9 lists of 8

Because I am coming off a hectic weekend, and 2 relaxing days off, I gave my brain a day off.

My new found Canadian Buddy, Will tagged me in a game of lists.  9 lists of 8.  They are predetermined lists. But I need a break for now.  At the end, you get a chance to play along.

8 TV Shows I watch:
Law & Order: SVU-This is where I get all my knowledge on crime.
Myth Busters- I love how nerdy Adam and Jamie are to get to the bottom of Urban Legend
Glenn Beck- I know I know. But like I have tweeted before, part thinks he is full of shit, the other thinks he might be right.  I hope he is full of shit, but something tells me he isn't.
Local News on WKYC-TV-When it comes to the news in Cleveland, I turn to our NBC affiliate.  The weather reports are pretty accurate, but they don't scare me with their 8 million Doppler Radars.  
Top Chef-I am not what you would call a foodie, and frankly I hate the word.  I am a guy who likes to cook and likes to eat.  I don't criticize restaurants, I don't tell you to stop going there.  If I write about it; it was good.  If I am quiet, then I think it sucked, but I am not so entrenched in my opinions of a place to tell you that it sucked.  Top Chef really let's me spend time with Audrey and show her food is something to get excited about.
ESPN First Take-Although I am not your typical guy, I am still a guy.  I like to see what they are saying about my Browns
Iron Chef America-Michael Symon is from Cleveland.  I always watch when he is on.
Diners, Drive In's, and Dives-This season is featuring 7 or 8 Cleveland area restaurants.  Check that show out.

8 Favorite Places to Eat & Drink
Bar Symon-Goes without saying I like Symon.  He's a Cleveland dude.  The fact he opened a restaurant in my home town, I think it goes without saying I love the place and will support it in anyway I can.
The Greenhouse Tavern-Although I have only been there once, I loved the wings, beef tartar, and wine.  It may be a 'green' restaurant, but political buzzwords aside, it's fantastic.  It's run by two great people Jonathon Sawyer, and Chef's Widow.
B-Spot-Symon's new burger joint.  I love burgers.  I love Symon.  Enough said.
Swenson's-See B-Spot but strike the word Symon and just plug in burgers. 
Fiesta Jalapeno- The Mexican joint across the street. Love it.
Melt-Coming up on Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives on February 8th.  Grilled Cheese and Beer.
My Kitchen-I have made plenty of great meals at home, but I love it when Wifey and I are in the kitchen together, but it doesn't happen too often.
My Mom's house-Who doesn't love their mom's cooking?

8 Things I look forward to:
Sexy time with the Wifey-Do I really need to explain that?
Eventually a 'by' line in a published book, article, magazine and then getting a check made to my name as a result.-C'Mon, I've been published 3 times, but never got paid for it! 
Comments on my blog posts-A bloggers wet dream is getting a shit ton of comments.  Don't make me beg.
The end of my work days-Work has been tough recently and I usually like the overtime, but as of late, I love going home to the family as fast as possible
Getting my car fixed-Hopefully it will be fixed by the end of the week
Addison being potty trained-Changing diapers is shitty, and yes, that pun was intended. 
Change-for the good.  It may include, but is not limted to, becoming independently wealthy, getting a full time gig that will pay me to write, having smart kids that will take care of me when they get rich.
A visit from a certain blogger who started this whole list thing-Vodka Logic is coming to town!


8 Things that happened yesterday:
Baby woke up a million times, thus trumping something I was looking forward to-2 guesses as to what that was.
I called to see how much it was going to cost to fix my car-I really wish I was more mechanical to know when I was getting raped up my ass.  At least the inmates in prison can see it coming.
Watched a ton of news-I love the news.
I forgot to put out the garbage for the garbage truck for the 2nd week in a row-I have a feeling it is going to get stinky.
I did the dishes-I am domesticated.
I read a lot of blogs-But only commented on a few.  
Laughed- I seem to do this a lot when I am not at work
Watched the Wifey sleep- And I tried to figure out what she sees in me.  She is so much cooler than me.


8 Things I love about Winter:
The Cold-The Wifey gets closer when it is cold.  That's why the house is kept at 52 during the summer.
Snow!-Although I haven't skied in years, I always watch the ski forcasts.
Cozy fires-I need a fire place
Emergency Snow Warnings-It means it's going to be a fun day behind the wheel.
It's when Addi was conceived-We did it a lot that winter.  
The hush on the street when the snow falls-The snow on the ground just mutes all the noise cars make
The last day of cold before it turns into spring-I like it when it ends.
That first snow fall-It's always amazing

8 Things on my wish list:
A portable mixing board-It would really help with the podcast
A night without the kids-I want to take the lady out to a good dinner at one of the 8 places we love to eat, maybe a movie, and then maybe do it like teenagers after words without worry the kids will hear/walk in.
A new car-More specifically a Ford Taurus SHO.  Sexy car.   I want it loaded.

A new laptop-More specifically a 15" Mac Book Pro
A happy and prosperous life and family- Like anyone else.
A new house-Need a bigger house with a yard.
A Superbowl win for the Cleveland Browns-Need I say more?
My own airplane-So I could have breakfast in San Fransisco and dinner in NYC.  Lunch on board.


8 Things I am passionate about:
My wife and children-They are the most amazing people in my life
Sales-Sales is not about hitting a number, it is about forming and cultivating relationships. 
Writing-I like to write, and I think I am ok at it.  Sometimes I think I suck, but sometimes I really do think I am awesome.  Average it out, and I am just ok.
Reading-Read to escape and learn.
Music-Especially not the shit you hear on the radio.  Local, grassroots shit.  The demo tape made in a garage is my favorite.  Gritty, honest, and usually awesome!
Food-I hate boxed dinners
Coffee-Local coffee houses are awesome, but few and far between thanks to Starbucks.
Learning-Whether it be about myself, or anyone else, I am a fan of the human being.  

8 Words I often use:
[in no particular order]
Awesome.
Happy. 
Please.
Thank-You.
Fuck.
Hello.
Cock.
Shit.

8 Things I learned from the past:
That the freedom America has wasn't exactly fought for, but negotiated.-Read Zinn's book; A People's History of the United States of America then follow it with McCullough's biography on John Adams.
That it could be worse-A childhood story that my Grandpa read to me.  It's a philosophy to live by.
Abstinence only programs do not work- I was in a school district that taught us what a condom was, and also what spermicidal lubricant was, and also how to put on a condom, by demo-ing it on a banana.  I look back on that day in health class in 9th grade as the information I use most often.  They also said that the only form of birth control that was 100% effective was abstinence.  As a result of this class I abstained until I was nearly 21, although I almost had sex when I was 18, but stopped short.  I have only had 2 partners.  Knowledge is power.
Prohibition created NASCAR-Google that.
The 60's looked scary as hell-I watched  a documentary on 1968, and it was fucked up.  
History repeats itself-I am working hard on not repeating my mistakes.
Humans will eventually be extinct-And it doesn't matter how many windmills we put up.  Eventually we are all going to die.
Gravity is awesome-Sir Isaac Newton.  Thanks for discovering it!


8 Things I want/need:
To be idolized by my children-Really, my kids need to think I am awesome
Money-It's tight right now.
Clarification on how we are NOT helping Haiti-I have seen interview after interview of American's telling the government get involved in the recovery effort.  We have Marines, War Ships, and a TON of American Aide on the ground.  We cannot just wave a magic wand.  
I need the celebs to raise money for things in their own country-For instance.  When disaster strikes, Hollywood, the fashionable cause monger they are, gets involved.  I have not seen 1 PSA from then helping out the people of this country since Katrina.  Why can't Clooney raise money to help average guys like me pay off their debt?!  I don't care what you think, but if you want to use your celebrity for something, help us out, don't tell us what you think.
Motivation-Seems I am lacking some motivation as of late.  I don't know what it is.
A new couch-Anyone who has sat down on this thing has had a hard time getting out of it.  It sucks you in.
A new TV-The one I have is sweet, but it is also 300 pounds.
A new car-For either my wife or for me.  Just want a new one


I am supposed to tag 8 people.  I say eff that.  I like breaking rules.  If you want to play along, let me know in the comments section.  I will come check it out and comment on it.
     

Michael Symon is NOT a bastard

Not too long ago, I was at a blogger event at the Greenhouse Tavern.  During this time I met some of the Cleveland Blogger Elite.  From Cleveland's a Plum, Chef's Widow [who hosted this event], and many many more.  I also met Michael Symon.  If you went back and read that blog, you will notice that I called him a bastard to his face for reading this humble blog, but not commenting on it.

Well a few posts later I went to his new restaurant and wrote a little piece about THAT.  Well later that day, the Iron Chef commented on the post.

So this is my public retraction of previous comments that Michael Symon is a bastard.  Well honestly, I never really thought he was, but it just kind of came out.

Chef, thanks a bunch, and can't wait to try the new menu at Bar Symon.

No BS at B Spot

I want to apologize.  There was supposed to be a post yesterday wrapping up the holiday shopping season with a rant about dickhead teenagers.  Well it never posted and when I went back to investigate, it isn't there.

Maybe I was too tired to correctly put it up and in my sleepy stupor, I forgot to upload it into blogger.  Who knows?  What DO know is that I went out to dinner with the Wifey and Addi and it was great.

Now I am accused of waxing poetic about food.  My co-workers who read regularly often tell me that I am always writing my best when I write about food.

Well, this post is no different.

Our restaurant of choice was B Spot.  Michael Symon's latest creation.  Burgers, Beer, Brats, Bar Snacks, Bad Ass Milkshakes, and god knows what else you can think of that starts with the letter B.

I am a burger fanatic.  I love to make them on the grill, I love to eat them with various toppings, and I enjoy fresh ground meat.  Now many would think that people would automatically like Michael Symon's restaurants because they are supposed to.  He's a well known chef.  It must be good.  Well I am not one of those people.  I think his restaurants are fantastic because he isn't trying to recreate anything from space to space.  He has 4 very different restaurants.  Lola, fine dining; Lolita, or Lola v1.0 as I like to call it; Bar Symon, casual; B Spot, Burgers.  The only restaurant I have not been to is Roast in Detroit.  But when you look at it all, he uses fresh ingredients and that is what makes the food good.

The B Spot is going to be addicting.  There are so many burgers to choose from, I would have no choice but to go back over and over and over and over again.

Now, I have a special attraction to meat topped with meat.  My burger concoction was called the Fat Doug. Burger, Cheese, Pastrami, Cole Slaw, Mustard, all on a bun.  It was lovely.  Cooked to a perfect medium rare, it was amazing.  Jenn had the Symon Says.  I forgot what was on it, but it looked great and there were no complaints on the other side of the table.

I think the best part of the dinner was the sides.  Jenn ordered the chili cheese fries, which were awesome.  I ordered the Chips with Parmesan fondue and rosemary.  It was a suggestion from a twitter friend Tom Noe.  He's a food writer and he replied to a tweet and suggested it.  I got it and boy was he right!  I love fried food.  I love cheese.  I love fried food smothered in cheese.

Besides the food, Symon really showed his personality with this place.  He has a disclaimer.  This is not a fine dining restaurant.  Don't be mad that you can't get a reservation.  Don't whine, and by god don't throw names around.  I think this is important based on some reactions I get when I talk to people about Bar Symon.  People want to make reservations because they want a seat.  Well, these restaurants are not downtown, nor are they fine dining.  Get over it, wait in line like us common folks.  

Best line on the disclaimer, #7, If you are reading this and making funny faces, drink your favorite bourbon, beer, or what ever, and relax, because you are too uptight for this place.

B Spot.  No Bullshit.

Recapping the week that was.

I am having trouble finding the words I need.  This past week was probably the best week ever. 

Lemme take it from the top.

In the midst of a busy Black Friday weekend, my ambitious Wifey decided to have some friends over for dinner.  It was just a small gathering of 10 people.  This was the first large scale entertaining we have ever done. Sure, we have had the proverbial cookout, but a cookout is a little different than a Thanksgiving dinner.  Cooking some burgers on a grill.....preparing a turkey for roasting.  3 pounds of flesh...20 pounds of flesh.

Thanksgiving is 10x harder, especially when you have a hardheaded wife determined to do it all herself.  For those who followed her Twitter Feed that day, thanks for the encouraging words, because she did a fantastic job.  The only thing I can take credit for is the turkey.  She cooked everything from the corn pudding to the pumpkin pie. 

Here are just a few shots from the evening.

[The Turkey.  Salt Water Brine.  Coated in a pound of butter.  Seasoned with salt and pepper and filled with apples and onions and celery and NEVER BASTED]

[The guests. L-R: The Wife, Jenn P, Pat, Julie, the Audrey, Devon, Brendan, Josh, Carrie, and Lee]

So with the big dinner out of the way, next on the social calendar was dinner with Josh and Carrie on Wednesday.  I wrote about that experience here.  I can't say enough good things about that night.  I was so proud of Audrey.  She is really coming into her own and becoming quite the foodie. 

Now the next day, I committed myself to a fundraiser at The Greenhouse Tavern.  I wrote about that night here.  Again, I can't say enough great things about THAT night either.  I met so many like-minded people it made my head spin.  My Twitter following has nearly doubled as a result of that evening, and I continue to get photos in my inbox about that night.  Here are a few of the latest photos I got from Blog it Forward, #cocktailsforanissa. 

[Chef Symon, Carrie, Chef Josh, and Wifey]

[The Chef and The Chef talking about what chefs talk about]

Now today we have another night out.  3 nights out in one week.  How exciting my life has become!  Anyway, I won tickets from work to see A Christmas Carol at Playhouse Square this afternoon.  Can't wait to make it out to the theater, it's been a very long time. 

So that is the week that was.  This isn't the most entertaining post I have had, but I am so damn tired from this week, I need to take a nap!

Let's hope the next few weeks are just as awesome as this past week was!

What would YOU do?

[The photo of Michael Symon telling me (you can see my hair only) that he read my blog.  Chef Pallardy and the Wifey.  photo courtesy of Chef's Widow]

So for the past few posts my blog has been an uber love fest for Michael Symon.  I have trepidation about posting this for a few reasons.  The world doesn't need another Michael Symon story, and I don't want to embarrass my friends, but then again, fuck it, Symon is the shit, and if you can't take some hazing from me at some point, you need to hang out with me more.

So, like I stated before, I was at this fundraiser.  The fundraiser brought out the geek elite, the Cleveland Bloggers to The Greenhouse Tavern.  It also brought out Michael Symon. It also raised over $1K too.

Now over the Thanksgiving holiday a good friend of mine and his wife and new son drove from Washington D.C.  My friend Josh is a chef in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dining Room at the Pentagon.  Yes, THE Pentagon.

The weeks leading up to his leave to come home, we chatted online about what we wanted to do, and planned our nights out because of my limited shitty retail schedule. I had 2 days off while they were in town and Michael Symon is his idol.  Is that what you call someone you look up to?  Anyway, his goal for his trip out was to go a Michael Symon restaurant [Bar Symon], and have great great food.  I mean we did both.  And by did both, I mean my tastebuds needed the morning after pill.

So, we went to this fundraiser and across the room was Josh's idol.  The reason that keeps him running in his day to day grind.  Symon was chilled out, having a quiet dinner with his wife and talking to the people he knew there.  At one point he was heading out, and he walked through the bar and just chatted.  I glanced over and saw my good friend Kasey talking to THE Symon.  After she had her convo, she came over and I said, Josh has been dieing to meet him.  He is a culinary God to Josh as he also just a plain ole GOD to the rest of Cleveland.

So Kasey kind of looked at Josh sideways.  You know the way you look at someone when you want to tell them they don't make any sense.

"Well, go introduce yourself!" Kasey said.

Josh was nervous.  "Adam, you coming with?"

That's when Kasey chimed in.  "Aren't you in the military?  You went through boot camp, and you can't walk over there and just say hi to Michael Symon?  You don't have the cajones to do that?" [I'm paraphrasing.  The wine has dulled my memory]

That was all the encouragement he needed and off he went.  He walked up to the Chef and said hello.  Chef to Chef.

The rest as they say is history, but I think it's a pretty funny observation.

I mean Josh was deployed in the desert.  He has experienced a mortar attack on foreign soil.  He has fired an M-16.  He cooks for some of the MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, and he couldn't muster the courage without a little encouragement.

I think Symon should have been nervous to shake hands with Josh honestly.  I mean Symon cooks for us common folk.  He doesn't cook for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the biggest office building in the world.

What would you do if you were suddenly across the room from your idol?  Would you say hello?

I know I would say hello if given the opportunity.

What would YOU do?

#cocktailsforanissa

There are things I have learned since starting this blog.  You never know who you are going to meet.  You never know where you will find yourself.  You never know why things happen the way they do, but in the end, things happen for a reason.

Last night was something magical.

Fellow blogger Chef's Widow [who recognized me and knew my name which was just a shock to me] was called into action by a tragedy.  Anissa, a fellow blogger out there in the world, who was only 35 or so, had 2 strokes.  She was in a coma.  She is in bad shape.  The Widow decided to throw a party in her honor.  So the "Blog it Forward" dubbed #cocktailsforanissa was born.  She was donating proceeds to Anissa's family to help with whatever they needed help with.  The Cleveland Blogging community stepped it up and came forward to "Blog it Forward".  We all need good Karma, and we all need to have those little guardian angels.  

Not only was this my opportunity to help out a great cause, which by the way was able to raise $300+ in a 50/50 raffle, but it also afforded me the opportunity to head out to the Greenhouse Tavern.  I have talked about it.  I have watched many videos about the place, but I have never had the opportunity to head down to the Tavern to enjoy the deliciousness that is Jonathon Sawyer's cooking.

I have been dreaming of having his much raved beef tartar.  I have never had beef tartar before, so what better time to try it.  I just hope I am not spoiled from it.  The texture of the raw beef, the seasoning, the garlic in the fries.  It was just heaven on a plate.  I also had 2 plates of crispy fried chicken wings with the wife's help, which were out of this world.  This stuff had sex with my taste buds.  That's the best way I could tell you.  I loved it all!

Now, the Widow was able to pull out some amazing people.  Just to mention a few of them, we had Tony Ramos, Kasey Crabtree [which you met last Saturday], Jeanne from Life in Cleveland, Alexa from Cleveland's a Plum, Amelia from Chef's Widow, Rima from Rimarama, KaKaty, Josh a.ka. Chef Pallardy, Carrie from Shawnee's Girl, Julie from West of Cleveland, and who am I forgetting?  Oh yeah, Michael Symon.

I don't want to go on and on about Michael Symon, I did that enough yesterday, but I DO want to share a little story.

Like I said before, you never know who is reading your blog, but something funny happened.  In the midst of all the chaos, somehow I was able to get my good friend Chef Pallardy to go introduce himself.  While they were chatting about being chef's and what not, before he walked away I was able to say, "Hey Chef, just wanted to say my 7 year old daughter loved your roasted bone marrow at Bar Symon last night."

He stopped turned around and said, "YOU'RE the dude who wrote that today?  I totally read that, she also had the goat cheese mac n cheese huh?"

My heart skipped a beat.  He read my blog.  I was so floored I just stopped and said, "Dude, you read but didn't comment you bastard."

He laughed and went on his way after posing for a picture with Chef Pallardy and his wife and MY wife.  I took the picture, but I don't need my picture with him.  Michael Symon is a totally nice dude.  I could drink with him more often.  I'm sure he has some great stories.

Talking about nice dude's Chef Sawyer was an amazing guy too.  I was able to stop and talk to him very shortly as he had a kitchen to run, but I did make sure to comment on his beef tartar. He also was explaining sustainability, and things like that.  I am not much of a tree hugger, but I definitely respect a guy who has convictions like that.  I think we all need something to believe in.  I was inspired by him and his wife.  If I could have a FRACTION of the success they have worked for, I would be a happy guy.   

Last night was so amazing I am having a hard time writing about it.  There were just so many layers to the evening, I am having trouble with it.  I could write a blog about every person I met, but I think somehow you would get bored.

All in all I loved the Green House Tavern.  They definitely deserve all the praise and acclaim they have gotten over the past year.  Thanks to Chef's Widow for hosting and putting together such a great event to meet other great twitterers and bloggers from the good ole Cleveland. 

I'm sure there will be future blogs posts and photos about the debauchery that happened there.  Many many disposable cameras have completely random photos of us just drinking and having a good time! 

If you want to read more about #cocktailsforanissa and relive the fun we had, go to twitter and search the hashtag in the title.  It was a fantastic evening I really enjoyed being a part of.

Roasted Bone Marrow anyone?

It feels so great to be back from the long weekend.  I hope you enjoyed all my guest bloggers while I was away.  Kasey was calling them Adam's Angels.  I would have to agree.  So from the bottom of my heart, thank you to Kasey, Laura, Ashley, Jules, and last but not least, my wife, Mrs. Throwing Quarters. 

It was a long weekend and I couldn't have blogged even if I wanted to.  I also want to thank you for all the great comments you have left for all my guest bloggers.  Thank you thank you and again, thank you.

So, now that I am back, what should I talk about?  Should I talk about mean customers?  No.  Been there done that.  Should I talk about the awesome Thanksgiving dinner we had this past Sunday?  Yes, but not right now.  I want to talk about food, but I want to share a more recent story.

When you go out to eat, what goes through your head as a parent?  Do you instantly think of what the kids menu is before you leave because you want to make sure your child eats?  What happens? 

It can be a point of anxiety for many parents.  For me?  I don't even care.  I go eat where I want to eat, and I know if I take Audrey along, she is going to eat something.  She isn't going to look for chicken fingers, Kraft macaroni, or pizza unless it's given as a choice.  She is a typical 7 year old.  She likes those things, I cannot fault her.  But as of late she has been asking for things I am not expecting her to ask for.  "Dad, can I try that mustard over there?" or "Dad, I'm not sure if I like it, but can I try that A-1 steak sauce?" or "Dad I don't like those sweet potatoes, but I tried them." 

She does this without me asking.  It literally warms my heart.  I have tried and tried and tried to give Audrey more than just the crap you can get on a kids menu at any restaurant chain.  She orders off it when available, but I don't fret when we go somewhere that doesn't have a published kids' menu.

Audrey and I watch Top Chef together all the time.  I am trying to show her that people get excited about food.  We watch Iron Chef.  We watch Diners, Drive In's, and Dives.  She gets excited about food. 

Well when I told her that my friends Josh and Carrie were coming in from out of town, we are all going to Bar Symon, she was more than excited. 

My friend Josh is a chef in the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Dining Room at the Pentagon, and a total food guy.  So when Michael Symon built a restaurant in our home town, we had to make sure he went while he was on leave. 

Audrey walked around school for weeks telling her classmates and teachers that SHE was going to Bar Symon and that she was excited.  She had no clue about the menu, but she was excited to go.  I knew the menu enough to know that there was something for her on it, but she is the big girl, she can pick what ever she wanted.

 [panorama shot from the table. You can see the Wifey, Audrey, and Josh's Wife Carrie]

So let's go through the progression last night.  Josh ordered the Roasted Bone Marrow for an appetizer.  His wife, Carrie, and I have read the Julie and Julia Project so we were curious about what roasted bone marrow was.  Josh had it many times in his line of work, but Carrie and I thought it was like a unicorn.  Something everyone always talked about but no one ever saw in the wild.  We have yet to see it on any menu at any restaurant we have ever been to.  Now I know there are some great French restaurants out there, but I have never seen this in the wild.  

To the table came the Bone Marrow [pictured to the left] served right in the bone.  Carrie dove in first, and I was just so excited to try it that I almost jumped out of my skin when Audrey said this:

"Dad, can I try it?"

What?  What does your kid eat again?  Oh that's right, Kraft Macaroni N Cheese off the mother fucking kids menu.

So with delight Josh scooped up some roasted bone marrow onto the toast it was served with and just watched, with my mouth gaping open.  What she said next I almost peed my pants.

"Wow, Dad, I like this, can I have more?"

What?  Yeah you have trouble getting your kid to eat chicken fingers at Friday's, my child eats roasted bone marrow!  You know the stuff from INSIDE the bones of a cow!  She eats that! And she asked for more!

So the waiter, named Steve, yeah he was that good I remembered his name, came back to take dinner orders and Audrey decided to try something I was equally impressed with.  Goat Cheese Mac N Cheese.  She knew it was not Kraft, but then again there is comfort in knowing your pasta is about to be smothered with cheese. 

I looked around.  There were other parents there with their children, all eating off the non published kids' menu.  Buttered noodles, chicken fingers, and who knows what else was on there.  Audrey was ordering off the big kids menu and loving it.  Score one for my daughter!  Even the wife was impressed!

Later on in the night I let Audrey's mom know what she ate and she sent back, Eww, that sounds gross. 

I just sighed in frustration and why doesn't anyone else think that this is the coolest thing in the world?!

So I ordered a braised pork shank, because let's face it, pigs are tasty.  That is also pictured.  The wife got the burger.  But Audrey kept tasting everything.  She tried the braised pork shank, the goat cheese mac n cheese [which she loved btw], and even the Bar Symon burger.  Along with the Bacon and Apple Bread Pudding, Brown Butter Whipped Potatoes, and many many other great things! 

For dessert we tried every dessert they had.  It was just a magical night all around.  Good brews, good eats, and good conversation.

It's always nice to talk to someone about Cleveland when they are away from Cleveland.  You can see a bigger picture of Cleveland and not the narrow-minded views of the residents.  The can't see the forest from the trees I believe is the analogy.  Cleveland, as it turns out, has become a travel spot for foodies.  I have read about this in the times, but I have yet to have it confirmed by someone outside Cleveland that I actually knew.

Anyway, our tour of Cleveland Food resumes tonight as Josh, Carrie, and the Wife head down to the Greenhouse Tavern for Blog it Forward Happy hour.  If you don't have anything to do, get down there.  There is more info about it here. 

Who needs Michael Symon or Jonathon Sawyer when you have me?!

So what does an impatient Dad do while he waits for his wife go into labor?

Cook.

Who needs Michael Symon or Jonathon Sawyer when you have me? I take that back. We all need them, but when you aren't going to venture to their fine restaurants, what do you do?

Cook.

Last night I decided to cook a summer staple in my house. Burgers! The variation we had was a play on the Royal Red Robin Burger, the Bar Symon Burger, and Napoleon Dynamite's osbession with tater tots.

The burger was stuffed with cheddar cheese, and bacon. Topped off with an egg, sunny side up, and served on an English Muffin. It was amazing. It was also breakfast for dinner.

Wifey wanted a vegetable, and I wanted more cheese. That's how we came up with the broccoli and cheese. I have a Napoleon Dynamite fascination with tater tots, so that topped the whole dish off.

I apologize for not having something more interesting to talk about, but once this child is born, there will be endless streams of stories. Right now. I am having hard time concentrating.

Date Night at Bar Symon

Finally, after less than a week of being open, I couldn't stay away any longer. I wanted to see what all the hype was about. Was Michael Symon just another celebrity chef who lent his name to a less than stellar restaurant experience? I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I wanted to experience a dining experience you couldn't get at a T.G.I. Friday's [or is it just plain Friday's now?] with it's 13 or 14 pieces of flare. I wanted to go to a restaurant in my hometown that wasn't Italian [Fratello's and Stella's] and I didn't want to go where we always go.

I am always up for adventure. My marriage with Jenn is much like a Yin and Yang of life. I like to live on the wild side and explore what I have been too scared to eat. Jenn usually plays it safe with her choice of cuisine, where as I will gladly try a fried plantain on a prime rib sandwich with chipotle mayo. I am willing to take the road less traveled just to see where we end up, rather than play it safe on the highways. This was apparent in our drive on our honeymoon.

So what was Bar Symon all about? It's a beer joint, plain and simple and that is thrust right in your face as soon as you walk into the restaurant. Just to the right you can see all 40 taps staring at you, daring you try every single one of them. There isn't a hip tour [Winking Lizard] surrounding the beer selection which is something I knew would be absent, and for good reason.

Now, before I get too far into the guts of the restaurant, I want to just make an observation about the location. The new Bar Symon sits in a carcass of a once thriving part of Avon Lake. Since the implosion the Tops Supermarket chain, that part of my hometown has never been the same. Many places have tried to hack it in that plaza, but somehow they fell short. Now with Bar Symon, it's nice to see cars in the parking lot and people walking through the doors. I really hope that this is just the beginning of a revitalization, rather than another failed attempt. I think my rose colored glasses look great on me. [We'll get back to this.]

The wait ran up to a 60-90 minutes, which is something I was expecting, so we put our names on the list and ran to Wal-Mart to get some things for the baby's room. It also helps to know the hostess, which I did, because she was ready for us when we got back about 45 minutes later. Perfect timing, or knowing someone? I would like to think it's because I knew someone, but then again I am more than likely wrong about that.

We sat down near the kitchen in the back of the house, away from the bustling bar which had a certain electricity to it. Not really loud, but it wasn't quiet. I guess it's just plain old fashion atmosphere. The servers were attentive, the bus boys invisible, and most importantly, everyone was polite. I may not be a food critic, but I am certainly a critic of service. I work in sales for a living, and a big part of sales is customer service. I was not disappointed in this, although it must be mentioned that our server did forget the bread and butter, but then again, I didn't know I was getting it, so until he said, "Oops, I forgot..." I wouldn't have known.

Jenn and I both ordered the same meal. The Bar Symon burger. Jenn knew that a burger wasn't going to mess with her delicately balanced machine of a baby incubator. I have no doubt that after the baby is born, Bar Symon will play host to many more date nights, and maybe double date nights, [Carrie and Josh; Shelly and Chris; Julie and Dave; I am talking to you]. I said in a previous blog, I love a good burger so I would be a fool to pass up this burger.

It took me longer to order my beer [the list is HUGE] than it did to make a decision on dinner. By the way, I ordered a Great Lakes Brewery variant called Grass Roots. Delicious. Sweet. Paired with the Burger perfectly. The beer played off the rosemary in the fries. Oh yeah and it's brewed right here in good ole Cleveland, Ohio.

There is something about red meat, bacon, cheddar, and an egg on an English Muffin that gets me energized. The fries were seasoned with rosemary and had a great ketchup with them. Delicious isn't the word, but it's close.

The yolk of the egg drenched the hamburger meat and fries in the basket below; It was a touch of rustic, yet the flavor of the refined. It's like wearing and Armani sport coat while rocking a pair of worn out Levi's. Maybe an overstatement, but you get the point.

I smashed that burger, and finished the fries and the server didn't have time to come back and ask if it was cooked correctly. I have the line from Ratatouille going in my head, "Just don't HORK it down..."

Well that's what I did. The hostess said when she seated us that we needed to same room for dessert. That is one thing you don't have to tell a pregnant lady twice. I made a decision on dessert about as fast as I did with dinner. Leave it to Bar Symon to serve Guinness Ice Cream with Pretzels and hot fudge. Jenn ordered the strawberry shortcake and made quick work of it. Like me, with the burger, Jenn is, with desserts [First trip to Kentucky with Jenn I witnessed her family condoning dessert with breakfast, and also dessert AS breakfast].

So what is the over all verdict? It is very very positive. Call me overly enthusiastic but, you would not be disappointed to visit. Jenn's remarks on dinner were, "The English muffin was so much better than a bun because it was less filling and delicate, but hearty enough to hold a burger. The portions were perfect, not too much, not too little." I do want to mention that she thought the Strawberry shortcake she ordered for dessert could have been bigger, but we need to take this with a grain of salt because let's face it, she's pregnant.

After the entire night, we ordered two burgers, two desserts, and a beer, and our bill came out to about $42.00 with a generous tip. This was less than the last trip we made to Red Robin. The food was way better.

Now on the drive home, I shared with my brother that I visited Bar Symon. I told him it was fantastic. He asked if the food was really that good or was it the name that I was admired with? He said that he wasn't impressed with Michael Symon. He said that he was greedy. The only reason he moved Lola downtown was because of the money. He, 'turned his back on Tremont, the area that made him'.

This must be his Cleveland pessimism coming out of him again, because where others saw greed, I saw opportunity. Why wouldn't Michael Symon want to make money? Isn't that what it's about. Principles don't feed your family. Instead of thinking like it was greed, look at what it has done to the Cleveland Food scene. We have a lot to thank Michael Symon for.

I thank him for putting a bright light in a dark plaza, and for a great meal with my wife. I will expand my ideas about the Cleveland food scene in the next Podcast, ready to air on July 14th. A local Cleveland foodie will be joining me this Sunday to record it.

A Cleveland Success Story

As many people know, I have a special love for a good burger. I often tweet about the stops I make along the way to various burger joints around Cleveland, and if my wife asks me what I want without offering any suggestions as to where we dine; my stock answer is, I could eat a burger.

Cleveland is known for it's spectacular blunders. The Drive, The Fumble, The Move, and now The Magic all seem to strike a chord with every Clevelander. Recently Cleveland has played host to federal investigators looking into the personal dealing with our county Commissioner Jimmy Dimora. Yeah, we have a politician who calls himself Jimmy. He had a press conference yesterday where he blamed everyone else investigating him as crooked, thus using the 'who ever smelt it, dealt it' defense.

What Cleveland needs is a success story for once. Is it wrong for me to be upbeat about a city that seems to never have anything going right for itself? No. I don't think so. Well coming July 1, to my hometown of Avon Lake, Ohio is a success story. It is a success story that comes out of a large blunder [yet again] in Cleveland, the high end restaurant that thought that Avon Lake had a ton of money, but then again didn't realize that we Avon Lakers were a bit cheap.

A few years ago, Cleveland started re-making itself. All of a sudden there were trendy little restaurants springing up in a part of town that is not know for its scene. The little borough in Cleveland, the Tremont neighborhood, started a revitalization. The Hallmark was a little restaurant called Lola. The brain child of Chef Micheal Symon, it went on to gain him notoriety and fame on the Food Network. Then he closed it. Was this the start of yet another classic Cleveland blunder? No. He moved the restaurant and retooled the old one. He moved Lola downtown, in the newly emerging Euclid corridor. A few years back the Euclid corridor made a cameo in Spiderman. You wouldn't recognize it now. The old restaurant was renamed Lolita, and thus out of one, came two, great places to be seen and eat in Cleveland.

Symon, since, has gone on to become an Iron Chef on the Food Network and built another restaurant in Detroit. A good ole Cleveland success story. Thank goodness. Finally.

Now with his latest creation opening up in Avon Lake, I can't wait to visit this newly minted, 'must dine' spot. I look forward to many adventurous meals there. I have usually played it safe while dining out with the wife. But like I said before, burgers hold a soft spot, and taking a look at the menu, Symon has created a burger we all love, but I still can't wait to see how he has made it his own. The Bar Symon Burger. Fried Egg, Cheddar. Two other things that I can't get enough of.

Funny thing. Cleveland is known as a city full of fat people. Is it no wonder that our restaurant scene has grown? God I love this city!

I can guarantee that you will be hearing about this on the Podcast. I can't wait to eat there.

**programming note**

The Throwing Quarters Podcast will be back with new episodes on July 14.