What Am I Doing at Deagan's Kitchen?

Lakewood.... it's far from where I live, so what am I doing at Deagan's Kitchen in Lakewood, Ohio?  Well, I was headed out for a night on the town, dinner and a play, with my friend Cindy.  We were going to see Carrie, The Musical at the very wonderful Beck Center in Lakewood and it was my job to find a place to dine beforehand.  So looking at places near the Beck, I found Deagan's Kitchen and we decided to give it a whirl.

When the day arrived though, we were both running late and were worried that we might not make it through dinner and to the play on time.  It was a dilemma, but we decided to give it a go.  We got to the restaurant and decided we would tell our waitress that we were in a bit of a hurry.  That worked out well.  She was more than happy to help us along.  We started out with the fabulous roasted nut appetizer.  These were cashews, walnuts, almonds (both regular and Marcona), and pecans.  They were roasted with rosemary and served warm.  I so loved these flavor bombs.  Warm nuts, seriously does it get better?  The aroma alone is intoxicating.

 

After our nutty appetizer, we decided, because of time constraints, to just get three small plates and share them.  This worked out quite perfectly.  We chose Crisp Eggplant.  These were slices of eggplant fried crispy and rolled with ricotta cheese.  It was served with arugula and stewed plum tomatoes.

 

We also chose Drunken Goat Cheese Crostini.  Big slices of bread with melted goat cheese.  Served with grapes. prosciutto and drizzled with a balsamic reduction.  I'm not sure what was drunken about it, but it was yummy.

 

And last but never least, the Shaved Brussel Spouts.  Oh brussel spouts!  I love them so and these were so incredible.  The shaved sprouts are served with bacon, walnuts, smoked blue cheese.  Oh seriously?  Yes, seriously.  I'm in love and I don't even really care much for blue cheese.  

I'd love to return to Deagan's and have an actual dinner but I am in no way complaining about the small plates we did partake in.  They are closed on Monday, but open every other day of the week.   Located at 14810 Detroit Avenue Lakewood, Ohio 44107.  It's been quite a while since I'd been to Lakewood and having lived there for a few years, I didn't recognize it at all.  So much has changed, for the better, which is not to say Lakewood was all that bad.  It as pretty nice when I lived there over 15 years ago.  But wow!  All the restaurants!  I think I need to spend more time there.

12) Favorite vegetable? Brussel Sprouts...I swear!

No one ever believes you if you say your favorite vegetable is brussel sprouts. Most people hate them. They are the Rodney Dangerfield of the vegetable world. It's a shame too, such a bad rep for such a yummy and versatile veggie. This is one of my favorite ways to make them. Take a pound brussel sprouts and clean them, trim off any of the outer leaves that may be bruised or browned. Then slice them thinly. Now I do this with a knife so they look like shreds but you can do this with a shredder blade of a food processor too.





Heat about 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 Tablespoons of butter in a skillet and then add the shredded sprouts. Cook them this way for about 20 minutes. You can add more olive oil or butter if the pan seems to dry or you can add some chicken broth if you don't want to add more fat. The sprouts should end up being soft and tender, and slightly browned. When they are done, sprinkle with lemon juice and Parmesan cheese. You'll never look at brussel sprouts with contempt again!