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Photo by Talia Hodge
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All at once, Vue chef and co-owner Anthony Scolaro is cooking five elements of a new pork dish. He’s working the stove, braising cabbage, heating chicken stock and cooking down an apple chutney, while simultaneously manning a flattop grill — searing a salted, prime-cut pork rib-eye steak and three sauerkraut pierogies from Pierogies of Cleveland.
“We want to make sure we get some color, and honestly, that adds texture too,” he says of the pierogies. “We like to do them with a little bit of sear, so you get some crunch. Then the inside is soft.”
A centerpiece of Vue’s new celebration-themed menu, the dish ($25) is a twist on a traditional pork-and-sauerkraut New Year’s Day meal. The plate features savoy cabbage — a more delicate, flavorful variety — that’s braised with chicken stock, garlic and shallots. To make a jammy chutney, Scolaro cooks down gala apples with cider, vinegar and sugar. The topping is slathered on the pork, which is garnished with parsley and finished with house-made sour cream — crafted by culturing heavy cream with buttermilk.
“The sauerkraut should help cut through the richness of the pork and pierogi. The cabbage adds a really nice earthy element to balance it out,” says the University of Akron culinary graduate. “The chutney will have some sweetness and acidity. It will help round out all the parts of the dish.”
My Favorite Local Bite
Casa Del Rio’s chicken burrito and custom jalapeno margarita
“It’s one of those places that I like to go to on my days off. I get to relax. I love the staff,” says Vue chef and co-owner Anthony Scolaro. “When I walk in, they have my margarita pretty much made by the time I sit down.”
Scolaro opened 111 Bistro in Medina in 2014, spotlighting fresh, seasonal ingredients, and opened Vue with Brian Dolgowicz in November 2023. The restaurant brings fine dining to downtown Wadsworth, the city Scolaro calls home.
“We’re trying to up the game,” he says.
What makes Vue so unique is chiefly its menu: Every 10 weeks, it features new dishes with a new theme — such as delicate and Pacific Asian. With an early November start, the celebration theme honors the holidays — and Vue’s one-year anniversary — with dishes like green bean casserole arancini, braised short rib and a giant confetti cupcake. The menu also features roasted acorn squash ($21) overflowing with Granny Smith and gala apples, kale, dried cranberries, roasted cauliflower, chopped sage, roasted pumpkin seeds, farro and cider maple gastrique.
Scolaro’s diners are willing to go on culinary adventures with him, turning to his restaurants for casual and special occasions alike.
“We want to be a part of people’s lives. We give them an opportunity to celebrate, to escape,” he says. “That’s the best part for me.” //
