Luca West Opening

I've been a fan of Luca since it opened in the Superior Viaduct. The views of downtown, the intimate setting tucked off of West 25th, and the sacchetti....ahhh. Now, Cleveland west-siders will get to enjoy Luca West as they open their doors in Westlake TODAY!

Mr. H and I got a sneak peek over the weekend.

I think you'll see a lot of familiar modern Italian and other European influences on the menu, including the pastas they've become known for. Seriously, isn't this the largest bowl of pasta you've ever seen?

This sight was drawing everyone in at the soft opening. I kind of wanted to crawl up in there and take a nap after the meal.

Some of the other dishes featured at the soft opening were lamb, lobster, squid, and the most heavenly gnocchi.

Topped off with tiramisu and a cannoli, and I was just rolling out of there. It made the quite hairy ride over during that storm on Sunday well worth it!

Welcome to Westlake, Luca! A great fine dining option for those of you looking on the west side.

Luca West
24600 Detroit Road
Westlake, OH

Disclosure: I was invited to attend the soft opening of the restaurant with a guest and all food was complimentary. All opinions stated are 100% my own. 

Weekend Bites

The weekend kicked off with the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation's An Old Brooklyn Nite fundraising event at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on Friday. It brought evening exhibit viewing...

...the opportunity to indulge in Old Brooklyn-based desserts, like Honey Hut, Jack Frost Donuts, and Cake Royale. For example, this cake version of the proposed new OBCDC headquarters and main street anchor that they are raising funds for in the Illuminate campaign...

...and my favorite part of the evening (besides winning 4 auction packages and a bottle of wine in the wine pull), the late night carousel rides after a glass of wine (or three, whoops)!

This was our third year attending, and I've always enjoyed the evening of connecting with our neighbors and having some fun in the zoo after hours.

The next day brought my sister-in-law's surprise birthday party at 16-Bit Bar + Arcade. Have you ever had Pop Rocks in a cocktail?

This "Courtney Love" gin-based drink was tasty, but WHOA it felt so weird to feel the Pop Rocks going down.

These past few weeks have been particularly stressful, so on Sunday I took my stress out on the aisles of HomeGoods. Mr. H was not pleased.

But at least he carried my bags. Sometimes you just need a good retail therapy session. Are you with me?

Sunday ended with a hairy ride over to Westlake during the storm for the Luca soft opening, but more on that later this week!

Sausage Shoppe

Open since 1938, The Sausage Shoppe is a beloved business in Old Brooklyn.

But, I only just stepped foot in there for the first time the other day. I was greeted by a case full of brats, cold cuts, jerky, sausages, pierogi, and more.

It was a lot to take in at first.

However, we quickly settled on some Rudy's Pierogi, Banana Pepper Brats, and Garlic Honey Brats.

The next night was gloomy and cold, and this meal just warmed us up from the inside out.

Felt like a pretty "Cleveland" meal!

The Sausage Shoppe
4501 Memphis Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44144
216-351-5213

Cincinnati Eats: Senate and Salazar

Sorry for the brief hiatus. Work and personal life exploded the last two weeks, but let's pick up where we left off...in Cincinnati! Mr. H and I weren't quite done with our food adventures during my work trip.

That includes lunch at Senate in Over-the-Rhine. Known for their creative hot dogs and poutine, this casual eatery was a fun stop for lunch mid-conference. Mr. H went for the Corn Dogs.

While I just had to try the Korean Pork Belly Reuben.

It was well worth the stop, but just beware that it's very busy and there may be a wait.

The final restaurant stop worth noting is Salazar. We had been there during our last Cincinnati trip, and it had left us wanting more. Luckily, it did not disappoint once again!

We started with a Little Fried Oyster Sandwich ($7) with kimchi, radish sprouts, and garlic mayo. We totally should have ordered two, because one bite of this awesome little slider was not enough. Mmmm...

But, we were also sharing the Heirloom Corn Polenta ($12) with a fried duck egg, local mushrooms, pickled vegetables, and brown butter. This was the best thing we ate that night! Decadent.

I had the fish special, and it was quite good.

But not as good as Mr. H's Ora King Salmon ($29) with an “everything” crust, cream cheese dumplings, pickled fresno chilies, bagel chips, caperberry, and dill sauce.

It was like eating a good bagel and lox, and even this "salmon-hater" stole a bite or two. It was worth the second visit, and I have a feeling it won't be our last.

Senate
1212 Vine Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Salazar
1401 Republic Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Weekend Bites

Well, I was coming off of not feeling well for most of the week, so I was just happy to get out of the house and do SOMETHING...ANYTHING this past weekend.

I had to cancel my Friday plans with a friend to kick off Cleveland Beer Week at Lilly Handmade Chocolates for their beer, chocolate, and cheese flight. Boo! But, you're in luck, because it's going on all Beer Week. Mr. H and I did it last year, and it was great. $25 for four tastings of each. Will you be participating in any Beer Week events around town? More than 300 happening.

On Saturday, I was tempted in to Ohio City Provisions from an Instagram post of this...

...which was haven't tried yet, but looks quite fun!

That evening, we attended Boo at the Zoo for the third year in a row with our friends and their adorable kiddos.

The zoo does a great job with the event, and fun is had by both kids and adults. Luckily, there are two "adult beverage" treat stands. There are two more weekends to take advantage of this event.

On Sunday, Mr. H and I headed to Vino Veritas Cellars for their Wine, Land and Sea pig roast/clam bake event.

While it had some hiccups from an organization standpoint and some folks didn't get clams because they wouldn't open, it was still a fun little event. Thankfully, they have the large greenhouse, because the rain was unforgiving that day!

Not a bad Cleveland weekend, considering I wasn't at my best.