Restaurant Review: Light Bistro in Ohio City (Cleveland)

The day started off really well for me, riding along with a friend for 9 holes of golf (my neck was screwed up for some reason), enjoying the sun and fresh air.  There’s nothing quite like the air in Cleveland in the Fall.  Just feels right to be here for some reason.  The day turned into a perfect afternoon and on into a beautiful Thursday night in Cleveland: 55 degrees in mid-November.  The babysitter was at the house and we were running downtown to eat at the Light Bistro before heading to the Opera to watch my father-in-law in his first operatic debut.  Quite a night.

Light Bistro is nestled in Ohio City, very near to Great Lakes Brewing and the Flying Fig.  Their location is where Parker Bosley used to have his restaurant for many years.  Since it was a Thursday night, we found parking very close to the restaurant, but I bet during a busier night of the week or a weekend you would have a really hard time locating parking.  It didn’t appear as though there was a valet service, but there might be on the weekend.

When we walked inside Light Bistro, we were greeted by a really nice guy who seemed genuinely happy to see us.  We were seated quickly next to a huge window.  Normally, this would be great- but the nice afternoon turned into a chilly evening at 33 degrees. The single paned glass really made the seats next to the window chilly.  The decor tries hard to be hip, with copper painted corrugated steel fringed with fake grass butted up to a distressed leather bench.  I liked the look overall, but have been in some places recently that are more appealing.

Our waiter, Jack, was there to greet us quickly and was good for the first half of service.  During the second half, he disappeared for really long periods of time- long enough that we didn’t have time for dessert even though we were finished with our meal for about 20 minutes.  Jack had explained to us that all the desserts take about 10 minutes to prepare and with our deadline for the Opera, we were just out of time.  That was a real bummer because to that point- and here’s the spoiler- the food was excellent.

Bacon. Dates. Cheese. Photo by Scott Groth

Our table of five started off with the house made olives, the lamb meatballs and the bacon wrapped dates.  The olives had an excellent flavor: just piquant enough to stimulate the palate.  These were gone in a flash.  The lamb meatballs on their own were nothing to write home about.  When I put half of one on top of the Parmesan bread, the flavors came together and took off.  Without the bread, I would have knocked this dish, but with the bread- really good. The plating could have used a little bit of work as well.  In my opinion, the verdict is still out on the bacon wrapped dates with almonds and Valdeon cheese.  Pretty much everyone loved them but me.  I found the consistency too mushy overall.  I’ve had a number of bacon wrapped dates stuffed with a lot of different things that have had a little more structure.  The flavor was nice- maybe just crisp up the bacon a little for a contrasting texture.

Nicely cooked shrimp with some delicious white bean and toasted garlic puree. Photo by Scott Groth

Just about everyone was going to order a couple more things from the menu- there are so many good things to choose from.  As a side note- they have a very nice wine list that is comprehensive but not intimidating.  Nicely done.  Now back to the food.  Three people at the table ordered the sauteed rock shrimp in white bean puree with toasted garlic.  I had a bite of one- the flavor of the garlic was bold but not overpowering.  The shrimp were cooked perfectly and the dish was well balanced.  All those dishes were clean when they headed back to the kitchen.  My father-in-law and I both ordered the braised pork belly with cabbage, grain mustard and apples.  Here’s the thing about pork belly- you either cook it well or you don’t.  In my opinion, there’s really no “in-between.”  Chef Matt certainly knows how to make a mean pork belly dish.  I compared it to the pork belly Caroline and I had at Perilla in New York several years earlier.  Perilla is owned by Harold Dieterle, the winner of Top Chef Season 1.  Dieterle’s pork belly was just about perfect, which is why I remember it.  Chef Matt’s dish was right up there with it.  The pork was succulent with the sweetness of the apple, slight acidity of the braised cabbage and the punch of the grain mustard.  Awesome dish.

Mmm... Pork belly. Perfectly cooked. Photo by Scott Groth

The ladies at our table both ordered different pizza-type dishes.  One was the grilled flatbread with wild arugula, goat cheese and lemon.  It was a good sized portion and the crust was cooked really well.  I’m not a huge fan of wilted greens on any kind of bread, but the lemon and goat cheese really paired nicely.  The arugula wasn’t soggy, it was just about right for greens on a flatbread.  The bite I had was laden with goat cheese and had just the right amount of lemon.  I decided to take another just for good measure.  Pretty good stuff.  The other pizza was the Potato Pie.  This was recommended by our server.  It comes with gold potatoes, rosemary, garlic, crispy shallots and panchetta.  Lots of panchetta.  Everything on the pie went well together.  I was thinking that the potatoes would lend a heavy feel to the pie overall and am not exactly sure how Chef Matt was able to pull off a light tasting potato pizza, but he did.  The portion size was too much for my wife to finish after all the other dishes but the leftovers didn’t go to waste the next day.  Two more very successful dishes.

Crispy crust, fresh goat cheese, lemon and arugula. Tasty dish. Photo by Scott Groth

There were two entrees ordered at our table.  One of them was the bison strip loin with green beans and potato confit.  This is the only dish that I didn’t sample, but I was told that it was excellent.  The confit potatoes were fingerling, which was really interesting to me.  Next time we visit, I’d like to get a side of these potatoes if possible- they looked and smelled great.  I went with a duo of pork for the evening- starting with the pork belly dish already reviewed and ending with the Roast Kurabuta Pork with candied sweet potatoes, bacon and pickled banana peppers.  I’m a huge fan of Kurabuta pork since my friend Norm sent me about eight chops from Naples over the summer.  It’s heirloom pork and should be nicely marbled.  The pork that I received didn’t have the appearance of Kurabuta, but it was still pretty tasty.  I’ve never had banana peppers with pork before- with a forkful of pork, sweet potato and a piece of the banana pepper I couldn’t have been happier with the dish.  Just terrific.

The banana peppers with candied sweet potatoes made this dish special. Photo by Scott Groth

Something unusual happened at the Light Bistro this past Thursday night.  It was a clean sweep of delicious dishes all around.  The food showed thought and appropriate restraint to keep the flavors simple and pleasing to the palate.  There wasn’t a need for anyone to use any additional salt or pepper because each dish was nicely balanced.  I may not have liked the texture of the bacon wrapped dates, but the flavor was spot on.  Almost every dish presented was tasteful and artistically plated.  All of the senses were satisfied.  I think that perhaps now you can understand a little better why it was disappointing that Jack disappeared for so long, essentially eliminating the chance of having a taste of what might have been an excellent dessert to top off our meal.  In hindsight, perhaps it was for the better- we all left with big smiles on our faces and the desire to want to come back and sample other items from their menu.  My compliments to the Chef.