Five Reasons to Eat Out

My in-box is fat with all kinds of good news from the restaurant world. Read on, then make plans and reservations.

“The Patios of Larchmere” is a neighborhood promotion that starts today, June 9th, and continues through Sunday, June 13 . The street is packed with interesting places to eat breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. Menu 6, Felice, Vine and Bean, Flying Cranes, Larchmere Tavern and Acadmey Tavern, all with outdoor seating, are offering menu specials and deals for the next five days plus a chance to enter a raffle and win a $250 Larchmere Shopping Spree. I love this street and its unique mix of businesses and shops. If you don’t know it- this week is the perfect time to visit and explore.

More dining in the sun and under the stars at Chinato. The East 4th Street spot has just added sidewalk seating. For ideas about what to order, check out my review in this month’s Cleveland Magazine.

There’s also an addition to the downtown dining scene: Zinc Bistro, Bar and Bakery just opened. For now, the French inspired café created by Chef Tom Quick, is only serving dinner, but hours and options expand next month.

Chef Michael Annandono and his crew at Michaelangelo’s will be working harder beginning this week. The outstanding Little Italy restaurant has begun doing lunches Tuesday through Friday. When I heard a friend was getting married, I immediately booked a table for mid-day just us girls celebration.

The folks at Moxie, The Restaurant want to know what people think of their new small, medium and large plate menu. (For the record- I think it’s wonderful). You get a reward for sharing- your thoughts that is, not your food. Go there, eat, then send them a message at moxietherestaurant@gmail.com with your feedback- praise, critiques, favorite dishes, and suggestions all welcome. Be sure to include your name, complete mailing address, email. You’ll automatically be entered in a weekly drawing for a $100 Moxie gift card. There’s also a monthly drawing for wine dinner for two. This is one of those can’t lose propositions so you definitely want to take a shot. At the very least you’ll get to enjoy Chef Jonathan Bennett’s great cooking.

Get Out

The sun came out yesterday, the air was balmy, and I was at one of those rare moments of pause in my work day- just finished one assignment and not yet into the next project. That’s all the excuse I needed to escape from my desk. So I called a friend, who like me is her own boss and has an office in her home, and we went to Flying Cranes on Larchmere Boulevard near Shaker Square.

The garden out back, bigger and with more seating than the café itself, is an absolutely unique and charming outdoor dining spot. This time of year peonies, roses, and geraniums are in bloom and wisteria vines creep across a wooden lattice to create a leafy green arbor. The beds are filled with colorful annuals, herbs, and vegetable starts. The place has a homey, spontaneous, informal look that I just adore. And no wonder- the café’s owners Kayoko Irie-Frye and her husband Bill live in the apartment upstairs and this is actually their own lovingly tended backyard, which they are happy to share with customers. They’ve outfitted the space with an eclectic mix of tables and comfy chairs, and enclosed the whole urban oasis behind a tall wooden fence that makes it feel special and secret. To get in, you have to walk down an unmarked alley to the left of the front door and through a gate. But go inside first and place your order at the counter.

Kayoko’s food- a mix of Japanese and light American fare- is just as appealing and very reasonable. For $22.09 plus tip, we had two bowls of the wonderful roasted garlic and onion soup of the day, a salad speckled with tofu cubes and hard boiled eggs in housemade ginger dressing, and a panini made with fresh mozzarella, ham, pesto, and tomatoes. Other regular options include rice and noodle bowls, quiches, sandwiches, teriyaki, and a katsu- a fried pork cutlet. Flying Cranes opens at 10 AM for breakfast and Sunday brunch, and does dinners Wednesday and Thursday until 7 PM, and Friday and Saturday until 8 PM. You can also come just for tea or coffee, pastries, and ice cream. (no website, 216-795-1033)

My lunch break lasted longer than expected. The garden was so pleasant that we sat and soaked up the season for two hours. It was without question time well spent.

Sweet Read

Devouring a good book is a special kind of pleasure. The concept takes on a whole other dimension this Saturday, April 4, when the good reads are served up as cakes, cookies and other tasty tidbits. Loganberry Books and Strong Bindery are the Cleveland co-hosts of the Edible Book Festival , a competition that celebrates the intersect of print and plate. The bookish banquet is actually an international event , held in cities all over the world on or around April Fool’s Day.

Here’s how ithe local gathering works: Participants bring their culinary creations- which in past years have included sheets of printed pasta and bound "pages" of peanut brittle- to the store on Larchmere. Entries must reference a particular title, character or text, or look like something you'd find on library shelves, but there’s a lot of room for interpretation. For many who get into this, humor is a main ingredient- think Ezra Pound Cake, The Chard in the Stone, Lard of the [Onion] Rings, The Invisible Gingerbread Man, and Reader’s Digest(ibles).

You can still register if you want to try for top honors in this year’s contest categories: Most Inspiring, Most Literary and Most Delectable. Contact Harriett at 216.795.9800 or harriett@logan.com. Otherwise simply show up. Admission is free if you just want some food for thought. $3 gets you a fork, eating privileges, and a chance to vote for your favorites Viewing begins at 1 PM. Winners are announced an hour later, and then it’s time to dig in.