The importance of chemistry in the kitchen cannot be overstated. We’re not referring to the foams and powders of molecular gastronomy, but rather the harmony that exists between the key culinary players. For proof just look at the evolution of this Moreland Hills restaurant, which opened two years ago this month. Despite working together for five years at Baricelli Inn, chef-owner Paul Minnillo and opening chef Chris DiLisi just didn’t click after transitioning to Flour.

The opposite can be said of Minnillo and Matt Mytro, who signed on as chef last year. Ironically, before accepting the position at Flour, the two had never even met. But now just try prying them apart. In addition to genuinely enjoying each other’s company, the two have remarkably complementary skill sets. For his part, Minnillo brings decades of fine dining experience to the mix, while Mytro – a tireless tinkerer – brings a modernist’s point of view to the food. Together they rework Italian classics into dishes that look familiar but taste entirely fresh.

Read the full article and Cleveland Scene.

Fabulous food from us. No shopping, stress or mess for you. Now that’s a happy Thanksgiving.

Boneless Turkey Breast

Choice of two:
Salsa Verde
Natural Gravy
Butternut Squash Mostarda

Cornbread
Chestnut Sausage Stuffing
Broccoli
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Parmesan Crusted Yukon Gold Potatoes
Pumpkin Pie

$30.00 per person l Orders must be placed by November 19
Flour will be closed Thanksgiving Day.

Course 2
Mushroom Tortelli
Butternut Squash + Ricotta + Tartufo
Chardonnay

Course 3
Cioppino
Baby Fennel + Tomato + Garlic + Baby Octopus
Merlot

Course 4
Salt Crusted Strip Loin
Potato Giarossto + Pesto + Salsify
Cabernet

Course 5
Blue Cheese Figs
Prosciutto + Honey + Gorgonzola
Syrah

Think family-owned. World class. Old World Bordeaux-style blends and single varietals created with modern techniques. Did we mention we’ll be passing hot and cold hors d’oeuvres? Of course!

Justin Sauvignon Blanc
Justin Chardonnay
Landmark Chardonnay
Justin Cabernet Sauvignon
Justin Syrah

Wines available for retail sale

$35.00 plus tax and gratuity

Reservations: 216.464.3700

Perfect Pairings

Two culinary talents join forces on the East Side.

Paul Minnillo, chef and owner

Paul Minnillo likes simplicity, and you’ll find that in the food he’s making at the modern spot he has called home since April 2011. Flames dance inside the mouth of a huge wood-burning oven that’s a focal point. It churns out beautiful, wonderfully smoky 10-inch pizzas. But they are just one of the tastes from a full menu that Minnillo describes as “just really kick-ass, simple food…simple Italian food” and spans favorites such as calamari, cavatelli and lamb osso bucco. Endings and Beginnings: Minnillo split with his previous chef soon after Flour opened. “I was in the weeds. I just started calling friends to help me out for four, five, six days just to get me by.” A friend suggested that he get in touch with Mytro. “Matt stayed for a week and never left.” What Struck Him Most About Matt: “I could tell he had the feel, which is a gift. But you still have to be happy in the environment. You never know if it’s going to click or not.” On Collaborating: “We sit down and talk about menu changes and 90 percent of what Matt wants to do, I think it is fabulous. We won’t put it on unless I’ve tasted it, cooked it.” Future Plans: Minnillo and Mytro traveled to New York City together to visit gastropubs including The Spotted Pig, The Dutch and The Breslin to mine ideas for a new place they hope to open next to Flour. “We don’t want to compete with what we’re doing here, and that would be totally opposite.”

Matt Mytro, chef

Restaurant: Joined Minnillo at Flour last fall. Previously: Consulted on the openings of various restaurants including Boulevard Blue and Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar; co-founded Stove Monkeys apparel line in 2007

Until seven months ago, Matt Mytro had never met Paul Minnillo. He knew about his role in the city’s dining scene, of course, and was attracted to the idea of helping out in his kitchen. “I thought it would be a good experience and opportunity. We pretty much fell in love with each other. We just had a really good chemistry.” What Struck Him Most About Paul: “Just the pure passion and the credibility of what he’s accomplished. The guy is the first one here and the last one to leave.” On Collaborating: “It’s a pretty natural fit. Most of the time we’ll discuss something, and it’s thumbs up or thumbs down. If it’s thumbs down, we go back to the drawing board.” Simple Reminder: Mytro doesn’t always hit the mark. He recalls an initial take on Flour’s cavetelli dish, which included black trumpet mushrooms, lamb cheeks and a demi-glace. “It was good, but it was too rich. Paul was busting my chops the whole time: [puts on a deeper voice] ‘Simple stupid. Simple stupid.’ ” The end result was a version featuring pork ragu, goat cheese and English peas. Future Plans: In addition to the gastropub, Mytro says the duo will begin offering cooking classes at the restaurant this summer. “We’re looking forward to that.”

I’ll admit, it was Michael Symon’s comment on Twitter back in February that had me excited to try Flour in Moreland Hills.

“Far and away the best Italian food I have ever had in C-Town,” the Iron Chef tweeted — more than enough to get me excited to try it. A couple of weeks later, Symon cemented my commitment to get there, tweeting that, once again, he had a fantastic meal at Flour.

After one visit, it’s easy to see what the hype is all about.

On its sign, the year-old Flour is billed as a “rustic Italian kitchen.” But the restaurant owned by Paul Minnillo, who for years operated the well-known Baricelli Inn in Little Italy, is hardly rustic in appearance.

A contemporary, almost industrial, look is highlighted by stained concrete floors, vaulted ceilings and plenty of stainless steel. An open kitchen and lively bar area give it an energetic feel — it’s not your mother’s Italian restaurant. At least not atmosphere-wise.

If your mother grew up in Italy, perhaps, it MIGHT be her type of Italian restaurant. The menu is simple, mostly basic, and features the kind of things you’d expect to be served in a restaurant over there, not the Americanized pound-of-overcooked-noodles-with-a-can-of-sauce-dumped-over-it version of Italian food. At Flour, it’s the food that’s rustic.

There are house-cured meats and hand-crafted cheeses. Pasta, too, is created from scratch, and Minnillo and Executive Chef Matt Mytro use local ingredients whenever possible. Of course, with a name like Flour, dough is a focus, and wood-fired pizzas are a specialty.

My wife and I passed on the charcuterie and artisanal cheese boards to start our meal, only because one of the appetizers sounded so good: pancetta-wrapped, chorizo-stuffed dates ($12).

Five such dates arrived at our table, in a sizzling-hot skillet and resting in a roasted red pepper sauce. I know that it’s become kind of en vogue to do appetizers with dates in this town, but this was the best one I’ve had to date (pun intended). The combination of flavors — the sweetness of the dates, the fatty pancetta and the spicy chorizo — was amazing. The red pepper sauce, rather than adding to the kick of the sausage, instead gave the whole thing a smoky, deep flavor. These alone might have been worth the drive from Lake County.

We opted to forego any of the six entrees on the menu, instead deciding to try one of the pizzas and to split a pasta dish. Pasta is mostly first-course fare in genuine Italian places, and the position on the menu of Flour’s six pasta dishes reflects that, but there are entrée-sized versions, too.

We went with the cavatelli ($22), which is served with a pork ragu, goat cheese and English peas. It was a nice-sized portion, but not too big; my wife wouldn’t have been able to finish it on her own, but I could have. The cavatelli were cooked to perfection, and the ragu was meaty and really flavorful, rich without being too rich for the dense noodles and goat cheese. The goat cheese was surprisingly on the mild side, which really worked well for me.

We picked the margherita pizza ($12) out of the seven versions of Flour’s 10-inch pies and were treated to an authentic version of the dish you don’t necessarily expect to often find. With the minimalist treatment for sauce, gooey fresh mozzarella and whole basil leaves atop it, the pizza looked almost too good to eat. We, of course, brushed that notion off and enjoyed a perfect crust underneath those fresh, tasty toppings. It was chewy enough yet was still crispy on the underside. You just can’t beat wood-fired grills for pizza.

The wine list at Flour is, as you might expect, dominated by Italian bottles and is quite extensive. A pared-down, by-the-glass version is a little simpler. Draft beers include local favorites from Great Lakes Brewing Co. and Lake County’s Willoughby Brewing Co..

For dessert, we landed on what is called the Nutella & chocolate, a molten cake topped with Nutella ice cream ($8). It came adorned with fresh berries and appeared just as decadent as it tasted.

The dessert for me kind of drove home Flour’s selling point: Even the simpler dishes, that you’ve had elsewhere, stand out because of the freshness. The dough, the cheeses, the pasta — it all just tasted so fresh. It’s by design, and though Flour’s menu does change, it would seem there’s a genuine commitment to that freshness.

It’s striking, too, that you don’t really pay a premium for it. I have spent as much or more on meals at Italian places that fall short of Flour’s quality. And while we could have spent more on this meal, too, we also could have chosen to spend less.

I loved the contrast of Flour’s hip, modern atmosphere and the simple Italian food of its kitchen, and the food was great. If there was any hiccup to complain about, it was that our appetizer took a while to come out, and that kind of threw off the timing of our next course. Otherwise, the service was excellent.

Like a certain Iron Chef, I was impressed by Flour. And like that Iron Chef, I will certainly return.