Happy hour project: Lakewood’s Rood shows how delicious sustainability can be

The fun dining room at Rood.

What started as a pre-pandemic restaurant for inventive sliders and pie slices has tweaked its concept to feature seasonal small plates and entrees, alongside a craft cocktail menu.

However, since being taken over by Cory Hajde at Vessel Hospitality and adding chef Josh Henrickson and pastry chef Annabelle Andricks to the team, it has cemented itself as one of the go-to dining destinations on the West Side.

Rood, 17001 Madison Avenue, is a vibrant restaurant focusing on globally inspired seasonal flavors (with delicious pies and desserts, of course) with an emphasis on zero waste.

Sustainability is key to Henrickson’s menu creation, but that doesn’t mean his food is lacking in flavor. He recently added The 7, a seven-course menu option for $100 per person. Each dish highlights his zero-waste initiative alongside creative, seasonal flavors that aren’t always on the regular menu.

Spike cake from Rood.

And if anyone was worried when Rood announced that Andricks would be expanding the dessert menu beyond pie, one bite of anything she creates should quell your fears. Whether it’s homemade ice cream and sorbet or her take on Rood’s fan-favorite pie slices, Andricks is a gift to the Cleveland dessert community.

Happy hour is a great way to get acquainted with Rood, or at least to make it a regular stop in your rotation. The seasonal menu features $10 small plates and desserts, $10 cocktails and $5 beer and wine pours. Our visit on a weekday afternoon was a warm and welcoming reprieve from the early winter weather outside.

The vibe of Rood is unpretentious, but still elevated — like visiting your friend’s apartment who has the coolest style. An open-concept dining room features kitschy elements — the bar that looks like an old-school camper or the massive marquee boasting tongue-in-cheek messages, for example.

As cocktail enthusiasts, we opted to try some of the signatures. Paris opted for the Hi-Lo Fi — Ketel One vodka, Lo-Fi Amaro, Cointreau, rose, hibiscus and lime made it a floral, yet dynamic take on a Cosmopolitan.

Alex tried the Oi Boy, or Rood’s version of a dirty martini. Roku Gin, sake vermouth, cucumber brine and an optional gochugaru (Korean chili powder) tincture made it refreshing, slightly spicy and perfectly balanced.

Okinawa potato from Rood's happy hour menu.

To complement our dessert, we also split a Dirty Chai, or Rood’s take on an espresso martini. Vodka, coffee liqueur, vermouth amaro, Guardian Cold Brew and chai make it taste like a cross between coffee and tea, with a boozy twist.

Deciding what to eat out of the impressive happy hour menu was also a daunting task. And don’t get us started on the regular menu. We’re already making plans to come back to try dishes like Stoney Creek Mushroom stroganoff koji dry-aged meatloaf.

We opted for three small plates to split — the Okinawa potato, mussels and togarashi puree and the BBQ’d heirloom carrot. The three dishes showcase Henrickson’s range of flavors and inventive technique.

The Okinawa potato featured smashed and fried purple potatoes. Kokoborrego goat milk labneh, leek and mustard seed chili crisp and pecan dukkah. If you don’t know what half of those words mean, you should just trust the chef. The result is a crispy potato with creamy flavors that are tangy, savory and zesty. The language of delicious flavor is something we all can understand.

The campy (literally) bar at Rood.

The BBQ’d heirloom carrot was Alex’s favorite of the three. Trio-color carrots rubbed with granny smith apple za’atar are sliced. Then, they’re dotted with coconut harissa, carrot top salsa and fried quinoa for an umami bomb that’s far from your average roasted carrot. The presentation is as dynamic as the flavor, and the dish demonstrates Henrickson’s ability to reduce waste by using the entire carrot, including the tops.

The cleveland.com Happy Hour Project heads to Rood in Lakewood.

Paris favored the mussels. They’re cooked just right and tossed in a sauce with flavors of shallot, lemongrass and garlic. The shells are placed on top of the puree that highlights togarashi, which is a Japanese seven-spice blend. Plus, it’s served with a perfectly grilled piece of scallion focaccia to soak it all up.

As we previously teased, you can’t go to Rood without getting dessert. Our indecisiveness was strong that day, so we opted for both happy hour options — the layered cake and the spike cake. Each one deserves its own moment of recognition.

The layered cake is more than meets the eye, featuring chocolate orange mousse, cherry-rose curd and a cherry compote. It’s served with a scoop of the salted and smoked vanilla bean buttermilk ice cream which deserves its own praise.

The spike cake was just as exciting A glazed spice cake is dense in a good way and features marinated orange, Aleppo orange caramel and caramel panna cotta. The apple cider bellini sorbet on the side, yet again, threatens to steal the show from this dynamic and interesting dessert.

For West Side foodies, Rood happy hour is a must. We’re already making plans to go back to try the Lake Erie wings made with karaage-fried walleye collars and the crispy Brussels. Oh and planning our next Sunday brunch event, which is now a permanent fixture at Rood.

Additionally, both Henrickson and Andricks were made partners of the restaurant in November, so the winter is a great time to stop by and congratulate them on their delicious feats.

Rood, 17001 Madison Ave., Lakewood

Happy Hour: 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday

Vibe: Casual, fun

Food: Seasonal small plates with an emphasis on sustainability

Beverages: Signature cocktails, beer and wine by the glass

Budget: $30-$50

This year it costs more to dine out. Despite tight budgets, most people – especially extroverts like reporters Paris Wolfe and Alex Darus — need to get out. And, like everyone we need to support local restaurants to keep them in business. Sometimes that may be as simple as a Happy Hour dinner. So, we launched “The Happy Hour Project.” Paris and Alex will regularly visit independent restaurants in Northeast Ohio for happy hour and report back on the vibe, food and cocktails and how they’ll impact your budget.

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