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Dayton man, mother are finalizing restaurant menu for September
By Lisa Abraham
Beacon Journal food writer
Published on Wednesday, Jul 08, 2009
With all of the recent restaurant closings, it's nice to be able to report on an opening, even if it is several months away.
The former Piatto restaurant, which has sat vacant on South Main Street in downtown Akron for the past three and a half years, is expected to open in September as Cilantro Thai and Sushi Restaurant.
Building owner Jeff O'Neil said he will be in town this week to sign a lease with Charlie Somtrakool, a Dayton resident who will be relocating to Akron in the next few weeks to open the restaurant.
Somtrakool said his mother recently moved to the United States from their native Thailand to help him run the kitchen and cook authentic Thai dishes, including pad Thai, duck basil, and seafood claypot. They are currently finalizing the menu.
Somtrakool, 28, has been working in restaurants for the past eight years and currently is manager of Thai 9 in Dayton. This is his first solo venture and he said he selected Akron because there are not many Thai restaurants here.
The downtown location also was desirable, he said. The fact that the former Piatto kitchen is fully equipped and will need only minor modifications should help him to get up and running quickly.
He chose the name because the herb cilantro figures so prominently in Thai cooking. ''Most people think of cilantro as Mexican because it's in salsa. We use a lot of cilantro in Thai food as well. It is a very popular and very important herb within the Thai cuisine,'' he said.
O'Neil said he was pleased to have a tenant in the building and to be bringing new business to Akron.
''This is a brand new Akron venture, not someone moving from somewhere else in the area,'' he said.
Baja Fresh leaves Ohio
The Mexican chain Baja Fresh has closed all of its Ohio locations, including the one in the Montrose area of Bath Township and several others in the Columbus area.
The restaurants were shuttered about two weeks ago. A company spokeswoman said the closings were due to the current tough economy, and the company's efforts to remain profitable and grow in the future. The Ohio stores were part of about two dozen locations the company will be closing this year.
The state could be targeted for expansion at a later time.
Wine for the drinking
The Hudson Wine Fest takes place July 18 and 19.
The event is held in the First and Main shopping district in downtown Hudson, and will feature more than 250 wines from local wineries and national and international producers.
Great Lakes Brewing will offer samples on the patio of the Vue Restaurant with a paid festival admission.
The event is 1 to 9 p.m. July 18 and 1 to 5 p.m. July 19 along Village Way in Hudson. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the gate, or $30 for a weekend pass, and include 10 tastes and a souvenir wine glass. Additional tastes are 10 for $5. There also will be food and cooking demonstrations.
The festival kicks off with a VIP event at 6 p.m. Friday at the Vue. For $125, patrons will be served hors d'oeuvres and premium wine tastes, and can partake in a silent auction.
Proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Greater Akron.
For tickets, call the Humane Society at 330-657-2010 or 330-256-8704 or purchase them at http://www.hudsonwinefestival.com.
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Wine for PBS
You can raise a glass or two to support public television and radio on July 18, when WVIZ/PBS presents Globe in a Glass, A Flavorful Tour Around the World of Wine.
There will be nearly 200 wines to sample from throughout the world, seafood from McCormick & Schmick's and a large dessert display.
The event is 7 to 10 p.m. at the studios of WVIZ and 90.3 WCPN ideastream, Idea Center, 1375 Euclid Ave., in downtown Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare district.
Tickets are $60 in advance, $65 at the door. All proceeds benefit ideastream. For tickets, call 216-916-0110, visit http://www.wviz.org/globe or send an e-mail to wine@wviz.org.
Valley View of wine
Lockkeepers Restaurant is hosting a series of wine tastings this summer beginning July 17 with guest speaker Rick Hartwigsen of Mendocino Wine Co., who will discuss organic wines and organic farming.
Future events are Aug. 14, with speaker Claudio Salvador of Firelands Winery; and Sept. 18, when the program will be on the wines of Washington.
Tickets are $25 for each event. They'll run from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lockkeepers, 8001 Rockside Road, Valley View. Call 216-524-9404 for reservations.
Wine with the museum
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is hosting a series of Natural Areas Wine Tours on Saturdays throughout the summer.
The events begin at 10 a.m. with a visit to one of the museum's nature preserves, followed by a noon visit to a winery with tastings and light lunch.
The schedule is: July 18, the Geneva Swamp and Chalet Debonne Vineyards in Madison; Aug. 22, the Burkholder Preserve and Laurello Vineyards in Geneva; Sept. 26, the Wendtwood Preserve and Jilbert Winery in Valley City.
Each tour is $35 and limited to 30 participants.
For more information or to register, call 216-231-1777 or visit http://www.cmnh.org.
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Wine at Vaccaro's
Wine with your dinner is a little less expensive on Fridays at Vaccaro's Trattoria in Bath Township.
The restaurant is offering its entire wine list at retail prices on Fridays this summer.
Vaccaro's is at 1000 Ghent Road. Call 330-666-6158.
Books at the market
Russ Vernon will be signing the West Point Market Cookbook from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Hudson Farmers Market, on the Clock Tower Green, North Main Street, Hudson.
West Point's executive chef, Tom Loraditch, will demonstrate recipes from the book using ingredients from the market.
Vernon will sign books after the market at the Learned Owl Book Shop, 204 N. Main St.
For more information on the market, visit http://www.hudsonfarmersmarket.org.
For more information about the book signing, contact the Learned Owl at 330-653-2252.
This Bud's for Hudson
The Budweiser Clydesdales will be in Hudson from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday at the Acme Fresh Market Plaza to promote the upcoming Taste of Hudson event.
The giant horses have been the advertising representatives for Anheuser-Busch for more than 75 years. The public is invited to come out and take photos with the horses.
The fifth annual Taste of Hudson outdoor food festival is Sept. 6 and 7 in downtown Hudson.
Gluten-free pasta
Dennis Altieri, whose Altieri's Pizza in Stow specializes in gluten-free items, said there will be gluten-free pasta at the upcoming Italian-American Council Festival in downtown Akron.
The Sons of Italy Lodge 685 will have gluten-free rotini along with regular penne, cavatelli and meatball subs at their booth, he said. Altieri tells me, ''Celiacs will be able to enjoy the fest and have their pasta too.''
The festival is Friday through Sunday at Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron.
Lisa A. Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.
With all of the recent restaurant closings, it's nice to be able to report on an opening, even if it is several months away.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 10:44 AM, 07/08/2009
I loved Baja Fresh. Sad.
