Chef Jeff Jarrett started settling into Amp 150's head chef position in June, a week after closing Palate in Strongsville, but he's just recently recharged the Marriott restaurant's menu. "A lot of what was on there sold well," he says of Amp's well-worn offerings. "But now, I'm not looking to do any of that." Still honoring the restaurant's promise of farm-to-table fare, Jarrett has assembled an array of seasonal dishes, including pancetta-wrapped pheasant. "It's been said before that it's like Thanksgiving on a plate," he jokes. "But it's pheasant instead of turkey, and your butternut squash is the sweet potato or yam aspect of it." He also includes cranberry chutney, Brussels sprouts with Ohio maple syrup gastrique and potatoes grown at The Chef's Garden in Huron. "When things grow in the same season, they go well together, like the Brussels sprouts and the butternut squash," says Jarrett. "We want to go in a lot of different directions. It's kind of a mix-match of everything, which to me, is what American food is."
As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, spring's arrival is a promise that patio season will soon be here in full force. Shake off those layers and raise a glass to sunnier days ahead with these six sippers from spots like Patron Saint and Char Whiskey Bar and Grille, which certify that spring has indeed sprung. By Kate Bigam Kaput