The Breckenridge Tap House @ Oscar's – An elevated taco experience

Don't you love when you have this gut feeling about a place and it pays off better than you even expected?

Taking a day off after three straight days of amazing Colorado skiing, we decided to lazily meander Breckenridge's busy Main Street. It’s a street packed to the gills with various coffee houses, boutiques, pubs and restaurants. A day can easily slip by in the dizzying array of tantalizing scents, sights and sounds. We were drawn to Oscar’s of Breckenridge – Tacos, Tequila, Whiskey – and their Tap House with its rustic, cool decor, and decided on a quick (if a bit early!) beer. With 34 beers on tap, you're sure to find something interesting to try. We went for local brews, and while enjoying them glanced over the menu and were intrigued. We weren’t hungry, so we continued weaving our way thru the town. All the while we kept thinking about Oscar's menu. We knew they had a great happy hour, so it was inevitable we would go back and conclude our day there. Their menu states “An elevated taco experience…” and is right on. It is amazing to have so much precise flavor complexity in every single taco bite.

We started with the Chips and Guac. So good and fresh. Served with a roasted red pepper sauce on the side. We had several of their creative ala carte taco offerings: Blackened Mahi Mahi, Slow Braised Carnitas, and Chef's Choice Seasonal Sautéed Veg tacos. Every single ingredient had its place and stood out, while being the perfect complement to every other ingredient.

Our server, Ashaley Lynn Reynaga also deserves a huge round of applause for being both knowledgeable of the entire pub/restaurant, and for being so accommodating with our usual barrage of menu, ingredient and restaurant questions. She really made the experience.

Oscar's was that unexpected surprise on our trip – of being drawn somewhere and ending up with a truly memorable experience. We love when that happens. Don’t you?

Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Certified Organic at Frickaccio's

What do diatomaceous earth and fish bladders have in common? You'd have to have attended Monday night's Les Dames d'Escoffier meeting at Frickaccio's in Fairview Park to know!

Photo by Gloria Kemer

Frickaccio's Owner, Dame Terry Frick and Chef Todd Rothman prepared a fantastic evening for lucky Cleveland Dames, full of demonstrations and tips for healthy and delicious vegan cooking, served with vegan wine.

Vegan wine? Isn't all wine vegan? Actually, no it is not. Dame Maggie Harrison educated us on the various methods used to fine (or filter and clarify) wines, which include straining it through dried egg whites or, less commonly, dehydrated fish bladder. Vegan wines use an alternate method. When seeking out vegan or vegetarian wines, one should look for un-fined wines, however, this is not something one can simply find on the label. Maggie noted Barnivore.com as a terrific resource for vegan wine, beer and liquor.

Oh, and if you are looking for gluten-free wines, seek out unoaked varietals. Oak barrel produced wines use wheat paste.

Dinner consisted of an abundant progressive tasting menu, balancing between lighter and heartier dishes, with explanations of flavors, ingredients, and processes along the way. Dames tried various gluten-free and vegan breads and spreads, an organic veggie pizza bagel, Chef Todd's vegan version of a crab cake (made with shredded hearts of palm), portobello bisque, strawberry / hazelnut salad, vegan paprikash, and an almond milk "ice cream" and flourless chocolate cake.

At the conclusion of dinner, Terry demonstrated making fresh almond milk in the Vitamix.

She then took us on a tour of the new facility and kitchen, and introduced us to Helga, her workhorse of a mixer! Frickaccio's does all of its baking on-site and sends product out to its West Side Market store and retailers, including Heinen's, whom she cites as a terrific partner. Frickaccio's offers around 10 varieties of certified-organic pizza dough balls, including gluten-free They are also trying something new with the new location – an eat-in cafe. Chef Todd looks to introduce creative vegan fare to the cafe-style menu.

Thank you, Frickaccio's, for hosting such an interesting, informative, and tasty evening!

The 5th Annual Brite Winter Celebration in Ohio City

Located in Cleveland's Ohio City Market District, the Brite Winter Festival is a festival of music, art, food, games and more. The attraction takes place both indoors and outdoors…. yes outdoors in the middle of February. Multiple intimate stages were set up throughout the area. Large warming fire pits huddled the masses as band after band, local and national, rocked the cold from the air with their original music. All local establishments participate, making Ohio City heat up on a cold Cleveland winter night.

We had no set plan other than finding a parking spot as quickly as possible and getting out into the evening. Parking is a bit of a challenge when more than 20,000 people descend on an area surrounding the West Side Market at West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue, but we got really lucky and followed someone who was leaving to their car. We grabbed a beverage from an outdoor Great Lakes Brewery tent and got into the music right away. Strolling through the event there is much to see. Art on display or being created… games, food trucks, people. We stopped for a moment, enjoying the sight of thousands of others enjoying yet another fantastic event in Cleveland. No one seemed to care that is was only 8 degrees out, we were embracing the offering of this great city and all the people who made this amazing event happen. The air was still, everyones' frozen breath evaporating into night air, and we were warm and part of something that was just cool. We thought of how it must feel to serve ice cold beer with frozen beer-soaked hands and gloves all night. How one's bare hand might feel holding the neck of their frozen guitar. How those who did never showed it. They just rocked it out and we can stay it was truly appreciated. A thank you to all. We braved the cold, only stopping inside to catch our final act at the Great Lakes Brewery Tasting Room stage. We were simply blown away by the talent of the bands we saw. Wish we could have seen more of them. Here are a few that we especially enjoyed.

Sidney York from Alberta, Canada played on the outdoor Town Hall Stage at 8:00 pm. We sat amidst the firepits and sipped Southern Tier's deliciously dessert-like Creme Brulee Beer. By the end of the performance we were on our feet dancing up front. Fronted by two females, they easily won the crowd over with their high-energy, sweet, addicting electro-pop.

The Ridges from Athens, Ohio played on the considerably warmer Great Lakes Brewing Co. Tasting Room Stage at 9:30 pm. They are an orchestral folk rock band, combining guitars with upright bass, multiple cellos, and other strings. Very cool.

The festival began at 4pm, with outdoor activities until 11pm Establishments continued until 1am If you want to experience something truly special in Cleveland, make it a point to get out to this annual event next year. There is just something about everyone being in the same "stay warm" situation together that makes this event shine so brightly.

Brite Winter is free and open to all. Big thanks to many winter loving sponsors and supporters.
Ohio City Market District – Cleveland, Ohio
www.britewinter.com

For some more reading on the event and the details check this out.

We apologize for the shaky nature of our photography… it was 8 degrees!

Happy Hour at Light Bistro

If you're looking for a really nice happy hour with a chic ambience and great food and drink specials, stop in at Ohio City's Light Bistro. The bar food menu items are $5 during happy hour, and it's not a small list. There is a nice range of choices from a mac and cheese of the day to a specialty burger. We had the very tasty oven-dried tomato pesto flatbread and the fried clams. There are featured wine pours (a red and a white) for $5, outrageously inexpensive beer and many interesting cocktail specials, too. And bonus – it goes past 6pm! Happy Hour is offered Monday – Friday from 2:30 – 7pm. Of course, the dinner menu looked sumptuous too, but we had a date with Ingenuity Fest.

We used to go to Light Bistro all the time for the Vegetarian dinners, but thought they had discontinued them. We were happy to find out they do still run them, they just do not send out emails any more. So we liked them on Facebook to be in the know.

We also learned about their upcoming new restaurant in Hudson, Peachtree Southern Kitchen & Cocktails, which is now on our list to try when it opens this November. We wish them the best on their new endeavor.

Unity Design is a print and online design firm that specializes in the restaurant and culinary industry.

Vaccaro's Trattoria, Fairlawn

If you have ever driven south down I-77 to Fairlawn, you may have noticed Vaccaro's Trattoria, an Italian restaurant right off of the Ghent Road exit. Many times we have glanced over and thought, "we have to check that place out one of these times"… so we finally did. And trust us, we will be stopping in again and again.

As soon as you get into the menu you realize that there is something special going on here. The details in preparation. Let's start with the complimentary bread and herbed oil. The bread, nutty and chewy pairs perfectly with the special blend of oil, sweet Balsamic, and loads of fragrant herbs. We asked our server Lawrence about it and was delighted that he was not only able to answer our first question, he was able to answer the multitude after that. We tend to ask a lot of questions when we like a place. Lawrence was well-versed in the menu, the preparation and the restaurant in general, and extremely helpful with all of our choices for the evening.

Moving on, we ordered a bottle of Anarkos Vigneto Puglia from Italy. It was nicely priced, and had one of Vaccaro's menu indicators that it was a recommended bottle. In fact, when our server brought it, the bartender enthusiastically commented that it was a great bottle. And indeed, it was deep, lush, velvety, and wonderful.

After reading a little poster about the history, we learned that the city of Akron once issued an official proclamation calling Mr. Vaccaro the Pizza King of Akron. Once again, we asked Lawrence who told us the story. We were hooked and had to try one of their signature pizzas, the Bianca Quattro Formaggio, as an appetizer. This pizza was so authentically homemade, with the biggest, fluffiest, chewy dough and the perfect crunch. Truly a pizza you just don't find on every street corner. Each cheese flavor was pronounced, so you could appreciate each one. Bravo Mr. Vaccaro, the Pizza King of Akron! We decided we would definitely visit the cozy little bar area for a pizza and wine night and try to make our way through all the offerings.

For the entree, I enjoyed building my own pasta, ordering the house-made ricotta cavatelli. I couldn't decide between sauces, so I had half their rich, creamy Alfredo and half their robust marinara. I chose the perfectly cooked and seasoned mushrooms, and was delighted that the zucchini was actually so-tender baby zucchinis. Both vegetables were plentiful, and all of the flavors played perfectly together.

We split a side of Brussels Sprouts Gratin which were tasty, garlicky and covered in Pecorino-Romano. Love those vegetables.

He had the Herbed Organic Chicken Breast, on a bed of creamy farro, with large grilled whole onions, baby carrots, and fried onions on top. This is a boneless preparation with the exception of the little drumstick. Very easy to eat and enjoy. Getting a little bit of everything at once really made the whole dish. Great favor-intense sauce, perfectly moist chicken, and the bottom farro was really a treat. Chewy and awesome. Wish there was more of it.

We do wish we had room for dessert, because the menu was quite tempting, and if the desserts were anywhere close to the entrees and pizza, they must be delicious. Next visit!

We dined on the patio, because it was a gorgeous evening, but the interior is elegant and roomy. There is a cozy bar area that seems perfect for dining alone or just for a pizza. We're so glad we finally made it to Vaccaro's Trattoria.

Unity Design is a print and online design firm that specializes in the restaurant and culinary industry.

The Barrio - Part 2 - Lakewood

Our latest visit to The Barrio was to their new location in Lakewood. Dare I say, it is even cooler than the Tremont restaurant, or at least larger and much easier to get seated. The decor is very fun with Day of the Dead murals on all walls, a bicycling skeleton suspended above head, festive lights, and a unique chandelier made out of liquor bottles.

The menu is the same with build-your-own custom tacos, which were delicious, although we agreed they were a little spicier than Tremont's version. Then again, one person at our table ordered the Ghost-Pepper sauce, so... caliente doesn't cover it. First he began turning red and sweating, and finally admitted he was on fire.

Read our earlier post from June 1, 2012 for more details, and be sure to check out either Barrio location, with their cool and interesting twist on the taco experience.

Unity Design is a print and online design firm that specializes in the restaurant and culinary industry.

The Oak Barrel

After reading an article about The Oak Barrel and learning that a previous chef from Deagan's had opened this new restaurant in Valley View, we had to check it out. We had never visited the space, which was previously Hoggy's. As usual, we took a quick look online. The website seemed to be still under construction, but the menu was very promising. We decided to check it out on Taco Tuesday and are really glad we did!

The first thing we noticed was the awesome patio with an open-pit fireplace and oak barrels all around. Very inviting, and I suspect we will find ourselves there often this summer. The interior entrance is expansive and surprising. Straight ahead is a two-level dining room with both intimate tables and long tables suitable for community dining and large parties. We were told the upstairs is mostly for events and large parties as well as overflow for the busy weekends.

We opted for the large bar area because it seemed lively. We immediately noticed the intriguing, rare craft beers set along the bar, and the incredibly extensive craft beer list. We learned that they rotate this list monthly and the beers are all-craft, no-crap. Cheers to that!

The menu has something for everyone, with many local ingredients, and I was thrilled with the multitude of vegetarian options. Since it was Taco Tuesday, we felt compelled to go with that menu. I had the Vegan Unicorn Tacos, made with crispy seitan, a local radish slaw, arugula, and a sweet chili sauce to finish. They were so bright and flavorful – a great blend of sweet with a little kick of spice. The husband had a Spicy Shrimp Taco – perfectly cooked shrimp that popped, with well-balanced flavors and a fresh cilantro finish, and an Asian Chicken Taco which he did not like as much – it may have just been his order, but the orange-soy glaze overpowered everything else. He had also been eyeballing the free-range turkey burger on the menu, and decided to try that as well. It came on a brioche bun and he subbed in some garlicky green beans rather than fries. He said it was really good and he'd get it again.

Our bartender, Caspian, took good care of us, and answered all of our many questions, offering up additional information on nightly specials, music and brunch. The Oak Barrel is a truly welcome addition to the neighborhood. Everything impressed, from the expansive-yet-cozy atmosphere, to the fresh, tasty food and local ingredients, to the adventurous drink list. Check it out!

Unity Design is a print and online design firm that specializes in the restaurant and culinary industry.