Lola - Cleveland

Lola is another Michael Symon resturant located in the Gateway District on E. 4th Street in Downtown Cleveland.  We had never been to this area of Cleveland and immediately loved it.  There is valet parking although a little expensive at $15.  The rest of the "street" which is more like an alley has restaurants and shops.  We will definitely be back to try more of the restaurants.  When you walk in Lola you are greeted by a open bar area to the left with a beautiful glass wine cellar as the backdrop.  To the right is the hostess stand.  We had reservations which I would recommend, the restaurant was pretty full.  We were immediately sat at a small table too close to the other tables around.  We ended up talking to the tables around us throughout the meal because you couldn't avoid hearing others' conversations.  Other than that I liked the atmosphere.  The high ceiling was pretty and the place was larger than I expected.  The kitchen was open so you could watch what was going on if you wanted.  The waitress greeted us after we were served water and when we asked for a wine list we received an ipad.  It was really great to be able to look at the wines you want by country or grape and each wine had a picture of the label.  It was hard to tell how many wines they actually had but it was a lot.  Everything we would want they had.  The prices are actually on the cheap side for a bottle of wine at a fine dining restaurant.  In the meantime bread was brought to the table.  It was perfectly warm and garlicky with whipped butter. 

After we decided on a wine we ordered the beef check pierogies.  We were each presented with one large pierogi with a horseradish creme fraiche, wild mushrooms, and a BBQ sauce.  I could have eaten a whole plate of these.  The horseradish made the dish and the beef check was so flavorful.  The whole thing was actually creamy and smooth.  Next we ordered our entrees.  I ordered the wild boar cavatelli and TBG ordered the pork chop with cheesy polenta and BBQ onions.  The wild boar was great.  It was tender and flavorful.  It was not gamey, if you like pork or beef you would like wild boar.  The cavatelli was cooked perfectly and made the whole dish feel like comfort food and was very filling.  I only ate about half even though I wanted much more.

  The pork chops were moist and flavorful.  The cheesy polenta was the best we have ever had and the BBQ onions were also good.  I thought they were a little sweet, but TBG loved them.  The presentation was nicer than mine but both dishes were great.  After we were finished eating we still had some wine left so we ordered dessert.  We got the 6 a.m. special which is brioche french toast with a maple-bacon ice cream and carmalized apple.  Even as full as I was I wanted more of this dessert.  It was great.  The maple-bacon ice cream was unique and perfect with the warm fried french toast.  The maple flavor was not too strong and there was small pieces of bacon throughout.  The french toast was crunchy and soft on the inside.  I would go back just for this dessert.  After all this the waitress brought us 4 pine nut tyme lemon cookies.  These sound weird but were really good.  The texture was crispy at first, but chewy throughout.  The service overall was great.  The manager stopped by to make sure everything was going well and the bussers were always on top of clearing our plates and crumbs.  The food came out relatively fast too.  We didn't even look at a beer list.  The prices were high, but the food was worth it.  I would reccomend Lola to anyone willing to spend money for good food. 

Service____ 10 Chipps

Food____8 Chipps

Atmosphere____8 Chipps

Beer List____? Chipps

Wine List____10 Chipps

Value____9 Chipps

#1 Pho - Cleveland

Pho is a Vietnamese beef noodle soup.  It is delicious, but this happens to be the only place I have ever had it.  This is TBG's favorite pho.  I have nothing to compare to except that this is the only place in North East Ohio to get it.  There is a second place, Superior Pho, but it's across the street, so not any closer to my house!  I have not eaten anything else here, the beer list is Asian, but a large variety of Asian beers.  Sometimes the service is slow, but the last time we were there it went rather quick.  The large is very large, I get the small and still can't finish.  You can choose which cuts of beef you would like in your soup, it also comes out with a plate of toppings: bean sprouts, Thai basil, housin sauce, sricha, limes and jalapenos.

Service____ 6 Chipps
Food____8 Chipps
Atmosphere____5 Chipps
Beer/Wine List____6 Chipps
Value____8 Chipps

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