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| - Crop has evolved over the years to become a landmark of the Cleveland food scene, supplanting itself with Lola, Greenhouse Tavern, Dante, and Spice Market as restaurants that I would happily pit against the best any other town in America has to offer. Cleveland can take the lumps it deserves for its struggling economy and god awful sports teams, but the food scene is a tribute to the passion and creativity of its locals, and Crop is another shining example of things that are absolutely going right in the city by the lake.
Crop is stationed right in the middle of an old bank building, and it shows in the extensive and elaborate ceiling frescoes and polished stone decor. It's a similar feeling to eating inside a warehouse, except it's bustling with activity and the lighting effect makes your table appear like it's own little planet in a bustling universe of activity. It strikes the diner as old fashioned and posh, bathing in it's own swanky sense of style. I had an old fashioned manhattan here, because.....I should. Servers wear ties, and it seems like the type of place you'd see a local politician or athlete celebrating a special event.
My group was celebrating an anniversary and the holiday season, so we truly attacked our waist lines with the best Crop had to offer. The "pile of crop" special for the day was an ohio city pasta dish in a rich creamy white sauce and seared duck breasts. Im a sucker for Ohio City pasta (it's found and the west side market)market, made painstakingly by locals who still give a (censored) and is incredible) so it was an easy choice, and was mind blowingly delicious. The braised lamb shanks were tender and moist, roasted and packed with flavor; the cooks here clearly are used to preparing the shanks and avoided the pitfalls that tend to leave it under seasoned and tough. (The sauce and accompanying risotto were clean-the-plate-with-bread good) The Ribeye (capitalized to suggest badassery) was a prime cut of meat, an inch think, seared and presented magnificently with fresh horseradish julienned and highlighting a rich red demi glace. (I'd happily put it on the level of Hyde Park or any national steak house; the K street haunts that old crotchety DC lobbyists favor would be hard pressed to outperform it)
Service here was fresh and surprisingly attentive given the volume of patrons having dinner on a busy Saturday night, and our young server handled everything with aplomb. I would love to give the food here another round of reviews, but find that their sister restaurant (Cropicana in Wendy Park) is now also overdue for a visit. Such is the Cleveland food scene; always a bigger fish.....or restaurant, however the adage goes.
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