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Showing posts from January, 2016

Vaccaro's Trattoria -- Akron, OH

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We visited Vaccaro's Trattoria at the beginning of January, because our friend Dennis works as a manager there and had been scheduled for a few bar shifts. We decided to enjoy our meals at the bar in order to visit with Dennis. Dave and I were both pretty hungry, so we ended up doing a four course meal with several glasses of wine, so I have a lot of photos to share with you. First, Dave and I started out with the Eggplant French Fries with "basil oil, parmesan, spicy aioli." We both enjoyed these, they had good flavor and were crispy on the outside, but still soft on the inside. I think the spicy aioli paired nicely with the seasoning on the outside of the fries. For my meal I enjoyed the Burrata Fruit Salad which included burrata smothered in a wine glaze and fresh fruit on the side, all to be topped on a piece of grilled baguette. This was one of the best meals I have ever had, the wine sauce really helped to tie the entire meal together and the burra

Caffe Gasperi -- Hudson, OH

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This past weekend Dave and I went on a short hike in Sagamore Hills at Brandywine Falls. It was a sunny, but still chilly day, so before meeting up with his aunt and uncle for our dinner plans, we made a coffee detour. After a brief search of "coffee shops in Hudson" we decided to visit Caffe Gasperi, because I really liked the website. On the day we went to Caffe Gasperi, we were delighted to find out that owner of Gasperi, Laura, was the barista who served us. We arrived at Caffe Gasperi about an hour before closing, so there weren't too many baked goods left (which I like to see, that's a sign of success), but biscotti and scones were still available.  The centerpiece of Caffe Gasperi is the Elektra Espresso machine. The Elektra at Caffe Gasperi is one of only five or six currently being used in American coffee shops. Most espresso machines are flat-fronted, but the Elektra's round design allows more than one person to work at a time. I orde

Akron Coffee Roasters Tasting -- Akron, OH

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The Akron Art Museum is now selling Akron Coffee Roasters coffee in their cafe. As a way to help kick off the sale of this coffee and to help area coffee lovers become more aware of their favorite beverage, the museum hosted a coffee tasting event led by the Akron Coffee Roasters. This sold out event was informative and a great way to spend a Thursday evening. The Akron Coffee Roasters (obviously based in Akron) are very persnickety about coffee in the best way possible. All of their coffee is specialty coffee, sourced from individual farms and mills, roasted in house and then sold to people like you and me. Each coffee that they roast and package is seasonal, because the coffee beans that they're receiving are always changing due to a variety of factors. The tasting event at the Akron Art Museum included three African coffees, because that's what is currently in season, as well as a blend. All of the coffees were paired with a cookie from the West Side Bakery. The Fo

Vinoteca Wine Bar -- Canton, OH

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My friends and I checked out Vinoteca Wine Bar off Hills and Dales Rd in Canton on New Year's Day. Our wine connoisseur friend had been interested in checking out Vinoteca for a while, but his schedule never aligned with the hours -- they're open 5:00-11:30 on Friday and Saturday evenings. You're able to make a reservation, but on this particular day we were able to get a table for six without a problem. Sash and Rekha Parbhoo are the owners of Vinoteca Wine Bar. Both are incredibly knowledgeable about wine and it's important to note that this isn't your "typical" wine bar. Don't expect shot glass type samples, you will of course get to taste the wine to make sure that it's up to your standards. There is no menu, there are no listed prices. Sash or Rekha will find out your price range per glass or by the bottle and get an idea of what types of wine you prefer and they'll select a bottle for you. These are high end wines too...below

Brimfield Bread Oven -- Brimfield, OH

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My wonderful and amazing best friend clued me into the opening of the Brimfield Bread Oven. Although she's now in Georgia she stays more in tune to the Northeast Ohio restaurant scene than most people I know who are actually living in NEO. Sara sent me a link to an article about the Brimfield Bread Oven right before their opening day on January 6, 2016 and I knew that I needed to make a trip over there this weekend. Embarrassing facts: I wasn't sure the potato, rosemary and sea salt focaccia was going to make it home so that I could photo it. We were there right as it came out of the oven, so it went into the to-go bag still warm. Dave was tearing off pieces and feeding them to me while I drove back down 76. Luckily, we managed to behave ourselves long enough to get the bread into the apartment so that I could share a photo with you.  Jud and Genevieve Smith have been working hard to get this location open and since Wednesday they've been enjoying lots of love