I would have been content just about anywhere, but of course we didn’t just want to settle considering we haven’t been out alone in ages (even before the baby came, I was no peach to be around those final weeks of pregnancy & became quite the homebody). We headed to East 4th for rooftop cocktails, shopping and dinner.

I’ve had drinks on the roof of Greenhouse several times, but this was the first time I’ve been up there since they “opened” it. What a space and what views. If they served food up there, my butt would have been parked in that stool all night. Though I get why they don’t offer anything to munch on upstairs (those stairs are quite plentiful – and steep), I sure wish they did.

Post drinks, and feeling pretty good (when you don’t drink your normal share for the better part of a year, you become quite the cheap date), we headed to Chinato. As we made the short hop down the street, it was  electrifying to be downtown at that moment. Thome was back that night for the first time in nearly a decade, the weather was picturesque and it seemed like just about everyone was out in the city enjoying it.

At dinner, we ordered a variety of small dishes and feasted away. Highlights included the yellowtail and salmon crudo, fried baby artichokes (which the chef sent out) and buratta.  What I’ll likely skip next time is the involtini of eggplant with ricotta and shrimp. While I’ve never tried this before, it seemed a bit overbooked and over seasoned.

Not ready to head home just yet, we stopped in Dredgers Union which wisely stays open until 10 p.m. Jamie picked up a few shirts, I snagged some clothes for the kids and a great fall hat for myself (clothes shopping has to wait a bit for me). If you haven’t had the pleasurable experience of shopping here yet, you should go soon. It has something for everyone.

When we got home the kids were in la la land and we weren’t far behind. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the tweet that mommy and daddy went out the night before and woke up bright and early with the first one getting our attention at 5 a.m. I’ve missed the nights out, but not the mornings after…

Zack Bruell announces the official start of the 2011 Tour de Bruell.  To take part in the Tour, diners should simply visit any Zack Bruell restaurant - Parallax, Table 45, L’Albatros or Chinato – between Memorial Day and Labor Day and ask for their Tour de Bruell ticket.   Each time a participant purchases dinner at one of the restaurants, they earn a stamp on their ticket.  In order to complete the Tour, participants will have to get one stamp at each Zack Bruell restaurant.

All fans that complete the Tour de Bruell will receive a commemorative t-shirt, featuring the 2011  theme:  “Get Your Zack On.”  From those individuals, 10 semi-finalists and their guests will be randomly selected to enjoy a complimentary wine tasting dinner at Table 45, featuring cuisine by Bruell and champagne offerings by Moët & Chandon.  In addition, one grand prize winner will receive the custom, in-home, four-course dinner for eight, prepared by Bruell.

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s annual Summer Solstice Party, now in its third year, is just around the corner – Saturday, June 25^th. The event will feature all-night music, food, drinks and dancing to celebrate the long days and hot nights of summer us Clevelanders have been so patiently awaiting.  But why wait until the 25^th to enjoy?

Starting next week, each Zack Bruell restaurant will offer its own unique multi-course, prix fixe Summer Solstice menu for one week, to promote the Summer Solstice party.  Chinato kicks it off next week followed by L’Albatros.  Here’s the official menu schedule:

• Week of May 31 (Tues-Sat):  Chinato
• Week of June 6 (Mon-Sat):  L’Albatros
• Week of June 13 (Mon-Sat):  Parallax
• Week of June 19 (Sun-Sat):  Table 45 (Table 45 will offer pre-party dining for Summer Solstice Party 2011)
• The cost for these Summer Solstice Menus are $35 per person

Chinato’s menu:

• 1^st Course: Lamb sweetbreads with roasted tomato aioli
• 2^nd course: Pappardelle with zucchini, chickpeas, arugula mint and pecorino cheese
• 3^rd course: Fennel-dusted cod with bell pepper and fennel risotto and basil butter
• 4^th course: Lemon cheesecake

L’Albatros’ menu:

• 1^st Course: Salad of Garden and Local Greens with Charred Tomato Vinaigrette
• 2^nd Course: Braised Pork Belly & Tiger Shrimp with Lavender Pork Jus
• 3^rd Course : Strawberry Clafoutis

The actual event takes place on 6/25 at the museum starting at 6 p.m. and lasting until 2 a.m. General admission tickets are $125 for CMA members and includes hors d’oeuvres plus open bar from 6-8 p.m. From 7:30 p.m. until 2 a.m., general admission is $60 per person, $40 for CMA members, and free admission for CMA members at the Fellow level or higher and includes appetizers and cash bar. And from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m., advance tickets are $15 per person, $20 per person at the door and includes snacks and cash bar.

While I’m really hoping to attend this event, there’s a good chance I just may be in labor (though if I go, UH is just around the corner…). Unless you’re also nearing the end of your pregnancy and the notion of staying up until 10 p.m. is a foreign concept to you these days, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go. It has quite the reputation of being one of the best summer parties in town! And thanks to the CMA and Zack Bruell, I have two tickets up for grabs to attend from 10 p.m. on. To be entered into the random drawing, just leave a comment to this post (sorry – to be fair, Facebook doesn’t count, but I do appreciate the conversation there!) telling me your favorite thing about Cleveland summers.

Good luck and happy summer! You have until June 8^th to enter.

MVP will bring passengers from their E 4th valet station to Playhouse each and every night of a Playhouse production. To receive a ride, passengers must present a recipt from dinner at Chinato (House of Blues is participating, too), plus their show ticket.

MVP will depart E 4th five times prior to each show: 90, 60, 45, 30 and 15 minutes. MVP will return to pick up guests in a designated area beginning 30 minutes prior to show end time and will take as many trips needed, up to 90 minutes post show.

As an added bonus, if you return to Chinato post play, the restaurant is offering a complimentary appetizer to all guests with a same-day ticket stub.

This service is available for the remainder of 2011.

Here’s a recap of our recent Bruell eats:

On Saturday, I got together with my oldest and dearest friends to celebrate two birthdays at Chinato. Our husbands were there too, though you wouldn’t have known it until we left (boys on one side, girls on the other). For two of the couples, this was their first trip.

The night did start off a little shaky. There were 8 of us and they sat us in a table clearly meant for 6. Sure, we could have all fit, but we would have been packed like in sardines and no one wants to go through a meal without being able to lift your arms. That’s not conducive for an enjoyable night out (and knowing we were an 8 top is why I made rezzies nearly 6 weeks out).

The management quickly saw this was an issue and changed our table. Problem (easily and swiftly) solved. Unfortunately, the somewhat shaky service did continue throughout the night. I get it was crowded and I get it was a Saturday night. But I have to imagine we’d be a good table to have: fun group, lots of food, lots of alcohol and we weren’t in a hurry to get someplace. But there were small things throughout the night that made us all feel like it was a bother to wait on us and that our server had much better things to be doing with his time (forgetting to bring things out, rolling eyes when asking for oil for bread, rather condescending overall, etc.).

But on to what really matters – the food! And as all of our previous visits, the food was stellar. We started off with fried artichokes, mussels, involtini and ribollita for the table. For my dinner, I had my favorite fennel salad (seriously, I can’t go there without ordering this) and a half order of the pappardelle with creamed cauliflower, pecorino and peperoncini (love how there is zero cream in this velvety sauce).

Everything was top notch and happily devoured by all. If you haven’t been, I recommend going soon. And despite the off service this night, we have enjoyed wonderful service on past visits.

For our 4^th wedding anniversary, we went to Parallax. Now this has long been a favorite of ours since he first opened. We love sitting out front during the summer, cocktails at the bar, and the main dining room, too. And they have some of my favorite sushi in town. But I have to say, this was my first trip to Parallax were I didn’t leave wowed and completely content.

I started with the yellowtail, jalapeno, mango chirashi with avocado sushi rice, followed by the beet salad and finally the udon noodles with rock shrimp & pork belly (miso black cod – as always – for Jamie).

I stand corrected. I was quite content and overly smitten with my entrée. Plenty of pork belly and shrimp swimming in mounds of noodles. I was happy. But not so much with my two starters. The beets weren’t cooked enough and the chirashi was just bland (which was surprising given its accompaniments).

But everyplace has off days and perhaps this was one of them. Because like I said, we’ve been big fans for years now and one experience like this won’t change that.

Finally, dinner with friends at L’Albatros. My favorite outing of the three (meal wise) because of two things: Brandon and cheese. Zack is truly lucky to have found Brandon and us Clevelanders are lucky Brandon chooses to call Cleveland home (side note: read more about how Brandon Chrostowski ended up here in Fresh Water). Service was excellent as was the food. And if you’re a fan of cheese, you simply can’t leave until you have let Brandon share some of his favorites with you.

While the cheese is always my favorite part of my L’Albatros experience, I did also greatly enjoy my oysters and braised leg of lamb. And the overall atmosphere is my favorite of all three.

In an effort to promote its Fresh Market package, The Ritz-Carlton Cleveland invited us to spend the night and experience it firsthand. The package includes overnight accommodations on Friday, followed by breakfast with the chef at Muse Saturday morning, then a guided trip to The West Side Market to pick out lunch, complete with a return trip to the restaurant for a four-course feast of your market picks.

After checking in, we headed straight to The Greenhouse Tavern for dinner. Actually, that’s not true. First we stopped at Chinato for a pre-dinner cocktail. And how cool is this – for checking in on Foursquare, I got a free drink of the day, the delightful Sangria Flora. Then we went to Greenhouse, which continues to easily be one of this city’s best restaurants.

Over a bottle of wine, we enjoyed the clams foie gras, wings (Jamie can no longer step foot on E 4^th without ordering these), pork chop saltimbocca and Ohio corn carbonara, Now, I loved my meal, especially the strong sage flavor in the chop. But Jamie really loved his dish. In fact, I have only seen him this giddy over a plate of food one other time and that was the short ribs at Crush in Seattle. Jamie likes food, but he does not share my enthusiasm or need for constant profession of greatness during the meal. But this pasta was a different story. He wouldn’t shut up about how great it was and joked that he was going downstairs to give Jonathon a big kiss for making a near perfect meal.

The eating continued when we met at Muse the next morning. We were greeted by 6 fellow foodies who were participating in the package and chef Constantine Vourliotis plus his two sous chefs, Josh and Andrew. The chefs ate with us and explained how the day would go. We would shop, explore and share with them what we’d like to eat for lunch. And that could be anything – anything at all you’re craving, they will make. It’s actually a rather daunting question and kind of hard to think about what you’d like to try – especially when you’re already full!

With mimosas in hand, we headed to the market. The chef talked about how he shops for the restaurant and how he’s been coming to the market with his dad since he was 6. I asked how much of his menu is local and he said 25% with a lot coming from The Chef’s Garden and stands throughout the market. He explained that he’d like to utilize more local food, but is bound by strict Marriott guidelines. Perhaps he should talk to Ellis Cooley and figure out how he’s been able to get around that. His favorite stands include Kate’s Fish, Ohio City Pasta, Judy’s Oasis, the Mediterranean Store and Dohar Meats. He also loves the falafel at Maha’s and we all sampled of which I happily concur.

I love the market and spend a lot of time here. But it was my first time walking and shopping the aisles with chefs. It was truly a fun learning experience – chatting, eating and gaining new knowledge.

But that lingering question remains – what to have for lunch? See, each couple could have anything they’d like. One gentleman requested rabbit and wanted something that reminded him of how he’d enjoy it in his youth. The rest of us were all over the place. I talked about clambakes and fall flavors in general, fish (we saw some nice sea bass at Kate’s – I know it’s on the list, but we were all tempted), pasta and just about everything else. In the end, the rest of us were in agreement that he could surprise us. They said they were listening to all of us talk and point and had several dishes in mind.

We had two hours until we had to meet back for lunch. Jamie and I took this opportunity to walk around downtown. Five years ago we lived on W 9^th in the Bingham and did so for two years. Not much has changed. More bars I suppose, which they don’t need. It was actually kind of sad. I know it was Yom Kippur so maybe that had something to do with it, but such a beautiful day in the city and downtown was empty, much like it was when we lived there. But where would the people go? All around the Warehouse District is bars – not much retail for them to enjoy. Then we quickly walked through Tower City. What a pathetic space that has become. An area once filled with such promise (and much better stores). I thought about the countless shopping trips I’d take with my mom as a child downtown and how there is nowhere for me to take my daughter now. It’s all gone. I know this is nothing new and has been covered over and over. And we still regularly come downtown to eat and over to University Circle for the obvious. And I get that just like many before us (and hence part of the problem) we moved out. And though I do firmly believe our city is in the middle of amazing change and moving in the right direction, this two hour break got to me. But it also got us hungry once again. Which was a good thing because we had a lot of goodness awaiting us.

The chef made us four courses, plus champagne and wine. Course 1: warm peach soup with cardamom (his favorite spice) served alongside a brioche-type bread with peach preserve salad, lemon oil and foie gras (which he said is his favorite thing to make and explains to people that you can’t think of it as liver or put it in the same category). Course 2: apple and lavender fennel cake with greens from The Chef’s Garden, candied pecans and Maytag Blue. Course 3: sea bass with pomegranate and mango salsa over tapioca (yes, tapioca) and veggies from The Chefs Garden.

The foie gras was without a doubt the best I have ever had. Truly. The soup, something we shared we were craving on the tour, was the perfect compliment. We poured a bit of the soup per his suggestion over the foie gras and it was that much better. A perfect dish.

The best way to describe the salad is fun. I have never – and would never – think of a funnel cake as part of a salad. But I’m sure glad he did. The blue cheese was a perfect addition, too. Great texture and flavor all around.

The sea bass was another winner, especially the pomegranate salsa. And I loved the tapioca, it really made the dish. Desert was simple, pound cake with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and balsamic. I was a happy women. The chef and I were talking earlier about balsamic and how good it is on strawberries and ice cream. Being Italian, it was how we did dessert growing up.

When lunch was over, the chef gave everyone treats to take home, including cheese and chocolates (many of the same cheeses that were in our room upon check-in). The only other item that would have made this night perfect would be recipe cards and tips to make these dishes at home.

I can’t even tell you how much we enjoyed this experience and staying downtown in general. Yes, the quick break did get me a bit sad, but that wasn’t the first time and it certainly won’t be the last. I think we all share that. We see the promise and potential in our city but get momentarily taken back when we recall what once was or that things seem to be taking a bit longer than we’d like. But we’ll get there!

Even though we were 25 minutes from home, we felt like we were away and made the most of it. Dinner was that much better knowing we didn’t have to drive home. Waking up in the morning and looking at the lake. It was perfect and a night I’d gladly do again. And a package I’d highly recommend experiencing yourself, or consider for an upcoming gift (people in our group were there as a Christmas gift and anniversary). The team behind this really goes above and beyond to make it a memorable and fun adventure.

Other things worth pointing out. This is the first time I’ve stayed at a Ritz (we’re fairly loyal to The W and Kimpton Group). It’s true what they say – service here is unbelievable. We were quite impressed. From everyone you encounter, top notch all the way. I was also intrigued to learn that they still offer noon tea on the weekend and a special teddy bear tea for kids around the holidays. When Natalie is a little older, we’ll participate for sure.

Want to Dine at Muse?

Have you dined at Muse? It’s quite different from Century (both in terms of food and atmosphere) which I feel they made a big mistake by closing. But after getting to know these chefs and trying the food first-hand, I know you’re in for a treat if you go. If you haven’t been to Muse and would like to, I have an opportunity to experience their Farmers’ Market dinner for two. To be entered, tell me what you would do in Cleveland if you were a tourist for the day. I’ll pick a winner via random.org Thursday at noon.

Fennel Salad

• 2 bulbs of fennel cored and shaved thin
• 2 oranges zested, segmented and juiced all kept separately
• ¼ cup geta olives, pitted and chopped
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese shaved
  

Orange vinaigrette

• Juice and zest from above
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 table spoon minced shallots
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1 tomato concasse (peeled, seeded and chopped)

Mix first 3 ingredients together.  Whisk in extra virgin olive oil.  Season and add tomato. Place ingredients for salad in a bowl, dress with vinaigrette and divide among four plates. Garnish with fresh ricotta and fennel fronds.

This recipe was sponsored by Heinen’s. When making this salad at home, Perry from the Shaker Heights store and Ed Thompkins, their wine buyer, suggests Ca’Tullio Pinot Grigio currently in their Bin 75 set. The retail price will be $9.99 starting on September 1 (for the rest of August it’s $7.99). It’s light, refreshing and will complement the citrus flavors. The overall fresh taste, they say, will enhance the very fresh flavor of the salad.

But why wait till then to celebrate the longest day of the year (and the museum’s newest galleries)? From now until Saturday, Bruell is offering a 3-course, summer solstice menu for $30.

Menus:

Table 45: warm fig and arugula salad with champagne vinaigrette; Latin marinated hanger steak with boniato root mash, summer gremolata and plantain chips and ginger; and lemongrass panna cotta served with mango chutney and white sesame tuille.

Parallax, L’Albatros and Chinato: these 3-course menus will be created daily by the head chef.

Long live summer!

Night 1

For dinner, we all did the tasting. For $39, you get to pick anything you’d like from each of the sections. I started with the breakfast radishes, clams and foie gras, roasted tomatoes and Ohio lamb with wild ramps, yogurt lentils, lamb skin, cumin and Fresno chilies. I’d also like to be able to tell you what we drank – but I can’t. All I know is we went through numerous bottles of wine and I believe my brother-in-law created his own vodka tasting. All of which made for a very, very enjoyable night.

As anticipated, my dinner was simply incredible. Truly – this might have been my favorite GHT experience to date. The only dish I wasn’t crazy about was the roasted tomatoes. And I would have liked a little more space between each course, though given we had a few kids with us, this was probably a good thing. I even liked Natalie’s buttered noodles (yes, they have a kids’ menu now!). But the highlight was the lamb (though the clams are right up there). If you like lamb, you need to get to Greenhouse and try this dish. Now. Seriously – he changes the menu often so don’t take any chances on missing it. A few weeks ago while in San Francisco, I ate at Boulevard and ordered the lamb. I love lamb and felt that was the best dish of its kind I’ve ever tried. Well, they only held that title for 3 weeks. Truthfully, that was the most amazing lamb I’ve had and the lentils alone should be its own side.

The tasting at $39 is a great deal. The portions are big  and you get to pick whatever you want. It’s a great way to go.

(check out Amelia Sawyer showing Natalie the kitchen in action – she was mesmerized as she really does like to stare off into the kitchen when we take her out… fingers crossed for her future career)

Night 2 On Mother’s Day itself, Jamie took me to see Pearl Jam. I’ve been a huge PJ fan since I was 15 and have seen them live twice before. I can remember going to the library and borrowing Ten (still believe this is one of the best albums of all time), bringing it home and taping it because I spent all my babysitting money on something else. And I’d ride around in my mom’s station wagon listening to that tape over and over until I literally wore it out.

Clearly I’m not 15 anymore (and thankfully no longer driving around town in that wagon). And while I still consider myself a huge fan, I think my concert days are coming to an end. It really was a great show and the perfect present (though the 2003 show was better); I just don’t think I’m the concert type anymore. But I’m all for the dinners that precede concerts!

Pre show dinner was, you guessed it, back at The Greenhouse Tavern. For as much as I wanted the Ohio lamb dish again, I just wasn’t that hungry. Instead I had the clams, Ohio lamb ravioli and a side of lentils with lemon (not the same lentils as with the lamb – if only). The ravioli are small and only a handful comes per order, so this was the right amount of food. And just like the night before the clams were perfect (I agree with Kate Krader – one of the best dishes of the year, simply a smart pairing that pays off). The lentils and ravioli were just as good.

I clearly cannot get enough of Greenhouse.

Night 3 Last night we took some clients to dinner at Chinato followed by the Cavs game – my first game of the season (lucky me, huh?).

We all have off nights. Chefs have off nights. Athletes have off nights. No one is exempt from this rule. And I think last night was the perfect example of that.

I’m not going to toss in my two cents about the game. I think Clevelanders got an earful today from the sports media across the country to Twitter to the radio. We get it. But I will say this: I don’t think we’re cursed, I still think we’ll win the next two and LeBron will be here next season. But Cleveland teams sure make it hard to love them sometimes, don’t they? And there have been plenty of days when I swear I’m not going to raise my daughter to be a Cleveland fan. But what would be the fun in that?

I’ve been to Chinatoa few times now, but this was the first visit for the three ladies I was with. I will say this – they all loved their meal, from start to finish, and seemed really happy with my restaurant selection. And don’t get me wrong – my meal was good, too (fennel and olive salad, scallop crudo and braised beef). But it wasn’t great – except the crudo – what a fantastic start to the meal. I’ve written a few times about how much I love that fennel salad in particular. But last night it just wasn’t the same. I can’t put my finger on it, but something was off. The selection of braised beef was completely in response to the cold rainy weather. I love anything braised – but felt this dish was just ok. It wasn’t as flavorful or tender as I was hoping for.

Like I said, my meal wasn’t bad by any stretch, it just wasn’t as good as I know it could have been – because I think Chinato is an amazing restaurant and have been wowed there a few times already.  And my fellow diners were quite happy with their meal. Despite the off night, at least to me, it was still the highlight of the evening. The company and conversation were wonderful, service  friendly and honest (I love when servers are truthful about what they like and dislike) and the restaurant’s atmosphere in general is one of my favorites.

Bruell’s Seared Sea Scallops with Thai Curry

Add olive oil to sauté pan over high heat.  When smoking, place sea scallops in pan with butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook for 30-40 seconds on each side until golden brown and caramelized.  Remove from the pan.  In the same pan, add curry paste, brown sugar, coconut milk and fish sauce.  Whisk together over high heat.  Finish with chopped cilantro.

Roasted Eggplant with Fresh Tomatoes, Feta and Mozzarella Cheese Pomegranate Reduction (adapted from Table 45’s current winter menu)

Ingredients

Eggplant

Method: In a bowl, toss the slices in olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 degree oven until tender and cool in refrigerator. When ready to serve bring to temperature on the grill or oven.

Yogurt Sauce

Method: Add all the ingredients together and incorporate well; hold in refrigerator.

Pomegranate Reduction

Method: Place the pomegranate juice and vinegar in a small pot.  On medium to low heat reduce the mixture till little less than half.  Once reduce transfer reduction to another container and let cool.  The pomegranate Reduction should be thick where it can be slowly drizzled onto a plate.  If the mixture has been reduced too much you can always add more pomegranate juice until in thins up to where it can be drizzled.

Plating: Layer eggplant in the middle of the plate. Take sauce and drizzle along the outside of the eggplant. Garnish the top of the eggplant with feta cheese and tomato salad. Drizzle with pomegranate sauce.

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This post was sponsored by Heinen’s. When making these dishes at home, the wine experts have two recommendations:

• For the scallops: ZAZA, a  serious Rosé from Spain that could almost be called a light red.  Abundant berry flavors and surprisingly full body makes this a Rosé to get excited about.  ($9.99/bottle)
• For the eggplant: Alexander Valley New Gewurztraminer // Perhaps the best-value Gewurztraminer from CA. Perfumed aromas and pear and spice flavors make this organic-farmed wine great with Asian foods. ($8.99/bottle)

After meeting Farmer Lee Jones and learning about the Veggie U initiative, plus the fact that program was in jeopardy  locally due to lack of awareness and funds, I knew this was something we could try to help and something that would resonate well with you – my readers. Truthfully, I was hoping we’d be able to support a few classrooms (each classroom requires $200). But that didn’t happen. Instead, according to my contact at Veggie U, you guys saved the entire program in Cleveland, raising a total of $3,820 – with 100% of the donations going towards the kids! More importantly, that’s 84 Cleveland schools, 171 classrooms and 3,840 students that will participate and learn about eating healthy, sustainable agriculture and combating adolescent disease and juvenile diabetes starting March 1. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

I cannot thank you all enough for your incredible generosity and taking the time to donate. It is greatly appreciated by so many, especially those 4^th graders and their teachers. You guys simply rock and have truly made a difference. Hopefully, this is something we can continue each year and impact future students.

I also realize we were able to raise more because so many helped to spread the word – via good ol’ fashioned word-of-mouth, tweets and Facebook. Thank you – just look at the difference it made. I especially want to thank many of our bloggers and media. We have a wonderful blogging community here and it’s one I’m very proud to be part of. It’s one that’s incredibly supportive, both of each other and of our city. A special thank you to I Heart Cleveland, Live to Cook at Home, Heidi Robb, Confessions of a Cohabitant, Chef’s Widow, Cleveland’s a Plum, A Girl About Cleveland, Local Food Service, Bite Buff, Cleveland at Heart, Great Lakes Design Collaborative, Garden, Grocery, Gadget Girl , Cooker Girl, Metromix and Michael Ruhlman.  And our local food reporters/editors Joe Crea and Debbi Snook at the Plain Dealer. They took an immediate interest in this effort and shared with readers.

Finally, we would not be having this conversation if it wasn’t for our chefs, restaurant and store owners. I shared the idea and almost everyone got on board and offered their support to make it even better. We all know this group is responsible for making us some seriously good eats. But they also have some seriously big hearts and are an incredibly supportive group. They made it interesting and because of their generosity, people donated even more (let’s face it – that was some prize any foodie would covet!). We started out with roughly $1,400 in restaurant gift cards, and after the initial post, additional restaurants contacted me wanting to participate for a total of nearly $2,000 in restaurant gift certificates! These awesome establishments include: Western Reserve Wine Tartine Momocho Lola The Greenhouse Tavern Heinen’s Blue Canyon The Flying Fig Fire Erie Island Coffee Fahrenheit Miles Farmers Market Jekyll’s Kitchen Moxie Touch Supper Club Parallax L’Albatros Chinato Crop Bistro North End Hyde Park AMP 150 Muse (The Ritz-Carlton) The Chocolate Bar Michaelangelo’s John Q’s Steakhouse Melange Bistro on Lincoln Park.

So who was the lucky winner? Congratulations to Suzie Martens. She was chosen via Random.org. You are going to be eating very, very well for quite some time and are the envy of a lot of Clevelanders (including me!).