87 West 2 Wine Bar

My good buddy, Stacey surprised me last night by meeting me at Crocker Park. Stacey lives in Akron, so anytime she journeys to my neck of the woods, I jump at the chance to hang with her. I was in Westlake getting my bridesmaid dress fitted by the lovely ladies at A Brides Design (they are super nice there...check them out), and when I heard from Stacey, it was the perfect excuse to meet for dinner. On an impulse, we decided to head over to the 87 West 2 wine bar located right in Crocker Park. I have to confess, I’ve been dying to head there ever since Amy told me that it was fabulous (she was lucky enough to go to the soft opening a few months ago).

The exterior of the building is just as gorgeous as the interior. Walking up to the bar I caught the strong smell of cedar (which has always been a favorite scent of mine) from the cedar panels covering the building.

Since it was Tuesday night, there was a decent crowd, but we definitely had plenty of space, so we sat down right away. Our server immediately presented us with some ice water containing cucumber slices; a nice change from the old lemon or lime typically seen in ice water. Stacey ordered the margarita (Tuesday nights is margarita and sangria night $6 a piece. There are specials all nights of the week) and I ordered the house white wine. Both drinks were presented nicely and tasted delicious. Once we opened the menu, Stacey and I knew we were going to have a tough time. There were sooo many good looking items it was so hard to choose. Stacey chose the Crab cake Trio and the Crispy Fair Fries. I ordered the Chorizo and Chevre “Hanky Pankys” and the Poached Pear & Walnut Crusted Chevre Salad. I have a thing for Chevre….

When the food came out, all of it was presented beautifully. I loved the salad it was awesome! However, Stacey looked a little confused. The server brought Stacey the Sweep Lump Crabmeat Tacos instead of the Crab cakes. Once we let her know, she replaced the tacos with the Crab cakes incredibly quickly. I was lucky enough to try a bite of Stacey’s Crab cakes. I was instantly jealous that I didn’t order them. They were some of the best Crab cakes I’ve ever had. *Background info on “Krista’s thing with Crab cakes”…I don’t usually like Crab cakes because they are typically not made with the leg meat…so instead of enjoying the delicious sweet taste I adore in crab legs they are a bit too fishy for me. The Crab cakes at 87 West 2 are so sweet they reminded me of scallops. Yay! Stacey was very happy with them. I adored my Poached Pear Salad, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the “Hanky Pankys”. I think that they would make an amazing late night snack (after a lot of drinking), but they were way to heavy and rich for me last night. I decided to also order some Vietnamese Battered Calamari, and it was great, the perfect amount of spicy, sweet and crunchy.

Right around my second glass of wine, Stacey and I got a nice surprise visit from fellow foodie, Amy. We couldn’t temp her into ordering anything (the girl has amazing willpower), but we had a great time rounding off the evening with her.

All in all, I really enjoyed 87 West 2 wine bar and I will definitely be back.

Check them out on the web:

http://www.87west2.com/

Cheers,

Krista