The Pompadour

The 2019 To Dine Challenge had us head pretty far out to check out The Pompadour Bar & Tapas in Fairport Harbor. How come I've ended up in Lake County so much lately? Will travel for good food!

Word on the street from foodie friends was that it offered tasty small plates ideal for sharing, and craft cocktails that rivaled Cleveland's cocktail bars.

Yes, the cocktails did deliver as promised! Mr. H particularly loved the edible dried pineapple on top of my Jungle Bird ($12).

We dove into the menu, and ordered the suggested 2-3 plates per person. That included GRILLED OCTOPUS ($12) with sautéed red cabbage, carrot, brussel sprouts, rutabaga and citrus vinaigrette.

SPICY MUSHROOM & LEEKS ($7) with sautéed button & royal trumpet mushrooms, leeks, whole grain mustard, and thyme.

CRISPY BACON & FENNEL ($12) cured pork belly, spicy orange gelée, oil-cured black olives, roasted fennel, pickled fennel stalk, and fennel fronds.

CRAB CROQUETAS ($12) with chipotle crema, pickled chayote, and asparagus tips.

SEXI MEXI SLIDERS (2 for $10) of ground pork and chorizo patty, sharp provolone, caramelized onion, poblano peppers, and sriracha aioli.

BRAISED SHORT RIB ($14) with citrus habanero coffee BBQ sauce, grilled pineapple, and pickled chayote.

Highlights were the short rib, octopus, and mushrooms. I'd suggest skipping the crispy pork and sliders. Daily specials are also available.

Fairport Harbor is a small, sleepy lakefront town that you may not find yourself in regularly, but this little gem of a restaurant is worth stopping in at.

Just maybe wait for a cooler day than 95 degrees with high humidity, because we were pretty sure the air conditioning was either non-existent or broken. Turns out they do have it, but with the small, old building and the front door opening so often, it just wasn't pumping out enough air to keep it pleasurable in there. Also be aware that if the restaurant is busy, there may be a wait in between dishes coming out of the kitchen. They appeared to get easily backed up. 

The Pompadour

320 High Street
Fairport Harbor, OH 44077
(440) 639-0263

Weekend Bites X 2

Phew, what a whirlwind last two weeks. It's been a bit quiet over here, but that's only because we've been out and about in Cleveland enjoying those summer days.

The past two weeks have flown by, and it all kicked off with my mom and brother visiting for the long holiday weekend. It included dinner on The Black Pig's patio...

...and an evening at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo for the second year of the Asian Lantern Festival.

If you haven't been, you should really check out this visiting exhibit. 

Then they headed back to NY and the Cleveland summer days kept going with a day at Wendy Park with our pup...

...and a last-minute offer for FIRST ROW seats at the Home Run Derby. I was waaaay more into this than anticipated by the way!

It didn't stop there, and this past weekend was full of summer memories as well. 

That weather on Friday evening was too good to not spend on a patio. So after some errands to prepare for Saturday's party (stay tuned), we landed on Dante's garden patio for the Chef's Tasting.

Seems to happen about once a year for us, and it never disappoints!

Saturday was something we've been envisioning since November when Mr. H purchased an auction package for the rental of a giant outdoor movie screen. It was thrown up in the parking lot at his work, and we invited a large gang to join us for the movie, outdoor games (like Giant Cornhole and Giant Connect Four), and BBQ and ice cream from Smokin' Rock n' Roll food truck.

We hosted about 80 co-workers, neighborhood friends, and some of my besties for a memorable summer party.

Summer is typically not my favorite season, if I'm honest. But this one's been pretty good to us so far, and these last two weekends in Cleveland have been packed full of fun. I hope that you're enjoying these longer days of sunlight, warmer temperatures, and the lengthy list of events happening all around town.