the greenhouse tavern

I don't even know where to begin! Last night, I was lucky enough to get to go to The Greenhouse Tavern for a li'l preview and it was amazing! Evidently, I mistook myself for a bar rag because I soaked all kinds of different liquor last night. I am (happily) hungover and reeling from the experience. The boy and I got there a little before 7 and snagged 2 seats at the bar (made of what looks like recycled glass and cement; it was really beautiful) and were quickly greeted by David, one of the fabulous bartenders. I noticed they had Tito's Vodka and have been wanting to try it for a while and asked David what he thought. He told me I should have it up with a twist and I said that sounded great except I wanted olives instead. The boyf decided to have bourbon on the rocks and David suggested the Tavern's house pour, Buffalo Trace. We were both extremely happy with his recommendations. I enjoyed the vodka as it was very smooth (I thought it tasted like buttered popcorn although I have to say it smelled like eggs and that was a bit off-putting (Sorry Tito!). I took a sip of the boy's bourbon and was surprised at how smooth it was, considering it was the "house." As we settled in with our first round, servers started circulating with trays of food. I was offered a chicken wing. I have to admit when I saw the tray I thought to myself, "It's wings. How good can they be?" Well, I took one bite, looked right at my boyfriend and said, "These are so good, I want to kill someone." See? This is why I can't be a food critic. My opinions don't translate well, but this my friends is a big compliment. Food to die for; how does that sound. Anyway, as the boyf and I are long time servers and restaurant managers we sat at the bar and started to dissect everything about the place. While I enjoyed the layout and decor, he was most impressed by the neatly folded bar towel in the bear fridge as most fridges collect water to one side, he thought it was brilliant to have that there to soak up the water (we're restaurant people, things like that excite us:). He also liked the harpoon above the cooler. After admiring the minimal simplicity of the Tavern, we ordered a second round of old-fashioneds and I loved watching the bartender drop raw sugar cubs into the weighty high ball glasses and muddle it with the bourbon. although i am used to my favorite drink being served with cherries and an orange slice it was excellent!

The thing I like most about Jonathon Sawyer's food is that it is unpretentious and accessible, just like the chef and his wife. Sawyer does not drown his food in unnecessary sauces or get caught up with crazy food presentations, his food stands on it's own. Brotha' knows how to cook meat, that's for sure! It is always tender and juicy and seasoned to perfection. His passion for food is on every plate and you can taste it. In addition to creating beautiful dishes and unique restaurants Jonathon and Amelia are friendly and approachable. Last night I walked up to Amelia to introduce myself and congratulate her on the restaurant and she literally welcomed me with open arms and gave me a big hug. On top of super mom and super blogger, Amelia now adds super manager to her resume and is clearly an indispensable and integral part of the eatery. Unfortunately, I didn't get to say hello to Jonathan this time, but have a story about my first encounter with him. Upon moving to Cleveland I started looking for jobs and responded to an ad on Craig'slist for a restaurant manager in a new restaurant. That restaurant ended up to be Bar Cento and my interview was with Jonathon. At the time, I didn't know who he was, but I could tell he was a hard-working and passionate guy. He took me on a tour of the then unfinished restaurant and we sat down and talked about the job. It was a very informal conversation, but as he described the responsibilities and amount of "sweat equity" the job would require I knew it was more than I could handle. I did however immediately admire his work ethic and his candid nature. Mid-interview his cell rang and he answered it and started talking about fantasy football picks with whomever was on the other end of the call. After a minute or two he said, "Dude, I gotta go, I'm in the middle of an interview and I'm kind of being a dick." Why can't all interviews be like this? We finished up our pleasant conversation and I left knowing that wasn't the job for me and he knowing I wasn't the girl for the job. Regardless, it was a great meeting and I'm glad I got that early exposure to the Sawyer Food Dynasty. Whoa! Talk about a tangent; brevity is not a strong suit of mine. If all I have said is not reason enough for you to want to try what will soon be a dining mecca, then consider going to dine in Ohio's first "certified Green restaurant." The bottom line is" get your ass to The Greenhouse Tavern for some great food in a great environment created by great people!