Superlatives

su·per·la·tive

[suh-pur-luh-tiv, soo-]

adjective

1. of the highest kind, quality, or order; surpassing all else or others; supreme; extreme: superlative wisdom.

When I woke up this morning, I had two different Facebook posts from two different, very good ice cream places in my news feed - both asking me to vote for them in a "Best of Cleveland" sort of competition. The truth is, both places are the best at what they do. The only similarity that they have, really - is that they both make and serve ice cream that tastes amazing.

There are at least three different places I'd tell you to go for the best Mexican food, my specific answer would be dependent on what kind of Mexican food you wanted to eat. There are just as many, if not more places that have the best sushi. Three places have the best burger in Cleveland. I live in Little Italy where there are many Italian restaurants who obviously serve Italian food. To me there is no "best Italian" because they all do something (Italian), very well.

I believe that in some ways, this is where these sorts of contests can fail us, and where blogging and word-of-mouth can be beneficial. If you just go to the one place that a publication tells you has the "best" of a certain cuisine or sub-genre, you are potentially missing out on something else in that same little niche of food that is equally grand. Then again, I have friends that will tell you that Chili's has the best damn fajitas you've ever had, and I just *know* that's not true. If the best fajitas you have ever had came in a plastic bag, you need to begin thinking outside the box.

It's not to say it's impossible to have a "best" of anything, but that to break it down to really, truly know the absolute best that the restaurants of a city have to offer to break it down by cuisine, genres and sub-genres, you'd be looking at a book - not a newspaper article or magazine. They are great guides, and it's interesting to me to see what the voters choose as the definitive taco of Cleveland, or who has the most transcendent bowl of pasta.

I know they're all in good fun, and hope this doesn't portray me as supreme repudiator of the printed page because I'm not - as a blogger I can't help but be a little biased about the fun of becoming more intimate with experiencing food, wherever you happen to be. Read the suggestions, but ask your friends and even your bartenders/servers once in a while. Some of the most delicious food I've found in Cleveland has never made its way to the pages of a magazine.

Naps and Dogs

I wasn't really into the local music scene when I lived in Columbus, and I hadn't really even heard of half of the bands I currently listen to. Over the series of several shows however, I have become friends with Leia Hohenfeld, singer/keyboardist of Afternoon Naps.

Afternoon Naps, the "Too Twee to live in this world" band hailing from Cleveland, Ohio plays happy, upbeat music that you can't help but (at the very least) bounce around to, in a way reminiscent of the awkward "dancing" at a middle school dance. They're awesome. Leia and Co. may have served you brunch at the Beachland Ballroom, but if you've never seen them play, you're missing out.

I got to have my first Afternoon Naps full show experience and hot dogs from Happy Dog on Friday. Let me say that it was very packed. We didn't get to sit down for a while, but once I got past the hunger pangs I was okay! A packed restaurant usually means that the food is good and also that people are there to listen to some great local music. I am not sure who the guy was that covered Cherub Rock, but it was unforgivable! The Naps had some sound issues at first, but played a very nice set.

The hot dogs were very tasty, and very large. I loved the toppings though one of the dogs was completely missing one of the toppings I had requested. Overall, I'd say they did pretty well with such a packed house, but I did miss the kimchi. Columbus has a similar place called Dirty Frank's which I have to admit, I like a little better. The hot dogs are a little smaller and the topping list isn't quite as vast, but what they do have is great (check out the Cowboy Curtis). I can't help but be a little biased towards a place that serves Jeni's ice cream, anyway! (That reminds me, I'd like to make it to Bar Cento sometime...).

Happy Dog gives you unlimited dipping sauces with your fries or tater tots. The grape jelly chile sauce and the chimichurri were amazing. We'd like to go back when it's not packed quite as badly. It was an interesting scene, to be sure. My first reaction, admittedly was to send a text message to a good friend that read; "Trapped in hipster bar, send help!". I'm glad we went though, for the music and the food.

What makes a blogger stop posting?

I've wondered this again and again over the past several months. When did I stop posting and why? My posts slowed and eventually stopped right around the time that Jeff moved in. Is it his fault? No. He even started his own blog and has been posting in it. Spending weekends and evenings completely blissed out on cohabiting. I've been falling in love like it's going out of style, seriously. Deeper and deeper, I guess I could say - high on delta brain waves.

But perhaps a more interesting question is, what make a blogger start posting again? The answer to this is less cloying and more... Porky.

The answer is Michael Symon. We work out in Beachwood and realized it was only a short drive to Woodmere to B Spot. Since neither of us had actually been to a Michael Symon restaurant, we decided to go for a post-spin lunch. Before last Saturday I don't think you would have ever caught me saying that eating a hamburger could equate to having a meaningful religious experience - but I think I can safely say with every blasphemous keystroke that I now know why people are smitten with this man's culinary creations.

I had the Lola Burger and Lola Fries, and we shared a basket of the lime-cilantro wings. I also had a milkshake that was less like a shake and more like a half-melted pint of Mitchell's ice cream. There's not one bad thing I could possibly say about the entire meal, or the staff. I mean, the man got me to eat onions, and I hate onions with a passion.

We definitely want to go back, and we also want to try the other restaurants. I even mentioned to Jeff that if we visited friends in Detroit that we could go to Roast.

We could however, get to go to Lola (and other fine Cleveland restaurants) just for donating to a good cause. You've heard of this, haven't you? By donating a minimum of $5 to Veggie U, you will be entered to win over $1800 in gift cards. For you coupled people, that's a lot of date nights. GOOD date nights. For you singles, that's just plain old good food and boo-on-you for keeping it all to yourself.

To quote Michelle over at Cleveland Foodie:

If you donate $5 to Veggie U, you will automatically be entered to win more than $1,800 worth of gift cards to all your favorite eateries and shops. Want to increase your odds? Donate $10, $25, $50 or more (I promise you won’t miss $25). For every $5 you donate, you will earn another entry into the drawing. The more you donate, the greater your chance of winning. You have until February 13 to donate and be entered. It’s easy – just call 419.499.7500; you must reference Cleveland Foodie.

And she's right, we don't miss that $25. It's for a great cause and who doesn't like good food? If you haven't and you've got at least $5 to spare, please donate. (In the name of SCIENCE!!!)

In music news, Shearwater is coming back to Cleveland. We went to the show last year and feared that due to the low attendance, they might not want to come back. Please, if you have never listened to Shearwater - do it now. Tell your friends, buy a ticket or three and be prepared to be blown away by some amazing music/vocals.

As for this particular moment, I am listening to Baroque music and it makes me feel like I want to drink tea and watch Dangerous Liaisons.