Cleveland: Part 1

~Riss

I've always lived in the south. I've seen snow very few times and always in small amounts. I don't like the cold and the cold doesn't like me. I messed up and fell in love with a boy from Ohio. Then I messed up BIG and I married him, which means that my family has recently gotten bigger and NOW I have to head north for holidays. You know the holidays right, the cold part of the year? Our first visit up north was last year and a bit of a cluster. Rob did the "planning" and apparently his plan was to wing it. It did not go smoothly. Without a real plan, overall it was a rather dull trip. I did not leave with the best impression of Ohio, but I wanted to give it another shot. Robs family lives only 25 minutes outside of Cleveland (Don't ask me why we didn't go last time) and we decided to take full advantage of Cleveland on this trip.

We drove up the day before thanksgiving. Unfortunately this was peak holiday traffic so our 9 hour drive took about 12 hours. I was determined not to let this dampen my holiday spirit. Thanksgiving was a fun day of food and family, the usual. One of Robs family members offered us hockey tickets for the next day. It was in this city, so this seemed like a good focal point for our Cleveland exploration. Before that game, the only thing I knew about hockey was the Mighty Ducks, so it was a totally new experience for me.

West Side Market in all its glory!

After the game, we said goodbye to the parents and headed out on our own. We started at the West Side Market. The market was all one big hall, full of an eclectic group of people, selling all sorts of tasty goods. We stopped at a bakery and were overwhelmed with all the great choices available. We ended up getting three different items, just because we couldn't decide. After leaving the market to enjoy our treats, we explored the area for a while on foot. There were breweries and gastropubs galore. The area had a very old world meets hipster vibe to it. I couldn't decide on anything around us that I wanted to eat, there were so many choices. I had a craving for Asian food so I looked up the options in the area, thanks Google! There were fantastic reviews about a Korean BBQ place inside of the Asian plaza. We decided to give it a try. Its a couple miles away from the market, so we hopped in the car and were off.

Rob was unfamiliar with the area and our GPS seemed confused with the directions. 20 minutes and only 3 miles later, we finally arrived at a dimly lit gravel parking lot outside a large building. There were banners for several Asian business inside but the building itself was a little...ominous. We walked up the dark ramp to the automatic d
oors and walked through not really knowing what to expect. Waiting inside was a very pleasant surprise. There was a large Asian market and numerous businesses downstairs and a large staircase leading to our restaurant. We were seated and ordered a hot pot and entree to split. Our food came out and covered the entire table. The smell filled the booth.

The restaurant filled up around us during our meal and when we left the other side of the parking lot was bow lit which added a lot of comedy to our arrival concerns. After dinner we stopped for a Great Lakes Christmas Ale which is a fantastic seasonal from the Great Lakes Brewing company. We called it a night kinda early, but I would definitely count it as a successful date night.

Our final day of the holiday break started with some holiday shopping. We are planning a cold Christmas trip (yippee...) so I needed some real shoes for the journey. I'm from Georgia, and I live in coastal North Carolina, so I don't own winter shoes. My dumb ass will happily wear flip flops for 90% of the year. I felt like a child learning how to keep warm in colder temps. I eventually settled on a pair of boots and even though I may not be mentally ready for the cold I am at least one step closer to being physically ready.

After a little family-time we all head out to pick out a Christmas tree from a local lot and then head to Sokolowski's University Inn for dinner. It's a Polish place with a line around the building. I had never actually had Polish food before; so for the tenth time this trip, I'm not really sure what to expect. The line weaves all the way through the building once finally inside. There is a bar in the middle of the wait, which is convenient for making the hour-plus-wait bearable. We make it to the front of the line and the wait was definitely worth it. Periogis are magical little pouches of happiness and I am sad I just learned of their existence!

This time in Ohio was a polar opposite from my first visit. I set my expectations low, but now I'm excited to go back for Christmas. My to-do list is long and I think Cleveland has a lot more to show me. I'll be back for you, periogis!