bar cento, ohio city

my husband, paul, and i grabbed a quick bite at this lovely new spot last night before going to see broken social scene at the house of blues. bar cento is related to the revered bier markt in ohio city (and is located right next door). this week has been blustery and gray, and bar cento was the perfect antidote to the malaise that the weather has been inspiring in me. we chose to sit at the bar since we were in a hurry, and the hostess ushered us into the warm space. service at the bar was helpful, prompt, and friendly. we were brought some tasty rolls and flavorful olive oil to snack on while we waited for our meal.

the feast:
*the house Manhattan cocktail: when the weather turns cold, i'm a sucker for anything with a cinnamon stick in it, so i had no choice but to order this beverage, which is made using granny smith apple-infused whiskey and comes with a generously proportioned cinnamon stick. it was delicioso.
*tender butter lettuce salad: this was a very good salad. one of the best i've had in cleveland. in my opinion, one of cleveland's food weaknesses is a tendency to majorly overdress the poor delicate salad ingredients. this was perfectly dressed with a simple and delicious lemony concoction. the greens were fresh, and the local cheese was wonderful, with a nice dry bite that went delighfully well with the dressing. two thumbs up.
*bianco pizza: i. love. garlic. i am devoted to garlic, so i was excited about this pizza, which features the simple (oh so brilliantly simple) combination of sliced garlic, olive oil, and sea salt. know this: i enjoyed the pizza, that is for sure. there is none left. that said, there was definitely too much salt on it (which i fear is another snafu i run into relatively often in cleveland dining). i'm still rehydrating, although, that is probably also related to the small matter of a few cocktails.

overall:
i am super excited to return to bar cento. they clearly took vegetarians into account when creating their menu. next time, i want to visit on the late-night (they serve food until 2AM) to try the veggi burger--perhaps with a side of ohio potato fries. olé!

http://www.barcento.com/

PS. i've since returned to bar cento and learned (sigh) that the ohio potato fries are cooked in animal fat. alas. kudos to the waitress though for checking my vegetarian status when i ordered the veggi burger and fries and letting me know the fries were not cooked vegetarian-style.