“Happy Holiday’s Beer Engine Fans. We wanted to remind everyone about our next beer dinner which is next Tuesday at 7:00pm. This will be a special beer dinner because of course it will [...]]]>

Pear, pancetta salad at Sapore. Fantastic.

December 8, 2009 7 – 10pm : Beer Dinner at Buckeye Beer Engine

“Happy Holiday’s Beer Engine Fans. We wanted to remind everyone about our next beer dinner which is next Tuesday at 7:00pm. This will be a special beer dinner because of course it will feature many outstanding seasonal selections of holiday beers. Here is the list.

Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve served with Spicy Manhatten Clam Chowder.

Thirsty Dog’ Twelve Dogs of Christmas served with Hazelnut and Marscapone stuffed baked apple.

Left Hand Fade to Black 2009 served with Bison stew with Yams, Coriander, Turnips and sweet corn.

Troegs Mad Elf Holiday Ale served with Turkey stuffed with Cherries, Chocolate and Sage.

Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux served with a cheese course and

Redstone Honey wine with Vanilla beans and Cinnamon sticks served with Ice Cream pie with Vanilla, Cinnamon and Honey ice creams.

Reserve your spot for this delicious selections of holiday beer and outstanding gourmet food. Reserve by phone 216-226-2337 or better yet stop in after fighting the crowds at the stores and get your reservation in person. We’re always happy to see you. Holiday Cheers for Beers, Mike”

Goat, herb salad from Greenhouse Tavern

December 6, 2009 6 – 9pm : Jean Lous Chave Dinner at Greenhouse Tavern

More spendy than most local dinner but lots of luxe ingredients. Foie gras salami and 45 day dry aged entrecote caught my eye.

almond cake at Sapore. One of the best desserts I've had in years.

December 17, 2009 6 – 9pm : Champagne, Sparkling and Prosecco Tasting at Sapore

Sapore is cementing its place as my favorite restaurant in the area. It was great under Chef Anderson and I’ve gone enough times to say that they’re still wonderful under new management. I recently went to my first Sapore wine dinner and from now on, theirs will be the dinners that I mark on calendars first.

Join us for a fabulous wine dinner event at Sapore Restaurant as we sample the finest wines & taste the exquisite dishes from Italy’s famous gourmet region of Sicily. Loretta will be your chef for the evening and winemaker Claudio Salvador will guide you through the tasting.
Menu: Tuna Carpaccio with Caponatina, Cheese Gnocchi with Porcini Mushroom Marsala Sauce, “Farsu Magro” Stuffed Beef Roll served with Mashed Potatoes, Cannoli Alla Siciliana, Biscotti delle Monache

]]> http://stuartspivack.com/blog/2009/12/03/three-december-events/feed/ 0 http://stuartspivack.com/blog/2009/08/21/beer-dinners-at-buckeye-beer-engine-and-tremont-tap-house-budget-menus-at-moxie-and-flying-fig/ http://stuartspivack.com/blog/2009/08/21/beer-dinners-at-buckeye-beer-engine-and-tremont-tap-house-budget-menus-at-moxie-and-flying-fig/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:58:34 +0000 Stuart http://stuartspivack.com/blog/?p=2136

beet salad at Moxie

The complete menu (PDF) has some notes about the beer pairings.

Baby spinach, fig, and goat cheese salad with orange honey dressing. Paired with Southern Tier ‘Harvest Ale’ (5.7% ABV, Extra Special, Bitter)

Chinese five spice spare [...]]]>

beet salad at Moxie

September 1st, 2009 7pm : January 1st, 2004 Southern Tier Beer Dinner at Buckeye Beer Engine

The complete menu (PDF) has some notes about the beer pairings.

Baby spinach, fig, and goat cheese salad with orange honey dressing.
Paired with Southern Tier ‘Harvest Ale’ (5.7% ABV, Extra Special, Bitter)

Chinese five spice spare ribs.
Paired with Southern Tier ‘Hop Sun’ (4.5% ABV, Summer Wheat Beer)

Roasted corn and smoked duck enchi lada.
Paired with Southern Tier ‘Oak Aged Unearthly’ (11% ABV, Imperial India Pale Ale)

Cherry Sti lton tart with pomegranate syrup and walnuts.
Paired with Southern Tier ‘Cherry Saison’ (8% ABV, Imperial Oak Aged Cherry Ale)

Pumpkin and mascarpone stuffed agni lotti.
Paired with Southern Tier ‘Pumking’ (9% ABV, Imperial Pumpkin Ale)

Tiramisu.
Paired with Southern Tier ‘Mokah’ (11% ABV, Stout brewed with chocolate & coffee)

pan roasted chicken at Moxie

August 24th, 2009 7pm : January 1st, 2004 Flying Dog Beer Dinner at Tremont Tap House

Reservations required 216-298-4451 – $ 50.00 per person – Presented By: Chef Chris Ita

Course 1 Beer: Old Scratch Amber Lager
Duck Queso w/ ManchegoSweet Corn… Black Beans… Cumin Crème Fraiche

Course 2 Beer: Snake Dog IPA
Lobster WontonsTrio of Dipping Sauces

Course 3 Beer: Woody Creek White
Roasted Beet SaladSherry Vinaigrette

Course 4 Beer: Double Dog Pale Ale
Stuffed Veal ScaloppiniRoasted Tomatos & Spinach… Puttanesca Sauce

Course 5 Beer: Gonzo Imperial Porter
NY Strip SteakPancetta Risotto w/ Fontina… Veal Demi Glace

Course 6 Beer: Horn Dog Barley Wine
Cannolis SamplerMacerated strawberries… Blueberry Compote

honey panna cotta

Budget dinner menu at Moxie

The options are selections from the regular menu:

As a member of Cleveland Independents, Moxie invites you to GET YOUR LOCAL FIX a four-course menu including: 1st: potato gnocchi or steamed mussels & clams; 2nd: roasted beet salad or housemade mozzarella & heirloom tomato carozza; 3rd: Lake Erie walleye or pan roasted chicken; 4th: honey panna cotta, macerated peaches & basil. $39 per person (tax & gratuity not included)

tempura beans at The Flying Fig

Budget dinner at The Flying Fig

Three courses for $3o every Tuesday.

Roasted pig (large) by vnoel

Some options for this coming July 4th:

The Buckeye Beer Engine recently sold burger #48324. You may remember when I made note of their announcement for #40000. I goofed on the calculation in that post. They’re now around their two year anniversary so that’s about 66 burgers every day. There were 113 days between announcements [...]]]>

fried cod sandwich with cajun tartar sauce

The Buckeye Beer Engine recently sold burger #48324. You may remember when I made note of their announcement for #40000. I goofed on the calculation in that post. They’re now around their two year anniversary so that’s about 66 burgers every day. There were 113 days between announcements so the pace has picked up to around 74 burgers per day. I imagine that the promotion will drive the burger rate even higher. I know I’m definitely going to have one or two.

The prizes are substantial gift certificates: $500 for ordering #50000 and $200 for ordering #51000. At a pace of 74bpd, 1676 burgers will take 22-23 days. My guess for the jackpot winner is March 22 and I will be there. You can sign up for their mailing list to receive an announcement for #49200.

In other Beer Engine related news, they’re having a beer dinner on March 24th, they debuted some Lenten specials and their brunch garnered some very positive remarks on the Cleveland.com food forum. I enjoyed my cod sandwich. I’m looking forward to trying the fish tacos and then it’s back to enjoying the Beer Engine on non-weekend days. I’m also really eager to try the brunch. Together with The Flying Fig’s new brunch, it gives me hope that there may be some relief from the brunch wasteland that is Cleveland. I think I’m going to arrange my Film Festival schedule so that it coincides with a visit to the Fig for brunch.

(beer dinner listing at upcoming.org)

The old Kan Zaman space has a temporary sign announcing that “Kasablanca Cafe” is coming soon. I drove past and noticed that the neon “Open” sign was lit. I’m not sure in what way this new place will be any different from the old, unremarkable Kan Zaman. Still, the cuisine itself is so appealing that I’m sure I’ll check it out. Apparently, what seemed like a slump along W 25th was only a very temporary phenomenon. The book store is being replaced by a different book store. Something called Ohio City Blooms (neighborhood development or flowers? I hope flowers.) threw up a sign. I guess Dish and The Monastery have yet to be replaced but it’s nice to see the new life.

There’s still a website for Kan Zaman. Did they move to another location?

There are two upcoming events involving Sapore’s Matt Anderson. One is Sapore’s own wine dinner.  “Join Chef Matthew Anderson and Cline Cellars, Keith Morris, for a wonderful evening of food and wine.  $75 per person.  Tax and gratuity not included.  Reservations”(Here’s my posting on Upcoming.org)

The other is a benefit for The Culinary Vegetable Institute’s Veggie U.

beets at a Culinary Vegetable Institute Earth to Table dinner

I’m not exactly sure what Veggie U does but the event features more of my favorite chefs: Chef Jonathan Bennett of Moxie , Chef Jonathon Sawyer of The Greenhouse Tavern and the Culinary Vegetable Institute’s own Chef Johannes “Johnnie” Klapdohr. I’ve only eaten Chef Klapdohr’s food once but after that meal I know I’ll make the hour+ drive out to the Culinary Vegetable Institute again sometime soon. He was also exceedingly gracious and seemed genuinely enthusiastic when he offered to let me take pictures of the preparation and cooking at the next event I attend. He obviously takes great pride in his craft. I may not know much about Veggie U, but I know it’s affiliated with Lee Jones’ The Chef’s Garden and their reputation for produce is unparalleled. Virtually all of the very best restaurants in the country use some of his products. I’m a little more interested in the other chef participants merely because they’re affiliated with the Chef’s Garden.

I gave up on hamburgers. I can’t even remember when. Meat, cheese, bread… It should be delicious and pretty much fool-proof to boot, right? Otherwise fine restaurants bungle burgers, usually by over-fancifiying them. American cheese melts. Your fancy cheddar cheese doesn’t melt as well and that’s important. Making the burger too [...]]]>

The Beer Engine Burger

I gave up on hamburgers. I can’t even remember when. Meat, cheese, bread… It should be delicious and pretty much fool-proof to boot, right? Otherwise fine restaurants bungle burgers, usually by over-fancifiying them. American cheese melts. Your fancy cheddar cheese doesn’t melt as well and that’s important. Making the burger too big, getting clever with the bread… It goes on and on.

Buckeye Beer Engine has restored my faith in the burger. They have a lot of novelty burgers but it’s okay because they pay attention to the fundamentals. For instance, the bun is a quality bun but more importantly it’s a burger bun. Since they’ve proven that they can make a delicious cheeseburger, I’m more than happy to try some more elaborate burgers. While I was eating my fatty melt, I noticed one of their newest creations: the double sasquatch. Two eight ounce patties with barbecue sauce and an onion ring. That second patty seems like overkill to me but I’m looking forward to trying a single sasquatch. I’ve also had my eye on their “sliders” – four mini burgers with grilled onions.

The Bacon Fatty Melt

I guess I should say a word about the fatty melt I just mentioned. The basic facts should be obvious from the picture. I’ll only add two small observations. First, it was more than a gimmick. The grilled cheese sandwiches were well done and would have been excellent on their own but cheese, bacon and buttery bread are a perfect match for ground meat. Second, tomorrow (November 30, 2008) may be your last chance to try the bacon fatty melt at the Beer Engine. It’s their November burger-of-the-month so I assume it will disappear on Monday. I recommend it.