As Cleveland slips into mid May, Ari and I anxiously await two happenings: one is for the weather to stay above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The other is for the opening of Club Isabella, the restaurant whose progress we have been following since we moved in together in June 2010.
In February we had another opportunity to meet chef and owner Fabio Mota, who gave us a tour of the restaurant in its in media res state: Club Isabella signage had been mounted, half of the seating had been installed, and a gorgeous bar stippled with hanging globe lights claimed an entire side of the main room.
We also heard a little more about the progression of the menu, which promises the “twist of the familiar” Mota described at the end of autumn. The menu will include dishes such as croque monsieur topped with avocado salad, assorted tartars with a deep fried egg & toast, and cuttle fish fried sweet and spicy eastern style.
The best thing about this last visit was not only the promise of “clean,” no-frills good food, but also Mota’s attitude toward the entire building process. Building from scratch is no “croque walk” (my bad joke, not his), especially when Cleveland weather delivers snow in April and winds that can chuck our mailbox across the street. But our new acquaintance seems calm and content, pleased with the body of his restaurant, and ready to instill it with soul as soon as the kitchen has been completed.
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