Luxe–Gordon Square Bistro

Gordon Square (the Detroit-Shoreway area) has become one of Cleveland’s most happening neighborhoods.  Starting with Cleveland Public Theater the area has developed into an attractive neighborhood and is one of Cleveland’s biggest successes.  One of the key steps in the development of this area was when Marlin

Kaplin, one of this area’s most respected restaurateurs decided to open Luxe in the heart of Gordon Square.  Having a Groupon in hand (the link for Groupon is here), I was excited to check Luxe out to see if it lived up to the hype.  Located at 6605 Detroit Avenue a block away from the Theater, Luxe offers a warm friendly face to the neighborhood.  The front windows are decorated with culinary quotes, which gives a feel for the interesting combination of whimsy and style that Luxe presents.
The inside is striking, with a Art Deco bar, tin ceiling and well chosen pieces throughout.  While pieces are eclectic, they are used with restraint, creating a pleasant slightly upscale feeling.  You feel welcome, but you know that this isn’t a hash house.
Service is friendly and attentive with a young, but knowledgeable staff.  Once settled out came a very nice artisanal bread bowl with some yummy pieces of crusty bread to start.   The menu (which you can see at the website here) contains a nice mix of interesting items.  I settled on the Calamari small plate and an order of the Lobster Risotto from the evening specials.

The Crispy Calamari was very well prepared with a light breading on the fresh squid and a quick fry, sided with some marinara and a lemon aioli.  The dish was well prepared and the sauces provided just the right punch to compliment the slightly sweet and tender squid.  When the plate was first put down I thought the portion was small, but part of that was being presented on a large plate; while certainly not huge, the calamari made a very nice appetizer.

Next up was the Lobster Risotto which was beautifully presented and had a wonderful aroma that made you want to just drink in the smell.   Topped with two large perfectly prepared grilled shrimp, the risotto was studded with lobster, shallots and asparagus.  The one quibble I had with the dish is that it wasn’t quite as creamy as I expect from a risotto.  As has been discussed in a recent Top Chef episode, where Tre was sent home, the rice should be creamy while maintaining their individual grains, here they were a bit more toothsome and could be molded into a shape rather then spreading out on the plate.  Even with that caveat, the dish was delicious.
Overall I found Luxe to be an excellent place to get some high quality food.  The portions are not huge for the price, but premium ingredients are used and are generally very well prepared.  Not the place to go if you are looking for a budget meal, but if you are headed to the Gordon Square it’s a great place to check out, with one of the nicer decors in Cleveland, great service, a relaxed atmosphere and some great bistro fare.

Fifty Six West - Lakewood Eclectic

This is the first of my Groupon deals that I have used and I am glad I did.  In this case, I got a $20 coupon for $9; using the coupon was easy, I gave it to my friendly server when I was seated and ended up not even seeing a check, all I had to do at the end was leave a tip.  Nice, easy, a very good deal and about the only downside was I may have had too much food.  You might want to give Groupon a try, they will email you a different deal each day, you just look until you find something interesting.  If you want to try it the link is here.

56W is located in two small storefronts on the corner of Detroit and Westlake Avenue, with the address being 16300 Detroit Avenue (Map is here).  The small brick building has a nice light blue awning over the door, with the 56W logo.  Once inside you find two nice clean rooms, with the majority of the tables in the dining room on the left.  The decor is modern and comfortable, the word that came to mind for me was tidy.  Tables are clean with a limited number of condiments.  Overall the feeling is relaxed and comfortable. 

The menu is an interesting mix of items, with 5 basic proteins served up as salads, sandwiches and large plates.  Add in some interesting appetizers and sides, plus some unusual sauces and you have an mix of the familiar and the exotic.  I found the food to be very good quality and well prepared.  Items are dominated by one or two major flavors, but those are usually interesting.

In this case I thought the food was very very good, especially for the price, but each item seemed like a small tweak here or there could have moved it up to excellent, this may just be my taste, but with a place this good you want to see them take the next step.

I started with a cup of the Veggie Chili which was one of the two soups available.  For $3 the portion was nice, but could have used some crackers of some kind on the side.  The Chili itself was more of a cross between a regular chili and a vegetable soup; a slightly thickened chili was loaded with vegetables and made a nice hearty start to the meal.  As chilies go this had a nice flavor, although a bit one note and definitely milder then I prefer.  A couple of shots of hot sauce woke it up, but I could have used some kind of meat substitute to make it feel like a real chili.

Next up was the fried pickles appetizer and this was the highlight of meal.  I received a very nice portion of dill pickle wedges beer battered and served with a nice dipping sauce beautifully presented in a modern white bowl.  I have been wanting to try fried pickles for a while now and if this is a what I can expect, I will have them more often.  The slightly sweet beer batter were nicely fried and wonderfully set off the salty flavor of the pickles, added to that was the nice contrast between the texture of the batter and the cooked pickles.  I might have cut the pickle slices a bit thicker so that there was a better balance with the batter.  I did not detect the hot spice that the menu promised and found the red curry dipping sauce to be nice, but nothing special.

My main course was the Seared Tuna sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries.  The tuna were two thin pieces of tuna, seared on the grill and stacked on top of each other with Asian Slaw and a Wasabi Mayo.  The tuna was well cooked, and still moist which was impressive since it is easy to dry out on the grill.  I think the sandwich would have been better with one thicker piece of tuna, which would allow for a sear while keeping the center rare.  Also a marinate before cooking could have deepened the flavor of the fish.  The Wasabi Mayo seemed to be concentrated in a small portion of the sandwich,with a couple of bites having a nose clearing blast and the rest having no Wasabi flavor; I would think making the mayo a bit milder and spreading it more evenly would solve this.  The slaw was crisp and mild, but I didn't get any flavor profile that made it Asian.  The side of sweet potato fries were excellent, with a nice sweetness and a very good and slightly spicy homemade ketchup.  I did not detect the promised chili rub on the fries which would have been a nice contrast.  For the most part the food presentation was nice and modern, but I had no idea why they stuck a big steak knife in the tuna sandwich; I could understand if I had gotten the steak or if the sandwich was so bit it needed to be cut to be eaten, but neither was the case here.

Service was friendly and attentive and it was clear that my waitress knew the menu well, which is always appreciated.

I would give 56W a strong recommendation, this is a place to get some flavorful high quality food at a reasonable price in a relaxed atmosphere.  This is a place that highlights one or two unusual flavors for each item, while not always delivering the punch the menu promises, they still do better than most places in the area.  I have been a bit more critical in this review, because I think 56W has such great potential and is so close.  I look forward to getting back and trying more of the menu.

Gamekeepers Tavern - Chagrin Falls Mainstay

Some family were in town for a Bar Mitvah and so we decided to go out to Gamekeepers in Chagrin Falls for lunch. Gamekeepers is located near the falls at 97 West Street, Chagrin Falls, Ohio (map is here). Gamekeepers has been around for quite a while and seems to have hit on a winning formula. The restaurant is made up of a number of rooms all decorated in classic American outdoors; lots of fishing and hunting decor, the feeling is casual, but in an old fashion way. The menu at lunch runs from $10 to $15 and is made up of classic American fare (a PDF of the menu is here). I had the Grouper sandwich and it was very nice. Two fillets of the fish were battered and perfectly deep fried. Served on a bun with lettuce tomato and a good tarter sauce it perfectly hit the spot. The chips that accompanied the sandwich were a little disappointing in that they seemed to have come out of a bag and not even one of the upscale kettle chips at that. Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well. I did want to mention that it was a real pleasure to have a waiter who actually seemed to know the menu and was able to answer questions and make suggestions. In addition, when he was not sure of an answer he went back and checked (bacon in the chowder and the answer was yes). Gamekeepers offers well prepared American fare in a nice setting without a lot of fuss or muss; it serves up quality food in nice portions. If you are looking for cutting edge or fancy presentations, this is not the place; however if you are looking for a place to deliver a good meal in a comfortable atmosphere, put Gamekeepers on your list.