CLE Eats: Flaming Ice Cube

One of my favorite things about working is downtown Cleveland is the wide variety of lunch options. Now, I don't eat out every day, but when I do, I have some favorites. And then sometimes, I prefer to just explore. Last week, my friend Erika and I explored Flaming Ice Cube on Public Square.

Flaming Ice Cube has been around for a while, and offers a vegan menu. I might have lost you at vegan, but I urge you to hang on until the end of the post. I'm certainly not vegan, but if vegan food tastes so good, then I could definitely do it.

We started off with the cucumber detox smoothie. With cucumber, pineapple, apple juice, cilantro and kale, this was a perfectly refreshing summer smoothie. I could almost feel my body absorbing nutrients and detoxing.

Next up, I ordered the Asian Vegetable wrap -- this was delicious and filled with finely cut veggies. It was quite literally steaming with each bite-- so so good. The peanut sauce was TDF-  I could drink it. The side salad was a little too salty, but I just skipped it.

And finally, because I was feeling so VIRTUOUS after my vegan lunch, we decided to indulge in some vegan molten chocolate cake. Oh. My. God. This was as good, if not better, than a lot of non-vegan cakes. This was definitely the moment where I realized that if push ever came to shove, I could definitely be vegan (at least for a short period of time).

So, if you've been wanting to try vegan food, or are even remotely curious, I recommend Flaming Ice Cube. Its the kind of vegan meal I imagine Bey and Jay eat when they do their 22-day Revolution Vegan Diet. So go ahead, channel Bey and Jay. You know you want to.

CLE Eats: The Agrarian Collective

I want to introduce you to my newest food obsessions: The Agrarian Collective strawberry jam and granola. I picked some up at the Cleveland Flea this past weekend, and to be honest, I've spent all week trying to find more vehicles to get more jam and granola in my belly.

Sheer perfection, any way you eat it.

If you missed the Flea this past weekend, don't worry. Come to the Sunday Market at Hingetown this Sunday, 6/21 to experience some yummy goodies and hunt for vintage treasures!

CLE Eats: BOMBA Tacos & Rum

In honor of Taco Tuesday (we ate homemade tacos), I think its only fitting that I review my experience at BOMBA Tacos & Rum. Since it opened earlier this year, I've heard a lot about BOMBA--- mainly how much people enjoyed their experience and that it was practically impossible to get a table on the weekend. So, this past weekend, Sara and I decided to explore it for ourselves.

BOMBA is located in what is effectively a strip mall in Rocky River, a fact that made me approach this experience with some degree of ambivalence. Being married to an architect will make you strip-mall averse. Ambivalence aside, I vowed to approach BOMBA with an open mind.

As expected, the wait for a table was over an hour. Lucky for us, Sara ran into someone she knew, who let us table-share and avoid the wait. We started off with a round of mango-cilantro margaritas-- absolutely delicious. Next up was queso fundido-- another solid choice. And for my taco course, I ordered the crispy avocado and charred kale and corn. While both tacos were fine, I have to say, they just do not compare to Barrio's tacos. Sara and I were both in the mood for one final course, and we decided to split the chocolate flan. Not gonna lie, this dessert was a DISASTER. It absolutely un-flan-like, and had the consistency of Play-Doh.

Overall, I would score BOMBA as average. Go for the margaritas, definitely avoid dessert.

CLEshopaholic Eats: Stonetown and TownHall

What a beautiful weekend this was!! The weather was absolutely perfect, and Nick and I were lucky enough to spend a lot of it outdoors.

Clockwise from top left: The awesome sculpture garden at Edgewater, the awesome view of the city from Cove Ave, my relaxing afternoon, Otto exhausted after a vigorous game of soccer.

Saturday night, Nick and I decided to try out Stonetown in the 668 building. We are HUGE fans of their sister restaurant Jezebels Bayou (I recommend the blackened alligator and seafood etouffe), so we were very excited to see what Stonetown had to offer.  

The menu and my blackened catfish with caperberry sauce.

The good news: our food was delicious. The bad news: the service was SOOOOO slow. While the service was very pleasant and polite, I do wish that there was a little sense of urgency in getting us beverages.

Contrast that with TownHall, where we met up with the Harper's for some brunch, day drinking, and of course the Browns.  We took Otto and Clair up for brunch (yay for dog friendly locations!!), and were seated on the patio. As the game started, the manager noticed the boys straining to catch the score on TV, and promptly asked us if we wanted to move to the front patio where we could be outside with the dogs and still watch the game-- my idea of proactive customer service!! As much as I had initial misgivings about TownHall, I have to say that I really really enjoy it! Its probably not my scene on a Friday or Saturday night, but they have a really solid bar food menu, lots of beers on tap, yummy adult limeade, and great customer service!!

Puppy kisses on the patio

Nick and Wes watching the game. This was in the first half. They looked infinitely more annoyed as the game progressed.

Last but not least, I wanted to show you this awesome scarf that Nick got me as a "just because" gift from R/S Cleveland. It is possibly my most favorite scarf ever: perfect length, super super soft, and has a really fun city scene print!! Absolutely perfect for fall!! 

What's your favorite dog friendly eatery in Cleveland?

The 30-day unlimited pass to The Movement Factory giveaway ends tomorrow, so enter here!