Fine Dining in Cleveland

You don't often think of Cleveland, Ohio, as a center of fine dining, but the city is indeed gaining a reputation for its wide variety of excellent food, from the ethnic food stalls at the West Side Market to elegant "haute cuisine" restaurants.  

I have been spending some time at the home of my friends Katie and Olivier.  Katie is a French teacher and was one of my colleagues way back before I retired.  Her husband Olivier is originally from France.  They both know French cuisine, so when they recommended a restaurant on the east side of Cleveland, I figured that the food would be top notch.

The restaurant, which is called "Edwins", has a unique story.  The chef, Brandon Chrostowski, studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and he worked at prestigious restaurants in Chicago, Paris and New York before coming to Cleveland.

In his youth, Chrostowski had a run-in with the law.  When he came to Cleveland he established a non-profit organization called "Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute"  (Edwin is his middle name, and it is also short for Education Wins.)  He trained former prison inmates in order to give them them a second chance.  In 2013 he opened his own restaurant, and all of the staff are "graduates" of his training program.

"Edwins" is located in Cleveland Heights in an old building that used to be a jazz club.  The decor is very elegant, and there was live music.

Olivier and Katie

(That is Chef Chrostowski in the background.)

We were joined by their daughter Nina and her boyfriend, Antoine.

Nina and Antoine recently finished their master's degrees at the University of Bordeaux, and are in Cleveland for a visit.

The food definitely did not disappoint.  I had squash soup, and potato-wrapped grouper with fresh green beans in a red butter sauce.  The food was superb, and the service was attentive.  I was very happy to have experienced this unique restaurant!