[Updated August 2019]
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Declaring Cleveland’s repute as a “food town” is pandering to you. Ditto on the pervasiveness and outright eminence of craft beer created here.
But what happens when a restaurant-brewery opens on East Fourth?
That would generate a buzz--a righteous, warranted one that might be hard to hear over. Enter The Butcher and The Brewer.
From the folks who brought you Tremont Taphouse, this new public house concept resides in the old Dredgers Union space, one sporting a "Old-World Cuts, Hand-Built Brews" mantra, even as the gorgeous neo-retro, post-industrial setting flummoxes your senses.
It is definitely buzzworthy for a number of reasons. Perhaps it's the building's history, one featured during the first Ingenuity Festival of Art and Technology, where the venue served as "ruin stage" for the All Go Signs (a local DIY Art, Music, and Performance Collective) multimedia exhibitions a decade ago.
It could be the revitalized space itself--adorned with white subway tile, high ceilings, luminous galvanized steel flourishes and brewing tanks, exposed electrical fixtures and the refurbished vintage staircase.
Or perhaps it's the somehow unobtrusive, high-definition black-and-white televisions over the bar, and the dark, communal tables that channel a Gothamesque spirit and indispensably buzzy social atmosphere.
Ah, yes. That's quite a lot of Steven Litt-speak. What about the food?
Taphouse catalysts Jason Workman, Chris Lieb and Jeff Leonard opened the city's first true gastropub in 2007. They didn't search far for this project--executive chef Jim Blevins and former beverage director Eric Anderson helped steer this endeavor--so the food is familiar but also exploratory.
Where it separates this from the "mothership," so to speak, is the progressive dining (also called a "safari supper" in the United Kingdom) with successive courses and enticing common plates.
It's a playful and interactive concept, especially for such a space with communal tables. What does that mean to mainstream diners?
It goes like this: Your "table neighbors" admire your calamari plate or smoked bone marrow, so they go ahead and order one, too.
You like the look of their pork rinds and get an eyeful of their oysters and cheese board, so you ask your newly minted comrades about the textures.
"And by the way, how's that beer?" Pretty soon, total strangers are talking, sometimes sharing, ordering more food and drink, and the night (and bill, naturally) rolls on.
Presentation (sometimes on slender black "build a board" plates) and flavor profiles being what they are, diners can get trapped in the indecision of this menu.
It will be harder still with the next visit because, like the beer menu, it changes with the seasons. The takeaway: don't be surprised if the menu on the website doesn't precisely match the one at your seat.
Cleverly and gorgeously assembled with "shucked" (oysters) "cured" (charcuterie) and "cultured" (cheese) items, the a la carte plates can be tweaked to any taste.
On the first of two visits, my friends and I ordered the enticing "bar snacks" Smoked Wings and Chorizo Tacos and pretty quickly our neighbors asked questions about the Korean-style sauce, whipped blue cheese and slaw-garnish of the former, and the Lake Erie Creamery goat cheese on the latter.
Both of these dishes were morsel-ish, not as convenient to share with others like the board plates were--but both were certainly delicious enough to inspire orders further down our communal table. (They didn't share their flights with us, either).
On the first night, my friend also ordered the special bone-in ribeye steak (market-priced), because, in his opinion, "We're at 'The Butcher,' and there's nothing at all like a good bone-in ribeye." He was right on all counts: it ended up being a gigantic cut, well-prepped at medium, and very tender.
The Roasted Chicken however was a bit of a revelation. It was a fervently smoky, moist and succulent dish, and while it could have used more of that tasty, bright green salsa verde, the meat and the plate's accompanying dusky 'jus' was exquisite.
Brewed on-site beers sit in lockstep with local/regional brews on this menu. Naturally, flights are the best way to examine the craft happening in-house, and it is highly encouraged.
The originating beers range from serviceable (The "Repeater" pilsner) to outstanding (the "Hasselhefe" hefeweizen). At any point and time there are more than a dozen hand-built brews from which to choose.
Service on both visits was intuitive and friendly, never merely perfunctory. On both occasions, our servers were respectful, thoughtful, very well-versed in the menu and didn't leave anyone at the table hanging--a surprise given how busy the first visit (Saturday night, 8 p.m.) was.
There are a couple drawbacks. Despite thoughtful textures, flavor profiles and overall balance, appetizer portions don't have the heft (or price tag) that many local diners might expect.
To wit, price point here rides that all-important rail between Lola and many of East Fourth's other dining options. In some instances, diners may feel like they're not getting enough quantity for their hard-earned dollar.
Also, the casual atmosphere can tend to get quite loud. Our first visit on a Saturday night was very crowded and that communal dining experience was nearly drowned out in the din. Easy enough to hear the person to either side of you, but not so much the person across from you by a few feet.
Those hitches aside, The Butcher and the Brewer truly is one of the coolest, loftiest metropolitan dining angles in town. It's deliciously alluring to the point of captivation, and with enormous upside. A feast for the senses.
Butcher is clearly standing out on "Feast Fourth Street."
Taste Bites
The Butcher and the Brewer
Where: 2043 E. 4th St., Cleveland
Contact: 216-331-0805
Online: www.butcherandthebrewer.com
Hours: 4 p.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
Prices: A la carte build-a-boards start at $3 per item; Snacks, $4-$15. Entrees, $8 to $35.
Reservations: Variable. Available at some times; some weekend hours are currently "first come, first served" according to hostess. Wait times mitigated with bar seating and communal table seating. Online reservations coming soon.
Credit cards: All major.
Cuisine: Gastropub, Old World with a New World flair.
Accessibility: Main entrance. Elevator on premises for downstairs/restroom access.
Grade: ***
Chakerian is a freelance writer in Bay Village .
