Grovewood Tavern in Cleveland
On a trip to Cleveland this past weekend to visit my sister, she and her BF took me to the Grovewood Tavern for dinner Saturday night. Wow, what a gem. We could smell the grill from outside and our stomachs immediately began to rumble.
We didn't have a reservation, but they still found us a table in the bar in no time. After looking at the menu for several minutes, the only problem I had was deciding on an entree. It's a very eclectic menu, with options ranging from steaks and ribs (which another server walked by us and looked awesome) to Japanese Yakitori, and quite a few seafood and poultry options.
We each started with a salad; the half baby spinach for sis and me and the wedge for her BF. The spinach was fresh and came decorated with parmesan and walnuts, and a ramekin of warm bacon dressing on the side. The dressing was great, with little chunks of bacon, but didn't overpower the other ingredients. Also, the half-salad was plenty, and a whole one would have been too much for either of us. BF also enjoyed his wedge.
For our main coursed, sis had the Shrimp & Steak and BF went for the 12oz Ribeye. I had the seared Ahi Tuna. I was a little disappointed that my dinner companions ordered such standard meals when there were some really interesting looking options available, but what're you gonna do. My tuna was seared perfectly with a big swath of rare-red in the middle and coated in black and white sesame seeds. It came with a huge pile of sobe noodles that complimented the ahi perfectly and had quite a bit of spice. It tingled my lips, but didn't burn. I asked our server what was in there, but he said he didn't know.
Sis and BF were both very happy with their steaks and the accompanying sides. The vegetables were cooked perfectly, still crisp, and the risotto was creamy with just a little bite left.
The only problem was the huge portions, which left us all with food on our plates, me more so than the others. The side of noodles almost could have been a meal in itself. We took a breather, ordered coffee, and decided that we had just enough strengh left to try the house made tiramisu. If there was a weak point to the meal, that was it, though I hesitate to even call it weak. The dish was very tasty, I just felt there was too much coffee in the dessert, and the lady fingers were a bit soggy because of it.
All in all, a great meal in a very plesant setting. The total bill for a bottle of Pinot Noir, three salads, three large entrees, two coffees and a dessert was $144, including tax. A pretty good value too. Next time I'm in Cleveland, I'm insisting we go back.
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wleatherette
Sep 24, 2007 06:32 AM
love this place. great food, great wines, great prices, and great atmosphere. mrnyc, you should definitely check it out next time you're in town.
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