Flippin Over Flip Side

I love a burger.  If you read this blog regularly you know this isn't exactly a big revelation.  So when a new burger place opened up in Hudson, I was so there.  It's located right next to One Red Door at First and Main in Hudson and is owned by the same chef, Chef Shawn Monday.  Flip Side uses all Ohio raised grass fed beef for their burgers. 

I met my friend Cindy there for lunch on a Friday afternoon and had about a 10-15 minute wait.  Flip Side is very small.  But the wait went quick and soon we were seated and looking over a vast menu of burger options.  It soon became clear though, that I would be getting the Green Eggs and Ham Burger.  After having the wonderful Lola Burger last time I was at B-Spot, I probably should have gotten a different type of burger, without the fried egg.  But seriously, after reading the description of the Green Eggs and Ham Burger, there was no way I could pass it by.   But first, we saw an order of chips walk by so we had to get them.

For $3.50 we got a very generous portion of house made potato chips that came with hot sauce and a creamy blue cheese sauce.  The blue cheese sauce is generally served over the chips but being a dipper, I asked for the sauces on the side.

The chips were crispy and delicious.  The hot sauce was too hot for me, but the blue cheese sauce was quite delicious and I don't even really like blue cheese.  Apparently my taste buds are changing, or expanding.  Heck the next think you know I'll be eating oranges!   Well no, let's not get carried away here.  Oranges will always remain my nemesis.  Blech!

On to the burger!

The burger is served with Prosciutto, warm spinach, a fried egg and a Parmesan crisp (frico).  On the side is a little cup of basil mayo, a small wedge of pickle, lettuce, tomato and diced onions.  There was no way I was attempting to put lettuce and tomato on top of this already full burger.  So I just put some basil mayo on the top bun, cut this beauty in half and dug in!

Look at that oozy goodness!  If you've never had a fried egg on a burger, you're really missing out.  Just try it!  The runny yolk mixing with the beef is a truly delicious flavor.  This was a damn good burger, but with all those strong flavors, the Parmesan frico did get a little lost.  And while definitely tasty, I found the meat a little on the crumbly side.  This burger was a mess to eat and near the end, both Cindy and I (she got the same burger) were using a fork and knife to finish it.

At $9 for just the burger, it's not cheap, but it doesn't taste cheap either.  I think it was well worth the price and I will be going back to try another one, maybe the California Dreamin Turkey Burger.  That one caught my eye too!   Check out Flip Side's menu here, and get out there and and spread the burger love!

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Bitchin Bloggers Dinner at Chowder House

It was a cold and blustery night in January.  But bloggers will not be deterred!   Well yes they will.  Actually this dinner was scheduled for December but blizzard conditions caused a postponement until January.  And so, we gathered.  Seven of us from seven different blogs hosted by Chef Louis Prpich of the Chowder House Cafe, located at 2028 Chestnut Blvd.  Joining me on this culinary adventure were Tom Noe of Exploring Food My Way, Nancy Heller of Fun Playing with Food, Joel Kirk of Eating Around Town, Rob Lucas of Interesting Akron, and Scott Groth of The Chubby Cook.  Katrina Marshall of Bite Buff had to cancel and couldn't make it.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.  I hadn't been to the Chowder House before, but had heard great things about it.  It's very close to where I live, but yet I had just never gotten around to going.  So I was pretty excited when I got the invitation to try out Chef Prpich's offerings for his fall/winter menu. And try we did.... 9 courses worth!  I have to be honest, I'm not a seafood eater and I was a pretty concerned that we would be getting a lot of seafood.  And my fears were realized when I sat down and saw the menu.  But I decided to just suck it up, taste everything and what I like, I like.  I'd be completely honest because well, it's the only way I know how to be.

So without further ado... the food!  The first course was our choice of soup.... Clam Chowder (of course, duh... it is the Chowder House after all), Lobster Bisque or French Onion.  Chef Prpich built his whole menu around his chowder when he opened his doors back in October of 2009.   The chowder is made with lots of clams and no potatoes.  It would have made sense to have that as my starter, or to take the easy no seafood way out and and go French Onion, but throwing caution to the wind, I opted for the Lobster Bisque. 

 

Served with a lovely piece of crusty bread, this soup was so delicious, so creamy, so smooth and had beautiful large chunks of lobster throughout.  Did I just say beautiful lobster?  I did!  This soup was so amazing, I wanted to dive inside it and bathe in it.  We had eight more courses to go but I could have been happy with just this one.  I would have sung the praises of Chowder House like I'm going to for the rest of this blog if I had only eaten this.   Lobster Bisque... yum!   Who knew?  Lots of people I'm guessing.

Next up was the Crudo.  This is a raw fish dish which scared me even more than the soup.  Raw fish?  Seriously?   And raw walleye at that?  Is he crazy!   Well this is Ohio after all, so why not?

The dish was Ahi Tuna, Scallops and Walleye sliced paper thin, seasoned with salt and pepper and then sprinkled with olive oil and Meyer lemon juice.  It was served with wilted arugula with garlic and olive oil.   And again, my panic was unfounded.  It was beautiful and delicate.  The seasoning was perfect.  The whole plate was stunning.

Something strange is happening to me here.  I'm eating seafood and I'm liking it!   Somebody do something!  And do something Chef Prprich did, he brought out a Portobello Steudel. 

 

Ahh mushrooms.  This is more my speed.  The mushrooms were poached in Cabernet and garlic and then wrapped in phyllo dough with imported provolone, baked to a crispy delicious golden brown and served with a house made demi-glace and little spring mix salad.  Can you even stand it?  And we have six more courses to go!   The cheese had just the right amount of sharpness, the demi-glace added a nice saucy component to the dish and those portobello's melted in my mouth.  

Course 4 is by far my scariest course.  Oysters!   Oh. My. God.  What am I going to do with that?  Oysters are one of those things that never looked appealing to me, ever.  I'll try a lot of things, but oysters?  No thanks.   And then this was put in front of me...

Baked Oysters.  These Chincoteaque Oysters were topped with spinach, bacon, manchego cheese and a sherry cream and then baked to a bubbly golden brown.  Just try it I told myself trying to look cool as a cucumber and not about to excuse myself from the table and hope when I came back they would be gone.  And so I did, just try it I mean.  And the heavens parted, the angels sang and harps began to play!   It was a revelation.  And suddenly I was thinking, "where did my oysters go" because I had finished them already.  I looked around the table, ready with the "are you going to finish those?" but everyone had.  Darnit, I wanted more oysters!  Who is this chick?

As I sadly watched my empty oyster shells being taken from the table, with a lone little tear in my eye as I said good bye to them, Course 5 arrived, Crab Cakes.

 

Sauteed to a lovely golden brown so they were crisp on the outside and nice and tender soft on the inside. Wonderful!  I've had crab cakes before so this course didn't frighten me at all.  I dove in like a champ.   But let's talk about the corn that was served with it.  Roasted corn with Adam's Reserve white cheddar and topped with jalapeno vinaigrette.  Not too spicy and a gorgeous accompaniment.  For me the crab cake was a little outshined by the supporting cast.  It wasn't the only time that it happened that night either.  

On to Course 6 and we have Wild Shark.  

 

Served with bok choy, scallions and red peppers with a ponzu fish sauce.  A little sweet from the red peppers and a little spicy from the rub and altogether wonderful.  The veggies were tender and lovely.   But I'm really starting to hit the wall and still have three more courses to go!

And right on cue comes course number seven... Cassoulet.  Oy a robust casserole for course 7.  But look at it, how can I resist?

 

Chicken, house made sausage, cannelloni beans, rich and beautiful with a panko crisp topping.  I wanted to keep eating, I really did.  But my stomach was telling me that this madness had to stop!  And our lovely servers ended up boxing it up for all of us.  We were all starting to go into a food coma.  And yet, two more courses awaited!

Course 8 was Monkfish wrapped in Prosciutto.

 

Prosciutto!  Now you're speaking my language.  But having to be completely honest, I wasn't crazy about the monkfish.  I'm not sure if it was because I was getting so full, or because I kind of had a textural issue with this particular fish.  Either way, the stewed tomatoes on the plate did outshine the fish.  The tomatoes were to die for!  Made from a family recipe, these tomatoes are stewed with garlic and butter.  They are absolutely sigh worthy, so delicate and sweet. They melted in my mouth.  Chowder House offers an appetizer of just those tomatoes.  I see that in my future!

And it's finally Course 9!  Vanilla Creme Brulee.  

A light Creme Brulee with vanilla and served with cocoa whipped cream and a cayenne and chocolate tuille.  The Brulee had the perfect crack.  Isn't that half the fun of having Creme Brulee, cracking that caramelized sugar on top?  Funny thing happened, I was able to eat every bit of my Brulee, cream and the tuille too.  The cayenne seemed to get lost a bit because I didn't feel any heat.  Which is not a complaint, just an observation.   

Chowder House will be visited again, without a doubt.  They are open Monday thru Friday for lunch and dinner and Saturday for dinner only.  On Sunday, they serve brunch from 10 am - 2 pm.  No credit cards, just cash and checks are accepted.  If you go, make a reservation by calling (330) 794-7102.  The place is small but quirky and fun with a lot of art on the walls.  It's absolutely, without a doubt, well worth your time to go pay them a visit.  

Thanks to Chef Prprich and to my fellow bloggers.  What a night!

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

The Standards at Dontino's

I was talking to my friend Tom one day and told him I was craving Dontino's and would he like to go with me sometime.  Turns out, he'd never been.  How could this be?   It's classic Akron.  So we made a plan and off we went.

Dontino's is located at 555 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave. in Akron.  It's been in operation since 1930, just like the sign says.

You're not going to a sophisticated meal when you go to Dontino's.  You're going for some hearty classic Italian food.  And that's exactly what I got, starting with the salad.

 

I always loved that beet that they put on top the salad.  It's a nice little extra in an otherwise standard salad.  And being as the Italian dressing is the only one made in house, I went for that.  Could have used some cheese, and once we sprinkled on some of the Parmesan from the table on it, it definitely improved.

Next up for me was Chicken Parmesan with a side of pasta.  Homemade pasta is a little extra but I was willing to shell it out.  

Tom took this picture, and you can clearly see the difference between my little Nikon Coolpix and his fancy schmancy camera.  It almost looks 3D!  I think I need an upgrade.  Anyway, good sauce, good pasta, good chicken.  And quite a hearty portion.   I actually took half of my chicken cutlet home.  I do love homemade pasta.  I should really start making it more.  But fine, you know why I don't?  Because I have this damn bump on my counter.  The whole counter, all the way around it,  has the bump.  I don't know what the purpose of it is, all I know is I hate that damn bump.  The bump hinders everything from chopping to yes, making pasta.  Because I cannot attach the pasta maker to the counter because of the freakin bump!

You asked.

Thinking about dessert, we found that none of the desserts were made in house.  That was a little disappointing but we opted to split a piece of chocolate peanut butter pie anyway (another Tom picture).

It was good, kind of rich and a bit dense but quite frankly you can get this pie anywhere.  We might as well have been at Applebee's given the creativity here.  Give me a homemade Tiramisu any day!

So dinner was good, classic, nothing special but still tasty.  I certainly will go back to Dontino's.  The prices are good, the place is nice and doggone it, they put a beet on the salad!

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

B-Spot, Again?

Yes again.  Seriously, if you've been there you'd want to talk about how good it is too!  So let's just start at the beginning.  I had plans on that day to go to The Lockview in Akron with my friend Lynn, a pretty darn good place in it's own right.  But I also happen to have been sick for most of the week and when I called my doctor that day to get a prescription sent in, she wanted to see me in person.  So I called Lynn up with a proposal.... come with me to see my doctor in Beachwood and then we can go to Penzy's, Trader Joe's and B-Spot for lunch (Whole Foods if we have time).  The reply I got was "Sold!" 

Sitting and waiting in the doctors office was pure torture. I just couldn't wait to get to B-Spot and sink my teeth into one of Michael Symon's deliciously juicy burgers!  But we prevailed and as soon as we got out of there we headed straight for B-Spot!  For a Thursday afternoon around 3:45 pm, it was pretty crowded but we were able to get right in.  And the first thing I saw upon walking in the door was a blackboard with the daily special on it.  I took a photo of it, but unfortunately the photo doesn't want to come out of my phone.  So I will just tell you, it said, "The Muffaletta Burger:  Ham, Salami, Provolone Cheese, Mayo, Muffaletta."

Now it was my turn to say, "Sold!"  There was no way on earth I wasn't getting this.  I don't care that I have bronchitis and was just given a 10 day course of antibiotics.  I don't care that my cough is so bad that I have to drink some vile grapey cough medicine.  All I know is when I see the world Muffaletta, I'm in!  So that is what I ordered.  Lynn decided to give the Pulled Pork a try.  And really, can you go wrong with pulled pork?  I don't think so!  The menu described it as pulled pork with avocado, cheddar, Carolina style BBQ, grilled onion.  Lynn ordered it minus the avocado.  We also ordered the chips, which the menu describes as chips with Parmesan fondue and rosemary.  And this is what we got:

This is seriously a big mound of homemade chips, plenty for 2 or more, way too much for one.  The dip is warm and cheesy and with a nice hint of rosemary.  I could have made those chips my meal.  They were so good!

And then came my burger.  Oh yes, my Muffaletta burger!   I've had Muffaletta burgers before, at the Hamburger Festival and they've been pretty good.  But this, this is from a whole new stratosphere of burgers.  Feast your eyes on this thing of beauty....

 

Can you stand it!?  Nothing I can say can really describe how insanely good this is.  Everything was perfection.  The custom blended beef that B-Spot uses is just amazing.  The flavor, the seasoning, how it's cooked, it's all perfection.  And then to have it topped with ham, salami, provolone and olive salad?  Fuggedaboutit!   It's the single best burger experience ever.  And I don't say that lightly.  

But the pulled pork was certainly not to be overlooked here!   

It was piled super high and was tender, moist and delicious.  The onions added a nice sweetness and the array of sauces on the table were fun to try out.  I ended up taking half my burger home and Lynn bought a bratwurst to take home.  No matter how full you are when you leave B-Spot, you just want to keep eating, it's so good!  

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Lunching at One Red Door

Getting together for lunch with my friend Cindy always proves to be an exercise in delicious.  Rarely do we ever end up at a place where I think, "no way, never again" and this was no exception.  We decided on one of the newer places at First and Main in Hudson, Ohio called One Red Door. 

It's a really nice looking place, somewhat masculine with all the wood and brick, but really nice.

 
Dare I say, when we started looking at the menu, we went a little crazy!   There was so much on it we both wanted.  So for starters we settled on the Warm Marinated Olives for $4.00 (I had these at a restaurant in Philadelphia last month and went crazy for them!) and the Butternut Squash Soup for $7.00. 

Warm olives.  Who would of thunk it!   I love olives anyway, and they aren't much different tasting when they are warmed but they are soft and warm and oh so lovely.   And the soup.... are you kidding me?   The Butternut Squash Soup had just the right amount of sweetness with some smokiness from the bacon that was cooked in it.  And then it had these sort of gingerbread croutons on top.  Delish!  In fact, we ordered one bowl and had them split it in half so we could share it and it was just the right amount that way.

Cindy couldn't decide between a pizza and a salad so she got both!  The salad of poached Bartlett pears with field greens, blue cheese, spiced hazelnuts and a hazelnut vinaigrette had me at spiced hazelnuts.   I'm not generally a fan of blue cheese, and they certainly did not skimp on it in this salad, made me a believer.  The salad was a very generous size for $7.00

And then the pizza.   Cindy chose a Lobster pizza... butter poached lobster with wilted spinach, pearl onion confit, fontina cheese and tarragon for $14. 

I'm not a seafood person and I really hate tarragon, but look at that!  I had to try it.  I just took one little bite because I have an entree coming too and we'd already had bread, olives, soup and salad.  The pizza was out of this world!!!   The crust was perfect, the balance of flavors insane and happily I didn't even taste the tarragon.   

And now, my lunch... Chef's Burger for $11.  I love a burger.  I can eat a good burger anytime, anywhere.  And the best burger I have had to date was from Michael Symon's B-Spot.  It's still the best burger, but this one is not to be dismissed!   The Chef's Burger is Ohio grass fed beef cooked however you want it (I always chose medium) with crispy shallots, melted brie cheese with date and applewood smoked bacon aioli on the side.  It's served with house made chips and has lettuce and tomato on the side.  

This burger was a thing of beauty.  I cannot say one bad thing about it.  The meat was juicy and flavorful, the brie and crispy shallots were just different enough from regular old onions and American cheese to make this burger different and that date and bacon aioli!  Fuggedaboutit!!   I've died and gone to burger heaven!   I would so go back for that burger.  Even though there is so much more on the menu I want to try, I might not be able to resist the allure of this, the only burger on the menu.  Honestly, they don't need another. 

 

Can you stand it!?   Damn, when am I going to be in Hudson again?    One Red Door is located at 49 Village Way, Hudson Ohio.  The phone number is (330) 342-DOOR.  

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Russo's Part Creole Part Italian All Good!

It was a long time coming.  Nick and I had been wanting to go to Russo's for some time.  We even had a $25 gift card burning a hole in the sock drawer.  So we finally bit the bullet and decided to go on October 30, our 17th anniversary.  Russo's reputation has been great from the get go and it's really close to where we live.  Why had it taken so long for us to go!?  It doesn't matter now, it's all in the past.  Russo's we love you!

 

We had a 7:00 pm reservation in the dining room.  Russo's offers bar seating but they go fast because right behind the bar is the kitchen and you can watch the chaos and magic happen right in front of your eyes.  So since we were unable to get a bar seat, we got a table near the bar and were able to see some of the magic.  

I knew before we even got there that I had to have the Arancini appetizer.  I had them last year when Russo's had a booth up at Taste of Hudson and they were incredible!   In fact, it's a dish I've been wanting to make myself but have never gotten around to it.  Someday!   In case you're unfamiliar, arancini are balls of saffron risotto with either a meat or cheese filling in the middle, then they are breaded and deep fried.  Russo's describes their arancini as follows:  Rice Balls Flavored with Saffron and Stuffed with Mozzarella, Meat and Vegetables, then Breaded and Fried.  Served with Pomodoro Sauce.

Oh, I can feel your jealousy!   And yes, they are as good as they look!

But I have to admit, $8.99 for 3 arancini seems a bit steep to me, delicious as they are.  But while perusing the menu and the specials, I happened upon something that I love far too much and had to have.  Right at the top of the nightly specials, there it was... roasted garlic heads served with a basket of bread and at $3.50, this was the bargain of the night!   I had this before, many years ago when I was in Massachusetts for a friends wedding.  The restaurant we went to for the rehearsal dinner, Vinny Testa's, served roasted heads of garlic floating in a seasoned olive oil and a basket of bread.  I swore that if I ever owned a restaurant I was going to do this!  It's the best thing ever.  So I was more than thrilled to see this on Russo's menu.   You get your roasted garlic with a little shrimp fork so you can dig the cloves out of the head and spread them on your bread.  Oh yes, I died and went to garlic heaven!

Quite honestly, I could have made this my meal and been perfectly content.  But alas, more deliciousness was to come!  We both ordered specials that night and started off the main event with a simple salad that was beautifully and perfectly dressed. 

I ordered half an almost fully boned roasted chicken in a tangy sauce with garlic mashed potatoes and twice dipped onion rings for $22.99.

It was incredibly delicious.  Seasoned and sauced to perfection, tender, juicy and full of flavor.  I seriously don't think I ever had as succulent a piece of chicken as this.  And after the arancini and my bread coma, I ended up bringing most of it home.  Mmmm Russo's leftovers.

Nick also ordered a special, his was a large cut grilled pork chop on a bed of squash puree with collard greens in a sugar cane sauce for $26.99.

Everything was gorgeous and perfect.  The collards were tender and flavorful.  The pork was cooked to absolute juicy perfection.  The squash puree was delicious and beautifully balanced.

Our final bill without any drinks, just water, was $66.53.  Russo's is not a place we will frequent, but oh yes we will be back!   Sadly, Russo's no longer serves lunch, but if you're in or around Peninsula, Ohio at dinner time, I highly suggest you give them a try.  Russo's is located at 4895 State Road
Peninsula, OH 44264 and their phone number is (330) 923-2665.

Buon Cibo mia Amici.

Spanawhatta?

A long time ago, I made Spanakopita.  It was good and all, but I never made it again.  For some reason I got the idea in my head that I needed to make it again and I just couldn't rest until I did.  Well, ok, I could rest, but it did fester.  In case you don't know, Spanakopita is a Greek spinach and other good stuff, stuffed into phyllo dough.  I started out with a half of a sweet onion.  My onion was really big, so I think I probably actually used a third of it.  Chop the onion and cook slowly with about a Tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt.  You don't want them to brown, just to cook through until they are translucent and fragrant.

I used two packages of frozen chopped spinach.  You can use fresh and cook it, but for my money, frozen is the way to go.  Just defrost them, and then squeeze squeeze squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can.  The best way to do this is to take a clean dish towel (I used one that is already green, pretty smart huh?  ha).  I put the thawed spinach in the middle of the towel and then pull the ends up and start twisting and squeezing.  A ton of water will come out.  Make sure you get as much as possible or your Spanakopita will be soggy and who wants that?  No one.  After you get it all squeezed, put it in a bowl and fluff it up with a fork.

To the spinach add a half cup of chopped flat leaf parsley.  I still have it in my garden, going strong!

And about two Tablespoons or so of chopped mint.  Also still going strong in my garden!

Then add a cup of crumbled Feta cheese.  Mmmm, feta!   Feta is kind of salty so you probably don't want to add too much extra salt to this mixture.  But add some.  Maybe about a teaspoon.  

I also added about 5 grinds from my pepper mill and a good 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg.  It definitely makes a difference so don't skip the nutmeg!

 

Mix it all with one beaten egg to hold it all together and now it's time to for the phyllo dough.  I'm not going to lie to you, phyllo is a giant pain in the ass. It's so fragile and delicate and needs special care.  When you unwrap your thawed out phyllo, make sure you have a damp towel to place over the top of it while you're not using it.  Phyllo will dry out in seconds and as soon as it does, you're done.  There is no going back.   Take the sheets and cut them down the middle, lengthwise.  Brush the dough, carefully, with melted butter and then place about 1/3 cup of the spinach mixture at the top of one of the rows and off to one side.  Either side, it doesn't matter, we're just going to fold these babies up anyway. 

I used between 2 and 3 sheets of phyllo each.  One was too thin.  Fold them end over end, kind of like a flag is folded, so they end up looking like a triangle.

Brush the outside with melted butter and then bake for 20 minutes at 350 or until golden brown.

Enjoy!!!   They were really really good.  And quite frankly, I don't love spinach cooked.  I'd rather have it raw.  So who knows why I wanted to make them so bad.  But I'm glad I did!  They rocked!

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