LET'S DO THE EAST 4TH STREET STROLL

Have you been to The Chocolate Bar yet? No? You need to go. My friend Nancy and I went up to Cleveland on Wednesday to have dinner there and to stroll along East 4th Street.  It was a drizzly night, and yes, it was a school night, but we've come to the conclusion that Cleveland really isn't that far to drive for a weeknight outing. Especially if there's chocolate to be found!

We were last to The Chocolate Bar about a year ago. The food was terrific, the drinks were wonderful and the atmosphere was upbeat and cozy. Nancy and I were seated at a window table looking out over the hustle and bustle that is East 4th. We were both pleasantly surprised at the amount of foot traffic for a Wednesday evening, especially in the intermittent rain.

The restaurant was busier than last year and I’m happy to see that. They’re located on the south end of the Hyatt at the Arcade which explains the prolific number of groups of men dressed in business attire we saw. The number of restaurants along Euclid Avenue has grown making this a busy section of town and there were many, many 20- and 30-something couples and groups wandering as well. We mused that it would likely be even busier when the Indians game was over as many of the bars we walked past weren’t quite ‘alive’ yet for the evening.

The dessert case at
The Chocolate Bar

We arrived about 7pm for dinner and still managed to sneak in during happy hour which allowed us half price martinis and $5 appetizers. We ordered Sweet Potato Fries to share plus two sandwiches to share. The Chocolate bar baguette, more dessert than dinner, was a toasted baguette, smooth dark chocolate, and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, served with an olive oil and chocolate dipping sauce. The menu says it’s incredible and they ain’t fibbing!

The non-sweet part of our meal was their Turkey Berry Panini (roasted turkey. assorted greens. Jack cheese. and raspberry mayo. served on a toasted baguette) and was terrific. To drink I had a Chocolate Banana Cream Pie martini that was totally awesome! For dessert, Nancy ordered a Belgian Chocolate Pyramid (Belgian chocolate mousse with a hint of hazelnut praline covered in a shell of chocolate) to go because we simply couldn’t eat any more. I haven’t heard from her whether it was good or not, I’m assuming it was as awesome as the rest of the meal.

A LITTLE WINDOW SHOPPING
Aside from dinner, Nancy initiated this trek to Cleveland to visit a clothing shop situated on East 4th called Dredgers Union. In June, The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote: “In a city built around the Cuyahoga River, the word "dredging" is synonymous with hauling up muck and opening the waterways to maritime traffic. But to Danielle DeBoe, dredging means clearing a path for retail in downtown Cleveland. Sean Bilovecky sees it as digging back to a tradition of designing, making and selling things close to home.”

When the pair opened Dredgers Union on East Fourth Street in June, it was downtown Cleveland's first new shopping destination in years. Dredgers Union occupies the ground floor of a former McCrory's department store at 2043 East Fourth St. The store carries a private label of men's and women's clothing, designed in Cleveland and sewn in America. Not every item sold at Dredgers Union will be designed in Cleveland or made in America, but they are committed to finding U.S. made clothing whenever possible.

They also carry made-to-measure suits and dress shirts; other apparel brands that are new to Cleveland or Northeast Ohio; bedding; kitchen gadgets; soaps and candles; and the occasional table or piece of furniture. They don't have a fully functional web site yet, but you can get the basics at http://dredgersunion.com/

Eating around Akron - August 2011

Friday night I volunteered for a good friend of mine at the Meredith A. Cowden Foundation Six Courses for a Cure at the Sheraton.

Lynne has worked with this foundation since its inception and is a mainstay in its fundraising efforts by putting together the auction for each event. Five years ago Lynne contacted Single Volunteers and we brought a few people out to handle their inaugural event. Although SVWR disbanded several years ago, I keep going back to assist Lynne and the Foundation in their efforts.

The monies raised at this fabulous gourmet event will be used to fund a medical symposium dedicated to Graft vs Host Disease, its complex issues, research, education and resources available to patients and physicians. GvHD, which is a complication of a life-saving bone marrow transplant, results when the patient’s body is attacked by the new immune system created by the bone marrow transplant. Sadly, it can cause death if not controlled. This will be the only symposium in the world solely dedicated to this malady.

Six Courses for a Cure is the result of the creative genius of Roger Thomas, Executive Chef at the Sheraton Suites, Cuyahoga Falls and Pete Olsen, a partner in Purple Feet Distributing located in Macedonia.



Meredith Cowden, Guest speaker
Dr. Steven Pavletic and
Dr. Adrianna Pavletic
Photo courtesy of Ernest J. Aranyosi

 After meeting Gerry and Marti Cowden at a family celebration and hearing the story of their daughter Meredith and her courageous battle against leukemia, Roger and Pete suggested the idea of a wine dinner to benefit the Meredith A. Cowden Foundation. Both Pete and Roger have hosted and participated in many wine dinners to raise funding for charities and worthwhile causes in northeast Ohio, specifically the Akron area.

The evening began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres created by all of the participating chefs. The incredible six course dinner was prepared by Chef Brendan Meeker of Glenmoor Country Club, Chef Rick Carson of Nosh Eatery and Creative Catering, Chef Brian Goodman of The Greenhouse Tavern, Chef Jeff Jarrett of AMP 150, Cleveland Airport Marriott, Chef Kevin Altomare of Hudson’s and 3foodies.com and Chef Roger Thomas of Piatto Novo, the Sheraton Suites Akron/Cuyahoga Falls.

Over 100 items were up for bid on the silent auction tables and a dozen high end items were up for auction by Bob Hale between dinner courses, including a trip to Charleston, SC and a day riding in the Summit County Sheriff’s riot tank complete with shooting practice with laser and real guns.

It’s heartwarming to see a healthy Meredith in her early 20’s after learning of her illness when she was young. Leukemia is terrible, but once you think you have that cured, to find that she had to battle GvHD had to have been devastating for her and her family. Once that battle was won, the Cowdens took their energy and decided to help find a cure for the disease that nearly took their daughters life. The Cowdens are a portrait in people putting their beliefs into action and working hard to make a difference in other peoples lives.

Front Street Mall

BACK TO THE FALLS FOR LUNCH AND A SUNNY WALKABOUT
I was so taken by the walk I had last weekend on the Falls Riverfront, I decided to do it again Saturday afternoon in the sunshine. Everything looks a bit brighter in the sunshine, and the river is no exception.

This weekend was R.I.O.T. on the River and I stumbled into the festival around noontime. Sadly, there was little activity on the mall area even around the music stage. On stage was the band Red Letter, which is a pop/rock band of four siblings from Doylestown. They were joined on stage by their Dad, who was filling in on guitar for one of the brothers unable to make it this day. Their stated music goal is “to use the expressive nature of music to communicate that there is hope throughout the highs and lows of life.” Their message mostly relates to teens and young adults of this generation, bringing positive lyrics to a modern pop culture sound. I listened to most of the set and these kids are pretty talented. I hope they continue to do well.



The band Red Letter at RIOT on the River

RIOT is basically Christian Rock - young bands with good music and uplifting things to say.  They make a nice change of pace to other music which can be ugly or downgrading.  Give these people a lot of credit for putting this together - it's just a shame there weren't more folks there appreciating the performance of the afternoon.

Moving on, however, it was lunchtime and I was hungry.  Grumble belly always wins over music - no matter what the message may be.  There was a BBQ truck set up on the mall for the evening RIOT festival, but they didn't have any food ready this early so I stopped into the new Firehouse Grill I spotted last Sunday and had lunch.

UPDATE: Firehouse Grill closed their doors in 2021

The Firehouse Grill & Pub on Front Street is in the old spot that was occupied by the Cashmere Cricket a few years back. The Cricket was flooded out and finally closed two years ago, but I see it reopened on the other side of the mall. That is now on my list of “revisit places soon”.

The Firehouse is a local chain of bar and grills and I’ve eaten several times at the East Market location, my good friend Cathy is a fan of their dollar burgers. The atmosphere there is somewhat dingy and dirty, although the food is good if you like pub fare (which I do). I was hoping that the new location would be better and it was. A nice fresh space with a fully stocked bar and a few outside seats along the mall, this will make a good lunch spot as long as the weather holds.

The staff was friendly and service was good. It was a quiet afternoon so the cook was wandering and I personally thanked him for my burger. I ordered the lunch special – bacon, cheddar burger with fries – for $4.99 and it was quite good.

The only issue I had was the fact that smack in the dead of summer I was served a slice of one of those crappy hothouse tomatoes on my burger. Frankly I see no reason why a kitchen of any caliber cannot order up some local tomatoes during the peak of summer to add some real flavor to a plate.

Aside from that short rant, my lunch was excellent.  The fries are skinny and well cooked and I definitely could taste the bacon on my burger. 

SATURDAY AT D'AGNESE'S

Bev and Terri sent out an invite to join them at D'Agnese's to listen to the smooth jazz of the Stingers. The Stingers are an Akron-based band that includes Bill Brauning (bass), Bill Moriarty (keys), and (last night) Jim Yarnell on drums. Seems this group is fluid and at times includes horns and other players. Last night it was just Bill, Bill and Jim and they did a terrific job of trying to keep the attention of five women who where were busy gossiping around the dinner table (that was my group in case you didn't figure that out!).

They moved from samba and cha cha to smooth jazz and we were tapping our tootsies all evening.  By breaktime, our table was the only one populated and the guys stopped over for some lively conversation before finishing up the evening. 

The food was good, most of us ordered appetizers and shared.  There was calamari all around the table, Bev had my favorite - the roasted beets with salad - and I ordered another pizza.  Dessert was ordered all around too, with the clear favorite being the banana cheesecake.  With a glass or two of wine, good music and lots of chatter, it was a very pleasant evening indeed.

Savoring Summer

This past week was our last evening out at Porthouse Theater for the 2011 summer season.  As always, we are sad to have this come to an end and it all goes by so swiftly it's difficult to believe summer is winding down. 

The evening began with our gathering in the pavilion on a perfect summer night.  As is tradition for the final performance, the cast wandered through the crowd and entertained cabaret style. This is always fun - the kids are so talented and the crowd sings along. 

The summer series ended on a very up note with the ever entertaining Hello Dolly!  Porthouse artistic director, Terry Kent stepped into the shoes of Dolly Levi and did a splendid job.  Our group has been to these performances for several years and this is the first time we've been graced with Ms. Kent on stage.  While her singing was nothing to write home about (which perhaps was not at all out of place for the role) her stage presence as Dolly was terrific. 

Terry Kent and cast taking their bows
for Hello Dolly!

The cast carried off their roles with the usual style and grace - including a bit of a wink by Eric van Baars, who plays Cornelius Hackl. He earned a big laugh when he had a line dealing with the fact that his character is 33 years old when it's obvious he's a touch older than that.  One of my favorite Porthouse cast members, van Baars did a wonderful job in his role.  Another crowd favorite was Jessica Cope who played Irene Malloy.  Her singing voice had everyone sitting up and taking notice of her performance.

Getting out and about
Two more favorites to add to the long list of great places to eat in Summit county.  This past week I had the pleasure of meeting friends at The Office Bistro and Lounge located in the historic Temple Square district of North Akron.  I've been here a couple of times now and it gets more comfortable with each visit.  At their suggestion, I met my friends Blue and Joanne there for a catch up session after work.  Bartender Valery made my favorite Office martini, The Flirtini, which is set ablaze and topped with a shower of cinnamon sparklers.  Happy hour is weekdays 3-6pm and appetizers are half price.  I ordered the Mango & Avocado Salsa (mangos, sweet bell peppers, red onion, cilantro, peach yogurt) with fresh tortilla chips and it was very different and quite good.  This is something I'll be trying to replicate at home at some point.

Friday night I met my friend Lynne out at D'Agnese on White Pond Drive.  This place has been a variety of restaurants in the past several years and they may have hit upon a keeper in this iteration.  The atmosphere is casual chic, the service friendly and informative and the food was wonderful.  We shared one of their flatbread specials and I ordered the roasted beets appetizer as my entree.  The salad was of red and golden beets, greens, candied walnuts, goat cheese, and a fig balsamic reduction that was out of this world not only on the salad but just as wonderful with the warm bread brought to the table dipped in. The salad was as big as my head and easily could have been shared.  I'll definitely be back here again soon.


Summer Bounty
This week began the next steps in my learning curve on preserving the summer harvest.  My City Fresh shares have been abundant with zucchini and yellow squash and I will admit that I'm just not that big a fan of these fruits (and YES, squash is a fruit). 

Zucchini abandoned on my doorstep!

I've done my best to make some interesting meals with them (ie my pepperoni and yellow squash pizza) but I'm simply outnumbered.  There's only one of me and only so many meals I can make at home in a given week and this squash seems to multiply when I turn my back on them.  As if it's not enough that I get them two or three at a time in my Fresh shares, last night I came home and there was one sitting on my back steps.  No note.  Poor thing had been abandoned and I HAD to take it in.  In all good conscience, you can't leave an innocent zucchini sitting out in the big world all alone. 

My food preservation technique of choice is freezing.  Nearly anything can be frozen with some degree of success but, in my experience, not always.  Zucchini is one of those items.  I can grate it and freeze it for use in breads and cakes and it turns out fine, but I've learned that if I simply want to use slices or chunks, freezing tends to make them a bit mushy and I really cannot stand mushy foods.

To counteract that mushy-ness, last summer I turned to my food dehydrator.  Thin slices of zucchini dried to a lovely crisp chip and are easily stored in bags or containers in the pantry.  Kept this way they are perfect for tossing in soups all winter long. 

As you can see here, my first batch were a bit too thin.  These were sliced about 1/8 inch thin.  I moved up to about 1/4 inch and they turned out fine for storage.

Simply wash and dry your zucchini, use a mandoline or slice by hand to 1/4 inch rounds. 

Use a light spray of cooking spray on your trays to keep the zucchini from sticking as they dry, my first batch crumbled to pieces when I tried to pry them from the try.  Place on the dehydrator trays and process until chips are brittle. 

Once dry, store in an air-tight container.
Last year my dried zucchini went into minestrone and my beef vegetable soups. 

Medina - Akron - June 2011

Last Thursday evening was Ladies Night on the Square in Medina and Nancy invited me to drive over with her to take in the sights and have a little late dinner.  Medina truly is a charming small town with lovely shops lining the square and people wandering in and out.  The square was crammed full of things for kids to do - ring tossing, coloring contests, and other games. 

Most of the shops and restaurants lining the square were open for business and were enticing guests in their doors by serving up little munchies and wine for the adults.  We often ponder over how these little places manage to stay afloat in today's harsh economic climate. Many shops sell cutsie little decorative items that are very adorable to look at in shops, but seldom practical or appropriate for our homes.  There are times when I consider setting up little displays similar to the shops, but then I stop and think - hey, someone has to clean all that stuff - and the idea pops right smack out of my head. 

We strolled through the Potomac Bead Shop where beads hung in rainbows of colors on walls of two floors where ladies were busy working projects for Ladies Night.  We also stopped in the Medina Gem Company where they had some of the most stunning jewelry on display I've seeen in a while.  Nancy and I were both attracted to a glorious necklace that priced out at a little over $2,300.  I was embarassed to ask if they would sell me earring backs (14K gold of course), but the proprietor was most accomodating and happily sold me four clasps.  She was as nice to me as if I had purchased the $2300 necklace - what a lovely woman. 

Since dinner was the main objective of the evening, we asked for recommendations from shop keepers and were directed a little bit out of town to Thyme the Restaurant, located just beyond the main square on North Court Street.  This isn't really walkable from the square, but it's well worth the drive north to find this little gem. 

The 65-seat spot features what Chef John Kolar calls “contemporary cuisine with worldly influences”.  We didn't have difficulty in deciding to choose a table on the charming front patio but we did have some problems in choosing our dinner.  The menu is full of wonderful items such as Pan Roasted Thyme Chicken, Lobster Newburgh Fettuccini and Chipotle Cream Steamed Mussels.  We were both intrigued by the Grilled Chicken Mac 'n Cheese (although neither of us ended up ordering it).  I settled on the Warm Asparagus salad and a small Italian pizza - both delicious paired up with the Malbac wine I ordered.  I'm not sure what Nancy ordered but it must have been good because when I stole a glance at her plate it was completely clean. 
 
Although it had threatened rain all evening, we'd spent the entire time walking the square under sunny skies.  It only begin raining during our dinner and we moved to a table away from the edge of the patio, but it really was a lovely setting and a terrific meal.  A perfect summer evening. 

DUCKY DAY
Saturday morning was Canal Day at the Cascade Locks Park, "Akron's Urban Park".  Set over at the new Schumacher Cascade Mills site, which is located on North Street across from the Mustill Store, there were a few dozen craft vendors set up and several tents with things for the kids to do.  Today was the Park's annual springtime fund raiser and their 4th Duck Derby. 

CLPA has a unique partnership with Metro Parks, Serving Summit County and the City of Akron allowing them to promote the historical value of the park while also encouraging residents of Summit County and beyond to get out and about and enjoy nature. Their stated mission is to preserve, protect and promote Cascade Locks Park along locks 10-16 of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

I've been volunteering for these annual events for many years, as early as the second picnic back in 2002.  They've morphed a bit from ice cream socials to barbecues, and now into Duck races in the canal.  This little park association is truly a grass roots organization and the people are like a family.  I've enjoyed being a peripheral part of them for so long and look forward to staying involved for many years to come.

CHICAGO!
Saturday night I went to Chicago!  No,  not the town, the stage play.  Saturday was the first of our ladies summer season at Porthouse Theater and the show was Chicago!  We had a lovely evening for our regular picnic and performance.  This year there are 11 in our group (we seem to add one or two each summer).  We all brought along some food to share and some wine.  We have tables reserved in the pavilion (in case of rain) and we set up in there. 
 
This week we had shrimp, meatball sandwiches, sushi, waldorf salad, ginger cookies, rice krispie treats, melon in proscuitto, pasta salad, little meatballs, orange fluffy salad and 4 or 5 bottles of wine.  Yee goodness, we ate well!  Conversation flowed nicely as did the wine - and I'm not intimating one had anything to do with the other. 
 
What I like about this group is our diversity.  Although we're all about the same age (40's - 60's), we come from many backgrounds and everyone has something to contribute to the conversations. 
 

This is our 5th summer at Porthouse enjoying picnics prior to the show and this seems to have caught on to many others in the audience.  The first couple of years we did not reserve spaces and yet had no difficulties finding tables on the grounds.  Each summer there seems to be more and more tables set up, each with a brightly colored umbrella for their patrons to use.  This summer there is even a new pavilion for additional seating - and they're all filled! 
 
I think this is a fantastic way to stretch a simple theater experience into a full evening of enjoyment.  That being said, our next performance in July will find us over at Sarah's Vineyard prior to the show.  As much fun as it is to prepare our own picnic, it's just as much fun to let someone else do the pampering! 
 
This week the show was phenomanal!  Directed by Terri Kent with choreography by Mary Ann Black, the production was lively and well done in the space allowed.  The music was wonderful under the direction of Jonathan Swoboda.  There is a terrific full review by blogger and local critic Roy Berko here.  My personal opinion is that Dylan Ratell who played Mary Sunshine stole each scene he was in - yes, WOW!  Also, although I thought Ms. Black's portrayal of Roxie was spot on, she felt miscast in the part that seemed to require a younger actor. 
 
I'm looking forward to our next performance which will be The Sunshine Boys.  Anyone out there who hasn't had a Porthouse experience yet needs to get out and get there!

Chagrin Falls - June 2011

This past Saturday a couple of friends and I ventured to Chagrin Falls to visit the 28th annual Art by the Falls. More than 100 artists presented their work at the juried fine arts and contemporary craft festival, presented by the Valley Art Center in Riverside Park.

A co-worker mentioned this show on Friday telling me that his wife, the gallery director for the Valley Art Center, is the woman that organizes this show each year, which is the Center’s largest fundraiser. There were artists showing textiles, paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, jewelry, weaving, ceramics and more.

Art by the Falls began 28 years ago in Triangle Park when a small group of artists wanted a venue to show their wares and raise money for the art center. It has since grown into an annual community event that attracts artists and visitors from across the region, and even across the country.

Many artists showing at the festival are local, though some traveled from as far away as Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Florida. The free two-day festival also featured live music, entertainment, food and drinks and raffles.

UPDATE: Joey's burned down and closed permanently in 2011.

We wandered the booths and then headed onto the Main Street for some lunch at Joey’s. Joey’s is a quaint tiny space serving up pretty terrific Italian food. My fried Perch sandwich was very good, Lynn had the Portabella Grill, and Nancy had the Turkey Reuben (mostly minus sauerkraut since they’d just run out) and both enjoyed their lunches. The service was a bit slow but I think it was mostly due to the overly large crowd piling in from the Art Show so I’ll give them some leeway on that.

White Magnolia Window Shopping

After lunch, we set out to tour some of the little shops along Main. My favorite by far was the White Magnolia. This shop is a combination boutique and cupcake shop – by far the most interesting combination I’ve seen in one location. The shop is filled with beautiful antiques, replicas, china, candles, lawn art and just plain loveliness it was hard to say which items we liked best. Artfully put together, this shop is well worth spending an hour browsing in. Then comes the best part – decadent cupcakes arranged in a case by the door where I ooed and ahhed over them trying to decide which to bring home.

Beautiful displays at White Magnolia

The Cherry Cheesecake cupcake won by a slight edge over the Chocolate Mint. This pretty little cupcake had a cherry cheesecake filling and was piled high with icing and covered with cherry sprinkles all topped off by a Marciano cherry. This was well worth carrying home with me. Realistically, I think I'd have room for two cupcakes next trip up.

This pretty little cupcake gives me the urge to bake some of my own versions up but since we're smack in the middle of the Biggest Looser at work these will have to wait a while.  I thought of perhaps baking some and giving them out to all the other contestants, but then figured they'd find a way to pay me back somehow.  So stay tuned, I'm working on a couple of recipes that sound pretty good for sometime AFTER the contest is over.  Maybe a treat for all of us Loosers!

CLASSIC JAZZ COMBO AND A PAIR OF HISTORIANS

The University of Akron Jazz Studies Program continued its Jazz Fest with the Joe Augustine Trio on Wednesday night at Stage Door. As always, this group is smooth, cool and jazz-sexy. There’s something very 1950’s about jazz piano accompanied by a base and drums. Jack Schantz once again came up on stage to join in a set or two. You can close your eyes and imagine yourself sitting somewhere in the basement of a smoke-filled New York club listening to Nat Cole or Vince Guaraldi.

The event drew a larger crowd than the previous night so it was great to see so many there. Hooray for the University – they’ve done a bang up job putting this together.

WALKS AROUND AKRON
Thursday night the Akron Library presented a talk in their series called “enjoying the Great Outdoors”. Russ Mussara and Chuck Ayers came to chat about their book “Walks around Akron” that’s been documenting our city for over 27 years and continues to do so via regular articles in the Akron Life and Leisure magazine.

These two are quite obviously good friends as well as good collaborators and they’ve given us a peak into the everyday out-of-the-way places around town most people either take for granted or just never stop to see.

As I take some more baby steps into my hobby of photography, it was nice to hear some advice from these two about how to see the world around us in new ways. Chuck suggests that we take each day and each opportunity to see our everyday surroundings as though you were only going to be right here, right now, for just today and take it as though it was the first time you’ve seen it. “Like a mini-vacation” he said. When we walk into a new place, we tend to see things with a sense of openness and that is how we should approach our everyday lives.

Chuck reminisced that at times he would be busy sketching something for their articles only to have Russ tap him on the shoulder, point behind him and say “did you see that?”, which would be a completely new, and sometimes quite unexpected, view of why they were at a particular location. So we need to learn to take the time to look past the obvious, sometimes even at the back of things, in order to discover the unique views.

I liked that bit of wisdom – seems as though it might be appropriate for other things in life as well. Face value isn’t always the best view – learn to look deeper for true beauty.