Our food is cool & so are we
Cleveland food is cool, and it’s time we started saying so. Take the time to venture to a counter or kitchen, garden or greenhouse, bakery or butcher shop, taproom or table that is unique to Cleveland and you will witness what (and who) makes our gustatory genius. Like any culture, our food reflects the people who grow it, prepare it and consume it. Our food is cool because we are.
But what makes us cool, and therefore our food, is not the same as any other city on earth. We rarely take time to reflect on this, our coolness, because it’s just not a Cleveland tradition to do so. Clevelanders shun bravado–just look at the athletes we have been more than happy to see strut off to other regions where their strutting fits right in. We decidedly do not strut in Cleveland. Some of our best chefs have either relocated from, or tested the culinary waters in, such uppity places, only to settle back comfortably into our city, where is it cool to create amazing food but has not been cool to crow about it.
Clevelanders are genuine and generous, humble and hilarious, devoted and diverse. We have a long history of industry and the behind-the-scenes labor that goes along with it. We have deep roots in cultural and religious traditions. Part of our brilliance, though, is that we respect people who have these very same traits no matter where they come from, witnessed in our many thriving ethnic eateries and stores where we embrace the food and traditions of those who come to us from places afar like Cambodia, Thailand, Jamaica and Mexico. We don’t just sit around and eat pierogies.
When I chose to move to Cleveland almost five years ago, it was because I felt comfortable here, because people here were welcoming, because I witnessed the passion for this place that the people here have. Cleveland is, to me, the ultimate neighborhood-city: it is made up of many great neighborhoods and has settled to a size that allows it to function as one big neighborhood itself. But what really first brought me here was the food: I came here to eat at Kosta’s and Lolita in Tremont and found an oasis of cool food no one seemed to be talking about but that I could not let go of.
An out-of-towner who visits Cleveland and gets to eat at Tommy’s or Minh Anh, gets to drink at the Velvet Tango Room or PJ McIntyre’s Irish Pub, or who gets to shop for food at the Hansa Import House or the Shaker Square Farmer’s Market—they are going to come back, not just for the exceptional food and drink but because of the cool people in those places. Who knows, they might even move here. I did.
Sure, there are parts of Cleveland that are less than friendly, not so cool. Glance around in those parts and you will overtly see only McDonald’s and Rally’s, Family Dollar and Wal*mart—places you can find anywhere, places with looming shadows, places the people there have no passion for.
But even in those parts of Cleveland, flickers of hope reflect people who care: urban farms, community gardens, and very often, small restaurants like Freddie’s Southern Style Ribs (1431 St. Clair) that have deep roots in the neighborhood, holding strong and ready to serve you amazing food if you just make the effort of getting to them.
My “Cool Cuisine” column will focus on the counters, kitchens, gardens, greenhouses, bakeries, butcher shops, taprooms, tables and the people behind them that make our food scene unique, thriving and cool. Once you find these places, you will be amazed at how much cool food we have here. I bet you’ll even find it cool to brag about it.
Alan Block chose to move to Cleveland in 2006. He spends much of his free time seeking out great food in our region. To pay the food bills, he works at University Hospitals as the IT Service Desk manager. He has previously authored two food blogs, the Bacon Loving Heathen and the Cleveland Epicure, as well as the Eat, Drink, Repeat food newsletter. He welcomes your suggestions of cool food and drink destinations at cleveland.epicureATgmail.com.
[Click here to return to the current issue of Cool Cleveland]
2 Responses to “Cool (Cleveland) Cuisine: Our food is cool & so are we”
Ruben
I, for one, really look forward to your column.
Now that I live in South Florida, If there is one thing I surely miss from my Cleveland days is the diverse and incredibly good cuisine.
From the Souper Market to Lola to the defunct Greek Isles to the diced onion machines and stadium mustard at the The Jake, Cleveland has given my palate years worth of memories.
I wish you delightful journeys.
Mixing it Up in Search of Spring
[…] time readers will recognize him as the love of my life, and now he is also the penmanship behind “Cool Cuisine”. I keep joking that pretty soon we won’t be able to walk down the street without being […]