AMP 150 - So Good, BUT.... what do you mean BUT?????

I had finally gotten the chance to dine at AMP150 - the most talked about restaurant as of late.  It was killing me that I hadn't had the chance to dine here yet; but finally, my opportunity came last night!  I made reservations for a table of 2, way ahead of time, I believe maybe 3 weeks ago (yes, I was that excited) and had even made a request for a quieter table.  The hostess at that time had suggested I reserve booth #32 as she told me it was much more quieter; and as i had requested, it would not be right in the middle of the lobby as some of the tables would be facing.  Perfect.  I requested booth#32, for two, 6:30.  I was so excited (call me a  crazy) but I even called in to confirm my reservations two days ahead of time to make sure I had my times correct, and I double checked to ensure I had the coveted booth#32.  I was assured everything was in order!

So I arrived at AMP150, not a minute too soon; spot on 6:30 and reported to the hostess.  My first reaction I got was, the hostess....wasn't too "AMPed" to see me and my date for the night - but i dismissed it as; me being too excited to enjoy the food I was expecting.  But when she started to lead me to a table RIGHT in front of the lobby; I politely informed her that we had requested a more quieter table, in fact on near the back, and if fact, we were suggested and confirmed for booth#32.  To my surprise, she without even checking the computer looked at me and reported "That's not possible!".  She let me know that they don't do that and that it was fully booked that night and booth 32 had been reserved.  I was a little taken a back - yeah; booth 32 was reserved - for me, i had reserved it 2 weeks ago; and had confirmed it 2 days ago.  I told her of this but she dismissed the notion, but after some very polite pleading ( i was still very excited for the food so I was still very excited to just get seated nicely) she sat me down next to booth 32.  In reality; it was no problem, and I was still happy - i mean, I still got a decent table; inside; away from the lobby, but I was just surprised by her reaction, and way she dealt with the situation.  But small bump on the road; onto the food!

Stephanie, our server; who was AWESOME btw, came by promptly, took our drink and food orders and the food adventure began! Boy was I excited!

We started the dinner off sharing the chicken liver pate on grilled bread and sweet jam.  This was said to be the amazing!  I would say, it was good!  The grilled bread was good; good quality bread, grilled well, toasted, with great chunky sweet jam to cut the chicken liver pate.  I think the flavors worked very well put all together.  I would have asked for a little, just a slightly stronger taste to come from the liver pate; but no complaints - i rather enjoyed the appetizer and would definitely suggest others to try it too.  The pate was flavorful, and fresh tasting!  I would say, a good start to the meal if you're into pates.

Next, we decided to share a plate of the Kimchee Spicy Soy and Peanut Wings.  They were said to be wings from free range chicken.  Now, I loveeee wings; and although I've had wings from all walks of the earth; and enjoyed wings of all types; I'm not picky.  But, i know good wings when I taste them. I expected these to be out of the world, because of the reports I had been getting from fellow bloggers and foodies.  So when I tasted these - I would say...they were ....decent.  They were not ...that...flavorful...or special.  They were pretty much...wings; fried; with a little bit of peanuts chopped on top and soy sauces flavor.  Sure, kimchee was tasty; but I could have gotten that from any korean store in asian town.  Now - don't get me wrong; there was nothing wrong with the wings; they didn't taste bad; nope.  They were just very, regular fried wings.  To be honest; i was disappointed because people had made me expect more; but they were pretty standard run of your mill fried wings you could get anywhere.  Although I found nothing wrong with them; i wouldn't suggest getting these just because you can get these anywhere else.  Perhaps it was just tonight? Kitchen was rushed? I'm not sure.

Next, we decided to get both the calamari salad and the chopped salad and share both of them.  Stephanie our servers was nice enough to split our two salads into half orders, so both me and my date could have half an order of each of the salads.  These were good.  Great in fact.  I especially loved the Calamari salad and would definitely recommend everyone to get this.  The fried calamari was done perfect; small rings of calamari fried perfectly; to keep them still tender; and crunchy batter; mixed with a frisee salad that was cut with a sour lemon vinagrette and some speck ham i believe.  The flavors played together so well with the small fragrant cubes of cheese incorporated into the salad.  Very nice.  The chopped salad was, for a lack of better description; sooo fresh.  Very good.  I was scared that the salad would turn out too bland since it was just purely veggies without too much to compliment the veggies; but the white vinaigrette it was dressed with; was tremendous.  It was the definition of freshness and a great way to cut the stronger taste we had from the calamari salad and the appetizers we had just tasted.  Wonderful two salads.

Next, came the entrees.  These were highly anticipated.  I ordered the marinated flank steak.  When it came out, I was......a little taken a back.  I mean....I've eaten at expensive places and have had small portions, but.....this was slightly laughable to me.  My portion of the steak was...as you can see from the portion as respect to the baby carrots...were pitiful.  the entire portion of steak ran the length of one and a half baby carrot.  MAYBE 3 ounces of steak?  But portions aside; I was ready to taste the steak.  Unfortunately....and this is were the big part of the BUT from the title came in.  The steak....wasn't that great.  I was still a fan of Chef Ellis.  I still am. Really.  But this steak was a let down.  No flavor.  Medium rare; sure.  But timing the steak is one thing; giving me flavorless flank steak; when your menu is telling me its; marinated flank steak was disappointing.  the sauce didn't help; and the portion size just, didn't make matters any better. Big let down.

But; like I said, I was a huge fan of chef Ellis from before; and so....i decide; hey, i'm here at AMP150, lets give it one more chance right???? so call me crazy, but I put in ANOTHER order of the braised lamb.  I was literally hungry after eating the steak; and allowing my date to try a piece of it; which probably ended up giving me maybe 2.5 ounces of steak to eat.  So I decided to give another shot; and ordered another entree; the lamb. 

Now, when the lamb came out; what hit me was...two things.  The smell was TREMENDOUS.  It smelt wonderful, and secondly - the portion was normal! It was a generous portion of braised lamb with normal sized sides.  I think the flank steak order was a mistake.  they may have given me an accidental, tasting size or something because it was just pitiful.  Now the braised lamb...good portion; AMAZING smell.  and the TASTE?  wonderful.  I was definitely impressed.  The meat was so tender and flavorful.  Not too strong of the gaminess, but enough to impart the lamb flavor to you.  Enough fat to give you flavor, but not too much to overwhelm and take over the dish.  What was even better was the sides.  The creaminess of the couscous on the side and the fruitty salad really cut the rich taste of the lamb when taken together.  I was super impressed with the lamb dish; I loved it; and would suggest ANYONE who goes to AMP150 that likes lamb; that they MUST get it.  Super moist; tender and flavorful.  So I was in much better spirits after had made a quick decision to order my second entree, although still a little wary; of why i had to do so, but i was here to enjoy myself and so I tried to forget it.

We decided to end the night with some sweet dessert.  Boy was that a good choice.  We chose to get the chocolate panna cotta.  Oh gosh was this the best choice we made.  This was amazing.  So good.  Sweet; but not overpowering, so fresh and light and just amazing.  The flavors melded together so well and when put together was just a perfect dessert to end the night.  This in itself was worth coming to enjoy I must admit.  Great dessert, and i was superbly satisfied to end my meal with this sweet.

Now overall, how was my experience at AMP150 you ask?  I would have to say, I enjoyed it.  Yest, AMP150 was good. Some parts of it was GREAT even amazing for example I loved the braised lamb dish, and the panna cotta dessert? heavenly.  Both were so good I know I will go back just to enjoy those two dishes along with the calamari/chopped salad.  However,. because I also ordered the other choices as well i was somewhat disappointed and that was where the BUT came in.  The wings were - regular; run of the mill if not, flavorless and borderline dry.  The flank steak was really....pitiful small portion and just...flavorless.  So sure, there were let downs in this meal, but i think the fact that the good points also shone through makes it so hard to decide.  Two amazing dishes counterbalanced by two very poorly done dishes....what to say, how to decide.  To make things harder; the service was also a hyde and jekyll experience.  The hostess was rude and outright unacceptable, whereas our server stephanie was great!

So in the end, i would say, AMP150 was great.  I enjoyed myself.  The food was good.  BUT there were problems, serious problems, but the good things shone through that I would have decide by going one more time.  They may have had an off night; maybe there were just the once in long shot mistakes with the flank steak and wings....but the lamb and calamari and dessert really shone through.  so in the end; I challenge amp150 with this.  I will come again.  definately come again.  the lamb/salad/dessert is too good not to, and i hope the issues i had this time; were just an off night!!!  Oh, and I hope the hostess doesn't lie next time either.  If you're going to give me booth#32 when i reserve, and someone special comes in last might (someone that chef ellis knows) please don't tell me that I didn't reserve it.  I did.  Just tell me the truth; i'll understand. =)

Overall: 3.75 out of 5 stars.

AMP 150
4277 W 150th St
Cleveland, OH 44135
(216) 916-0104
www.amp150.com

Siam Cafe - Quality Authentic Chinese Food!

Chinese restaurants in North America ranges from your Americanized chop suey to your fusion food to your hardcore traditional authentic chinese food.  Being raised on good old authentic home-made chinese food all my life, there are always those nostalgic times when you want some traditional real chinese food.  Unfortunately, this is not readily available in Cleveland.  However, there is one place I that I know I can always go to for a taste of home cooking - Siam Cafe in downtown (asian town) Cleveland. This place although caters to every taste out there can still wok it up - almost as well as mom's home cooking.

Without further delay, I'm going to junk right into the food.  Me and my two other friends started off the meal with some good hearty soup to share.  Made of watercress and salty pork, tofu and mushroom, the soup was a clean start - almost like a broth or bouillon with some simple ingredients to start your meal off with.  Not greasy, slightly savory and very nutritious.  This is a typical beginning of a chinese meal; designed to wet your taste buds! There was plenty to go around for the three of us, as the waiter expertly ladled the soup out evenly for the three of us into soup bowls with enough for seconds all around.

We then went onto Siam stuffed wings for our appetizers.  Although the picture on the left seems to be just regular old fried wings; as you can see on the picture on the right; as their name describes, these wings are first stuffed with dumpling innards (a savory mix of pork, veggies and vermicelli) and then deep fried to create an amazing combination of fried wings most people have not experienced.  Dipped in the supplied sweet/sour and slightly spicy sauce the wings were a great start - very tasty, not over powering and a nice way to start the meal.  Although not a typical chinese dish; this modification of the regular fried wings is quite innovative and very tasty indeed.

Next, we went onto sauteed scallops with chinese vegetable stir fry.  The dish was very well prepared; although some may consider it slightly oily; but to properly prepare this dish; enough oil must be used to create enough heat for the scallops and veggies to stir fry and fold the flavors together.  Tossed in some garlic/green onions this dish was great and came out piping hot.  Very flavorful, fresh scallops and as you can see, plenty of scallops too!  A well done dish done in a very traditional way.  I was not disappointed at all.

Next, we shared a whole chicken; accompanied with a generous helping of soy-sauce; and green onion and ginger toppings.  Now this is a real home-style chinese dish.  The sauce is what makes the dish; and they hit it right on.  Lots of green onion and ginger strips submerged in their special soy sauce which is doused all over a perfectly seasoned (subtly seasoned) cooked whole chicken.  The sauce resonated its flavor through the chicken which was tender and flavorful throughout each and every piece.  A perfect dish to eat with the complimentary white rice (which soaks up all the chicken and sauce flavor) they always supply with any menu entree item you order.

Finally, our last dish we ordered was a tofu dish.  Tofu cubes were first fried and then re-cooked along with mushrooms and veggies in a light brown sauce - rendering the tofu, a savory, soft, and delightfully flavorful.  This dish, was also well done; nothing out of the ordinary, but solidly made.

The dishes we enjoyed at Siam cafe; although would not put them on the map as being a culinary break-through or anything innovative; but its these dependable flavors that remind us of home that make it so appealing.  Especially since these flavors remind us of home; Siam cafe is my go to place for home-cooking and I've never been disappointed.  Always good food; for very good price.  The service is personable, and the atmosphere is your typical chinese restaurant.  A good, tasty and filling meal.  So if you're ever craving some good authentic chinese food; don't hesitate to make it out to Siam Cafe -  i would definately recommend!


Overall: 4.00 out of 5 stars.

 Siam Cafe
3951 Saint Clair Ave NE
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216)361-2323

Mitchell's Fish Market - Never fails to please!

I know there are so many restaurants to choose from in Cleveland, and there is by no means a shortage of great places to eat - but with all aspects combined; great food, great service and ambiance, one of MY favorite go to places has and still is Mitchell's Fish Market.  I have been to this restaurant, once every other month for the past 4 years.  And to tell you the truth, each time they pretty much live up to my expectations.  My folks who were visiting from overseas; wanted to eat here again since they too have had a great experience each time they came and so I decided that since I eat there so often, it was due time I official do a review of ONE of my favorite places to eat.

We arrived at the restaurant, a little earlier than expected; but after giving them a call, and letting know about my early arrival, they were more than happy to seat me and my folks right away.  The hostess was very friendly and very accommodating. In fact, I think the overall service throughout the night; be it the wait staff, the food busser or the manager on duty were all done VERY well, very professional and very comfortably.  I was extremely satisfied, as everyone did they best to ensure not only great service, but strove to do their best to make everything we wanted happen.

Lets jump right into the food; as that without doubt the main reason I come here so often.  Once seated, we were immediately served water and our drink orders were taken; in addition there was no time wasted in providing us with the bread service while we took our time to look over the menu.  Now the bread itself was a sourdough loaf served with pretty standard whipped butter.  I wouldn't say it was anything to write home about, but it was a solid bread service.  WARM sourdough bread; crusty on the outside; soft and slightly chewy inside; and nice and toasty.  The butter was whipped and light; and easy to spread on the bread.  Its the small attention to details that I like - the fact that its simple bread done well.  Nothing special; but done well.

We ordered two appetizers to share between me and my parents.  First, we ordered our go-to appetizer at Fish Market which was the Kung Pao Calamari.  As always, it came out fresh, hot, crispy and very tasty.  A generous portion of calamari was lightly battered in a nice coating; and fried to perfection.  With a drizzle of lemon, and dip in the provided Kung Pao sauce on the side, they were throughly enjoyed.  The seasoning in the batter lended itself very well to the overall taste of the seafood which was very fresh.  The hint of spiciness accompanied by the pepper seasoning really brought out the flavor without overpowering the calamari's taste, in addition, the dish remained crispy and didn't get soggy at all which was a big plus.  Overall, very well done.

Both my parents and I wanted some more finger food before we got into the entrees and decided to order in addition to the calamari, some dip.  We chose the spinach and artichoke dip.  It came out piping hot, with a nice "crusty" topping with baked flat bread on the side.  The dip itself was very nice, very fresh ingredients, and tasty.  I wouldn't say it was ground-breaking, but it was a good dip; with a nice blend of flavors from the artichoke and creaminess; a decent dip - great finger food to start the meal with and share with the rest of the table as you chat for a bit before dinner, while enjoying a nice drink.

Next, I started off the main course of my meal with a nice hot cup of lobster bisque.  I love lobster bisque, but its hard to find a good quality cup now-a-days.  The lobster bisque here was great!  A good serving size, not too much; but enough for tasting without compromising your main course.  If you wanted more, you can opt for the bowl of soup.  The lobster bisque was very flavorful and full of lobster taste.  The soup wasn't overly creamy but thick enough to hold its own.  Again, it was very much enjoyed and done well.

And finally, my main course.  I chose the tuna - done rare and chose to have it done in their "simply grilled style".  Lets start with the freshness of the fish.  I have to say, this was FRESH.  I have had fish from all spectrum of freshness; and this tuna steak was very fresh.  The outside was grilled well; and the inside still rare and pink, just the way i like it.  A drizzle of butter was noticed on top which really gave the fish a nice tasty overall completeness.  It wasn't overly seasoned; in fact done just right to allow you to enjoy the freshness of the fish itself.  The portion size was very good and with a squeeze of lemon; this was and still remains one of my favorite standby dishes to get from them.

Finally, to end this great dinner; we shared their crazy big sharksfin pie.  A huge slice of ice cream pie with an oreo crust.  Nothing CRAZY per say, but a very nice dessert; and great for sharing around the table as the size of this slice of pie is humongous. 

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience.  Mitchell's has never let me down, in terms of both food and service.  They do their best to make our visit enjoyable, and the food is fresh, tasty and worth the value.  Definately recommended to all who want great food/great service!

Overall: 4.50 out of 5 stars.

Mitchell's Fish Market
28601 Chagrin Blvd
Woodmere, OH 44122
 (216) 765-3474
www.mitchellsfishmarket.com/ 

California Pizza Kitchen - A good chain event!

While I usually don't write too much or think too much about large international chain food restaurants, as I believe their food becomes a little too cookie cutter like and not worth noting (kinda snobby - i know), my folks who were in town from overseas (Hong Kong) had a craving for pizza and were looking for some eccentric toppings and not so much your traditional italian toppings.  Me on the other hand wanted something more traditional and old school - so to compromise I decided to take my folks to CPK.  Although, its been while since i've been here, I've always remembered them to give a pretty decent experience each time.  Nothing crazy enough to make me write home about, but always a quality, and tasty experience.

So, we went pretty early to avoid the dinner rush; and by arriving around 5:30 at the the CPK at Legacy Mall in Beachwood, we were seated pretty soon, which was a big change.  Although seating was pretty prompt, the waitress in charge of our table; really was lacking in terms of caring for our table or wanting to serve our table at all.  She didn't tell us of any specials that were going on that day, although I clearly heard it from the waiter from the next table - and it took a while for our drinks to come.  But alas, we came to CPK for the food and not the service.

KUNG PAO SPAGHETTI

We wanted to get an appetizer to share amongst the four of us, but couldn't decide on a the small plates they had for a variety of the ingredients would have been repeated in the pizzas we chose to have.  So in the end we decided to get an order of pasta; and share it amongst the four of us.  We chose the Kung Pao Spaghetti.   Now I know, you will probably all be wondering why we would get this at CPK.  But to tell you the truth, this dish came out very well.  I was truly surprised how tasty it was.  It wasn't your typical spaghetti, obviously this is not what CPK is known for - but the sauce was a very nice spicy flavor and was well incorporated into the pasta.  It coated the pasta well; with just enough oil but not too much to over do the dish.  If you're looking for a asian-inspired pasta dish - this was well done.  The portion size was relatively small - but since we were sharing it between four of us as an appetizer, it served us quite well.

4 SEASONS - THIN CRUST

For my pizza, I chose their new 4 seasons pizza from their thin crust pizza selection.  The pizza contained a light tomato based sauce with salami, roasted artichokes, mozzarella, onions and Parmesan cheese on a thin crispy crust.  I have to admit, I enjoyed the pizza quite well.  It came out piping fresh; but not hot enough to burn the top of my mouth.  The toppings; although not as traditional as your normal italian pizzeria would suggest, but worked very well; and both the amount of toppings and the size of the pizza was perfect.  Large enough to share with two people, but enough to fill you up to the brim if you were hungry and wanted your own (as I was last night).  The meats and cheeses worked well together; and the thin crust was nice and crispy - much lighter than your regular crust and less doughy, and I thought made the pizza pretty enjoyable.  Overall, a quality pizza, nice and tasty, and surprisingly well done for a chain.  In fact, I would suggest this pizza if you were in search for a meaty; kind of traditional flavor from them.

The other three pizzas my folks went for included the: Jamaican Jerk Chicken (mom's), Roasted Garlic Chicken (dad's) and the Sicilian (sister's).  They were all pretty satisfied with their pizza - knowing it wasn't an italian restaurant they were in, and were expecting something a little different.  The roasted garlic; was slightly dry as the chicken breasts were probably roasted and re done in the oven for a tad too long; and without a sauce on the bottom; the pizza may be too dry for some; but still flavorful.  The Jamaican Jerk Chicken; a favorite of my mom's came out as always.  Nice and juicy; saucy and non-traditional.  It wasn't so much a pizza but more a mix of so called jamaican toppings over some grilled bread.  BUT the taste worked well.  Very saucy; slightly sweet and slightly spicy.  Interesting and for some reason, always had the most toppings of all our pizzas.  As for the Sicilian my sister got - it was a well done thin crust pizza; nothing too special, but good tasty meats over a red sauce pizza; well done; but nothing crazy to write about.

A interesting note - my parents who live in Hong Kong, tried CPK in Hong Kong and they mentioned that the pizza's tasted much better here then back home.  Interesting!!!!

Overall, I would say that the experience was enjoyable.  For a chain; they did pretty well in terms of their food taste. The variety is huge; and the service is passable.  So if you are looking for something a little different, a little fun; and you are in the area, I would say CPK is definately a potential choice!  In terms of the price; the pizzas are pretty well priced; in the median range of pizzas too.  A pleasant experience, and an enjoyable night!


Overall: 3.75 out of 5 stars.

California Pizza Kitchen
25365 Cedar Rd
Lyndhurst, OH 44122
(216) 382-4907
www.cpk.com 

Happy Dog - Makes me so happy!

Was really craving some good ol' junk food and me and the sister/bro-in-law decided we wanted some hot dogs.  Well if hot dogs were on the menu; we didn't have to think too long before the three of us decided we were going to be heading to HAPPY DOG!  So, the three of us headed to the west side of Cleveland to this bar/grill/hot dog heaven!

As we walk in, it was a little early, around 6:00pm and the place was still relatively quiet.  Music was at a good level, with the college football game on TV, it was a nice environment with a welcoming vibe.  The wait staff were very friendly, and very efficient; coming over to ask for our drink orders and give us our cutlery as soon as we sat down.  The three of us; were super eager to get our orders in and so we quickly hunched over our order forms.

For those who have never been to Happy Dog before; this place is famous for their hot dogs simple enough.  They have either a choice of the regular meat hot dogs or you can get an order of their vegetarian dog.  You then put on as many toppings as you want at no extra charge.  You can also order a side of fries or of course; they're tater tots with your choice of sauces.

My first dog; I topped with a fried egg; had their amazing brazilian chimichurri, cheddar cheese; saffron aioli and truffle mustard.  It was devine.  The toppings melted together; and although I thought it may be overpowering, but in fact it worked very very well.  I loved it.  It really gave me the junk food fix I was looking for.

My second dog I got with cheese whiz, chorizo chilli, blue cheese coleslaw, spanish onion, and tomatoes.  As you can see, they really do not skimp on giving you the toppings and again, I totally loved my hot dog.

I think this is a great concept that Happy Dog has going on.  With a list as long as the one on the left of toppings; and with innovative toppings as they are, the sky is the limit with what you come up with.  The hot dog wieners themselves aren't anything out of this world, but they are good, quality 1/4 pounder meat dogs that really satisfy you and do its job very well.  I had a big order of tater tots with a bunch of dipping sauces which really was great.  I really enjoyed my visit here.  You get exactly what you are looking for, a good hot dog with the uniqueness of innovative toppings, good quality toppings too.  I was completely satisfied with my visit; and when the cravings hit again (which will definately be soon) i'll make the visit without another thought. 

Overall: 4.0 out of 5 stars.

Happy Dog Inc
5801 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102-3001
(216) 651-9474
www.happydogcleveland.com 

Bricco - A lacking experience...

I don't like to write negative reviews; in fact I rarely do unless I'm absolutely sure that the negative experience I've had wasn't a fluke.  So it is after the second straight time at Bricco's where I left the restaurant with somewhat of a bad taste (literally and figuratively)that I have come to the come to the conclusion that, this restaurant, is really not up to par.  The location is great - amazing - in fact, but unfortunately, that is the best thing they have working for them. That, and the decor.  When I walked into the restaurant, both times, I enjoyed the design.  It gives the place; a good hip, in-crowd feel.  But the pleasant feelings I get from the location and decor are quickly diminished.  In this review, I will only recount the experience of my latest visit - as my first visit was more than 2 months ago, and I would feel bad if my absolute details were not there.  Yesterday's visit will be the focal point of this review though.

Walking in with a few of my buddies, we were in a good mood.  We had tickets to the improv club later on in the night; and were looking forward to the stand up comedian we were about to see, however, the hostess acknowledged us with a very tired and uninterested greeting; almost as if she was too tired to work.  It was 6:00pm on a Saturday night; and the place had 1 table; come on, get some energy!

Anyways, we ignored the monotonous greeting and sat down; hungry and eager to get our eat on.  Water glasses were quickly filled, but our waitress took her time coming by, but eventually got our drink orders in.  Surprisingly, we were only told of the "red snapper" special, and she quickly left.  No worries because there were plenty of choices on the menu already.  The waitress took our orders; with a very defined lack of interest; which all three of us were rather surprised because we were extremely polite and cheerful at the moment.  What really got me though, was a few minutes after we had placed our orders and another table was seated next to us; their server gave them a much more descriptive run through of the special which included much more than just the red snapper, which left us surprised and somewhat annoyed as a few of those specials sounded quite appealing.  Annoyed we didn't get to hear about those choices; and surprised they have such a difference in service between servers. But anyways, onto the food:

I know, I know....I always mention that I don't talk or care too much about the bread service. But, I always eat the bread at the restaurant and I believe that its a good indication of how much care they take in their details and the small things.  Bricco's obviously did not care.  The bread, must have had good intentions at one point; it was solid italian bread; crusty outside and soft in the inside....AT SOME POINT.  But not when we were served it last night during our bread service.  Our bread was stale, and tasted like 2 day old bread they sell on sale.  The butter, also had good intentions....it was a honey flavored whipped butter, or it was intended to be; but it was kept in the fridge for so long or chilled too much that it came out solid instead of whipped and when we dipped our butter knives into it; the butter basically crumbled into small bits and pieces.  Oh well, we tried to salvage this by asking for olive oil - which was greeting with....a heavy SIGH.  really????

Next, was my salad.  I chose to get a spinach salad with bacon bits, cheese, eggs and a warm balsamic vinaigrette.  It wasn't bad.  Good portions, lots of spinach, plenty of toppings and the sauce wasn't bad at all.  In fact, I would say the taste of the salad wasn't that bad at all.  At a price of $8, it was passable.  Nothing to write home about, but I would recommend getting the salad if you do end up at Bricco.

For my entree, I decided to get a pizza because I had tried their entree last time and had a very bad experience. 2 very bad experiences in one sitting last time, in fact, because the entree I ordered last time had to be sent back once because they forgot to heat up my food (literally, the side dishes were premade and was still cold) and the second time because they prepared it the complete opposite from what I asked.  Thus, this time, I chose to go with the pizza - a meaty pizza with three different meats; and the red sauce.  I was actually quite looking forward to this pizza as the description was quite enticing. So the pizza arrived; nice and hot.  At least it was fresh - I'll give it that.  And honestly, the pizza wasn't terrible, but you would expect more than "not terrible" when you go out to eat right?  The pizza had all the toppings they listed; the chorizo, the bacon, the ham, and red marinara sauce.  But it just didn't come together.  The sauce was so spicy that it overpowered everything, and I basically couldn't taste the flavor of the meats.  It was more a textural feature that told me I was eating a meaty pizza rather than the taste.  And I can eat spicy food.  I've even had the infamous ghost pepper in my curry before and lived to eat another day.  But the spiciness of the sauce just overpowered and lost the pizza entirely for me. The big thing for me was; I couldn't even taste the tomato from the marinara sauce.  With great expectations - I was left rather unimpressed.

We ended the night with coffee's all around, and at least that wasn't a problem.  We left, stomachs full, but tastebuds - disappointed, and overall unimpressed.  The service was rather lacking; to a point where I felt it was close to borderline rude.  The food was plentiful, and location great, but next time before a show, I think I'd rather choose another venue to eat.

Overall: 2.25 out of 5 stars.

Bricco (Cleveland)
1438 Euclid ave
Cleveland, OH 44115
(216) 862-2889
www.briccocleveland.com

Cleveland Chop House

It had been a while since I've had a good hearty steak out at a restaurant because first of all, I haven't really been to a nice steakhouse as of the past few months, and in that situation; I'd rather cook my own steak at home than eat a bad quality one at a regular restaurant that doesn't specialize in it.  However, I've heard good things about the Cleveland ChopHouse and their steaks and how they are a "a real steakhouse" that are at times mentioned along the same sentences as Mortons or Flemings (which I do enjoy once in a while), I decided to give this place a shot.

My first impression upon entering the chophouse was that; I really liked the decor.  It wasn't overly modern, but looked well renovated, yet still retained an old school chophouse look (if that makes any sense at all).  They had tall sturdy booths; and nice big tables and big large comfy chairs.  I took my older sister out on this occasion as the two of us haven't really had some alone (brother-sister bond time) in a while.  We were seated immediately upon arrival, and promptly served ice water while our server appeared upon our table within moments after settling down to take our drink orders.  The service over all was very competent; nothing extra-ordinary; but simple and adequate.  Water and drinks were refilled quickly and efficiently; and the server came to check on us twice during the meal and things went very smoothly.

On to the Food!!  Overall, the food was...good!  I enjoyed it quite well.  It was exactly what you would expect from a decent/good steakhouse:

CORN BREAD

Again, I don't normally mention the bread, or at least I won't post a picture of it; but their bread service was that of a freshly made corn bread still in its pan.  It was different from your run of the mill french/italian bread offerings most places provide.  In fact, I have to admit; the corn bread was really really good.  It was a ample amount; more than the two of us could finish, nice and buttery and hot; but not overy greasy.  And it came with a sweet whipped butter that really complemented it well.  In fact; I enjoyed the corn bread so much that if they didn't provide this as their bread service; I would order it for the table next time I came.  It was that good.

CAESAR SALAD with anchovies

My steak meal came with a side Caesar salad.  Interestingly, I was offered the option of having anchovies in it; which again was a little added touch I rather appreciated.  I've had anchovies on my salad before, but didn't expect this chop house to have this offering.  I definately appreciated it as the salad turned out rather well.  Fresh greens, crunchy croutons, and a cheese; but not overly strong sauce mixed well with fresh Parmesan cheese slices.  The anchovies went well with the salad giving it a sharp switch in gear to the creaminess the sauce provided.  Paired with the already raved about corn bread; the salad was pretty good.  Don't get me wrong, the salad isn't worth coming to the steak house itself; but it was a good salad that I enjoyed.

NY STRIP 16OZ - medium rare, with white cheddar mashed potatoes

I got the 16oz, NY strip steak, done medium rare.  Actually, I ordered it; "Chicago - medium rare" which means on the outside; medium rare in the inside.  Our server was confused for 2 seconds and then piped up with "OH!, that's a pittsburg"!  So, apparently, they're version of chicago (or charred outside) with the inside being more rare is known as the pittsburg.  Good to know!  Anyways, I would have been perfectly happy with just a regular medium rare done steak; but the fact they could do it this way; was an added bonus and a testament to not just a regular run in the mill restaurant doing steak; but that they take their steak seriously.
The quality of the meat was great.  Choice quality; good marbling on the NY strip; and they really did give me a 16oz steak.  Cooked to order.  Charred outside; while the meat was still medium rare once I cut into it.  Seasoned simply; but well enough that I could taste the quality and the dry aged steak flavor.  I really enjoyed the steak; and was very satisfied.  The potatoes were good.  Nothing too special; just done well and flavorful.  But the steak stole the show as it was good quality meat; and cooked very well.

Overall, I had a very good impression of my dining experience.  The food was very well executed and just as you would expect from a decent to quality steakhouse.  It is not your top of line Morton's steakhouse; but it is close enough without having to pay the high end price tag that comes with Morton's.  In fact; ChopHouse was not too expensive; rather a very well priced; very well done meal.  Service again, was adequate and efficient and overall I enjoyed my experience.

Overall: 4.00 out of 5 stars.

Cleveland Chop House & Brewery
824 W Saint Clair Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113-1266
(216) 623-0909
http://www.chophouse.com/