By Joe Crea, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer
Lonnie Timmons, The Plain Dealer Sasa's Scott Kim will open a new restaurant, Accent, in University Circle's Uptown project.
Its merging of Asian and Western sensibilities marks Sasa as one of Cleveland's most imaginative restaurants. If Scott Kim's Shaker Square izakaya, or pub, is any measure, adventurous diners should be looking forward to the chef's next innovation.
That will come in the spring, when Accent is expected to open in the Uptown project in University Circle. He'll join Jonathon Sawyer (Greenhouse Tavern, Noodlecat), who is toying with an Italian-inspired menu at another space in the project. ABC the Tavern, a popular spot on West 25th Street in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood, has agreed to open a second location there. And Constantino's Market, Panera Bread, Chipotle and Jimmy John's have all signed on, too.
Kim saw an opportunity to present a different aspect of Eastern cuisine at Uptown.
"This will be a pan-Asian menu, and I will bring in Korean and Chinese and Japanese -- and Western, American -- flavors," says Kim.
More specifically, Kim says he's creating a robata restaurant, which would servea modernized version of the traditional Japanese yakitori. "Basically, we're skewering a lot of meat and vegetables and grilling it on top of special grills."
In addition to cooking over long, narrow gas-fueled grills, food preparation includes use of aramaru binchotan, a special variety of charcoal that is imported from Japan. It imparts a characteristic flavor -- "like a wood-burning grill, to bring out more flavors," Kim explains.
Bento boxes, decorative compartmentalized trays with small portions of a variety of different foods, will make up many of the offerings at Accent. "We want to put a lot of different flavors in the bento, so your mind and tongue are both excited," Kim says.
The chef is envisioning long hours for the new place.
"We'll be opening for lunch with simple noodle dishes and the bento boxes, then for dinner with [Cleveland Orchestra] attendees in mind, and a late-night happy hour for hospital workers and students to come in to unwind," Kim says. "We're planning a comfortable $10 lunch, to $20 or $30 for dinners. It's not going to be a chichi place; I want everyone to feel comfortable there."
Perhaps America's pre-eminent voice on the culinary landscape, Ruth Reichl -- former restaurant critic for The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine and a six-time James Beard Foundation Award winner -- is coming to Cleveland. The editor of several cookbooks and author of "Tender at the Bone," "Comfort Me With Apples" and "Garlic and Sapphires" will speak at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, in the Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium of Cleveland Public Library's Main Library. She will be introduced by Greenhouse Tavern chef-owner Jonathon Sawyer. Having enjoyed the opportunity to hear her speak on more than one occasion, I'm confident you will find Reichl a wry, provocative, moving and often hilarious speaker -- well worth an illuminating autumn afternoon indoors.
Cleveland Public Library: Author Ruth Reichl, 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Main Library, Louis Stokes Wing Auditorium, 525 Superior Ave., Cleveland; 216-623-2800. Part of the library's "Writers and Readers" series, the event is free and open to the public.
Heads up, all you lovers of golabki, kielbasa and other treasures of the Polish kitchen. Babushka's Kitchen Polish Heritage restaurant has opened in the Independence Square shopping plaza on Brecksville Road. The 80-seat restaurant features dishes popular at Babushka's original Northfield Center location and Columbus satellite. The restaurants are operated by Nancy and Dave Abramowski , who hail from Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood.
Babushka's Kitchen: 6531 Brecksville Road, Independence; babushkafoods.com,216-447-9275.The restaurant is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. (The Northfield Center location is temporarily closed for kitchen renovations.)
If you have favorite dishes at Table 45 restaurant, say so. You might be one of four lucky Facebook fans to win a special dinner there. To celebrate the restaurant's 41/2-year -- or, uh, 4.5 -- anniversary, Facebook users can vote for one of eight of the restaurant's most popular dishes since it opened in 2007. Facebookers will be entered in a random drawing for a dinner Tuesday, Oct. 25. That evening's menu will consist of the top four vote-getters -- then the winners will vote again to select one of the dishes to appear on the restaurant's fall menu. Table 45 is at the InterContinental Hotel & Conference Center Cleveland, 9801 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland; tbl45.com, 216-707-4045. Go to facebook.com and search for Table 45. Deadline is midnight Thursday.
• Some of Northeast Ohio's foremost chefs have participated in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's fascinating (and delicious) series, "The Natural History of Food." The seventh series of dishes begins next month with "The Natural History of Garlic" presented by Ben Bebenroth (Spice of Life Catering) on Saturday, Nov. 12. In 2012, plan on programs such as:
• "The Natural History of Chocolate" by chef Richard Soren Arnoldi of Muse at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel (Saturday, Feb. 11);
• "The Natural History of Citrus" by chef Regan Reik of Pier W (Saturday, April 14) and,
• "The Natural History of Vanilla" by chef Mike LaMorca of the Hyde Park Restaurant Group (Saturday, June 23).
Thursday marks the third annual Meritage Gala , a scholarship fundraiser to help promising students complete their culinary training at the International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute in Chesterland. This year's event, "A Celebration of American Food and Art," will showcase dishes from the Pacific Northwest, American Southwest and Carolina Low Country -- prepared by the students themselves, guided by faculty. Budding pastry chefs will also prepare a quartet of desserts. More intimate dinners, prepared by Dante Boccuzzi and a team of former ICASI students, or chef Stephan Rieger and his own team, will be served to patron-level supporters.
Meritage Gala 2011: At 7 p.m. Thursday at the International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute, 8700 Mayfield Road, Chesterland; icasi.net, 440-729-1110. Reservations are required. Guest levels for admission are "Classic Cuisine" guests ($95, of which $45 is tax-deductible); "Rising Star" ($250, $150 tax-deductible) and "Star Chef VIP" ($500, $300 tax-deductible). All proceeds benefit the school's scholarship fund.
Speaking of Boccuzzi, on Facebook the chef observes that "9 out of 10 doctors say that lunch is the most important meal of the day. Good thing because Ginko is open for lunch on Fridays." Duly noted, maestro. Ginko: 2247 Professor Ave., Cleveland; danteboccuzzi.com, 216-274-1202.
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