Larder Delicatessen & Bakery: Cleveland's 25 Best Restaurants
Don't forget about the second half of Larder's name — the Hingetown spot's bakery pumps out desserts and breads that are vital to the operation.
The deli part of the Hingetown’s 1854-built brick firehouse gets most of the credit.
And rightfully so, Jeremy Umansky’s newfound approach to Jewish cooking, which centers around a mold called koji that speeds up the curing process, earned a James Beard nomination on the back of its pastrami, fried chicken and matzo ball soup.
But after my first visit in 2018, I couldn't stop talking about the bread pudding ($4). Divinely sweet with creamy custard elegantly adorning fluffy rye bread, it changed my perception of the old-school dessert.
Baker and co-owner Allie La Valle-Umansky, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America's Baking and Pastry Arts program, is used to hearing similar revelations over desserts such as the soft black-and-white cookies ($3), babka ($9), cheesecake ($7) and even the pastrami's sour rye ($13), which gets a umami flavor from koji rice Amazake.
"The idea," says Larder's quiet superstar, "is to bring back these traditional desserts and dishes and put a modern lens on them."larderdb.com
At the trendiest and most coveted tables in Northeast Ohio, the dishes and the vibe is an extension of the creatives in the kitchen. Get to know them as part of 2023's Best Restaurants issue. By Anthony Elder, Annie Nickoloff, Cassie Tomaselli and Patrick Williams
