One of the best things working from home has afforded me is getting to make myself real lunch food in my own kitchen. This sandwich is my lunchtime staple, and I’ve made it a variety of ways just using what was on hand in my house so feel free to make substitutions.

Lay two slices of […]

Last night I finally stopped by the Tremont Tap House, billed as Cleveland’s first gastropub. From Wikipedia:
A gastropub is a British term for a public house (”pub”) which specializes in high-quality food a step above the more basic “pub grub.” The name is a combination of pub and gastronomy and was coined in 1991 when […]

This was a busy weekend. We had visitors from out of town (you can see Bill getting some love from Harper to the left. Our dogs love beards) a belated family Christmas, and freelance work. Thursday I found out I was going to be teaching a class at Tri-C on beginning web publishing, so I’ve […]

I’ve dined at El Jalepenos on 117th twice since it opened. Both times the food was delicious, the service was friendly, and the drinks were massive. While not expensive, it’s a little pricier than the cheap Mexican fare I’m accustomed to from Akron staple El Mariachi’s (also known as Mariachi Loco’s, Mariachi Coco’s and Mariachi […]

Last night Alana and I checked out The Pub, on recommendation of one of my work friends. I was immediately struck by the great authentic old-style British atmosphere. I spent so long poring over the beer list I almost forgot to order food. I think they have something like 28 imports on draught? Notably they […]

I think the worst I’ve had was a scallop (I was 8 and thought was going to be a scalloped potato, what a terrible surprise) which doesn’t even begin to compare to Cracked Magazine’s 6 Most Terrifying Foods in the World.
While not giving away it’s place in the list, the balut reminded me of […]

The Top 10 Creepiest Food Mascots.
Dear McDonalds, what exactly is this Grimace creature you have spawned? Is he a mutated prune? A malformed mushroom? Is he an obese American fast food consumer whose skin took on an unearthly hue after consuming one too many Happy Meals?
I’m pretty sure his name is from the face […]

Your catalog tells me you sell these mini pie cutters:

You might have already heard by now the Food Network is coming out with a new show called The Next Iron Chef (which should probably be called The Next Iron Chef America) in the vein of Top Chef and Next Food Network Star before it. Not one, but two Clevelanders will be on the show.

Remembrance of Tacos Past
Taco Bell made Mexican food safe for postwar white America by turning down the tongue-searing heat, translating alien ingredients into the gabacho idiom, and automating food prep: The queso fresco sprinkled onto Mexican tostadas became cheddar cheese; the fragrant, meltingly delicious tortillas made by hand in Tijuana taco stands became prefab taco […]

Wild Oats / Whole Foods merger finally approved. Perhaps the government had a look at At&t recently and rethought their ideas on natural food stores and monopolies. I hope all the Wild Oats don’t become Whole Foods. In addition to liking Wild Oats better all around, I don’t know where I’d get Uncle Eddie’s […]

Friday night I hung out with some friends. Alana tattooed one of them while I had drinks next door. Much guitar hero was played. Saturday I had lunch with my sister and stepdad at Great Lakes. I ate German food. It was gorgeous out so we got to sit on the patio. I received an […]

Girl overdoses on espresso. Is it a coincidence that the most stressed out, high strung people I know all consume more caffeine than anyone else I know?

In the past few years I’ve become interested in good food. I wouldn’t go as far as to call myself a foodie, because I acknowledge that as a picky eater I miss out on a lot of things that are delicious to most other people. But I’ve taken to eating in nicer restaurants, and attempting […]

You tend to take for granted how active you are until someone pays you to sit on your butt for eight hours a day. In the time since I finished college, my life has become increasingly unhealthy. Lucky for me, my health is something I can change. I’ve tried taking big strides, but it’s always […]

Yesterday Alana and I had our very first cupcake party. We bought all kinds of lime green and white tableware for the occasion. Alana surprised me with an early birthday present, a shiny red stand mixer. I finished two batches of cupcakes and icing in an hour, including time to wash utensils / mixing bowls / measuring apparatus in between! Baking will never be the same.

One of my favorite restaurants in this city unfortunately goes unrecognized by many Clevelanders.

Der Braumeister, at the intersection of West 130th and Lorain, serves traditional German food in a warm, cozy, Bavarian atmosphere. The bar looks like a traditional hunting lodge complete with stag heads, while the dining areas are decorated with huge mountain landscapes. Did I mention they have one of the best imported beer selections around, and have their own deli?

I’ve been absent for a few days, as I took some time to visit old friends in Columbus and go see Peter Bjorn and John. I had a great time, and it’s weird to see how much the city has changed since I lived there, mostly for the better but definitely gentrified.

We ate at a few new (to me) places, Surly Girl for late night tex-mex and Northstar (Clintonville) for organic foodie fare. Surly Girl has a great selection of beers on tap, and they highlight which were women brewed and which are organic. Something like 99% of of the food served at Northstar is organic and anything you order looks like it could’ve popped off the pages of Gastronomica. Did I mention they also sell Gastronomica? In addition to uber-modern digs they have an awesome magazine selection available for sale.

I haven’t been vegan for a while now, but that still doesn’t stop me from making most of my baked goods vegan. While some foods are probably never healthy, making something like meatloaf vegan is a fun challenge and usually healthier than it’s non-veg analog.

I’ve been hearing a lot about a book called Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I’m hoping to pick it up this weekend.

I’ve been interested in spending more time baking, and maybe creating some non traditional varieties of cupcakes. Any suggestions are welcome. Not so long ago I made vegan chocolate raspberry liqueur cupcakes, pictured below. (The recipe either came from Sinfully Vegan, or a I veganized a Martha Stewart or Ina Garten recipe, though the sprinkles and raspberries on top were all me.) They tasted great, but I was a little disappointed with the wrappers. I bought them at Target, and they were pretty thin so once the cupcakes were actually baked all the white became translucent.