The Umami Moto food truck team is opening a restaurant! Since I love their Asian fusion and ethnically inspired cuisine, I couldn’t resist the preview night last Friday.
The HIPP will be located in the historic Agora in Midtown Cleveland and open for lunch later this week. Jae and Sandy hope to add a happy hour and themed dinner events as the kinks are worked out, with a grand opening scheduled for May 2012.
The HIPP gets its name from a short phase in which the building was called “The New Hippodrome” and serves as an homage to Cleveland history. As an homage to their lime green truck, the interior got some lime green pillars:
The concept for The HIPP is somewhat complex, but designed to provide the easiest experience for the customer. Starting in the parking lot, the ethnically influenced menu will be displayed all the way into actual restaurant, where you can quickly place your order at the counter and pay, then proceed to the bar, where a bartender will serve you your drinks. You then chose a table, at which point a waiter takes over who will serve your food when it is ready. Once you are done eating, you can simply leave, as you have already payed – so if there’s a meeting after lunch or you have a bus to catch, not a problem.
The HIPP will also offer food and drink pairings, with several non-alcoholic mixed drinks and Italian sodas on the menu. Food wise expect a colorful mix of Internationally inspired dishes all the components of which will be house made, including breads, sausages and condiments. Furthermore, with two campuses nearby to serve, there will be a coffee bar and pastries available.
Sound enticing? Sure did to me!
Now, at the preview night, a variety of hors d’oeuvres was served while the crowd could mingle, chat, and learn about the plans for the new restaurant.
There were mozzarella balls breaded with rice and fried to crispy perfection, polenta cakes topped with braised pork and salsa that melted in your mouth, baguette topped with house cured salmon, pickles and green mayo, beef strudels (pate wrapped in dough topped with black sesame) and tender and juicy chicken satay. Later on, house made sausage and meatballs were whipped out spontaneously, because food for 400 people was gone in 2 hours!
Umami Moto fans, don’t despair – while Sandy and Jaw have hired 10 new people to get the HIPP up and running, their truck will be out and about every day for lunch as normal. Mark your calendars to make some space for a lunch at the HIPP – it promises to be very much worth it!
The Umami Moto food truck team is opening a restaurant! Since I love their Asian fusion and ethnically inspired cuisine, I couldn’t resist the preview night last Friday.
The HIPP will be located in the historic Agora in Midtown Cleveland and open for lunch later this week. Jae and Sandy hope to add a happy hour and themed dinner events as the kinks are worked out, with a grand opening scheduled for May 2012.
The HIPP gets its name from a short phase in which the building was called “The New Hippodrome” and serves as an homage to Cleveland history. As an homage to their lime green truck, the interior got some lime green pillars:
The concept for The HIPP is somewhat complex, but designed to provide the easiest experience for the customer. Starting in the parking lot, the ethnically influenced menu will be displayed all the way into actual restaurant, where you can quickly place your order at the counter and pay, then proceed to the bar, where a bartender will serve you your drinks. You then chose a table, at which point a waiter takes over who will serve your food when it is ready. Once you are done eating, you can simply leave, as you have already payed – so if there’s a meeting after lunch or you have a bus to catch, not a problem.
The HIPP will also offer food and drink pairings, with several non-alcoholic mixed drinks and Italian sodas on the menu. Food wise expect a colorful mix of Internationally inspired dishes all the components of which will be house made, including breads, sausages and condiments. Furthermore, with two campuses nearby to serve, there will be a coffee bar and pastries available.
Sound enticing? Sure did to me!
Now, at the preview night, a variety of hors d’oeuvres was served while the crowd could mingle, chat, and learn about the plans for the new restaurant.
There were mozzarella balls breaded with rice and fried to crispy perfection, polenta cakes topped with braised pork and salsa that melted in your mouth, baguette topped with house cured salmon, pickles and green mayo, beef strudels (pate wrapped in dough topped with black sesame) and tender and juicy chicken satay. Later on, house made sausage and meatballs were whipped out spontaneously, because food for 400 people was gone in 2 hours!
Umami Moto fans, don’t despair – while Sandy and Jaw have hired 10 new people to get the HIPP up and running, their truck will be out and about every day for lunch as normal. Mark your calendars to make some space for a lunch at the HIPP – it promises to be very much worth it!