Ruth Reichl, the former editor of Gourmet magazine and restaurant critic for The New York Times, was recently in town to take part in the Cleveland Public Library's Writers & Readers series. She spoke to a packed house this past Saturday.

Once safely home, Reichl blogged of her recent experience in Cleveland -- and she admits it far exceeded her expectations.

"My plane did not land until nine at night, and I was expecting a hungry evening. What a surprise, then, to walk out of my hotel, near ten o’clock, and find East Fourth Street packed with people, the restaurants jammed, the air alive with excitement. This was not the vision I’d had," she writes.

"I turned into Lola, a dark, sexy little place, for a perfectly lovely dinner. Crisp oysters.  Plump pirogi filled with beef cheeks. Tender slices of tongue on suave slices of mushroom. A rare ribeye ringed with smoked onions and accented with blue cheese. Hearty fare - but wonderful - and served with one terrific wine after another."

"But it was the Greenhouse Tavern, the following day, that really blew me away. Jonathon Sawyer has created a fascinating menu, totally his own, and three days later I’m still thinking about some of his dishes."

Reichl singles out Sawyer's steamed clams in foie gras, field mushrooms steamed en papier, and his crispy hominy with pork cracklings, which she describes as "spicy stoner food."

Of our beloved West Side Market, Reichl coos, "It’s a vibrant place that reminded me more of the great markets of Europe than anyplace I’ve seen in America. Some of the purveyors have been there since the start, and they’re still turning out old-time, hand-made smoked meats and charcuterie that’s hard to find anywhere else. I arrived home with a suitcase filled with obscure German and Hungarian sausages - a fine way to remember Cleveland."

Read the rest of her love note here.