BOLD Food & Drink

A recent girls' night out took us to The Flats. If you haven't been in that area in a while, it is unrecognizable. The amount of restaurants and bars that have popped up in the last year is remarkable. In the eight years that I've lived in Cleveland, that area lining the Cuyahoga River has been desolate. Well, no more! 

One of the newest additions to the East Bank is BOLD Food & Drink. It opened in record-time in the former Ken Stewart's location on W. 10th Street. From the folks behind Oak Barrel and Forage Public House, this restaurant has a similar feel to its menu and presentation. You'll find a wide variety of "tiny" and "small" plates, 10 entrees, and then the "BOLD" section of the menu that features steaks, chops, and seafood dishes. Their intention is to bring an affordable steakhouse to the Downtown area. Luckily, the quality that I've come to expect from them at the other two restaurants was present here as well.

To start, we shared the Stuffed Pasture Raised Eggs with piquillo pepper and radish sprouts ($3 for one egg).

While I prefer the other version of this dish at Oak Barrel and Forage, it was still a good deviled egg. What is it about this classic and often called "outdated" dish that people still love? I don't know, but I'm a sucker for one!

I wanted to be able to try a few things, so I chose to order two of the "small" plates as my entree. First, I ordered the Stuffed Chile Rellenos with a poblano chile, cotija cheese, chilatomate sauce, and lime crema ($11).

For $11, the portion was large. The chile pepper was lightly breaded and deep-fried, with a golden crust instead of the often too-thick coating that others can have. The cheese was creamy and oozed right out of the pepper when I cut into it. This was a great stuffed pepper! However, I really did not care for the sauce. Its tomato base leaned Italian, and just didn't work well with this dish, in my opinion. It was easy to avoid after a few bites, and I happily enjoyed this pepper even without a sauce.

For my second small plate, I went with the Manchester Farms Stuffed Quail with serrano ham, gruyere, and white truffled cream corn ($13).

The quail skin was crispy, meat moist and tender, and the cream corn was delicate and delicious. I would order this dish again.

Service was very good, even though our server admitted that he was in training and had only been there four days. They also made a delicious mock-tini for my pregnant friend. We were nestled in a cozy U-shaped booth, with a glass fireplace crackling in front of us. It was a great setting for a girls' night out, or a special date night without breaking the bank. They retained most of the decor and atmosphere from Ken Stewart's, so it has a high-end feel without quite the price tag. I think they'll do well in the "new" The Flats.

BOLD Food & Drink
1121 W. 10th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-696-8400