ultra small batch production that allows brewmaster Andy Tveekrem and his team to experiment with techniques, styles and flavors.

Billy Crompton,who developed his cooking skills working for Susie Porter at the much missed Town Fryer, is top dog in the kitchen, overseeing four line cooks. He brings an eclectic, quirky style to the menu, which pays homage to his former employer in the form of two deep fried delights: Oreos and balls of  mac 'n' cheese. I asked him a few questions about burgers, brews and bikes.

Cleveland Magazine: Who came up with various burger combos?
Billy Crompton: I collaborated with Andrew Bower and Maggie Schwenk (Chef and Sous Chef of Market Garden Brewery, respectively) to develop the menu. I'm happy that my ideas, such as the PB & J (a burger topped with peanut butter, bacon jam and arugula)  and the Chicken and Waffles salad (fried chicken thigh, apples, bacon, waffle croutons, maple-balsamic vinaigrette, and iceberg lettuce) made it onto the line up along with Bower and Schwenk's contributions, such as the Acid Trip, Fun Guy, (blue cheese burger with mushrooms, onion rings, arugula and staeak sauce) and Bibb Salad.  The Warm Hummus, Wake 'N Bake (a burger topped with cheddar, bacon, sunny-side-up egg, and "redeye" mayo- mayo, sriracha, and coffee- on an English muffin), and BLT, with house-made pork belly  were a  group effort.

CM: Do the burger selections stay the same or change?
BC: The bulk of the burger and sandwich menu will stay the same. However, some items (such as the house specials, soups, and salads) will change seasonally. I also came up with "The Daily Double," which is a two-patty burger that pairs with our  20-gallon batch, one-off beers. Nano Brew releases a new firkin every Thursday, and I create a burger special that pairs with it.

CM: What can you tell me about the ingredients you use?
BC: Nano Brew gets meat from Vince's Meats at the West Side Market. Vince sources his meat (U.S.D.A Choice Beef) from Mahan Packing in Bristolville, Ohio. We season our fresh, never frozen burgers using a house recipe and hand-patty them to order. We work with the Pork Chop Shop at the West Side Market. Emma and Alexia make the area's best chorizo, which we use in our Namber Chili, and we have also teamed up with them to make our bratwurst. They put our Nano Namber Ale in their bratwurst. We get as much produce as we can from the Ohio City Farm and Refugee Response Farm during the warmer months.

CM:  Nano has both sidewalk seating and an enclosed back patio. Anything else I should know about that area?
BC: Yes! We have both. There are two tables out front and communal tables on the side and on the back patio, where we'll have a full bar including all of our 24 draft beers [a mix of Nano Brew and Market Garden selections plus others from a variety of American craft brewers] during the warmer months. Our back patio "cross-polinates" with The Black Pig's second story patio, and we play our classic rock/old school punk soundtrack on the outdoor speakers to keep the party going. Nano Brew's side patio also has Cleveland's first and only "Bike Box," [for storing your two-wheeler], and we have a bike repair station inside if anyone needs to fix their bike while out and about.

Nano Brew is Ohio City's third brewpub and a fourth, the Hansa Brewpub, breaks ground today. Not surprisingly McNulty, an Ohio City booster with a supportive and generous spirit, is hosting the after-party for the event at 5 p.m. today at Market Garden Brewery.

The Unrestaurant

   I've been wanting to post something about La Campagna in Westlake ever since I had my birthday dinner there in February. Timely events and other pressing subjects kept grabbing the space but at last I can devote this soapbox of mine to doling out some well deserved praise for this absolutely unique and quirky destination.
  I must warn you however, that to enjoy a meal here you must let go of almost all your expectations of what a restaurant is supposed to be. By day it is a small gourmet food and wine shop. Gift baskets are a specialty. At night the tables and chairs come out with seating for around 30-35, and it can be close quarters. But that's part of the experience. Instead of scanning a list, diners browse the selection of bottles on the shelves, pick what they want and pay retail for it. Due to licensing issues, staff controls the bottles and the pours, doling it out in small amounts, all the better in my opinion for sipping, savoring and keeping the pace leisurely.
   Carmella Fragassi is the queen of the kitchen here. A devotee of the cuisine of Puglia, the region of Italy where her family hails from, she makes everything from scratch and uses as much local and seasonal product as she can, just as they do in the old country trattorias that are her model. Her cooking is wonderful, far better than what we think of as homemade but not restaurant fussy or chef fancy. It is traditional not rule- breaking or mind bending. Everything I've ever had here has been truly done well and totally satisfying. 

   There is no menu. A server, who might be her sister, recites the list of what Carmella is cooking that day. There's always some kind of appetizer, which could include prosciutto made by her brother,  salad, pasta, maybe soup, usually a fish, poultry, and a red meat dish. If you ate something you loved on a previous visit, you can call ahead and request it and she'll try to accommodate you. Ditto with special dietary requirements and favorite or hated ingredients.  In my opinion, the very best way to eat here is to cede control completely,  put yourself in Carmella's hands and let her create the meal for you.
   Keep in mind that the place isn't open late, usually not seating after 9 PM. Reservations are absolutely essential, (440-871-1771). And its damn hard to locate particularly after dark:  set back from Detroit Road in a strip mall fronted by a parking lot. Plus there's no big illuminated sign, not to mention that it looks like a store not a restaurant. But persevere- it's worth the effort.
   I  discovered La Campagna many years ago and consider it a local treasure. The night I was there a young woman came up to my table to tell me she'd been in the audience at one of my author talks when I sang its praises, had come with her husband out of curiosity the first time, and they were now regulars. Those who already know the spot think of it as their own secret find.  Everyone who has yet to discover its charms are in for a very pleasant surprise. And did I mention, Carmella caters?

Dinner in the Dark shines a light on Cork & Cleaver, Toast

For foodies like me life doesn't get much better than a meal to celebrate different chefs, cuisines and inspirations — and to see what's new on the dining scene. Last night's Dinner in the Dark at the recently opened Cork & Cleaver Social Kitchen packed all those things into one.

To start the evening off, chef Adam Bostwick prepared an amuse bouche of fried tomatillos with avocado mousse, crispy chorizo, sweet onions and peppers to welcome everyone to his and Brian Okin's new Broadview Heights restaurant. The hand-held, bite-size pieces — a play on a dish currently on Bostwick and Okin's menu at Cork & Cleaver — had just the right amount of kick.

We also got a preview of another restaurant set to open this week in the Gordon Square Arts District — Toast from chefs Jennifer Plank and Joe Horvath. The duo served up a smoked local tilapia rillette with a cucumber salad, beer mustard and pickled fennel and carrots. Toast looks to combines wine, cocktails and a great small plates menu using local produce, products (hence the fish grown here locally) and ingredients.

Other chefs who participated last night include Vento La Trattoria's Ray Garmon, the Black Pig's Brian Toomey, Fresh Butcher Deli and Cafe's Mike Dunlap and Sweetness' Jillian Sopko. 

Next month's Dinner in the Dark is scheduled for Monday, May 20 at Amp 150. For more information, visit dinnerinthedarkcleveland.com. 

Photos courtesy of Tom Noe.

Drink Beer, Support the Market

A bottle from the original batch of Butcher's Brew. The beer won't be
bottled this time around. (Photo by Amira Maher)

A wave of supportive efforts that launched after the Jan. 30 fire at the West Side Market -- from a cash mob to Michael Symon's fund-raising campaign — has largely died down. But Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s contribution is just now being poured.

Soon after the fire, the brewery decided to help the market through a re-release of Butcher’s Brew — a lager originally made in honor of the West Side Market for last year’s Centennial Gala. But beer can’t be brewed overnight.

Now it’s ready. Starting tomorrow, Butcher’s Brew will be available in for-donation samples at the West Side Market Café and in $6 pints at the brewery, across the street on Market Avenue, until the contents of seven barrels run dry. This time around, the velvety yet subtly bitter Kulmbacher-style lager won’t be bottled.

All proceeds, which the brewery expects will be about $10,000, will go to Ohio City Inc.’s Market Bonds program. Customers who buy $40 worth of bond certificates to the West Side Market will get $10 for free, funded by donations from the brewery. Vendors can turn in certificates they receive for cash.

“It’s a good way for us to make sure that the proceeds are going to the vendors,” says Mary LaVenia, public relations assistant at Great Lakes. “We want to make sure that the vendors can stay in business and be able to repurchase things that they lost during the fire.”

Since its 1988 inception, Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s menu has included meat and some produce from West Side Market vendors, including Dohar Meats, Ohio City Pasta and Lance’s Beef. Over the years, partnerships that were strictly business have turned into friendships.

“The happiness there the first day it was reopened. It wasn’t just about them doing business again,” says LaVenia. “It was about seeing the friends that you used to see every week when you went to patronize their business. We couldn’t be more happy to have it back.”

The restaurant and bar saw a decrease in foot traffic during the almost three weeks the West Side Market was closed.

“Everyone, I think — we’ve talked about it in our merchant meetings — realized that the West Side Market impacted their business a lot more strongly than they ever knew,” LaVenia says. “We just want to help out the market.”

For more coverage of the market, including the vendor families who’ve been at the market for 100 years, take a look at our stories from November. For more on the brewery, including its pub-only specialty beers, check out our February beer package.

CIFF: "Brave Miss World" helps victims heal, speak out

This documentary tackles a subject that many of us have a hard time thinking about, let alone discussing: rape. But instead of dealing with the psyche of rapists or what drives people to commit such horrific acts, this film follows Linor Abargil, the former Miss World on her quest to give victims a voice.

In 1998, Linor was raped two months before receiving her crown, only knowing her assailant a few days before the attack. After 10 years of trying to come to terms with what happened to her, Linor decides to become an advocate for other rape victims, traveling the world hearing their stories and sharing hers.

Linor's journey takes her to South Africa, known as the rape capital of the world, to meet with victims in their teens and one memorable survivor who was attacked by two men and stabbed more than 50 times. (Discouraging film fact: A female is raped every three minutes in South Africa.)

Her travels also take her to Los Angeles where she sits down with Joan Collins and Fran Drescher and here to Cleveland, where she speaks at a luncheon for the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. There are familiar faces compelled to tell their stories with Linor and also with us.

The stories of the survivors delicately woven throughout the film are heartbreaking and hard to hear but moving at the same time. These individuals were brave enough to speak out. We should be brave enough to listen.

Brave Miss World shows again this Sunday, April 14 at 12:20 p.m. The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center will host a survivor panel and speak out event later that day from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel featuring Brave Miss World producer Cecilia Peck and local survivors who appear in the film. Visit clevelandfilm.org for ticket information. 

CIFF: "Furever" is an odd little documentary you won't soon forget

Director Amy Finkel's Furever opens with a distraught man recalling the loss of his cat — a snow-white feline he's not been able to let go of following its death. The cat's last meal is preserved in a Ziplock bag. Some of its hair has been saved in another. A third contains a final litter box deposit.

The scene is both strange and sad. It also illustrates the central questions at the heart of Finkel's intriguing 80-minute film: Why do some people have such a difficult time letting go of their deceased pets, and is there anything really wrong with even the most bizarre attempts to retain those bonds?

Finkel reserves judgement as she delves into the culture of those who have gone to extraordinary lengths to preserve not only their pets' memories, but in some cases even their physical bodies. And while you may be thinking, there's no way I'm watching this, Finkel has created a fascinating documentary that is a window into how we relate to our fellow humans as much as it is about the bonds we form with the animals we welcome into our homes.

Pet funerals, jewelry made using cremated remains, taxidermy, freeze-drying, cloning, even (in one of the film's more bizarre segments) Egyptian-style cat mummification are all explored. Along the way, we learn about the chemical reactions in our brains that cement our relationships with our pets, and the business ventures cropping up around honoring their memories. By the end, it's clear that not letting go has a price, and for the most obsessed pet owners it's measured in dollars and cents.

Furever shows again this Saturday, April 13 at 3:40 p.m., and Sunday, April 14 at 11:45 a.m. Visit clevelandfilm.org for ticket information.