100 days in cleveland

Day 72/100

Rosby’s Greenhouse and Raspberry Farm

I’ve been coming here for years to pick raspberries. It’s in Parma/Brooklyn Heights, so it’s a lot easier to get to than a lot of the farms that are further out on the east or west side. I’ve been making Rosby’s own raspberry coffee cake recipe every year with my fresh raspberries and making jam with the rest. I don’t think that recipe is in the Rosby store anymore, but luckily I still have it (and I’m making it tonight)! If you’re interested in trying the best coffee cake ever, here’s the recipe:

filling:
3 cups fresh raspberries
1 cup + 3 tsp sugar, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch

cake:
2 cups biscuit mix
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs

Topping:
1 package (3.4 ounce) instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine

Combine cornstarch and 1 cup of the sugar in a saucepan. Add raspberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine biscuit mix, milk, eggs, oil, and remaining sugar. Mix well. Spread two-thirds of the batter into greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Spread with raspberry mixture. Spoon remaining batter over the top.

For topping, combine pudding mix and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly; sprinkle over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
Yield: 12 servings.

Raspberry season just started two weeks ago and will last all the way until Halloween, so you have plenty of time to spend an hour or two picking a few pints! Bug spray is recommended.

Day 71/100

The Bandito Burger

This is my favorite burger in Cleveland. It belongs to Brown Bag Burgers, in the Great Northern shopping plaza by Macy’s and World Market. What’s that green stuff under the burger bun? It’s delicious, mushy avocado! This burger comes loaded with guacamole, chipotle mayo, pico de gallo, onion straws, pepper jack cheese, and lettuce. If you’re a big guac fan, you’ll love it.
Warning: a regular sized burger comes with two burger patties, and a junior comes with one. Yay, America!

Day 70/100

Happy Dog

This is one of the best bars in town! It’s a lesson on what you can and can’t put on hot dogs and tater tots, all while shouting to hear yourselves over the sound of a band playing on a stage just 5 feet away. Or if you’re lucky, you’ll happen to come on a hot dog eating contest day. Here’s a sampling of the 50 toppings you can choose for your hot dog or veggie dog:

7. Raspberry crunch mustard
8. Black truffle honey mustard
11. Sriracha hot sauce
14. Bacon-balsamic marmalade
15. Brazilian chimichurri
17. Marcella’s grape jelly and chile sauce
19. Oaxacan red chile and chocolate mole
28. Vodka sauerkraut
31. Spaghetti O’s
35. Korean kim chee
38. Bok choy coke cola stir fry
46. Bleu cheese coleslaw
49. Sunny side up fried egg

If the 50 choices leave you feeling overwhelmed and indecisive, you can always get one of their recommended hot dogs combinations =)

Day 69/100

Blazin Bills

This is where you’ll find me after an afternoon of kayaking at Camp Hi, hiking in Nelson’s ledges or swimming at the quarry park. I always appreciate a good pulled pork sandwich and this place sure fits that bill. It’s one of those roadside barbeque joints further out in the country that you always wonder about as you’re driving past. In my experience those roadside joints are usually delicious, and Blazin Bills is no exception.

Day 68/100

Urban Farms

This is a peach tree planted in a tire at Buckeye Urban Farm. This farm stands on a once vacant lot along the Woodland/Buckeye stretch just east of the projects and graffiti-ed, crumbling buildings. Now it’s owned by the city and operated by the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. High school students harvest corn, kale, cherry tomatoes, green tomatoes, potatoes, and more from their plots and hoop houses.
Urban farms have been popping up not only in downtown Cleveland but in other rust belt cities with more vacant lots than they know what to do with. Here are a few articles that have been written recently about this “greening and cleaning” movement:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/08/growing-self-sufficient-cities/

“Cleveland now has hundreds of community gardens. Some residents are growing market gardens, cultivating and selling produce as a full-time job. The city is seeing the grandest show of large public gardens since the Victory Gardens of World War II, when 40 percent of U.S. vegetables came from private and public gardens.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/garden/finding-the-potential-in-vacant-lots-in-the-garden.html?_r=3

“One Ultra-Ex project being led by the Cleveland Botanical Garden involves planting a vacant lot in the Buckeye neighborhood with low-mow fescue, a slow-growing pasture grass, and establishing a vegetative fence. Down the block is one of six learning farms that the botanical garden runs through its Green Corps program. With three acres under cultivation and 60 teenage workers, the urban farms will grow and sell or give away 15,000 pounds of fresh produce this summer, said the program’s director, Geri Unger.

The Buckeye garden includes raised beds, an herb spiral, a strawberry patch and a hardy kiwi vine snaking up the border fence.

It’s easy to convince the neighbors that an orderly, well-tended spot like this one has a civic value. Loraine Ingram, 74, has lived next door for 30 years. Of the community farm, she said, “I love it.”

I drive on this street from my apartment to the freeway at least a couple times a week, and it’s been great to see this piece of land transform from nothing to a thriving garden for the community. The high school kids sell their fresh produce every Tuesday from 12-4, so don’t forget to stop by when you have a chance!

Day 67/100

Beachwood City Park

I learned about this park after spotting a little bike path along Shaker Blvd on numerous occasions while driving. Finally I took my bike there (still not knowing what the place was) and was excited to find lots of winding little trails all the way from Warrensville to the 271 between the eastbound and westbound Shaker streets. The park’s actual boundaries are within W Sulgrave and the 271, but it seems to continue west past the RTA station on Green. It’s the perfect place for a leisurely bike ride, a decent jog or a relaxing walk after work - there’s even a small pavilion with wifi!

Day 66/100

Summer!

Cleveland summer months are like the cheesy part of a broccoli casserole, or the condensed milk topping on shaved ice. Okay, those might not have been the best analogies, but what I’m trying to say is that summer here is glorious because of all the waiting through those long, dark winter months. This is when every weekend is booked far in advance and everyone gets out to enjoy the sunshine, the numerous festivals, fairs, and outdoor performances. It’s when everything comes to life and you can be guaranteed to spot wildlife in the magical hours of dawn and dusk (well, if you’re looking for them). Summer is that rare time in Cleveland that you can’t even imagine being cold again - remember in winter when you couldn’t imagine being hot?
Speaking of being hot, I would feel bad not mentioning the outrageous high temperatures we’ve gotten this particular summer and the power outages that have resulted from all the excessive AC use. I’m fortunate enough to have a job where I can hide indoors or in cool coffee shops, but I feel for those who can’t afford to have their own AC unit or who have to work out in the heat. Stay hydrated, please!

Day 65/100

Edgewater Park

This a view of Edgewater park’s beach and pier from the higher, grassy part of the park. I like this park because it feels more ethnically diverse than a lot of other places in Cleveland: there are people of all skin tones here. Unrelated to the diversity is also a little bit of weirdness - you’ll see all kinds of people lounging on the beach in all sorts of … exciting swimwear. I’ve come here to ride my bike, take walks, swim, fish, fly my kite, and will soon get to barbeque here as well! The last time I was here I heard and followed the sound of beautiful music that reminded me of Beirut. It belonged to the choir of a large Ukrainian church service and baptism that was taking place right by the water!

Day 64/100

The Natural History Museum

I’d probably like the Natural History Museum in any city, but the house in my drawing is a good reason to appreciate ours. This is the Smart Home, an exhibit right next to the museum that explains just how energy efficient a passive house can be. The museum is also featuring a new climate change exhibit to go along with the theme.
To be a passive house, a structure has to be incredibly well insulated (I believe the walls were at least 15 inches thick), completely sealed (the doors were compared to bank vaults), and with high-performance windows (tripled-paneled). The Smart Home is 90% more energy efficient than a normal home. Some of my favorite features were the rain garden, watered with the runoff from the roof, and the porous cement sidewalks that reduce sewage and help to irrigate the grass around it. I highly recommend this exhibit - catch it before the house is sold and made into a real home!

Day 63/100

Food Trucks

A few years ago, I heard about Kogi Taco opening up on the west coast. Taco trucks have been around forever, but not like this: Kogi blended Korean and Mexican tastes together into menu items like short rib tacos and kimchi quesadillas. Even better, twitter and bookface made it easy to pinpoint exactly where they were at any given time. On one of my trips back to LA I waited in a Kogi line for hours off a random street corner in Northridge. A two hour wait in the valley - incredible!
So when Dim and Dem Sum opened up in Cleveland, I was ecstatic. Finally, Cleveland had its own food truck! Many others have followed: I see Umami Moto regularly at Shaker Square Farmer’s Market and have had a delicious lamb burger and a crazy mac-and-cheese-pulled-pork-grilled-cheese sandwich from two other trucks I can’t name right now. (Thanks for the bite, J.P!) Now there are regular food truck gatherings like C-Town Chow Down and Walnut Wednesdays where you can pick and choose as you please.
I say, more food trucks all the way. I want to start a cornbread truck. Or a horchata truck. Or an Asian bakery bread truck! The possibilities are endless…