We get it. Mornings are tough. Local chefs are giving us tasty new reasons to rise and shine, from tart but sweet blueberry pancakes to a decadent lobster frittata. These elevated dishes make meeting up with friends and family more special. And sometimes elaborate slices of avocado toast or a hearty portobello Benedict is just what we need to conquer the day.
Tylar Sutton
[ by Kelly Petryszyn, photos by Tylar Sutton ]
Meat eater | Short Rib Hash & Eggs
One Red Door // 49 Village Way, Hudson // 330-342-3667 // onereddoorhudson.com
Shawn Monday loves to have corned beef hash for brunch. But the One Red Door chef figured out a way to make the Irish classic a little more indulgent: swap in short ribs.
Both meats are fall-apart tender and cut against the grain. Yet corned beef is brined and boiled while short ribs are braised. That difference elevates the dish from diner eats to fine fare.
“It adds more richness to it with the short ribs, the way they’re braised,” Monday says.
That approach paid off. Since he put short rib hash and eggs ($15) on the Saturday and Sunday brunch menu a few seasons ago, it’s skyrocketed to one of the top-selling items — and the kitchen even sold out multiple times.
Much of that rich flavor is absorbed while 1-inch-thick sliced short ribs are braised for six to eight hours in thyme, parsley, garlic, carrots, onions, celery, red wine and chicken stock. Some of that sauce is served with the final dish to make the tenderized meat even juicier.
“We pull it out, take the liquid, which really intensifies the meat flavor, and reduce it down until it becomes thick, and we toss it into the short ribs,” he says.
Like corned beef hash, the meat gets mixed in with bell peppers, pickled red onions and Yukon gold potatoes. Yet Monday cooks them in a buttered cast-iron skillet for a crunch that contrasts well with the soft short ribs.
“The way I crisp it up in a pan, the meat still stays nice and moist in the center,” he says.
He finishes it by wilting in spinach and topping it with two eggs. While you can order the eggs any style, trust Monday that asking for them sunny-side up makes the dish so satisfying that you’ll forget its plainer corned beef precursor.
“When you break those eggs into it, it adds another level in taste — but also in texture, the feel on your mouth,” he says.
Tylar Sutton
[ by McKenna Corson, photo by Tylar Sutton ]
Go Green | Avocado Toast
Burntwood Tavern // 2291 Riverfront Parkway, Cuyahoga Falls // 330-794-7085 // View multiple locations at burntwoodtavern.com.
Avocado toast can feel overplayed. But there’s a bit of merit to the breakfast of choice among millennials. The green superfood contains over 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, and adding it to your diet has been known to ward off heart disease, lower blood pressure and improve eye health.
Burntwood Tavern’s inventive take on the uber-trendy dish maintains all the health benefits while punching up both taste and size — yet somehow staying low on calories. This isn’t some flimsy slice of bread with plain avocado schmeared on it like overpriced versions sold at hipster coffee shops everywhere. Burntwood’s $11 dish on the Saturday and Sunday brunch menu is a flavorful stack with a robust bite that surprisingly includes eggs — and bacon.
“We use all fresh ingredients, so it’s nice and light,” says David Ackerly, Burntwood Tavern’s Cuyahoga Falls location manager and former chef.
Rather than a straightforward mashed-fruit spread, this rendition boasts an avocado salsa comprised of mashed avocado, tomato, cilantro, lime juice and pepper crowning a hearty slice of crustless nine-grain toast. Applewood-smoked bacon is layered on for a bit of salty, savory indulgence. Another piece of toast follows, with a second layer of salsa topped by an egg cooked over medium. Arugula and house dressing finish off the colorful dish that is served on a plate rimmed with crushed black pepper. A side of fresh fruit brings a sweet balance to the meal.
“Mainly, you can taste the egg yolk,” says Ackerly. “You get warm avocado salsa and toast with the warm egg yolk, and it all blends together.”
That mound of arugula is the unsung hero of the dish. “It’s the freshest arugula you can find,” Ackerly says. It’s his favorite aspect because it adds another pop of vibrant green along with healthy nutrients known to help slow cancer progression and lower blood pressure.
“After eating it, you don’t feel like taking a nap. You’re ready for the day,” Ackerly says.
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Tylar Sutton
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Tylar Sutton
[ by Megan Smith, photos by Tylar Sutton ]
Nice Catch | Maine Lobster Frittata
Rosewood Grill // 36 E. Streetsboro St., Hudson // 330-656-2100 // rosewoodgrill.com/hudson
Brunch has gotten a rep as the after-party where hungover revelers recount their wild tales from the night before over bottomless mimosas and greasy sliders.
But Rosewood Grill has taken a different approach with a Sunday brunch menu that offers a bit more refinement and features lobster. Yes, lobster.
“It’s more of a classy type of brunch,” says Executive Chef Tony Sledge.
The Maine lobster frittata ($16) brings upscale decadence to the often laid-back meal.
Sledge and his kitchen staff liked the idea of frittatas for brunch but wanted to step up the homestyle classic. So they started experimenting with different ingredients. Their stroke of genius came when one of them subbed in lobster meat taken from the tail and claws. Everyone loved how it tasted, so they made lobster the star of the dish, taking the place of more pedestrian ham or sausage.
“It brings out a little more sweetness,” he says.
The frittata gets an airy texture and volume from heavy whipping cream that’s mixed with cage-free brown eggs and baby spinach, then baked in a stone oven. Triple cream Brie infuses a touch of extravagant French flair that elevates the frittata beyond standard brunch eats.
“You’re getting a good creamy richness on top as you take that first bite,” Sledge says. “You’re getting the cheese, the lobster, the egg, the spinach and everything. It’s a perfect combination.”
The soft texture of the dish finds balance when paired with quinoa hash browns, made with Idaho potatoes, white cheddar cheese, spinach and red quinoa for an earthy, nutrient-packed crunch.
That play of textures and luxurious flavors that people don’t normally get at brunch has earned praise from guests who say it is one of the most delightful meals they have had in a long time.
“It just creates that delight, that wow factor,” Sledge says.
Tylar Sutton
[ by Sharon Best, photo by Tylar Sutton ]
Duck in Here | Canard Continental
Magic City’s Remarkable Diner // 451 Fairview Ave., Barberton // 330-983-9787 // remarkablediner.com
Fine international cuisine is not something most people would expect from Magic City Diner in Barberton. But when Dan and Valeri Remark took over the recently closed casual eatery in April 2018, that’s exactly what they had in mind.
“As a classically trained chef, I didn’t want to just flip eggs and hamburgers,” Dan Remark says. “We wanted to appeal to people who want something a little more exciting.”
Before opening as Magic City’s Remarkable Diner, the Remarks learned from longtime residents that the 100-plus-year-old building might have been a Prohibition-era speakeasy. While they retained about 80 percent of the diner’s original menu, they played up the underground idea with more sophisticated options.
“We said, ‘let’s do a menu that isn’t on the menu.’ I love seeing people enjoy something they’ve never tried,” says Remark, who also plans to open Rubber City’s Remarkable Coffee and Cafe inside Akron’s Bounce Innovation Hub in May.
The Underground Breakfast Specials include the Canard Continental ($15.99) that features a truly remarkable component: duck confit.
To prepare the dish, Remark roasts a seasoned whole duck, pulls the meat off, then makes a stock from the bones and fat. He strains the stock, adds any meat remnants to the other meat, then reduces the stock to a glace sauce. “It’s nothing but flavor,” he says.
He mixes that glace with the meat and does a process known as remouillage, where he makes another stock and reduces it to a glace and adds it back into the meat and fat. “So you have this thick, fatty, meaty, syrupy concoction of shredded duck,” says Remark.
He serves it on a toasted English muffin with Asiago cheese, seasoned wilted greens, eggs cooked to order, a drizzle of balsamic reduction and a fruit bowl on the side.
The result is a complex, flavorful meal. “It is rich, but the greens help balance that with bitterness, and the fruit helps cut the fat,” he says. “It all marries really well.”
Tylar Sutton
[ by Nyla Henderson, photo by Tylar Sutton ]
Plate Full | Portabella Benedict
Samantha’s Restaurant // 4954 Portage St. NW, North Canton // 330-499-9700 // samanthas-restaurant.com
Nobody misses out at Samantha’s Restaurant, no matter their dietary restrictions. With vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, soy-free and nut-free options, you can feel comfortable bringing your whole crew here to partake. That especially includes those whose diets are gluten free, as Samantha’s features a rather lengthy gluten-free menu jam-packed with options from pancakes to steak and eggs.
A vegetarian and gluten-free standout is the portobello Benedict ($8.50).
In place of an English muffin, the base of this family recipe is a large portobello mushroom cap baked with flavorful Italian seasonings. It’s then filled with spinach and red onions that are always prepared fresh, never canned and sourced locally whenever possible.
“We slice our own vegetables. We saute them,” says Misty Coffey, a back-of-the-house manager.
The veggie-packed portobello cap is then topped with Muenster cheese, a sliced tomato, a basted egg and hollandaise sauce with warm pesto added for a buttery and herbaceous swirl of flavors. Similar to poaching, basting uses butter in the cooking process rather than boiling water for extra richness.
“The basted egg usually mixes in with the hollandaise, and that makes a creamy sauce over it,” says Coffey. “Then the Muenster cheese blends into it.”
Those who have avoided Benedicts because of a bad experience with poorly made hollandaise may want to give it another try with this custom-made version.
“It’s not like the hollandaise you would just warm up in the microwave or comes out of a pouch,” says Coffey. “We do everything homemade.”
Special diet menu selections can often leave diners wanting more. But this tasty Benedict is hearty on its own and gets even more heft and flavor from a side of savory rosemary red-skinned potatoes.
“In the morning, what’s better than eggs and potatoes?” asks Coffey. “It’s a filling dish. A lot of people that get it never even finish.”
