Editor's note: This story was originally published on April 29, 2016.
Cleveland鈥檚 restaurant renaissance has been widely recognized. But closer to home, eastsidersstill argue with westsidersabout which side of the Cuyahoga River has the best cuisine.
Diners at a recent gourmet feast have cast their votes on the issue, and WKSU鈥檚 Vivian Goodman tallies the results in today鈥檚 Quick Bite.
Competition is fierce, but friendly, at the first-ever 鈥淓ast versus West鈥� competition of Cleveland chefs.
More than a hundred diners have paid $135 a plate to sit in judgment after sitting down to tuna, steak, scallops, duck breast, braised oxtail and much more at Edwin鈥檚 in Shaker Square.
Eight chefs are competing. Four from each side of the Cuyahoga.
Too many cooks?
Edwin鈥檚 has a warm, friendly kitchen. But it鈥檚 not large enough for eight cooks to prepare their contributions to the multi-course meal. So the visitors work under a tent set up in the parking lot behind the restaurant.
It gets a little frantic in the tent as servers move hundreds of plates to the dining room. 鈥淣ow! We have to get the food out! Are you ready? Let鈥檚 go, let鈥檚 go!鈥�
But the chaos is all behind the scenes.
Serene for eaters
Relaxing smooth guitar jazz plays in the background as diner Ann Jester takes time to savor every bite of what Chef BenBebenrothis serving tonight: braised oxtailtorchon, carrot puree, arugula and golden beet salad with pickled ramps.
Jester鈥檚 familiar with Bebenroth鈥檚 cuisine. 鈥淚 eat at Spice Kitchen and Bar. So therefore I cross the river with great regularity.鈥�
She鈥檚 an east sider who works on the West Side and thinks tonight鈥檚 event is good for both sides of Cleveland鈥檚 cuisine scene. 鈥淚 want ... west siders to go east, east siders to go west, so it鈥檚 all good.鈥�
A broadly smiling Brandon Chrostowski, Edwin鈥檚 founder, agrees. 鈥淚t feels great as you can tell.鈥�
Sold outquickly
Ittook him only three days to sell out the East versus West dinner. It鈥檚 not a fundraiser for Edwin鈥檚 Leadership and Restaurant Institute.Chrostowskipaid the guest chefs for the food and their efforts. He鈥檚 just glad to have them meet his trainees and give his regular patrons a rare treat.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to have all the chefs here. It鈥檚 not often you get this many great palates under one roof.鈥�
Most of all, he鈥檚 grateful for his colleagues鈥� continuing support of his socially conscious enterprise. Chrostowskihires ex-felons to work in his upscale restaurant and trains them in the art of French cuisine.
Networking opportunity
His fellow chefs have already welcomed many Edwin鈥檚 students into their own kitchens, and they鈥檙e getting a chance to observe the skills of other trainees at the 鈥淓ast Versus West鈥� event.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing not only for the restaurant but for the students,鈥� says Chrostowski, 鈥渂ecause this is now, believe it or not, a lot of networking going on. Each one of the chefs here has already hired a student. So it鈥檚 another way to network and find that next step to your final goal.鈥�
Andre Baird is in his final two weeks of the six-month training program. 鈥淎nd I am just so proud to be a
server here tonight. I鈥檓 going to intern at one of these fine-dining restaurants for two weeks and hopefully be employed there. I mean, everyone wants an Edwin鈥檚 student.鈥�
Like a boxing match
The emcee for the contest shouts like a ring announcer and the crowd eats it up.
鈥淩ound three here we go! In this corner from the West. He鈥檚 from Black Pig. Mike Nowak! And then from the East, ladies and gentlemen, it鈥檚 surf and turf time with Chris Hodgson!鈥�
Hodgson, chef-owner of Hodges in downtown Cleveland, adds creamed kale and potato to one of his signature dishes. 鈥淎 classic steak dinner,鈥� he calls it.
Meanwhile Steve Schimoler, chef- owner of Ohio City鈥檚 Crop Bistro, serves a duo of tuna and scallop sashimi paired with an Alsatian Riesling wine.
Schimoler lives on the West Side, "just a couple blocks from where the restaurant is.鈥�
Chefs takesides
Hehas no hesitation in telling us his favorite side of town for dining. 鈥淥h, the West Side. Hands down. I
mean you take downtown, and the West Side, Ohio City and all that -- it鈥檚 a great spot. But you know I have to be biased on that.鈥�
Even Brandon Chrostowski, who lives a block away from his Shaker Heights restaurant, is slightly biased.
鈥淲herever the best food is that鈥檚 where I鈥檒l go. So it doesn鈥檛 matter if it takes us down to South Akron, I鈥檒l be there. But I鈥檓 rooting for the home team.鈥�
Another east sider, Chef Doug Katz, didn鈥檛 have to come far to compete. His restaurant, Fire Food and Drink, is also at Shaker Square, just across the Rapid Transit tracks.
Shrimp andgrits
Katzis big on local food. But the fresh shrimp he brings to the dinner came from Florida. He serves it with grits made from local corn meal, pickled Fresnochilis, local micro greens and maple-glazed local bacon.
鈥淕ive it up for Doug K. O. Katz!鈥� yells the announcer. 鈥淒oug we just had your delicious shrimp. Why don鈥檛 you tell us more about it?"
鈥淎lright, great,鈥� says Katz. 鈥淪o, we make our own bacon. We get local pork bellies from New Creation
Farm. We smoke it in ourtandooroven.鈥�
Andrew Brickman enjoyed Katz鈥檚 bacon along with everything else from both sides of town. He has residences and favorite restaurants East and West. 鈥淢y preference is for good food and good times. That鈥檚 my preference.鈥�
Brickman鈥檚 a regular at Edwin鈥檚 who believes in the mission. The town house developer says he offered BrandonChrostowskifree use of one of his Little Italy properties for office space when the restaurant was getting started.
鈥淎nd now to see what it鈥檚 become. It鈥檚 so satisfying. I wish there were more people as motivated as he is.鈥�
Praise for the new French chefs
Chef SteveSchimolerof Crop Bistro also hands it toChrostowski, especially for his students鈥� mastery of French cuisine.
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 the thing, 鈥渟ays Schimoler. 鈥淭o do a French menu with the level of detail and the discipline that goes into it. They are one of the better restaurants in the whole city. And that鈥檚 a testament to how hard they work at it, because it鈥檚 not easy.鈥�
Hard, but satisfying work is something all of tonight鈥檚 chefs value, as well as each other鈥檚 company.
鈥淲e are good friends,鈥� says Steve Schimoler. 鈥淲e break bread. We have fun together, but anyone who鈥檚 in this business would be lying to say that they didn鈥檛 have to be competitive. That鈥檚 what it is. It鈥檚 all about doing a good job all the time, and hopefully better than that most of the time.鈥�
Best secondchance
That鈥檚the work ethic Willie Rudd鈥檚 been developing. Now six weeks into Edwin鈥檚 training program, he鈥檚 grateful for what he calls the best second chance he鈥檚 had in a long time.
鈥淚鈥檓 right now hoping to open my own restaurant with the skills that I learn from here. Hopefully with the connections that I have from Brandon, I can make it successful.鈥�
And where would he put his restaurant? 鈥淚鈥檓 definitely coming to the East Side.鈥�
That鈥檚 also the side that won the contest. But a rematch pitting East versus West is already in the planning stages.
This next one will be on the West Side.
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