Another string of positive media stories on Cleveland (Beachwood, Ohio City: credit, neighborhoods)

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by ohioaninsc

While I agree Cleveland has a great food scene...that list is garbage...the best foodie city in the country isn't even listed on it, Charleston, SC. Providence, RI as a foodie city? Houston? New Orleans and SF barely in it? While I believe Cleveland is top 10-15, I don't know where that rag is getting its' ratings.

Travel + Leisure is one of the most respected travel magazines in the U.S. It's ratings are based on subscriber surveys. As such, they are heavily influenced by who responds to the survey.

Unless, you've been to all of the cities, it's hard to make even subjective comparisons. Cleveland likely benefits because its restaurant scene offers relative values compared to most cities and also has a now very unique culinary tradition -- ethnic and mod ethnic -- complemented by a locavore emphasis relying on one of the richest agricultural regions in the U.S.

See post 37 for Michael Symon's explanation of Cleveland's popularity.

[kpl1228]

Cleveland's great. No bigger Cleveland fan than me. I miss living there to this day.
But I AM getting tired of how every decade or so, Cleveland's announced in national press as the "comeback city."
Comeback from what? And don't they ever look at the historical archives of their own media source when they announced it back then as well? For all the same reasons? And then what happens? Except for those years when they're a comeback town....what? The town crumbles to the ground and then they rebuild? Every decade?
Do out-of-town people really forget that quickly? And a good sports year/era does not make a city a "comeback city," btw.
The town's never been fantastic, but it is absolutely great. And most of the "new" stuff that they tout is not new.
2015 = 2000= 1995 = 1988 = 1980 etc , but with hipster beards and more foodie stuff (and some new neighborhood or architecture, which also happened in the years I just mentioned). Otherwise, same town. And only aspects have come back. The old-school bad city stuff in Cleveland has not really gotten better large-scale. It's still a cold Rust Belt town with a shaky economy and some rough neighborhoods that will never be touched by hipsters or any large-scale improvement to the infrastructure, populace or school system.
Sorry for the splash of cold water, but....
It is NOT Nagasaki or Dresden. "Comeback city" is WAY overblown in the national press. But yeah, always fun to get a deserved pat on the back. It's all great. But, just change the term.
And all of those magazines hyped Cleveland as this "undiscovered jewel" or "diamond in the rough" or "great regional vacation getaway" or other kind of "renaissance" terms since 1980. And it was a "plum" and a "best location in the nation" even before that.
This is nothing new, folks. We knew it was pretty terrific. And for the last 35 years, the national media has been saying it also. A lot.

[WRnative]

Unlike Kpl, I definitely believe that downtown Cleveland/Ohio City/University Circle, etc., has made a major comeback from its nadir in the 1970s/1980s. My memories of Cleveland extend back to the 1950s. See my comments in post 29 of this thread.

As noted in post 29, some aspects of Cleveland have never been better. University Circle is much more spectacular than ever! I remember when, like NYC's Times Square area, the current Market District, was a porn center, with a porn store directly across from the West Side Market, although hardly as nefarious as the then Times Square area, which even featured barkers for open-door brothels. It's actually amazing that the West Side Market survived and was never closed. I've never seen an explanation of how the market survived this period, but I suspect it was a very close call.

I knew one of the early pioneers in Ohio City in the 1970s, and it was not a place people wanted to walk at night. Ohio City really has only gained great traction in the last 10-15 years. The founding of the Great Lakes Brewery in 1988 and its subsequent success probably was the keystone to the new Ohio City.

Cities change and evolve. E.g., sadly, I have no memory of this:

In Cleveland's 'second downtown,' jazz once filled the air: Elegant Cleveland | cleveland.com

I haven't looked at this, found by a search, but it's unimaginable to today's visitors what Times Square once resembled.

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/arc...square/281130/

http://www.businessinsider.com/new-y...-photos-2013-7

See point 8 here:

http://untappedcities.com/2014/03/27...es-square-nyc/

Cleveland was bad back then, but IMO not as scary as some parts of NYC, including Times Square.

[bjimmy24]

Hard to disputes that things in cleveland are the best they've been in more than a generation. And I do qualify cleveland as "fantastic". It's an awesome place.

[jprice15]

A good article from the New York Times regarding CMA's 100th anniversary.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/ar...ials.html?_r=0

[costello_musicman]

Cleveland gets a pretty nice little write up:

The 11 Best Drinking Cities in America

[theurbanfiles]

Great American Food and Drink Destinations - West Side Market, Trick Dog, Keens, La Kiva, and More

Thrillist & Cleveland Sitting in a tree.

USA Today names Cleveland a top romantic spring getaway | cleveland.com

USA Today also thinks Cleveland makes for an awesome spring getaway.

Rand McNally Facebook Page did a "March Madness" of National Parks, where CVNP did quite well, reaching the Elite 8 before being narrowly ousted by eventual champion Great Smoky Mountains.

What is Ohio's top tourist attraction? Your votes will help decide | cleveland.com

This may be interesting for us if we are able to stay in tune to it over the next few weeks.

Also. Coming to town in the summer (Late June-Early July) for 2-3 weeks. Looking forward to seeing some cool stuff around town, including the New Heinen's and the Scranton Flats section of the Towpath with wildflowers in bloom, plus of course a trip to see the renovated Progressive Field (a couple times). Also plan on a day trip to Western Reserve Historical Society and the city of Oberlin, two assets I had not visited in the area.

A few questions though about projects I have heard about, but am not sure if they will be ready to go by the time I am here or not?

-Lakewood Park (the new sunset pavilion thingy?)

-Mabel's BBQ (on East 4th, Michael Symon, supposed to open forever ago)

-Flats East Bank (should everything be mostly up and running by then?)

[jprice15]

Great Urban Weekend Escapes: Cleveland, OH - Forbes

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by jprice15

Great Urban Weekend Escapes: Cleveland, OH - Forbes

It's a good article, but obviously Cleveland no longer is a United hub, but Jet Blue now flies into Hopkins.

Obviously, Cleveland's pro sports venues are downtown, within short walks of most hotels, and even more quickly accessible with the Waterfront Line and free bus trolleys. These venues are not merely "convenient" to downtown.

Personally, I also consider the Market District with the West Side Market, as the heart of Cleveland's culinary scene. I suspect it has more A-list restaurants than the smaller East 4th St., also with the likes of Nate's Deli.

Perhaps if the larger Gateway District inclusive of Public Square and Tower City restaurants, the comparison would be more equitable.

The West Side Market IMO, however, always will be the "heart" of Cleveland's culinary scene, and the Market District, Mitchell's, Great Lakes Brewery, etc., provides the Market District with a more distinctive "Cleveland" vibe (other cities have Little Italies) than any other food/restaurant district in Cleveland IMO.

Despite its flaws, this was a better than average article highlighting Cleveland's attractions. Thanks for posting it.

[theurbanfiles]

We have a Little Italy also! Take that other cities! jk, jk haha. But no it's fun over there too but I agree probably not the foodie epicenter compared to Ohio City. Many cities would kill to have a neighborhood that looks/feels like our 4th or 5th best food neighborhood though, so that isn't a bad thing.