sometimes the sword IS mightier than the...keyboard.

I challenge Cleveland Bachelor to a duel to the death of course...or until he runs off crying like a sissy. I'm scouting some abandoned, urine soaked real estate in the flats for a suitable locale. I'm open to suggestions. Refreshments will be served. Stay tuned for more details!

pickwick and frolicking at the greenhouse tavern

What a weekend! I feel as though it just ended. Actually, my mom just called from Newark Airport to say she had arrived safely back in the Dirty Jerz. I swear the weekend went by in the wink of an eye! I picked The Mama up at the airport on Friday and we came back to the apartment to see "the granddog" (we're crazy dog people and not ashamed to admit it). We visited for a bit and then headed to E. 4th for dinner at The Greenhouse Tavern. I was so excited to have my first official meal at the restaurant. We got a great table by the window upstairs where we could watch the tweens online for a concert @ HOB and enjoy a few drinks. I had a mojito, Mama had pinot noir; both were great. As I have been stalking the menu for months and got to order the crispy chicken wings with jalapeno, scallions and garlic (I got to try one of these puppies at the preview and knew we needed to have them. They definitely didn't disappoint and warranted the same reaction as last time. I was also eager to get an order of the pomme frites with raw garlic, rosemary and aioli, as I had them on St. Patty's Day and craved them ever since. They were just as delicious and fresh as I remembered them. We both decided to have the burgers and they were yummy as well! The staff at The GHT is great and very knowledgeable, our server recommended the Apple Tart for dessert, which was the perfect ending to a fantastic meal.




Hmmm...maybe I should have a taken a "before" pic?

Saturday was my cousin's bachelorette party. We were having dinner at Pickwick & Frolic to start the night and my two other cousins picked me up early so that we could have a drink before the bride and her friends arrived. After mild coaxing on my part, we ended up at the bar at The Greenhouse Tavern. Once again, David the bartender took great care of us to the point where he decided what I was going to have. Talk about mixology! My drink took a few minutes to make, but it was worth the wait! David informed me I was drinking a Ramos Fizz, which tasted like a fresh (adult) orange creamsicle. It was unlike anything I've ever tried and totally hit the spot! My cousin's and I chatted and drank and realized it was time to head across the street when my one cousin said, "I don't want to go. I want to stay here and drink!" Even though that would have been great, we had a bachelorette to inebriate. The bachelorette dinner was fun, but I thought the food was lackluster. I had a BBQ Chicken pizza. It was "eh". Oddly enough, that is what people told me to expect. I did hear however that the martini bar downstairs is worth a visit, so I might give that a shot. After wedding games and a story about a "Ninja Penis", the dinner was over and it was time for the rest of the group to go to the comedy show and out for dancing afterwards. I decided to skip that part and I'm glad I did, as my allergies were acting up with a vengeance!

With the bridal shower on Sunday, it was a very busy weekend and I enjoyed having some great quality time with my mom. The beautiful weather only enhanced my experience on E. 4th. I am looking forward to exploring more of the eateries on the fun little street. Meet me out for a drink sometime!

i think i killed bea arthur.

no seriously. I've had the worst allergies this weekend and yesterday I was talking to my cousins at the bachelorette party (more on that later) and I said, "My allergies are so bad, I sound like Bea Arthur." Then , I find out today that the Golden Girl went to the big apartment in the sky. Maybe this doesn't seem like a big deal, but I only consider myself a murderer because last year for a pre-Halloween party, the boyf dressed up as Robert Goulet (or at least Will Ferrell's version of Robert Goulet) and a few days later he was dead! See? I think I'm to blame for the loss of our dear Dorothy Zbornak. Sorry world!





i was only an accomplice in his demise...

sorry cleveland...it's sad, but true!

got this in an e-mail from my cousin yesterday and wanted to share. Oddly enough, the boyf and I were just discussing the rampant erroneous usage of pay phones in the city.

beer wars

Last night the we met up with Kelly and Jose and Kelly's sister and boyfriend @ The Winking Lizard in Independence for some drinks and food before heading to the Valley View Cinemark for a showing of Beer Wars . If it weren't for Kelly and Jose's blog post about the documentary we would have missed out, so thanks guys!!! I won't go into detail about the film (that's what hyperlinks are for:), but I will say that it was interesting being in a theater with a bunch of beer aficionados (hopheads?). It was reminiscent of Rocky Horror Picture Show as people were talking/shouting at the screen throughout the movie. I can't say I am as passionate about beer as others in the theater but it was great to be a part of the excitement. As with all documentaries I watch with a grain of salt, but I still learned a great deal about the ongoing battle between the little guys (micro-breweries) and the big guys (Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Coors). Furthermore, the panel discussion with the director and key players live via satellite made the movie more of an experience. I definitely walked away with a new appreciation of micro-brews and their makers. Do your part to help the local economy and small craft beer makers of Cleveland and opt for a sixer of Indigo Imp or Great Lakes. Cheers Cleveland!

the greenhouse tavern

I don't even know where to begin! Last night, I was lucky enough to get to go to The Greenhouse Tavern for a li'l preview and it was amazing! Evidently, I mistook myself for a bar rag because I soaked all kinds of different liquor last night. I am (happily) hungover and reeling from the experience. The boy and I got there a little before 7 and snagged 2 seats at the bar (made of what looks like recycled glass and cement; it was really beautiful) and were quickly greeted by David, one of the fabulous bartenders. I noticed they had Tito's Vodka and have been wanting to try it for a while and asked David what he thought. He told me I should have it up with a twist and I said that sounded great except I wanted olives instead. The boyf decided to have bourbon on the rocks and David suggested the Tavern's house pour, Buffalo Trace. We were both extremely happy with his recommendations. I enjoyed the vodka as it was very smooth (I thought it tasted like buttered popcorn although I have to say it smelled like eggs and that was a bit off-putting (Sorry Tito!). I took a sip of the boy's bourbon and was surprised at how smooth it was, considering it was the "house." As we settled in with our first round, servers started circulating with trays of food. I was offered a chicken wing. I have to admit when I saw the tray I thought to myself, "It's wings. How good can they be?" Well, I took one bite, looked right at my boyfriend and said, "These are so good, I want to kill someone." See? This is why I can't be a food critic. My opinions don't translate well, but this my friends is a big compliment. Food to die for; how does that sound. Anyway, as the boyf and I are long time servers and restaurant managers we sat at the bar and started to dissect everything about the place. While I enjoyed the layout and decor, he was most impressed by the neatly folded bar towel in the bear fridge as most fridges collect water to one side, he thought it was brilliant to have that there to soak up the water (we're restaurant people, things like that excite us:). He also liked the harpoon above the cooler. After admiring the minimal simplicity of the Tavern, we ordered a second round of old-fashioneds and I loved watching the bartender drop raw sugar cubs into the weighty high ball glasses and muddle it with the bourbon. although i am used to my favorite drink being served with cherries and an orange slice it was excellent!

The thing I like most about Jonathon Sawyer's food is that it is unpretentious and accessible, just like the chef and his wife. Sawyer does not drown his food in unnecessary sauces or get caught up with crazy food presentations, his food stands on it's own. Brotha' knows how to cook meat, that's for sure! It is always tender and juicy and seasoned to perfection. His passion for food is on every plate and you can taste it. In addition to creating beautiful dishes and unique restaurants Jonathon and Amelia are friendly and approachable. Last night I walked up to Amelia to introduce myself and congratulate her on the restaurant and she literally welcomed me with open arms and gave me a big hug. On top of super mom and super blogger, Amelia now adds super manager to her resume and is clearly an indispensable and integral part of the eatery. Unfortunately, I didn't get to say hello to Jonathan this time, but have a story about my first encounter with him. Upon moving to Cleveland I started looking for jobs and responded to an ad on Craig'slist for a restaurant manager in a new restaurant. That restaurant ended up to be Bar Cento and my interview was with Jonathon. At the time, I didn't know who he was, but I could tell he was a hard-working and passionate guy. He took me on a tour of the then unfinished restaurant and we sat down and talked about the job. It was a very informal conversation, but as he described the responsibilities and amount of "sweat equity" the job would require I knew it was more than I could handle. I did however immediately admire his work ethic and his candid nature. Mid-interview his cell rang and he answered it and started talking about fantasy football picks with whomever was on the other end of the call. After a minute or two he said, "Dude, I gotta go, I'm in the middle of an interview and I'm kind of being a dick." Why can't all interviews be like this? We finished up our pleasant conversation and I left knowing that wasn't the job for me and he knowing I wasn't the girl for the job. Regardless, it was a great meeting and I'm glad I got that early exposure to the Sawyer Food Dynasty. Whoa! Talk about a tangent; brevity is not a strong suit of mine. If all I have said is not reason enough for you to want to try what will soon be a dining mecca, then consider going to dine in Ohio's first "certified Green restaurant." The bottom line is" get your ass to The Greenhouse Tavern for some great food in a great environment created by great people!

stars; they're just like us...except they are rich and famous

so last night at work i was kind of miserable/tired/hungover (i was taken advantage of by several margaritas the night before) and pissed because it was slow and I wasn't making any money. Just as I was reaching the apex of my discontent, I saw a young girl (18-20) and a woman who appeared to be her grandmother walk in to the restaurant. I greeted them and grabbed two menus for them and I immediately did a double take. This is what happened next:

Me: "You're Kate Voegele!"

Kate Voegele: (Laughing) "Yeah! Hi."

Me: "I love One Tree Hill. You're great."

Kate Voegele: "Thanks. What's your name?"

I told her and shook her hand. I am such an a-hole! Ha! Not only was I completely socially inept, I was like shouting at her like a 12 year old. For those (most) of you who don't know, Kate Voegele is a singer/songwriter and actress on the show One Tree Hill and she is from Bay Village. It wasn't that I was starstruck by her it was just so random that I was in a crap mood and operating on autopilot thinking about getting out of work so I could go home and watch One Tree Hill and in walks someone from the show, it was just surreal. None of my co-workers cared. When I told my manager she was in the restaurant he was like, "Oh that girl from Bay that had like one hit song?" and then he rolled his eyes. I'm not claiming she's Madonna but dude, she's a signed musician who is on a very successful TV show and you're garnishing sandwiches with chips and pickles. YOU should be impressed. Anyway, I don't know much about Kate Voegele's music, but she does have a beautiful voice and seems very nice and down to earth and despite being a very slender girl has a big appetite. That was my big celebrity encounter in Rocky River, OH. Some may not be impressed and I realize that I may be too old to watch shows like One Tree Hill, but that's just who I am. An awkward adolescent trapped in a 20 something body. Just consider yourself lucky I haven't used this blog to talk about Twilight. I'm off to serve the hungry masses of Rocky River; Here is Kate Voegele singing a cover of Jeff Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." Now you'll know what she looks like when she's sitting at the table next to you:)

the caper loves nature

and by loving nature, i mean Nature's Bin in Lakewood. I know I've written about this little gem before, but I felt compelled to mention it again. I had a shit-tastic day at work on Monday ( I was going to write about it, but decided I want to be more positive...we'll see how long that lasts:) as a result of a horrible human being's assholery. Anyway, after work I decided to hit "The Bin" (see how cool I am?) for some Hansen's soda and some natural beauty products. I am on a natural toiletries kick (again, we'll see how long this lasts) and got what I needed and then I decided I was hungry so I perused their prepared food section and quickly filled my basket. I chose some of their cranberry/almond chicken salad. I love when people get creative with chicken salad and this was so yummy I am already craving it again! It was a great pick for lunch, but then I rationalized the need for dessert and the vegan red velvet cupcake caught my eye. I am a red velvet connoisseur and must admit that I was a bit skeptical to try a vegan version of one of my fave treats. My fretting was all for naught as this was one of the yummiest cupcakes I have ever eaten! Mmmmmmm! Would it be wrong of me to go back today? Too bad. I'm doing it!


Some of Nature Bin's Yummy Vegan Cupcakes!