It’s been a season of change at the Plum, Cleveland Magazine’s 2017 best new restaurant winner. The Ohio City spot, known for its adventurous menu that changes every few weeks, won us over with crowd-pleasers such as crispy chicken feet and creamed spelt. In November, Warren’s Spirited Kitchen’s Vince Thomascik joined chef and co-owner Brett Sawyer as Plum’s new chef de cuisine and even more changes are planned for the New Year. Here are three more reasons to get a table and dive in.
New name: When the Plum launched in May 2016, the owners settled on a mouthful: The Plum Cafe & Kitchen. But loyalists quickly started referring to the restaurant lovingly as the Plum, and the owners decided they weren’t so keen on a cafe aspect anymore. An Aug. 29 Instagram video made it official. “It’s so funny that it’s such a big deal, but it was,” Sawyer says. “People commented on it and they really seemed to notice that we did that. The name’s more in sync with who we are.”
Snack menu: Also in August, the Plum kicked lunch to the curb and debuted a snack time menu that’s a more playful version of a bar menu. Look for fun options such as a mini mac burger ($4) and Ma’s pastelillos ($3), which resemble a Puerto Rican empanada made daily by Sawyer’s mom. “It’s something I grew up eating and I love them,” he says. “Usually I only get them for holidays.”
Saturday brunch: As if we couldn’t love Saturdays enough, Sawyer unveiled a brunch menu Nov. 18. But in an unexpected twist, there will be four traditional morning options, such as two eggs, toast and corned beef hash, and then four Plum-esque dishes, such as beet pancakes with house-made stracciatella, honey and walnuts. “We’re trying to make it the type of brunch where there’s the things we like to do,” Sawyer says. “But there’s that everyday diner food — just done well.”
