Fahrenheit Cleveland - 15 Years Later, Still Tremont's Hot Spot, December 2017

My family has a tradition of driving to downtown Cleveland (or thereabouts) to enjoy a nice family dinner together. Four the past four years, we’ve done this, and I know we plan to continue the tradition. It’s really nice that my brother takes the reins on picking the spot and making the reservation! He’s become quite the foodie around Cleveland, and always comes up with a good plan. For me, it’s great to get out of the suburbs and to try some of the culinary delights the Cleveland food scene has to offer! I am a city lady, after all! (downtown Milwaukee is home to me)This year, we went a little south of downtown to Tremont, OH. Fun fact: This is the city where the house made famous in “A Christmas Story” is located. We had reservations at Fahrenheit Cleveland, owned by Chef Rocco Whalen, and tucked into a great space on a Professor Avenue. When we were first seated, we found ourselves at an odd table / booth smooshed between the servers’ aisle, the men’s room door, and the kitchen. It lacked the lighting my parents and uncle needed to read the menu, and it was just a bit uncomfortable. As Chris, our original server was greeting us, my mom asked if we could please be reseated. Chris didn’t think the odds were good, but the manager that evening swiftly found us a nice round table in the back room. Much more comfortable, and much appreciated by my family. Thank you for that great service! Our server at the round table was Heather, an attentive, knowledgeable, and fun-spirited woman. She gave us a quick rundown of the award-winning and most popular dishes, and allowed us time to peruse the menu while she gathered our drinks. It was during the drink order that I handed Heather my blog card and asked her to pair a glass of wine with her (surprise!) choice for my dinner. Off she went! That same manager came back to clarify the instructions on my card, so I know Heather shared it with others in the back of the house. My uncle made a quick decision, which I seconded emphatically, to order the grilled avocado with Thai sweet soy sauce, goat cheese, and lime appetizer. Apparently, it was voted Cleveland’s favorite appetizer, and now we know why! Absolutely wonderful! It spreads over the grilled bread for a perfectly delicious bite! (so good that my mom's "one bite" of mine to try resulted in her eating the whole slice). I was served a glass of Chef's Table Pinot Noir, which Heather mentioned "pairs well with almost everything" - giving no indication of her dinner choice yet. I tend to like hearty red wines, so I was very pleased when I discovered this was a rather hearty Pinot - very tasty.We enjoyed a little fresh-baked bread, house-made olive tapenade and honey butter between our appetizer and our dessert. My oh my!When our main dishes were delivered, I was served the same dish as each of my parents ordered - the award-winning Kobe beef short ribs, served with Teriyaki Lo-Mein noodles, bok choy, roasted mushrooms, ginger, and Soy-apple glaze.The flavor was intense, complex and delicious! The meat was so tender, no knife was necessary. Finally, the portion was so large that there was plenty of food left over for another meal. A two-for-one!The other two meals family members tried, and raved about were: the coffee & mustard crusted pork tenderloin (my brother) and the 18 hour Ohio pork shank (my uncle). Both looked delicious, and I tried the pork shank (and loved it!).The manager came back to check how things tasted, and let me know that Heather grappled with my request. She was torn between the short ribs and the salmon, but chose the short ribs because the salmon is served with wasabi (bring it on!). Either choice would have been delicious - of that I'm certain!Now, let me be clear: I did indeed save enough room for dessert, which I asked Heather to choose as well. I had my thoughts about what she might choose, but I was wrong! My first thought was that she would bring the peanut butter tart (because it's made with a pretzel crust, and I thought that was pretty unique). Then, I thought perhaps Heather would bring the mango mason jar. However, she brought her personal favorite:The banana and chocolate bread pudding. Winter warmth and goodness!To those of you who don't care for bread pudding, I don't understand you! :-)This was rich with flavor, and the caramelized sugar coating over the bananas gave a bit of crunchy texture to offset the softness of the bread pudding and the bananas themselves.All in all, my whole family thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Fahrenheit. We would certainly recommend dinner to friends and other family members. And, we would all like to thank the staff for being so understanding and responsive to our request for a different table at the start of our evening out. We really appreciated the accommodation!Where should are family consider going later this year? There are so many great spots in Cleveland - what are your favorites?Cheers!Ker