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Cleveland Scene
Volume 15, Issue 83
Published December 13th, 2008
Bites
Foodie News
By Douglas Trattner
Taste (2317 Lee Rd., 216.932.9100, tastefoodwine.com) has opened in the former home of the Wine Room. While many lament the modifications to the previous tenant's glorious wood bar, Taste is already garnering praise of its own. The expanded footprint allows space for a bar and lounge area, a separate dining room and an open kitchen with adjacent chef's table. All told, the restaurant seats about 80. With a granite bar, blond butcher-block tables and minimal accents, the space is clean, fresh and modern - a perfect match for the food. Chef Anthony Vicente, a recent transplant from Paris, where he cooked at a perennially packed bistro, has a sharp focus when it comes to food. Dishes are restrained - austere, almost - and executed flawlessly. Airy salmon mousse is spooned onto toast in one starter, while another features glazed chicken-stuffed crepes with tart greens. Nearly all the starters are cold dishes, an odd tack given the season. There is no such misconnect in the entrée section, where items like rack of lamb, seared scallops and seared bronzini get top billing. For $45, diners can select an app, main, dessert and two glasses of wine.
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The WineBuzz
Volume 6 Number 3
January/February 2009
BuzzBites
By Natalie Lariccia and Donna Marchetti
The old Wine Bar in Cleveland Heights is now Taste, a sophisticated new wine bar and restaurant. The interior has been completely transformed into a sleek, modern gathering place with friendly bar and open kitchen. The menu is small but well executed under executive chef Anthony Vicente. Try the Red Beet Carpaccio with goat cheese crumbs and curry dressing ($8) and the Rack of Lamb with cumin mashed potatoes ($22). Sweets lovers will be tempted by the Carmel Tart with Baileys ice cream or the Red Bell Pepper cheesecake (both $9). The wine list is heavy on California and fairly priced. You can't miss with one of its more unusual selections: 2006 Pinot Meunier from Domain Chandon for $42.
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The Plain Dealer
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Restaurant Row
These openings buck economy
by Joe Crea
Economic forecasts be damned. Time to look on the bright side. After rattling off a litany of closings in last week's column, it's good to be able to report some openings - recent and on the horizon. East Siders are the big beneficiaries in the latest round. Prominent among the newcomers is Taste on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. Larry Weider, who operates the restaurant with majority partner Raj Singh, describes the restaurant-wine bar as featuring a menu that "reflects tastes from various countries - we'll call it 'world cuisine.' Chef Anthony Vicente, recently transplanted from a bistro in Paris, has been garnering applause for an eclectic menu. I especially enjoyed one appetizer special, a trio of bracingly fresh, crisp, nearly scampi-sized shrimp, lusciously clad in a crust of coconut. The dish was well-played against an equally crisp Willamette Valley Vineyards pinot gris.
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The Plain Dealer
April 17, 2009
David Farkus/Special to The Plain Dealer
TASTE OF THE TOWN
Add Taste to the dining-heavy stretch of Lee Road, an area well-known for casual restaurants and neighborly bars. Taste, however, sets itself apart from the others with a roomful of artful lighting, rugged brick walls and a display kitchen. In it, Executive Chef Anthony Vicente, transplanted from France, whips up unusual and usually satisfying dishes.
To be sure, there's plenty to like about this menu. In a cool twist, the kitchen serves cold sauteed squid on a bed of seasoned couscous ($10). Dig mashed potatoes? The kitchen combines them with cod, wraps them prosciutto and serves it on crunchy Chinese noodles ($9). An odd combo, for sure, but I loved it.
And swoon one must over duck breast ($21). I did, and not only because it's so righteously roasted; it's also paired with mustardary mashers and a spiky-sweet fruit sauce (plenty of it this time), a startling and delicious combination.
The kitchen doesn't neglect drinkers who like food fried. A plate of crisp "raviolis" stuffed with minced chicken and sided with hot sauce is a perfect accompaniment for a glass of fizzy white wine. Nor does it overlook those who prefer to skip meat. Among the mains, vegetarians may swoon over the soft, savory pastry (chausson) encasing a hearty coalition of celery, zucchini and carrots ($15).
Desserts are rich. It's surprisingly difficult to finish chocolate mousse with hazelnut ice cream ($8). Creme brulee is perfect, with an expertly broiled sugar crust ($7). Fancy a savory ending? Go for the dense wedge of Red Bell Pepper Cheesecake ($9).
Service here is on par with the city's topnotch eateries. You'll be warmly greeted and bid adieu. In between, well-spoken servers will politely detail ingredients and wines.
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Continental Magazine
June 2009
Five to Try
Some recent additions to Cleveland's dining scene
TASTE: This sleek, modern spot in Cleveland Heights has an open kitchen that turns out a small selection of tasty and creative fare, matched by a long list of reasonably priced California wines.
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November 2009, Taste was featured on Fox 8 that's life with Robin Swoboda
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