Tremont Dishcrawl

When we vacation we love to go on food tours and bar crawls. It's a great way to get a feel for a neighborhood and try a lot of different dishes. I'd always rather have one bite of many things than many bites of one thing. Cleveland is the perfect place to have food tours and the massive crowd at the Tremont Dishcrawl proves it. Stop 1

The Tremont Dishcrawl started at the South Side. It was a beautiful space to start off the evening. The executive chef even came out to discus the dishes that were served and thank us for coming.

The South Side served us an incredible three dish tasting starting with the mussels. They had a slight spice to them and a rich sausage. Then they brought out the flatbreads, which had a nice creaminess to them and a fresh pop from the green. If that wasn't enough they bought out the very inventive almond fried brie, which was almost like a dessert. The wild berry jam was absolutely perfect with it. I was really impressed with the food and presentation. They had a great wine list as well.

Stop 2

Press Wine Bar and Restaurant is new to Tremont. They had a great patio and party space as well as a beautiful main room with a large bar. They brought out hors d'oeuvre style dishes. Deviled eggs with shrimp, smoked salmon on rye toast with a cucumber spread and pineapple with blue cheese. Each item was beautifully presented and well balanced, which is extremely impressive when it comes to pineapple and blue cheese. I thought it was very creative and couldn't believe how well it worked. I am a big wine geek and enjoyed browsing their wine menu. They have a lot of reasonably priced bottles and things I am not seeing on other wine lists. I am a big fan of the Michael & David "6th Sense" Syrah 2010 (my tasting notes).

Stop 3

The Treehouse was next. I can't believe I've never been here. I loved the food and atmosphere. At this point in the evening we had been 3 for 3 on great patios!

Treehouse brought us a little sampling of their hummus, wonton and peanut noodles. It packed some BIG flavors. Their food is extremely well done. I wanted more of everything!

Stop 4

Dessert time took us to Dervish Grill. Ethnic food is my thing so I was so excited to come here. They are open despite the construction. I got to browse their food menu and can't wait to go back, but I also loved this dessert so much that I have cravings for it daily. They gave us a generous dessert sampler with baklava, the best I can ever remember having, Kunefe, which is filled with cheese, and my favorite, the Kazandibi, which is a milk custard. It tasted like marshmallows. They also had great cocktails and Turkish wines.

The Dishcrawl was a super good time! I highly recommend giving one a try. It's a great place to hang with other foodies and you get an incredible amount of food for the cost. Get info on upcoming Dishcrawls: Website Facebook Twitter

Wine Taste Off

There seems to be no better way to learn about wine, develop your pallet, and find what you like than tasting multiple wines in one sitting (or so I like tell myself). I picked up 3 bottles of wine to do a little tasty taste! (I am a huge fan of Gary Vaynerchuk and Wine Library TV.)

Wines

I opened all three bottles a few hours before tasting to let them breath. They were all tasted at room temperature.

Wine #1

2010 Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon, South Australia

Picked this up at

World Liquors & Wines in North Olmsted

88 points from Wine Spectator

Tasting Notes

Smell: Dirt, Mushrooms, Worms, Chocolate. Taste: Fruit bomb, cherry slushy, peppermint. High acidity. I agree with Wine Spectator and give this an 88. It isn't overly sweet, but packs lots of fruit. Nicely balanced. The mushroom smell and cherry slushy taste was fun to experience.

Wine #2

2009 Concannon Vineyard Conservancy Petite Sirah, Livermore Valley, USA

Picked this up at the Trader Joes at Crocker Park No known score

Tasting Notes

Smell: Oak, Spicy Men's Cologne. Taste: Oak, Pepper. Didn't love this one. It was too dry and over oaked for me. I give it an 85. Better used as a cologne maybe.

Wine #3

2010 Michael-David Winery 6th Sense Syrah, Lodi, USA

Picked this up at

World Liquors & Wines in North Olmsted

88 points from Wine Enthusiast

Tasting Notes

Smell: Black Raspberry, Cinnamon, Vanilla. Taste: (Same) Black Raspberry, Cinnamon, Vanilla. This wine came off very well rounded and polished. I give this a 90+ and declare it the winner of this taste off! I like it so much I bought some more and took it to BYOB at Barroco. I am going to pick up some of the other Michael-David wines to try soon. This wine also had a fun little poem on the back label:

I smell with one nose, an ancient black rose, a memory lingering, briefly exposed. I see with two eyes, through shadows and lies, a secret revealing, wrapped in disguise. I hear with my ears, three fallen tears, echoing softly, heightening my fears. I taste with my tongue, my panics begun, four sides enclosed, melding as one. I touch with my hands, a sinister plan, five fingers discerning where I do stand. I sense with my mind, a thought so unkind, I'm trapped six feet under in a bottle of wine.