It has been fun following Toast as they have prepared for opening! (Read their back story on Cleveland.com) Of course I jumped at the chance to come check out the soft opening on Wednesday night. The bar is absolutely beautiful! This is for sure going to be a great place to grab a drink before heading to the theater.
I was really excited to see that they make their own bitters. I ordered a Rooney to try the cherry bitters. I don't normally love gin drinks, but I loved this! It was so well balanced with a floral finish. The Old Fashioned was also fresh and well balanced. What a great cocktail spot! I can't wait to drink here again.
Onto the food...
For starters I tired the Start of Spring Pickles. It had pickled beets, fennel, red onions, carrots topped with micro greens. A colorful and tasty dish that you won't feel bad about indulging in!
I am a big deviled eggs fan. I love trying difference chefs' interpretation of this classic picnic food. I knew I had to try the Local Deviled Eggs - beet pickled egg, beer mustard, shoe string shallots. They did not disappoint! Rich in flavor and smooth in texture; they are now my favorite take on deviled eggs!
I'm also a cheese plate fan. It's something I like to order all over for comparison. I find it is often the non-cheese extras and how well they go with the cheese that make a cheese plate. The cheeses were excellent and extremely well paired with extras like apple butter, a fantastic onion marmalade, crazy good and large portion of pork pate, and a rabbit rillette, which I have never had before and found very enjoyable! This is a really diverse cheese plate and they paired non-cheese items extremely well.
I decided to end the meal with a macaroon. Nice balance of crunchy and creamy - it was like they were trying to flirt with the food!
Each item was well balanced, beautiful and perfectly prepared. Each item I ordered was flirting with me a little as the night went on and I am hooked! I shall be back for more! XOXO