Fire Food & Drink

This weekend Ben and I treated ourselves to a dinner at Fire Food & Drink in Shaker Square. We have been to Fire many times since moving to the east side. In fact we celebrated our first wedding anniversary there almost five years ago.

Upon arriving at the restaurant we were seated in the private dining room in the back of the restaurant. The atmosphere was cozy and pretty quiet; the room was dark but tastefully decorated. There were two other parties in the room, but there was ample space between us.

We were served fresh bread (pugliese bread from the Stone Oven?) and some wonderful olive oil that was almost buttery tasting. Ben ordered the root vegetable soup, which he thought was good but not extraordinary. The fresh sour cream and swirls of chili oil on top were nice touches, though. For entrees, Ben ordered the Seafood Paella and I got the Coq au Vin. Ben's was full of seafood, including some beautifully done sea scallops. Everything was full of flavor, including the rice. My Coq au Vin was okay: the chicken did not have very much flavor and came with only a few vegetables and two gnocchi.

For dessert we ordered the chocolate souffle and the chocolate ganache bread pudding. The souffle was great: it was molten in the center and the creme anglaise went well on top. Ben liked his bread pudding but wished there was more ganache. He particularly enjoyed the roasted banana ice cream that was served on top, which tasted like the same recipe he made from the book Chocolate Obsession.

Overall we enjoyed our dinner at Fire, but what made the night memorable was the service. Drinks were refilled continuously, empty dishes were removed promptly and everything was served on time to our table. We were impressed, and in our opinion the service was flawless.

Chocolate Banana Crepes with Raspberry Sauce

For a special Easter Sunday breakfast, I thought crepes would be a good idea. I made them with what we happened to have on hand, which included bananas, Belgian chocolate and raspberries:


The recipe for the crepes themselves and the sauce are from The Moosewood Cookbook.

Crepes are unbelievably easy to make, much simpler than pancakes, plus they actually keep (for up to a week in the fridge) rather than becoming soggy 5 minutes after being made. The key is to always put the batter into a hot, lightly greased pan.

Crepes with Bananas and Chocolate

1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 t. salt
Oil and/or butter (for the pan)

Chopped chocolate, preferably 70% dark
Sliced Bananas

Combine everything in a blender or food processor.

Heat up a 7-8" pan, preferably nonstick, until very hot. Add a few drops of oil, then pour 1/4 cup of the crepe batter in. After about 30 seconds, flip the crepe. You should brown it lightly on both sides.

Remove the crepe, allow the pan to reheat for about 30 seconds, and repeat this procedure until you've gone through your batter.

To finish, fill a couple crepes with sliced bananas and a bit of chopped chocolate (as it's 70% dark, you don't need much) and fold over like an omelet. Put a little butter or oil in the pan, add two folded crepes, and heat for a couple minutes until chocolate melts. Serve with raspberry sauce (below).

Raspberry Sauce

Fresh or frozen (thawed) raspberries
sugar (about 1 TB. per half cup of berries)
lemon juice

Mash up raspberries using a fork with sugar and lemon juice to taste. Push mixture through a fine mesh strainer or food mill.


While chocolate chips work fine in this recipe, the 70% dark chocolate definitely makes a difference. It adds a sharpness and complexity of flavor that cuts through everything else (which is why you should use it sparingly).

Oil is better for the initial fry while butter is best for the second. Oil can withstand a higher heat, which results in a more crisp crepe. The butter adds flavor for the second heating.

Dave's Cosmic Subs

Dave's Cosmic Subs is one of three sub shops on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. It has the most unique interior of the three, and the sandwiches are pretty good. In all honesty I am not sure I can declare a favorite of the three because I like different features of each sandwich. For this review I will stick to Dave's.

My favorite is the Sloppy Dave (pictured above), it has plenty of cheese and meat as well as a generous amount of "Dave's Special Sauce" which is their own brand of italian dressing. The sandwich itself is slightly spicy and goes well with the crunchy roll. My only complaint is that it can be hard to eat because of it's construction. The lettuce is placed first, then the meat and last but not least are the cheese and peppers. Ben's favorite sandwich is the Haight Ashbury (vegetarian sandwich) with marinated tomatoes.

For kids they offer simple sandwiches with just meat and cheese, and nothing else. Jonathan likes the ham and cheese, but more often than not picks the ham and cheese out of the sandwich because he is not a fan of crusty bread. We would recommend that you give Dave's a try if you like subs and happen to be near one of their Cleveland area locations at lunch time.

Lunch at Anatolia Cafe

Recently we visited Anatolia Cafe for lunch at it's new location on Lee Road. Our first impressions were that the space is enormous compared to their former place in the Cedar Center shopping center. Anatolia Cafe is a Turkish restaurant, and the colors and wall decor reminded Ben of when he visited Turkey many years ago. The colors are vibrant, the tables are well spaced apart and the seats are comfortable. The restaurant itself has an open airy feel due in large part to the large windows running across the front of the restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant you are greeted with a display cooler filled with baklava and other home made deserts. Although there was not a lot of variety on display, it was evident that everything was made fresh. At lunch they offer their standard menu as well as a list of lunch specials, which include soups, salads and wraps. I chose to order a cup of their red lentil soup and a grilled chicken wrap. Ben ordered a salad with felafel. The soup, as always was excellent: it has a unique well rounded flavor. The wrap was tasty as well: the chicken was juicy and the flavors from the marinade really came through. Ben enjoyed his salad, proclaiming their felafel to be one of the best in town. He said it tasted fresh and was piping hot and made to order.

We finished our lunch with an order of baklava, which was just as delicious as we remember it at their former location. We are looking forward to heading back to Anatolia soon for dinner to get some of our favorite entrees.

Orecchiete Carbonara with Leeks

We made Bon Appetit's Orecchiete Carbonara with Leeks (from the current issue) lately, and it was really yummy...


...and really easy to make. We rarely have leeks, but this recipe made us wonder why we don't. They have a distinct flavor much more mild than onions. That said, their sharpness contrasted nicely with the pasta. The eggs and Parmesan add heartiness to the dish, and bacon adds a great savory flavor.

The Pan-Roasted Asparagus with Thyme from the same issue pairs well with it.

Make sure you use Orecchiete pasta. The shape makes for nice "cups" to hold the sauce, and the way it cooks gives it a really good chewiness.

The bottle of Black Mountain Zinfandel I had on hand definitely complimented everything. I tend to struggle to find pairings for Zinfandel, but this tasted perfect with it.

Cheddars / Krazy Mac's Cafe

Cheddars (soon to be renamed Krazy Mac's Cafe) is a restaurant on 58th and Detroit specializing in macaroni and cheese (20+ varieties). It is also the site of the former Snicker's Tavern and still serves most of the Snicker's menu.

My dilemma here is whether to review this as Cheddars or as the former Snicker's, which we considered to be up near Fire and Three Birds as one of the best restaurants in Cleveland. The two reviews would be significantly different.

First (and, really, most importantly), they do a very good job at macaroni and cheese. I ordered the Southwestern, which has chorizo, cheddar, pepper jack and black beans in a red pepper sauce. The pasta is perfectly done. You don't want al dente for mac & cheese, but you don't want mush either. The flavors of all of the cheeses and other ingredients came through and blended nicely. The spiciness was relatively low key--I don't think it would be too much for anyone who likes Mexican flavors--but I kicked it up a bit with some Tabasco from our waitress. The dish was nicely baked and had a really good, thin cheese crust on top.

Jonathan ordered the kids' Krazy Mac with a hot dog, and he enjoyed his as well. I had to try some of course, and it was a very good basic mac & cheese

Sarah ordered the Black Forest Ham and Cheese Melt, which was unremarkable. We noticed that it's not on their online menu (is it being discontinued?), and perhaps there's a reason for that. Sarah does remember ordering this from Snickers, though, and its being an outstanding sandwich.

We also didn't see the Chicken Cigars from Snickers, which were excellent. Then again, these are on the online menu. So perhaps this establishment is in transition in a number of ways. The decor is basically upscale--black and bold red--but the menu seems to be shifting towards being family oriented. The prices are also family friendly. Most of the mac & cheese dishes are slightly over $10 and come with a salad. And there were plenty of kids there. But the bar area is definitely posh looking.

It seems like the old Snickers is slowly disappearing, first in their move from West 76th street and now their being subsumed into another establishment. It doesn't help matters that Sarah doesn't even like macaroni and cheese (with the exception of Kraft boxed, which proves to me that she definitely doesn't like macaroni and cheese).

We're planning on trying Latitude 41N sometime soon, which is across the street from Cheddars and was opened lately by Kathy Brown, the original owner of Snickers.

Target Wine Cube Riesling

Perhaps it was unwise to expect anything from a Target Wine Cube. However, I'd had their boxed Pinot Grigio and Cabernet / Shiraz in the past, both of which weren't bad, especially the Cabernet. And Riesling is my favorite white, so I was excited to see it in a 1.5 liter cube. Riesling doesn't keep well after opened, Sarah doesn't generally drink, and I'm not one to down a bottle of wine in a sitting. So it seemed like a great idea.

The results were beyond disappointing--the flavor was bitter and acidic, as if it had been left uncorked in the fridge for a few days. I dumped out the glass I'd poured and had a Trader Joe's Cider instead.

To Target's credit, they accepted my return of the opened wine and gave me a full refund. And, for all I know, this was just one cube that had gone bad. But I don't plan on giving it a second chance.

No-Bake Chocolate Pots De Creme

After tasting them at a recent visit to Lolita, I thought I'd try my hand at making Chocolate Pots De Creme.

Pot De Creme is essentially chocolate ganache made into a custard. It's extremely rich, and you don't need a lot for a good dessert. I've topped it with fresh whipped cream, caramel (from Malley's), and sea salt just as they do at Lolita, but you could serve these any way you like.

Pots De Creme are traditionally baked, but I decided to skip the whole water bath / ramekin procedure and heat the custard right in the saucepan. It cooks more evenly this way, plus you have more versatility in service.


No-Bake Chocolate Pots De Creme

2 cups heavy cream
1 t. instant espresso powder (or instant coffee)
4 oz. chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (or a combination, or chocolate chips)
6 egg yolks
3 Tb. sugar
1/4 t. salt (preferably sea salt)

Heat the cream, espresso powder and chocolate in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, beat together the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a medium-large bowl.

When the cream mixture is almost at a simmer, gradually pour it into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking to combine as you do so. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat, stirring almost constantly, on medium-low until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (or reaches 175-180 degrees, if you have an instant read thermometer), about five minutes. Do not let the mixture overheat or simmer. Quickly pour the custard into a clean bowl (or the previous one, rinsed in hot water) and chill until cold. Serve with whipped cream.

Serves 6 (easily halved or doubled)


Fresh Whipped Cream

heavy cream
sugar and vanilla (to taste)

Beat heavy cream, preferably in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters, until soft peaks form. Add sugar (regular or confectioners') and vanilla, and beat for about 30 seconds more.


Variations: You could easily replace the heavy cream with a combination of cream and milk or half and half. These are very rich, and some milk would lighten them. You could also replace (or augment) the espresso powder with vanilla, almond or even mint extract. You could make mud pie pots de creme by adding 1-3 teaspoons of bourbon along with the espresso. Cointreau, orange rind and/or chipotle powder (in moderation) would also work well. If anyone comes up with a particularly tasty variation, feel free to post it!

Cleveland Blizzard '08 at Lolita

My brother generously watched our little one all weekend long so Ben and I could have a chance to spend some time alone together. We had planned on doing some shopping at some kid unfriendly stores like Crate & Barrel and Williams Sonoma, but the weather did not cooperate. We found that stores were closing early, and were concerned whether or not Lolita would stay open. But we were in luck--they were open on Saturday night. After a treacherous drive through the unplowed streets of Tremont we arrived about 40 minutes later than our reservation, but they were understanding and we were seated right away. This was our first visit to the restaurant, but after reading so many positive reviews on other blogs and from friends we were very excited about the dinner. The restaurant was surprisingly full at 6:00pm, so we were not the only ones who braved the weather to enjoy the food. The atmosphere was dark, but there were artistic touches that made the place seem "hip."

We started with an order of the bruschetta with cheese, and since I love prosciutto we could not resist ordering a plate of that as well. The bruschetta has a sharp roasted garlic flavor which is complemented nicely by the creaminess of the cheese. We received an ample portion of the prosciutto, which was quite good along with some toasts, pickled fennel and cherry relish.

For entrées Ben chose the macaroni and goat cheese with chicken:


The sauce was intensely flavored with rosemary, probably through an infusion as there were almost no visible sprigs.

Sarah chose the hanger steak, which was quite good. The combination of chickpea salad and steak was unusual but very tasty, and the steak was cooked to perfection:


For dessert we both chose the Pot du Chocolat because we had heard so much about it. We were not disappointed. The chocolate mousse was very thick and chocolaty and was complimented nicely by the cream, dollop of caramel and sea salt.


In the end we both thoroughly enjoyed our experience and look forward to the next time we can make a trip out to Lolita. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative next time we get a date night!

Fun game for foodies

Ben and I received the "What's Cookin'" game as a Christmas present this year, and just recently got around to playing it. It was really a lot of fun, and we thought anyone who considers themselves a foodie or gourmet would really enjoy this game. It consists of food trivia in 5 categories, with questions like:

• here's a list of ingredients, what is this a recipe for?
• what city , A, B, or C is restaurant X in?
• in 30 seconds (a timer is included) who can write the most desserts with chocolate in the name?
• what is the country of origin for spaghetti?
  

The box says it's for 4 players, but we had a lot of fun just playing it by ourselves. The trivia cards were a lot of fun, but the included wipe away boards and markers didn't seem to work that well so we resorted to ordinary pens and paper, which worked fine. So if you are looking for a unique gift for someone who enjoys cooking or like trivia games we highly reccomend this game! (Thanks Mom and Dad for a great present!)