Why? Nashville!

One of the things I love about CLE is that we’re in a great location for a quick weekend trip here or there.  Hop on a plane and you’re an hour from D.C. or Chicago.  And, as I discovered this weekend, two hours from Nashville.  A group of us headed to Nashville to celebrate my CLEfriend Beth’s bachelorette party (you  may remember Beth from her guest post).

Yup, that’s Hungry in Cleveland you see in the picture too.  So, for any of you who might be thinking of quick country weekend getaway, here’s where we went:

We started on Saturday at the Grand Ole Opry.  We took a “backstage” tour, where you see the Opry through the eyes of an artist performing there, including getting to stand out on stage and sing (“You are My Sunshine,” but still…).  In a complete fail, I left my camera at the hotel for this portion of the trip.  After the Opry tour, we headed to Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  This hotel rivals anything you’d find in Vegas, with an indoor waterway, a garden conservatory, and tons of shops and restaurants.  After a margarita break at Solario (and some delicious guacamole too), we went back to our hotel to get ready for an evening on the town.

The bachelorette bash started our evening with dinner at Cabana, where no fewer than 5 other bachelorette parties were also getting ready for a fun night. The food was delicious – I enjoyed peach-glazed mahi served on top of mashed sweet potatoes and English peas – and the atmosphere was relaxed.  The restaurant had huge garage doors on two walls, turning the one room into a huge patio.  We enjoyed some yummy “Sweetini’s” too…sweet tea martinis…how southern!  But the best part was the dessert…

We shared a blueberry lemon poppyseed bread puddin (seriously, the menu dropped the “g”) that was out of this world good.  It tasted like the best breakfast muffin I’ve ever had, but with ice cream and cream anglaise.  Delicious!

Then we headed downtown to Broadway.

Since we spent both Saturday and Sunday down on Broadway, I’ll give you the quick rundown of some of our favorite bars: The Second Fiddle, The Big Bang Dueling Pianos (totally reminded me of how much I loved Howl at the Moon), Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, Wildhorse Saloon (line dancing lessons throughout the night), and Wanna B’s Karaoke Club.

We also checked out Jack’s Bar-B-Que on Sunday.  This simple, cafeteria-style restaurant dishes up some of the best Bar-B-Que in Nashville.  I had the pulled pork shoulder, with sides of baked beans (with green peppers…yum!) and creamed corn.  You also can choose the type of BBQ sauce you like – Tennessee (vinegar-based), Texas (sweet hot), or Carolina (mild sweet).  I divided my plate in half and had both the Texas and Carolina…finger-lickin’ good!  We also ended up at Mike’s Ice Cream Fountain, where I recommend the Red Velvet Cake ice cream - it has pieces of red velvet cake and a cream cheese icing swirl!

Finally, on Monday morning, we hit the famous Pancake Pantry, where the stars go to eat pancakes.

We didn’t see any stars, but we did have some yummy pancakes and some very strong coffee.

All in all, a great weekend celebrating one of my dearest friends.  Nashville is a fun town, especially if you love country music, and it’s just a quick flight from CLE.  Check it out sometime!

How was your holiday weekend?  What fun things did you do?

Why? Emerging Chefs Mardi Gras en Mai!

Last night, CLEguy and I kicked off the holiday weekend with some NOLA flair at the Emerging Chefs Mardi Gras en Mai event.  Emerging Chefs once again lived up to their tagline of “Big Flavors, Bold Venues.”  Mardi Gras en Mai was held at 2020 Center Street on the West Bank of the Flats.  The venue already boasted amazing Mardi Gras mask artwork, providing the perfect setting for our dinner.

We were greeted at the door with beads, masks, and more Mardi Gras swag, plus Emerging Chefs’ very own jester, partner David Moss.  The event space was filled with natural light and gave the venue almost an outdoor-party feel.

Of course, no party is complete without fun guests.  We got together one fabulous table - Hungry in Cleveland, Cleveland Food and Brews, Poise in Parma, Clue Into Cleveland, The Journeyman Cook, and Edsel Little, along with significant others – and we made for quite the festive bunch.

Our executive chef for the night was Chris Quinn from U.S. Foodservice.  Chef Quinn was a gracious host – spending time both with the entire group and one-on-one discussing the food and the creative process of creating the menu.  Our mixologist for the night was the always-entertaining Joe DeLuca.

Our amuse was a salad of microgreens with a jambalaya puree and fleur-de-lis cracker.

The jambalaya puree was fantastic, with a heat that built on the palate.  The microgreens added a nice freshness to the dish.  The cracker was a bit heavy for my taste, but all around this was a great teaser of the NOLA flavors to come.

Our first course was an ettoufee pierogi with an herbed creme fraiche and crispy crawfish tail.  It was served with a deconstructed hurricane drink.

The pierogi was delicious – with a creamy, spicy crawfish filling.  The crawfish tail was actually encrusted with sugar and added the Emerging Chefs playfulness we’ve come to expect at these events.

The deconstructed hurricane was a challenge.  The alcohol was in Jell-O shot form and was meant to be mixed with the grenadine in the glass.  It took awhile to get the right combination, but when you did, the flavors came together as one tasty beverage.

Our next course was toast with olive tapenade, served with sea scallop mousse and a seared scallop with tangerine sugar.  And our drink was served in an empty egg shell…this is Emerging Chefs, after all!

The scallop dish was my favorite of the evening.  Inspired by the New Orleans muffaletta sandwich, it combined salty and sweet flavors perfectly.  And I have to admit I was apprehensive about sea scallop mousse, but this somewhat creamy, somewhat gel-like creation was delicious.  The scallop on top was done just right.

The drink was a ramos gin fizz, made with gin, egg white, orange flower water, and sugar.  It was delicious and playful and I found myself wishing for more than just an eggshell’s worth.

Next up was voodoo chicken.

Chef Quinn placed dry ice in the bottom dish, so the voodoo chicken literally smoked mysteriously as it was served.  The chicken had a delicious sweet, tangy, hot sauce, with fruit and chili flavors blending perfectly.  This dish was also served with cornmeal-encrusted okra, which I’m pretty sure I could eat an entire bowl of.

Chef Quinn said he was inspired by this mask to do a voodoo dish…

I’m sure you can see why!

Our intermezzo was a habanero mango popsicle, served with raspberry “jam.”  I’ll let that sink in while you check out the picture.

Deliciousness on a stick!  This combination of hot and sweet made you feel like a kid on a hot day, but with a very advanced palate.  I think CLEguy wishes these were sold by the box at Giant Eagle!

Next up, we had a course that had everyone’s mouths watering both from the description and the smells wafting from the kitchen.  This was veal strip loin with an espresso rub and bourbon and Dr. Pepper glaze.  The veal was topped with a corn fritter and haricot verts and a skewer of Dr. Pepper jelly beans (of course).

The sauce was delicious.  I don’t like bourbon and I don’t like Dr. Pepper, but somehow, despite being able to identify those flavors, the combination just worked.  The corn fritter added great texture to the dish, as did the crisp haricot verts.  The veal was slightly over-cooked, but the sauce as well as the fat on the meat added needed moisture.  All in all, a fantastic dish and definitely my runner-up to the muffaletta for favorite of the night.

Last but not least was dessert – homemade beignets served with melted chocolate ganache, cream anglaise, and flavored sugars.  Our night cap was a cafe au lait.

My favorite was combining the espresso and vanilla sugars with cream anglaise for dipping.  Delicious!  As if that weren’t enough sweetness, we were sent home with king cake cupcakes.

Emerging Chefs put on another fantastic event, with amazing food, great company, and just a lot of fun.  What a great start to summer!  Stay tuned for more information on their June event – Sushi at Sunset!

Check out Clue Into Cleveland’s review here, Poise in Parma’s review here, and Cleveland Food and Brews’ review here.

***Disclosure: I was invited to attend Emerging Chefs Mardi Gras en Mai with a Media Pass.  CLEguy’s admission was not included.  As always, all opinions in this post are 100% my own (and the pictures are 100% CLEguy’s).***

Why? Silver Spoon Awards!

Last night, CLEguy and I attended the 17th Annual Cleveland Magazine Silver Spoon Awards party to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.  Our dear blend from Poise in Parma was the event coordinator and when she asked for volunteers to work at the event, we happily obliged.  Luckily, before our shift started, we had a chance to walk around and take in all the deliciousness.  I felt like I was on an episode of Top Chef, except these chefs were all winners (and I look nothing like Padma).

There were so many notable CLE restaurants and so much good food, that I’ll just give you a quick sample of some of our favorites:

Angelo’s Pizza - It’s clear why this restaurant won the Best Pizza Silver Spoon Award.  We sampled the seafood pizza, which had a delicious lobster cream sauce, shrimp, crab, and spinach.  And carbs on top of carbs can never be bad, which is why I loved the baked potato pizza, with mashed potatoes, bacon, three kinds of cheese, and red onion.

Bac Asian American Bistro and Bar – Bac offered three dishes, all of which were sensational.  The green papaya salad was light and fresh, topped with peanuts.  The classic lo mein noodles were packed with crisp veggies.  And the bacon guacamole with wonton crisps…superb!

Chinato and L’Albatros - Two of the most palate-challenging dishes of the evening, but would you expect any less from Zack Bruell?  Chinato’s calamari alla primavera was delicious – the sauce was creamy and the calamari was perfectly cooked.  L’Albatros’  bite of glazed pork belly with sunchoke puree had me wishing for an entire meal of it. Also, while at that table, we found out about the Tour de Bruell – a challenge to have dinner at all 4 of Zack Bruell’s restaurants.  The first person to complete the tour wins a progressive dinner with Zack Bruell.  On your mark, get set, go!

Deagan’s Kitchen and Bar – The new restaurant I can’t say enough good things about.  Deagan’s shrimp tacos (their most popular menu item) were no less of a hit at the Silver Spoon Awards.  I also have to rave about the friendliness of everyone at this table – from Daniel Deagan on down.  The folks at Deagan’s are geniunely nice people who love what they do.

Mitchell’s Fish Market – This was CLEguy’s favorite table of the night and I have to agree that Mitchell’s did a great job.  The ahi tuna wontons were delicious – the wonton was light and crispy and there was a generous portion of tuna and cucumber on each.  The mini crab cakes were also fantastic – almost completely crab meat, with very little filler and served on a delicious corn slaw.  Props for food that was both delicious and easy to eat while walking, balancing a drink, etc.

AMP 150 - Soup.  Chef Ellis Cooley knows what one of his biggest strengths is and he played to it with a delicious, frothy Vidalia onion soup.  Seasonally, this soup just replaced the mushroom soup on the menu at AMP 150, so get over there and try it for yourself.

Mama Roberto’s – Holy cannoli!  Mama Roberto’s dished up full-size, ridiculously yummy cannoli.

Sweet Melissa’s – A dessert wonderland.  My favorite was the red velvet cake with fantastic cream cheese icing.

Aside from the food, there were live and silent auctions, with items such as trips to Belize and Mexico, VIP passes to see “The Daily Show,” artwork from local artist Hector Vega and more.

CLEguy and I worked the second shift of 50/50 Raffle sales and it was great to see how generous CLE-ers can be.  The winner of the 50/50 raffle took home almost $590, with a matching donation made to the Arthritis Foundation.

Aside from the food and the raffles, we got to see lots of CLEbloggers and CLEtweeps, including Cleveland Food and Brews, Clue Into Cleveland, Cleveland’s a Plum, Mile 26 and More, Healthy Heddleston, The Chubby Cook, and HeatherALight.  We also got to pop into the VIP Room at the end to listen to the DJ and drink some bubbly.

All in all, a fantastic night of eating and volunteering, all for a wonderful cause.  Poise in Parma put on a rockin’ event and we’ll definitely be back next year – you should be too!  For a full list of restaurants at the party and what they served, click here.  Also, check out Cleveland Food and Brews review of the evening here, Mile 26 and More’s review here, and Clue Into Cleveland’s review here.

***Disclosure: CLEguy and I volunteered to work the Silver Spoon Awards and were assigned to the 50/50 raffle.  Volunteers were able to attend the event for free and enjoy the food while not on their assigned shift.  As always, all opinions in this post are 100% my own.***

Why? Guest Blogging!

You’ve heard me go on and on about the fabulous CLEbloggers I’ve gotten to meet since starting Why CLE? Poise in Parma is one of my must-read blogs and CLEblogger Alicia has quickly become one of my favorite “blends.”  I was so excited when Alicia asked me to do a guest post for Poise in Parma.

So, hop on over there and check out my guest post “Dining and Dishing at Deagan’s”

Why? My City!

Before Why CLE?, I had a blog that only about 15 people in the world even had access to: an online journal of the misadventures of this CLEgal.  When that ran its course, I stopped blogging altogether, but found that I missed it.  I needed a new outlet.  And eventually, the idea for Why CLE? was hatched.

The other day, I went back into the archives of my “old” blog and, while I was there, I came across this post.  Most of the posts on that blog were specifically about my life, but this one stood out as being broader than that.  It made me realize that the Why CLE? idea was percolating for a lot longer than I was aware.  It also brought home how much I’ve always loved this city.  Once a CLEgal, always a CLEgal.

So I thought I’d open the archives and share the post with you…

My City

I love Cleveland.  It gets a bad rap sometimes (OK, a lot of times), but I genuinely love it.  Moving away never had anything to do with not loving Cleveland (for me, at least).  Cleveland has this massive inferiority complex, which is so sad and I say it’s time to shake it off.  It’s not easy…when you tell people where you’re from and they wrinkle up their noses like they just took a whiff of the Cuyahoga River circa the 1970s, it’s easy to be down on your town.  But here’s the reality:

This is a city that has adapted itself to changes in industry and the economy many times over.  This is a city whose skyline has seen additions, but somehow managed to remain comfortingly the same.  This is a city whose native sons and daughters, no matter where life takes them, proudly call home.  This is a city who loves it’s sports teams, even when they break our hearts time and again.  This is a city where world-renowned actors, musicians, athletes, and chefs are born, raised, and return to give back.

This is a city where our sense of pride is tested, but that should only make it stronger.  This is a city of Little Italy and University Circle and the West Side Market and the Rock Hall.  This is a city of faith and determination and salt-of-the-earth people.  This is a city that redefines itself, yet always stays true to who it is.

This is MY city and I couldn’t be happier to be here.

Why? Weekends!

Well, dear readers, it was a sunny gorgeous weekend in CLE, the Tribe swept the Reds in the Battle of Ohio…who says the rapture didn’t happen?  It was a pretty fantastic weekend and I have lots of Why CLE reasons to share, so let’s get right to it.

Friday night was perfect “drinking beer on a patio” weather, so CLEguy and I headed to Panini’s to do just that.  Panini’s beer of the month is Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy and the tall drafts are only $4.50!

We enjoyed our beers and a delicious chicken and artichoke pizza, while watching the Tribe get Win #1 of the weekend.

Saturday was another one of those “just have to be outside” days, so CLEguy and I headed to one of my favorite spots to eat, shop, and enjoy the outdoors…Chagrin Falls.

It was a perfect day for sitting by the river, taking in the scenic falls, and wandering around the local boutiques.  Chagrin Falls has a quaint, small-town feel, but with enough fabulous restaurants and great shopping to keep everyone happy.  And while there are a lot of interesting restaurant choices, we dined at one of my all-time favorites: Joey’s.  Joey’s is the classic Italian restaurant: dimly-lit, red-checkered table cloths, warm friendly service, and generous portions of delicious food.

CLEguy and I started with an appetizer special: the seafood bruschetta.  Toasted garlic bread was topped with wilted spinach, scallops, and lobster meat, with tomato sauce served on the side.  The bruschetta was delicious and packed with huge pieces of lobster and scallops.

We also got plenty of Joey’s delicious pull-apart garlic bread, which I could probably eat an entire basket of myself!

For our entrees, I chose cavetelli with marinara sauce, meatballs, and mushrooms.  Traditional and delicious, with enough leftovers to make 2 more meals!  CLEguy chose the pasta carbonara: fettucine with alfredo sauce, peas, bacon and ham.  While the dish was tasty, there was not as much bacon and ham as he would have liked.

Overall, Joey’s provided a romantic setting for a delicious meal.  As I said, this is one of my long-standing favorite places in Chagrin Falls and I highly recommend you check it out.  We of couse passed up the tiramisu and cannoli in favor of Chagrin Falls’ newest hot spot: Jeni’s Ice Creams.

The line for Jeni’s was out the door of the tiny shop, but the wait wasn’t long and we needed the time to narrow down which fabulous flavors we wanted to try.  Jeni’s serves in half-scoops and I think the best way to experience the deliciousness is to try at least two flavors.  The servers are also generous with samples, so you can try before you buy.

I selected the Queen City Cayenne and the Brambleberry Crisp.  The Queen City Cayenne is rich chocolate ice cream that catches the back of your throat with a delicious cayenne pepper heat on the finish.  The Brambleberry Crisp is packed with “Brambleberry Jam” (blackberries and raspberries), plus black currants and oat streusel.  It tasted like the best fruit crisp I’ve ever had – turned into an ice cream.  CLEguy selected the Queen City Cayenne, the Bangkok Peanut, and the Rhubarb and Lime Cardamom.  The Bangkok Peanut tastes like Thai food – packed with peanut, cayenne, and coconut flavors.  The Rhubarb and Lime Cardamom yogurt is outstanding – as CLEguy said, it tastes like summer.

Stuffed, happy, and with a bit of suntan on our faces, we headed home after a wonderful day in Chagrin Falls.

Sunday was a girls’ day out, spent with my best CLEfriend.  We started with brunch at Deagan’s Kitchen and Bar.  I had heard rave reviews about Deagan’s brunch and my CLEtweeps did not steer me wrong.  We started out with the Bloody Mary bar.

You can choose from either plain tomato juice or Deagan’s house Bloody Mary mix, then customize away with choices like olives, celery, pickles, jalapeno peppers, sea salt, celery salt, chili paste, and a variety of hot sauces.  I went with the house mix, plus a lime, a peperoncini, chili paste, and sea salt.  Spicy!

For our meals, CLEfriend went with the French toast, served with bananas, toasted almonds, and whipped cream.  While it looked absolutely fantastic, I don’t like bananas (yup, I’m weird), so I can only report that she loved it.

I chose the Amish chicken and waffle.  The waffle was served with cayenne butter and Ohio blackberry maple syrup (there were whole blackberries floating in the syrup).  The combination of spicy and sweet on the waffle was perfect.  The chicken was moist and tender, lightly breaded and not at all greasy.

The service was friendly and the food was delicious – Deagan’s for brunch was a win!

After brunch, we went to see “Bridesmaids” which is perfect, since CLEfriend is getting married this summer and I’m her Maid of Honor.  The movie was hilarious, but also a really great female friendship story.  Ladies, grab a girlfriend and check it out – perhaps after bruch at Deagan’s!

All in all, another fabulous weekend.  What answers to Why CLE? did you explore this weekend?

Why? What’s Not to Like?

I really appreciate CLE coming up with a great inspirational story every week to keep my Friday Inspiration feature going strong.  Thanks, CLE!  Last week the buzz was all about CLE+Sucks and the negativity that website rains down on our city (horrible weather pun intended).

This week, though, we all found ourselves inspired by a child’s simple, heartfelt, wonderfully honest phrase, “What’s not to like?”  Nick Gilbert, son of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, appeared on ESPN at the NBA draft lottery representing the Cavs.  When asked what he thought about being at the draft lottery, Nick responded, “What’s not to like?”  And what was not to like indeed – as the Cavs went on to win first and fourth round draft picks in the lottery.

Nick’s “What’s not to like?” phrase has popped up on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets around CLE this week.  Fresh Brewed Tees already has a t-shirt with the catchphrase and $5 from every shirt sold is donated to the Children’s Tumor Foundation.  Nick was born with neurofibromitosis and is a spokesperson for the Children’s Tumor Foundation.  He’s an inspiration, not just for fighting cancer, but for fighting it with a smile on his face and a wonderfully positive attitude. 

“What’s not to like?” reflects how so many of us feel, not just about the Cavs tremendous draft lottery, but about CLE as a whole.  When we see our city through Nick’s eyes, when we see our lives through Nick’s eyes, suddenly things seem a whole lot sunnier (again, weather pun intended).  I’m not only inspired by Nick’s optimism, but also by the fact that it can inspire so many of you.  That a simple phrase can spark an outpouring of CLE positivity.  What’s not to like about that?

Have a great weekend! Do something inspirational!

***For more information on Nick Gilbert’s NBA draft appearance, including links to national articles, click here.***

Why? Upcoming Events!

We’re in the home stretch, CLE! The unofficial start to summer is less than two weeks away! And there are a ton of great events going on to get you through to your holiday weekend:

Friday, May 20 – Our first-place CLE Indians return home for a six-game homestand (through Wednesday, May 25) against the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox.  Tickets are still available, so get out there and support your Tribe!

Sunday, May 22 – The Greenhouse Tavern is having a beach party on their fabulous new rooftop patio, including live music, beach bum punch, suckling pig, and more.  Tickets are only $20!

Picture Source - thegreenhouse.com

Monday, May 23 – Cleveland Hops is hosting its monthly craftbeer meet-up at Willoughby Brewing Co. Taste some of Willoughby Brewing’s award-winning beers and hang out with other craft beer enthusiasts.  $3 drafts, appetizer deals, and a chance to chat with brewer Rick Seibt.

Monday, May 23 – Dinner in the Dark is hosting a special edition event at AMP 150.  For only $40, you can sample food from 15 different local chefs, drink from microbreweries and wineries, enter raffles and silent auctions, as well as contribute to a Food Network Scholarship in honor of Matthew Finkel, a CLE native who dreams of attending the Culinary Institute of America.

Thursday, May 26 – The Silver Spoon Awards gala is taking place at the Marriott at Key Tower.  This celebration of award-winning CLE restaurants features great food and wine, plus live and silent auctions.  Ticket proceeds benefit the Arthritis Foundation.

Friday, May 27 – Emerging Chefs will be throwing yet another culinary party, this time themed Mardi Gras en Mai.  Chef Chris Quinn will be bringing a part of NOLA to CLE.  Beads provided!

Picture Source - http://www.emergingchefs.com

Know of other great upcoming CLE events? Let me know if the comments or via email (whycleblog@gmail.com) or Twitter (@WhyCLE)!  No matter what you end up doing, enjoy your lead-up to summer, CLE!

***Disclosure: I am an affiliate for the Emerging Chefs event and receive 5% of any tickets purchased from the link in this post.  I will be attending the Emerging Chefs event with a media pass.***

Why? Weekends!

It was a busy weekend marathon weekend, so I’ll get right to it!  CLEguy and I had a low-key Friday night, mostly because we’ve found that after working all week, it’s hard to find the energy for grand adventures on Friday nights.  So, we happily enjoyed pizza and beer over CLEfriends’ house, mixing up what will be my summer drink of choice – 1/2 Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy and 1/2 Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss.

Saturday morning, we headed to Cleveland Browns’ Stadium for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon 5K.  This was my second-ever 5K and I was pretty pumped to be running through downtown CLE.  Despite the gray and gloomy weather, seeing this view of the skyline as we started gave me an extra push of energy.

The 5K was sponsored by OAR: Run for Autism and there were a lot of blue Run for Autism jerseys on the course.  But there were a lot of other charities represented too.  Personally, I ran on behalf of John Carroll University’s Living Person program.  The JCU runners helped to raise money for Fatima Family Center in CLE, as well as for children in Madagascar.  No matter what the cause, it was awesome to see so many runners out there supporting local charities.

The finish line for the 5K was in Browns Stadium.  Running through the stadium tunnel and out onto the field to cross the finish line was a very cool experience.

I think my Indians hat gave me some good mojo

All-in-all, this race was a great way to take in CLE.  And I PR-ed, taking a minute and a half off my first 5K time.  Woo-hoo!

To continue with the excitement of Cleveland Marathon weekend, CLEguy and I attended the Ohio Blogging Association pasta dinner at Poise in Parma’s house on Saturday night.  Since I’ve never met a carb I didn’t like and I’m pretty sure post-race carb loading will be the new trend, I felt perfectly comfortable joining the pre-marathoners in their dinner.

Also in attendance were CLEbloggers from:

My Retro Kitchen
Peace, Love & Bagels
FireSide Symphony
mojamala2
Finishing Firsts
Ohio Festivals and Adventures of a trapped 300 pound man
Cleveland Hops & @CLECraftBeerRun

Everyone brought something to the feast and there were a lot of yummy carbs to enjoy!

As always, it was a blast hanging out with blends and meeting new bloggers, talking CLE and running, and just generally having a fun evening.  And I got to meet the VP of Fuzz – Poise in Parma’s dog, Grady!  He and CLEpup are due for a puppy playdate soon!

On Sunday, CLEguy and I headed down to Gordon Square to get some great food and, somewhat inadvertently, hang out with a ton of people post-marathon.  First, we headed to Latitude 41N.  I love the atmosphere at Latitude 41N – very relaxed, friendly, and hipster.  We both ordered Sunday Grilled Grinders, which come with tomato bisque and peppercorn kettle chips.

The tomato bisque was outstanding – with big chunks of tomato and a slightly spicy, smoky flavor.  The peppercorn kettle chips were delicious too!  I had the veggie burger grinder.  First, the positive – the veggie burger was made in-house and packed with bulger wheat, mushrooms, beans, and cheese.  The flavor was perfect and the burger was very hearty.  Unfortunately, the ratio of burger to bread and cheese was a bit off and I found myself leaving a lot of the latter two on the plate.  CLEguy had the romano-crusted chicken grinder.  While it was good, the chicken could have used a little more spice.  Overall, we enjoyed our lunch and will definitely be back – although we may go with one of the traditional brunch options or a pizza the next time.

From there, we simply had to stop at Sweet Moses.  This old-school soda fountain, ice cream, candy wonderland is perfect, even on a cold and rainy day.  CLEguy enjoyed a sundae with chocolate ice cream, caramel sauce, and pistachios.  I went for the Shoreway Sundae – coffee ice cream, toffee pieces, almonds, and chocolate sauce.

All of Sweet Moses’ ice creams and sauces are made in-house and are simply delicious.  I also snagged a chocolate chip cookie for my 3pm pick-me-up today.  Jeffrey Moreau, the owner, who we had the pleasure of meeting at the media preview a couple months ago, remembered us and came over to chat for a bit.  One of the sweetest things about Sweet Moses is the service, the people, and the attention to detail.  Those added touches make this a truly gourmet ice cream experience.

So, that was my weekend.  Some real running and some simply running around enjoying CLE.  Hope you had a great weekend!  What new answers to Why CLE? did you discover?

***For another recap of the Ohio Blogging Association event, see Poise in Parma’s post.***

Why? Friday Inspiration!

A lot of times, my Friday inspiration posts come from someone (or a group of someones) doing great things in CLE.  This week’s dose of inspiration comes from the opposite end of the spectrum.  The CLE interwebs were abuzz this week with the launch of a blog called CLE+Sucks.  For some background on the author of CLE+Sucks, George Nemeth, check out this Cleveland.com article.

CLE+Sucks centers itself around the idea that CLE has genuine problems.  And that those that champion CLE – called “rabid cheerleaders and cupcakes” – do nothing to help the city or fix the problems.  I don’t think anyone disagrees with strengthening and improving Cleveland; with promoting economic growth and development; with revitalizing neighborhoods and fixing schools.  Even the rabid cheerleaders and cupcakes understand there’s work to be done. 

There are those who see a city with flaws and check out on that city.   The second time I moved away from CLE had a lot to do with buying into the “CLE+Sucks” message – with believing the spin that there’s not enough opportunity, not enough growth, not enough excitement…just not enough.  And it took awhile for me to disengage from that spin.

And then there are those who would rather celebrate the good in the city, while simultanaeously rolling up their sleeves and working to make the city stronger.  Rabid cheerleaders.  Cupcakes.  Passionately optimistic CLE-ers.  People who see both that which is good and that which can be improved.  Our glasses aren’t rose-colored.  But they aren’t dark either.

CLE+Sucks gave me a renewed dose of inspiration this week – to keep loving CLE, to see the positives and negatives, to work to strengthen both.  Have a great weekend!  Do something inspriational!

And on a completely rabid cheerleader/cupcake note, thanks to all of you who are taking the Why CLE? challenge.  I love reading the tweets and blog posts and can’t wait to see what new answers to Why CLE? we all discover this month.  Remember, the winner of the challenge will be announced on June 1.

***For more CLEblogger thougthts on CLE+Sucks, see Happy in CLE’s post and Minor CLE’s post.***