Talk to me about Cleveland...

[msamyfarrahfowler]

I'm heading there tonight for a long weekend.  I haven't done research and have no idea how to spend my time there.  Please help!

[mdgirl]

The West Side Market is great, and should be busy and fun tomorrow morning (it's closed on Sundays). You can get coffee and just wander around and pick up snacks. Reilly's has super good raspberry jam shortbread cookies, and there's a crepe stand. If you want something bigger there's a gyro stand that's been called the best in the country.

If you want some good stuff to take home Ohio City Pasta and the pierogi stand are both very good.

If you go to the Market, the Great Lakes brewery is across the street and they do fun tours and have good stuff on tap in their brew pub.

I used to live in Cleveland and I've been missing it lately -- it's such a great city! Have fun!

[librarygirl]

I've been to Cleveland a couple of times. Will you be staying in the downtown? Have access to a car?

For dos:
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-it's definitely worth a visit and depending on your level of interest, you can spend a long amount of time there or something on the briefer side.
There's also the Great Lakes Science Center (by the river).
Like pp said, the Westside Market is fantastic. My only complaint is that there really is little seating and if you go on a Saturday, the place is pretty mobbed so it's somewhat hard to eat and walk. But hopefully the weather will be mild enough to eat outdoors too! But there are so many incredible things to eat along with just taking everything in as a tourist venue.
This is dependent upon you having a car, but a little further afield from the downtown, there are a couple of museums near the Case Western campus-Botanical Gardens and the art museum. I didn't make it to the gardens but was very impressed with the art museum.
The Cavaliers arena is also right in the downtown if you're in the mood for a sporting event.

And for some reason if you're a Christmas Story fan you can actually visit the house...(I can't stand the movie but my h loves it).

For eats:
East 4th Street (downtown) is a popular bar/restaurant area. There's Michael Symon's Lola (we weren't able to get reservations), some non-descript ethinc spots. I loved our meal at the Greenhouse Tavern though. I think the street is also home to a chocolate bar if I remember...
I wasn't overly impressed by the food at the Great Lakes pub but I'm not a beer drinker to begin with so that probably contributed.
This is also tied to having a car but I would highly recommend dining at Melt Bar and Grilled (they have 4? locations throughout the outer sections of the city). Their thing is gourmet/crazy style grilled cheese sandwiches. It was featured on Man vs. Food.

Here are some blog posts I have on the city:
www.theredheadedtraveler.com/2013/09/restaurant-review-great-lakes-brewpub.html
www.theredheadedtraveler.com/2013/01/clevelands-west-side-market.html
www.theredheadedtraveler.com/2012/03/restaurant-review-melt-bar-grilled.html
www.theredheadedtraveler.com/2012/02/restaurant-review-greenhouse-tavern.html
www.theredheadedtraveler.com/2012/02/restaurant-review-saigon-restaurant-bar.html

[msamyfarrahfowler]

Yes, I'm staying downtown and renting a car.

These suggestions are amazing! So far, I've made dinner RSVPs to Greenhouse and Lolita. I initially made a RSVP for Lola, but the Lolita menu is more up my alley. Did I make the right decision??

I'm super excited for the West Side Market. Is it anything like the Reading Terminal Market in Philly?

I also want to visit the Art Museum and Lake View Cemetery. Is University Circle walkable? What are the highlights?

[mdgirl]

I've never been to the Reading Terminal Market, so I can't compare them. But it's way better than Pike Place Market, and the building is a beautiful deco building (be sure to look up at the ceiling inside). I was a West Side girl so I didn't get over to University Circle much.

Mar 21, 2014 14:21:25 GMT -5 librarygirl said:

I wasn't overly impressed by the food at the Great Lakes pub but I'm not a beer drinker to begin with so that probably contributed.

It's not you. The food isn't the greatest, but the beer is fantastic.

[bronxgirl]

Definitely visit the art museum and the Rock Hall.

[librarygirl]

Mar 21, 2014 15:14:51 GMT -5 msamyfarrahfowler said:

Yes, I'm staying downtown and renting a car.

These suggestions are amazing! So far, I've made dinner RSVPs to Greenhouse and Lolita. I initially made a RSVP for Lola, but the Lolita menu is more up my alley. Did I make the right decision??

I'm super excited for the West Side Market. Is it anything like the Reading Terminal Market in Philly?

I also want to visit the Art Museum and Lake View Cemetery. Is University Circle walkable? What are the highlights?

I've sadly not been to any Michael Symon restaurants (booo) but have only ever heard good things about all of them. I know Lola's menu is definitely "different." Definitely let me know how Lolita was once you're back.

Yes, the Westside Market is like the Ohio equivalent of Reading Terminal. They're both in historic buildings so even the ambiance is pretty cool. This is pretty decent to transport home we love the popcorn from Campbell's. I think their store is across the street from the market but we always buy from the stall that's in the market. They have dorm/hotel style dispensers that allow you to sample the flavors which is cool and they have some really out there flavors but still taste awesome.

When we went to the art museum it was in the dead of winter so we were on a mission to just park the car and get inside but at least by the museum, it was nothing but trees, sidewalks so on a nice day I would think it would be pleasant to just stroll.

Have fun!

[librarygirl]

Mar 21, 2014 15:53:15 GMT -5 mdgirl said:

I've never been to the Reading Terminal Market, so I can't compare them. But it's way better than Pike Place Market, and the building is a beautiful deco building (be sure to look up at the ceiling inside). I was a West Side girl so I didn't get over to University Circle much.

Mar 21, 2014 14:21:25 GMT -5 librarygirl said:

I wasn't overly impressed by the food at the Great Lakes pub but I'm not a beer drinker to begin with so that probably contributed.

It's not you. The food isn't the greatest, but the beer is fantastic.

Ha, I'm glad to hear it wasn't me! My one friend goes there a lot and raves about the food but after dining there it was just "meh" to me. My h is a big beer drinker and concurs with your opinion of their brews

[christy082]

You've gotten lots of good recs. The museum of art is free, so that's an added bonus. There's the Horseshoe Casino if that is something you would be interested in. Little Italy is also near Case Western.