Not So Mystery Birthday Dinner- Boiling Seafood Crawfish

Several years have past since our last mystery ethnic dinner. A lot has changed in those years, but our love for a good, unique dinner hasn’t changed. This blog was resurrected in honor of Brendan’s 33^rd birthday.

Brendan embraces his birthday to the full extent. He loves being celebrated and receiving attention from his family, especially his mother. Three years ago for his 30^th birthday, he coerced our younger brother Evan to participate in a Tough Mudder. My dad, mom and I were guilt-tripped into traveling to Mansfield, OH to celebrate his birthday milestone in the mud and rain. Evan got poison ivy, my dad trashed his shoes, my mom broke her camera and it was the happiest day of Brendan’s life.

Thankfully, this year Brendan chose a more universally enjoyable birthday experience. He recently visited New Orleans with his girlfriend Amie and had a wonderful time touring the Tabasco factory and enjoying the local cuisine. After reading a restaurant review in Scene Magazine about Boiling Seafood Crawfish, a recently opened Cajun-inspired seafood restaurant in Cleveland Heights, Brendan immediately added it to his list of birthday to-dos.

On Thursday, April 28^th we all met at my parents’ house and walked a mile to Lee Road to embark on our first Boiling Seafood Crawfish experience. The place was packed when we arrived. Thankfully, my mother made a reservation. The restaurant is small, painted black and decorated with shells, fishing nets and pictures of scrumptious seafood dishes. 96.5 Kiss FM was playing in the background, setting the mood with the contemporary hits of Bieber, Selena Gomez and Fifth Harmony. The tables were covered with white paper in preparation of our boiled feast. 

After ordering beers we came to agreement on our dinner selection. We decided to go communal and ordered two “Experiences” – “The Handful” and “The Ultimate” to share amongst the table. “The Handful” included a pound of shrimp, pound of crawfish, half pound of clams, Andouille sausage, corn and potatoes. “The Ultimate” included all of the above, plus calamari and a half-pound of snow crab. Both are boiled in a bag and come with your choice of seasoning and spice level. The “spicy” preference had five levels: mild, baby spice, medium, spicy and extra spicy. The waitress informed us that the spicy and extra spicy levels contained ghost peppers. (In 2007, Guinness World Records certified that the ghost pepper was the world's hottest chili pepper, 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. The ghost chili is rated at more than 1 million Scoville heat units (SHUs). However, today, the ghost chili has been passed in hotness by the Infinity chili, the Naga Viper and the Carolina Reaper). Needless to say, it is known to be hot! Despite the warning, and a few concerns from others at the table, Brendan ruled the night and ordered “The Handful” in mild and “The Ultimate” in spicy. Additionally, we ordered a basket of corn fritters and oysters as appetizers, as well as 3 pounds of blue crab. It was going to be an awesome feast. Though Evan still had doubts it would be enough food.

The calamari came first and was covered with a delicious medley of fried onions and green and red peppers. The corn fritters came next and were my personal favorite; delicious little fried nuggets slightly sweet and served with a creamy dipping sauce. The oysters were big and enjoyed by all. However, the real culinary excitement was still yet to come. 

Our waitress set the scene for our “Experiences” by delivering three plastic buckets to be used as bone yards, plastic bibs and plastic gloves to our table. My father and I immediately put the plastic gloves on despite the vocal disapproval from my mother. After about five minutes of wearing them my hands were sweating and I gave up on the cause.

The food was delivered to our table in two plastic bags. There were two camps on the presentation of our meal. One camp lead by Brendan was to just dump it all on the paper-covered table, creating a more interactive experience. The other, cleaner camp led by my mom was to eat it out of the bag. (Others in the restaurant seemed to opt for the cleaner option). But again, Brendan was the birthday boy so the contents of both bags were dumped on the table creating a delicious, saucy, seafood mess. We dug in.

At first I was unaware of which side was spicy and which side was mild. I went for a clam, and was assaulted by the spice and heat. I learned that day how some people react very differently to heat. Both Brendan and my Dad’s heads were sweating, I was downing my beer and my brother’s friend Bo was un-phased, licking the spice off the table. Greg – the sensible one in the group – practiced the avoidance method and stuck with mild the entire night. Despite the heat, the food was delicious, especially the head-on-shrimp. As delicious as the meal was, it was messy. Sauce was everywhere – on my hands, bib and burning in my nostrils. After our pile of “The Ultimate” and “The Handful” were consumed, we were brought our next course of blue crabs.

The crabs were coated with a delicious, sweet, lemon pepper sauce, which gave us relief from the ghost pepper. They required much more work, lots of hammering and cracking to dismantle the shell and get to the meat. It felt like a biology dissection lab, pulling out the lungs and brain. This whole exercise made me squeamish, but it was worth it.

The aftermath was buckets full of shells and carcasses, white paper tablecloth soaked and stained with Cajun sauce, satisfied diners and a happy birthday boy.

I cannot wait for my next visit to Boiling Seafood Crawfish. It is a great place to go and share a fun meal with family and friends. It is truly a gem.  

Week Seven- Das Schnitzel Haus

Long time no eat.  After a long hiatus we had the pleasure of our cousin Ian joining us as a special guest in our Cleveland Mystery Ethnic dinner.  I drove per usual, with no idea where we were going (per usual).  As we exited off of I-480 onto Pearl Road in Parma I asked Ian to guess the ethnicity of the night.  He hoped that Brendan picked Latin American.  Knowing my brother’s love for Eastern European comfort food, I guessed that we would be having a German dinner. 

I know my brother all too well as he picked the Schnitzel Haus.  The restaurant advertised its beer garden, but we chose to sit in the dining room.  Soul music played in the background and Ian thought the place was decorated like a Chinese restaurant.  Additionally, there were Easter egg decals located on the mirror above our booth.  This unusual ambience only made the mystery more fun. 

Brendan promptly ordered a liter of German wheat beer on draft.  Unfortunately the name of it escapes me, but it was quite delicious.  I sipped on my diet coke as I perused the menu.  The menu was interesting.  In addition to the typical German fare it also had quite an extensive “International Cuisine” section, complete with Cajun Chicken Alfredo and Eggplant Parmesan.  I must say that this may have violated Brendan’s rule of no fusion restaurants.  However, to compensate for their culturally confused offerings they had an entire section devoted to different schnitzel dishes.

The waiter did not appear to be very enthusiastic about any of the dishes on the menu.  After asking him how the pierogies were, he responded with: “they are pierogies” so helpful.   We order an appetizer of sauerkraut and potato pierogies despite his lackluster recommendation.  The pierogies were deep fried and served with meager amounts of sour cream and sautéed onions.  They were good pierogies, however, they probably ranked at the bottom in the Cleveland Mystery Ethnic Dinner standings. 

Both Brendan and Ian ordered the Deutsche Platte and I ordered the Kraut Wickeln which is stuffed cabbages.  Thankfully, we all brought our appetites to dinner as the meals were heaped on to our plates in their typical Eastern European portions.  Fortunately, my “cabbages” consisted of much more pork, beef and bacon than vegetable.   Additionally they were smothered in a rich and delicious tomato gravy.  Unfortunately my side of mashed potatoes tasted like they were from a box.  Ian proudly belonged to the clean plate club after devouring his meal which consisted of schnitzel, sausages, goulash and my favorite spetzel.  We left the restaurant full and ready for naps.   

It was another successful dinner.  I am excited for another mystery ethnic dinner in a couple of weeks.  I am hoping that as the weather warms up we will steer clear of the comfort food and get experience so new tastes and cuisines. 

Check out their website:  http://www.dshparma.com/index.html

Week Six- Aryioshi

Sometimes I find myself getting very moody in the hours leading up to mystery ethnic dinner.  Like many people I am a creature of habit and instinctively loath our mystery meals; it is far more comforting to know when, where and what you are going to eat.  Last Saturday I especially dreaded the production surrounding the event.   However, I knew I had to put a smile on my face for the sake of the cause. 

This week was Danielle’s choice.  My brother and I drove to Joe’s apartment anticipating picking him and Danielle up.  Instead we were told to park the car in a vacant spot.  Danielle informed us that we were staying local that night and walking to the destination.  Upon hearing this information I exclaimed to Brendan “I sure hope we are going to Aryioshi” which is Joe’s favorite sushi restaurant in the Cleveland area. 

My wishes were granted when Danielle led us into the Lee road restaurant.  We took our seats at the bar so we could get a front row view of the sushi chefs at work.   Joe, the sushi expert ordered in a matter of moments while I on the other hand found myself agonizing over my decision.  I eventually decided on a Rainbow roll (my standby) and octopus sushi.  I had never had octopus and I am on this whole “try new foods” kick.  For example, I had tripe at dim sum a few weeks ago, goat curry at the last mystery dinner and alligator on my recent visit to Florida.  So octopus just seemed appropriate.  Economically minded Brendan ordered the “Sushi Deluxe” meal for $16.95.

The chef’s prepared Joe and Danielle’s 007 and Dragon rolls first.  They were gracious and allowed me to try a piece of the 007 roll which had yummy bbq sauce on it.  Joe insisted that we passed every piece of sushi from chopstick to chopstick in order to work on my skills- thankfully no sushi was compromised during this process.   After a short wait the chefs placed Brendan and my orders on the counter.  I was both anxious and excited to try my octopus.  I expected it to taste like calamari but not deep fried or served hot with dipping sauce on the side.  It looked like pretty white flower petals with purple bordering its ruffled edge.  The two piece were simply prepared with a slice of octopus over a nugget of white rice.  I dipped the first piece in soy sauce and popped it in my mouth.  It was cold, rubbery and lacked a strong flavor.  I didn’t hate it, but I gave the second piece to Joe.  I figured he would enjoy it more than me.  However, my rainbow roll was delicious.  I love the combination of buttery avocado, salmon, tuna and yellowtail. 

The best part of the night was getting an up close view of the sushi chefs.  Normally in a sushi restaurant I sit at a table, so this was a treat.  They worked quickly and meticulously and created a variety or beautiful rolls.  The most memorable moment was watching the chef pull out his containers of various colors of roe for the particular roll that he was working on.  He placed a different color of roe (green, orange, red and black) on top of each piece of sushi.  Next time I will have to try a different one of their creations.

After the meal we made it a double ethnic night by walking next door to Lopez.  With our mango margaritas in hand we cheered to another successful Cleveland mystery ethnic dinner. 

Give Ariyoshi a go! http://www.ariyoshijapanesesushi.com/home.html

Week Five- Indian Flame

After picking Ali Baba, both Brendan and Joe were reluctant to let me choose another mystery ethnic dinner.  I found myself doubting my restaurant picking abilities and had anxiety over my task for days.  My indecision eventually led to me calling my father Friday over my lunch break while waiting in line at Dave’s Cosmic Subs.  I needed his guidance and his suggestions.  Like a good father he thought about it an emailed me some very good ideas.  However, I ended up not needing him at all.  I was able to find a gem of a restaurant on my very own, well with the assistance of Yelp.

                

We had a full car on Friday: Brendan, Joe, Danielle and Alexis.  After picking up everyone I took a left onto Cedar from Lee Road. “I know where I we are going!” instantly exclaimed Joe.  I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw his eyes light up; he was convinced that we were going to The Mad Greek a restaurant located farther down the road.  Everyone got excited for a delicious Greek dinner.  However, confusion hit once I made a right onto Coventry.  Then I received guesses of Rock Bottom (a new Thai place in Coventry village) and Panini’s which is really just an American bar/grille with and Italian name.  I made a left on to Mayfield in the direction of little Italy.  “Yes! We are going to Mama Santa’s” came from the back.  No Mama Santa’s that night as I sped down Mayfield Hill past Little Italy and made a right onto Euclid.  Once we hit Euclid and everyone confidently deduced Mi Pueblo, which is a popular Mexican joint on the East side.  After several minutes of holding in my mystery I was bursting at the seams, I finally informed everyone that curry was on the menu that night.  We were eating at Indian Flame.

The outside of Indian Flame is very unspectacular: small storefront with a ketchup and mustard colored awning on a gentrifying Cleveland street.  However, the inside is very cheery with light canary yellow walls, large vibrant paintings and hardwood floors.  The restaurant only holds about thirty people.  Luckily for us, it was Case Western‘s (the nearby university) spring break so it was pretty empty.  I had not had much Indian food in the past several months, so I was very excited for the meal.  Everyone else seemed enthusiastic to break from the usual Eastern European mystery routine. 

The menu was extensive.  It was organized by appetizers, lamb, chicken,  goat, tandoori, biryani, seafood and vegetarian dishes.  I had read on Yelp that they made a delicious goat curry.  I have never had goat and wanted to try something different so I selected the goat karahi.  I also ordered the paneer tikka as an appetizer to share.  Brendan ordered lamb karahi, Alexis ordered a paneer curry, Danielle ordered a seafood rice dish and Joe ordered tikki masala and a Samosa appetizer.  The server also asked us for our respective “spice” preferences ranging from one (mild) to five (extremely spicy).

The paneer tikka and the samosa appetizers arrived first.  The paneer tikka was served on a sizzling hot iron skillet, which Brendan unwisely touched. Paneer is a soft, mild and delicious white cheese.  I have usually eaten it in the form of saag paneer, which is a spinach and cheese dish.  This dish was sautéed with onions, peppers and spices.  Sautéing caused the cheese to firm up and gave more of a bite to it.  We all found it delicious next to the caramelized vegetables.   The samosas were also superb.  They were smothered with chickpeas, curry sauce and a drizzle of yogurt to offset the heat.  These appetizers were a great introduction to the rest of the meal. 

The mains arrived and we were excited to dig in.  First off the presentation was lovely.  The dishes were served in adorable little copper bowls which had little feet at the bottom.  I enjoyed my goat; it reminded me of lamb and had just the right amount of flavorful spice (three).   My only complaint was that there were a lot of large bones, which made me sad because there was less meat for me to scoop up with my garlic naan bread.  We were very communal with our meal; everyone had the opportunity to taste each dish at the table.  Apart from my own dish, I particularly liked the tikki masala.  The sauce had a deeper hue and a bolder flavor than the typical mild and creamy tikki masala that I am used to. 

  

Danielle and especially Brendan had a hard time coping with the heat. Throughout the meal Brendan sweated profusely and was constantly requiring refills on water. Of course I got photographic evidence of this.  On the other end of the spectrum we had Alexis who was a champ with her spice level five dish.  After dinner we walked next door for a couple of drinks at the Euclid Tavern.  I received high fives all around and Joe even declared it “the best mystery ethnic dinner yet.”  Beat that.

Check out the Indian Flame website.  Please note the $8.99 lunch buffet and do take advantage of this wonderful gastronomic opportunity. http://www.indianflamerestaurant.com/ 

Week Four- Marta's

Brendan had the honor of picking this week's mystery ethnic dinner.  Sadly, Joe was out of town at a wedding but we had the pleasure of having Chris and Irene share in the mysterious fun.  I drove with Brendan sitting shotgun, navigating me down MLK, hopping on to 90 East and exiting on to East 222^nd Street in Euclid.  We turned into a dark driveway into the back of Marta’s, a restaurant which resembled a two story family home. 

Czech was the cuisine and I was excited for a meal of comforting meat and starch on that cold, rainy evening.  Eastern European comfort food has been a common theme in our dinners.  I have no complaints as I could happily sustain on a diet of pork, potatoes, cheese and sour cream.   

We walked into the restaurant and I first noticed the wood paneled walls and then a small table with two middle aged men eating from a gallon sized can of pickles.  There was a bar along the right side of the room and the walls were decorated with photographs of Prague.  I instantly regretted never travelling there last year while living in London. 

The waitress handed us the large white laminated menus and asked for our drink orders.  After quick deliberation we each ordered the Czech pilsner.  The beer was light and crisp, which is what you would expect of a pilsner.  We ordered pierogies to start as we examined the menu. 

I had a hard time choosing from the stuffed wienerschnitzel and the chicken paprikash.  I ended up choosing the paprikash, which had the description: “real chicken breast, skinless, boneless, served with Czech dumplings or spaetzels.”   It sold me at “real.”  Next, I had the dilemma between spaetzels and Czech dumplings.  I originally wanted spaetzels.  However, the woman at a nearby table not so subtly and not so quietly whispered “Czech dumplings, Czech dumplings, Czech dumpings” as I ordered.   I found my decision made for me. 

Irene excitedly ordered the half duck.  Unfortunate for her, the waitress came back from the kitchen and exclaimed that they needed 24 hours notice before making the duck.  She then settled on the ham and cheese stuffed wienerschnitzel, which came highly and vocally recommended by the other restaurant patrons.  Brendan ordered the unstuffed wienerschnitzel and Chris also ordered the chicken paprikash. 

The perogies came out covered with sautéed onions and sour cream on the side.  In 2011, I have eaten my fair share of perogies/doons and I think Marta’s were the best.  They were overstuffed, bursting with potato-y cheesy goodness.  The exterior was pan fried, crispy and slightly caramelized.  Chris and Brendan nearly spoiled their dinners by eating two of these little nuggets of heaven.  Next, I had a hearty cup of tomato and rice soup while the others ate salads. 

Our mains came out shortly after.  Like all the other meals the portions were huge.  My plate was piled with Czech dumplings, chicken and gravy.  After tasting the dumplings, I became an instant fan.  They are like soft, doughy, warm slices of bread.  The dumplings succeeded in soaking up the light red creamy, tomato gravy which drowned the tender chicken.  Brendan enjoyed his Schnitzel dish: crispy, deep fried, pounded pork served with tiny skinned and roasted potatoes.  Everyone left the table happy and full, another successful mystery meal.   

I am now ravenous for next week’s dining adventure!

Week Three- Bo Loong

 “You may or may not need something to defend yourself with.” That was the ominous text message that Joe sent my brother on Friday night regarding his mystery ethnic dinner choice.  Joe, who is quite skeptical of Laura Taxel’s Cleveland Ethnic Eats, employed the “Urban Spoon” app on his i Phone and found Bo Loong.  Urban Spoon led us to 40^th and St. Clair Avenue on Saturday night. 

Joe explained that according to his research, Bo Loong serves excellent Dim Sum.  After our destination was revealed I naively got excited to eat a meal of steamed and fried dumplings.  However, as I later read on Wikipedia Dim Sum is traditionally only served through mid afternoon.  A typical Chinese dinner would have to do.

Two green scummy fish tanks containing gigantic multicolored Carp welcomed us into Bo Loong.  The restaurant contained two large adjacent dining rooms with old red carpet and pink marbled wallpaper.  We sat in the first room as the Chinese Business Association was holding an event in the far room.  Throughout our meal, we starred in awe at the platters upon patters being sent over to the next room.  I am bewildered in how they could manage to eat all that food. 

After about a minute of contemplating the extensive menu, we decided on the family style dinner for three at the bargain price of $32.95.  The wonton soup came first, followed by egg rolls, and finally the mains: chicken chow mein, pepper steak, fried rice and the American favorite sweet and sour chicken.  Looking at the food on the table, I determined it could easily feed a family of six.  I found it extremely hard to exercise portion control as it was delicious.  Brendan, Joe and I left stuffed with boxes full of leftovers.  Paying only $14 each, Brendan and Joe couldn’t even complain about the lack of liquor license. 

On the way out I grabbed Bo Loong's business card which advertises the restaurant’s karaoke night.  Brendan is currently practicing his favorite Whitney Huston and dreaming of his Cleveland début. 

Week Two- Ali Baba

This week was my choice for mystery ethnic dinner.  Last week at the Lithuanian American Club, Brendan presented the table with a book titled Cleveland Ethnic Eats by Laura Taxel.  Brendan explained that the book should be used as a reference, to give us inspiration for our choices.  After two weeks of Eastern European comfort food, I decided that our palates needed a change of pace.  Skimming Taxel's reviews, I eventually decided on Lebanese fare and picked Ali Baba on West 117th Street. What really drew me to Ali Baba was the acronym BYOB, four letters that I thought would make for an extra special mystery ethnic dinner.

This week Alexis, Brendan, Joe and myself were in attendance.  I convinced Brendan to drive which meant I got to navigate from the backseat.  Joe who was sitting next to me stole a peek of the destination on the GPS and from the neighborhood deduced the ethnicity of our meal. After a few minutes of egging him on, he spoiled the surprise for everyone by exclaiming that he might be able to get some language practice that night (everyone knows Joe studies Arabic).  At least it was kept a mystery for the beginning of the car ride.

We had a little trouble finding the restaurant as it is in an unassuming storefront and had old lace curtains drawn.  We walked in unsure that we would be able to drink our case of Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale, but we received the okay from the teenage waitress.  The restaurant was small, had only eight tables with three other customers in the dining room.  After pouring over the inexpensive menu we ordered our various lamb and beef dishes with hummus and salad to start.  Then we waited, and waited.  We quickly realized that the kitchen staff consisted of only one woman, who seemed to be preparing everything on the spot.  After about twenty minutes the hummus came out. The hummus was served with pita bread stored in a Ziploc bag, Joe took the Ziploc home with him.  The hummus and pita was delicious and we devoured it on the spot.  After another twenty minutes or so the salad came out.  It was a basic iceberg lettuce salad, but tossed with a delicious dressing and pita chips.  This too was devoured in its entirety.  Then we waited, and waited some more for our mains.  Alexis joked that our meals were probably being slaughtered in back, this was probably true.  Finally our meals came staggering out several minutes apart.  I had the shish kabob served with a side of garlic mayo, it was delicious.  I had the treat of tasting everyone dishes and they all had a unique and yummy flavor.

From start to finish the meal lasted well over two hours, a bit long for our appetites. As Brendan said, "If we didn't have beer that would have been really awful."  Thank goodness for Great Lakes.

Can't wait for what's in store for the next mystery ethnic dinner!