Time Machine Tuesday–Cleveland Rocks, Part 3

When we lost saw our heroine, she was gallivanting about in sunny Cleveland, absorbing the beautiful city.

But I couldn’t wander for too long – I had dinner plans to attend to!  If I didn’t eat at any other restaurant this week I was going to eat at Lola – after all,  I had to show my boyfriend (Michael Symon!) my support. 

ow ow!

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Luckily the other two girls wanted to eat at Lola too, so we made a reservation for Thursday night.

While waiting for our table, we sat outside and ordered a glass of wine and the famous Lola fries with rosemary and sea salt.  Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of pictures (I’m still a bashful blogger), but these fries were memorable!

We finally got to sit down, and ordered the ceviche to start.  I’d had ceviche once before, but this blew it out of the water.  The jalapeño and the lime juice really brought out the flavor of the fish, and I couldn’t stop eating it. 

I followed up the appetizer with the. best. scallops. ever.  These were pan seared, and served over mushrooms and a basil reduction.  Guys, I don’t even like mushrooms but these were amazing.  Each one was full of flavor and were braised until they had an almost meaty texture.  I couldn’t get enough.

I also snuck a few bites of my friends’ meals – one had a pork chop over cheesy polenta (ALMOST as good as my dinner), and the other had steak.  All of our meals were amazing.

However, the crowning jewel of the meal was dessert.  I read the menu ahead of time, and told myself that for dessert, I was going big or going home… and ordered the 6 a.m Special.  Brioche French toast, maple bacon ice cream, and caramelized apples.  Holy yum.  The maple bacon ice cream scared me a little bit, but it was the best combination of salty and sweet, chewy and melty.  Only the best from an Iron Chef, right?

It doesn’t look like much, but it was such a special dessert!

Overall Lola was incredible.  The food was great, the atmosphere was fun (the wine list was on ipads!), and the décor was swanky and lush. 

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Our table was the one in the foreground… and yes those chandeliers are made of utensils!  So clever and eye catching.  I absolutely loved this restaurant!

This meal was in my top five of all time… the only thing holding it back from number one would have to be that I didn’t share it with someone that I loved.  Maybe next time I go to Cleveland

Where was your best meal?