cle restaurants and bars

the start to summa time

between patio prep, west 6th and cruising the waters of lake erie, my memorial day weekend was basically a repeat from last year. but the difference between last year and this year is a few new found realizations…

purchasing an electric power washer at a PSI of 1400 is not strong enough for your average concrete patio. if you want power, you need a gas powered behemoth with at least 2800 PSI.
when in a certain mindset (and/or intoxicated stage), clubs like Liquid/Suite Sixx/Ultra can be fun. but i would still prefer my d-sho, ohio city and tremont go-to’s.
boat maintenance and general upkeep is wicked annoying. it’s like having a a big wet baby. but the bathtub is 60 sextillion times larger (yes, i looked that statistic up).

i hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. here’s to the first week of june!

partio time!

the Luxe patio after dark.

spring has started out pretty rocky. and from the looks of it, more rain is on the way this week. but after basking in the sun at cropicana this past weekend, we all know summer is coming. and what does that mean? patio party time, of course!

it’s natural that we clevelanders want to spend every waking hour outdoors from the months of may through october. and we all want that perfect place to lounge with our bff’s while we nosh and slosh.

if you are looking for some high-grade quality patios, try out some of these lovely options…

Luxe - sustainably chic, nice shrubs, gnocchi
Reddstone - mature trees, ample seating, hip crowd
Washington Place Bistro & Inn - quaint, lush, romantic
Stone Mad - 100% stone, bubbling waterfall, oversized fireplace
Zinc Bistro – urban oasis, comfortable seating, prime downtown location
Taphouse – hops plants, amazing menu, trendy Tremont locale

i like my pumped up kicks

where did this week go?

my newly contracted allergies are hella annoying.

this weather has been excrutiating.

but ya know what? it’s all good. i have some left over potato gnocchi from Luxe by my side and i can actually see sunlight and blue sky out my window.

i also must share a song i first heard on sirius radio that immediately peeked my interest. it’s smooth, refreshing and incredibly uplifting. i want this song to play on repeat and magically fill the humid summer air as i ride my bike down the streets of CLE.

take a listen to ‘pumped up kicks’ by Foster The People. if you like it, you should mark your calendars for june 13th because they will be performing at the Grog Shop in cleveland heights.

disclaimer: pay no attention to the lyrics. i would like to think of this tune as a light-hearted, playful story of long lost friends reuniting at a beach party in the pacific northwest. unfortunately, this song is about a homicidal teenager (cue debbie downer).

what day is it?

don’t you ever wonder how all of these unconventional, non-traditional days just ended up on our calendar? who exactly originated these colloquial expressions? why am i using words like colloquial?

this particular subject arose the other night while having dinner at happy dog. we obviously had dogs for dinner and it just so happened to be wednesday, so naturally i deemed the night ‘weiner wednesday’. do restaurants, bars or hot dog shops ever use this as a promotional tactic?

let’s explore the other days of the week, shall we?

monday – manic monday (thank you, bangles)

tuesday – taco tuesday (yum)

wednesday – hump day (need i explain?)

thursday – thirsty thursday (happy hour time)

friday – freaky friday (not sure people even use this)

saturday – super saturday (think retail/big sales)

sunday – sunday funday (an enjoyably intoxicating way to end the weekend)

what else can we come up with? currently i am thinking we need a ‘macaroni monday’ and a ‘falafel friday’…

word of the day – colloquial (duh)

CLE+ SUCKS sucks

dear mr. nemeth,

yes, CLE can suck. sometimes it can suck real bad. however, every city has potential to suck. it doesn’t matter if you live in new york, seattle, denver or miami — residents can always find reasons to complain and criticize local politics, weather, sports, and economics.

i could easily list 100 reasons why CLE does not suck and 100 reasons why it does suck, but i am not going to waste my time. and you should not waste your time ridiculing our fair city for a reason unbeknownst to us. while CLE+ SUCKS is quite amusing, why not spend your extracurricular time focusing on your career or getting involved in charity work?

you can bash us cleveland cheerleaders and “cupcakes” all you want. while many of us may be wearing rose-colored glasses, we know our city has much to accomplish. but we are a community of people who want to be part of the civic resurgence that is slowly but surely taking place. it will take us a while to get there, but we will get there. and unfortunately you will not be part of it.

say what you want. i am still happy in CLE.

love,
seanski

it was just like a movie

i was supposed to announce the winner of the $50 gift certificate to The Greenhouse Tavern on friday. whoops.

between thursday and sunday, i really wasn’t home much (don’t believe me, just check my foursquare status and/or plum’s blog). aside from all the activity that took place, something happened early sunday morning that has become a more common occurrence. and that something would be the “movie scene” experience.

after a long day of shopping with plum (and surviving the erie hurricane on the shoreway), nug and i attended the ArtCares benefit at the Battery Park power house. the event was wonderful, the people were incredible and the art was fantastic. this was also my first time seeing Lounge Kitty perform. if you have not seen this band before, you should.

lounge kitty singing to nug.

but this was not my “movie scene” experience. afterwards, we headed to tina’s nite club to shut the night down. just about everyone in the d-sho was in attendance, including councilman zone and his wife, michelle. but it was when tbone took the mic and the lionel richie track started to play. as soon as the lyrics started, people turned their heads and immediately began to get groovy.

as the song progressed, just about everyone was singing. about 80% of the crowd was on their feet dancing by “tam bo li de say de moi ya”. it was such a happy moment. one of those moments in your day, week or year when you realize how cool life can be. and i thank my friends, family and city for providing these moments to me on a regular basis (i know, sappy).

the "movie scene" at tina's.

does anyone else have these experiences? or am i just a whimsical, optimistic, insane person?

now let’s get to the winner. chosen by random.org with a total of 31 comments, number 8 (ironically, my fave digit) is the lucky duck.

congrats, Dean Bianchi!

word of the day – jello

a happy(inCLE) anniversary

i totally missed my one year blog anniversary. i knew i started this thing last april, but didn’t realize that april 7th was my official start date! over the past month i have been brainstorming ideas for happyinCLE. a little makeover is currently in the works. change is good and i think the logo and graphics could use a good kick in the a*#.

another thought i had involved the general content of this here online word vomit station. i know most blogs are basically formulated web diaries, but i feel like i need a ‘thing’. i don’t know what that thing is and don’t know if it will ever rear its head, but i am open to suggestions.

and finally, i have been contemplating the use of proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. howev, this transformation would be totes ridic.

my first change is not exactly visible to the naked eye, but it will (hopefully) make some impact on the planet. that’s right, happyinCLE is going green. i have switched my web hosting provider to Canvas Dreams, which is an amazing eco-friendly company that uses renewable wind power generated at wind farms in the pacific northwest. they also plant a tree for every new customer — sustainaballs!

and in spirit, i would like to continue the green theme by giving a lucky winner a $50 gift certificate to The Greenhouse Tavern. i thought it would be nice to give the people (and by people, i mean the 8 human beings that read this blog) a little somethin’ somethin’.

to win the gift certificate, please comment on this post by expressing your love for CLE. what makes you happyinCLE? i will announce the winner this friday, april 15th. good luck!

word of the day – happy

let’s fly with dragonfly

there is rarely a time that i pass up a dinner invite. and thanks to janet (ms. jackson, if you’re nasty), i was able to attend the media preview at dragonfly last week.

she approves.

dragonfly you ask? yes, they have been open for over a year, but this week unveiled a more refined menu and reconfigured interior.

thanks in part to marlin kaplan and the usual suspects (jeff a. and adam w.), we are now treated too a new “asian-fusion” vibe. look out for additional seafood creations and other modern plates while the class-act cocktail list stays put.

yum...potstickers.

the interior has also been revamped a bit, specifically in the main dining room where the bar stools have been converted to standard height chairs and tables. visually, the room appears larger and feels more like an actual restaurant space while maintaining the lounge design aesthetic.

the main dining room.

make sure to check out the new dragonfly next time you are in the w.25th area!

word of the day – sushi

hip hop ya don’t stop

after running into gina (beautyfoodie) last week at battery park wine bar, i again realized my vast love for hip hop and r&b tuneage. i know some cannot stand the lyrics, redundancy of vocal runs, or low bass chords, but personally i cannot get enough of it — and neither can gina.

as we discussed some of our favorite artists and songs, one particular song always comes to mind because it simply oozes passion, love and sexiness. that song would be bed by j. holiday and if you have not heard of it before, i suggest you close your eyes, sit back and click the link below.

another song brought up in recent conversation is by the late, great aaliyah. this is my official summer anthem and i play it almost every single time i am on the boat in sandusky. rock the boat exudes this uber smooth groove that takes your hips to a whole other level. i mean, she literally tells us to “work the middle”. bow chica bow wow.

word of the day – drift

the new sweet spot

moving to the detroit shoreway neighborhood two years ago was the best decision i have ever made. in the short time span, many new establishments have opened in the d-sho, including wall eye gallery, frank’s falafel house, battery park wine bar and xyz the tavern.

this time, the newest addition brings some old-school flavor with a modern twist. and many west side city folk have been impatiently waiting for a sweet spot exactly like this.

this saturday, the grand opening of Sweet Moses will take place at 6800 detroit ave. i had the opportunity to attend the media preview this past weekend with the plum and was blown away by not only the treats and sweets, but the attention to detail brought forth by owner, Jeffrey Moreau.

i won’t get into any detail regarding the impeccable quality of the decor and furnishings right now. i think you should just check out this place for yourself! but i will tell you that the samplings of fudge, popcorns, toffee, peanut butter sandwiches and ice cream were amazeballs. and if you are in the mood for a larger sundae, you must try the “gordon square”.

for you ice cream lovers, sweet moses offers flavors such as belgian chocolate, butter pecan, cookies and cream, coffee and bananas foster. also, make sure to try the root beer floats and italian sodas!

p.s. – thanks to cleveland foodie for the invite!

word of the day – cones