Pinecrest’s most eclectic eatery is riding the high of being named our 2022 Best New Restaurant by putting out dishes that are as delightfully (and deliciously) mismatched as ever.
“We’re a globally inspired, modern American concept not really bound by a certain type of cuisine,” says chef Brad Race, head of culinary, who ran buzzy hotspots in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., before relocating to Cleveland. “We pull influences from all over the world.”
And he really means that. It’s rare to see a menu that includes such disparate dishes as carne asada with queso fresco ($38), broken egg fried rice with kimchi ($18), rigatoni in a spicy vodka sauce ($24), and juicy fried chicken sliders ($18) all at once. Here, though, it works perfectly, no mediocre dishes slipping onto the menu just because they have to be there. At the Last Page, everything is the best version of itself because that's what the chefs want.
“For us, it’s an open sandbox on everything, start to finish,” says executive chef Logan Abbe, an Elyria native and one-time Jonathon Sawyer protege.
That includes desserts and cocktails that are just as intricate and expressive — like a play on tres leches cake made with Japanese cassata and fresh strawberries ($16), or the Sour Patch ($15), a fruity sipper made with Brazilian cachaca and a tangy candied rim.
As a scratch kitchen, nearly everything is made in-house, down to the butter. And though the ingredients are always high-quality and fresh, the menu changes not based on seasonality but on diner feedback and the chefs’ creative whims, For Abbe, this uncommon approach to food offers continued opportunities to experiment and iterate.
“We get to try all these exciting techniques that curate a sense of education and evolution,” he says, “and we carry them to the finish line every day for our guests to enjoy in their final form.” thelastpagerestaurant.com
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