Thanks for the comment, Michael. And by the way, congrats on being on the cover of Clev Mag this month!

I hear what you're saying and to be honest, I use the term lightly when I say food critic. This is nothing like being a real food critic. I'm just happy to write about food and use the term as a broad definition.

michelle, I've thought a for a few days about whether to leave this as a comment of as a personal e-mail, and i decided on as a comment. This way if i'm in the wrong i can be told so.

While your desire to be food critique may be near'er or farther than you think, you have become a dependable, reputable name in the foodie commnunity. To do this discussion justice we would have to define the term, "food critque" which i feel is very much different that someone with a blog posting there opinions on the food they where served at any such restaurant.

I think there are standards which every restaurant should reach, particulary cleanliness, and customer service issues.

secondly, every restaurant has it's gimick, theme, or label it has assigned itself and for this reason it should be judged within it's self chosen arena. for example, arbys does very nice fast food, it's tastey, and fast, that is their goal. on the other hand, under another theam flannary's does irish pub food, too braod menu, too much fried food, but ok, they dint' hit their goal....that should be the dialoge for the food critique, did a restaurant meet it's goal???

For the most part i enjoy hearing about your personal opinions, likes, and dislikes about restaurants because in the past we have agreed in alot of cases. But what i've come to see is that there are alot of people in the world who will take the opinion that if you don't like something, and say you had such a thing at such a restaurant, then these people think that such a restarant is bad.

perhaps i'm just fussy, but to me there is a critique that says, "this resturant performed up to it's expectation but not over." and this is a resonsable, broadly read critique. on the other had there is the writer who posts, "i don't like olives so the chicken dish was poor, and i don't like fennel so the pork was bad, and i don't like butter, so the butter sauce was horible" well this critique is only going to get a people who hate olives, fennel, and butter to read their next piece.

I add this as an experct blogger critique, so i know my shit!!!! lol, just my 2 cents, please come to my view from the kitchen and critique me, i would appreciate it since not much goes on there.

thank you

Michelle,

I actually have met Bernie Kosar - at a fundraiser. I bid on and won his autographed Browns jersey which I gave to my husband as a gift. Anyway, when I won, he thanked me for bidding on it and we had a photo taken together! He was really a nice guy.

This piece for Cleveland Magazine is what made me go back to Carrie Cerino's b/c the first time I went there I wasn't crazy about it at all. But then I learned more about the place and what to order on the menu and found myself really digging the food - a lot.

No, I've never met him :)

I was once engaged to Bernie's brother-in-law (his wife's brother). 6 degrees of separation, right?

Congratulations Michelle!

Funny that you say you wrote the Carrie Cerino's piece for the magazine... I thought of your blog when I read it because you mention Carrie Cerino's so often and speak so highly of it.

p.s. so have you met Bernie yet??