Local Food Economy
Through an initiative called Growing Communities, Charter One
bank is supporting ongoing efforts to develop Ohio City's Market
District, the neighborhood anchored by the venerable West Side Market
on West 25th. Much of Charter One's $130,000 grant will be
redirected by Ohio City Near West community development corporation to fledgling businesses in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $20,000.
"One of the things we're looking at is, how do we enhance the [West Side] market's ability to serve as an incubator," says OCNW executive director Eric Wobser. By way of example he cites Maha Falafil's opening of a second location, near Metrohealth Medical Center, and Lance's Beef's growing wholesale business.
But the step from market stand — or garden or one's own kitchen — to independent store or restaurant can be daunting. To ease the transition, OCNW has obtained another grant, from Neighborhood Progress Inc., to study the feasibility of replicating an Athens, Ohio-based commercial kitchen incubator; entrepreneurs could rent facilities by the hour or day, to cook, package or whatever else they can't do at home. The plan is part of the Ohio City Fresh Food Collaborative, which also involves Great Lakes Brewing Co. and The Refugee Response.
St. Emeric's Church, which is slated to close, is one possible location for the kitchen, says Wobser (though parishioners have appealed the closure decision to the Diocese). OCNW has had preliminary discussions with the Cleveland Botanical Garden about producing its Ripe From Downtown Salsa at the kitchen. Currently the ingredients, grown by Cleveland teens, are shipped to Chicago for packaging.
According to a press release, "Charter One will add new programs and grants to support the neighborhood development projects and the 2012 Market Centennial celebration through the Charter One Growing Communities initiative." OCNW is currently surveying businesses in the area, but he estimates that the largest employers in the area — Lutheran Hospital, St. Ignatius High School, Great Lakes Brewing and the market — currently provide 2,000 to 3,000 jobs.
Source: Ohio City Near West CDC
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
"One of the things we're looking at is, how do we enhance the [West Side] market's ability to serve as an incubator," says OCNW executive director Eric Wobser. By way of example he cites Maha Falafil's opening of a second location, near Metrohealth Medical Center, and Lance's Beef's growing wholesale business.
But the step from market stand — or garden or one's own kitchen — to independent store or restaurant can be daunting. To ease the transition, OCNW has obtained another grant, from Neighborhood Progress Inc., to study the feasibility of replicating an Athens, Ohio-based commercial kitchen incubator; entrepreneurs could rent facilities by the hour or day, to cook, package or whatever else they can't do at home. The plan is part of the Ohio City Fresh Food Collaborative, which also involves Great Lakes Brewing Co. and The Refugee Response.
St. Emeric's Church, which is slated to close, is one possible location for the kitchen, says Wobser (though parishioners have appealed the closure decision to the Diocese). OCNW has had preliminary discussions with the Cleveland Botanical Garden about producing its Ripe From Downtown Salsa at the kitchen. Currently the ingredients, grown by Cleveland teens, are shipped to Chicago for packaging.
According to a press release, "Charter One will add new programs and grants to support the neighborhood development projects and the 2012 Market Centennial celebration through the Charter One Growing Communities initiative." OCNW is currently surveying businesses in the area, but he estimates that the largest employers in the area — Lutheran Hospital, St. Ignatius High School, Great Lakes Brewing and the market — currently provide 2,000 to 3,000 jobs.
Source: Ohio City Near West CDC
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
saveur and the sterns gobble up northeast ohio
In the world of road food, Jane and Michael Stern are widely regarded as the First Couple. Through their decades of work for magazines like Gourmet, radio programs like The Splendid Table, and their own catalogue of food travelogues, the Sterns report on all that is delicious and important.
This month, reporting for Saveur magazine, the Sterns turn their tasteful gaze to Northeast Ohio.
In the article titled "The Best Places to Eat in Northeast Ohio," the hired tasters praise the region's "local traditions and ethnic enclaves," which, they lament, are fading away all too fast elsewhere in the country.
Special attention is bestowed upon Shaker Square's Balaton Restaurant, Parma's Little Polish Diner, and Cleveland's West Side Market, about which the Sterns say, "It's a feat to get out of Cleveland with any appetite at all if you spend time grazing around the city's sprawling, century-old West Side Market."
Read the entire mouthwatering article here.
This month, reporting for Saveur magazine, the Sterns turn their tasteful gaze to Northeast Ohio.
In the article titled "The Best Places to Eat in Northeast Ohio," the hired tasters praise the region's "local traditions and ethnic enclaves," which, they lament, are fading away all too fast elsewhere in the country.
Special attention is bestowed upon Shaker Square's Balaton Restaurant, Parma's Little Polish Diner, and Cleveland's West Side Market, about which the Sterns say, "It's a feat to get out of Cleveland with any appetite at all if you spend time grazing around the city's sprawling, century-old West Side Market."
Read the entire mouthwatering article here.
What's it like to be a Cleveland locavore? Spend a day with Dan Scharf, an attorney who smokes meat, cures ham, and raises chickens, and you'll find out. Hint: It involves a lot of shopping.
Prohibition all but erased a thriving brewing industry in Cleveland, reducing the number of breweries from about 30 to a mere handful. The good news? The brewing industry in Northeast Ohio is not only alive and well -- it's growing.
The spice of life might just be found inside a Budapest Blonde Cocktail Mix. Created by Clevelander Ilona Simon, the new drink mixes promise to offer loads of taste but few calories.
The Hot Blonde Bloody Mary mix features fresh tomato puree, Hungarian paprika, mustard powder and wasabi - for that special kick. The best part: The tasty mix has only 10 calories per serving, according to Simon, although adding vodka will increase the calorie content (and, ahem, the fun).
Budapest Blonde also offers a Dirty Blonde olive martini mix (40 calories per serving), and the Beach Blonde margarita and mojito mix (also 40 calories per serving).
Simon, who was co-owner of the former Budapest Blonde Wine & Martine Bar in Independence, says that her new mixes provide great flavor without any artificial or unhealthy ingredients. "They don't have all those preservatives; they don't have all that sodium; and they don't have all those calories," she says. Teetotalers needn't feel left out. "[The mixes] are so good, you can even drink them straight from the bottle," Simon declares.
These days, you'll find Simon's Budapest Blonde Cocktail Mixes at Heinen's in Brecksville, Independence Beverage, Minotti's Wine & Spirits and Shoregate Beverage, among other locations. For more information, visit the Budapest Blonde Facebook page: Budapest Blonde Cocktail Mix
SOURCE: Ilona Simon
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
The Hot Blonde Bloody Mary mix features fresh tomato puree, Hungarian paprika, mustard powder and wasabi - for that special kick. The best part: The tasty mix has only 10 calories per serving, according to Simon, although adding vodka will increase the calorie content (and, ahem, the fun).
Budapest Blonde also offers a Dirty Blonde olive martini mix (40 calories per serving), and the Beach Blonde margarita and mojito mix (also 40 calories per serving).
Simon, who was co-owner of the former Budapest Blonde Wine & Martine Bar in Independence, says that her new mixes provide great flavor without any artificial or unhealthy ingredients. "They don't have all those preservatives; they don't have all that sodium; and they don't have all those calories," she says. Teetotalers needn't feel left out. "[The mixes] are so good, you can even drink them straight from the bottle," Simon declares.
These days, you'll find Simon's Budapest Blonde Cocktail Mixes at Heinen's in Brecksville, Independence Beverage, Minotti's Wine & Spirits and Shoregate Beverage, among other locations. For more information, visit the Budapest Blonde Facebook page: Budapest Blonde Cocktail Mix
SOURCE: Ilona Simon
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
travel + leisure loves lakewood... and long walks on the beach
Sip on this, Lakewood. Travel + Leisure tapped your fair city as one of the "Coolest Suburbs Worth a Visit." Nice company, too, as share space with tony Montclair, NJ, beachy La Jolla, CA, and thirst-quenching Golden, CO.
pittsburgh is sweet on the cleveland dining scene
There's more to feast on in Cleveland than Iron Chef fare, says Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer China Millman. In fact, there's enough great chow to plan an entire culinary vacation around.