It’s easy as a vegetarian to find yourself swimming in glorious options at a Thai restaurant. Accordingly, Thai cuisine has long been one of my favorite foods. I first discovered it in college, in New Orleans, when some friends took me to Bangkok Thai, on South Carrollton. I was a vegetarian college student, subsisting on more peanut butter than any one person should consume. (I once gave a French presentation on my love for peanut butter. But, I digress.) I remember my first meal at Bangkok Thai: I couldn’t believe the amazing flavors, and you better believe the meal included a Thai Iced Tea. It was love at first taste. The restaurant quickly became a weekly stop. (Happily, I believe they are still open for business post-Katrina.) Years later, when I was living in San Francisco, Paul and I would order in Thai at least once a week. When we decided to move back to Cleveland, we quickly determined that priority #1, above finding a place to live and hammering out the details of our rapidly approaching wedding, was to find our new go-to Thai restaurant. Sweet relief, we have found that at Mint Cafe.
The crew working at Mint Cafe is always very welcoming and friendly. We do sometimes pine for the days when we could get our dinner delivered. (Mint Cafe doesn’t deliver, but neither do most places.) That said, who couldn’t use an excuse to leave home every once in a while here in the soupy thickness of mid-winter?
the feast:
*panang curry with tofu: This has been one of my favorite Thai dishes for as long as I can recall. In all sincerity, Mint Cafe has perhaps the best panang curry I have ever tasted. One thing I appreciate about their version of the dish, apart from the truly glorious sauce, is that the plate comes out swimming in vegetables. And their veggies are always very pretty. They look and taste fresh —not at all like they were frozen moments before they made the journey to my table. Mint Cafe’s panang sauce has a definite bite to it. Spicy, but pleasantly so. Yum.
*hot thai tea: I’ve grown to embrace the hot version of the iced classic. It doesn’t contain the condensed milk and so is less sweet, but still has that mysterious smokiness that I enjoy so much. And really, when it’s in the single digits outside, I (who am rarely without scarf, inside or outside, this time of year) have no business putting iced beverages into my body.
overall:
This place is truly special and worth a visit. When we were house hunting, we found ourselves, one day, touring a beautiful old home in Cleveland Heights. It didn’t end up being the house for us, but I do recall that the people who lived there had a small chalkboard up in their kitchen, and on it someone had written, “We heart Mint Cafe!”
I understood completely.
PS. The Mint Cafe crew has just opened another restaurant a little further east in Pepper Pike. It’s called Peppermint Cafe (cute, right?). I haven’t been, but I’ve heard it’s every bit as tasty.
http://www.mintcafe.org/
Showing posts with label cleveland heights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleveland heights. Show all posts
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
dewey's, cleveland heights
okay, so dewey’s is one of my happy places. it's located right around the corner from where we live, and i can’t seem to get enough of it. there’s no bad day that an edgar allan poe (sans Kalamatas, please) and a glass of vino at dewey’s can’t fix. here are the things i love about dewey’s, in no particular order:
1) the toppings. anywhere that will allow me to put pesto on my pizza is very dear to me.
2) the crust. it’s slightly sweet and so very tasty!
3) they serve a friendly by-the-glass selection, and it doesn’t feel like they’re taking advantage of my thirst for a glass of wine. i would pay more for a glass, but i dont want to, and they don’t make me.
4) their salads. never overdressed. excellent dressings.
5) my husband would want me to mention something about the beer. he drinks beer; i drink wine. it’s hardly an original arrangement.
6) they let you do half-and-half pizzas! you can even have one-half red and one-half white. how fun is that?
7) the staff. a super-friendly and laid back team.
8) the pizza window. this window is a special piece of brilliance. we took my nieces and nephews to dewey’s. they’d been with us for approximately one hour of the 24 that would constitute our big sleepover, and we were already exhausted. we got to dewey’s and were told there was a 20 minute wait. we had no idea how we were possibly going to entertain the small fries, until we remembered (ta da), the pizza window! prop the little sweet potatoes up on some chairs in front of the window, and they will be mesmerized at LEAST until you are led to your table. the pizza tossers in the back are a hammy crew who know how to please a crowd of children. they’ll throw flour at the window or dough at one another, both options sure to delight the under-10 set.
i confess. at dewey’s, i have a go-to feast. i have a very hard time switching it up because the below combination is such a sure-thing delight. that said, they have many delicious pizza options, and every once in a while, i am forced to move outside of my comfort zone. but tonight i will be sticking with the combination that makes me so happy that i can’t remember why i don’t actually live at dewey’s (drum roll)....
the (standard) feast:
*vino: my current favorite glass of wine on offer at dewey’s is the urano malbec, from argentina. $5.50 for the glass, a little bit berry, a little bit pepper, and delicious.
*the house salad: toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, dried cranberries, fresh greens, and dewey’s (exceptional) house vinaigrette. you should be eating this right now, too.
*pizza: as i mentioned above, i freaking love garlic. so, here we go, please make my half a white pizza with the following toppings: red onion, pine nuts, pesto, and whole roasted garlic. get in my belly!
i never leave room for dessert, which is a shame because something tells me dessert at dewey’s would make me very happy.
overall:
i think i've already said enough. i will summarize thusly: i heart dewey's.
http://www.deweyspizza.com/
1) the toppings. anywhere that will allow me to put pesto on my pizza is very dear to me.
2) the crust. it’s slightly sweet and so very tasty!
3) they serve a friendly by-the-glass selection, and it doesn’t feel like they’re taking advantage of my thirst for a glass of wine. i would pay more for a glass, but i dont want to, and they don’t make me.
4) their salads. never overdressed. excellent dressings.
5) my husband would want me to mention something about the beer. he drinks beer; i drink wine. it’s hardly an original arrangement.
6) they let you do half-and-half pizzas! you can even have one-half red and one-half white. how fun is that?
7) the staff. a super-friendly and laid back team.
8) the pizza window. this window is a special piece of brilliance. we took my nieces and nephews to dewey’s. they’d been with us for approximately one hour of the 24 that would constitute our big sleepover, and we were already exhausted. we got to dewey’s and were told there was a 20 minute wait. we had no idea how we were possibly going to entertain the small fries, until we remembered (ta da), the pizza window! prop the little sweet potatoes up on some chairs in front of the window, and they will be mesmerized at LEAST until you are led to your table. the pizza tossers in the back are a hammy crew who know how to please a crowd of children. they’ll throw flour at the window or dough at one another, both options sure to delight the under-10 set.
i confess. at dewey’s, i have a go-to feast. i have a very hard time switching it up because the below combination is such a sure-thing delight. that said, they have many delicious pizza options, and every once in a while, i am forced to move outside of my comfort zone. but tonight i will be sticking with the combination that makes me so happy that i can’t remember why i don’t actually live at dewey’s (drum roll)....
the (standard) feast:
*vino: my current favorite glass of wine on offer at dewey’s is the urano malbec, from argentina. $5.50 for the glass, a little bit berry, a little bit pepper, and delicious.
*the house salad: toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, dried cranberries, fresh greens, and dewey’s (exceptional) house vinaigrette. you should be eating this right now, too.
*pizza: as i mentioned above, i freaking love garlic. so, here we go, please make my half a white pizza with the following toppings: red onion, pine nuts, pesto, and whole roasted garlic. get in my belly!
i never leave room for dessert, which is a shame because something tells me dessert at dewey’s would make me very happy.
overall:
i think i've already said enough. i will summarize thusly: i heart dewey's.
http://www.deweyspizza.com/
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