Terry Francona's new 'Steak' spot, Great Lakes Brewing Co. treats, more! - DineDrinkCLE: The Podcast

They have really turned the whole concept of a steakhouse upside down. When I think of steakhouses, I think of old, boring, staid, dark, clubby places. This is anything but. It is so whimsical, so impish. It's a lot of fun. It's a prefix menu. So you have a placemat, and you can basically mix and match each. And they're taking ice creams, very unique ice creams, because that's what Mason's is known for, and pairing them with Great Lakes Brewing Company's different beers. It's beer and ice cream. Can't say I haven't done that at home, eating a drumstick and drank a Miller Lite after. But this is a little more fancy version of it. You can go up to a winery. I think there's 28 that are going to be there. You can go up. You can try something sweeter. You can try something drier, something red, something white. I'm Josh Duke. And I'm Alex Daris. And you're either watching or listening to Dine, Drink, Cleve, the podcast for each and every week. We are joined by Cleveland.com's best and brightest food experts, insiders, and influencers talking all things food and drink here in the Northeast Ohio area. Alex, what are we talking about today? Lots to talk about today. Steak, a new steakhouse, is opening in Tremont. And Mark Boner got the first look at that. The Vintage Ohio Wine Festival is coming up. And we also have some fun summer treats from Great Lakes Brewing Company. So lots to discuss. Very excited. Well, first, we got Mark here to talk about this steakhouse coming to Tremont. So welcome, Mark. Tell us about it. Yeah, you definitely know what you're in for when the name of the place is just steak. Yeah, exactly. So for those who remember Parallax, longtime restaurant from Zach Brewell in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood over on West 11th Street, really cool space, sleek Asian fusion with these vases filled with golf balls because Zach is a golf nut. He closed it about a year and a half, two years ago, I want to say. And I've been waiting to see what concept would go in. And Hangry Brands. I know, Alex, you've written about them and I've written about them. Hangry Brands has gone in with steak. Now, this is a local company, a burgeoning restaurant group that owns Lionheart Coffee, Jurassic Steakhouse, Jurassic Slice Shop, the Yard on 3rd and Willoughby, a lot of different places, all fun. They have really turned the whole concept of a steakhouse upside down. When I think of steakhouses, I think of old, boring, stayed, dark, clubby places. This is anything but. It is so whimsical, so impish. It's a lot of fun. There's, you know, it's a prefix menu. So you have a placemat and you can basically mix and match. You choose a side, the steak you want, and one of five different sauces. I mean, cognac, peppercorn just sounds incredible. Full bar, of course. They have a fun dessert. It's a sundae in a Ferris wheel. So I think they have the ice cream in each of the little cars that go around. Things like that. They even have a kid's menu. So this is something I think for everyone, a lot of selfie stations, very light, really just a cool space. I mean, what says it all on the placemat is not your parent's steakhouse. And that's exactly what this is. Yeah, and I think, too, just kind of, I wanted to ask, because Tito Francoa is a part owner in this. Is there any Guardians kind of representation or is it more sleek? What is kind of the vibe inside? No, you're right. Terry Francona is one. Thanks for reminding me on that, Alex. Terry Francona, the former Guardians manager, is one of the investors with Hangry Brands in at least, I know he invested in Jurassic Slice Shop downtown, and he's also invested in steak. They actually have a plastic helmet that you could get at the ballpark. You would get nachos in. Well, at steak, you're actually going to be served loaded fries and you can keep the helmet. Oh, I didn't know they were doing that. That's awesome. Yeah, that does sound really, really fun. Well, and I know they're going to have some drinks. Jason, who owns Hangry Brands, was saying some of the drinks will be in some different cool vessels. A disco ball. There's actually, I don't know how much it costs, but the disco ball serves four people. So you can imagine, it's kind of sort of the size of, I'd say it's larger than a softball and smaller than a volleyball. It's a good size. Get the straws out, go to town. He had something, I forget, I think I saw it. It's in like a glass milk carton and it's supposed to be like kind of a boozy chocolate milk play on that, like cocktail. So I think they're going to have some fun drinks as much as the food, like you said, that Ferris wheel sundae. Sounds like it's made for Josh to post on Instagram. Very much so. And on that note, I was going to ask you, it sounds like it's going to be a very trendy Instagrammable place. It looks like it from the photos, too. Very, very cool aesthetic, like you were talking about. When you're looking at the menu and you're hearing about these crazy items that they're going to be having, what do you think is going to be like the trendy thing that people go to take a photo of and share on social? Like what? Yeah, do you think it's the food, the actual layout, or are there any Instagrammable parts of the restaurant in particular? What do you think? And any particular menu item you think is going to be like the thing? I'm not. That's a good question about the menu, and I'm really not sure. You have to be in the mood for steak. They actually have a 32 ounce tomahawk called the Wahoo Cut. So that's a little homage to Tito Francona. There's a ton of neon lights and neon lit signs throughout the space. I think that just lends itself to Instagrammable moments. But there are two places in particular that I think are really cool. There is over the bar, there is the head of a... I mean, it's fake. It's not real. The head of a cow, and it's got a lit halo around it. Get it? Holy cow. So I thought that's kind of cute. But the thing that I love, I don't know why, I just think this was the coolest thing ever. The door handles. You're going to have people stop and take pictures outside this place because the door handle is a couple of cleavers. I love it. And it is so... It reminds me of if you've been to Brunettes. Oh, yeah. They have a rolling pin, I want to say, as the door handle. We could do a whole story just on door handles of restaurants and bars. I know. No, I've been thinking about doing bathrooms too. No, seriously. No, really. That's another topic. But another thing I think that I really liked and what I got really excited for the opening of Steak is the big mural on the outside. It's a huge steak. It says, like, true love is rare, I think. I was like, that is like... I would get that tattooed on me. I saw conflicting opinions about that. I don't know if people had strong opinions about the building or something prior to that. But I saw some comments that were not the biggest fan of the mural. But I saw some that were extremely excited about it too. Coopida? I like it. Yeah, I mean, it's pretty cool to me. I know if I saw that walking by, I'd be like, yeah, let me check that out. And then I get in and I'll be like, oh, it's a steakhouse. So let me see what's given. You know, is it too fancy? What's this? There's a baseball helmet with loaded fries in it. Well, let me go ahead and just have a good time because it doesn't seem like it's an uppity kind of place. Well, yeah, and isn't... What is kind of like the price point or I guess in general, what do you think like that steak is hoping to bring? Because obviously there are a few steakhouses downtown and stuff. What is kind of the goal, like the niche that steak is hoping to fill? Is it with price or what? I think it's a couple of things. I think the price is pretty much average for a good fine dining type of restaurant. But I think they're really breaking the mold of, as I said at the beginning of this segment, I maybe I'm wrong, but I think when I hear steakhouse, I think kind of boring and steak. That this is geared for all ages audience. I love the fact, I don't know why I'm saying this. I don't have kids, but I like the fact that they have a mini me menu. So they're catering for families to a degree. But I really think you're going to see a lot of 20 somethings and 30 somethings in there. It's just the vibe is very energetic. I can't wait to see what the energy is like when we're there. And also the neighborhood needs this. Totally. I absolutely think any neighborhood that has should have diversity in every way across the board. And part of that is the type of culinary options that you have. Yeah. And Tremont doesn't, I guess, really have like a traditional steakhouse like that at all. No, they lost Fahrenheit to downtown. And even though in miles, that's only probably maybe two, it's kind of devoid of that. There are other places there and they're very good. But the more different types of places you can have to me, the better. Totally. No, I was sitting at Southside and which is right across from steak. And I was like, oh, that'll be nice when that opens. And I can go over and have a drink like when I was eating or vice versa. You know, it's that's what Tremont. It's like you said, it's a couple of miles, but it's walkable. Everyone's walking there. Parking there sucks like it's like. Yeah, Tremont has to be one of the best, I guess, foodie destinations in the Cleveland, greater Cleveland area, I think. Yeah, Tremont, Ohio City, that little like for five mile radius or whatever. There's so much to eat. Yeah, it's a great location for this kind of concept, I think. Yeah, no, we'll have to go in and get a few of the fancy cocktails and Ferris wheel and make a reel for the Dine, Drink, Clean Instagram. Maybe our editor will expense the 32 ounce Tomahawks. It's for research. He's rolling his eyes off screen. So we'll see how that goes. And now we're joined by Paris Wolfe, who's going to talk a little bit about the Vintage Ohio two day festival coming up. So hi, Paris. Hi, Alex. Hi, Josh. Welcome. So 29th annual Vintage Ohio. What's going on? Well, this year they have done two things. One of them is they have separated out the VIP top wines into a separate area, a separate ticket so people can get the gold medal and the award winning wines that are in short supply. And they've also launched a cider tasting tent. They have four cider makers in the tent and they're going to be pouring about six ciders each. Hard ciders. Where's the where's the festival? Oh, no, you're good. It's at the Lake County Farm Parks, Metro Parks Farm Park. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. And it's Friday and Saturday. Yeah. And it's a ticketed event. Ticketed event. Forty five dollars at the door for regular entry. Seventy five for VIP. Oh, no, they're not selling VIP tickets at the door. OK, so presale. And I feel like it's kind of interesting whenever we talk about like Ohio wine or even just like in conversations, people think of it as a certain thing. Like, I think a lot of people kind of think it's like all sweet offerings. Like, what do you what do you kind of think? It's not. People think that because that's that is a lot of what is made, but there's a lot of dry whites and reds. One of the things that we're seeing is as it warms up, they can ripen the red grapes a little longer and make some drier wines, a little higher alcohol, a little drier reds. That's happened probably since 2016. I guess that's one good thing about climate. It is one good thing. I probably shouldn't say that. As long as we don't get a lot of rain, it's a good thing. If you get a lot of rain, then it causes more problems in the vineyard. Yeah, and it feels like this festival has been kind of aiming to show people the diversity within the various wines that are available. Give people a chance to find what they like. You can go up to a winery. I think there's 28 that are going to be there. You can go up. You can try something sweeter. You can try something drier, something red, something white. You just need to tell the person behind the table what your what your preferences are. Yeah, and on the note of diversity, you said that they are including ciders this year. I wonder why just now? Because ciders are just starting to get hot in Ohio. We're a little bit behind some other places. West Coast, they've been a lot hotter. So weird. It is. Yeah, but Ohio's starting to pick up on it. I know, and we're a cider country, but hard cider is just starting to really catch on. It's different what they're going to be serving than some of the poppy ciders that you find, hard ciders that you find at retail. These, some of them are made in a traditional wine style. That's exactly what I was just kind of going to ask is, so cider, is it close? Do you know, like, is the process closer to beer making or wine making? Wine making. So that's kind of why they're lumping it together. Yes, at least for the cider makers that are going to be at Vintage Ohio. It's more of a wine making. Yeah, I mean, I've even seen like some of the nice hard ciders in bottles, like you can only buy it in a bottle. You can buy it at $7.50 or some, yeah, yeah. What do you think about hard ciders as opposed to wine? I like it. I have a friend who she does not drink beer at all, and she is always drinking ciders, and it is like cool, especially the ones like she'll try out. It's like, oh, you didn't know a cider could taste like that. Like, it's not just sweetened apple cider. It is not just sweet, and that's one of the points that you want to make. Or even just apple. Like, yes, it's apple, but sometimes it can have other flavors. Blueberry, honey. It doesn't even taste like an apple. So it's got a variety of fruit. And those ciders that are going to be at Vintage Ohio, it's not artificial flavoring. It's real blueberry juice, real blood orange puree. I want to give those more of a try because I'm not the biggest beer fan, as you guys know, and I feel like that could be a good sort of little alternative. It sounds a little healthier too. Well, and it's only more sugar. All alcohol needs sugar. That's right. But the percentage of alcohol is a little lower than if you're drinking them all. It can be a lot lower than if you're drinking wine. Whereas wine is usually more than 10. And as far as like the wine offerings, is it kind of, I know we said like sweet and dry, but red, white, rose, like people. You're going to find all of it. Do they make sparkling wine? Yes. I guess. I don't know if that's... They do. Some of them do. I can't say who's going to have it that's going to be there because they don't bring their entire lines. And some people have 14 wines that they make, and they might only be bringing four or six. But there are some sparkling wines that's really picking up out in the Grand River Valley. Yeah. Why do you think maybe the people who might not know about this, but be interested in drinking wine should go check it out, see what it's about? They really need to see what the Grand River Valley is like, what the wines are like. They really need to keep an open mind and find out that there's some really great local stuff going on. I mean, everybody's been hot about the local food movement for a long time. We should be hot about the local beverage movement as well. Yeah. And I think especially like, I don't know, Mark always talks about craft beer, and I think people do get that. But like you and I have explored a lot of even the spirits. And it's like, yeah, support local with that too. Right. So just order your regular Jack and Coke or Tito soda every time. There's different things. Are there any local wine vendors that are going to be there that kind of stand out to you as something that you're excited about trying or? It's hard to narrow it down because there's so many that do a good job. Like I'm a big fan of M Cellars. I like, oh, I'm trying to think of who else. There's a lot. And there's some from around the state, not just Grand River Valley. There are a number from around the state that are unfamiliar to me that I'm interested in learning more about and seeing what they're doing in their region. Yeah. Have you been to this event before? Many times. Yeah. So you would recommend it? Absolutely. It's a good time. I've actually worked the event a couple of times, volunteered. My son is a winemaker at Ferrante Winery, and I hear a lot of what's going on in the vineyard and in the cellar from him. I've seen both sides of the table, and it's a lot of fun on both sides. And now we got Pete Chakirian here to talk about some Great Lakes Brewing Company summer fun flavors. Welcome, Pete. Thank you, friends. Yeah, so a lot going on at Great Lakes Brewing Company, I guess. First, you recently wrote a column about the Rocket Pop Hard Seltzer. So what's that all about? So that's fun. If you've been following the Classically Eats and Drinks column on Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, you'll note that I'm picking out things that people can go out and enjoy that are sort of quintessential Cleveland food and drink items that they can enjoy and hopefully for, you know, the future can continue to enjoy. It's not just something that's thought of, you know, in the past tense, like the Silver Grill or Higbee's, that kind of thing. So occasionally I'll pick up something that's brand new that feels like it's going to be a long-term classic. And so Great Lakes Brewing Company has got this Rocket Pop Hard Seltzer. Now they've moved into hard seltzer just in the last couple of years. A lot of breweries are moving towards what are called malternatives with air quotes. And malternatives are malt alternatives. I've never heard that one yet. It's clever, right? Because beer consumption and sales have been on the decline for the last several years. And so you've got to diversify your portfolio. Not everybody wants, you know, a super hoppy double IPA, you know, that they can't see through. So you've got to diversify. And Great Lakes has done so. Is that because it's made with malt liquor? Well, malt is used in the brewing process. No, I know. But I mean like a white claw and stuff. Isn't that like malt-derived alcohol? It is. Yeah. Is that why they call it malternative? Correct. I'm just sorry. I'm having a lesson here. We're good. So in any event, they've had a couple of different varieties that I think turned out really well. But the Rocket Pop that they introduced in the summer earlier was just something completely unique. It takes the flavors that you would get out of a Bomb Pop that you remember from the ice cream truck when you're growing up, or at least I do. And so you have your cherry and your, you know, lemon and blue raspberry. Those flavors are all kind of combined into one sort of delicious beverage. And the great thing is it's not super sweet. Like you get that fruity juiciness out of it, but it doesn't taste cloyingly sweet. And it also doesn't taste like Glade Smells, which is my chief complaint with white claws. So I was super excited about it. Wrote a little column about it, and I hope it becomes a summer staple. So if you haven't had it, it comes in six packs. It's really, really good and quite refreshing. Well, and it feels like classic because it's nostalgic. Yeah. Throwback Great Lakes Brewery is very nostalgic for multiple reasons. Just being a pioneer in the craft beer community in Northeast Ohio. So I feel like it makes sense. Yeah. But when I think about a Rocket Pop, I'm thinking about the gradient colors and how you kind of have an experience of like getting that flavor profile in tiers. You know what I'm saying? So do you want that in? Yes, it would be of engineering. Let me cook because or brew or whatever you would call it. Because you can as a cocktail engineer, whatever you would call it, people gradient their drinks all the time. You know, I know. But like, wouldn't it be nice if there was a way where you go to the Great Lakes Brewing Company brewery and you get them to make it for you in a gradient? It's funny. You're like a child who needs like the drink to have like of lights. And I am very visual. Yes, got it. Really is funny. You should mention that, though. They do have a recipe on the website that incorporates Rocket Pop into what looks like a layered cocktail. Well, boom. So there you are. Yes. Bob's your uncle, as they say. All right. Josh is right. Whatever. But no, it sounds really cool. And like, I don't know. I feel like the hard seltzer boom, like we all kind of saw that happening. And a lot of the brands and stuff were making a lot of similar flavors. Like I feel like every hard seltzer brand has like a citrus of some sort. And it's kind of cool to see Great Lakes expanding that and kind of going a little bit different. Yeah. Okay. But going back into how it tastes. Oh, my God. How does that flavor profile come together in one thing that you get all at once, as opposed to a Popsicle version that, you know, it's just really. Well, I don't ever do that. Maybe I'm weird, but I just I kind of go top to bottom. I don't know. Like you've not had all the flavors at once. I like to bite my popsicles down. But hey, I don't know. I'm weird. Go ahead. Sorry for the interruption. No, I was just gonna say, I think, you know, it all comes together very much like a mixed berry that has some citrus undertones to it. So it's really good. But it's still identifiable. It's very identifiable. Like when you're drinking it, it definitely reminds you of having a rocket pop. So and it would make a good float, too. I know some people like to do those kinds of things. Maybe if you found some vanilla ice cream or kind of sorbet that you like, you just poured over a rocket pop. Or you could just throw a rocket pop right in your glass. And kind of. OK, so going with the ice cream adjacent, right? Yes. And so Mason's Creamery and Great Lakes Brewery are collabing for an ice cream and beer pairing. What can you tell us about that? So Jesse Mason, the co-owner of Mason's Creamery and Mike Williams, who is a Cicerone at Great Lakes Brewing Company, are coming together to do a pairing event. And they're taking ice creams, very unique ice creams, because that's what Mason's is known for, and pairing them with Great Lakes Brewing Company's different beers and I think seltzers, too, if I was looking at the list correctly. But no, actually, just it's just beer that they're pairing. So but it's that unique sort of flavor profile. You wouldn't think that ice cream and beer would necessarily go together. But these two have definitely figured that out. Mike, of course, is really a key driver in the Hopp College initiative that they have at Great Lakes Brewing Company and was key in creating the tour guide program over at Great Lakes Brewing Company several years ago to sort of take people on the brewery tour. So they will both have a lot of interesting things to say. And I'm super excited about that. Yeah, no, it does sound like a little unconventional, but like you just got to eat a light meal before because ice cream and beer, you're going to be bloated. But is it unconventional, though? Are we going to pretend that root beer floats aren't a thing and have a beer, root beer and beer are not the same. But you can't make a beer that tastes like root beer that you then put ice cream in just like a root beer. I mean, people do it with a stout, but you'd probably hate that. Well, maybe if it tastes like a root beer. It doesn't. Oh, a stout. So then you can't. So you're saying you can't take a beer and make it into a root beer. But the thing is, it's different. It's beer and ice cream. Can't say I haven't done that at home, eating a drumstick and drink a Miller Lite after. But this is a little more fancy version of it. I know I've mentioned it probably once before on the podcast, but like one of my favorite things to do is to get a pint of Edmund Fitzgerald Porter from Great Lakes Brewing Company and float a scoop of caramel sea salt ice cream on the top. It is really like one of the best things. It's got the sweet, salty, bitter, the whole nine yards in terms of flavors. Now that sounds good. Yes. And what are some of those pairings that they have planned in this event? So the event that takes place Thursday, August 8th from 7 to 8 30 p.m. is going to feature a strawberry pineapple wheat with a pineapple sorbet. Their juicy, vivacious double IPA is going to have a Vietnamese coffee ice cream paired with it. So that sounds kind of unique. Yeah. They have the kick around pog tart, which I am not super familiar with. I want to say it's papaya. Pog is usually papaya, orange and guava. Yeah. I thought it was pineapple, orange and guava, passion fruit, orange and guava. I think that's what it is. That's right. And that'll be with a nectarine sorbet. And then their Elliott Ness Amber Lager, they're going to pair with strawberries and cream ice cream. And then the attendees get to bring a pint home. So it's pretty fun. That is pretty fun. Mason's does have delicious ice cream. So good. It's perfect because it's summer. We love ice cream during the summer. And it's beer. And we love beer during the summer. Yeah. Perfect. Perfect combinations going on here. Yeah, for sure. You got to get yourself. Maybe that'll make you into a beer drinker. Unlikely, but thank you. You're like the calories. Do you have a beer that you do like if you had to have one, like you didn't really have any other choice? He's going to say something so wrong. No, no, no. I really know. You haven't had a beer before that you're like, I like this? No. You know what? I take it back. I had an original. I take it back. Don't do the math. I don't mind Corona's. A Corona is my favorite. Yeah, I don't mind Corona. I can do that. We'll see. There we go. We did find something. It's my favorite, like basic beer. And I recognize that wouldn't be your first choice. But like if you only had beer to choose from at a location, that would probably be what you would go to, right? Yeah. All right. See, we'll learn something new today. Well, now we just got to take another ice cream pairing and then home. What are you? What are you going to pair with the Corona? What flavor of ice cream? Man. A key lime pie ice cream for Mitchell's. That's a good idea. That's exactly what I would do. Perfect. Thanks so much for listening to or watching Dine, Drink, Clean the podcast. Make sure to like, subscribe and follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Instagram at Dine, Drink, Clean and subscribe to our newsletter at cleveland.com slash newsletters.