Mel

The promotion that well, doesn’t really seem to promote anything.

Cleveland Restaurants Week sounds like a great way to get folks out to a restaurant not previously visited. This is the second year that I have participated in Cleveland Restaurant Week, and have been left, well, very hungry. There seemed to be a lot of buzz with friends on Twitter — even if I couldn’t seem to find a username for Cleveland Independents or Cleveland Restaurant Week. During...

Mel

Cleveland Beer Week continued…

Our location for CBW Day #4 was the Stone Brewing Company beer dinner at Crop Bistro & Bar. Bravo to Chef Steve and the guys from Stone. You really should NOT have missed this event! I know I still have not posted on L’Albatros (also delicious), but Steve’s braised short ribs (at Crop) were the perfect consistency and texture I pray to Meat Gods for while fine dining.  Oh, there was SO...

Mel

Cleveland Beer Week aka: Best Week Ever!

If you’ve been tossed and left for drowning in a beer vat, then there’s a possibility you might not have heard about Cleveland Beer Week. In all its awesomeness, CBW promises HUNDRDS of events, scheduled at local restaurants and bars, breweries and beer/liquor stores, among several other locations around town. Here’s Part One of our Cleveland Beer Week tastings: Friday night, after...

Mel

I smell something cookin’!

My own (well, not mine, sadly, so much as Cleveland’s) Michael Symon has turned 40. I You should stalk him on...

Mel

A Laboring weekend of FUN!

Ed — Wow. Oh, so far behind. I haven’t finished my Labor Day Post! Ack. Beware: rambling catch-up below… Fridays. I love Fridays. The work week is over. We typically stay in and create our own homemade pizza. And. Relax. BUT, end of summer weather took us to the patio of The Greenhouse Tavern (happy hour drinks only, please). My cousin was also celebrating her last weekend in Cleveland...

Mel

One bottle of Becherovka for admission!

Greenhouse Tavern is amazing. The rest of the culinary world agrees, of course. Within five days of our last meal (right, convenience of E. 4th living), there were at least three new menu items. Our friends from Indy were left pleased and beyond full. Ed note: Uh, so we may have gone back again last Thursday, which makes three times in a week. New record. This was for snacking and Jeni’s ice cream....

Mel

On becoming a true Clevelander

I am a turkey, Swiss, mushroom & honey-dijon wrap full of emotions today (yum, lunch). And I would like a bowl full of that Lucky’s Cafe applesauce, please. Anyone? While this morning was a somewhat sad watching AB pack the rest of his “things” from my condo in River, I was full of glee that we will FINALLY be in just. one. place. after five months of transporting overnight bags,...

Mel

I hate drugs. But I love vodka.

Since when does Benadryl cause hyper-active nipple sensitivity and Jimmy Legs? It sounds like a perfect Seinfeld episode, no? I abhor having to take medications, specifically because of side effects, but I felt as though my throat was closing up from something I ate at my desk. By the time I left work and ate dinner, it was progressively getting worse. So, I popped a couple Benadryl. Within an hour, I was...

Mel

Symon Says… AVON!

Wednesday was opening night at Bar Symon in Avon. We walked in a little after “normal” dinner hour, to a packed and bustling beautiful space, complete with local news crews (which we apparently made a brief crowd shot appearance for a split second… still locating the video). There was an hour-and-a-half wait. Admiring the bar (and varied beer list!!), we remarked how this was almost like...

Mel

I found you Miss New Booty!

Struggles of planning a day after being out too past bedtime and awakening ante meridian. Nowhere near the 2 o’clock afternoon-ish I had in mind when I crashed out in my bed after licking my plate clean at My Friends in Lakewood. Seriously. Blech! Oh yeah, Mel… you just HAD to have bleu cheese for your home fries. Or were those hash browns? I do know it was a *tasty* 6 egg+ omellete with...

Mel

I’m trying hard to not play the Roman God of Calendars

By ways-and-means of text messaging and drunk dialing and pompousness, I had my entire inner circle convinced that next weekend was Memorial Day. Good thing I didn’t buy that ticket to Mexico. My dear, dear child… please put down the phone. First response: i asked around, guys thought I was new or something Another text response: uh, memorial day is the last weekend in may… you crack me...

Mel

Shall we tango?

I would normally do a blah-blah-blah rundown of my weekend wrap-up, but THIS particular Saturday was something to talk about. I’ll begin from the end of the debauchery and work my way back up to my innocence (ie: sobriety). I feel a Momento movie-like moment… Dianna’s — circa 3am, drunk dialing everyone in my phone… okay, completely-and-utterly RANDOM people in my phone…...