Hard Rock Cafe celebrates Leap Year birthdays

Hard Rock Cafe guests born on Leap Day get more than just the privilege of being a quarter of their age this Feb. 29.

This year, leaplings who celebrate their birthday at the Hard Rock Cafes in the the United States will get a free entree from the Hard Rock's "Leaplings Eat Free"menu. The approximate 200,000 leap day babies in the U.S. only get to celebrate their real birthday once every four years, so the Hard Rock Cafe is prepared to reward them for their patience.

Selections on the "Leaplings Eat Free"menu include the Hard Rock's signature Legendary burger topped with smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and a fried onion ring, and the Veggie Leggie topped with grilled portobello mushroom, squash and roasted red pepper. Other offerings are Twisted Mac, chicken and cheese, the hickory-smoked pulled pork sandwich, honey mustard grilled chicken sandwich and grilled chicken Caesar salad.

The long-standing Cabin of Willowick gets a fresh start

A long-standing culinary institution in Willowick is getting a fresh start.

Carmen Paponetti, The Cabin of Willowick's new owner, has unveiled his plans for breathing new life into the eatery, beginning with a full redesigned menu featuring locally sourced ingredients and scratch recipes.

"This is where we return The Cabin to its roots and grow some new traditions," Paponetti said. While some changes are more subtle than others, from a new water system and streamlined back of the house to fresh linens and modern tableware, Paponetti insists, "It all matters."

The menu includes a lineup of appetizers and small plates in the bar, as well as seasonal specialties.
"We're not trying to do what's trendy, but we're also not stuck in the past," Paponetti said. "We cure and smoke our own pork belly in house, for a specific flavor profile. We can't get that from buying it from someone else."

Some of the new menu items are ancho tacos with mango salsa and a signature slow-roasted pork loin Cuban sandwich. Every section of the menu now offers vegan and vegetarian options like the roasted eggplant and falafel entrees and Burrata cheese board.  An all new dessert menu will be released later this month.

A graduate of the Cordon Bleu Program at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Paponetti has spent the past decade learning the restaurant business with Chef Zack Bruell at Parallax and Kafeteria, before taking the reins at The Cabin of Willowick.

The Cabin of Willowick, established in 1931, is a member of Cleveland Independents. Visit www.thecabinofwillowick.com.

Celebrate the local food scene at Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week

Celebrate Cleveland's thriving culinary scene at the ninth annual Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week, Feb. 19 through Feb. 28.

The event features $15, $30 and $40 lunch and dinner specials at select restaurants throughout downtown. Over the course of the week, more than 55 restaurants will prepare tasty fixed-price menus.

A kickoff cocktail party on Feb. 18, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The Arcade at the Hyatt Regency Cleveland gets the festivities started. The kickoff includes a cash bar and free menu samplings, giving you an opportunity to preview restaurant week selections.  Visit www.downtowncleveland.com to register, or to get more information about Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week 2016.

Celebrate Mardi Gras with New Orleans feast at Salmon Dave's

Laissez les bons temps rouler.
Mardi Gras is this coming week and Salmon Dave's Pacific Grille is letting the good times roll by introducing its annual Taste of N'awlins menu, available from Fat Tuesday to Easter.
The menu includes traditional New Orleans fare like crawfish jambalaya, fried green tomatoes with blue crab etoufee and the popular gumbo ya ya.
Hellfire crawfish salad is topped with spicy fried crawfish and buttermilk parmesan dressing.
Voodoo salmon is served over crawfish risotto with andouille cream sauce, while bronzed red fish is accompanied by red beans and rice and garlic buerre blanc. Bourbon shrimp and scallops are in a chunky tomato cream sauce over dirty rice, with a side of jalapeno corn bread. Other specialties are blackened sirloin with Cajun cream sauce and cheddar shrimp and grits.
The highlight of the annual menu promotion is the Taste of N'awlins Feast for $34.95. It includes portions of Cajun sirloin, Bourbon Street shrimp and Voodoo salmon with confetti rice, fried greeen tomatoes and jalapeno cornbread. The feast is offered for $10 less on Sundays.
King cake bread pudding and pecan pie top off the meal.
The Dave Kasper Quartet plays in the bar on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 9.
Salmon Dave's Pacific Grille is at 19015 Old Lake Road in Rocky River. Phone 440-331-2739.

Progressive Field welcomes HappyDog, Ohio City Burrito, Cleveland Pickle

The Cleveland Indians announced today that Happy Dog, Ohio City Burrito and Cleveland Pickle will be serving up fan favorites at Progressive Field in 2016.

The trio will be located in the ballpark's newly renovated Infield District, which is being renovated to enhance the fan experience this season.

Happy Dog, located in the Gordon Square neighborhood, offers unique hot dogs, veggie dogs, french fries and tater tots, with an extensive list of toppings, all made in-house.

Ohio City Burrito offers its customers a burrito bar and a variety of Mexican favorites including burritos, tacos, salads and nachos. Homemade guacamole and a variety of fresh and original salsas are made daily.

Cleveland Pickle is a uniquely Cleveland sandwich experience with handcrafted sandwich creations and Cleveland names. Its downtown shop also serves creative salads, daily soups and a retail line of housemade pickles.

Following the rebuild of the Right Field District, this second phase of the project focuses on incorporating more local flavor into the ballpark.

Annual Big Chili Cook-Off benefits Lakewood Education Foundation

The eighth annual Big Chili Cook-Off to benefit Pillars of Lakewood and the Lakewood Ranger Education Foundation is Feb. 27 at Around the Corner Cafe.

Cash prizes are awarded for Judges' Choice and People's Choice categories. If you have a winning chili recipe and would like to participate, contact rkrivosh@yahoo.com.

Around the Corner is at 18515 Detroit Rd. in Lakewood. Visit www.atccafe.com for more information.

LDEI Cleveland kicks off the new year with a tour of Green City Growers

            The LDEI Cleveland Chapter began the new year with a tour of Green City Growers, a 3.25-acre hydroponic greenhouse and the largest urban greenhouse in the country.

            The host and tour guide was Jeremy Lisy, National Sales Manager for Green City Growers. Lisy noted that Green City Growers is a branch of Evergreen Cooperatives ofCleveland. Evergreen Cooperatives helps to create green jobs and economic stability in low-wealth neighborhoods.

            The state-of-the-art, industry-certified hydroponic greenhouse in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood is situated on a 10-acre site that was once urban blight. The inner-city site, with 3.25 acres under glass, now serves as a vibrant anchor for the surrounding neighborhood.

            Opened in 2012, the Green City Growers greenhouse is engineered and constructed to grow specialty greens prized by chefs, restaurants and retail clients. Rather than growing in soil, the greens float on pools of nutrient-enriched water. That enables a quicker growth cycle as well as producing tastier produce, appreciated by farm-to-table enthusiasts. During the winter, energy-efficient grow lights are used to maintain production. The carefully controlled environment in the greenhouse allows produce to be grown twelve months a year, to meet customers’ demand for the freshest product.

            The hydroponic greenhouse is industry-certified by PRIMUS/GFS, a leading name in global food safety. That means that Green City Growers meets the highest quality standards for food safety for hydroponic produce.

            Lisy said that specialty greens currently being grown in the greenhouse include Upland cress, mixed greens, butter lettuce, NuFar basil, red butter lettuce and Cleveland Crisp. The greens grow from seed to harvest in 35 to 40 days. Lisy noted that the greenhouse produces about three million heads of lettuce annually and 300,000 pounds of basil. It supplies restaurants and some grocers as far away from Cleveland as Indianapolis. Clients include Kroger, Meijer, Aldi and the Northeast Ohio Marc’s chain of stores. Green City Growers also operates a produce stand at Cleveland’s historic West Side Market.

            Green City Growers functions as a cooperative, with its business model getting noticed around the world, according to Lisy. He said that it is currently at about 90 percent of its profit potential but, as soon as it becomes completely profitable, it will be turned over to the 34 greenhouse employees. Lisy said that they have commissioned studies that show most of the employees spend the money they earn within 10 miles of their workplace, meaning the profit comes full circle and stays in the community.

            “If we can make this greenhouse business model work in Cleveland with our shorter and darker winter days, we can put this model out there to work all over the country,” Lisy concluded.