Jonathan Sawyer's northern Italian restaurant, Trentina, instantly became my favorite place in NEO when it opened. I think he was justly recognized with the James Beard award shortly after, but the last year or so I felt that the tasting menu had fallen a little short. It wasn't blowing me away as it had in the past. The tasting menu or Menu Bianco, as Sawyer calls it, is $150 per person with an additional $50 for drink pairings, so it needs to wow people to stay relevant in Cleveland. In the past month or so I heard that Trentina had hired a new young chef de cuisine, so last night I tried it out again for the first time in at least 8 months. I was blown away! Like the first time I had the menu bianco at Trentina, it was a transcendent experience. Korey Aldrich is the new chef de cuisine and recently married and moved here, his wife's hometown, from San Francisco where he had worked at Saison, one of the best restaurants in the world. 

Admittedly, it was cold last night and it is the week after the holidays so there is bound to be some hangover but the restaurant was almost empty on a Thursday night. Our experience took 4 hours and I think there were only 4 other tables in that time. I hope Cleveland can appreciate this place, it really is world class.

 

Trentina was always hands down an A + experience for my wife and i.  We went there within the past year and the bucatini recipe changed for the worse.  They mentioned the flour was different.  We gave feedback that the previous version was better, so hopefully the new chef knows that.  I sent that feedback via e-mail and received no response.

 

Furthermore, at Greenhouse Tavern in September before a tribe game, we were sitting on the patio and eating dinner.  There were literally gnats and bugs crawling all over us and our food.  My wife wrote them an e-mail saying, he this was definitely not a good experience.  We love your places and brand, but we would expect better, maybe put candles out on the patio, or dont seat people out there in certain situations.  No response again.  Maybe team sawyer doesnt need anyones feedback.

You complained to them because there were bugs outside.  Think about it for one second. That's literally the stupidest possible complaint to make to a restaurant. You wouldn't have liked the response that you deserved.

  My wife wrote them an e-mail saying, he this was definitely not a good experience.  We love your places and brand, but we would expect better, maybe put candles out on the patio, or dont seat people out there in certain situations.  No response again.  Maybe team sawyer doesnt need anyones feedback.

 

I have heard from some of my finance friends that Team Sawyer is HIGHLY leveraged.

You complained to them because there were bugs outside.  Think about it for one second. That's literally the stupidest possible complaint to make to a restaurant. You wouldn't have liked the response that you deserved.

 

Hilarious.  You read my mind.

You complained to them because there were bugs outside.  Think about it for one second. That's literally the stupidest possible complaint to make to a restaurant. You wouldn't have liked the response that you deserved.

 

Oh, thanks X for the feedback.  I’ll just gladly fork over $150 dollars while bugs crawl on my face and food.  A positive response would have at minimum to apologize for the experience.  Doing nothing is not acceptable. Maybe I just have higher expectations

You complained to them because there were bugs outside.  Think about it for one second. That's literally the stupidest possible complaint to make to a restaurant. You wouldn't have liked the response that you deserved.

 

Hilarious.  You read my mind.

 

I’m sure you both would’ve walked away feeling great and not feeling like nothing could be done to prevent this for future customers.  Do nothing.... always a winners mentality

 

Statler and Waldorf, not sure what line of work you two are in, but when I have dissatisfied clients, I hug my haters....it’s 2018. It’s a Competitive world

You think bugs are bad... I've had people ask me if I can adjust the temperature on a patio .  Did you ask to move inside at the time? If you did shame on them... If you didn't that's too bad. 

You complained to them because there were bugs outside.  Think about it for one second. That's literally the stupidest possible complaint to make to a restaurant. You wouldn't have liked the response that you deserved.

 

Oh, thanks X for the feedback.  I’ll just gladly fork over $150 dollars while bugs crawl on my face and food.  A positive response would have at minimum to apologize for the experience.  Doing nothing is not acceptable. Maybe I just have higher expectations

 

What is there for them to apologize for? "I'm sorry that we failed to control the earth for you." Is that what you wanted? You wanted to sit OUTSIDE. You guys are surprised that you experienced nature in the form of bugs?! I'm sorry but that is the dumbest reason to make a complaint. They have a controlled environment inside but you guys didn't choose that. Did you also expect them to regulate the temperature, lighting and wind gusts outside of their restaurant? Come on, now...

 

You probably blew a bunch of money on a sh!tty experience but chalk it up and consider it to be something to laugh about later. I know it sounds strange but after looking back, a lot of my fun experiences were negative ones at the time. Learn to laugh.

^ok, thanks skyline guy for taking time away from your chili and spaghetti campaign to comment

^  The servers, host and FOH manager can see what’s going on.  Just like bad weather, you make the call to not sit people outside.  Actually, I didn’t have the option to go inside. The place was packed before an Event...and I had an open table reservation.  The scene was like the Indians playoff game back in 2007 with the bugs. So good leadership and management would’ve probably thought “I can’t serve all these people food like this”..and call off the patio, as if the weather was inclement. And if you don’t do that, that’s fine but at least acknowledge the situation, maybe say sorry for the experience.  Because you made the call to sit people outside in these conditions, and are happily accepting the revenues.And when your customer ( who puts food on your table) writes a friendly email about it suggesting ways to help, at least acknowledge the experience.  We should have left, but hindsight 20/20. I realize some of u guys r in the industry and are sensitive about it.  Customer service is not rocket science .  The businesses in airline industry have rooms full of people that sit and answer tweets all day, a lot dumber tweets than bug crawling in face and food.  Why? Because they want to keep that customer and show everyone else in twitterland that they care.  That’s what competition makes you do.  We clearly aren’t there yet with our food scene.  I bet if GHT was in NY, there would be a response at minimum

 

It’s fine. I don’t care and was back at the greenhouse last week because they have good food and I knew sitting at the bar, I wasn’t gonna be served something with bugs swarming on it. I wrote my comment in response to the Trentina comment that could suggest sawyer was getting a little complacent.  Which I actually think he may be in some respects.  But hey, money talks.  Anyway, we can move along

 

Sawyer's wife "Chef's Widow" - was, a few years ago, very visible and opinionated online/in social media (seemed to have a lot of opinions - like going ballistic online about Flip Side not allowing her kid to order a rare burger, due to food safety concerns, but thin-skinned about Yelp reviews, online criticism, strangely...)- but then went quiet. Can't recall if the below was called our previously on this board - but, if not - it could explain a lot about the Sawyer restaurant challenges ($$$). This was written awhile back - and was never "continued" as promised... but...

 

See the "So You Want To Open A Restaurant" 2nd post down middle of her page:

 

http://www.chefswidow.com/

 

Also, I have found it interesting that Noodlecat,. which clearly never caught on downtown, opened at Crocker Park, the most commercial/suburban of locations - which seems to go against everything independent and urban and non-chain Sawyer seems to have openly stood for for so long.

 

 

^  The servers, host and FOH manager can see what’s going on.  Just like bad weather, you make the call to not sit people outside.  Actually, I didn’t have the option to go inside. The place was packed before an Event...and I had an open table reservation.  The scene was like the Indians playoff game back in 2007 with the bugs. So good leadership and management would’ve probably thought “I can’t serve all these people food like this”..and call off the patio, as if the weather was inclement.

 

If they chose to refuse to seat you, you'd just be complaining that you had a reservation and that you were denied service when there were clearly tables available on the patio. It's a lose-lose situation with some customers.

 

You complained to them because there were bugs outside.  Think about it for one second. That's literally the stupidest possible complaint to make to a restaurant. You wouldn't have liked the response that you deserved.

 

Oh, thanks X for the feedback.  I’ll just gladly fork over $150 dollars while bugs crawl on my face and food.  A positive response would have at minimum to apologize for the experience.  Doing nothing is not acceptable. Maybe I just have higher expectations

 

September-October is always a ''buggy'' time in Cleveland.

You complained to them because there were bugs outside.  Think about it for one second. That's literally the stupidest possible complaint to make to a restaurant. You wouldn't have liked the response that you deserved.

 

Hilarious.  You read my mind.

 

I’m sure you both would’ve walked away feeling great and not feeling like nothing could be done to prevent this for future customers.  Do nothing.... always a winners mentality

 

Statler and Waldorf, not sure what line of work you two are in, but when I have dissatisfied clients, I hug my haters....it’s 2018. It’s a Competitive world

 

What you've just told me is that the thing that you're really mad about is that you wanted to use the leverage that a highly competitive market gives you to make silly complaints and get catered to- but it didn't work. 

We had some arcade machines turned off because they were broken (those things break all the time) and got an angry one-star review. We are a store -- the arcade games were off to the side. They also said in a Trump-like manner, "won't be in business long". I presume because of a few arcade games breaking.

 

Regardless, trusting Ohio to be a good place to eat outside is dicey at best.

Not real news but my take on an iconic local pizza restaurant that decided to destroy their product. Marion's Piazza has become miserable.

 

https://www.yelp.com/biz/marions-piazza-centerville-3?hrid=zMIeEJ71yS95k7fi-UWNMQ&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

 

(If this is the wrong place for a review please PM me if you need to delete - thx)

Sounds like CDM, Big Dipper 80 and I (plus anyone else that wants to go) need to investigate. I'm getting to the point in my life where I have to watch the cured/salty toppings but I know I don't want cheese dots like a 59-cent GW Mini Pizza from the supermarket.

The one on Shroyer definitely doesn’t make pizzas that look as sad as the photos you posted. Joe’s on Airway is my go-to Dayton-style pizza place though. 

On 2/25/2019 at 10:31 PM, GCrites80s said:

Sounds like CDM, Big Dipper 80 and I (plus anyone else that wants to go) need to investigate. I'm getting to the point in my life where I have to watch the cured/salty toppings but I know I don't want cheese dots like a 59-cent GW Mini Pizza from the supermarket.

 

Honestly, parts of this pie tasted and felt like that 59 cent frozen pizza. No exaggeration.

 

On 2/25/2019 at 10:35 PM, BigDipper 80 said:

The one on Shroyer definitely doesn’t make pizzas that look as sad as the photos you posted. Joe’s on Airway is my go-to Dayton-style pizza place though. 

 

I'll try it sometime, not very soon... Dayton square cut pizza is a completely unique style of pizza I'm very nostalgic for. It seems like very few places want to do it right anymore. Joe's is very good but it's not that particular style. Just one place I know of, Ron's in Miamisburg, does that type very consistently.

Agreed on Ron's being the best Dayton-style pizza joint.

Here is a per-capita list of the cities with the largest number of fast food joints.  Cincinnati is #3, Cleveland is #6. Toledo is further down at #16 while Columbus lags way behind at #35 with fewer than half the number per capita than Cincinnati and about 55% of Cleveland's number.

 

 

The 10 Best Cities in America for Fast Food Lovers

 

 

So, where are all the fast food cities? They're mid-sized Midwest cities, tourist towns and Southern metros. Industrial cities with large blue-collar workforces and a rising millennial population. Whoppers, Big Macs and Baconators are meals for hard-working Americans and dual-income families.

 

https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/best-cities-for-fast-food-lovers/

 

 

To many, Columbus is seen as a fast food Mecca, but it's more like a fast food Honolulu (#34). I feel like Columbus' vast swaths of residential-only development may be affecting things. Think about how many parts of town are actually "under fast-fooded" such as Clintonville, Beechwold, Downtown, the NES, the South Side, UA, Victorian Village, the Hilltop and many more.

Edited March 20, 20196 yr by GCrites80s

1 minute ago, GCrites80s said:

Here is a per-capita list of the cities with the largest number of fast food joints (with drive-thrus.)  Cincinnati is #3, Cleveland is #6. Toledo is further down at #16 while Columbus lags way behind at #35 with fewer than half the number per capita than Cincinnati and about 55% of Cleveland's number.

 

 

The 10 Best Cities in America for Fast Food Lovers

 

 

So, where are all the fast food cities? They're mid-sized Midwest cities, tourist towns and Southern metros. Industrial cities with large blue-collar workforces and a rising millennial population. Whoppers, Big Macs and Baconators are meals for hard-working Americans and dual-income families.

 

https://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/best-cities-for-fast-food-lovers/

 

 

To many, Columbus is seen as a fast food Mecca, but it's more like a fast food Honolulu (#34). I feel like Columbus' vast swaths of residential-only development may be affecting things. Think about how many parts of town are actually "under fast-fooded" such as Clintonville, Beechwold, Downtown, the NES, the South Side, UA, Victorian Village, the Hilltop and many more.

 

Hmmmm.....if you include places (like Subway)that do not always have drive thrus, does that change up the mix?

I re-checked the methodology and locations without drive-thrus are included as well.

I just realized that it doesn't even include Cincinnati chili parlors. Wow.

How did they treat combination restaurants? (Like a combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell)

I'd say both would be counted since they were just doing internet searches.

Currently unable to be seated at boiler 65

Why? What's the dirt on the floor? 

I’ve haven’t heard one good review of that place yet.  Tacos and Wings? Sounds like a mess. 

52 minutes ago, marty15 said:

I’ve haven’t heard one good review of that place yet.  Tacos and Wings? Sounds like a mess. 

 

Food was decent, service was awful. My wife and I walked in and asked for a table of five, and the host said they can’t seat us until everyone gets there, despite the place being empty.

 

my wife says “can’t we just sit down? There’s a lot of open tables.”

 

and the host responds: “I don’t come to your work and complain about your policies.”

 

I wanted to walk out but my wife’s family picked the place

52 minutes ago, YABO713 said:

my wife says “can’t we just sit down? There’s a lot of open tables.”

 

and the host responds: “I don’t come to your work and complain about your policies.”

 

? Possibly the greatest line never used in Fawlty Towers. 

54 minutes ago, YABO713 said:

 

Food was decent, service was awful. My wife and I walked in and asked for a table of five, and the host said they can’t seat us until everyone gets there, despite the place being empty.

 

my wife says “can’t we just sit down? There’s a lot of open tables.”

 

and the host responds: “I don’t come to your work and complain about your policies.”

 

I wanted to walk out but my wife’s family picked the place

 

The reviews are brutal.  Almost all of them say the food is pretty good, but the service is awful.  How you can spend that much to open a place up and then run it into the ground with poor service is beyond me.

Yeah, I’ll never understand that. Then spent a small fortune on that place. Wasn’t it a morgue before that?

1 hour ago, YABO713 said:

 

Food was decent, service was awful. My wife and I walked in and asked for a table of five, and the host said they can’t seat us until everyone gets there, despite the place being empty.

 

my wife says “can’t we just sit down? There’s a lot of open tables.”

 

and the host responds: “I don’t come to your work and complain about your policies.”

 

I wanted to walk out but my wife’s family picked the place

 

This is the service I expect when I go into restaurants. I don't want to be pandered to. ?

10 hours ago, imjustinjk said:

 

This is the service I expect when I go into restaurants. I don't want to be pandered to. ?

 

Lol yeah I followed up with a simple "hope the food doesn't reflect the attitude" - 

 

I typically go to restaurants to get hazed like a freshman in a frat. 

I attended a rehearsal dinner on Friday at Soho Chicken and Whiskey on West 25th in Ohio City.  First time.  There was not one morsel that I shoved in my mouth that I did not love (even the chicken and waffles which I have never had before and did not think would be my thing).  This is going to be one of my new go to places.

37 minutes ago, Htsguy said:

I attended a rehearsal dinner on Friday at Soho Chicken and Whiskey on West 25th in Ohio City.  First time.  There was not one morsel that I shoved in my mouth that I did not love (even the chicken and waffles which I have never had before and did not think would be my thing).  This is going to be one of my new go to places.

You've never eaten chicken and waffles before tonight?  what is the ambiance?  size of portions?

 

8 hours ago, MyTwoSense said:

You've never eaten chicken and waffles before tonight?  what is the ambiance?  size of portions?

 

Yeah go figure.  Of course familiar with the dish as everybody seems to have had it on their menu the past 10 years or so that I could tell (up north...of course a thing in the south and in northern urban centers with large southern black populations for years) but for some reason it just did not appeal to me.  I guess I thought it would be too dry (especially using white meat).  This was not the case at Soho.  The chicken was very moist and the syrup was tasty.  Definitely will now try it elsewhere to compare.

 

The ambiance was very nice,  I could tell they spent a fair amount on the build out (I am personally familiar with what goes into a restaurant build out)  It had these great booths along the sides that were very large but seemed cozy at the same time.  Very nice table wear and furnishings for the price point.  They had this wonderful metal sculpture of the Cleveland skyline, more than 10 feet long, which I was admiring.  They put a far amount of thought into the décor. Nice bar and patio off to the side.  Serving staff was great.  You could tell they knew what they were doing and were invested in the place.

 

Could not comment on regular menu portion sizes because we had a buffet of apps to begin and then were served family style at the table.  The food just keep coming and coming and was just incredible (unfortunately way better than the food at the wedding the next night).

 

My "new nephew" indicated that when they were planning the dinner (for 80 people...they closed the restaurant on a Friday night which was nice of them) the owner told them that if there was anything not on menu they wanted just ask and he would make it for them.  Great personal touch.  My brother popped into the kitchen at one point and saw the owner slaving away at the stove.  You really like to see something like and want a place like this to do well.

 

I am going to be touting the place for weeks to come.

14 minutes ago, Htsguy said:

Yeah go figure.  Of course familiar with the dish as everybody seems to have had it on their menu the past 10 years or so that I could tell (up north...of course a thing in the south and in northern urban centers with large southern black populations for years) but for some reason it just did not appeal to me.  I guess I thought it would be too dry (especially using white meat).  This was not the case at Soho.  The chicken was very moist and the syrup was tasty.  Definitely will now try it elsewhere to compare.

 

The ambiance was very nice,  I could tell they spent a fair amount on the build out (I am personally familiar with what goes into a restaurant build out)  It had these great booths along the sides that were very large but seemed cozy at the same time.  Very nice table wear and furnishings for the price point.  They had this wonderful metal sculpture of the Cleveland skyline, more than 10 feet long, which I was admiring.  They put a far amount of thought into the décor. Nice bar and patio off to the side.  Serving staff was great.  You could tell they knew what they were doing and were invested in the place.

 

Could not comment on regular menu portion sizes because we had a buffet of apps to begin and then were served family style at the table.  The food just keep coming and coming and was just incredible (unfortunately way better than the food at the wedding the next night).

 

My "new nephew" indicated that when they were planning the dinner (for 80 people...they closed the restaurant on a Friday night which was nice of them) the owner told them that if there was anything not on menu they wanted just ask and he would make it for them.  Great personal touch.  My brother popped into the kitchen at one point and saw the owner slaving away at the stove.  You really like to see something like and want a place like this to do well.

 

I am going to be touting the place for weeks to come.

What about hot sauce?  Was there any?  Was there and option for spicy food?  Was the chicken regular or did it have a "kick"?  I see deviled eggs.  were they any good?

32 minutes ago, MyTwoSense said:

What about hot sauce?  Was there any?  Was there and option for spicy food?  Was the chicken regular or did it have a "kick"?  I see deviled eggs.  were they any good?

They had hot sauce on every table.  It was in a generic container so it may have been home made (is that possible? Seems like it would be a lot of work).  My nephew was raving about it and insisted I try it.  It was fine but I am hardly a hot sauce expert.

 

I love deviled eggs but did not have theirs.  We had fried green tomatoes (had a really tasty sauce) and my mom, who likes them, said they were the best she's ever had.

13 hours ago, MyTwoSense said:

You've never eaten chicken and waffles before tonight?  what is the ambiance?  size of portions?

 

 

I had heard that dish was "invented" in Harlem. I don't think it's widely known in the rest of the country, is it?

5 hours ago, Htsguy said:

They had hot sauce on every table.  It was in a generic container so it may have been home made (is that possible? Seems like it would be a lot of work).

 

I grow all sorts of hot peppers and bottle hot sauce in the fall when I harvest them. It's not a ton of work once you've done it a few times. It usually takes me 2 or 3 hours, including all the clean up and bottling. The tough part is getting used to the amount of capsaicin in the air! My wife always leaves the house on hot sauce day.

 

I know some restaurants do make their own hot sauce - Washington Platform in Cincinnati, for example. I imagine a commercial kitchen can vent the fumes well enough that it isn't a problem. They probably just do a batch once a month or so.

4 minutes ago, Ram23 said:

 

I grow all sorts of hot peppers and bottle hot sauce in the fall when I harvest them. It's not a ton of work once you've done it a few times. It usually takes me 2 or 3 hours, including all the clean up and bottling. The tough part is getting used to the amount of capsaicin in the air! My wife always leaves the house on hot sauce day.

 

I know some restaurants do make their own hot sauce - Washington Platform in Cincinnati, for example. I imagine a commercial kitchen can vent the fumes well enough that it isn't a problem. They probably just do a batch once a month or so.

It's also a good idea to take out your contact lenses before starting and wash your hands plenty of times before trying to wear them again.  Don't ask me how I know this.

2 hours ago, eastvillagedon said:

 

I had heard that dish was "invented" in Harlem. I don't think it's widely known in the rest of the country, is it?

I thought it started in Atlanta. 

17 hours ago, Htsguy said:

I attended a rehearsal dinner on Friday at Soho Chicken and Whiskey on West 25th in Ohio City.  First time.  There was not one morsel that I shoved in my mouth that I did not love (even the chicken and waffles which I have never had before and did not think would be my thing).  This is going to be one of my new go to places.

 

One of the forumer’s family member owns the place @smith I love the place.

2 hours ago, freefourur said:

I thought it started in Atlanta. 

 

Definitely not Atlanta.  Some have pointed out Pennsylvania, some cite Springfield MA, some cite Harlem, some cite the South in general.  Basically, it just evolved from Black American cookbooks when they moved from the South to the North.

4 hours ago, stpats44113 said:

 

One of the forumer’s family member owns the place @smith I love the place.

Yup! My sister and brother-in-law!  Nice to hear the positive feedback @Htsguy! I’m obviously biased but my favorite place in town.  They put out a great product in an awesome environment and treat their employees well... as to the comment on the booths, they just had them redone so glad to hear that feedback too. 

On 6/30/2019 at 5:51 PM, ColDayMan said:

 

Definitely not Atlanta.  Some have pointed out Pennsylvania, some cite Springfield MA, some cite Harlem, some cite the South in general.  Basically, it just evolved from Black American cookbooks when they moved from the South to the North.

On 6/30/2019 at 9:28 PM, smith said:

Yup! My sister and brother-in-law!  Nice to hear the positive feedback @Htsguy! I’m obviously biased but my favorite place in town.  They put out a great product in an awesome environment and treat their employees well... as to the comment on the booths, they just had them redone so glad to hear that feedback too. 

 

Do they offer UrbanOhio discounts?