Year in Review - 10 of My Favorite Things from 2011

I got to do a lot of exploring around town this year, and I thought I'd share some of my favorite things from this year. (but I'm not Oprah, so I'm not giving anything away - you'll have to check these things out on your own!)  Here are my 10 favorite things/places/etc. for 2011. (in no particular order)

It wouldn't be my birthday without...

some of Cleveland's great food and booze spots!  I'm very lucky to have a lot of great people in my life who want to celebrate my birthday with me this year.  I'm going to check out Amp 150 for my birthday dinner tonight and then Chocolate Bar for some lunch and possibly a martini bigger than my head on Saturday.  Tomorrow night, I hope to hit up Lava Lounge to meet up with some old friends.  And my old friend, the foo-foo martini.

But it really wouldn't be my birthday with some of my old stand-bys.  The restaurants I've repeatedly gone to over the years, or ones I've recently discovered and can't live without.  Nothing says "birthday" to me like black bean nachos as Johnny Mango.  I mean, does it really get any better?  (only with a fresh squeezed margarita, perhaps)  Then there's the Purple Parma eggplant sandwich at Melt.  Or a pumpkin martini!  Amazingly good!  And worth every second of the wait!  There's also vegetarian night at Lago...that's on Monday, so that will have to be part of the prolonged celebration.  Then there's the espresso martini at Melange.  Or the chocolate covered brownie from White Flower Cake Shoppe.  Top that all off with a Brownie Monster sundae from Tommy's (I think I've had one on or near my birthday for the last 20+ years) and you have yourself one heck of a gluttonous birthday weekend.  Thank goodness I have to run 12 miles this Sunday, so I can burn off all of my birthday goodness.

What's your favorite Cleveland birthday hot spot?

December is vegan month at Johnny Mango

I'm so sad to learn that December is vegan month at Johnny Mango in Ohio City.  Not sad because there are delicious sounding vegan options like "meat" loaf with meatless gravy, quinoa-stuffed peppers with soy cheddar and marinara,  and chunky garden vegetable chili with cracked wheat & soy cheddar.  I'm sad because I just got an email from Johnny Mango letting me know about this month's specials.  (how many days are left in December?)  Better late than never, I suppose...

My love hate relationship with Johnny Mango

Oh, Johnny Mango. Why do you torment me so? I love your delicious drinks and vegetarian and vegan bean offerings, but I hate you for leaving Willoughby a few years ago.

Maybe it's a good thing that Johnny Mango is more than a short drive away from my house. Otherwise I might find myself there every day enjoying a margarita or a black bean quesadilla. Or enjoying the people watching on the patio.

There must be other places around town to get some great food made with black beans around town. I just haven't found them yet. Any suggestions?

A shameless plug for Berea ARF

If you know me IRL, you know that I was born to be your stereotypical crazy cat lat. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for the hundreds of homeless cats I might own right now, I met my boyfriend and only have 2 cats. (Although I ask daily to get kitty number 3 - please?)

So to fill my need to get love from multiple kitties (since mine area all "whatever" - note to self - wild kittens = not friendly adult cats), I volunteer at Berea Animal Rescue Fund or Berea ARF. (not BARF, folks...) Berea ARF is mainly run through funds received through generous donations and with the help of a huge network of volunteers. It's one of the few no-kill (for the most part) shelters in the area and does a great job of finding homes for all sorts of animals.

In an attempt to raise some extra funds for the shelter (it's super crowded - stupid economy!), Berea ARF has partnered with Johnny Mango for a fundraiser on July 6. 20% of each bill on that day will go to Berea ARF. (if you're a big margarita drinker like I am, that $ could really add up quickly) If you like Johnny Mango and you like helping out a great cause, think about stopping by anytime on July 6. If you can't make the event, the shelter is always looking for cash donations or supplies. See the shelter's website for ways that you can pitch in and help. No gesture is too small!

Mangos, Trees, and Bar Food

This past weekend was quite adventurous for me. I went out all 3 weekend nights - something I never do!

Friday I went to Johnny Mango with my boyfriend and one of his friends. I'd forgotten how much I miss Johnny Mango. There used to be a location in Willoughby and I went there fairly often. I realized that I especially miss the margaritas. I had two mango lime margaritas. Mmm. So fresh and fruity. Not quite as fresh as the "squeezed in front of you" margaritas at Melt, but still pretty darn good. My boyfriend had the Pom margarita which I didn't care for. I think a lot of pomegranate drinks are hit or miss. My boyfriend's friend had a Napoleon. All I can tell you about it is that it's a martini with multiple kinds of fruity booze and is ridiculously strong.

Saturday, before volunteering at the Berea Animal Rescue (which I do every other Saturday), I stopped in Treehugger's Cafe in Berea. Nestled in an industrial looking shopping plaza, you wouldn't expect much from the restaurant, food or ambiance-wise, but once you step over the threshold, you're whisked away from the drab exterior. The walls are painted a nice earthy green and there's a warm, glowing fake fireplace next to an enormous tree mural. This little cafe tries to use locally grown/produced food and materials and has a plethora of vegetarian options. I had the Chickerspot Butterfly Veggie wrap, which had grilled tofu and fresh veggies. Alongside the wrap was a very flavorful vegan and gluten free Thai pasta salad. I've been on a sweet potato kick lately, so I ordered a side of sweet potato fries which arrived with some brown sugar sprinkled over them. The entire meal was super fresh and flavorful. I hope to go there every time I work at the shelter so I can try out their many pastas and entree specials.

Saturday night I enjoyed a delicious (and relatively low calorie) Amy's Organic pizza before heading out to meet up with some high school friends at Pannini's In Willoughby. I'm in the midst of planning my 10 year reunion, and it's nice to get ideas from different people on what sort of even we should have. More on that later...

Apparently Sunday was a big day in sports, so I went to the Winking Lizard in Mentor to watch the Super Bowl. Or to eat some bar food and play with my iphone. the highlight of my meal was a hot fudge sundae. Not exactly healthy, but I'd burned nearly 600 calories at the gym beforehand. it took me a minute to realize what was so good about it. It was the ice cream - Pierre's french vanilla! The taste of that ice cream is unmistakable. Tommy's in Coventry uses it in their sundaes, too. It was so good that I want to run out and buy a gallon - to gorge myself and to support Cleveland's own! After eating the sundae, I gave up on pretending to watch football and headed home to watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. It was much more exciting than real sports.