"Obama Blend" at Coventry Phoenix

On sale at Phoenix Coffee on Coventry in Cleveland Heights:

Not available by the cup right now, but you can get the beans to go from a jar marked "Hope."

Interesting in light of the news today... "Just enough kick?"

Fan-tastic

We're big fans of ESPN the Magazine. And I always look of the annual Fan Issue, which is devoted to the sports nut in all of us, including the pro athlete.

This issue gives us even more to cheer about, though.

First, there's Chris Broussard's exploration of our paranoid psyche about LeBron bolting for New York in 2010. "They might as well board up the Q like a crack house if LeBron leaves," says Kenny Stevens, owner of Today's Cut & Style. "Won't nobody be going down there no more." (There's extra video and a short behind-the-scenes piece that's worth a look.)

As if to tease the NY faithful and feed our insecurities, LeBron took his run at Kobe (at right), who set the Madison Square Garden scoring record with 61 points this week, by putting up 52 points in the Cavs win.

Then, there's a great feature by Lane Strauss (a Cleveland Magazine contributor). He spent a year digging into the world of sports-video collectors, who are crazy about old game telecasts. Here's an excerpt: "My wife says I care more about my DVDs than my kids, which is a load of crap," says Rambler, a collector on the East Coast. "I might spend more time with the DVDs, but I do care more about the kids." (The story is so good, you have to be an "Insider" — pay — to read it.)

And finally, you'll have to pick up The Mag to see Clevelander Billy Delfs's photographs of Waddy, Ky., fourth graders debating the Louisville-UK rivalry. (Or you can check out this month's cover photo of Fox 8's Melissa Mack on our Sexy Singles issue.)

That Blue spot

Events conspired to get me to Boulevard Blue twice in the past five days. This is a good thing. The old restaurant on Larchmere is a whole new place since Chef Kurt Steeber took over a couple of months ago. He's home again-after a hitch in California, where the restaurant he was working in burned down. The first thing he did after taking over was to revamp the Blue’s menu to showcase his singular style and a cooking philosophy rooted in seasonality and the good stuff that’s grown and made in this region. Instead of going with just one entrée per visit- how boring is that- I montaged a meal from the bar bites and small plate offerings. This let me try many different dishes- plus those ordered by my companions, of course, since sharing is requirement of dining with me- and everything I ate was wonderful.

A plush creamy puree of tarragon flavored chicken livers spread on toast points was rich as a dessert. Calamari took on a whole new identity because Steeber replaces the standard marinara with a smear of thick as jam lemon-salsify sauce. A fat prawn- head and all- body surfed atop a fine grit flan in a seafood reduction studded with little shrimp. Every bite of Surf and Turf, made with bits of lobster, sweetbreads, and braised endive , was an uncommon mix of tastes and textures. A cook with a dry sense of humor, he calls his re-constructed Caesar salad Et Tu Brute? and I loved it. The dish features a romaine sprout, croutons crisscrossed with anchovy filets, and a dense parmesan panna cotta. A lamb shank was accompanied by a wholly unusual and intriguing side created by stacking a polenta cake with a layer of spicy eggplant puree and another of slightly sweet fig tapenade. The husband, a connoisseur of fish sandwiches dubbed Chef Kurt’s the best he’s ever had. Could it be the homemade tartar sauce? Or perhaps the pilsner battered cod?

Although I prefer to explore and experiment, rather than revisit the familiar, I had to order the same glass of Laetitia Pinot Noir both times because the Burgundian style red was just so fine. I hear Steeber’s continuing the Blue’s half price wine nights on Tuesdays. I may just have to go again soon and treat myself to a bottle and another opportunity to graze my way through more of his good food.

Hugworthy goodbye by the Silver Jews

The Silver Jews played their last concert this weekend in the depths of a cave, 350 feet underground in McMinnville, Tennessee.

You might remember the Silver Jews from the August 2008 issue, where my buddy Dave told the story of knocking on the lead singer's door.

It's fair to say we're obnoxious fans of the indie-rock/alt-country band. We bought our tickets to the concert long before we knew it would be the group's last. The most striking thing, which you won't see in the video of their last song ever played above, is after the concert, lead singer David Berman came out to the audience. One-by-one, in what started in a pretty awkward fashion, the fans came up to him to give a hug goodbye.

His writing was so powerful, that even though the band can be described as having a rough lo-fi sound, that many of us felt he had touched our lives. I hope everyone has had some kind of art touch their lives like that.

Jessica Lea Mayfield & "Gossip Girl"

Music by Kent-based singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield was featured on last night's episode of the popular CW network show Gossip Girl. The song, "Kiss Me Again," has been popping up on satellite radio's Sirus XMU as well. If you haven't heard it yet, here's Jessica performing it for KSU's Folk Alley. Also check out our recent interview with her here.

City Chicken

The Cleveland City Council passed an ordinance Monday to allow chicken and bee farms inside city limits.

Some see this as a potential innovative use of vacant land that is, unfortunately, one of the biggest areas of growth in Cleveland right now.

While it may sound silly, the Gather 'round Farm on Cleveland's West Side already is already in operation. (We wrote about in this month's issue. Pick up February from newsstands or click here to see the story.)

I'm ending this blog post while I can still resist the urge to say the city's gone to the birds, use the phrase "chicken scratch" or use the word "cluck" in a way that is not family friendly.

Super (LeBron) Celebration

Since we didn't have Cardinals jerseys for last night's Super Bowl game, my son and I wore our scarlet Ohio State gear to root against Pittspuke. Instead, it was a Buckeye — Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes — who broke our hearts with his unbelievable TD catch with 35 seconds left in the game. But as we were both hoping that the catch would be overruled by replay, I noticed Holmes' celebration. The imitation of LeBron was cool and just goes to show what kind of cultural influence he has become. (It still sucks that the Steelers won.) Check out the video below and our interview with LeBron from Jan. 2007.