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My book club members and fellow foodies, Marianne Sezon, Richard Dana, Jason Stalnaker and Lora Lynne Stalnaker, joined me for a night out at Lure Bistro in Willoughby. |
It was at a recent meeting that the members of my book club decided to come along on my next restaurant review. The idea was sparked by that month’s book, “Garlic & Sapphires” by Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Riechl.
The book spans Riechl’s days as food critic of the New York Times when she had to disguise herself in order to get an objective impression for her reviews of New York City’s finest restaurants.
My fellow readers thought an eating voyage to Lure Bistro to sample sushi, seafood and other savory selections would be an ideal follow-up to our book discussion. Their own reviews are included in this article.
Although I just reviewed Gavi’s last month, I couldn’t help but return to downtown Willoughby. The area is perfect for a summer evening out what with the proximity of other dining and drinking establishments and its walking neighborhood feel.
None of us wore a disguise, not even the two book club members who showed up in costume for the recent meeting. Not thinking, I made reservations in my own name. Not that I have any delusions about my photo being posted by restaurants’ time clocks like Riechl’s was…unless it’s being used for a dartboard at those I criticized more harshly.
Fresh fish anyone?
Instead of “Open,” a bright neon sign in Lure’s front window flashes “Tuna.” The eclectic atmosphere is immediately evident. Owner Nick Costello, former head chef at Gavi’s, opened Lure about seven years ago. He completely transformed the former taxi garage into what it is now, switching, as he says, from motor oil to olive oil.
Murals cover the walls and to the right, a huge aquarium bubbles behind a long bar. It feels as if you are stepping simultaneously into part of the kitchen and underwater, only to surface around the corner in a high-ceilinged dining room painted a cloud-flecked sky-blue. The sushi bar dominates one end; a large window, bordered with orange and red flames, overlooks the patio and the street beyond at the other.
We sank down into deep cushions under a line of blown-glass teardrops, positioning the sequined pillows behind our backs, and wondering if this type of seating was essential for meal enjoyment.
Lure’s physical menus are not fancy – just single sheets of copy paper. Their temporary nature reveals the varying menu – changed often to reflect the day’s catch. The menu selections themselves are imaginative and inspired. Our visit on a Thursday evening corresponded with the weekend’s delivery of fresh tuna, flounder, swordfish and other delights from the sea.
As an appetizer, the al dente asparagus tempura was a delicious reminder of Japanese cuisine to a couple in our group who have traveled there. They told us tempura is taken seriously in Japan, always served piping hot, in individual courses. The asparagus was topped with an aioli which provided a nice, but not necessary, compliment to this vegetable.
The pot stickers were crispy, not slippery, and topped with delicious translucent spinach, julienned red peppers and a spicy/sweet sauce.
Maki-ing out
With a full sushi menu, and skillful sushi chef Young Lee working in the dining room, we could not help but stuff ourselves with a variety of sushi. A rather cosmopolitan bunch, we didn’t have the added fun of watching anyone try sushi for the first time. Mr. Young’s skillfully prepared rolls would delight virgins as well as more experienced sushi eaters.
The maki rolls were perfectly round and tightly rolled. The Bruce Lee roll, filled with barbecued eel, avocado and cucumber, was a favorite. Fun names on the signature sushi dinners made us laugh, sounding like a Saturday Godzilla marathon on TV: Godzilla Rises from the Sea, Godzilla Crushes the Crab, Godzilla Fights Giant Tuna.
Our knowledgeable server, Chris, had ready answers to questions on even the minutest details about preparation and ingredients in aiolis and sauces. Costello hires the best people, from the servers to the chefs. Thiago Dacunha, a Brazilian, and Dave Busch, whose brother is one of the guys in Alltel circle commercials, were in the kitchen that night.
We had already ordered our entrees when the last of our group arrived. We didn’t save him even a morsel of the appetizers or sushi. He apologized for his tardiness by ordering a bottle of wine, making a second selection from the reasonably priced wine list when the first was out of stock. He got started right away, ordering lobster bisque with five spoons. We found chunks of lobster hidden under the creamy bisque that was sprinkled with chopped scallions. It was excellent, but he thought it a little over peppered.
Each entrée comes with a fresh salad served in a deep bowl with red onions and half an egg, with sliced red peppers and carrots for crunch and dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. It was a refreshing way to cleanse our palates before the main course.
Gluttony overcomes us
Not ones to worry about shared germs, or perhaps our gluttony overcame that fear, the five of us continued the soup-passing ritual with our entrées so we could all try everything.
Maine diver scallops, perfectly sautéed with roasted tomato in a garlic and white wine sauce; crab-crusted Florida grouper, Lure’s signature dish with lobster sauce and crunchy fried spinach; tuna loin, salmon, pasta, steaks, chicken and eggplant parmesan filled out the menu.
Our server must have felt pity on our late arrival because he offered him a chance to preview the swordfish planned for the next day’s menu. It arrived at our table grilled to perfection, served over potatoes and a medley of vegetables.
The plate was drizzled with a white wine reduction sauce infused with a hint of citrus by the addition of orange juice and orange marmalade. The sauce complimented the moist swordfish, and every bit was licked up with zeal. This dish was clearly a winner among our group, and any hard feelings we may have harbored over his tardiness disappeared with the fish.
The pork chop, which must have tipped the scale at 14 ounces, was served with an earthy chipotle sauce, accompanied by a buttery parsley-scallion risotto. Perfectly cooked, this entrée was not only filling but full of flavor.
The French-style bouillabaisse sauce was thicker than traditional but very good with an herby, savory sweetness. We longed for crusty European bread to soak up the remaining sauce. The mussels were plump and delicious, the shrimp plentiful but a little overcooked and hard to eat because they were peel-and-eat rather than tail-on, resulting in shrimp shell in the mouth.
Other than that, we didn’t have many complaints until we got to, believe it or not, the dessert. (Though the risotto cake appetizer was quite dry – I think I’ll steer clear of them from now on.)
Stuffed fish
By then, we were already stuffed to the gills. We chose bananas foster and pot au crème, a classic French dessert. The light show on the bananas foster was nice, but we could still taste the alcohol after the fire subsided. The chocolaty pot au crème had a grainy texture. Next time the pastry chef is out of town we’ll just order more maki rolls.
The presentation of each course was spectacular – oversized dishes of varying shapes, sushi served on wooden chop blocks. And we also got a lot of food. These two things don’t always go together, too often you get either a lot of food OR it looks pretty on the plate.
Webster’s defines Lure as “an inducement to pleasure or gain.” We experienced both that evening – pleasure in the great company, delicious food and comfortable atmosphere, and no doubt a gain in weight as we tried valiantly to eat everything we had ordered.
As the evening progressed, the more we ate, the more we understood the need for the comfortable couch-like seating. One of my companions stretched her arms contentedly overhead, setting the dangling teardrops in motion. They clanged together like a dinner bell as if to call more people to the table to finish up what we couldn’t eat ourselves.
Listen to the bell and let yourself be called to dinner at Lure. Lure Bistro, 38040 Third St., Willoughby, opens at 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For reservations, call 440-951-TUNA. The patio is now open. Stop in on Tuesdays for half-price sushi.
Laura Freeman is editor of the Lake County Business Journal.
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