1. Cleveland’s 25 Best Restaurants
Our most popular issue of the year tops our list once again in 2022. In addition to our annual reader-voted selections, we explore the best places to eat and drink all across the city. From local staples like Il Rione to Michael Symon stops such as Mabel’s BBQ, this list doesn’t disappoint when you are searching for the perfect place to eat any day of the week. To vote for 2023’s best restaurants, visit clevelandmagazine.com.
2. Best Places to Live: Cleveland’s Top 20 Suburbs
Longtime Clevelanders and those looking to move here alike rely on this list to see where the best places in the city to call home are. Rankings are compiled by looking at stats for safety, education, home prices and more. For 2022, Beachwood was at the top of our list.
3. Cleveland’s 50 Best Bars, Clubs and Cocktail Lounges
The bar scene in our city is alive and well, and in January, we highlighted 50 of our favorites that are making delicious cocktails and offering an electric atmosphere for dancing or a night on the town. From popular favorites like Good Night John Boy to mainstays like Happy Dog, there is a bar scene for every type of Clevelander.
4. Best Restaurants: Cleveland’s 10 Best New Restaurants
We love our mainstay Cleveland favorites that serve up pierogis and pizza, but these 10 new restaurants really made an impact on us this year. Cent’s Pizza and Goods reimagines traditional pizza, and Immigrant Son Brewery brings tastes of the world right to the city.
5. Cleveland’s First Micro Apartments to Open in March
Clevelanders turned their attention to small, energy-efficient living with the addition of two micro-apartment complexes that opened in March. The two locations opened on Ashbury and Larchmere, welcoming residents into these versatile, clean spaces.
6. We Tried It: The Viral Chicken Salad from E. 81st Deli in Cleveland
If any city was going to cause a chicken salad to blow up on social media, it’s Cleveland. The E. 81stt Street Deli chicken salad made with chicken, spring lettuce, mozzarella cheese, tomato, cucumber and a secret spice recipe has brought people from states away to sample. The real take-off came when Lizzo used the original sound on her TikTok.
7. Holiday Spirit: Party at These 7 Christmas Pop-up Bars in Cleveland
Even though the holiday season is winding down, the Christmas spirit is strong in the city with seven pop-up bars that staked a claim in holiday nights on the town this season. The Christmas Corner Bar returned in Lakewood this season while the Xmas Bar in the Flats made a debut and will remain open through Super Bowl Sunday.
8. The Cleveland 50: 137 Shots Are Fired
On Nov. 29, 2012, at around 10:30 p.m, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams were driving a rattletrap 1979 Chevy Malibu downtown when the car backfired. A nearby police officer radioed in what he thought was a shots-fired call, setting off a chase of mind-boggling proportion. This is just one of 50 events that claimed a stake in Cleveland’s history as part of our 50th anniversary package covering the most iconic moments that built Cleveland in the last 50 years.
10. The Lake House on Canandaigua Is the Diamond on the Finger Lakes
This Lakefront Oasis in New York is just four hours from Cleveland and treated Colleen Smitek and her family to the pinnacle of relaxation with saunas and lakeside views that could only be described as “amazing.” This isn’t the only notable road trip near the city, check out our road trip guide that provides adventure within five hours of Cleveland.
11. Cleveland Magazine’s Most Interesting People 2022
Our annual January cover returns to celebrate the excellence of Clevelanders who have gone on to make impacts both at home and around the globe. This year featured gold medal Olympian pole vaulter and Olmsted Falls native Katie Nageotte.
12. Behind Christian Siriano’s Renovation of the Inn of Chagrin Falls
New York City Designer and Project Runway Winner Christian Siriano dropped by Cleveland to revamp the interior of the iconic Inn of Chagrin, which needed a facelift from its late 80s interior. Now, the inn features neutral colors, statement lighting and signature pieces that nod to Siriano’s work.
13. Winter Fun Guide: 45 Things to Do in Cleveland This Winter
We all know that Cleveland has seen its fair share of wicked winters, but when the lake effect snow starts to fall, you can embrace it. This season, we put together a list of 45 ways to get the most out of Cleveland’s snowy season.
14. Former Greenhouse Tavern Chef Johnathan Sawyer Makes Michelin Guide New Discoveries List
After his East Fourth Street restaurant closed right before the pandemic, chef Johnathan Sawyer shocked Clevelanders when he headed west to the Windy City. Now, this award-winning chef is behind the dishes served at Adorn, a restaurant inside Chicago’s Four Seasons hotel where he has made the New Discoveries list in the Michelin Guide.
15. Allie LaForce and Joe Smith Are Expecting a Miracle
The Ohio-native power couple battled a long journey to conceive a baby while navigating the struggles of IVF and Huntington’s Disease, which runs in Smith’s family. After three long years, their wait came to an end. Their baby boy was born in November 2022.
16. First Look: The Yard on 3rd Truck Park Opens This Week in Downtown Willoughby
The pickup truck-themed food truck part became a smash sensation this summer in Willoughby with its lineup of more than 60 vendors and larger-than-life cocktails served up in a giant red solo cup that has you feeling like you’re partying in your own backyard.
Stay up to date with everything Cleveland with our free weekly “In the CLE” newsletter — your guide to fun throughout The Land. Arriving in your inbox every Wednesday, this weekend’s to-do list fills you in on everything from concerts to museum exhibits — and more. Click here to subscribe.
