@CLEDinnerClub at Flour

Last night, the monthly CLE Dinner Club outing took us east to Flour in Moreland Hills. I've only been to Flour three times previously, so I was looking forward to a return visit. But, first...a cocktail was needed after a very stressful day at work.

Then, it was time for the group to settle in for the meal. The special menu greeted us, and my mouth began to water.

I love how they created a hashtag for every dish, and even for themselves. Very savvy in this social-media world we live in now.

We heard from the chefs first, about their concept, personal culinary histories in Cleveland, and how this restaurant is a mash-up of "old school" and "new school" techniques and flavors.

Meet chef Matt Mytro, the New School.

And Cleveland culinary icon, chef/owner Paul Minnillo, the Old School.

He is best known for his 20+ years at the Baricelli Inn in Little Itlay, where Washington Place Bistro now lives.

The meal started off with a bang, with Ramp Agnolotti. These little clouds of pasta were cooked perfectly, oozing with cheese when you cut into them, and the ramp sauce and pickled ramps were truly lick-the-plate worthy. I wanted an entire bowl of them, and they remained my favorite dish of the night.

Then, we had a Whipped Burrata served with a tomato seed vinaigrette and garlic chips. Toasted bread arrived to schmear the burrata on, and the table grew pretty quiet as we all enjoyed.

The last savory course was Beef Short Ribs with a preserved tomato fregola, a "mock bone" and pesto.

The "bone" was made out of potato, and they used an apple corer to achieve the shape and presentation. Very creative! The meat absolutely fell apart to the touch of a fork, and this dish was another winner.

I was posting each course on Instagram last night, and the dessert course certainly drew the most attention. The Nutella Panna Cotta was not only pretty to look at, it was delicious and a great end to the meal.

The white chocolate arancini that accompanied the panna cotta was certainly interesting. I've never had an arancini made with sweets, instead of the rice and cheese that we're used to. Clearly, this was a "new school" technique.

The dinner earned itself a spot in the CLE Dinner Club Hall of Fame, in my opinion. It was one of the best, and I swear that wasn't the Flirtini talking. Hehehe. It left me wanting to return to Flour, which I guess, is the point of these dinners.

If you'd like to join the group, just follow @CLEDinnerClub on Twitter or "like" the page on Facebook. I always enjoy the experience, and can't recommend it enough.

Flour
Moreland Hills Towne Center
34205 Chagrin Boulevard
[at Som Center Road]
Moreland Hills, OH 44022
216-464-3700