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| - I should have known I could trust local Yelpers on this one--what a great addition to the downtown food/bev scene!
As most of you reading this already know, their location isn't ideal. Many a' business before them have tried this space and failed, but I'm holding onto hope that A Kitchen + Bar will make it work, and here's why:
The food is awesome. I'm not one to go out and order "healthy" things. I can make those things at home, usually better than most restaurants (not to toot my own horn, but it's true), so I went all out. My friend and I tried the mac n' cheese, the charcuterie board, the reuben and the calamari. I can't comment on the calamari, since I don't eat it, but let me tell you about the rest:
- Mac 'n cheese my face off. Seriously. Check out my photo. This ooey-gooey, spiral-noodle goodness was prepped "stovetop-style" which is my favorite. Take your baked macaroni and cheese and hit the road. Ain't noboby got time for that. There wasn't an over-whelming cheese punch, just the melty, creamy taste of a classic dish you'll want in your life on a daily basis. Again, I can't compliment this dish enough--the flavors melded perfectly and the pasta itself was perfectly cooked--not too al dente, not mushy.
- Charcuterie board wins my love if for no other reason than their kick-ass decision to include one of my favorite cheeses of all time, Red Dragon mustard cheese. Ermahgerd. The photo I took didn't include the plate of crackers--but I will say an addition of some warm baguette would just set this board off. It's simple: three cheeses, three meats and some sliced fruit. I also loved that there was nothing on this board that threw me face-first outside of my comfort zone. I don't like goat cheese or blue cheese. I don't want headcheese or any other weird meats you've made up with leftover animal parts. I'll take my traditional salamis, cured meats, thank you. This board didn't disappoint, but also didn't slap me in the face with awesome-sauce either. It was just a solid, safe and tasty take on charcuterie.
- That reuben though. It was damn good. I was disappointed in my over-ordering skills since by the time I got to this delicious, freshly grilled sammie--I was way too full. But even in my over-indulged state, I managed to gobble down two big bites of a great sandwich. It wasn't the best reuben I've ever had, but it was up there!
And that's it for the food. I was lucky enough to have some time to chat with the owner, who happens to be one heck of a nice fellow. In the short time I spoke with him, I could tell the passion and hard work he has put into this place--which you'll see too, just by tasting the food.
There were only two things that threw me off a bit on my first visit:
1) Our server took some coaxing to warm up to us. But once he did, he was very nice. I attribute this "warm-up" stage to a couple of things... one being that we came in at about 10/11PM and the other being we were dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog, etc. since we came from the CLE Comic Con. He was probably a little skeptical about whether we were going to be those drunk, annoying chicks at the bar--which I can understand.
2) Clientele. Now, I know this isn't their fault, which is why I didn't dock stars for this, but as I mentioned, we walked in to this place in costume. We weren't obnoxious or loud. Our costumes weren't overly showy or sexy--but if you could have felt the stink eyes we were getting it would have made you turn right around and walk right out. Luckily for me, I give zero craps about what a table of 20-30 something basics think of my attire, but Comic Con (and other large events hosted at the new Convention Center) can bring a lot of tourists into the area--which is great for businesses like this! And to have locals giving each guest an ocular pat-down with stank face when they walk in the door could be a detriment to this business. It shouldn't matter if I came in dressed in a three piece suit after work or whatever. Just be on the alert for these types of folks here--hopefully my incident wasn't their typical crowd (I don't think it really is.)
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