La Strada - E.4th Bistro

A while back I picked up some discount gift certificates from one of the local radio stations and the one for La Strada on E.4th Street in downtown Cleveland was going to expire at the end of the month so I headed down to check it out. La Strada is the sister restaurant to La Dolce Vita in Little Italy (see review here). Located about halfway down the very happening E.4th Street, the outside is relatively plain, although there is room for a nice patio in the summer. Once inside, which was too dark to get a good picture, I found a very elegant room with a balcony over the bar and the back half of the room. Decor is very nice and upscale without being too formal, a bit dark but a good feeling room with some very nice touches. I got there at the end of lunch, so the place was quiet, but I did get very good service at the bar and the food was exceptional. I ordered off the lunch menu (you can see the menus here). I ordered the Calamari Valencia and the Pesto Omar, unfortunately they have taken the risotto off of the lunch menu, because I was looking forward to trying it. The Calamari was excellent, a very nice portion of squid, lightly battered and then pan fried so that they were tender and flavorful; the tomato sauce with some sauteed squash that topped the dish had just a hint of heat to add to the flavor experience. I would rate this as one of the better calamaris in town. The Pesto Omar is described on the menu as an errorless dish and it was very close to meeting that high standard. The bowtie pasta were cooked al dente and then topped with a wonderful complex pesto sauce. The pesto was excellent, not oily and not coarse, which can be a problem with a pesto. This was earthy and rich tasting, the kind that you have to sop up the sauce at the end. The portion was large for a lunch serving, although probably right for the $12 price. Lunch came with a couple of slices of excellent crusty bread and butter, which is always welcome. The dinner menu is similar to the lunch with some items, such as pastas and entrees going up in price, while others such as the appetizers seem to stay the same. La Strada is a very good place to hit if you are downtown and looking for some excellent food presented in a happening atmosphere. This would be a great place for a romantic dinner and considering the portions and the quality of the food, the prices are not too bad. I may not hitting La Strada regularly, but it is a great place to keep in mind for the right dinner.

Parkview Niteclub - Fieri Find

Part of what inspired me to start C-Town Eats was watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network; Guy Fieri finds restaurants around the country and spends some time in the kitchen and tasting the food. The places are usually a bit funky and the food is homemade and usually in big portions. Not too long ago Guy finally hit Cleveland and taped some segments at local places; Melt (see my review here), Geraci's (long time Eastside Italian), Lucky's Cafe in Tremont, Momoco in Ohio City, Frank Sterle's Slovenian Country House on E.55th and Parkview Niteclub. I had a passing familiarity with all of them except for Parkview so I took a look at their website (located here). I had not seen the episode, but saw online that Parkview smoked their own Salmon (video link is here) so I had to try it out. Looking for a place to have a casual dinner with a couple of friends on Saturday, this seemed like a great opportunity, so we headed west and had a great meal.

Parkview is located at 1261 W.58th Street in Cleveland, a couple of blocks North of Detroit Ave. and not far from the Gordon Square neighborhood. Parkview is on a corner where the neighborhood ends and has a view of the Lake and Downtown; the outside is a classic Cleveland neighborhood bar with a brick first floor and a wooden second story. A little alcove out front serves as a wind break for the couple of steps up to the front door.

Inside is even more of a classic Cleveland dive bar feel. A large wood bar covers one wall with a good sized dining room spread around a small dance floor. The decor is old school eclectic with enough stuff to keep you looking for quite a while. One interesting new touch is the electronic frame with pictures from Guy's visit on the middle of the bar. The overall feeling is casual and friendly.

After ordering a couple of draft beers (and Parkside has a nice selection of drafts) we took a look at the menu (see here) which has some great items and variations from the typical bar menu. We decided to start with the fried asparagus and they were sensational. As you can see from the picture they come arranged on the plate with the dipping sauce in the middle. The asparagus were wonderful with a very crisp but thin batter that acts as a perfect

isp but thin batter that complimented the fresh vegetable, then dipped into the chipotle ranch sauce they were a wonderful mouth sensation. The sauce had a wonderful hot and smoky taste that perfectly complimented the asparagus. About the only thing I could think to complain about is how quickly they disappeared off of the table.

Next up were the entrees, I had the Caesar Salad topped with the smoked salmon and it was excellent. The Caesar Salad was a very nice sized portion with a very good dressing; the real surprise was the Salmon. Hot smoked and served hot, the portion was quite large and very flavorful. Instead of the delicate flavor I am used to from Lox, this fish tasted more of cooked salmon, but the smoke flavor came through, especially as it cooled off. This was one of those exceptional meals that got better the more I ate of it. Dan went with the Smoked Salmon BLT which was a very large piece of the salmon served on a Ciabatta Roll with bacon. Dan said it was excellent and mentioned that the mayonnaise tasted especially good. Paul had the Walleye sandwich which was also very good. Prices were very reasonable and we had a great time. Parkview is a real find and worth the trip, this is a neighborhood bar that serves up exceptionally good food at bargain prices. Add in the funky atmosphere, some good bands on Wednesday and Saturday nights and I will be heading back to try more of the menu. Not only do I recomend it, but Guy Fieri does as well.

Mi Pueblo - Authentic Mexican

A friend of mine was back in town visiting and we spent a couple of hours cross country skiing at Chapin Forest in Kirtland (website is here), which is the best place I have found locally with really nice groomed trails, affordable rentals and a great staff. After finishing we felt like Mexican for lunch and neither my friend or I had been to Mi Pueblo in quite a while, so we hopped on the highway and headed to University Circle. The restaurant at 11611 Euclid, Cleveland 44106 (see map here) is the second location of this very authentic Mexican restaurant which started on Lorain Avenue. The University Circle location is a nice converted steakhouse with a narrow bar upfront by the windows and two larger dining areas decorated in very nice Mexican style, resulting in a nice Catina feeling. Although a bit dark, the atmosphere is upbeat without being over the top. My friend mentioned that when he was single and lived in the area, Mi Pueblo was one of his regular date places and I can see where it would be a fun place to hangout and get to know somebody better or just have some big Margaritas. Once seated we were quickly served with chips and two salsas along with the carrots, onions and jalapenos. The green and red salsas were good and very flavorful and a little milder then I remembered, which is good because they used to be pretty hot. The vegetables are one of my favorites, with the carrots picking up enough heat from the jalapeno and getting a little bit of pickling result in a wonderful slightly sweet, a bit hot and crisp combination. Despite the heat, the carrots disappeared quickly leaving only a lethal looking jalapeno. As always, small free food is always appreciated, but it is even better when it tastes this good and it cleans off the taste buds so that everything tastes more vivid. Mi Pueblo is noted for having some of the most authentic Mexican food in this area. At lunch there is a separate menu with some very good deals. My friend had the Pollo en Mole Poblano, the chicken in mole sauce (I did like the suggestion to get pictures of the food, but I missed out since we were hungry) which he said was very good. I had the Shrimp Fajitas, which were good, but not great. I should have known better and gone with the Chile Rellenos, which have usually been among the best in town. While nice, in this case the Fajitas were pan sauteed and therefore missing the wonderful sear you get from the high heat pan. The shrimp were nice, although the bell peppers were cut a bit larger then anything else. As I said, not a bad dish, but not up to what I usually expect from Mi Pueblo. Although the dinner menu has gotten a bit expensive, the lunch menu has some very good buys, especially when you consider the high quality and wonderful tastes. While not everything is spicy, be careful, since when something is spicy it can be very hot. Mi Pueblo is one of the best Mexican Restaurants in Northeast Ohio and it is good to see that they are keeping things going. I will be heading down for lunch again soon. Give them a try.