RSS
Home
Restaurant Week continues with Sarava chef and Owner Sergio Abramof November 9-14
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
Looking for the restaurant bargain of the fall? Then look to your Cleveland independent restaurant for an exciting dining experience during the association’s Restaurant Week, now entering it's final week. During this event, select Cleveland Independents’ members will offer three-course prix fixe lunches and dinners. You’ll find more about the association and the event on www.clevelandindependents.com
Myra Orenstein, Executive Director says, “independent” restaurants are the places where this city can showcase its true creative culinary skills through our very talented members. Unlike previous restaurant weeks, this year Cleveland Independents has sought out area sponsors, “Showing that there is community support for our local restaurants is incredibly important to our initiatives.”
Restaurant Week is endorsed by independent member and native Brazilian Sérgió Abramof, (Who moved to the U.S. at age 10) the renowned chef and owner of Sérgió’s in University Circle and Saravá at Shaker Sq. Pronounced Sarah-VAH, which is a Brazilian greeting much like aloha or shalom.
Savara at Shaker Square
.jpg)
clevelandindependents.com
As one of Cleveland Independents founders and past presidents, Sérgió’s enthusiasm for the organization and the event was evident when I talked to him about it at Saravá over the weekend. “My goal and the collective vision were to protect the future of the independent restaurants in the city, if not the country. I didn’t want it to be a “chain bashing” organization, either. We want to give the public a choice today and in 25 to 50 years from now. One of the advantages of being a member restaurant of Cleveland Independents is that like the chains we also negotiate with vendors, giving us equivalent group purchasing power, as well as pooling marketing efforts. That results in events such as Restaurant Week where you will find not only value but authentic dishes and unique flavors that are part of that restaurant’s personality.
So, Restaurant Week isn’t just about saving a few dollars on dining out. I can safely say if I were to ask any fellow native Clevelander about independent restaurants here, they would tell any visitor that we’re blessed to have some of the best restaurants anywhere. As your Pop Culture examiner, I don’t claim to be a restaurant reviewer but I find the fascinating stories behind some of our favorites to be as worthy of putting pen to paper as it is to putting a spectacular spoonful of Sérgió’s Brazilian caramel custard into my mouth for the first time.
Sérgió went to (Cleveland) Heights High with me and was a faithful follower of a 50’s band I was in called, the Doo Wops. After high school, Sérgió had an apartment in Little Italy, where authentic cuisine ruled. Try to picture an Olive Garden there. We used to go into Mama Santas for pizza where even ordering in English was a challenge.
One story that stands out occurred during an historic blizzard in 1977 when it took me close to 9 hours to get to Cleveland from Ohio U. to play with my band only to find out that the Grog Shop was closed because of a shortage of natural gas. Disappointed, with nowhere to go, my band’s lead guitarist said, “Let’s go to Sérgió’s place.” So, we gingerly went down the icy hill into Little Italy in my VW, which had no heat to speak of and certainly no fan to defrost the windshield. It was -17 Farenheit and the National Guard had been called out. That wouldn’t be enough to stop us from getting together to rap about life. Rap as a colloquialism had a different meaning then. So, there we were at Sérgió’s Little Italy apartment and I can’t help thinking how we never could have imagined that just a short drive further down Mayfield hill, would be the location of Sérgió’s first restaurant in University Circle, years later.
While I ended up in radio-television like I had hoped, Sérgió was chosen to be head chef at a restaurant that would become one of Cleveland’s most noted and highly rated restaurants, Giovanni’s, also an Independent member.
Having made his mark there, like most celebrated chefs it was time to open and put a mark on his own place, Sérgió’s in University Circle, as I mentioned, just down Mayfield hill across Euclid on Ford Dr. on the CWRU campus. The now famous Peter B. Lewis building is across the street. A local success with flavors from Brazil, (now serving flavors from France, Italy and Spain) Sérgió also realized with the influx of chains that to market his restaurant against the coming wave of paninis and mass-portioned linguine, he would need to rally the other restaurants with a heritage like his, to found an association of independent restaurants in Cleveland. Now along with other Cleveland landmark restaurants like Nighttown and Moxie…. the quality of their food is reminding Clevelander’s that the most storied and yet innovative cuisine in town can be found without looking for an exit ramp. (Applebees in my opinion should be found at Patterson’s Fruit Farm.)
Soon to become the newest independent, look for a coming story from this examiner on the grand opening of Romanini’s in Aurora. Owned by Ron Romanini, known for his cuisine at Gavi’s in Willoughby, Ron is venturing out on his own with his cousin Andrea to bring a world of flavors from his travels, to the Cleveland area restaurant scene. Gavi’s is also an Independent member.
Then look for an article on the 15th anniversary of Sérgió’s in which I can do both of his restaurants justice, as there was not enough space for this examiner to describe not only the food but how you feel “transported” while there.
Contact this examiner at paulvoiceover@gmail.com
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.png)
.png)
