Ponte Vecchio, a FANTASTIC Place to Celebrate! by Michelle

For my first contribution to our blog, I wanted to tell you about one of my favorite restaurants in all of Cleveland called Ponte Vecchio. Matt and I love to find new and exciting places in the Cleveland area to eat that are not chain restaurants. We have been to Ponte Vecchio a few times now, and everything about the restaurant is absolutely fantastic.

Last night we were celebrating my birthday, so of course this restaurant was first on our list. I found this place a few years ago on a website called Opentable.com, where you can make online dinner reservations for many restaurants in the Cleveland area. Many of them are a bit pricey, but some are not. They give you a link to each restaurant's menu so you can check it out before you go. We have found some of the most amazing restaurants in Cleveland on here, and would not have known about them if it weren't for Opentable! Also once you book (and show up) to 20 reservations on Opentable, you get a $25 gift card to use at any of their restaurants.

The menu at Ponte Vecchio has a wide variety of options, from many creative italian dishes to "meat and potatoes" type meals. We always try something new, and the menu seems to change frequently. I took pictures of everything I ordered to share with you(except the calamari, we were starving and forgot) which got us some funny looks from our neighbors. But I knew the Corkscrew girls would enjoy the pics so who cares!

The first picture is of the actual restaurant from their website. The view is really great and the restaurant interior is really neat. (brick interior walls, exposed beams, etc.) I got the Sweet Potato Risotto with lump crab, caramelized shallots and scallion oil. YUM! Most of what you see in the pic is chunks of sweet potato and huge amounts of crab. (those are NOT carrots, yuck. haha). Matt got the Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderlion with apple fennel risotto and gorgonzola fondue. Another FANTASTIC meal, I got to try a little of his of course and it was GREAT! However the dessert here is our favorite part of the meal. It is called the Chocolate Bounty Cake, and it basically reminds me of a giant, rich Ho-Ho. It's a chocolate torte cake, and has a thick layer of chocolate ganache on the outside. The picture pretty much explains it all!

Everyone should get a chance to try this place, and I highly recommend venturing out to the Warehouse District in Cleveland to have one of the best meals ever!