Win 2 tickets to the Sept. 15 event

Every four years, Feeding America, the nationwide network of 200 food banks, conducts its Hunger in America study.

It’s the largest survey of its kind, focusing on why hunger happens and its effects on local communities.

The most recent Hunger in America was released just last week, and showed that right here in Northeast Ohio, more than 574,000 people each year turn to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and other hunger programs.

If you’ve been thinking about getting involved with the Food Bank, now is the time.

September is Hunger Action Month, a nationwide campaign to raise significant funds and enlist volunteers in the fight against hunger.

And the Greater Cleveland Food Bank has made it easy and fun for you to contribute with two fantastic events.

First up is the Hunger Action Month Happy Hour on Monday, September 8th. From 5:30-7:30pm, drink and eat up at TownHall in Ohio City. A $20 ticket gets you unlimited selected drafts between 5:30 and 7:30 and flatbreads between 6 and 7. All proceeds benefit the Cleveland Food Bank, and you can find out more and buy tickets at the link.

It’s an excellent warm-up to the Food Bank’s main event the following week. That’s right, it’s time again for Taste of the Browns!

It’s the 16th year that the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, the city’s culinary scene, and the Cleveland Browns have teamed up to tackle hunger in Northeast Ohio.

Photo from 2013 Taste of the Browns, courtesy of Greater Cleveland Food Bank

On Monday, September 15, more than 25 of the area’s finest restaurants and chefs will take over the City View Club Lounge at FirstEnergy Stadium. Some of the restaurants in attendance include:

• Rocco Whalen’s Fahrenheit and Rosie & Rocco’s
• Zack Bruell’s Chinato, Cowell & Hubbard, L’Albatros Brasserie, Parallax, Table 45
• Eric Williams’ Momocho and El Carnicero
• Sam McNulty’s The Market Garden Brewery, Bar Cento, Speakeasy, Nano Brew and Bier Market
• And my new favorite downtown dining destination Urban Farmer

Photo from 2013 Taste of the Browns by Poise in Parma

Cleveland Browns fans also have the opportunity to meet and mingle with Browns alumni and current players and bid for items like Joe Haden’s “favorite things” gift basket; footballs and jerseys autographed by Brian Hoyer, Johnny Manziel and Barkevious Mingo; and a signed copy of the Draft Day movie script.

New to this year’s Taste of the Browns is a wine and craft beer pull. For $10, attendees can purchase a bottle cap for a six-pack of craft beer, while $20 gets you a bottle of wine.

Need more convincing? Check out Poise in Parma’s guest recap of last year’s Taste of the Browns.

General admission tickets are available for $175, $75 of which is tax-deductible and can be purchased here. Proceeds from last year’s event raised more than $175,000 for the Food Bank, enabling them to distribute 700,000+ meals to agencies in six local counties.

Photo from 2013 Taste of the Browns, courtesy of Greater Cleveland Food Bank

You can also win 2 general admission tickets to Taste of the Browns in my giveaway.
How to enter: Do one, some or all five of the entries; a separate comment’s needed for each.

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway
**You must leave a separate comment on this post for each entry**

1) Leave a comment on this post telling me which Taste of the Browns restaurant you haven’t been to before that you’d like to try.

2) Follow @CleveFoodbank and @ADHicken on Twitter and leave one comment on this post telling me you did both.

3) If you’re a fan of Clue Into Cleveland and the Cleveland Foodbank on Facebook, leave one comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here and here.

4) Tweet the following and leave one comment letting me know you tweeted:

I want to tackle hunger at @CleveFoodbank’s #TasteoftheBrowns. Enter @ADHicken’s giveaway and you can too: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-2zV

You can tweet once per day for additional entries. Just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

5) Subscribe to Clue Into Cleveland via a feed tracker like Bloglovin’ or Feedly and leave one comment letting me know you did. This can also include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Sunday, September 7 at 11:59PM to enter. On Monday, September 8, I will select a winner using Random.org and will announce the winner’s name on my blog.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry – good luck!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend Taste of the Browns with a guest in exchange for hosting a giveaway. My choice to post about this event and opinions are 100% my own.

The weather was perfect (unbelievably so, after our winter), the grill was blazing with cheese brats and Dad Hicken’s BBQ-sauce-laced burgers, and Scott’s mom put together one of the best macaroni salads I’ve had.

Scott and I even squeezed in a bike ride down to the lake. It was a much-needed distraction to forget about the voice I lost 5 days earlier.

I love BBQs, and the best one of the summer happens in a few weeks. On June 27, Our Lady of the Wayside and Giant Eagle will host their annual Grapes & Ale party at Progressive Field. 

From 7-10pm, enjoy barbeque from Hot Sauce Williams, Famous Dave’s, 100th Bomb Group, Battery Park Wine Bar, and Corleone’s while sampling 200 wines and beers from William Hill Estate Winery, St. Michelle, Chloe Wine Collection, Great Lakes, Magic Hat, and more.

Colin Dussault’s Acoustic Side Project is back this year with live blues music throughout the night.

This party pretty much sums up all the best parts of summer for me: BBQ, beer, and the Indians ballpark.

Just learn from my first Grapes and Ale experience. Don’t wear white unless you’re carrying stain remover.

I’m not the only one who loves Grapes and Ale. The event has gotten so big the last couple years that Our Lady of the Wayside is expanding the space they use in Progressive Field.  That means room for even more fun!

Also new this year: Cupcake Vineyards’ Wine Truck will be making a tour stop  at the event.

Grapes and Ale raises money for Our Lady of the Wayside. Located out in Avon, they provide services for 500 children and adults with developmental disabilities. Their programs include:

• 24/7 residential support in nearly 60 homes throughout Cuyahoga and Lorain counties, plus short-term emergency resident placement
• A fleet of 75 vehicles to provide transportation throughout Cuyahoga and Lorain for individuals with developmental disabilities
• The Pathways Program which cultivates daily living skills with instructional activities, community outings, and volunteering

Grapes and Ale tickets start at $50 (Premiere Grand Tasting level), which gets you access to wine samplings and BBQ, a souvenir glass, music, silent auction and the Cupcake Truck Tour. Samplings of craft beers are also available for purchase at the WKNR Market Pavilion Brew Garden. The $125 VIP Majic of Wine Tasting ticket includes all of this, plus free parking and a blind wine tasting from 6-7pm.

Don’t plan on drinking? Enjoy BBQ, unlimited water and pepsi with a $20 Designated Driver ticket.

You can order tickets online or you can enter to win two $50 tickets right here!

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway
**You must leave a separate comment on this post for each entry**

1) Leave a comment telling me what’s your favorite side dish to serve at a BBQ.

2) If you’re a fan of Our Lady of the Wayside and Clue Into Cleveland on Facebook, leave a comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here and here.

3) Follow @ADHicken and @OurLadyWayside on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you did both.

4) Tweet the following and leave one comment letting me know you tweeted:

I want to win a night of BBQ, brews and blues at #GrapesandAle – enter @ADHicken’s giveaway for tickets: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-2vJ #CLE

You can tweet once per day for additional entries. Just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

5) Subscribe to Clue Into Cleveland via a feed tracker like Bloglovin’ or Feedly and leave one comment letting me know you did. This can also include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Tuesday, June 3 at 11:59PM to enter.  On Wednesday, June 4, Random.org will select a winner and I’ll announce the winner’s name on my blog.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry – good luck!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend Grapes and Ale with a guest in exchange for previewing the event. My choice to blog about this event is based on how much fun Scott and I had in years past. Opinions are my own.

Congratulations, entry 26 – Franklin Mayse, for winning this giveaway!
Please reply to my email by the morning of 5/13 to confirm you can attend Silver Spoon.

Cleveland Magazine’s Silver Spoon Awards Party, May 14

When it comes to Cleveland food events, I like to prepare in advance. That means scouting which restaurants are going to be there, developing a game plan for the most efficient tasting route, and getting my appetite in shape.

There are some events I can get away with going in blind; however, if there’s anything I’ve learned from previous years, the Silver Spoon Awards Party is not one of those events.

I mean that in the best way.

When I’m asked for a list of my favorite Cleveland food events, a small handful come to mind. Year after year, Silver Spoon is consistently tops.

Photo via Silver Spoon CLE, by Lane Baldwin Photography

Each year, Cleveland Magazine readers vote on restaurants that are the best at what they do. Whether that’s pizza, brunch, sushi, Greek food, dessert, happy hour … the list goes on. The restaurant finalists are then invited to show off their signature dish in May to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation, Great Lakes Region, Northeastern Ohio.

Add on top of that, wine from eight international vinters, cocktails from Brown-Forman, a silent auction, late-night after-party in the VIP lounge, and loads of other surprises, and now you know why I prepare like I’m going to run a marathon. 

This year’s Silver Spoon Party promises to be bigger than  ever because  it’s the 20th Anniversary. On Wednesday, May 14, over 40 restaurants will take over 200 Public Square. 

20 Years of Cleveland Magazine’s Silver Spoon Awards

And today I’m happy to not only share a sneak peek at what this year’s restaurants have planned, but also 2 tickets for you to win!

Here are some of the dishes you’ll be salivating over:

• Aladdin’s Eatery: Jasmine’s Favorite and Lebanese Salata
• Blue Point Grille: Blue Point oysters
• Bubba’s-Q World Famous Bar-B-Q: De-boned baby back rib steak and Texas style brisket
• EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute: Rabbit pie and ratatouille
• Felice Urban Café: Grilled Calamari Salad with New Potato Confit
• Great Lakes Brewing Co.: A tasting of a variety of beers and Bananas Foster Mousse Cups
• Humble Wine Bar: Chocolate towers and cheese cakes
• Jammy Buggars: PB&J Meatball Slider
• Luca Italian Cuisine: Sacchetti al Tartufata Bianco, white truffle and ricotta stuffed sacchetti, black truffle cream sauce, aged fig balsamic
• Lucky’s Café: Mini Reuben, corned beef, sauerkraut, on rye with Thousand Island dressing, all house made topped with swiss
• Master Pizza: Pepperoni, plain, sausage, and the award-winning “Popeye” pizzas
• Pacific East Coventry: Assortment of sushi
• Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar: Braised Beef Ropa Vieja
• Pearl of the Orient – East: Phoenix Salad (smoked shredded duck breast, chicken breast, agar agar, honeydew, cantaloupe, sesame seeds, sesame vinaigrette)
• Pearl of the Orient – West: Strip Steak with Hoisin Sauce and Crispy Wonton
• Phnom Penh: Vegetable Kuy Teav Chha Khmer; Chicken Preah Vihear
• Pier W: Crawfish etouffee and zucchini bloom fritter, fava bean emulsion
• Salmon Dave’s Pacific Grille: House cured wild salmon with citrus barbecue sauce and a mango poblano salsa
• Society Lounge: Ramos “Bathtub Gin” Fizz, Kegged and Carbonated Moscow Mule and Barrel Aged Woodford Manhattans
• Spice Kitchen + Bar: Seared Ramp Ravioli with green garlic sauce and micro greens
• Sweet Melissa: Chocolate covered strawberries, cannoli, chocolate cake, red velvet cake, NY style cheesecake, keylime tarts, cookies, and more
• Taki’s Greek Kitchen: Lamb chops w/mavrodaphine syrup, and spicy feta dip w/pita chips
• Toast: Pigs in a blanket
• Ty Fun Thai Bistro: Pad Thai
• Zoup! Euclid & East 4th Street: Lobster bisque and chicken pot pie

Check out the full list of participating restaurants to see who else will be there. Personally, I can’t wait to discover what Cork & Cleaver, DANTE/Ginko, Fired Up Tacos, Lolita, and Mama Roberto’s have up their sleeve.

Hungry yet? You can purchase tickets for the Silver Spoon Awards Party online for $150 (VIP) and $100 (general admission).  Or you can enter to win two general admission tickets right here!

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway
**You must leave a separate comment on this post for each entry**

1) Leave a comment telling me which dish or restaurant you’re most excited for.

2) If you’re a fan of The Arthritis Foundation, Northeastern Ohio Chapter and Clue Into Cleveland on Facebook, leave a comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here and here.

3) Follow @ADHicken and @SilverSpoonCLE on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you did both.

4) Tweet the following and leave one comment letting me know you tweeted:

I want to win tickets to @SilverSpoonCLE! Enter @ADHicken’s #SilverSpoonCLE giveaway: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-2uQ #CLE

You can tweet once per day for additional entries. Just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

5) Subscribe to Clue Into Cleveland via a feed tracker like Bloglovin’ or Feedly and leave one comment letting me know you did. This can also include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Sunday, May 11 at 11:59PM to enter.  On Monday, May 12, Random.org will select a winner and I’ll announce the winner’s name on my blog.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry – good luck!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend Silver Spoon with a guest and give away 2 tickets on my blog. My opinions and the choice to post about this event are my own.

Congratulations, entry 26 – Jessica Z, for winning this giveaway!
Please reply to my email by 4/25 to confirm you can attend Market at the Food Bank.

This year’s Market at the Food Bank takes place May 4 to benefit Harvest for Hunger

Checkout for Hunger, Brown Bag Day, food drives at WKYC, Indians games and area businesses — all around the region, people have been coming together for Harvest for Hunger.

Harvest for Hunger is one of the largest annual, community-wide food and funds drives in the nation, serving food pantries, hot meal programs, and shelters across 21 of Northeast and North Central Ohio’s counties.

During last year’s Harvest for Hunger, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and other local hunger relief organizations provided 16.5 million nutritious meals to the community. The plan this year is to top 17 million meals.

Ambitious? Yes, but hunger continues to be a growing problem in Northeast Ohio.

One way the Greater Cleveland Food Bank will reach this goal is Market at the Food Bank, Harvest for Hunger’s annual food tasting fundraiser.

On May 4, L’Albatros, EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, Greenhouse Tavern, Vintage Wine and 50 of Cleveland’s restaurants and beverage purveyors will spend the evening serving up delectable dishes and fine wines throughout the Food Bank’s distribution center.

The goal: to raise 1 million meals in just one night. 

Photos from last year’s Market at the Food Bank (photo on left courtesy of Greater Cleveland Food Bank)

The meals provided through Harvest for Hunger will help seniors like Phyllis, families like Katie and Luke, children like Francisco. Our friends and neighbors.

Market at the Food Bank starts at 5pm on May 4. Early bird general admission is $85, though the price goes up on April 18. You can buy tickets online or enter this week’s giveaway for a pair of tickets.

How to enter: Do 1, some, or all 5 of the entries. Separate comment needed for each.

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway
**You must leave a separate comment on this post for each entry**

1) Leave a comment telling me how you support Harvest for Hunger. (Need ideas? Check out the Greater Cleveland Food Bank’s site.)

2) If you’re a fan of Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Clue Into Cleveland on Facebook, leave a comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here and here.

3) Follow @ADHicken and @CleveFoodbank on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you did both.

4) Tweet the following and leave one comment letting me know you tweeted:

I want to win tickets to @CleveFoodbank’s Market at the Food Bank! Enter @ADHicken’s #MarketatFB giveaway: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-2tG

You can tweet once per day for additional entries. Just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

5) Subscribe to Clue Into Cleveland via a feed tracker like Bloglovin’ or Feedly and leave one comment letting me know you did. This can also include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Monday, April 21 at 11:59PM to enter.  On Tuesday, April 22, Random.org will select a winner and I’ll announce the winner’s name on my blog.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry – good luck!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend Market at the Food Bank and give away 2 tickets on my blog. My opinions and the choice to post about this event are my own.

Animal Attractions at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s RainForest, February 6, 6-9pm

“Baby, it’s cold (really, really cold) outside.”

It’s time to cuddle up — not just because of the cold, but also because Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. (Where did the time go, right? Feels like it was just Halloween.)

That means it’s time for one of my favorite Cleveland winter events — the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Animal Attractions.

This year’s Animal Attractions will be hosted by the Cleveland Zoological Society on February 6. It takes place inside the Zoo’s RainForest so you’ll be nice and warm to enjoy all of the food and wine and birds and the bees.

At Animal Attractions, sample food from area restaurants

From 6-9pm, enjoy an open bar, Jacob’s Creek wine tasting, and bites from:

• AMP 150
• Cleveland Cupcake Company
• Cork & Cleaver Social Kitchen
• Creekside Restaurant & Bar
• Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse
• Great Lakes Brewing Company
• House of Blues Cleveland
• Rosander Event Kitchen
• Vitamix
• Whole Foods Market Cedar Center

There will also be animal meet-and-greets and presentations throughout The RainForest about animals’ mating habits.

The most entertaining part of last year’s Animal Attractions was curator Andi Kornak’s 50 Shades of Gray presentation on elephant socialization and mating. We saw a whole lot of things we’ll never unsee and learned about how the Zoo’s female elephants interact with Willie the bull. Check out my review to read more about last year’s event and see pictures of our up-close encounters with the Zoo’s armadillo and corn snake.

Chris Kuhar gives a presentation on animals’ mating habits at last year’s Animal Attractions

Animal Attractions tickets cost $60 for Zoo members, $65 for non-members and you must be 21 or older to attend. Funds raised will benefit the Cleveland Zoological Society’s animal well-being, conservation, and educational efforts.

You can also enter the Zoo’s giveaway to win a pair of tickets to Animal Attractions by heading over to the Cleveland Zoological Society’s Facebook page between now and January 26.

This giveaway kicks off the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s new The Zoo Isn’t Just for Kids campaign. In addition to Animal Attractions, the Zoo hosts a variety of adult-only programming like their ZooKeepers’ Circle, Twilight at the Zoo music festival, and Date Night at the ZOOvies.

Learn more about the Animal Attractions giveaway at http://goo.gl/MZ4I71 and purchase tickets at ClevelandZooSociety.org.

I hope to see you on February 6!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend Animal Attractions with a guest in exchange for previewing the event on my blog. However, the choice to promote this event is 100% my own — this is a Cleveland event that I love and I’d blog about it regardless.

L’Amour du Vin raised over $56K for the Arthritis Foundation, Great Lakes Region, Northeast Ohio

It’s a rare treat to be able to hop in the car and drive a few minutes for a tasting event that features so many of the area’s restaurants. A fine dining and drinking event in my own backyard.

The convenience is something that sets L’Amour du Vin, the fall food fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation, Great Lakes Region, Northeast Ohio, apart from other food events we may attend.

Musicians from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Jazz Ensemble

In exchange for hosting a giveaway last month, I was invited to attend the event.  When we arrived at the Avon Oaks Country Club last Thursday, we made our way to the VIP lounge. There we started our evening with a westside restaurant that is quickly raising the ranks of our neighborhood favorites – Bistro 83. 

As we enjoyed a barrel-aged Gentleman Jack Ward 8 and Woodford Reserve Manhattan from Brown-Forman, we feasted on truffle mini-pancakes topped with thin-sliced beef, as well as a delicious pulled pork on risotto. I preferred the pork and risotto over the beef. The vegetables and spices used to accent the pork did a better job of bringing out its flavor, which offered up a nice kick. And both the risotto cake and pork were more moist than the pancake and beef. 

Food from Bistro 83; cocktail from Brown Forman

This was followed by even more food from other Avon, North Ridgeville, and Cleveland westside restaurants in the main room. I really enjoyed trying out new-to-me places like Emerald Necklace Inn Tea Room, which featured scones with heavy cream, and Fazio’s, who served up a very ample risotto balls topped with a rich, tomato sauce.

Many of us headed back to the friendly Fazio’s for seconds, and I know I’ll be going back for more when visiting their restaurant in Olmsted Falls.

I was glad to not only see the arancini on their menu, but other appetizing dishes like a cajun-rubbed Mahi Mahi with crab/potato hash and seafood bisque reduction and a penne dish featuring chicken, gorgonzola cream sauce, cherry tomato, spinach and toasted walnut.

Burger, beef wellington and soup

I was also happy to see favorites like AMP 150 whose tomato soup (pleasantly) surprised me with the crunch of croutons and a hearty burger from Jammy Buggars. Thanks to the sweet (and entertaining) Kiedrowski’s Bakery as well as Heidelberg wine stations everywhere we turned, Scott and I left the country club very content.

All of this was for the Arthritis Foundation, who raised over $56K at L’Amour du Vin. A win for everyone involved.

Sweet treats from Kiedrowski’s Bakery

This evening of excellent dishes paired with wines from around the world got me thinking about the holiday season and popping a cork over a delicious meal. In the spirit of the event’s name, here are a few links about Midwest wine and food pairings:

• Heart of Ohio’s Fall issue of Pairings
• Pairing Ideas for Midwest Wines
• Taste Ohio Wines’ Food and Wine Pairings Guide

And while these aren’t Midwest-focused, these two were too good not to share:

• MyRecipes.com’s Fall and Winter Wine Pairings with Recipes
• Whole Foods’ Wine, Recipe and Cheese Pairings (even better!)

I hope they help you find “l’amour du vin” this season!

Disclosure: I was invited to host a giveaway in exchange for attending L’Amour du Vin with a guest. All opinions in my posts are 100% my own.

Dishes from Bistro 83, one of the restaurants at L’Amour du Vin

Update: Parker’s Grille and Tavern in Avon Lake is no longer participating in L’Amour du Vin (9/27/2013)

Working downtown, I’m a short walk away from a wealth of dining choices. However, the restaurants opening more and more frequently in Lorain County and Cleveland’s west side have me eating (and eating well) close to home.

Nearby I can find tempting Greek food at Taki’s, an intimate Italian dinner at Fratello’s, and BBQ at Bubba’s Q. And as I blogged earlier in the year, I can never go wrong at Cafe Melissa.

Last night we tried one of the area’s newest restaurants Bistro 83.

Stopping in for dinner after work, we enjoyed their Lump Crab Mac-n-Cheese and the Smoked Mozzarella Red Pepper Ravioli. Small touches like the pesto-cream on the mac and edamame on the ravioli added fresh, intense flavors to the dishes. A long list of wines and brews, as well as a very well-priced brunch menu have Scott and I planning a return trip this weekend.

At the 16th annual L’Amour du Vin on Thursday, October 10, Bistro 83 and other Cleveland West side restaurants will be showcasing their talent in the kitchen.

Whether you’re a longtime westsider already clued into our local restaurants, or live downtown/on the eastside and want to explore more of the region’s cuisine, enter my giveaway for two tickets to the Arthritis Foundation, Great Lakes Region, Northeast Ohio’s fundraiser.

L’Amour du Vin on Oct. 10 at Avon Oaks Country Club

Presented by EMH Healthcare at the Avon Oaks Country Club, L’Amour du Vin is Lorain County’s premier wine and food tasting event.

From 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, attendees will enjoy hearty samplings from Ahern Catering, Aladdin’s Eatery, AMP150 Restaurant & Bar, BIstro 83 (VIP Lounge), Fazio’s Restaurant, Gatherings Kitchen, Kiedrowski’s Simply Delicious Bakery, La Campagna, Legacy Restaurant & Grille, Little Devil Cupcakery, Red Gables Mesquite Grill, Seryrell’s Salsa Products, and Your Deli.

In addition to the food, the fundraiser features:

• A selection of wine from around the world curated by Heidelberg of Lorain
• An exclusive KeyBank VIP Lounge with Brown Forman barrel-aged cocktails, cuisine from Bistro 83, and free spa services from EXHALE: The Spa at EMH
• Live music from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Jazz Ensemble, a silent auction, and the chance to win a 5-day, 4-night Western Caribbean cruise at the Wine Bottle Raffle.

General Admission tickets cost $60 per person ($75 at the door, night-of the event) which includes your food and wine.  VIP tickets, which include access to the general party and the VIP Lounge, are $90.

Tickets can be purchased at http://lamourduvin2013.eventbrite.com or by calling Alicia at (216) 285-2822. Funds raised at L’Amour du Vin will support local programs, services and research for the nearly 1.3 million Northeast Ohioans with arthritis.

Gatherings Kitchen at last year’s L’Amour du Vin

You can also enter my giveaway for a pair of general event tickets. How to enter: Do one, some, or all five of the entries. A separate comment is needed for each.

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway
**You must leave a separate comment on this post for each entry**

1) What’s your favorite Lorain County or Cleveland West side restaurant? Leave a comment on this post with your pick.

2) Follow @ArthritisFouNEO and @ADHicken on Twitter and leave one comment on this post telling me you did both.

3) If you’re a fan of Clue Into Cleveland and The Arthritis Foundation, Northeast Ohio Chapter on Facebook, leave one comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here and here.

4) Tweet the following and leave one comment letting me know you tweeted:

Raise a glass to @ArthritisFouNEO at #LAmourduVin. Enter @ADHicken’s giveaway for your chance to win tickets: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-2em

You can tweet once per day for additional entries. Just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

5) Subscribe to Clue Into Cleveland via a feed tracker like Bloglovin’ or Feedly and leave one comment letting me know you did. This can also include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Monday, September 30 at 11:59 PM to enter. Random.org will select the winner, which I will announce on Tuesday, October 1. Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry – good luck!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend L’Amour du Vin with a guest in exchange for hosting a giveaway. My choice to post about this event and opinions are 100% my own. .

As a Cleveland blogger, event planner and food lover, any time that I get to combine those three personal passions is an a-okay thing in my book. So when Amanda kindly offered me her media passes to attend the 15th Annual Taste of the Browns
on Monday, September 9, 2013, I couldn’t be more excited or ready to say “let’s go!”

One of the biggest food and wine events of the season, nearly 1000 guests attended the event at FirstEnergy Stadium to benefit the Cleveland Foodbank.  Upon our arrival and checking in, my husband Hans and I rode the escalator to head straight to the happenings – and good friends – awaiting us at the top.

With 25 restaurants participating, we had to be ready to make smart selections in our eating plan – and we were pretty pleased with what we found from our Cleveland restaurateurs.  Here’s – for the most part – what we sampled that evening.

Clockwise from top left:

• The Greenhouse Tavern/Sawyer’s Street Frites’ display
• GHT’s sweet chili peach confit wings
• Cleveland Browns Hospitality Group’s Pan Seared Lake Erie Walleye
• Little Devil Cupcakery’s assorted cupcakes

Clockwise from top left:

• El Carnicero y Momocho’s house smoked trout and pork belly guacamole
• A Brut/Chardonnay blend care of Vintage Wine Distributor
• Players on Madison’s Caribbean tuna tartar with spicy plantain chip
• Sans Souci’s Ohio City Rosemary Truffle pierogi

Clockwise from top left:

• Market Garden Brewery’s crab and corn salad
• Deagan’s Kitchen & Bar’s jerk chicken drumstick with pineapple mango salsa
• Lago Restaurant & Wine Bar’s potato and basil wrapped tuna
• Pier W’s Hawaii big eye tuna with local corn polenta and tomato jam

Our tip top favorites of the night?

For the lady: All of the tuna options, especially from Pier W and Lago.

For the gentleman: GHT’s confit wings, Cleveland Browns Hospitality Group’s Pan Seared Lake Erie Walleye and the chocolate peanut butter brownie from Little Devil Cupcakery.

Mutually? We both loved Deagan’s Kitchen & Bar’s chicken drumstick – and the super sweetness of their staff serving the food.

But I couldn’t forget to mention a PIP favorite – AMP 150 Restaurant and Bar  – and Chef Jeff Jarrett’s tasty offerings in the VIP Lounge:

Left to Right: AMP 150’s braised short rib slider with vegetable slaw and fresh tomato soup and salad combo

By this point, we were stuffed and ready to check out the other event features.

The Silent Auction featured 64 packages including unique Cleveland experiences, signed Browns memorabilia, vacation accommodations and more. Raffle prizes included club level tickets to an upcoming Browns game, and a “Tailgater” Dining Package for 30 people courtesy of a pretty well known Clevelander:

That would be from Browns legend Al “Bubba” Baker (not my husband, although Hans is gaining quite the NASA following these days).  Fans mingled with Cleveland Browns alumni and current players all night long, including event chair Joe Thomas, Alex Mack, Greg Little and more.  I might have got a bit excited when chatting with Bubba – sorry if I left a bruise on your arm, Mr. Baker! This opportunity is a very special feature of this event, making an extra delectable Taste of the Browns extra memorable.

LONG STORY SHORT: In the process of all the dishes being served and the pictures being taking, there was some serious money being raised for the Cleveland Foodbank.  For every dollar donated, the Foodbank provides enough food for four meals. That is going to allow the organization to serve thousands upon thousands of Greater Clevelanders. And that is better than any house-made, house-cured foodie favorite that I could buy. Congrats to the Foodbank for another successful fundraiser, and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to enjoy the experience!

Keep up to date with all the happenings at the Cleveland Foodbank by following the non-profit on Twitter and on Facebook.

Connect with Alicia from Poise in Parma on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Disclosure: I was invited to attend Taste of the Browns in exchange for previewing the event and hosting a giveaway. I was unable to attend, but was able to give my passes to someone else in exchange for guest blogging about it.

Hi! I’m Jessica and I’m a recent marketing graduate from Kent State. I recently got to check out my first Cleveland American Marketing Association (AMA) event and now I’m here to tell you all about it.

On August 15th, the Cleveland chapter of AMA hosted an Urban Picnic featuring the Cleveland Metroparks.

Source

The AMA brought in the Cleveland Metroparks’ Chief Marketing Officer, Sanaa Julien and Director of Communications, Sue Allen to discuss their recent acquisition of over 450 acres of lakefront property including Edgewater Park. The event was hosted at the riverfront Rivergate Cafe in the Flats, and attendees were provided drinks and dinner from the StrEat Mobile Bistro Food Truck. The weather was absolutely gorgeous for an evening spent by the river!

Myself, my boyfriend Mike, and my friend Dawn met up, got drinks, and mingled while people were arriving. We sat in the sunshine and enjoyed the river views!

 Dawn & myself and Mike & I

Then it was time to eat! StrEat Mobile Bistro had a delicious menu prepared for us:

 Source

 Dawn and Mike ordering a delicious meal! (Photo by Helen Harry from Cleveland Print Room)

I had the Broccoli Mac & Cheese and the “Truck Made” Potato Chips – they were both great!

After dinner, it was time for the presentation to begin. Patty DelMonico, the President of the Cleveland AMA chapter, started things off with an introduction and some background on AMA.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, the American Marketing Association is a volunteer organization and is one of the largest marketing associations in the world, with over 30,000 members who work, teach and study in the field of marketing across the globe (via AMA’s website).

“The AMA is a professional association for individuals and organizations leading the practice, teaching and development of marketing knowledge worldwide.

Our principle role is to serve as a forum to connect like-minded individuals and foster knowledge sharing, provide resources, tools and training and support marketing practice and thought leadership around the globe.”

–AMA’s website

The event was also sponsored by CLE Clothing Co, who has a new t-shirt partnership with the Metroparks. We learned that CLE Clothing Co was started in October 2008, and they opened their first store in 2010.

Next, the planner for this event, Kasey Crabtree, told us about the AMA’s next event – Mix at Six: Speakeasy Party on September 26th at Society Lounge on East 4th. I don’t know about you, but this sounds F-U-N to me! Plus, it’s the day after my birthday and I have been wanting to check out Society Lounge… count me in!

Patty then introduced Eric Barnett, who is the Metroparks Marketing Specialist and also President-Elect for Cleveland AMA, to be the moderator for the Metroparks discussion.

Sue Allen and Sanaa Julien started off by talking about the process the Cleveland Metroparks went through to acquire the Lakefront Reservation. The process really began almost 100 years ago, with the story of William Stinchcomb and his vision of connecting the lakefront to the surrounding community (the “Emerald Necklace”). The Metroparks of today began the acquisition process with discussions with the state (who owned the lakefront properties). The acquisition would transfer approximately 455 acres of lakefront property, including the following properties: Villa Angela, Wildwood, Euclid Beach, Gordon and Edgewater parks and the East 55th Street Marina that are spaced out along 14 miles of lakefront property. The state no longer wanted (or had the means to) operate these properties, and the Metroparks were approached to take them over. On June 6th, 2013, the state turned the property over to the city, who then turned it over to the Metroparks.

“The 455 acres that make up the six properties will be split into two Park District reservations. Edgewater Park, East 55th Street Marina and Gordon Park will form Cleveland Metroparks’ new Lakefront Reservation. Euclid Beach Park, Villa Angela Park and Wildwood Park will become part of its existing Euclid Creek Reservation.

To facilitate the transfer, the State of Ohio first had to agree to terminate the lease it had with the City of Cleveland to manage the parks. The agreement included $14 million from the state’s transportation and public safety budget to pay for lakefront park improvements. Cleveland City Council then voted unanimously to transfer management of the parks to Cleveland Metroparks in a new lease agreement.

The final agreement gives the Park District a 99-year lease on the 14 miles of lakefront property at a cost of $1 a year, and three years to spend the $14 million in state funds on park improvements.”

-Cleveland Metroparks Press Release

(Photo by Helen Harry from Cleveland Print Room)

The next part of the discussion focused on the marketing aspects of the acquisition. One of the Metroparks’ main challenges was managing the public’s expectations. The state did what it could with Edgewater, but they wanted people to realize that even though there is new ownership, there wasn’t going to be an immediate/overnight difference. The Metroparks did promise to uphold the park to their reputation/standards.

During the acquisition process, the Metroparks placed high importance on listening to stakeholders and the community who would be using the reservations. They worked with LAND Studio to ensure a smooth transition by using surveys and meetings to find out the public’s opinion and what they really wanted from the new reservations.

Partnerships were increasingly important for the Metroparks during this time, including one with CLE Clothing Co. They also partner with the North East Ohio Regional Sewer District, who manages the cleanliness and quality of the waterways by monitoring the water and letting the public know whether it’s safe to swim or not. The Metroparks purchased a beach cleaning machine to help get the Edgewater property up to its standard. In the past, the state cleaned Edgewater Park 2 times per year. With the new beach cleaner, the Metroparks can clean the park 6 times per week. The new beach cleaner digs down 6 inches into the sand and the difference is noticeable. So far, they’ve been able to remove a lot of debris as well as clean up plant overgrowth.

 (Photo by Helen Harry from Cleveland Print Room)

Other communications issues the Metroparks had to deal with were keeping the deal private until it became 100% official. They didn’t want to spoil the deal, so working with the media was difficult because they had to explain how even though the city council approved it, it wasn’t a “done deal” – they still had to present it to the Metroparks board for approval.

The staff wasn’t able to comment on any media stories and had to deal with the media trying to release the story too soon. Once the deal was official, they had a huge design communications issue to deal with: all of the park signage had to be changed to reflect the Metroparks branding.

This was a lot more complicated than it probably sounds. There are hundreds of different signs throughout the lakefront properties, but the priority was put on the main signs with the name of the reservation, as well as updating all safety and emergency number signs so the public would be safe in the case of an emergency. Each Metroparks sign takes 2 months to make because they are hand carved from special wood and are made to last a very long time. They had to create temporary signs to put up immediately after the acquisition was announced so there wouldn’t be any confusion. There are a lot of partnerships with other organizations and entities to ensure public safety (which most people probably don’t think about).

During the acquisition, the Metroparks hadn’t created new marketing materials yet to reflect the new land. Replacing all old materials and adding new maps to the materials is an ongoing monumental task. They also had to become very familiar with the different uses for each park. For example, Edgewater Park is primarily an urban beach, whereas Gordon Park is used mostly for fishing and birdwatching. In marketing Edgewater Park, the most important factors were safety and cleanliness.

The Metroparks want to stay engaged with the community by being very communicative and visible. They want the community to know that even after the acquisition, they aren’t going anywhere. It’s a long process, but we’re all in this together. They’re in it for the long haul and they are part of our community. The main idea for the future is that the Metroparks can’t do this alone – they need community engagement, private partnerships for fundraising, and help generating excitement. Fundraising will be an especially important initiative for the future, and they want to increase programming for the community (but that takes money and volunteers).

One really interesting thing I learned is about how the Metroparks measures visitation. Growth of visitors isn’t specifically in their marketing plan, but it is obviously an objective of theirs. They are actually able to count cars in parking lots with tracking meters at the entrance/exit. They again reiterated that safety and cleanliness are their two most important marketing messages, and their focus is on engagement with the community.

Having a strong lakefront means so much to a city like ours. It means greater health benefits (with exercise and recreation availability), a sense of community and togetherness, as well as bringing more businesses to the lakefront. It’s about revitalizing the city, making it thrive, and connecting the local communities so they can embrace the lakefront for all that it has to offer.

I had such a great time at this event, and learned so much about how amazing and lucky we are here in Cleveland to have the Cleveland Metroparks. It is an incredibly unique asset and we should be very thankful!

I encourage you to help support our Emerald Necklace in any way that you can, and if nothing else, go out and enjoy the parks! I’d also highly recommend checking out the opportunities within the Cleveland AMA chapter – especially if you are in the marketing industry.

Thank you to Amanda for the opportunity to guest post and share about this great event!

NMSS Ohio Buckeye Chapter’s Locavore – September 27

I think it’s safe to say most (if not all) of us love eating local. There’s something about a meal prepared with fresh, local, high-quality ingredients that just tastes better.

For all of you local culinary lovers who missed last week’s Taste of the Browns giveaway, today’s giveaway features another great food event raising money for an excellent cause.

On Friday, September 27, the National MS Society’s Ohio Buckeye Chapter will host Locavore.  The fundraiser starts at 6pm at Windows on the River on the West Bank of the Flats.

Guests at Locavore with enjoy local food pairings with chocolate and Ohio wine

Good food is only made better by great pairings, especially if you’re talking about dishes from Cleveland chefs paired with chocolate and Ohio-grown wines — which I am!

Vendors at Locavore will include Lilly Handmade Chocolates, Momocho, Mod Mex, Maize Valley Winery, AMP 150, Cork & Cleaver Social Kitchen, Valley Vineyards, Jammy Buggars, and Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream.  This year’s sponsors are Ulmer & Berne LLP, Cleveland Business Connects, and DDR.

All proceeds raised by tickets and the evening’s raffle and silent auction will go to the NMSS Ohio Buckeye Chapter.

Lilly Handmade Chocolates is back for this year’s Locavore

The Ohio Buckeye Chapter serves over 11,000 people with MS and their families in a 38-county area. Through the support of donations and volunteers they provide funds for cutting-edge research, drive change through advocacy, facilitate professional education, and provide programs and services that help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. You can learn more about their services at MSohiobuckeye.org.

The presentation of this year’s Individual of Inspiration Award will also take place at Locavore. The 2013 honoree is Susie Zimmer, being celebrated for her help in making it easier for the local MS community to participate in therapeutic aquatic classes.

Last year’s Individual of Inspiration Award honoree

Tickets for Locavore cost $60 per person, which includes the food and drinks provided by the vendors (a cash bar will also be available).

$80 Patron tickets include all of that, plus entrance into an exclusive, expert-led wine tasting at 5:30 pm. This pre-party will explore the nuances of each wine available at Locavore and discuss the Ohio Quality Wine program.  Click here to purchase tickets online or call 216-503-4183.

You can also enter my giveaway for a pair of general event tickets. How to enter: Do one, some, or all five of the entries. A separate comment is needed for each.

There are 5 Easy Ways to Enter the Giveaway
**You must leave a separate comment on this post for each entry**

1) Check out the resources on NMSS’s Newly Diagnosed page and leave a comment on this post with one thing you learned about Multiple Sclerosis or the NMSS’s services.

2) Follow @nmssohiobuckeye and @ADHicken on Twitter and leave one comment on this post telling me you did both.

3) If you’re a fan of Clue Into Cleveland and MS Ohio Buckeye on Facebook, leave one comment on this blog post letting me know. If you’re not yet a fan, you can become one here and here.

4) Tweet the following and leave one comment letting me know you tweeted:

I want to celebrate Cleveland food at @nmssohiobuckeye’s #Locavore. Enter @ADHicken’s giveaway and you can too: http://wp.me/p2Ukr0-2ba

You can tweet once per day for additional entries. Just leave a separate comment each time you tweet.

5) Subscribe to Clue Into Cleveland via a feed tracker like Bloglovin’ or Feedly and leave one comment letting me know you did. This can also include signing up to receive email notifications in the top-right “Subscribe” section of this page.

You have until Wednesday, August 28 at 5:00 PM to enter. Random.org will select the winner, which I will announce on Thursday, August 29. Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry – good luck!

Disclosure: I was invited to attend Locavore with a guest in exchange for hosting a giveaway. My choice to post about this event and opinions are 100% my own. Photos are courtesy of NMSS Ohio Buckeye Chapter on Flickr.