Roxu Fusion

Hi everyone!   Steve and I just got back from dinner at Roxu Fusion.   For a while, there was a great famine of sushi in Lakewood.  Now, with this place and Voodoo Tuna, it's really convenient to get your fix.   As of this entry, Roxu has only been open for 2 weeks.   We arrived at happy hour and got seated right away.

With the happy hour prices, we decided to try a variety of things.   We ordered some maki rolls and steam buns.

Here are pictures of the menu:

We ordered the dragon roll and the salmon avocado roll.   It was pretty good.   Personally, I like my salmon not smoked, but these were tasty.  Also, the rolls are huge!   I think I would prefer 8 smaller rolls to these 6 big ones.  They're a bit big for the mouth.

These are the salmon rolls.   Lots of salmon roe too.

The dragon rolls had eel, avocado and midori sriracha sauce (midori is Japanese for green).   Nice kick to them.

This is a ginger margarita.  Steve enjoyed it.

My favorite part of the meal was the steamed buns!   They came in two pieces (perfect for sharing) with what we thought was a light salad.   Turns out the salad is a minute slaw, which was extremely tasty!   Usually, I think of slaw as being overly sour/fermented.  This was light, flavorful, and crunchy.

These are the Wagyu Strip steam buns.

The meat was tender.  Good flavor.

The Tuna bun was nicely seared and spicy.  I really enjoyed it.

However, my absolute favorite was the Pork Belly bun.  Perfectly crispy and savory.   I will definitely be ordering these again!

To end our evening, we ordered the Cheesecake Souffle.   That was really nice.  Served garnished with two Pocky sticks and glazed with a light mint and in cherry hibiscus syrup.  Really nice presentation:

The next time we visit, we're going to try chicken and waffles and some other dishes.   Worth the visit.

Melt Bar and Grilled

Last night we were out celebrating a friend's birthday at Melt Bar and Grilled.  We were at the original location.  Fortunately, on weekends the parking is free.  I decided to try something new.  Pictured above is the Fried Green Tomato BLT.   It had romaine lettuce, cheddar cheese, and pork belly.   Really yummy!   I'm looking forward to eating the other half of my sandwich later.

Steve ordered the Backyard BBQ with pork.  It had barbecue sauce, sharp cheddar, and onion rings.   Again, there is enough food for later.

It seems that each time we go to Melt, we are able to pick two sandwiches and then narrow it further with help from the wait staff.   If you love grilled cheese, you should definitely go here!

Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors

Steve and I just got back from seeing Cleveland Playhouse's premiere of Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors.  It was amazing!  I laughed so hard.  It's the sequel of Lend Me a Tenor, which we got to see this past season at the Beck Center.  

It's another wild romp of mistaken identity and operatic hi-jinks.  Ken Ludwig is a great Cleveland playwright and I'm very lucky to have seen his work.  I don't want to spoil too much here, but it's really worth seeing for the level of shenanigans.  Go see it!

Emerald Necklace Inn

Steve and I just got back from having tea at the Emerald Necklace Inn.  It's a cute little bed and breakfast that serves tea ending at 3 pm.  Reservations are required.

The restaurant is in a small house off of the main road.  It has a few doors, one of which is for the bed and breakfast portion of the Inn.

It's very quaint.

The furnishings inside are very cute.   Lots of floral motif.

We both ordered the High Tea.  It's $25 per person and comes with an endless pot of tea, soup or salad, quiche and fruit, scone and bread plate, three finger sandwiches, and dessert plate.

Our meal came with a complimentary chilled Strawberry Champagne tea.   It came in a little shot glass rimmed with pink sugar.

Steve had the Queen Diamond Jubilee white tea and I had a caramel flavored black tea.   It was nicely presented.  I should make a point of ordering an herbal tea when I go to tea rooms that use unfiltered pots like this.   The tea continues to get stronger over time and can get bitter if you don't consume it fast enough.

I had the tomato vegetable soup while Steve had the house salad.

The assortment of sandwiches and breads was traditional.   If you aren't into cream cheese or mayo, you probably should avoid the sandwiches.   I like both of those things.

Top level:  pumpkin bread, cranberry bread, and blueberry scone
Bottom level: chicken salad, egg salad, and cucumber sandwiches (far back)

Here is the fruit cup and broccoli tomato quiche.  

And here is the dessert plate:

They also have a small shop where you can buy tea accessories and various teas.   I'm glad we stopped in today.

The Book of Mormon

Steve and I just got back from seeing the Book of Mormon.  We saw it for the first time in 2013 when it was part of the Broadway Series.  This year, it was an extra, in the larger State Theater, and we paid for better seats.  Still amazing.  Go see it!

Try The World: Japan

Hi everyone!   I know it's been a while, but our new Try the World Box arrived and we finally had time to eat some of its contents!  This time, the country is Japan.  Admittedly, it's a little less exotic for us because we are already familiar with many foods from Japan.   Still, it's worth the purchase price.

I love the packaging of the boxes.  It's like getting a present.

The playlist for this box was already up and running on Spotify.   Nice mix of modern music and traditional melodies.

The first item, okonomiyaki flour!   I've made it a few times with standard flour, but this was a real treat.

Steve and I buy these gummy candies regularly.   Yummy!

Ginger paste.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this.  I usually toss out the ginger when I have sushi.

Soba noodles.   I'll probably go and purchase some cold dipping sauce for these.

Seasoned seaweed snack.  This will go nicely on its own or with some rice.

These are soft caramels.  I've never had these before.

Lastly, blueberry matcha tea.   This dissolves completely in hot water.  This will be different.

We decided to have the okonomiyaki.   Here are the instructions in the packet:

It comes with tempura crunchies, seaweed garnish, and the flour and yam paste.

I forgot to buy the scallions, but the recipe still turned out delicious.   We used bacon and mushrooms as our toppings and garnished with spicy mayo and hoisin sauce.   Next time, I'l going to purchase soup stock, standard Japanese mayo, and okonomiyaki sauce.

The instructions ask for a pan with a lid.  Fortunately, we have one.

This is the finished product:

It's not that difficult and very delicious.  Infinitely customizable, a Japanese pizza as it's often called.