The Spread–Cleveland Horseshoe Casino Buffet

With my birthday coming up on Thursday, I got a great early present; the dealers were invited down to try the Spread Buffet at the Cleveland Horseshoe Casino and it was spectacular. 

Located in the lower floor of the Higbee Building on Public Square the Spread refers to both the amount of glorious food that is presented and the layout.  Tastefully decorated seating areas are located in front of long wall of food stations with a wide variety of choices.  Although the spread will seat about 400 at a time, they have managed to make the arrangement feel warm and inviting with the food being the star.

There are seven different food stations, each with a open kitchen immediately behind it so that food is a fresh and flavorful as possible.  Dishes will be rotated in and out so that they can take advantage of seasonality and local products.  I will highlight some of the favorites that I was lucky enough to try, but you will have to see what is there when you go.

The Asian station is the furthest to the right when facing the Spread, it provided a mix of different Asian cuisines done in an upscale manner; the Sweet and Sour Shrimp I tried were expertly prepared with large tail on jumbo shrimp in a sauce that was not overly sweet, but could have used a sour counter-point.  I do have to admit that I did go back for seconds on the shrimp, as they were juicy and succulent.

The next station over was the carving station, not eating meat or foul, I had to pass on the wonderful looking game hens that they were roasting, but I did try the vegetable sides and they were outstanding.  Golden breaded Okra was tasty and the creamed spinach was as good as I have had.

Next we come to the Shuffle station which allows them to mix things up.  On one side they had a do it yourself Taco Bar, which I passed on, on the other they were featuring some Cleveland favorites, fried perch and pierogies.  The Pierogies were artfully presented in a small cast iron casserole with purple cabbage on the bottom one nice sized potato pierogi topped with sour cream, showing a nice balance of care and appreciation for one of our local culinary favorites.  The fried perch were one of the real highlights of the meal.  Two beautiful small fillets were corn meal breaded and then expertly fried so that the coating was crisp with the fish inside mild and flakey; the fillets were topped with a sweet and hot sauce that made my taste buds dance with delight.

The American section had a nice variety of well prepared favorites, including clam chowder, fried chicken and salmon along with plenty of sides.  The Salad station provides a nice variety of fresh produce in nice variations, all very well done, but I was hunting for more exotic fare.

The Italian station provides great pastas, a variety of pizzas and flatbreads and another of the highpoints for me were fresh clams in a nicely seasoned broth with garlic bread sopping it up.  The clams were tender and delicious, an feat that is not easy on a buffet, while the broth soaked bread provided the perfect way to finish the savory side of the meal.

Located in the center of the Spread as you enter and exit is the desert station and it is a stunner and is probably worth a trip all by itself.  Featuring everything from woppie pies to panna cotta and gelato to bread pudding, you can be a kid in a candy store with all the choices.  What will catch your eye is the circular cooler case with about a dozen varieties of Gelato that revolve to allow them to be scooped.  I tried 4 different small scoops, with the fresh banana being the highpoint; there is a topping station if you want, but with Gelato this good there is no reason to cover it up.  Other highpoints (and there were nothing I tried that wasn’t delicious) were the Panna Cotta, providing a nice soft custard topped with fruit and a classic rendition of bread pudding with a nice cream sauce on the side.  If you really want to go into kid mode there is cotton candy machine for some spun sugar goodness.  The only downside was that I was full before I could try all of the many cakes and delicacies available.

The Spread will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and should prove very popular with anyone who wants a wide variety of expertly prepared high quality foods.  I have been to upscale buffets before, including the Seafood Buffet at Deer Valley in Park City, Utah, and this would rank at the top of my list for quality, taste and variety.  You will want to get a Total Rewards card as this will knock a couple bucks off the buffet price, plus it is the best casino rewards card available and is well worth having. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the great service we had at the Spread, everyone is incredible friendly and upbeat, ready to insure that you have a great meal.   The Spread is a wonderful addition to the Cleveland dining scene and there will be people coming to the Casino just for the buffet, but you should also check out the gaming upstairs, it will knock your socks off.

Nauvoo Family Market–Best Donuts Ever

First off sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I have been very busy with working and going through the Casino Dealer Academy, with that over and starting at the Casino I will be back to trying to find the gems in NE Ohio dining.  I will start back with a real Amish Delight (thank you Weird Al) and

a top find. 

This started a while back when I was at an event where someone had brought some unbelievably good doughnuts that they got in Middlefield, Ohio; so I have stopped out that way a number of times looking for the elusive home of these culinary gems.   Finally I was shopping at the Middlefield Flea Market and one of the vendors suggested a little market down the road as the place to go for doughnuts – and she was so right.

Located at 15979 Nauvoo Road, Middlefield, Ohio 44062, around the corner from Middlefield Cheese and just past the Middlefield Market (the flea market), it could be easy to miss the small market on the South side of the road, but you would be missing some major league doughnuts.  The small, clean market has a sign out front and one on the front of the building.   Pulling in to the small parking lot you will see some spaces to park in front and a parking area for the Amish buggies off to the side.  There is a covered porch area with a couple of chairs.  Walking in to the market you will find that the grocery side is to your right and the hardware side is on the left. 

Going to the right and all the way back you will find the bakery at the back wall, with three display cases, first a large display of fry pies in almost every variety you can imagine.  I have tried a couple and they are very good, the kind of pastry that the old Hostess pies wanted to be.  On the other end is a case that usually has several pies in assorted sizes and flavors along with some other assorted baked goods, all of these are usually outstanding as well, with a special mention for the molasses cookies with the creme in the middle.
Now we get to what is the true highlight for me, the doughnut case in the middle.   Here are the best doughnuts I have ever had.  Big sugary bombs of goodness that should be a National Treasure.   Admittedly, the variety is somewhat limited, usually several variations on creme stick topped with chocolate, maple or powdered sugar, glazed rings, cinnamon sugar rings and then variations of those.  Occasionally I will find the creme sticks with Pastry Creme and there will be chocolate topped glazed, but I have never seen any jelly doughnuts or fruit variations; the truth is that these doughnuts are so good, they don’t need more variety.

Let’s start with the Creme Sticks, these are bigger than your hand sticks of perfectly cooked doughnuts that are filled with a perfect creme filling and then topped with a chocolate glaze.  Not only are they delicious, they are filled so full that almost every bite has creme.

The giant glazed rings are bigger than any other place I have ever seen and as delicious as you could imagine.  A bit lighter in texture than the other doughnuts, they still have enough weight to fill you up with a single doughnut, but the taste may make you want to go back for another.

The real revelation to me are the Cinnamon Sugar Rings, harkening back to a simpler time when doughnuts were just fried rings of dough with a simple topping these taste better then any other simple doughnut I have tasted.  The texture is great, substantial without being heavy and somehow the cinnamon sugar just pops my taste buds awake every time.  Probably the only place, this side of the Café Du Monde Beignets from New Orleans that you will taste anything this simple and good.

Prices are very affordable, especially considering the size and quality of what you are getting, last time I checked a dozen glazed doughnuts were $9.   The sticks were slightly more.  In addition there are a variety of breads and other baked items you can buy.  It is also worth shopping the small aisle for bulk food items; I usually pick up popcorn at great price and will see what else hits my fancy.

I would strongly recommend stopping out and trying these doughnuts if you are anywhere in the area.  For that matter you can make a trip of it; stop at Middlefield Cheese and get some great Swiss or other cheese and imported items; shop through the stalls at Middlefield Market and see what obscure item you can find; of head to Headwaters Park or Swine Creek for a very nice hike.  Of course there is a lot more interesting things to do in Amish country so stop by and visit.  Remember the Market is closed on Sundays.

I will warn you that these doughnuts can become habit forming; I brought a couple dozen in for the instructors at the dealers academy to welcome them to the Cleveland area and I started to get frequent requests to bring them more, I ended up making a couple more runs over the academy and they were always a big hit.

Doughnuts from Nauvoo Family Market get my highest recommendation, well worth the drive.