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After visiting Chocolate Bar in the East Fourth Street restaurant row area of downtown Cleveland, I felt like making up a new word or phrase to describe it. I had never been in a restaurant like it. Here is the short list of what I came up with:
Cocoa Pub
Food-musement Park
Chocolateria
Bosco Bistro
Godiva Diner
OK, maybe a little lame. You try being creative after sampling a couple of stiff martinis laced with equal parts alcohol and yummy-sweet ingredients.
?It tastes like an adult version of Dairy Queen,? a companion said after sipping her Chocolate Banana Cream Pie Martini, one of 24 mostly dessert-themed drinks on the martini list. The $9.95 drinks might seem a tad expensive, but, I repeat, they pack a punch and are decadent.
Martinis are far from the only chocolate treats, but we chose not to delve too heavily into the dark side of the menu. I?m sure the staff would argue (one server?s T-shirt read: Forget love, I?d rather fall in chocolate), but occasionally there is such a thing as too much chocolate.
My wife and I decided to cleanse our palate with some non-cocoa-based appetizers. The Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella appetizer ($8.95) was basically a Caprese salad, and a good one. It had quality fresh tomatoes, a generous serving of cheese, some fresh basil and a rich balsamic reduction syrup. The Steak Crostini ($9.95), however, had a stingy serving of steak and almost no caramelized onions.
Our companion returned to the central theme for her entree. Chocolate Bar Pasta ($7.95) was surprisingly light and savory for a dish that included white chocolate and cream. It would have been better had the kitchen omitted a side dish of corn, which was tough and nasty. It?s hard to believe a restaurant could find bad corn when some of the crispest, sweetest corn in the world is available at local roadside markets everywhere this time of year.
The gaffe was quickly shrugged off when I tasted Mexican Pork Tenderloin ($11.95). The subtle cocoa and spice rub and bourbon-ancho glaze created a perfectly charred surface. Inside, the pink pork was juicy and tender. Sweet mango salsa complimented the pork nicely after I added some hot sauce to suit my taste. All-in-all, the generous serving (five golf-ball-size medallions of pork) and excellent preparation added up to one of the best entree bargains I have had in an Ohio restaurant.
My wife?s crab cakes (three panko-crusted cakes for $9.95) also were bargain-priced, but a little overdone.
For dessert, the three of us split a Kahlua Heath Bar Torte ($6.95). The chocolate mousse component was exceptional. The dessert list is longer than the entire menu at some restaurants. I understand why many of the desserts feature mousse in one form or another.
On a return lunch visit, the Southwestern Chicken Salad ($8.59), portobello sandwich ($7.79) and Steak BLT ($10.95) each delivered quality and value. The dessert (Bananas Foster Crepe, $10.95) disappointed, though. Flambeed bananas with ice cream were a decent version of the New Orleans classic, but the crepe was tough. Since my wife and I couldn?t cut it without knocking over our ice teas, we scraped off the fruit and discarded the crepe.
Sure, there were a couple of glitches. Overall, Chocolate Bar delivers fun and a unique food and drink experience.
Bob Migra, Special to The Plain Dealer
Bob Migra is a freelance writer in Westlake. Reach him at food@plaind.com
TASTE BITES
Chocolate Bar
Where: 347 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.
Contact: 216-622-2626.
Online: originalchocolatebar.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, 3 p.m.-midnight Sunday.
Prices: Appetizers, $8.49-$9.95; soups and salads, $3.95-$9.29; sand wiches $6.95-$8.95; entrees, $7.95-$14.95; dessert, $3.29-$18.95 (for a dish that serves two).
Reservations: For parties of 8 or more.
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Dis cover, American Express.
Cuisine: Eclectic American, specializing in chocolate-based dishes, martinis and a huge selection of desserts.
Kids: The four-item kids menu includes food, soft drink and ice cream sundae for $5.95, but the entire dessert menu is like a high-calorie Disneyland. Week end afternoons tend to be the most popular time for family dining, but we saw families with children at several tables on a busy Friday night.
Bar service: Full service, with an ex ceptional selection of martinis.
Accessibility: Upper section is wheel chair accessible via ramp from the Hyatt Arcade entrance. Downstairs restrooms are available by elevator.
Grade: **
Ratings: One star means fair; 2 stars, good; 3 stars, very good; 4 stars, ex ceptional. (Zero stars: not recom mended.) Plain Dealer reviewers make at least two anonymous visits to each restaurant and do not accept compli mentary meals. Read past reviews at cleveland.com/dining
Source: http://spanishchef.net/spanishchefblog/?p=7063
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