photo above by Lou Muenz
Doesn't this look like a city in Europe? I have to say, when I told my Alaskan friends that I was taking my daughter on holiday to Cleveland, they looked at me a little strangely. Ultimately, I ended up saying that we were going to visit relatives. It's true that we were, in a way. Our adopted family Coyle had moved there for a year and after promising I would visit, it felt a little like a family obligation. (one we were so glad to live up to!) What we found when we got there was a beautiful, diverse and very cultural vacation destination!
Our first morning in town Jenny whisked us off to the West Side Market, where our small town alaska minds were blown by the array of meats, cheeses, vegetables...if it was edible, it was housed in that huge indoor marketplace. I bought a pomegranite the size of Jane's head.
We did as much as we could in our short time in C-town, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, hanging out for coffee in the university district, walking around Tremont. Even picking apples at Patterson's Farm. There wasn't enough time for everything and daughter Jane just kept saying "Mom, we are going to have to come back for longer next time!"
One of my favorite parts about traveling is to visit other bakeries and see their kitchens, perhaps even chat with the baker. My friend, food writer Micheal Ruhlman also lives in Cleveland and told me to check out On The Rise Bakery and talk to Adam. He and his 10,000 pound 4 deck steam injected oven produce the best baguette I have ever tasted! He handed me a fresh one after I had watched him pull them all out of that ginormous oven ( I felt a little like a groupie), I almost devoured it all at once in the car on the way back! Which would have been bad because that baguette was destined for a very special lunch.
We capped off the week with drinks at the Velvet Tango Room and Dinner at Lola's....both amazing! I'm ready to make my reservations for next year...
5 comments:
I thought reading your blog would make me miss you less, but, alas, it's more... What a perfect, quick trip for you and Ms. Jane.
Wow, we had THE BEST BLTs of my life last night, with your homemade pancetta!! Amazingly, fantastically fabulous!
Loving your Cleveland post--we miss you and Jane already.
We had the the chocolate cherry bread at On the Rise today--a very yummy one.
Barbette, We missed you and thought of you muchly...even shared Emma's birthstory many times!
Yay! Glad you cooked up that bacon, Jenny...there's one more chunk in your freezer (not marked, my bad!), that batch is a little saltier, but still so good!
I saw the ruhlman post and laughed. So you had lunch with the big man. And, I am glad you got to Patterson. That is right around the corner from me actually. Next time you are here, would love to meet you in person.
Maybelle's Mom...Yes, lunch was awesome, but so was the rest of the trip...very fun! And the the next time I'm in Cleveland, you are so on the list!
Post a Comment