Plated landscape dinners

(Credit: Michael Sawyer)

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When the weather’s right, there’s no shortage of restaurant patios vying for your business. And you’d be well-served at many of them. But why not take a night off from your favorite al fresco dinner spot and experience outdoor dining in Cleveland in a more unexpected way. An evening that’s part adventurous, borderline whimsical, naturally beautiful and of course, palate pleasing.

It’s called "Plated Landscape" dinners. This traveling restaurant concept, presented by chef Ben Bebenroth, a sustainable food pioneer, and his company, Spice of Life Catering, takes place among Mother Nature’s finest backdrops, including local farms and urban gardens. The dinner events are typically held outdoors and feature ingredients that guests may have gathered themselves just before the meal. The hope is that guests gain a fresh connection with the land in true “return to roots” form.

There are five remaining dinners this season, each includes five courses, wine pairings and a tour:

• Sunday, August 9: Urban landscape dinner at chef Karen Small’s (Flying Fig) backyard–Tremont
• Sunday, August 16: Heritage Lane *family friendly* bison roast–West Salem
• Sunday, September 20: Muddy Fork Farm heirloom veggie dinner–Wooster
• Sunday, September 27: Killbuck Valley mushroom fall fungus dinner–Wooster
• Sunday, October 18: Mackenzie Creamery "get your goat" dinner–Hiram
  

We recently took part in the urban landscape dinner at local photographer Keith Berr’s courtyard. Situated between St. Clair and Superior avenues, guests were hidden from the outside world by beautiful plantings, eclectic music, candles, a flower-draped pergola and an overall setting that could make you temporarily forget just where you were.
 
Upon arrival, guests enjoyed Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka with organic lemonade and passed appetizers while perusing walls of photography. Patrons (approximately 20) included a good mix of foodies, a few local chefs and an all around enjoyable crowd (don’t be surprised if you leave with a few new friends).

The evening’s menu, which is typically developed and tweaked right up to the day of depending on what’s fresh and in-season, consisted of:

• English pea soup with crème fraiche (paired with 2007 Domaine D’Arton, Des Cotes de Gascogne)
• Double bacon mizuna salad with fried egg and verjus vinaigrette (paired with 2007 Clos LaChance unoaked chardonnay)
• Grits with homemade andouille (paired with 2007 Lolonis Fume Blanc)
• Rhubarb-B-Q short ribs with a berry hot sauce (paired with a 2007 Clos LaChance meritage)
• Family-style shortbread cookies, strawberry ice cream, dolce de leche, smoked cheddar and strawberry jam (paired with Aris petite syrah port)
  

Each course, which features sustainable and organic ingredients from small family farms within a 100-mile radius of Cleveland, is served with a brief chef introduction that includes background on the dish and a few fun details. The dinner was exceptional, from start to finish. Standouts included the grits with sweet and slightly hot andouille sausage, tender and succulent short ribs and chilled pea soup. Each course was adequately spaced and appropriately sized; you weren't too full from what you just sampled but still look forward to the next dish. And when you're through with all the courses, you leave impressed, intrigued and with a few new friends.

The "Plated Landscape" dinners cost $100 per person, which includes all courses, drinks and gratuity and last approximately four hours. Now in its fourth year, the mini events continue to gain in popularity and are earning a reputation for must-attend summer and early fall dinners. Not only is the food truly wonderful, but the company is great and the experience itself is memorable—all the makings of a fun outing in Cleveland.

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