Author Archives: Michelle V

thankful. and full.

I’m not afraid of cooking. Give me a recipe and I’ll try anything. The kitchen is my favorite room. But Thanksgiving, well, that’s not just cooking. That’s the meal – the meal that nearly everyone claims as their favorite. The one that they wait all year for, and if it stinks, you have to wait [...]

the underdog

What a clever little name. Happy Dog just got a whole lot happier. In the basement of everyone’s favorite neighborhood bar and hot dog destination is a new hangout, The Underdog, a 40-seat bar and game room. The Underdog will feature a full bar, three classic pinball games, shuffle board, 48 classic arcade games plus [...]

’tis the season to give (away… pasta & ale)

Here’s an early holiday present, two actually, from Cleveland Foodie to you. Up for grabs, your chance to win one of the following: ****November 28 at Noodlecat, another pop-up – this time with chef Jeff Michaud of Osteria and Amis in Philadelphia. He’s creating a six-course pasta dinner which you can view here (apparently Jeff [...]

pura vida

In just a couple more weeks, I’ll be once again joining the downtown lunch crowd. And I know where I’ll be a regular. I met one of my favorite lunch companions the other week to check out the recently opened Pura Vida on Euclid, right down from Noodlecat (another place I’m eager to check out); [...]

healthy eats from c2

C2 is the new Mediterranean-themed healthy-focused restaurant at the InterContinental  Hotel. They have just announced new weekday happy hours featuring chef Vincent Cachot’s selection of healthy, cultural cuisine; plus wine, cocktail and beer specials. C2’s happy hours run Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., with specialty drink selections and complimentary snacks from the [...]

steppin’ out with my baby

Though it feels like a lifetime ago now, I use to work as a bartender and server at the old Club Isabella. Though short-lived, it was a fun gig. You couldn’t beat all that jazz. Well, the live jazz is now (sadly) gone as is the restaurant itself. Well, sorta. The physical location that I [...]

moving on

My first job was cleaning women’s golf shoes. Yeah, you can imagine how satisfying that was. I was 15. From there I graduated onto greener pastures – retail at Alexander’s Flowers where I worked at the old Solon shop then the headquarters on and off for five years. This job is the reason why even [...]

a meal to remember

My grandma passed away last July with her final weeks spent in hospice. During that time, my family would gather in her room nearly every  night to have dinner  together. Either one of us would make something special we knew she liked  or we’d pick something up. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that [...]

q&a with bridget thibeault of luna bakery

The first time we stopped in Luna Bakery was for Sunday breakfast a few months ago. It was a picture-perfect August morning in Cleveland Heights (at Cedar-Fairmount) and people were out. The small patio in front was lined with bikers and strollers and inside the tiny café was equally as packed with people hovering for [...]

notice anything different?

Cleveland is filled with  a lot of talent, talent that goes well beyond the kitchen. Truly – if you stop to look around, it’s really quite something to see all the different types of people, with diverse ideas and abilities, that choose to call Cleveland home and showcase their skills, whatever it may be, right [...]