Umami – Chagrin Falls Asian Bistro

I have been looking forward to trying Umami Asian Kitchen in Chagrin Falls for quite a while now; I picked up a Groupon (Groupon Site is here) in March and finally got to use it just before it expired.  Located in a

prime location at 42 North Main Street in Chagrin Falls, Umami has earned a great reputation as a wonderful little Asian Bistro in an area know for its All American feel.  With a small low key storefront, you walk in to find a wonderful little place set up in a narrow building with the kitchen in back and a small narrow dining room which feels both modern and Asian while still being restrained and elegant.  

The menu, especially at lunch is rather limited, but the choices sound wonderful (you can see the menu here at Umami’s website).  My friend and I started with soup, he had the Miso, I tried the Corn and Ginger Soup that was the special.   Both came out in large square bowls, with a generous portion of soup.  The Corn and Ginger was nice with subtle flavors, but I thought the corn kernels, while incredibly sweet, were just a touch undercooked.

Next up were the Spicy Tuna and California Rolls; the Tuna was very good, although not nearly spicy enough for my tastes, the California Roll was a bit overpowered by the real Crab which tended to mute the other flavors.

My friend had the Seared Salmon and I had the Sea Scallops.  The two chunky Scallops were nicely cooked with a crisp sear and soft middles and served over a cucumber salad that nicely complimented them.

My overall impression of Umami is that I was a bit underwhelmed; the decor and the food presentation is lovely, the service was good and friendly, while the food was fresh and nicely prepared with high quality ingredients overall there was a lack of excitement or boldness.  I have a lot of experience with Asian cuisine especially Japanese cuisine and I just found Umami’s food to be a bit flat in the flavor profiles.  With a very limited menu and the prices for the amount of food I expected some fireworks, instead I got a nice, but not sensational lunch.  As always, your experience can vary.

Bowl For Kids Sake – Please Donate

 

Bowl For Kids Sake is a great event supporting a really great cause, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters Association and the wonderful programs they provide.  If you would like to support this one on one mentoring program that helps get kids on the right path and keep them there, please make a donation at this link Bowl for Kids Sake Donation

As a Big for over 10 years I can tell you that this program that I feel very strongly about.  If you enjoy C-Town Eats, please consider making a donation.  Any amount is welcome.

Thank you.

Steve

Daddona's - Big Italian in Westlake

I have been to Daddona's in Solon a couple of times and remember finding it a nice Italian restaurant that served huge portions of good food, so when a Groupon (you of course can try Groupon here) came up for their Westlake location came up I decided to give it a try and am pleased to report that it was a good decision.   The Westlake Daddona's is located in a relatively new strip mall at 29580 Center Ridge Rd Westlake, Oh 44115 (map here). 

Once inside you find a very attractive L shaped dining room done in green and purple with natural wood accents and complimentary art.  The feeling is very modern, but warm and welcoming with a nice upscale look without being formal, a real step up from what I remember of the Solon location.   The tables are set nicely and many of the comfortable seats have a purple cover to compliment the decor. 

I arrived towards the end of a weekday lunch and am quickly seated and review the nice sized menu (see it here).  With $25 of Groupon to play with I ended up with a ton of food and took home a couple of extra meals.  To start you get the basket of fresh baked garlic balls.  Perfect in so many ways these small pieces of dough have a fragrant garlic smell and taste nicely complimented by some olive oil and cheese, I restrain myself from eating all of them as I know that there is still plenty of food coming.

Next up is an order of Calamari and the portion is huge and could be easily shared by a whole table of people.  The squid is nicely fried in a light breading and sided with Marinara sauce.  While a nice dish, I found the squid to be a little under seasoned, I could have really gone for a bit of herb in the breading to boost the flavor profile.  The sauce was nice and mild with chunks of tomato, I thought at first that the flavor was a bit mild, but the flavors built the more of it I ate.

Next up was the side salad that came with the pasta I ordered, of course Daddona's has to make the salad about twice as big as usual and nicely presented the fresh greens with the house Italian.   I took the whole salad home and enjoyed it, nicely balanced and once again the flavor of the dressing seemed to build the more I ate.

Out next was a small Siciliano Pizza topped with Eggplant.  This was another highpoint, with a wonderful medium thick crust that was crisp on the outside and soft and flavorful inside.  Topped with a zippy tomato sauce with the perfect level of spiciness to wake up my taste buds and complimented by the Romano Cheese, this was different than the common overly cheesy pizza we all enjoy.  The eggplant cubes were perfect, with no bitterness, but just enough firmness and no breading.   Most of the pizza went home with me and was almost as good the next day for lunch.

Finally we got to the main course, Linguine with Red Clam Sauce, which was a huge portion of al dente pasta topped with a silky tomato sauce loaded with tender clams.  The dish was nice and tasty, although once again it seemed a bit mild at first but the flavor profile built as I ate more.  The portion size was huge and despite my best effort I had a huge portion to take home for dinner the next day.  

Daddona's serves oversized portions of good to excellent Italian food in a very attractive setting.  It seemed to me that everyone left with with large portions for later.   The sauces are varied, but even those that tend towards a less bold flavor profile have good flavors that reveal themselves gradually.   You won't go wrong here, especially if you are hungry.

Quick Bites - Hiroshi's Pub, Koko Bakery, Nate's Deli, and more

I know the reviews have spaced out a bit, sorry, but it's been hard with Labor Day (a great trip to by Mont-Tremblant, Quebec for the Mosaic Outdoor Clubs International Event), the Jewish Holidays and before that I was nursing a twisted ankle which kept me close to home.  The good news is that I should be picking the pace back up; starting with a review of Daddona's in Westlake and then I have a couple of Groupons I have to get used soon, plus I am always on the lookout for new places to try.  Remember suggestions are very welcome.

I did want to give a couple of quick updates on some previous places I have reviewed that I was back at recently.

Hiroshi's Pub (review here) continues to shine and seems to be establishing itself as a Beachwood favorite.  On a recent visit I got to try a couple more items.  The highlight was the Tuna Avocado bruschetta; a wonderfully balanced spicy tuna tartare topped crisp toast with fresh slices of avocado.  Rich and fatty with a perfect level of heat and a nice texture contrast between the crisp toast, lush avocado and firm tuna made for a triumph that I may have to have on every visit.   I had the Caesar Salad with the smoked Salmon, a very nice representation of this classic, good thick dressing and a generous portion of high quality Salmon; if I were going to nitpick, I would have preferred more smoke flavor in the fish, but that is a personal preference.  We also had a Futomaki, which as you would expect was expertly prepared with fresh ingredients, what was surprising was the large portion.  Another great visit and Hiroshi's has seemed to hit its groove very quickly, a high recommendation to give them a try and let me know what you think.

I have stopped by Nate's Deli (review here) a couple of times over the last few weeks and nothing has changed except the kitchen may have gotten even faster.  The food is still great, classic representations of Greek and Deli classics, the prices are low and the portions are generous.  What did strike me as funny was going through the West Side Market right after the Cleveland Man v. Food episode was shown and seeing waiting in line for the Gyro stand in the market for quite a while as the line was out the back door of the market; those same people could have gone a block down to Nate's, sat down and had a gyro and still have gotten back before they would have gotten through the line.  Plus at Nate's you get the pickled radishes and pepperochinis.  If you are in Ohio City pick up some very good food cheap at Nate's.

Finally I stopped by Koko Bakery (review here) on the way back from downtown for some treats.  The place was jumping and the newest treat they are offering is homemade ice cream.  Made in small batches of Taro Root, Red Bean Paste and Green Tea and costing only $2.50 for 2 scoops I couldn't resist.  They are still working the kinks out, as the Red Bean came out with a consistency closer to marshmallow sauce and the Taro was very hard, but the flavors were right on.  I will warn you that you need to be ready for a different texture experience, as the Red Bean had the genuine grainy bean texture and bean skins, while the Taro the starchy potato texture.  I liked these two together quite a bit as the Red Bean was a bit sweeter and softer which gave a nice contrast to the more subdued Taro which was also much firmer.  Your experience may differ, but if you want to try a much different ice cream in Cleveland I would strongly suggest getting to Koko and giving them a try.  If not, still stop by and get some great baked goods, wonderful drinks or even a nice light meal.