Cleveland-Heath

After reading so much about Cleveland-Heath, STLwinegirl, Angela Ortmann, finally gave me a good reason to travel over the river and through the woods to Edwardsville by hosting a Traveling Table there. Located right on the corner of Main Street, the restaurant had a warm and charming feel with all the servers dressed in plaid shirts and jeans. Although, our event was actually located in the Township Grocer next door where we sat at one long, wooden table, which Cleveland-Heath rents out.

Luckily, there were some locals attending the dinner who had eaten there several times so I asked them what was their favorite and what was the best. Both of them said the tacos were fantastic along with the risotto and basically, they loved to try whatever is new there. Cleveland-Heath also offers quite a lengthy beer and wine list and their menu reminded me of American “home cooking” but with a fresh twist.

We started off the night with a baby beet salad with farro, feta, and chimmichurri. Beets are all the range these days and I was really impressed at how different they tasted as to the flavor I was expecting. Fresh is so much better than canned any day! The light and fruity salad paired well with my favorite, a von Hovel Riesling, Kabinett Oberemmeler Hutte, Saar, Germany, 2010. I don’t know how many times I will tell you that German wines are the best…not too sweet, not too dry.

The main course was a Crispy Skinned Wild Arctic Char, in place of salmon, but looked like the same thing to me. Underneath the two large hunks of fish were brussels sprouts, butternut squash, roasted mushrooms, and pomegranate, almost like a mini vegetable salad. I still cannot eat Brussels sprouts to save my life but this was a hearty meal with warm flavors. That warmness helped to pair the meal with a red wine, Mirabile Nero D’Avola, IGT Sicilia, Italy 2009, even though it was a fish course! Yet, it was an Italian red, which was a little too dry and heavy for me, even with the meaty and buttery fish. Although the brussels sprouts definitely needs something strong!

The dessert course was my favorite since it included a ridiculous amount of chocolate. To do it justice, I included another picture so you can see the smooth and creamy goodness underneath the “house made graham” and toasted “marshmellow” top. A strong port was paired with this to cut through all the sweetness, but I can only handle something like a Moscato rather than a fortified wine. The Terra D’Oro Zinfandel Port came from Amador County, CA.

This dinner definitely gets all three stars from me since it featured a Riesling, chocolate, and no bacon to be seen!

Resources:

Cleveland-Heath = http://www.clevelandheath.com/

Township Grocer = http://www.townshipgrocer.com/

STLwinegirl = http://www.stlwinegirl.com

Photos by Stacy Anderson (http://www.everylittlethingblog.com/) and Angela Ortmann