Favorite Takeout: My last-minute takeout tends to be earlier in the day. The two places Downtown I tend to go to on a whim would be either 27 Club Coffee or Larder Delicatessen & Bakery (Ohio City), because they’re kind of close to where I am. My kids like 27 Club. So that impacts a lot of my decisions. I’m a simple person, so usually at 27 Club, I’m just drinking straight black coffee. At Larder, I usually get the chicken sandwich. Their brisket sandwich is excellent, too.
(Courtesy Larder Delicatessen & Bakery)
Date Night: Il Rione (Detroit Shoreway) is the best pizza in town. I like the Marble Room Steaks & Raw Bar (Downtown) a lot, too. I know how much goes into that space and into that operation. You’re going to take anybody there, and they’re going to be super impressed by what the room is. Then there’s Michelangelo’s in Little Italy. I got married there. Those guys do the best, the best Italian in the city.
(Courtesy Marble Room Steaks & Raw Bar)
Inspiration: I think between Chicago and Miami and a little bit of California is where we’re seeing a lot of stuff that’s pretty innovative, like pushing the envelope a lot. I think that Patron Saint (Ohio City) fills a little bit of that midday gap. That’s kind of fun. And I think the other spot is Amba (Ohio City), Doug Katz’s spot, is just fantastic. Their bar scene is really good.
(Courtesy Amba)
Cocktails: If I’m out during the day, I’m pretty simple. I just drink Coors Lights, because they’re a big Welcome to the Farm (Rutter’s bar in The Flats) supporter. If I’m going on a cocktail date, I would go with something tequila based. If you can do some creative stuff with that product, I’m usually going to try it and go from there. If I’m out, I’m almost always trying something that we don’t have. If I can catch something that is a unique blend, not too sugary, but done well, I think that’s usually where I gravitate towards on a menu.
Best Atmosphere: If somebody’s coming to Cleveland, the best experience and the most well rounded food would include these places. If you go to Marble Room, and you go to Amba and then you go to Cordelia, you’ve taken in a very diverse scene of Cleveland in three separate sections with three totally different menus, and I think that the cross section of what those three companies do is really great to experience. That’s a big city mix of culinary scene that I think people wouldn’t necessarily expect to get here, and they’re within a quarter mile of each other.
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