Lolita - Tremont

We have always liked to watch Iron Chef Michael Symon on TV.  We have been to his burger place B-Spot in Beachwood and loved it.  Ever since then we have been wanting to try one of his Cleveland places, Lola and Lolita.  Instead of buying Christmas presents for each other we decided to go to Lolita.  Don't get me wrong, it was a tough decision, at one point we had reservations at both places.  Somehow, we managed to pick Lolita and we couldn't be happier we did.
The atmosphere was perfect for the place, it was fancy but still comfortable, with a bar and visible cooking area.  We were seated at the front window seat and I was worried I would be cold but I never even noticed (that could have been the red wine though!)  We started the night with a bottle of The Prisoner wine recommended by our wine guy.  It was great!  Even though we knew what we wanted we still studied the wine list.  Wine is kind of a hobby of ours.  We were impressed with the wine list.  There was a very large selection of by the glass wines, and bottles across all price ranges.  The Big Guy is a beer snob.  We make our own and he has tried every kind he can get his hands on in North East Ohio.  We liked that the beer list here included a lot of local beers.  Then the waitress brought bread and dipping oil.  That was a good start to the food, but the jury was still out.  Then the waitress brought this:

The Big Guy's meat butter

My rabbit

And that was it for The Big Guy.  He was in love.  This was the best bone marrow he has ever had.  I even had a bite.  I don't see the love affair he has with it but it wasn't as gross as I thought it would be.  I got mussels with chorizo as my app.  We didn't get a pic because I ate it so fast.  Seriously the best chorizo I have ever had, could be because it was covered in mussel juice, but it was great.  I ate a whole second piece of bread sopping up the juice in the bottom of the pan.  I was worried I wasn't going to be able to eat my entree.  We had the waitress wait to bring our entree out so we could digest some.  She was great too.  Really nice, talked to us, and brought us what we wanted when we wanted.  There was also a Server's Assistant (SA) who was great.  Our water was never less than 3/4 full and never empty dishes on the table.  Then the entrees came.  They were beautiful.  I felt like we had never been out of the house.  I love to cook so we don't go out to eat as much as some people, but we do love to try new places.  I ordered pappardelle pasta with rabbit and mushrooms.  All from Ohio of course.  It was amazing.  I had never had rabbit before but figured this was the place to try it.  I am glad I did.  The pasta was light, the sauce awesome.  I was actually able to eat most of it even though I ate so much beforehand.  TBG got a pork chop.  It was actually very big.  His side was fried brussel sprouts.  The pork chop was nice and moist, unlike most pork chops.  The sweet sauce complimented it perfectly.  The sprouts were the best either of us had ever eaten.  Every last bite was eaten.

Fried Brussel Sprouts and Pork Chop

Then, suddenly the last drop of wine was drunk, the bill was paid, and it was time to get the car from the valet.  We had a great time and found ourselves not ready to leave.

Service____ 10 Chipps
Food____10 Chipps
Atmosphere____10 Chipps
Beer List____7 Chipps
Wine List____8 Chipps
Value____9 Chipps