The News-Herald TGIF January 17, 2003

Visit to Grovewood Proves Surprising

Christy James
Correspondent

We've all heard the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Well, the same holds true for restaurants, particularly when it comes to the Grovewood Tavern and Wine Bar.

The food and beverages inside are not what you would expect from the exterior appearance of this old tavern in a working-class Cleveland neighborhood.

Be adventurous and enter through the door furthest to the left. Once inside you'll be amazed at what you find.

First, to your left is the kitchen. The night of our visit there were two chefs working in this tiny area. It's hard to believe that they can provide their extensive food offerings from such a small space. Chef Tim Ogan deserves kudos for developing a creative menu.

After passing the kitchen you enter into the bar area of the tavern. At first glance it appears to be your typical neighborhood bar, except for the rows and rows of wine bottles. Grovewood markets itself as a wine bar, in addition to a tavern, and its extensive wine list contains over 150 selections. The restaurant conducts wine tastings at 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays.

A casually dressed host greeted us by asking if we had reservations. Good thing we did. When you enter the small dining room to the right of the bar, it's easy to see why reservations are essential - the seating is limited.

This wood-paneled room is filled with white paper-covered tables and mismatched chairs. A small paper tent on each table lists upcoming events, including string bands, dulcimers, a folk duo, acoustic groups, pianos and jazz. Free comedy is featured the second Monday of every month. I began to wish we lived closer.

We started our evening with a couple of items from the appetizer list. You can't beat the Brie en croute ($10). This was a small whole baby Brie, baked in puff pastry and topped with roasted nuts and passionfruit marmalade served with slices of fresh crusty bread. My advice, make sure you get some of the nuts and the sweet marmalade in each bite. It is really wonderful.

We also selected an order of their pot stickers ($8). These aren't anything like you'd find in your typical Asian restaurant, since these pot stickers come stuffed with either portabella or beef. We received eight crescent-shaped dumplings topped with caramelized onions, sour cream and chunks of bacon drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction. They were so good we fought over the last one.

We shared the salad special of the day ($7.50) a fabulous combination of fresh greens topped with slices of pears and grapes accented with a radish and candied walnuts. The pear and Riesling vinaigrette dressing and the patty (they called it a crouton) of warm, creamy boursin cheese were the best parts of this salad.

We could have stopped there. But, if the appetizers were any indication of what was yet to come, we were anxious to move on to the main course.

Grovewood won the People's Choice Award at the 2002 Taste of Cleveland. We were at that event and sampled the restaurant's signature chilled sesame noodles. These noodles were the reason we wanted to try this restaurant in person. I have to admit I had been remembering the flavors of the sesame noodles since the Labor Day event, so I was looking forward to having them again. But the rest of the menu was so enticing I had to try something else.

The slightly spicy sesame noodles come with grilled shrimp ($12), salmon filet ($12), seared duck breast ($12), seared sea scallops ($12) or with chicken and green onion skewers ($9.50). Sesame noodles can be ordered as an extra helping or substitution for $3.50.

For my entree, I finally decided upon a vegetarian selection, the black bean ravioli ($12.50). The small pasta pillows filled with back beans are made by the Ohio City Pasta Company. Actually they are hard to find underneath the corn, tomatoes, black beans, onions, chipotle salsa, shredded cheese and sour cream. The smoky spicy flavor of the salsa and the combination of the many other ingredients seemed to overpower the mild pasta.

My companion's meal choice that evening had the unusual name of the carpetbagger ($18.50), Grovewood's interpretation of a century-old dish combining beef sirloin filet with fried oysters. He was surprised when this entree came in a deep bowl with a mound of garlic-mashed potatoes in the middle, surrounded by flavorful mushroom gravy. The filet and tender golden corn meal-dusted oysters were piled on top. The whole dish was "soupier" than he would have liked. But never fear - there wasn't a single drop left in the bowl.

We were both disappointed in our main dishes, as they didn't live up to our appetizer expectations.

My entree left me wishing I had ordered the sesame noodles. But this won't keep us from going back. There are many other items on the menu I'd like to try, plus the wine selection is great, the entertainment and special events sound fun, the atmosphere is very comfortable and the staff is very friendly and accommodating.

Grovewood Tavern
and Wine Bar
17105 Grovewood Ave.
Cleveland
Location: Interstate 90 to the E. 185th Street exit. Follow north Marginal Road (Villaview). Grovewood is the fourth street past E. 185th. The restaurant is on the right at the northwest corner of E. 172nd Street and Grovewood Avenue. The signs out front are minimal, so look for a large Red Stripe Beer sign and three doors. Parking is on the street.
Hours: 6 to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. On Sundays, brunch is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 3 to 8 p.m. The bar is open extended hours.
Capacity: 55, there is additional bar seating and bar tables.
Phone:(216)531-4900.
Liquor and wine: Extensive wine list and large beer selection.
Facilities for the handicapped: No.
Credit cards: All major credit cards accepted.
Cuisine: Familiar to exotic.
Vegetarian: Several salads, tapenade, Brie, black bean ravioli, grilled vegetables.
Food quality: Very good.
Ambiance: Tavern, casual.
Non-smoking section: Dining room is non-smoking. Smoking is permitted in the bar.
Reservations: Essential on weekends and very good idea every day.
Prices: Moderate to pricey, entrees range from $8 to $18.50; sandwiches from $7 to $10.50.
Service: Friendly, patient, helpful, positive, attentive, gracious.
Value: Excellent.
Stars (of five): ****