Summer in Cleveland

We found a lovely Greek/Indian restaurant in Cleveland with an outside patio where we can take Chloe. Last Saturday, we went downtown to take some photos and explore a few more neighborhoods and we found "The Mad Greek". It's in an adorable little neighborhood in east Cleveland and the patio was gorgeous--lush gardens with a waterfall--and the most amazing food. The menu was a combination of Greek and Indian and the food was spectacular! We each had a "sandwich" served open-faced on flatbread--John had the Greek veggie/chicken/feta cheese version- I had the chicken curry one. As a side, they served a Greek Salad or Tabbouleh. It was so good--and we ended up with enough food to take home for dinner that night. (What is it with portions these days?--no wonder Americans are so fat!!) I think we're going back there this weekend with Jeff and Bootie. It really is a great combo for a restaurant--we often have to forego Indian restaurants because the other couple aren't fans of Indian....but who doesn't like Greek food??!!

The Ipad!!

We got our Ipad yesterday-and before we even took it from the box, we brought it to a local electronics store to get a protective cover for the screen installed (what a hose job--$29.99 for a piece of plastic and $14.99 to install it!!) But, I had checked the installation instructions on the web and there was no way we were going to do it ourselves...squeegying (is that a word?) out the tiny air bubbles.... Then, we drove to the Apple store to check out the other accessories and sit in on a "Getting to know your Ipad" seminar. Fortunately, the manager of the store is a dog lover and not only encouraged us to bring Chloe- but was taking photos of her with her iPhone. So, Chloe got to sit in on her first seminar. She did great--by that time of the day, she was so exhausted from our other errands that she slept in John's lap the entire time.

Chloe the new Ipad expert
The Apple Store was amazing. It was Friday afternoon--a work day and a school day --and it was PACKED! The age range was amazing--everything from 3 year olds sitting on little bean bag chairs playing games on MacBooks to 20/30 year olds---to us oldsters and even some really old folks. Made us want to run out and buy Apple stock--really! I am loving the Ipad--it's truly a remarkable device. We were both gobsmacked after our hour long seminar---they covered the basics--the Wi-Fi interface, the Ipod interface, the photo capability (when you're not using the Ipad, it can be set up to run as a digital photo frame), the IBooks capability...you can even do Skype on this thing! I guess I shouldn't be that impressed--for the price ($700!!) --it should make coffee and serve you dinner. And- that's just for the basic iPad--no earphones or speakers, no docking station, no external keyboard, no carrying case, no camera interface. Needless to say, we walked out of the Apple store with a wireless keyboard and a carrying case ($69 for faux-leather!!).

The Memorial Day Exodus

After the mad rush to set up on Friday afternoon, the “KOA Kampers” are piling out in droves—hoping to avoid the Memorial Day afternoon traffic.

“Jon and Kate plus 8”-the pop-up camper and tent site with what must have been 8 multi-ethnic kids, 8 bikes of varying sizes, 8 tiny lawn chairs and group bike-a-thons all weekend have gone.

Jon and Kate Plus 8

“Pop-Up Pat” and her beer bellied husband have packed up the pop-up, their outdoor screened room, the electric fan and their b-bque grill.

Pop-Up Pat

The “Weekend Warriors” had brought everything but the kitchen sink with them for the Memorial Day weekend- and put it all outside-hammocks, grills, plastic bins, party lights, vacuum cleaners, coolers…

The Weekend Warriors

Next door, the Harley driving, tattooed guy who sat outside with his big screen TV from noon till 11PM yesterday watching the Indie 500- ignoring his wife, kids and adorable Jack Russell terriers- has started to pack up (9:00 AM-beer in hand. You can never start drinking too early on a holiday weekend). The “fire-truck rides” are over. The campfires are dying.

The “catch and release” pond is surrounded by ducks and geese instead of fathers and sons with fishing poles. The grandparents can drop off their “grandbabies”. The end of the holiday weekend—YEA!

The Amazing West Side of Cleveland

Cleveland continues to amaze us. We drove west on Lorain from the West Side Market and found a pocket of the Middle East. The markets were filled with olives and cheeses, spices and huge cans of olive oil. The owners were Palestinians, Lebanese and the clientele, some in chadors, were all speaking Arabic.

We bought home-made Pita bread and tabbouleh then went on to Lakewood to sample the Hungarian bakeries ‘cottage cheese squares’. Lakewood had a few hidden Victorian gems—Italianate style-side by side with Stick style and Tudors.
We ended the day at the Tremont Greek Festival at the Church of the Anunciation.
Food was the order of the day—gyros, schwarma, moussakka, pastitsio,baklava—from outside food tents to a huge auditorium lines with tables of food and pastries.

Cleveland Eats

Finally—a place to call home for a while. It was so good to be back in Cleveland.

We decided to take a “new look” at Cleveland. With the help of “Cleveland Ethnic Eats” (a book by Laura Taxel), we are driving Cleveland’s neighborhoods—what’s left of them.

The West Side Market is one of the most amazing places in the country—one of the few remaining municipal markets.

In the 1860’s, the corner was known as Market Square—the city’s farmers market. In1912, an arcade was built and today it houses an international potpourri of vendors selling everything from fresh meat, cheese, spices, pasta, bread and pastries to falafel, gyro sandwiches and polish sausages.

Christopher's Bakery- The BEST Sourdough bread in the world!

Surrounding the arcade is a fruit and vegetable arcade with every produce item imaginable.

Slavic Village on the east side of the city has gotten some pretty bad press in the past few years- scams by mortgage brokers forced many of the homes to go into foreclosure and the change from ethic Eastern European to black sent many of the Czech and Polish immigrants fleeing. Today the Eastern Europeans are a minority- but do return to their old neighborhood to shop at their favorite stores.

We stopped at the Red Chimney- home of the $2.25 breakfast.

The Red Chimney

Instead of a breakfast of eggs, sausage, toast and hash browns, we opted for a pierogie. There’s nothing quite like a potato filled pierogie to start the morning.

Outside Krusinski's Meat Market
At Krusinski’s meat market, we met the 68 year old owner.

With home made sausages, pierogies, potato pancakes, cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers and sauerkraut balls, we started to plan our dinner menu.
On the main street of the village is another specialty food store, the Seven Roses Deli-featuring everything Polish.

The Seven Roses Deli

Sauerkraut, pickles, cured meats, and trays and trays of bakery goods. The building has been lovingly restored-with hardwood floors, a gorgeous tin ceiling, floor-to ceiling shelves packed with imported foods.

Inside the Seven Roses Deli
Slavic Village used to house over 20 bakeries—but the last survivor, Gertrude Bakery just closed.

On our way to AsiaTown, we stopped for lunch at Sterle’s Slovenian Country House. Seeing two police cars in the huge parking lot gave us cause for hope that the food would be great. The décor- a throwback to a mountain chalet with murals of the “old country” and waitresses in traditional Slovenian dress- a bit like a German dirndl. The portions were of schnitzel and goulash served with a bowl of soup, bread, and home fries were enough for multiple meals.

You could easily miss “AsiaTown” –in fact, we have been coming to the Korea House restaurant and market for years, unaware we were in the middle of Cleveland’s Asian neighborhood.

There's nothing like a Chinese buffet!

From East 29th to East 39th and covering three major streets- St Clair, Superior and Payne, there’s a collection of Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese restaurants, Asian markets, bakeries and stores selling Chinese imports.

The definition of "Hell"--A Weekend in Charlotte

One last maintenance stop--Spartan in Charlotte, Michigan (not Charlotte but 'Char-Lot'). Nothing to do but explore the chassis in the parking lot.

Back in the land of motorhomes and mega-churches

After a relaxing weekend in St Louis, we were on our way to Indiana for our annual pilgrimage to the land of motorhome repair. We stopped at Reyco Granning to try to get a diagnosis of our sheared bolt incident only to be told “not our problem. We don’t make the bolt”.

The $2,000 Bolt

That sent us off to Spartan and Newmar. Can’t get the words of that 70’s song out of my head – “Indiana wants me, Lord I can’t go back there”.

John wanted his “birthday burger” at the Hunter’s Hideaway in Nappanee. Nothing like a 1/3 pound burger covered with green olives and blue cheese crumbles. Our favorite waitress, Miriam, was there anxious to serve us the few airline-sized bottles of chardonnay that they had in their back refrigerator.

Miriam at the Hunters Hideaway

With 3 big screen TV’s playing, we ate our dinner watching CNN, ESPN and the Hunting Channel. Watching men with high powered rifles and scopes killing animals really enhanced the dining experience.

We were scheduled to be in Decatur, Indiana for some carpet repair and grout cleaning/sealing on John’s birthday.

The highlight of our day- a trip to Huntington, IN to see Dan Quayle Center and Vice Presidential Museum. Yes, the man who gave us an alternate spelling for potato….(remember “potatoe”)…. has a museum and “Learning Center”.

The museum-- whose slogan is “Second to One”—is in an old Christian Science Church and tells the story of all of our Vice Presidents- from John Adams to Joe Biden. Each VP has his own display with political cartoons, letters and memorabilia. Spiro Agnew even has his own board game, doll, hard hat and trash basket.

Spiro Agnew's Exhibit

While Dan contributed 400 boxes of personal papers, Dick Cheney has said that he would “think about it”…

Part of the museum is dedicated to Dan Quayle memorabilia- Marilyn’s inaugural gown, the “Danny sweater” he wore as a child—even his dog-chewed law degree with photos of his dog, Barnaby.

Dan's Childhood Sweater...

Dan's dog-eared law degree--and the dog who chewed it

We wanted to visit Nick’s Kitchen – Dan’s favorite restaurant. In 1988, Dan stood on a chair in the restaurant and started his campaign during the Bush-Quayle election.

Nick's Kitchen in downtown Huntington

We intended to get the famous “Quayle Burger”- but found that we were at the birthplace of the pork tenderloin sandwich. In 1904, Nick Freinstein started selling them from a pushcart before opening his restaurant, Nick’s Kitchen, in 1908. Legend has it that his brother Jake, had too much whiskey one winter night and passed out drunk in the snow. The fingers on both hands were frostbitten and had to be amputated. Nick put Jake to work at his restaurant pounding out tenderloin with his stumps. Today, the meat is run through a meat cuber twice, marinated for 24hours in buttermilk, eggs and flour, then dredged in crunchy cracker crumbs, deep fried, and served on an extra-large five-inch bun. The meat extends at least 3 or 4 inches beyond the bun.

Breaded Tenderloin Sandwich and Sugar Cream Pie ...Mmmm!
Nick’s is also known for their “Sugar Cream Pie” –a cream pie made with sugar, milk and whipping cream (the official state pie of Indiana!) A birthday surprise for John!

Couldn’t leave Huntington without a drive-by their other claim to fame—the “Privy Collection”. Hy Goldenberg and his wife Lorry started collecting privies (out-houses) in 1960. After Hy died, Lorry donated their collection to the Huntington County Historical Museum.

"The Privy Museum"
On the road home–cow houses

And the Markle, Indiana happy face water tower.