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So the wife-to-be and I are coming to C-Town the weekend of the 18th of August, which is just the right time to get the hell out of Central Texas. This trip is being taken under the guise of a birthday getaway weekend, but we have ulterior motives. Secretly, we've observed and is our considered opinion that Cleveland is poised to experience a major renaissance (similar to Austin 20 years ago) and we are in preliminary discussions about packing up and starting a new life there. What's attracting us is the inexpensive houses on old tree-lined streets combined with distinct, ethnic neighborhoods, foodie mecca, music history (see my username), pro sports teams, Lake Erie and the climate. Since I've actually never been, we thought it would be prudent to sneak in a few weekend trips with the end goal of either putting the idea out of our heads and continuing life here, or sealing the deal and make us finally decide to make the jump.
On our list of things to do that weekend are definitely Westside Market, Lola, Velvet Tango and considerable time in our rental car driving through neighborhoods trying to get a vibe for the City. We'll be looking for the hidden gems like the corner watering hole, the mom and pop restaurant, the ethnic bakery or meat shoppe, neighborhood block parties and the like. Other things that we'll do if we have time are Melt, Great Lakes and Rock Hall.
Anyway, just wanted to drop a line and let you guys know that what you've got going on has not been unnoticed and I'm stoked to the point of obsession with my first trip to Cleveland next month. Everything I've seen and read about it on the internet seems like it is my kind of place.
feast of the assumption is one of the most underrated events in Cleveland. Definitely make a little time for it. As for music, check out Brothers Lounge, Night Town, and Parkview tavern. At least one of theses three is likely to have some kind of live music that you will enjoy. House of Blues is another option, but not unique to Cleveland like the other 3 I mentioned.
You should definitely try to spend some time on the east side and west side of town. The vibes are different. If suburbia is your thing, try Legacy Village out east and Crocker Park out west. For inner ring 'burbs, you might want to check out Coventry during the day (it might be a convenient excursion from the feast of the assumption) on the east side and then check out the west end of Detroit avenue in Lakewood in the evening.
Another couple of areas to check out are University Circle and Berea. UC is pretty much Cleveland's cultural center with Severance Hall and the Art Museum among other cultural sites located there. UC is also the home to Case Western Reserve University. That is why I mentioned Berea, too. It is on the west side and home to Baldwin Wallace College. so you will get a different college campus feel between UC and Berea.
Finally, I suggest taking at least a drive through a portion of the metroparks. Give yourself time to get lost. It can happen easily there, but you will enjoy the drive while finding your way out. The metroparks are a park system unique to the Cleveland area.
You already had a good to do list. These are just a few more you might consider adding.
feast of the assumption is one of the most underrated events in Cleveland. Definitely make a little time for it.
UNDERrated? Are you joking?
I have to preface this with: I am a Little Italy snob. I love that area and frequent it A LOT. I *NEVER* go to the Feast. It's too jam packed. You really do NOT get to see the best parts of the area when you are jammed onto Mayfield like sardines. I joke that "the Feast" is for the suburbanites to get their once-a-year Little Italy fix. Real fans of the area go any time BUT during the Feast.
It's gotten way to big the last few years.
Pro Tip from a Little Italy Snob to the OP: GO ON SUNDAY. Much less crowded. Unless you like crowds.
Funny you are from Austin: I had a friend move to Austin during the BOOM years when Austin was the 2nd fastest growing city in the US. Her two comments I will never forget:
"Austin is so much like Cleveland in a way, I think they could be sister cities... but Austin is "hipper" and a whole lot warmer. And they have bats. (Cle has bats too but they don't live under a bridge... )
and
"I really miss BIG TREES."
Certainly do not miss the Westside Market. I would like to suggest a different restaurant other then Lola though, to be honest. Yea yea yea, Michael Symon, blablabla. lol
Lola is just OK IMO. And I guarantee you, you won't see Michael there.
Might I suggest: Fahrenheit in Tremont?
Run by head Chef Rocco Whalen, who is also a rising star in the culinary world. Whom you WILL probably see in the kitchen. Fahrenheit Restaurant ~Tremont~ Cleveland, Ohio
And then stop at the Treehouse after for a Stoli Doli martini. *win*
UNDERrated? Are you joking?
I have to preface this with: I am a Little Italy snob. I love that area and frequent it A LOT. I *NEVER* go to the Feast. It's too jam packed. You really do NOT get to see the best parts of the area when you are jammed onto Mayfield like sardines. I joke that "the Feast" is for the suburbanites to get their once-a-year Little Italy fix. Real fans of the area go any time BUT during the Feast.
It's gotten way to big the last few years.
Pro Tip from a Little Italy Snob to the OP: GO ON SUNDAY. Much less crowded. Unless you like crowds.
Funny you are from Austin: I had a friend move to Austin during the BOOM years when Austin was the 2nd fastest growing city in the US. Her two comments I will never forget:
"Austin is so much like Cleveland in a way, I think they could be sister cities... but Austin is "hipper" and a whole lot warmer. And they have bats. (Cle has bats too but they don't live under a bridge... )
and
"I really miss BIG TREES."
Certainly do not miss the Westside Market. I would like to suggest a different restaurant other then Lola though, to be honest. Yea yea yea, Michael Symon, blablabla. lol
Lola is just OK IMO. And I guarantee you, you won't see Michael there.
Might I suggest: Fahrenheit in Tremont?
Run by head Chef Rocco Whalen, who is also a rising star in the culinary world. Whom you WILL probably see in the kitchen. Fahrenheit Restaurant ~Tremont~ Cleveland, Ohio
And then stop at the Treehouse after for a Stoli Doli martini. *win*
Interesting perspectives, thanks! I really would like to see Little Italy at some point. We're only there from Friday noon til Sunday afternoon, so it'll be a game time decision. I do want to check out Cleveland Heights/Coventry to see as a possible place to live, it may be easy to swing by Mayfield Rd. for a minute or two (parking permitted). Are there food vendors at the "Feast" where I can get an authentic sampling? If so, are there any recommendations of "if you go, you HAVE to get a _____"? Based on your comment, we may wait and go Sunday morning (oops, is it closed for mass)?
Your comment about Cleveland being like Austin is intriguing. If that is truly the case, it will be really hard for me to resist wanting to move there, as I really love what Austin used to represent. I moved here in 2000 fresh out of college and, while it was starting to boom then, still had a small town feel/vibe. The amount of Dallasification that has occurred here is starting to get depressing. There has been a general change in the last 12 years from laid-back friendly business climate, to the cutthroat, rude and impersonal business relations that has come to town with the Dallas/Houston real estate companies. What's also depressing is that an employed, college-educated engineer like myself has basically two affordable options to buy a house: 1) shoddily-built spec home in a far-flung, homogenous burb or 2) a hovel that needs 100K in updates and repairs. My other complaint is just the general crowding going out in public. A decent, non-chain restaurant on a weekend night will require either a reservation 3 weeks in advance or a long wait. I went to Hula Hut recently and was told there was 45 minute wait for a pager. And, having lived my life in Louisiana and Texas, I'm really over the summers. Cold doesn't bother me at all since I can afford to buy a coat. The crime here is starting to pick up as well as Austin is becoming a central hub in the mexican drug cartel operations.
Don't get me wrong, I love Austin (in its best form), but it's not all sunshine and lollipops like the Forbes lists would have you believe. I feel that a place like Cleveland, whose problems are well-known, could still hold the things I like about here, but much more affordable place to start out with my new wife. I saw in the Plain Dealer that you guys were having trouble with a heat wave in that you've had 7 straight days over 90 degrees. If that's a heat wave, sign me up! We had 90 days last year that were over 100 degrees (a record). That's 25% of the year for those counting at home. No thank you. And having grown up in Louisiana, like I said - I really miss big trees too.
Thank you for the restaurant recommendation. I'll run it by SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed). We don't know much about the restaurant scene, so were picking things based on what's famous. We'll be staying at the Key Center Marriott and will certainly hit up 4th/6th street areas for a late night cocktail as well. Momocho was also recommended, but I'm not sure I want to go to Cleveland only to eat mexican food. It would be like you coming to Austin to eat pierogis.
I am excited to see Cleveland for myself and undo all the ignorance that was instilled in me about the City. And, sad to day, until people have been, when you say "Cleveland" to people down here, you may as well have said "Detroit". It's ignorance, I understand. But I love it when my first impressions about something are changed. It keeps me curious.
feast of the assumption is one of the most underrated events in Cleveland. Definitely make a little time for it. As for music, check out Brothers Lounge, Night Town, and Parkview tavern. At least one of theses three is likely to have some kind of live music that you will enjoy. House of Blues is another option, but not unique to Cleveland like the other 3 I mentioned.
You should definitely try to spend some time on the east side and west side of town. The vibes are different. If suburbia is your thing, try Legacy Village out east and Crocker Park out west. For inner ring 'burbs, you might want to check out Coventry during the day (it might be a convenient excursion from the feast of the assumption) on the east side and then check out the west end of Detroit avenue in Lakewood in the evening.
Another couple of areas to check out are University Circle and Berea. UC is pretty much Cleveland's cultural center with Severance Hall and the Art Museum among other cultural sites located there. UC is also the home to Case Western Reserve University. That is why I mentioned Berea, too. It is on the west side and home to Baldwin Wallace College. so you will get a different college campus feel between UC and Berea.
Finally, I suggest taking at least a drive through a portion of the metroparks. Give yourself time to get lost. It can happen easily there, but you will enjoy the drive while finding your way out. The metroparks are a park system unique to the Cleveland area.
You already had a good to do list. These are just a few more you might consider adding.
Coco, thank you for the Metropark suggestion. Do have a specific park/drive that you would recommend? I haven't researched the extent of the metropark system yet, only hat it is extensive and "unique" to Cleveland.
If I were a tourist checking out the metroparks, I would take any entrance, cruise the roads until I got tired, find an exit, then est my gps to find out where I ended up and where I wanted to go from there. I can't think of a portion I have been through that is not pretty spectacular.
I am more familiar with the west side than other portions of the park. So for what I know, I would enter at Detroit Road on the west end of Lakewood and follow the roads into the park until I got to Nobottom Rd. in Berea. That takes about 20 minutes. From the NoBottom rd exit you are about 5 minutes to I 71, less than that to the Baldwin Wallace campus, and 10 minutes in the other direction to the airport.
As for restaurants, I think the true unique Cleveland fine dining experience is found at Johnny's on Fulton. There is also a Johnny's on W. 6th, but the one on Fulton is the original. Fulton is a very different and IMHO much better experience.
From Google earth, it looks like you are talking about taking Valley Parkway Trail from Detroit Road. Thanks for the tip, I want to try to do this when we are on our Lakewood scouting excursion.
All of these awesome dining options, I'm gonna go back to Austin feeling like I've been on a cruise for a week. So many restaurants - so little time.
Yes, most of the local restaurants server little portions of food on the street during the feast.
I would recommend (if they are serving it) the Cavatelli from Momma Santos. EASILY the best Cavatelli in the city. They also have really good pizza. My 2nd favorite joint in LI. I like Guarino's because of the patio.
Momocho is nice, but I wouldn't recommend it to a Texan, as you stated.
You sounds very much like my friend that moved to Austin in 98 I think?
She actually left 5 years ago. To Colorado.
I have been to Austin 4 times and I really loved it, too. Eeyore's Birthday Party? Are you kidding me? LOL That was SO much fun.
And 6th Street? Loved it. There's that wine and cigar bar there....
And MAN do I wish we had Taco Cabana up here. I do NOT get how Taco Bell stays open in Austin when Taco Cabana is there.
How is Cle like AUS:
We have a 6th Street... it's actually WEST 6th Street in Cleveland.
We have a TON of Indy restaurants. Many chains, too, but a lot of restaurants are indy's like Aus.
Music Scene. OF COURSE it pales in comparison to Austin. I've never seen quite a scene like Austin has... but you can find just about any type of live music here in town.
It's just not across the street from each other. lol
And, of course, before Austin exploded we had a similar population size...
(Hence the sister city comment when my friend got down there).
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