Heads up peeps.  There is a 3 Squares marathon today on Time Warner Cable’s channel 23 (NEON).

The following restaurants will be featured:

The Corner Alley (Cleveland)
Zoup! (Independence)
Mister Brisket (Cleveland Heights)
John Q’s Steakhouse (Cleveland)
Burgers & Beer (Willoughby)
VegiTerranean (Akron)
Phoenix Coffee (NE Ohio)
Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli (Independence)
Fat Fish Blue (Cleveland)
Grumpy’s Cafe (Tremont)
The Angry Bull (Huron)
Bubba’s Q (Avon Lake)
The Barley House (Akron)
The Harley Diner (Warrensville Heights)
The Station (Berea)
Saratoga (Warren)
Sokolowski’s University Inn (Cleveland)
Epiq Bistro / Red Fish Voodoo Lounge (Concord)
Cafe Tandoor (Cleveland Heights)
Aroma (Avon Lake)
Crave (Akron)
Noce (Chardon)
Steak on a Stone (North Olmsted)
Frankie’s Pub & Pasta (Eastlake)

Ok homies, Glittergirl needs your input. She’s getting married.  Well, she already got married, but she is having a reception in November for friends and family and she needs a wedding cake. 

She asked for my opinion on the subject but seeing as that I like cake about as much as I like herpes, I figured I’d get some suggestions for her.

Requirements:  Glittergirl is looking for something different, but not super expensive (that means don’t recommend White Flower).  She was thinking of possibly going with Red Velvet, but she’s really looking for bakeries that turn out some good cake.

Leave your suggestions for her in the comments.

Photo:freeparking

I hope everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable Independence Day.  Enjoy some beers and take in some fireworks, but try not to blow your hand off will ya?

If you’ve got 10 hours to spare tomorrow and the $4 a gallon gas doesn’t bother you, why don’t you head to NYC and see a one ton block of cheddar cheese carved into the “Signing of the Declaration of Independence”?  I would pay to eat Benjamin Franklin’s knickers.

God Bless America!

Picture: woodleywonderworks

After a long and very busy day on the job site, (Don’t let me fool you; I have a desk job) one of my favorite things to do is eat at Don Tequila.  It is located in Mentor on RT 20 (Mentor Avenue) just before the Heisley & RT 20 intersection.  We’ve have been frequenting Don Tequila since we moved to the United States 5 years ago.  After making a special trip to Micro Center for my husband, we decided that tonight was a perfect night to take the baby and head there to eat dinner.

As soon as we walked in, the owner greeted us as usual and seated in one of our favorite spots, at the table closest to the kitchen.  My daughter Julia loves to watch the cooks and watch the waiters come out of the kitchen with plates of food stacked up to their elbows.  (It’s still amazing to me how many of these they can carry without spilling or burning themselves).

As Ben and I read through the Menu we enjoyed the salsa and tortilla chips we are always served as an appetizer.  Let me tell you that every time we go I always try something new on the menu.  Not once have I been disappointed with my selection. Tonight’s choice for me was a Burrito de Carne Asada, served with a side of rice and refried beans.  The burrito was full of chopped steak with spicy red tomatillo sauce, topped my favorite kind of salsa ever, pico de gallo, a drizzle of sour cream, and huge scoop of guacamole. Ben’s choice for the evening was a cheese quesadilla served with a lettuce and tomato salad.  And last but not least, I ordered little Jules a soft taco with ground beef.  Even though she’s only 11 months old, she devoured the taco!  The best part is when we were given the bill for our dinner.  Including the Corona with Lime I chose to accompany my Burrito the total was $18.50.  I don’t think any fast food joint can beat the price and quality of the food and service you will get at Don Tequila. 

If you’re going to be in the Mentor area on July 15th, make sure you make your way to up there.  They will be celebrating their anniversary.  The sign they have posted on the door says they will be handing out tee shirts to those that come join the celebration.  I also saw they will be opening their new patio area soon. I’ve been looking forward to dinning in the patio area for a while now!  I definitely recommend that you check this place out.  You won’t regret it!

Photo By: Clintus McGintus

Just a quick update.  I got a note this week from Matt over at Melt Bar and Grilled, announcing the completion of their expansion.

That should reduce those wait times and provide for a better dining experience.

When life gives you lemons you’re supposed to make lemonade.  But what the hell are you supposed to do when life gives you 5 pounds of shredded cheddar cheese? I say make your own cheddar cheese crackers and tell Mr.Nips to take a hike.

My Mom (Hi Mom!, She actually reads this site, unlike my loving wife.) was making some dishes that required a good deal of shredded cheddar cheese and it was much more economical for her to purchase the cheese in bulk.  That left her with 5 pounds of cheese that she couldn’t use.  She gave to me because, “You’re the only person I know that could actually find a way to use it all before it goes bad.”

[Read the rest of this entry...]

It was suggested that I write a little bit about myself so everyone who reads can get to know a little bit about Stacy. I was born here in the USA, the wonderful state of Georgia… a true “Georgia Peach”. (Perhaps where my love off peaches began.)? I am 25 years old, a wife and mother of a beautiful 10 month old baby girl. I also find myself strangely in love with my pets; Wolf and Rex our Siberian Huskies and Roxy our Ferret. I pride myself in being a lover of food and would consider myself somewhat of an amateur chef.

My family and I lived overseas my whole life. When I was just a baby, we moved to Costa Rica where my parents took some time to study the Spanish language. We then moved to Venezuela where I lived for almost 18 years. (I may not have real Latin blood in me, but I definitely consider myself a Latina!) I met my husband Ben in Venezuela. We have now been married for 5 1/2 years and last year were blessed with the birth of baby Julia last August. We are excited for her 1st Birthday coming up in the next couple of months!

My love for food began when I was 13. My mother is not the greatest cook in the world. If she didn’t have to, she probably wouldn’t ever cook again! My brothers and I decided that if we wanted to eat anything other than Tuna Noodle Casserole, Spaghetti & Meatballs, and Porkchops with Mac & Cheese we were going to have to take matters into our own hands. We began finding out what spices went well on what meats. We began to master and perfect various rice recipes. We even began perfecting favorites from Venezuela; arepas, empanadas, arroz con pollo to name a few. When I got married my cooking skills were perfected even more! My mother-in-law introduced me to many Peruvian dishes: arroz verde con pollo, ceviche, papa rellena. This took my cooking even one step further. I continue to perfect my cooking every day and am constantly creating and perfecting new and old recipes. I can’t wait to share my love of food with you all. Please feel free to share and comment on my future posts.

My husband Ben and I share a love for food.  We have been blessed to have met a group of people at work that also love food.  We call ourselves the "Ethnic Group".  We recently went to La Tortilla Feliz, in Treemont.    So, you are probably wondering what I thought.  Well, it was the best restaurant I’ve been to in a very long time.  Let me put it another way; if we lived closer I would eat there at least once a week.  Not only was the atmosphere great, but the service was excellent and the MENU… to die for!  When we got there we looked over the menu for quite sometime and both Ben and I agreed that we should get a few appetizers to share so we could try a little bit of everything.

We got the following off the 4 page menu:

Tinga de Pollo: vegetables and shredded chicken in a creamy, spicy broth.

Ceviche: fish marinated in lime juice with tomatoes and cilantro to top it off. This was served with bite sized tortilla chips.

Arepas Reina Pepiada:  Arepas filled with shredded chicken salad and avocado slices.

The Ethnic Group will be dining together again very soon.  I can’t wait to share with you all where we decided to dine and what my choice off the Menu was.  If any one has any ideas where the next "Ethnic Group" adventure should be I’d love to hear from you.  Stay tuned for more of the "Ethnic Group" Adventures!

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonpatrick17/

When I first heard about this, I thought it made a lot of sense.  Of all the Chefs in Cleveland that could probably be playing football, Rocco Whalen is a logical choice.

He’s not going to the Super Bowl to play football though, he’s going to do what he does best, cook.  Rocco was chosen as Cleveland’s representative for the NFL’s Taste of NFL Celebrity Dinner during Super Bowl weekend.

A chef from each city with a NFL franchise will be offering a small, bite-size dish for those attending the event.  Fahrenheit’s Chef Whalen will be making a rare beef Carpaccio with apple syrup and horseradish aioli.

I think they picked a great representative to showcase the best that Cleveland has to offer.  I can only hope that the Browns will be joining him there.

On a side note: I found out a few weeks ago that I actually used to play softball with Rocco back in the day.  When I found this picture from Mentor High School’s singing club, I knew I had to use it.

 
Photo: minusbaby - that’s ironic