Can you believe it’s that time of year again?
The time of year to shake off the snow, suck in some fresh spring air, and sip on the Best Mojito in Cleveland!
Join us this Friday as we kick off the Bacardi Mojito Fridays at the Bier Markt featuring $6 Mojitos every Friday all night long
Enjoy our classic House Mojito or try the new Bacardi Peach Mojito!
Thursday April 3rd starting at 6:00pm and lasting into the wee hours of the night
More great wine, more great music, more great concert T-shirts!
Oh yeah, and the most exclusive glass pours anywhere in the city
Bring your own vinyls and sport your favorite Rock and Roll T
If you haven’t been, you are missing out on the party quickly becoming the best in town…
Chef Sawyer strikes again with his most delicious food. Read with Cleveland Magazine has to say about it!
http://chefsawyer.blogspot.com/2008/03/cleveland-magazine-april-2008.html
by Beth Segal / Special to The Plain Dealer Friday March 14, 2008, 1:54 PM
http://www.cleveland.com/goingout/index.ssf/2008/03/bar_centros_food_affordable_af.html
The siren song of Bar Cento rolls out onto West 25th Street, luring in the curious, the cognoscenti and the neighborhood guys just looking for a beer and some fries. Well, in this case the fries are billed as pommes frites ($6 small, $9 large), tossed with fragrant rosemary, scattered with pungent cloves of garlic and served with three different hits of decadent Belgian mayonnaise.
That’s just a hint of what’s hot at Chef Jonathon Sawyer’s North Coast take on the enoteca, a Roman-focused Italian-style bistro that features a lot of wine (as we all remember from our metric studies, “cent” means a hundred; Bar Cento is Sawyer’s undercounted reference to the number and breadth of wines available) and some well-chosen food to go with it.
Inside Bar Cento, the self-styled “haute rustic styled interior” is a comfortable mix of Tuscan country and re-hab Cleveland. As you enter, the alt rock music from the speakers outside shifts to sounds from a turntable — playing full sides of classic vinyl from the collection of chef/partner Sawyer.
That’s a telling piece of information: striving for authenticity in the music playing in Bar Cento reflects the sort of attention paid throughout the rest of the place. Everything here is sourced as locally, and/or thoughtfully, as possible. That effort is matched by some creative culinary legerdemain, to produce a relatively short but sweet menu of affordable, affable and imaginative food.
A most important item on a bar menu is pizza, and their variety is a great indicator of Bar Cento’s range. The thin, crisp-chewy crust hosts toppings as simple as garlic, olive oil and sea salt ($6); a richly flavored mix of salty capers, olives and anchovies ($10); and, closer to the edge, a foie gras, caramelized onion and boudin noir combo ($17). The former two were really tasty, but that dark, heady sausage, thickened with pig’s blood, was a little too Sweeny Todd-ish for my taste — but that’s a personal failing, and I’m working on it.
Best of all was a bright and beautiful pie with extra-small eggs nestled in pancetta, doused in black pepper and cooked right on the pizza ($9) in the kitchen’s brick oven.
Bar Cento does a definitive grilled Ohio lamb steak appetizer ($9), beautifully prepared and served with a perfect foil of white beans and capers. The same goes for their brick oven chicken ($16), a wonder of simple-made-perfect: well-crisped top and bottom, with a succulently moist and tender inside, served with caramelized roasted carrots and parsnips.
Distinctive individual side dishes (one free with entree, otherwise $5) include a nicely unexpected pairing of beets and blue cheese and greens gratinata.
Bars are not big on dessert and, frankly, Bar Cento seems true to form. The Nutella macaroons ($5) that should have been fun seemed stale, lacking their requisite moist meringue centers. Semolina cake ($5) was elegant in its dense and homespun simplicity, but the accompanying apple sorbet tasted like frozen commercial applesauce.
As for the olive oil gelato ($6)? Words fail me. Throw in the artisanal cheese plate ($5) and that’s four out of four tan desserts. Maybe have another glass of wine instead.
Sawyer, veteran of kitchens here and in New York City, working with restaurant luminaries such as Michael Symon and Charlie Palmer, is currently on the “long list” of nominees for the James Beard Rising Star Award. That’s pretty heady stuff for a guy who has run his own restaurant for five months. But he knows what he wants to do, and he knows how to do it. With Bar Cento he’s off to a good start.
Thank you to all those who braved the Cleveland weather this past weekend and made the Bier Markt and Bar Cento their winter getaway
Remember…. we are open until 2:30am every day of the year serving food until 2am…. And we mean it!!!
Rock and Roll Wine Project – Abbey Road Edition-April 3rd
More great wine, more great music
Bring your own vinyls!
New Cocktails at Bar Cento
Italian Nero Martini – 42 Below Vodka, Punch Abruzzo, Dash of Bitters
The French Connection – Leblon Cachaca, Green Chartreuse, and Pineapple Juice
Apple Cinnamon Crunch – Grey Goose L’Orange, Tuaca, Licor 43, Simple Syrup, Apples, Lemon and Fresh Cinnamon Sugar
New Beers at Bier Markt and Bar Cento – Stone Brewing Co. Month
Stone Guardian – Beautiful bold barley wine with massive malt and hop notes from a brewery known for its limited edition vintage beers
Stone IPA – Dry-hopped for an extra two weeks, this unique process gives this IPA its bountiful hop aroma and rich hop flavor; crisp and refreshing.
Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard – This brew combines everyone’s favorite “bastard†with oak chips
Stone Levitation – This deep amber ale has rich and roasted malt flavors, a nice bit of hops, and citrus overtones
Cook-Chefin’ with Cento Kids
Remember – Every Tuesday from 4:30 – 7pm
Bring the kids to make their own pizzas with Chef Sawyer
Happy Hour Food Menu
Available at the Bier Markt everyday from 4:30-7 and at the bartop in Bar Cento featuring:
$6 Grilled Ohio Beef Burger
$5 Bianco Pizza w/ sliced garlic & mozzarella
$5 Veggi Burger
$5 Duvel Steamed Mussels w/ beer & butter
$3 Ohio Fries w/ ketchup
$3 Warm Marinated Olives
Have you ever danced with a cactus….. you’ll get your chance on May 1st….. More info to come….
“When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to Heaven. So, let’s all get drunk and go to heaven.”
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from McNulty’s Bier Markt and Bar Cento!
Open at 10am on Monday
Featuring:
Our homemade (and home-corned!) Ohio organic corned beef and corned lamb
A twist on our Potato Pizza w/ potato, Irish cheddar, leeks, and bacon
All your favorite festive Irish Beverages