Alea delivers dazzling Mediterranean fare in Cleveland’s Hingetown neighborhood - cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Lavish clusters of red and green grapes gently roast on a flame-licked grate while their delicate skins soften and bruise. The sweet juice inside warms and intensifies in the heat. A meaty pork rib chop, tender and pink, with a deep smoky scent from the wood-fired grill, nestles atop a pale celeriac puree, made rich and creamy, then whipped to a gossamer lightness.

So, I know food porn isn’t appreciated like it used to be, but it’s hard to dial back when describing the almost unhinged voluptuous flavors rolling out of the kitchen, or more likely, off of the wood-stoked grill and griddle, at Alea. Take a chair at the L-shaped bar in the craft-cement-chic restaurant in Hingetown (more about that later) and you’ll have a ring-side seat to the fiery goings-on. It’s the heart of the place, where almost everything is coaxed into flame-induced smoky goodness by chef/owner Athan Zarnas. A former kitchen gun-for-hire around town, his heritage is Greek, and his love for Mediterranean tastes abounds.

Thus, the shared-plates menu, divided into small, medium and large, reflects an intriguing mash-up of all things Aegean and more, combining familiar and unexpected pleasures, like the succulent Pork Chop dish above, or a Sweet Potato, very slowly roasted to caramelize the flavor and then served with thick Greek yogurt for richness, Egyptian peanut dukkah topping (a sesame seed and cumin-dominant spice and ground peanut mix) for flavor and crunch, and chile for that little extra kick. The preparation turns a usual side dish into an unexpected star, full of magical tastes and marvelous textures.

Small plates: Roasted marrow with gremolata and bottarga. Casually elegant intriguing dishes offers ambitious dining in Hingetown at Alea in Cleveland. David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

Two other intriguing dishes illuminate Alea’s’s capacity to raise the bar, playing with food at a fine altitude. A simple salad of Chicories, Belgian endive and radicchio to be specific, assumes architectural importance when the leaves are arranged in stacked concentric circles, with each leaf holding a bit of piquant walnut dressing and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for another layer of flavor. It’s the ideal solution to the shared salad, finger food deluxe for a non-fastidious crowd.

The perfect resolution to sharing the Malfatti, my new all-time favorite starch, is for everyone to order their own. The name may mean “badly-formed” but who cares about looks when, browned on the griddle, bathed in butter, then showered with Pecorino cheese, these fat little ricotta dumplings are like the best, most tender, delicious gnocchi ever. You’ll probably want your own Roasted Marrow as well. The irresistible creamy melt-in-your mouth unctuousness of the dish is spiked with a briny sprinkle of grated bottarga (dried Mediterranean fish roe) and a nicely astringent parsley, lemon and onion salad.

Zarnas excels at meaty dishes, as you would expect from a man with a grill. A large plate of perfectly grilled juicy picanha (sirloin cap) steak, a cut that usually doesn’t appear on American menus, unless you’re at a Brazilian steakhouse, sports a glossy fig glaze that provides a lovely nuance of sweetness, and includes a slightly bitter, but health-affirming braised rapini (broccoli rabe) and a thick sauce of Taleggio cheese that may or may not appeal, depending where you are on the strong aroma cheese spectrum.

The Pasteurized Chicken, one half of a bird, is given a good long soak in a yogurt marinade, then roasted and finished on the grill to caramelize the milk solids that give the skin a unique crackling crunch while maintaining a moist interior. Though it’s a very nice bird, an extra flavor beside the grilled Meyer lemon and a handful of uninspired herb salad, heavy on the parsley, would have made the dish a little more interesting and the $28.00 price a more palatable, especially compared to the many-splendored pork chop at the same price.

As for dessert, Zarna manages to resist the siren song of the three C’s -- cheesecake, crème brulee, and chocolate anything -- and stay the course in the Mediterranean theme. There’s a divinely decadent Panna Cotta with caramelized honey and a handful of delicate granola-like sesame crisp, a light and silky Gorgonzola Dolce with a slice of rustic walnut cake that provides two distinct tastes that charmingly complement each other, and an Olive Oil Cake that needs work. It was dry and insipid, though the rich creamy mascarpone topping was some consolation.

A grateful word or two about the service, which was polished, professional, engaged and engaging, with a server who will not only welcome you back after a week’s absence, but also remembers what you had to drink. It’s a minor miracle, considering that Alea has been open just over two months.

All this takes place, as mentioned above, in Hingetown, which is on the brink of a major population influx. With its industrial artisan chic and a self-assured chef/owner who is forging his identity with an impressive menu made up of equal amounts of creativity, sophistication, and charm, the restaurant seems poised to be the right restaurant at the right time in the right place. Alea translated from the Italian means risk. But I’ll take the odds that Athan Zarna is in for a good long run.

TASTE BITES:

Alea

Where: 2912 Church Ave. Cleveland, OH 44113

Call: 216-912-8890

Online: aleacle.com

Hours: 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, closed Sunday-Monday.

Prices: Small Plates $8.00-$18.00; Medium Plates $12-.00-$17.00; Large Plates $28.00-$35.00; Desserts $12.00-$13.00.

Reservations: Only for tables of six or more.

Credit Cards: All major cards accepted

Kid-friendliness: This is grown-up food. Get a sitter, everyone will be happier.

Bar Service: One of the best alternative wine menus in the region, with an almost exclusive list of natural, organic, biodynamic, and sustainable varieties. Plus fine craft cocktails and a few well-selected beers.

Accessibility: Easy access throughout.

Grade: ****

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Alea delivers dazzling Mediterranean fare in Cleveland’s Hingetown neighborhood - cleveland.com

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