Where in the hell have you been?

Sorry for the lull in postings. I've been traveling back and forth from Cleveland to New Jersey fairly frequently and it doesn’t look like it will end for a few more weeks. In the meantime I continue to wrack up potential postings, with no time to really write about them.

When I'm not working I find myself in a frantic race against the impending Cleveland winter to finish removing paint from the "Incredible Molting House". It's been a real pain in the ass, but when I'm done this thing is going to look awesome (and won't have to be painted for awhile).

Since I'm still getting my ass kicked between work and the house, I figured I'd just drop a few random thoughts...

The Deck
I admit that I'm a Cleveland Independents whore. When those gift certificate sales come out we're all over them. About a month ago they started selling something called "The Deck" ($29.95). It's an actual deck of cards that has a $10 off coupon printed on each one. As you would expect, some of these offers are better than others. I think I can say that for the money, it will pay for itself with relative ease. If you don't have one you can purchase them here.

Luxe
Some people rave about this place. I think I'm just lukewarm on it. I'd been a couple of times before and I found it to be "meh". This time I loved it. I had the Harissa Chicken Wings. In a word - awesome. While not for everyone, theies things are long on heat. The waitress told me they were braised and then somehow cooked so they were crispy. When I asked if they were deep fried she said they weren't. Whatever they did to them they were worth the price of admission. I would say they're neck and neck with the smoked wings from Fathead's. These are actually what I was expecting GHT's to taste like. A lot of people rave about those wings, I just don't think they have enough flavor (although I love the restaurant). I will say that Luxe has good desserts at good prices. In fact, most are so big they could be shared.

Buckeye Beer Engine
Went to "The Engine" and found Stuart Spivack (purveyor of fine food photography according to the acknowledgments part of the McNulty's Bier Market menu) ordering up good eats. During the course of dinner, I found out he was a fellow Buckeye. Thank God he wasn't a teaching assistant for one of my many forays in OSU calculus. You'll be happy to know that I did eventually make it out of that horrible subject alive. That is one thing I don't miss.

Jeni's Beet Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream
When we went to GHT last Saturday (thanks Julie), the guest of honor, Johnathan, was the only one with the balls to order the ice cream. It should have been called Red Lemon Ice Cream. The was nothing "beet-y" about it; except for its color. I had the apple crisp (which I didn't care for all that much). The chocolate mousse is probably the best thing I've had there.

Velvet Tango Room
Went there for the first time - Holy Shit.