Appetizing bites about Jewish chefs
and restaurateurs in Northeast Ohio Compiled by Becky Raspe
Amba prepares for move into physical space
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, chefs around the country opened ghost kitchens that operated delivery and pickup only – catering to customers that couldn’t or wouldn’t dine out. Cleveland chef Doug Katz was one of those innovators, and his Indian-inspired concept Amba is now preparing to set down roots in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood’s Hingetown district. Located at 1430 W. 28th St., Katz told the Cleveland Jewish News in April that the restaurant is planning for a fall opening. “I just love the area, I love what people are doing there and the level of creativity there is great,” he says. “I think the neighborhood is very diverse with people who are interested in trying sort of new cuisine. So, Amba fits well in that neighborhood. And I think that Amba is our most creative Indian fusion concept. It’s out of the box and I think that is the perfect neighborhood to introduce that space.” Katz’s other ghost kitchen, Chimi, which offers a South American-inspired menu, operates out of the kitchen at 1975 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. Until the fall opening, Amba’s orders will continue to come out of that kitchen as well. Katz also owns Zhug, a Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant at 12413 Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights. He closed the fast-casual Indian/Thai bowl restaurant Chutney B at Van Aken District’s Market Hall in Shaker Heights in June.
Blu, the Restaurant
Blu, the Restaurant’s Bibb salad.
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Jstyle
Summer 2021
Amba Above: Amba’s chicken masala. Below: Amba’s chickpea fritters.
Blu reopens, next Friedlander concept coming soon
Armed with a new menu, decor, staff and head chef, Brad Friedlander’s Blu, the Restaurant reopened April 28 at 3355 Richmond Road in Beachwood. “We have a new staff and a new chef that we searched the country for and brought here from Texas. And he’s extremely talented,” Friedlander said in April. “I’ve worked with a lot of talented chefs in the past, but this is exciting for the team.” The new chef, Brian Moses, formerly of Olive & June restaurant in Austin, put together a new menu, which Friedlander says “is pretty exciting.” Moses is also Jewish, having been raised in a Conservative Jewish home in Fort Worth, Texas. “(It’s) a completely new menu and just bringing in a different kind and style of food,” Moses told the CJN in April. “It’s seafood-focused like it has been, but with the improvements made to the
dining area, it’s just a little bit nicer. That is the vibe we wanted to go with.” Friedlander’s other restaurant on site, Rosso Italia, had only been open a few months before the pandemic hit Ohio, and won’t reopen. He is currently planning a new concept there, Cut 151, which has a projected August opening. “The vibe will be a warm, sexy and very intimate restaurant,” he says.
Passion puff dessert from Blu, the Restaurant.
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