Luxe
 Cleveland, Ohio         Date of Visit: 07/03/16          http://luxecleveland.com

Friends of ours are getting married and found a swanky little spot in Cleveland for a brunch reception. We were in Cincy when they had their official walk through the menu, but they were so jazzed by the options they had tried we are brunching ourselves stupid today. Jazzed is actually a good term. Luxe specializes in taking classic themes and riffing variations from mild or wild.
 

Their drink menu is fun. We ended up trying too much of it. Turns out our designated driver is a bit of a voyeuristic sadist who enjoys ordering drinks for those undesignated. Didn’t hear much complaining though. Brunch specials include classics like bubbly orange mimosas, and bellinis in multiple flavors (traditional peach/pear/mango/apricot). We tried their Bloody Mary’s regular (spicy) and extra hot (whew, but so good). We also tried a couple of the house specials. They are serving a warm cider based drink at the reception but the dude with the secret recipe wasn’t in the house. We did try two versions of Joy, honey and vanilla infused whiskey with a dark cherry puree and a float of Benedictine. One was layered and the other was mixed, totally different drinks. In honor of the inane and wonderfully vulgar show Archer, I tried my first Pimms Cup. The Luxe Pimm’s has freshly pressed cucumber juice, muddled orange lemon and lime, mint syrup, goya ginger, cava float, and fresh mint. It’s a very adulty beverage, very Anglican. I would do that again…but not today, no room in the inn.
 

All Other Fruits Covered In Bellinis
 

The Extra Hot Mary Is No Joke Smoking
 

Joy Comes Mixed Or...
 

...In Layers
 

Luxe Pimms
 

Green & Citrus, Phrasing
 

Food started with the prosciutto & egg pizza. I think we were hoping for nice runny yolk to ooze around the pizza but the eggs were cooked solid and the ham had been sliced so thick it was more tiresque and overly salty. The crust was thin and super chewy, the taters, arugula and garlic were all tasty. Not a bad effort but a couple little tweaks would bring it nearer to awesome for me. On the sweet front, fresh blueberry ricotta pancakes were topped with a lemon blueberry coulis and whipped cream studded with specks of vanilla bean. Nice and light, lightly crisped brown edges, loads of juicy berries inside and out. No complaints here. On a side note, they delivered a couple small cups, one of preserves and the other ketchup. Completely forgot about both, never used either until the plates were cleared. Duh.
 

We tried two other brunch dishes, one I was pretty sure was going to be awesome and one that I just couldn’t imagine at all. I was way right about the first. Succulent and tenderly braised short rib and tater hash. So just wonderful. Topped with two eggs and then washed with a gorgonzola cream sauce, wonderful, wonderful. Yolks oozing this time, so rich, into richness. The gorgonzola was expertly restrained and the sauce just tied everything together with a smooth warm hug.

Then came the dish of Huh? Get this, seared corn bread. Yeah, seared corn bread. Starts weird, gets weirder. Served with butter stewed tomatoes, and all topped with prosciutto (thinly sliced) and goat cheese wrapped asparagus and a fried egg. This was crazy, crazy good. Salty ham, tangy cheese, runny egg, asparagusy tasting asparagus; all familiar, meant to be together. The cornbread was griddled brown and looked like French toast but had only a hint of the sweetness and was instead loaded with corn and a punch of salt. Hint of sweet, lots of savory. The whole slice was blanketed with a thick gravy of the butter stewed tomatoes which also had a hint of sweetness but this one was backed with acidity. Everything was just a little sweet but the savory angles came from every different direction, every bite stayed interesting and delicious. Excellent.
 

We ended the morning stuffed and hazy. Oh and with their house beignets. What’s wrong with us. The fried dough was delicious but is much more dense and chewy and more reminiscent of zeppole than the New Orleans classic. A heavy dusting of cinnamon blended and powdered sugars. Three dipping options, blueberry jam, dark chocolate sauce and caramel. Good. Not quite beignets, but a riff on the classic. And at Luxe, the musical experimentation is good and sometimes top notch in both innovation and pleasure.

I was looking forward to this union. Now even more so. Nuptuals & Vittles!