Prog [gress] on Detroit

True to the spirit behind its name, Prog (as in the post psychedelic British music sub genre) Gastro Lounge is all about pushing boundaries and staking out new ground. In this case it’s food- bar food to be precise- rather than rock-n-roll that’s being elevated and expanded beyond the standards. Instead of choosing to be either a restaurant or a watering hole, owners Steven and Amy Bodek, who opened the place in May, decided to be both.

First impression walking into the dark space is that this is a drinking establishment, a place where locals and regulars come to toss back some cold ones with friends. There’s a long bar, some hi-top tables, and a chalkboard list of specialty beers.

But settle down in a booth on the opposite side of the room and read over the menu and it becomes clear that there’s more going on here. The selection features small and sharing sized plates of creative, eclectic globally inspired fare that just might get foodies punching the address into their GPS. There are meat-on-a stick satays, kebabs, and tacos with unconventional fillings. For those who like burning bites, the grilled jalapeno poppers are off the charts hot. Shrimp bon bons were my favorite- think deep fried macaroon- especially nice with a pour of the house made pineapple mango infused vodka. I also became an instant fan of the corn fritters with a sweet/spicy sauce.

The décor is as fun and funky as the eats, a sort vintage elegance meets tree lawn treasures. The couple applied a lot of elbow grease and vision to restore and remodel the former grill and concert club. Just bringing back the beautiful old tile floor required Herculean effort and much scrubbing. And the work is not done yet- there’s actually a second room with a stage in back that they hope to refurbish soon.

Amy grew up in Parma but left town after high school and only recently returned here, by way of New York and Mexico, with her husband. In addition to their two kids, they brought an entrepreneurial spirit and their own kind of cosmopolitan coolness. Let’s give them a real Cleveland welcome and show support for their venture. All you have to do is pick a night, head on over to Detroit Avenue on the Lakewood side of the border, and enjoy yourself .

Harvey Pekar, 1939-2010: Cleveland's honest eye

Harvey Pekar did not do small talk.

In fall 2003, I drove him and his wife to Tommy’s for an interview, my chatty banter utterly failing to dent their impregnable grouchiness. American Splendor, the biopic about Pekar’s life and underground-comics career, had just made Pekar the everyman hero of indie cinema, but the experience had only nudged his mood-needle ever so slightly.

“This was kind of an exceptional time for me, a diverting time,” he said over sandwiches, his huge, dark eyebrows in full weedy bloom. But he was “kinda depressed” it was ending, since he had to hustle for writing jobs again. Maybe the movie would help, he allowed. “Then I’ll be happy,” he said — and caught himself. “At least as happy as I get, which is not too happy.”

I respected that. Pekar’s gloom gave him an artist’s vision of Cleveland, like a painter going through a lifelong gray period.

“Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff,” went his credo, and paging through the anthologies of Pekar’s American Splendor comics showed that his realist’s eye caught something about the town by focusing on his file clerk job, his favorite cheap diners, his bohemian’s taste for jazz and klezmer. Over breakfast in a diner, cartoon Harvey chatted about the yuppies moving into Ohio City, driving up rents. Telling a story about his family, he looked up at a two-story house with a double porch and told his readers how Cleveland was once filled with big immigrant families who’d share a home -- one generation below, kids’ or brother’s or nephew’s family up above. His collage of West Side Market images showed the characters, the crowds, and the hucksterism of the barking vendors. “Ever see anything prettier?” one asked, holding a handful of cherries out to the reader.

The filmmakers took Pekar’s vision and let just a little sunlight in. “If you’re looking for romance,” he warned viewers, “you’ve got the wrong movie” — yet the film distilled Pekar’s relationship with his wife, Joyce Brabner, into a misfits’ love story. Shooting in Cleveland and Lakewood, the filmmakers discovered the town’s character in little bakeries and empty warehouses and brick apartment buildings, spots unchanged since at least the 1970s.

Pekar didn't change either. When I met him, Jane Campbell, then mayor, had just dissed his recent New York Times op-ed cartoon. “An air of depression pervades the city,” he'd written.

“Harvey’s been attacked for that for years,” Brabner told me. When he appeared on Late Night with David Letterman in the ’90s, some locals complained he didn’t join the comeback-city cheerleading and talk about the new Jacobs Field.

“There are people who like me to talk about Cleveland the way it is and be honest,” Pekar said.

Exactly. Pekar had to be relentlessly unsentimental to achieve his art: Seeing Cleveland's essence in everyday life.

(art from smithmag.net/pekarproject)

The Postmortem

Now that we all know how Lebron filled in the blanks to our "Choice Words" article in this month's issue (many of our choice words for Lebron can't be printed here), the Cavs brass put a happy-face Band-Aid on the gaping wound left in the organization by LBJerk's departure at today's 1 p.m. press conference.

"Even without LeBron this team has more talent than the two teams I took over in Jersey and New Orleans," offered new head coach Byron Scott.

Scott took the Nets to the NBA Finals in his second ('01-'02) and third seasons on the New Jersey bench. In his fourth year in New Orleans, he guided a Hornets team that had won 18 games in his first season to 56 victories in '07-'08. (Part of that must be credited to the addition of Chris Paul after that first season as well.)

Scott says those lessons should serve him well as the Cavs move forward without Lebron. "Yeah, I think I'm the perfect guy for the job."

In case you're not as optimistic, take a read of Esquire writer and former Clevelander Scott Raab's pre-decision doomsday scenario (you know, since it came to pass and all ... but be aware, there's some pretty brutal language in there about Art Modell. Feel free to substitute Lebron's name for those references in the future).

Then go back and read Dan Gilbert's manifesto in comic sans again just for fun.

To Shoe Or Not To Shoe

I recently did an inventory of my closets (yes, I have more than one) and came to the realization that I have way too many clothes and an obscene number of pairs of shoes. I guess that would be just fine if I actually wore these items but I don't. Many of them I haven't worn for years for one reason or another and dare I shamelessly say forgot that I have a lot of it. Because of this, I have issued myself a challenge: NO NEW SHOES! I am challenging myself to shop in my closet and wear the shoes that I have. I have committed to not buying a new pair of shoes for the entire summer. Now if you love shoes, you know that this will be quite a painful obstacle since shoe divas tend to live, breathe, and dream of shoes. However, I will be strong even as the shoe sale demons taunt me with unbelievable summer clearance sales. I will keep you posted on my progress and hope that you will join my NO NEW SHOES! challenge.

Fashionably yours,
Frenchye

The Decision

We're hardly doomsayers, but it cannot be a good sign that LeBron is calling tomorrow's primetime free-agency announcement on ESPN "The Decision." He knows our painful lineage with two-word phaseology (The Drive, The Fumble, etc.), so here's predicting that his big announcement won't be "I'm staying."

Yum Me

Matt Mytro likes to mess around with food, taking ingredients and diners to places they’ve never been before. Sure he can do straight up cooking- his resume includes chef time at Boulevard Blue, Paladar, and currently a temporary gig at Touch. But he’s driven to color outside the lines and take us Clevelanders off the eaten path. That kind of thinking has led to a series of numbered events that combine culinary experimentation with a party vibe.

I went to Yumm 1.2 in June. Using dry ice, liquid nitrogen, agar-agar and other components and techniques from the molecular gastronomy toolbox, Mytro and his minions worked their magic, “poaching” ice cream that burned the tongue if consumed before cooling, turning coconut and jalapenos into bubbles, and dishing up futuristic mojitos that looked like jello shots.

Behind the bar Mike Gulley was also pouring his maple bacon Old Fashioned (breakfast bourbon anyone?), now being served at Dragonfly where he shakes and mixes most nights of the week.

Yumm 1.3 is scheduled for July 12. Like all the other food happenings Mytro’s been cooking up lately its presented by Stove Monkeys- the company he founded with partner Anthony Lynch to market their cool cooking inspired t-shirts. Show up at The Mercury Lounge on West 6th Street in downtown Cleveland between & 11 PM to sample corn on a stick, “jellied” ravioli, tomato basil and mozzarella salad candy, vodka encased in meringue and other surprises. Tickets are $7 in advance, $10 at the door. (Drinks are priced separately at $3 each).

And that’s not all. Mytro’s also taking would-be gastronauts flavor tripping on July 19 at the B-Side Lounge. Guests pop some Miracle Fruit (don’t worry- it’s safe and legal) that temporarily changes taste perceptions.. What is usually experienced as bitter, tart or sour seems sweet, smooth, and pleasant. The berries come from plants indigenous to West Africa and eating under the influence has been all the rage in cities on both coasts for a couple of years. If this kind of night out is your kind of catnip, make reservations online at Stove Monkeys or by calling 216-394-8706. Bon Apetit!

'Mission' signs at E. 9th and Euclid

"We want to keep him at home," said the woman at East 9th and Euclid wearing a T-shirt that read "Home" and carrying a sign that read, "Mission." She and three other black-clad mystery figures staked out the intersection's four corners at lunchtime today, the first day of LeBron James' free agency.

A few blocks up East 9th, LeBron himself sat in the IMG Building, meeting with Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and hip-hop star Jay-Z, owners of the New Jersey Nets. New York Knicks representatives passed Jay-Z's towncar on his way out. (See cleveland.com's story here.)

The signs and shirts bore the familiar designs of the More Than A Player publicity campaign aimed at convincing LeBron to stay in Cleveland. It's the same group that launched last month's Tower City flash mob.

The sign lady wouldn't give her name. The sign guy across East 9th wouldn't even let me take his picture. They said they were volunteers. But the Plain Dealer's basketball reporters wrote that Cavs employees made up a sign-waving crowd staking out the IMG Building. Sounds like Dan Gilbert's not waiting until Saturday to lobby his star.