The Cleveland Cupcake Co.

Fresh banana butter cake with milk chocolate chunks, peanut butter cream frosting topped with a chocolate covered pretzel...despite the image of Elvis' swiveling hips popping into my head and Krista singing I ain't nothing but a hound dog...how could you possibly resist something as delicious as a "Silly Monkey" cupcake from The Cleveland Cupcake Co.?

Started up last summer by two Cleveland locals, The Cleveland Cupcake Co. offers an array of simple to exotic cupcakes and other "little nibbles" such as bacon chocolate chip cookies, cheesecake bites, pumpkin blueberry muffins and much more!

So my dilemma started the day before Administrative Professionals Day. What special surpreese should we order to honor our lovely administrative support staff on their special day that can be delivered the next day? Breakfast, flowers, balloons....screw that! This year we are having cupcakes! I've personally been dying to try CCC since I first saw their website featured in the weekly "Cool Cleveland" newsletter. The website by the way is very well put together, easy to navigate and allows you to order hundreds of cupcakes at home or work in a matter of seconds.

Easy right? Now the real decision started, what kind of cupcakes to get. Doesn't seem that hard a choice until you check out their website and see that instead of chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles you can custom order mocha cupcakes with dark ganache icing filled with seasonal berries and topped off with espresso beans! Not in the mood for chocolate, don't worry, you can choose from a multitude of cake flavors such as carrot, red velvet and corn. Ice it off with everything from buttercream to strussle topping. Fill it with figs, lime, jalepeno...the list is truly endless and unique. And finally, top it off with edible flowers, marshmallow, ribbon, cocoa powder or whatever else you could possibly think to place atop a cupcake.

So on the big day the cupcakes arrived right on time and in a fantastic box complete with colorful ribbon...we started off with a dozen custom ordered vanilla bean cake and buttercream icing cupcakes filled with fresh blueberries and blackberries, topped with additional fruit and nuts (I pretended these were a healthy alternative for everyone in our Biggest Loser contest). The buttercream was exactly the way it should be, sweet, sweet and more sweet. The berries were fresh and delicious and the nuts added a great crunch to the moist vanilla bean cake. The staff wasted no time digging in!

Don't worry, the feeding frenzy didn't stop there, I also ordered an other dozen of the "Hazel" cupcakes. The gooey little cupcakes have hazelnut and chocolate candy hidden inside a dark chocolate and caramel cupcake. Although many people commented they couldn't taste the caramel in the batter, this selection definitely satisfied every choco-o-holics sweeth tooth in the building with the gooey icing and crunch candy.

Next on the list to try....blackberry puff pastry tarts, pumpkin cookies, Paradise (grilled pineapple, vanilla bean cake and Hawaii 5-0 decorations) and The Rachel (cornbread, cheddar, bacon and green onion).

Need a sweet treat? www.clevelandcupcakecompany.com.

Smell ya later,

Amy

Nighttown

As mentioned in my earlier post today, we journeyed to Nighttown for Steve's cousin's wedding reception this past Saturday night. Since Nighttown is a restaurant, what else can I do...but write a foodie review! *Please disregard the nerdy rhyming, it had fabulous timing...

I was very impressed with the reception at Nighttown. We arrived a bit early and all the staff was so accommodating; serving us cocktails immediately with a friendly smile. The appetizers put out also made us quite happy. Mini toasts with herbed goat cheese and roasted red peppers, bacon wrapped water chestnuts ...always a crowd pleaser. Matt's parents also had a great selection of wine, which left me in "food/wine" heaven.

As well as the food, I loved the atmosphere. The combination of the fun jazzy art and the elegance of the gorgeous lilac centerpieces with low candlelight ...reflected Matt and Emily's style... amazingly fun, awesome and elegant.

We had a choice of four different entrees to choose from when it came time to seat everyone for dinner. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in my entree...the rib eye steak. It was overcooked and very thin, served with disappointing vegetables. Alas, sometimes to serve about 75 people steak is a quite difficult task. So I cut Nighttown some deserved slack here. :)

However, once I tried Carrie's (my "to-be" sister-in-law) entree...the house specialty, The Dublin Lawyer...Nighttown had definitely redeemed itself. The Dublin Lawyer is lobster meat sauteed in a mild cayenne butter cream sauce with mushrooms, scallions & Irish whisky served with rice pilaf...the lobster was incredibly sweet and spiced perfectly. I was very very jealous of Carrie at that point. ;)

Steve and I are definitely planning on heading back to Nighttown for a dinner out sometime in the future, I have been hearing nothing but good things about the food.

Congrats again to the happy couple!

-Krista

Nightown on the web: http://www.nighttowncleveland.com/

Le Petit Triangle Cafe

This past weekend, Steve's parents were in town for his cousin Matt's wedding. Matt, and his new gorgeous bride, Emily got married at Holy Rosary Church in Little Italy with the reception at Nightown restaurant in Cleveland Heights. We loved every minute of it! A big FFF congratulations to the new Mr and Mrs. LaVigne!!

And back to the foodie review...:)

Every time Steve's parents come to town, we try to take them out to restaurants that we feel can "show off" Cleveland and our fabulous foodie style. I felt that for a unique breakfast/brunch experience...there is no better place to try then, Le Petit Triangle. I was also dying to get back to Le Petit Triangle since the name/ownership had changed, to see how the changes effected the restaurant.

I am happy to report that the restaurant has lost none of its famous charm it had under the new name/ownership. The decor has not even changed much, a little yellow paint on the wall to brighten up, but the feeling you have escaped to a lovely cafe in Paris for about a hour...it still totally there.

Most the of menu has remained the same, but there have been some new additions which only add to the "fabulousness" of the cafe. The menu includes several other items in addition to their very famous crepes; from the Stuffed French Toast made with raisin walnut bread layered with sweetened chevre and maple syrup to the Chicken Ratatouille Omelet.

We all ordered crepes of course, (it is the way to go when visiting Le Petite Triangle) but I will definitely try that Stuffed French toast as soon as I can. Steve's dad was raving about the artichoke crepe made with tomato, gruyere and artichoke hearts and absolutely adored the fresh fruit parfait he finished it off with.

Steve ordered the smoked salmon crepe made with cold smoked Atlantic salmon filet, fresh dill, cream cheese served with red onion and capers , and I bravely took a bite ( I'm not such a fan of fish at brunch) and I was pleasantly surprised. It was sweet, salty from the capers and went lovely in the crepe.

My coffee was as good as it has always been there, wonderful. I know our good friend Jacquie still daydreams about that coffee. I also enjoyed a simplette crepe with scrambled eggs, brie and spinach. It was the perfect light breakfast I needed that morning. I have to note as well, that the proportions of the crepes are the perfect fulfilling size and even served with additional lyonnaise potatoes ...that are great. :)

We could not pass up ordering a dessert crepe, so we ordered the chocolate lover's crepe with dark chocolate and stawberries....mmmmmm...it was awesome!

All in all, Le Petit Triangle is still my favorite fabulous breakfast/brunch spot in Cleveland. And I am dreaming of when we get to head back.


-Krista



Check out Le Petite Triangle Cafe on the web: http://www.lepetittrianglecafe.com/home

FFF Recipes!

We now have a FFF Recipes blog!!! Yayyy!!!

The link is on the top right side of our page.

Enjoy,

The Foodies

Crop Bistro

Today my lovely co-worker Rebecca, took me to lunch at Crop Bistro.

I have to say I was a bit nervous because Johnny's Downtown (partnership with Crop Bistro) has never been a FFF favorite. However, the Crop Bistro experience was definitely not Johnny's. It was enormously superior. We went at the perfect time, beating the lunch rush and seated immediately. Our service was very good and the meal...was quite fabulous.

I really enjoyed the tiny details of the menu and restaurant aka the "spring themed menu". Rebecca ordered a favorite sandwich of hers, the Willie Bird Smoked Turkey on Corn Bread but the chutney had changed from Cranberry to Peach Basil for spring. A nice touch to set the "changing of the seasons" mood. Lets just hope we no longer see any snow! Hooray for spring!

She quite enjoyed her sandwich and I really enjoyed the Baby Spinach salad with Plumped Apricots, Goat Cheese Crostini and Warm Honey Balsamic. The dressing was the perfect blend of spicy and refreshing. The goat cheese crostini was warm, falvorful and a wondeful compliment to the salad.

I ordered as my main course, the Seared Scallops- Polenta Crouton & Arugula appetiser...because I just couldn't help it. I love me some scallops! :) They were amazing! Topped with sweet corn and red peppers, cooked perfectly. The polenta crouton was also very good with a nice crust on the outside and a wonderfully cooked cornbread texture on the inside. Speaking of cornbread, the bread served is a cornbeard. Accompanied by, a wonderful cinnabon butter. I have to say I am usually not a fan of the cinnamon butter at restaurants, but it went perfectly with cornbread.

All in all, I was impressed and am looking forward to trying dinner at Crop.

-Krista

Crop Bistro on the web: http://www.cropbistro.com/

Trattoria

Trattoria located on Mayfield Road in Little Italy is an FFF favorite.

From the fabulous antipasto platter to the scrumptious desserts. It has always been a great dining experience. **Plus Steve's awesome cousin and his fiance reside in Little Italy, so we can usually rope them into joining us...ah bonus. :)

The atmosphere in Trattoria is just as charming as the incredibly popular Tomato Basil sauce. (available for purchase by the jar). If I ever see any in a store or at a food show, I snatch some up for my homemade eggplant parmesan. Which by the way...is my favorite entree at Trattoria.

Brittney love love loves the gnocchi. The best way to eat it is with the blush sauce. It is an extremely rich dish with that sauce, but perfect comfort food for the unpredictable chilly Ohio weather.

By the time you get to the desserts, you may not have much room left...however you can always fit a bit into your "dessert stomach".

(Side Story:The dessert stomach is apparently separate from the regular stomach, so that when the regular stomach is full, the dessert stomach is always ready for action. ;) Oh that's awesome, isn't it? Invented by a friend's child trying to convince Mom that there is always room for a piece of chocolate cake.)

I would recommend the Cassata Cake. It is always super moist and exquisite.

Il mio amore Trattoria!

-Krista

Trattoria on the web: http://www.trattoriaromangarden.com/

Three Birds

From the moment a co-worker recalled her first date with a promising new love interest at a fabulous restaurant in Lakewood called, Three Birds, I knew I must make a reservation and go at the soonest available special occasion.

Well, two years later I finally found a special occasion...dinner on a Friday evening with my mother who was being "kicked out" of the house while my dad hosted a poker party for some of his old timer friends. As appealing as I'm sure a giant sub sandwich from Convenient is to men chugging Miller lite and throwing chips on a table, I told my mom I was going to take her somewhere that would offer a much wider selection of protein.

First off, you MUST make a reservation at Three Birds in advance if you hope to sit at one of the cozy tables and sip wine on a weekend otherwise you'll find yourself walking right back through the beautiful garden, through the gate and over to India Garden for Tandoori chicken.

Second, you must clear your schedule so that you have plenty of time to enjoy every moment of happiness that you'll experience from the time you're seated at your table. From the soft bread, to the crisp salads to the amazing entrees, you'll won't want to shovel this cuisine in your mouth just to rush off to the local pub.

For starters, my mother and I shared the Field Greens salad and by share I mean I asked her to taste one bite which lead to me attacking the entire plate filled with assorted citrus, greens, toasted cashews, grilled pineapple and a mint grapefruit coriander vinaigrette! Honestly, I've never drooled from a salad but this was worthy of carrying a tissue just in case.

After the unbelievable salad experience, my mother and I could hardly wait for our entree of pan seared sea scallops, roasted curried cauliflower, coriander spiced carrot puree and chili hollandaise sauce to arrive. Our entrees arrived in a beautiful triangular presentation showing off a beautiful color explosion of bright orange carrot puree. I decided to savor every bite of the three sea scallops on my plate as I was absolutely starving and was afraid I would still be hungry afterwards; however, by the last bite I found that I was quite stuffed. The cauliflower was roasted wonderfully and mixed incredibly well with the carrot puree. Although it looks quite like baby food, there is nothing juvenile about this mix. I never thought I'd find myself scraping every last bit of mashed carrots off my plate at any restaurant, but hey I'm not above it! My mom by the way was equally impressed with the entire meal and asked if it was inappropriate to sop the remainder of carrot puree off her plate with bread when no one was looking.

Three Birds is a fantastic way to spend any night of the week, anytime of the year, but I am now very eager to go back once the weather warms up and sample some Roasted Duck Breast with Foie Gras in their beautifully landscaped garden. There's nothing I enjoy more than sitting outdoors at dusk on a breezy summer evening, slightly slouched back in my chair sipping wine with the FFF!

-Amy