Vienna of the Rust Belt

I've written before about my love for my old town, Cleveland. I went back for a visit last weekend and I have to confess, I was a little nervous. My last year in Cleveland was fantastic and how well do memories ever stand up to reality? Happily in this case they stand up just fine.

Let's go on a tour of Cleveland!

Being woken up with coffee and breads from On the Rise Breads is the best way to begin. 

Then lunch at Noodlecat where the ramen is infused with bacon! At least it tastes that way!

I occasionally worked for Danielle DeBoe at her shop in Ohio City, Room Service. I was eager to visit her new shop on East 4th Street- Dredgers Union. What an amazing retail space- I wanted to buy everything there. I found an awesome decanter for a bridal shower I was attending the next day. 

Our energy was flagging, so it was time to have tea at Lilly Handmade Chocolates in the artsy Tremont neighborhood. 

We opted for rose-chocolate dessert tea and a lavender chocolate. 

I highly recommend that if you travel to Cleveland you get invited to my friends Marc and Samanthas house for dinner (really let me know if you are going- they might have you over). Some of my favorite meals in Cleveland have been eaten at their house- the most memorable being their black-tie New Years Eve dinner.

action shoot

Manhattan

If you are lucky enough to visit Cleveland in the summer, go to Wendy Park, have a picnic, walk to the old Coast Guard station, and finish up with a beer (or two) at Cropicana, my new favorite spot in Cleveland. What a blissful day. 

snacks and cider

Friendly Vinny the dog

Coast Guard Station

such a perfect day

a matte black mercedes in the parking lot

Cropicana!

the band was playing classic rock covers- it was perfect. 

So, on to newish (I haven't been there) restaurant Club Isabella. Interesting clientele, pretty lights, great food and wine. I had hangar steak and french fries and tried cuttlefish and frogs legs for the first time.

steak + french fries= the very best

Go to brunch at Fire if you possibly can- fantastically spicy Bloody Marys.

You can see my old building reflected in the window

Lastly, a visit to scenic Chagrin Falls, which looks just like Stars Hollow and to eat ice cream at the famous Jenis Ice Cream. So delicious. I have such a weakness for ice cream.

a sweet good-bye to Cleveland

Thanks for coming on a tour of Cleveland with me! I love my new home, Kansas City- but a part of my heart will always be in Cleveland.

Sweet Visit

My parents came for a visit last week and I had to do some serious considering about what to show them, where to take them, what to feed them (in my family this is always the largest concern). I forgot to take many pictures but I tried to hit all the important Kansas City spots...

According to an informal poll, Oklahoma Joe's is the best in Kansas City for barbecue, followed by Arthur Bryant's. Arthur Bryant's serves their pulled pork with a pile of Wonder Bread AND they have sweet tea- I went to college in the deep South and I have a fondness for sweet tea. However, Oklahoma Joe's is in an actual gas station and their ribs are not to be believed.

 There is no table service at Oklahoma Joe's. You are left to contemplate the menu while standing in a line that sometimes reaches out to the sidewalk. 

I opted for a slab of ribs, a pile of pulled pork, and Texas toast (made from Wonder Bread). Delicious. 

Another big food hit was Genessee Royale. It's in one of my favorite neighborhoods, the West Bottoms which deserves it's very own post (and will get one soon, since I did some poking around there last week). Genessee Royale is my favorite place for Saturday brunch (Sundays are for Record Bar) and they are home to fried chicken on a biscuit with gravy, my favorite ginger beer, and according to my mother, the best coconut cream pie. 

Matt and I also had my parents over for dinner. This was a first for me, and since my mother is an amazing cook, it was a little stressful. In the end, I went with grilled pork since I've made it before and it's extremely undemanding:

GRILLED PORK

Get some pork tenderloin, preferably organic. To be honest this pork was from Costco and it was still great. Put the pork in a dish, pour olive oil over it along with a fistful of herbs, salt and pepper, and minced garlic. Marinate for at least 3 hours. Preheat your grill (we use charcoal) and grill for about 13 minutes on each side. 

I also like to quarter small potatoes, drizzle them in olive oil and herbs, wrap them in tinfoil and grill them with the pork. In order for for them to be done on time, you have to put them on the grill as soon as the charcoal is lit. 

Since my parents mostly don't drink, I made them limeade- their favorite. I used a Mark Bittman recipe for salty limeade. Next time I would add a tiny bit of cayenne pepper and perhaps vodka. 

Note: It takes a long time to manually squeeze this many limes. 

And this is all the juice you end up with! It was worth the effort, though. I made strawberry shortcake for dessert and we had some friends over so my parents could meet them- all in all a lovely time. 

My parents just HAPPENED to come when the Yankees were in town- my dad is a huge fan. So we went to my first Kansas City baseball game and the Yankees won, naturally....

Some other highlights that I don't have photos of- a bike ride with my father, a trip to the amazingly old- fashioned department store, Halls, and on the last night dinner at a sweet French bistro.

Kansas City International Airport Proposal

This was sweet and took place at the Kansas City Airport (MCI in case you'd like to come for a visit.)