Downtown Cleveland Dining

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Add an eleventh restaurant to Zack Bruell's formidable group of eateries. Bruell has formed a partnership with the new Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel, slated for a June opening.

The owner of Parallax, L'Albatros, Cowell & Hubbard and 7 other Cleveland eateries will help to open The Burnham restaurant in the 600-room Hilton, 100 Lakeside Ave. East, next to the new Cleveland Convention Center.

Bruell is creating a modern American menu - his first bill of fare inspired by the cuisines of the New World - in concert with the Hilton Cleveland Downtown's French-born executive chef Maxime Kien, and another Ohioan, Ryan Beck, who will serve as chef de cuisine for The Burnham's two restaurants.

Carolyn Deming, spokeswoman for the Hilton Cleveland Downtown, says that despite the hotel chain's corporate fire power executives believed it crucial that it bring in a chef well-versed in the local restaurant scene.

"Hilton is a global institution, but [this] hotel is in Cleveland. We want to ensure we're doing right by Clevelanders - and nobody knows the Cleveland restaurant scene like Zack Bruell, " Deming says.

Bruell says he has been involved in opening upwards of 20 restaurants in Cleveland and other parts of the nation. He adds that accepted the challenges this latest venture poses a number of other reasons.

"First off, I understand the Cleveland market. How many times have you see somebody come in from out-of-town who has the talent but who doesn't understand what local customers want? I grew up here and have been back for 34 years. I guess I just 'get' Cleveland."

But it's more than the addition of a new hotel on the city's hospitality landscape, and the coming of the Republican National Convention this July, Bruell says.

"It's about bringing more people to the city - bringing major conventions to that convention center, " he says.

"This project has the possibility being one of the projects that's crucial to the renaissance of downtown Cleveland. One of the things that jump-started that renaissance is the Cleveland Convention Center - and the one missing link to that was a hotel directly associated with the Convention Center, " Bruell says.

With the construction of new guest accommodations, condos and other residences, Bruell adds that he has seen their impact on his existing Cleveland restaurants.

"These rooms and buildings bring walk-in traffic. These people who come to conventions, come to visit or live here want to experience Cleveland. The way I see it, the more people who are in the central business district in downtown Cleveland, the better it is for everybody."

The Burnham's name honors famed urban designer Daniel Burnham, an architect who designed the 1903 Group Plan in Cleveland where the Hilton is being built as well as Flatiron Building in New York City and helped plan the 1893 Chicago World's Fair exhibition.

When it opens, The Burnham will occupy two levels and seat 217 guests. Its design includes an open kitchen motif and a bar area, terrace and private dining space.

Because the restaurant will feature two dining areas, Bruell, Kien and Beck are developing a pair of menus - both of them a work-in-progress, Bruell says.

The flavors, however, "will be very different from all my other restaurants, " Bruell says.

He prefaces by explaining that the menu "isn't Asian-influenced, European-inspired or an international concept.

"I'm talking about a fusion of American regional dishes - things like Grilled Walleye With Charred Corn Sauce, Sweet Pepper Relish and Sauteed Rhubarb. Or a Strip Steak With Goat Cheese Creme Brullee and Wild Mushrooms. Or Buffalo Wing-Style Pizza with onion, celery root confit and Blue Cheese Crema. Or how about Bread Pudding With Foie Gras and Gizzards, with a Cabernet Sauce."

Those are dishes aimed for the main dining room, which Bruell describes as a more formal dining setting where meals typically progress through appetizer, salad, entree and dessert courses. For the more casual diners seated in the bar area, the entire emphasis will be on small plates.

"The idea will be to order three or four small plates, " he says. "We're talking about things boudin sausage with mashed potatoes; what's more 'Cleveland' than sausage with potatoes? Or fried confit of chicken thighs with Swiss cheese dumplings - dumplings are quintessential Cleveland.

"We're playing with ideas like garlic-and-onion beignets with malt vinegar aioli, or a mac-and-cheese bowl topped with greens and pork belly, a disc of jalapeno corn bread on top, and a sherry vinegar sauce, " Bruell adds.