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Restaurant Week Review, Part 2

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This is the 3rd of 4 posts containing updates and reviews from our restaurant week.   You can read other posts on this great week here and here. The Greenhouse Tavern is going to get it’s own post because it was hands down the best meal we’ve had in Cleveland. These posts are pretty Cleveland-centric…for any of you not from NE Ohio, there is a bit of mommy-blogging at the bottom of this post.

On Wednesday I was kind of feeling that going out 5 nights in a row was too much. I was not feeling well after too much foie gras the night before and Mark was going to the Indians game so we were headed for an early dinner. The choice for the evening was Ponte Vechhio on the Superior Viaduct, which Mark chose.  He can’t recall how he heard about this place – he thinks it was on the website for Cleveland Independents but isn’t sure.  Either way it was a charming find.  The food was good, the view was spectacular and the service prompt. One of the really nice things is that you can get most of their pasta entrees as a half order, which is exactly what I did to give my stomach a break.

I started with a Caprese salad which was well done with fresh, homegrown tomatoes and a light dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar – nothing special but a well done Caprese. Mark had the Ceasar which he really enjoyed; it was not overly dressed and had a pleasant tang. For dinner I had a half order of Goat Cheese Ravioli which was the perfect size – 3 large pasta pockets. They were served in a brown butter and balsamic vinegar sauce with cantaloupe and prosciutto. I really liked the taste of the slightly warm melon with the goat cheese and prosciutto, I’m not a big fan of cantaloupe plain but I really enjoyed this pairing. Mark had a full order of the Spaghetti Bolognese which gave him enough for lunch the next day. From my bite I found it a really well balanced dish which wasn’t over powered by the flavor of the sausage.  Mark declared it very good with perfectly cooked pasta and a nice, meaty sauce.  His only complaint was that it lacked the hit of garlic he was looking for. We shared a dessert of tiramisu which was…odd.  Instead of the classic ladyfingers theirs had some sort of soaked chocolate cake with pecans.  It was okay, but not at all what we were expecting.

The real charm of Ponte Vechhio is their amazing view of the city. It’s location, tucked far down on Superior Viaduct, is not the easiest to find but I think it would be a fantastic location for a romantic dinner. We were there too early in the evening to enjoy the city all lit up but I’m sure it’s beautiful. They do have a covered outdoor eating area, but it doesn’t have the same views. If you go, ask for a seat by a window to take full advantage.

…………

Yesterday we picked up M after 5 days with my parents and our house is already trashed.  We are so happy to have her back, and from the looks of my mom and dad they were happy to hand her off. M has been talking our ear off with all the highlights of her week including a trip to the Toledo Zoo, the Lima Historical Museum (I didn’t even know they had one) and all the adventures she had with her beloved cousins. She learned new songs – The Beatles Yellow Submarine was their song of the week – and I swear she grew an inch. My parents also discovered her love for hamburgers – something she would never touch before (I’m sure she saw her cousins eating them).  She keeps telling us “I’m so happy to be here” and we are elated to have her back.  This morning Mark suggested we go find Brandywine Falls in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and we had a great time hiking the Brandywine George Trail and playing ing the Brandywine River. She spent a solid 30 minutes tossing rocks into the stream and almost walked the entire 1.5 mile, “difficult” trail…. Mark had to carry her up the steepest hill, poor guy.

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Her school doesn’t start back up until Thursday so Mark and I are taking turns next week staying home with her. Hopefully the weather is nice so we can do some more exploring.

Genetics

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When I was at my parents house this weekend I looked through some of their old photo albums.  M looks so much like Mark that I was hoping to see some resemblance to me at nearly the same age.  There is a little bit, but she’s still mostly Mark’s child in the looks department:

MaggieKate_age3

While I was digging through albums I looked for the likeness of my niece and nephews to my brother and sister as well.  I think you can safely say that my brother created a mini-me (both about age 5 1/2 in the pictures. The nephew is now almost 11):

BenMike_age5

My sister’s oldest is also a mini-me.  And she is in more ways then just looks, trust me. Both are in the summer of their 8th year here:

MeganJill_age8

My sister’s youngest has been the spitting image of his father practically from birth…there’s no questioning this kids parentage:

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As I mentioned before, M is at “Grandma & Grandpa Camp” this week with 2 of her 3 cousins.  The age spread between the 3 is very close to that of my sister, brother and I. Here is 1980 & 2009:

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My mom looks pretty good after 29 years, don’t you think?

Weekend Road Trip

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Last Friday as I was sitting at work I had the overwhelming feeling that we needed to get out of town.  Mark is working on the never-ending freelance project, the weather has been rainy and cool and we are still several weeks away from our “official” summer vacation. I had enough Marriott Rewards Points burning a hole in my pocket for a couple of nights stay so I started trying to figure out where we could go.  I wanted someplace only 2-3 hours away, a location that would be new(ish) to all of us and a place that was very kid friendly.  So after looking at the map and Marriott locations, I booked 2 nights in Pittsburgh. I have only been there once – for about 2 hours, and Mark hasn’t been there since before we met. I DM’d Kyle Roth on Twitter, a former Pburg resident and huge Steelers fan (brave man, living in Cleveland), for some ideas and within about 15 minutes I had a list of activities and recommended restaurants.  I love Twitter!

As soon as we a got home we threw together suitcases and hit the road. We were staying in the Shadyside neighborhood and arrived around 7:30. Despite all the great restaurants in the area and suggestions from friends on Twitter we ended up at Max & Erma’s.  I normally loathe chains, especially when traveling, but sometimes when it’s late, your kid is hungry and you are in a strange place  they are they easiest choice.  I will say that we briefly checked out a couple of other places which were either too busy (a wait for seating) or too fancy to take the girl before settling on M&E. After dinner we checked into our hotel where I had booked a king + sofa bed since it was the only thing available on-line.  I asked if they had any 2-bed rooms available and the desk clerk typed furiously on two different computers for a bit and finally said “I don’t have any 2-queen rooms, but why don’t I put you in a king suite? That way you can have your own room and your daughter can have the sofa bed in the living room.” SCORE!  The room was huge – kitchen/bar area, king bedroom and a living room.  I am so spoiled – this is really the ONLY way to travel with a kid for more then one night.

Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast out of the food we brought and headed over to the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum to be there when it opened.  It is such a fun place!  I loved the Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood area …they have an actual sweater and pair of his shoes!  The whole place was great – especially the studio art area and the waterworks play area.  Mark and I were in awe of the fantastic re-use of the old buildings. We spent about 3 hours playing before we headed back to the hotel for a nap.  In the afternoon we headed over to The Strip area and strolled around. It is full of ethnic markets, knick-knacks shops, more ugly Steelers crap then you can imagine and lots of characters.  Unfortunately we got there just before most of the stores were closing.  Next trip we will go down on a Saturday morning to enjoy the markets. We checked out Kaya and while it looked very good, was not what we were in the mood for. So we headed back to Shadyside and went to Harris Grill (which was the one with the wait the night before); it’s been around since 1927 so we figured they were doing something right. They have an awesome patio and a menu filled with pub food – sandwiches and appetizers – exactly what we were after. The menu is very funny to peruse and Mark and I both got sandwiches with sides of mac & cheese.  Very good, hearty food and you gotta love a place that has “bacon night” when baskets of crispy bacon are free at the bar. They also had a great beer and cocktail list.  We were there early, but it had started to fill up when we left.
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Today we got up and arrived at Pamela’s Restaurant right as it opened and it was already just about full.  I had the flapjacks and they were everything they are said to be. Yum!  I can see why they have devoted fans of those pancakes. By the time we left there was a line about 4 tables deep. We went back to the hotel, packed up and had plans to spend a good chunck of the day at the Duquesne Incline and downtown followed by lunch at either the Original Hot Dog Shop (aka The Dirty O) or Primanti Brothers (which is very much like what we can get at Panini’s in Cleveland) before heading home. But we packed up our car in a downpour and the skies were grey and rainy in all directions.  We decided to still do the incline (which M loved; the industriousness of the people who came up with that thing is amazing) and then since it was still rainy and grey we headed home.  Of course about 10 miles out of town the skies cleared and the sun came out.
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All in all it was a great trip – lots to see and do, beautiful vistas and great food.  It’s a very easy drive and we will be going back soon, maybe for just a day trip. The only two negatives I can think of is 1) parking sucks everywhere and 2) you can’t go a block without seeing fugly Steelers junk for sale.

Of course on the way home we stopped at the new(ish) Sonic in Streetsboro and managed to spill not one, but TWO Diet Cokes all over the inside of my car. So getting home early allowed me time to scrub, wash and vacuum it all out. Welcome home!

In Which I was THAT Parent

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I never intended to be that parent.  The one who thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to bring a kid everywhere with them.  You will never see me with a baby at the opening night of the summer blockbuster. I won’t be the one with a kid at a boozy “fest” concert. And before Tuesday night I would have never, ever been the parent leading her toddler to a table at this city’s best-known posh restaurant. But circumstances were such that our not-quite-3-year old daughter has now been to one of Cleveland’s premier high-end restaurants.

Usually when it’s not abundantly clear that kids are welcome and expected (usually evident by a kids section on the on-line menu or by seeing it for myself during a kid-free visit), I will call a restaurant first. I got a green-light from the Greenhouse Tavern before we sampled their fare. I called Crop Bistro first when we were thinking about a family dinner there and I stopped by Saravá one day to see if kids are welcome.  However, there are some places that I don’t think I would even ask – places that cater more to the date-night or adult-night-out crowd and even if they allow kids, I don’t think it’s appropriate*. One Walnut, Fahrenheit, & Michael Symon’s famed Lola would all make that list.  But Lola is exactly where we found ourselves on Tuesday evening.

A friend was in town from San Francisco for one night and was staying right by E 4th Street.  When he realized that the Iron Chef’s place was right there, he wanted to see if we could get in.  To be fair, Mark did go in and talk to the hostess before we even took M inside and she gave us the all-clear.  But oh boy, the LOOKS we got as we crossed the restaurant!  Some of the other patrons seemed to recoil in horror when they saw our cute sundress-clad girl.  I felt awful because in all honestly I would totally be recoiling if the situation was reversed.  I went into hyper-mom mode – being very alert to every sound and movement she made, and doing my damndest to make sure she didn’t disturb anyone around us.

Once we got settled into our booth (thank God we had a booth!) things were fine.  We are lucky that 80% of the time M is very good in restaurants.  I had toys and snacks in my purse to appease her and without even asking the server brought her a glass of milk. When she did start to get a bit lively Mark & I took turns bringing her outside to see the people, flowers and street musicians of E 4th Street. She tried a bit of the beef cheek pierogi but then decided that those awesome Lola fries were all she wanted to eat (can’t really blame her!). And sometimes the price you pay for bringing a kid into an adult restaurant is that they eat a dinner of french fries and milk. But it keeps them quiet and busy so it’s all good.

Dinner was fabulous if a bit hard to enjoy with all the toddler wrangling. Mark and I knew from a previous visit that the portions are large so we split the pierogi appetizer and the pork chop entrée. Once again we both wanted to lick our plates clean. And to anyone who was also in the restaurant on Tuesday night – I hope the presence of our little girl didn’t bother you too much, I promise it will never happen again.

*edited to add: I don’t think it’s appropriate for two reasons: 1) Most people go to places like that for a relaxing evening away from kids and 2) it’s really hard to fully enjoy the meal when you are busy making sure your kid doesn’t cause a scene. So even though Chefs Widow – someone who has lived and breathed the restaurant scene from the inside – says not to sweat it, it still do.

Sewing is not a Superpower (or maybe it is)

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We are in the throws of potty training around here and having some success. At home we use pull-ups most of the time but daycare is of the “anti-pull-up” philosophy so M can go through up to 4 outfits a day there. It’s kind of like having an infant all over again. 

After a week or two of doing laundry every single night just to keep the kid in clean duds at school I got fed up.  On Friday she and I hit the discount-store circuit in search of cheap princess undies (the ONLY princess stuff she’s allowed to wear) and scored some “irregulars” at Burlington Coat Factory for next to nothing.  She now has a dozen freshly laundered pairs for school, complete with her name in Sharpie on the waistband. 

Now for the clothing question.  Mark already purchased a couple of cheap shorts  (can I tell you how much I love that Garanimals is back and costs only about $3 per item?) but they weren’t enough.  This girl needs to have a stash of at least 4 things to wear at school at all times.  This drastically cut down on the rotation of warm-weather outfits in the drawers at home.  So faced with a long weekend and with a stack of fabric still sitting on the shelf she now has two new sundresses to add to her repertoire:

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It’s impossible to get this kid to stand still AND look at the camera in the same moment

These were made using the instructions found here, which I found from Sweet Juniper Woodcraft (I pink puffy heart Wood for finding these great, easy projects).  This dress is incredibly easy and anyone with a machine who can sew a straight(ish) line can crank one out in fewer than 2 hours.

The first one I finished on Saturday morning while M and Mark were at the Farmer’s Market.  I hung it up just inside the door and when she came in she squealed “my new dress!” and started pulling her clothes off in anticipation of putting it on.  The dragon dress I finished that evening while she was sleeping and hung it at the bottom of the stairs. Sunday morning she put it on over her pajamas and declared it a “perfect princess dress!” (okay, kid – if you want to think navy-blue Chinese dragons are princessy, please continue).

I loved the instant satisfaction of making this dress along with the feeling of being a magician when I take raw fabric and turn it into something awesome. I want to make more but I think 2 dresses are enough for M. Instead I’m planning on using 2 coordinating fabrics to make dresses for my cousin’s girls (one is nearly 2, the other 6 months old) for when we see them next month. That way I can still get my seamstress on while looking like a superhero-sewing mama to my family. Because you know, it’s all about me after all.

Summer Days Driftin’ Away

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I love this town in the summer. There is so much to do and never a shortage of family-friendly activities, especially in the summer. After being cooped up all winter every weekend (any many weeknights) we are hopping in the car and heading off to some festival, market or parade. M loves going to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings:

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There are free concerts and street fairs, parades and pools. I know it’s like this just about everywhere in the summer, but we are really enjoying the diversity of activites, exploring the surrounding the communities and getting out of the hot, messy house for some free/cheap entertainment. Being on Twitter just adds to the fun becuase I learn about all kinds of great events from other Clevelanders. Just in the last couple of weeks we went to Parade the Circle:

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Coventry Street Fair (where we met Kyle and Erica Roth & kids):

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Shaker Summer Solstice Festival  and the Cleveland Zoo:

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Tonight I think we are going to hit our first Wade Oval Wednesday.  On tap for upcoming weeks are Gourmets/Cocktails in the Garden, checking out some of the beaches, hitting the Burning River Fest, Feast of the Assumption, and M’s first trip to Cedar Point. I’m sure there will also be lots of exploring in parks and swimming in the wading pool along the way.

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The living really is easy because I would much rather spend my time in the sun playing with my girl then inside cooking, cleaning & doing laundry. The house is a wreck, but it doesn’t matter because we are never inside.  Mark grills out almost every night on our awesome new grill (a gift from mom & dad).  So come on over and enjoy the Cleveland summer with us – just don’t be offended if we don’t invite you in.

This Old House

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I love old houses. I adore the charm, the craftsmanship and the history. Our first house – in Toledo’s amazing Old West End neighborhood* – was a 1912 bungalow and it was love at first sight (tiny kitchen and all). We didn’t do much to that house other then some paint and a few new plumbing fixtures. Our current home in Shaker Heights is a much larger colonial which needs some cosmetic and mechanical work.  Of course when you prefer old houses you usually give up some conveniences like central A/C and, in the case of both our houses, a dishwasher (but we cut out a cabinet a few months ago and put one in and for the first time in 7 years didn’t have to hand-wash our dishes).

What I’m saying is for us old houses fit best even with the trade-offs.  Because in a newer house you don’t always get the moulding, the solid wood doors, the built-ins or the glass doorknobs over brass plates and locks with keys. But a few nights ago we realized why the modernization of the lock was such a good thing.  If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you probably saw my update about M locking herself inside our bedroom and the lengths we had to go through to get her out.  All the bedroom doors in our house have old-fashioned keyholes and skeleton keys.  We hardly ever use them and the keys mostly reside on the top of the door frame.  Apparently the key was in the lock on the inside of our bedroom door because M somehow managed to not only slam the door shut but turn the key.

My first reaction was to laugh – I couldn’t help but think that we had joined the ranks of the millions of parents who have some dramatic story about their kid locking themselves in something – a room, a car, a garage, etc.  Mark didn’t have the same outlook and got mad at me for laughing.  We tried to get M to turn the key but she didn’t quite comprehend the request.  We tried using a key from the hallway, but with the key in the lock from the other side we couldn’t get it in. We took the doorknob apart but discovered the lock was a separate mechanism and we still couldn’t unlock the door.  I still was laughing at this point – much to my husbands dismay – because I figured we could go in through the window since we never remember to lock them. The thing about old wood windows is that they are usually pretty lose in the frame making it easy to open from the outside if they are unlocked – not so great for the heating bill, but perfect for breaking and entering. Then M hurt her finger as she was trying to turn the inside key and started to cry.  I stopped laughing and barked at Mark to go get the ladder and go through the window.

I told M to get down to the floor so I could see her under the door and she was so pathetic – “mama, come closer to me! Kiss my boo-boo!”.  Then I could hear Mark trying to open the side window without any luck.  The noise scared M and I felt awful that I couldn’t comfort her.  Mark moved around to the front window and managed to get it open and as I watched through the keyhole M went over to see what he was doing.  When he climbed in and opened the door I said “M, daddy saved you!” and she said “Daddy, you my Prince Eric!” (Little Mermaid reference).  M was none worse for the wear, I was laughing about it again and Mark was mad at me again for laughing.

You gotta love old houses with their old locks and loose windows.

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On a related note, we are starting to get estimates to replace/upgrade the 90-year-old electrical system and replace the original boiler.  Hold me.


*Seriously – the OWE is like a magical place: porch parties, close knit neighbors, super-low taxes and amazing houses.  It had it’s downfalls (piss-poor school system and crime) but man I miss the old ‘hood.  Good thing we are going back to visit during the OWE Festival this weekend.

Wednesday Tacos

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A few years ago I started randomly receiving a “lady’s magazine” in the mail (Ladies Home Journal, Woman’s Day or some such nonsense).  I never ordered or paid for this subscription and yet I got it every month for at least a year.  Whatever magazine it was, it was pretty much geared to the 30-40 something housewife so I was NOT the target audience.  The only thing I ever looked at before pitching the whole thing was a feature called 1-2-3 Recipe. Each month they had some crazy concoction made of only 3 ingredients and there were some interesting things featured.  But one of those recipes makes a near-weekly appearance on our table. I’m pretty sure I found this before M was born and she loves it now.  Both Mark and I have made it for work potluck lunches and we are always asked for the recipe.  I love how easy it is and how flexible it can be.  Here it is: our go-to meal in less then 20 minutes.

1-2-3 Taco’s (as written, as close as I can remember)
1 lb ground beef
1 package Knorr/Lipton “Fiesta Sides” Taco Rice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Brown the beef in a saucepan and drain the fat.  Add the rice & 2 cups water, stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 7 minutes.  Add in beans and heat through.  Serve as filling in taco shells top with your favorite  accrutements. (They cheat a bit with the 3 ingredient list since they tell you to serve in a taco shell which should totally be counted as ingredient #4).

Now here are my riffs on the theme:

  • Use any protein you want – we’ve done beef, turkey, chicken, buffalo and even meatless protein crumbles.
  • If you don’t want to add the Knorr stuff – use minute rice and your own blend of taco seasonings – just follow the package directions for amount of water and cooking time.
  • Or use precooked rice (leftovers work great) + taco seasoning for an even faster meal.
  • Add 2 or more cans of black beans to stretch the recipe for a crowd.
  • Add in veggies – we almost always add 1/2 bag of frozen corn and diced tomatoes.  When they are in season we add 2-3 diced red or yellow bell peppers, too. Maybe some cilantro if we have it around.
  • Make sure to add extra spice if adding a bunch of extras or it will be bland
  • Serve in shells or tortillas, over greens for a taco salad or just scoop some into a bowl and top with some crushed tortilla chips.
  • To take it to a potluck, cook it the night before and then transfer to the crock to reheat.  Take sour cream, salsa, & cheese so people can assemble their own.

We are NEVER with out the ingredients for this dish – I buy Trader Joe’s canned black beans in sixes.  It takes about 15-20 minutes and all three of us like it.  It can be pretty healthy if you use ground turkey or chicken breast, add in veggies and are careful with your toppings. This easily feeds all of us for 2 dinners and gives Mark and I 3-4 lunches – more if we add in extra beans and veggies. It’s cheap, too… under $10 for 8-10 servings.

Try this out for your family and let me know if they liked it – and share your own riffs on the recipe!

Quickie

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First – another Oliver + S Lazy Days skirt.  This one took about an hour including making the hem “ribbon” from fabric.  The fabric has been sitting im my mom’s basement for nearly a decade – it was just enough for this adorable skirt.  M loves it and had to wear it to school today.

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And also – I want this:
Madsen Cycles Cargo Bikes
and they are giving two away. How fun would it be to ride to the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, or haul M and a friend to the park?