Review: Vegetarian Friendly Grub and Green Juice at Town Hall

A couple weeks ago I met up with my friend Heather for a quick after work birthday dinner at Town Hall in Ohio City. She has a baby and he's on a pretty strict schedule, so it can be difficult to schedule an appointment with her. For months I've been trying to take her out in honor of her July birthday but something kept coming up. (better early than late, right?) We always try to go somewhere new or different for her birthday, so...off to Town Hall we went.

I don't drive myself to Ohio City all that much, and I happened to stumble upon the free parking lot directly behind Town Hall. I got there right before 6:00 pm on a Thursday and the lot was pretty full because of happy hour, but I got a spot pretty easily. (that wasn't the case when I left closer to 8! it was packed!!)

I waled through the back patio entrance and walked past some lounge-y looking vinyl couches, huge high top tables, and a large rock wall/water feature. It was definitely pretty back there and you didn't feel like you were practically sitting in a parking lot in Ohio City. Then I walked through a huge door into the restaurant in an attempt to find the hostess. It's a little confusing to figure out where to go because there's a bar to the right, a bar to the left, and all sorts of seating everywhere. But I found her way at the front of the restaurant and asked for a patio seat. She told me there weren't any available...I protested and said I'd just walked through a somewhat empty back patio and she explained that there was a private party going on. I told her I work in a cubicle and would kill to see some sunshine, so I'd wait...but then suddenly a couch in the back patio area became available.

It was cougar central on the back patio. Made me laugh a little. The vibe outside and in was definitely "this is a place you go to meet people and be seen." But that's ok by me. I obviously wasn't there to meet anyone, so while I waited for Heather, I ordered a super delicious (and super cheap at only $4.50) green thumb green juice drink made out of kale, celery, lemon, ginger, and apple. It had just the right mix of greens and apples so it didn't taste like you were drinking fresh cut grass. It was actually pretty refreshing.

Green Thumb juice

 I did have to laugh, though, when a server delivered my drink to the table. "Kay-leee juice? Who ordered the kay-lee juice?" I assumed she meant kale (siiigh) so I took the drink. I had to laugh. I guess I just assume that kale is super popular and everyone knows how to pronounce it, but...apparently not.

I check out menus before I head to any restaurant and I was really happy to see that Town Hall has a clearly labeled AND vegetarian friendly menu. There are a ton of gluten free options, too, along with many vegetarian items that can easily be made vegan by omitting cheese, etc. There's everything from burritos, to rice bowls, to salad and pizzas. I love it when I can order more than just the token vegetarian salad on a restaurant's menu.

Thai bowl with tofu

I ordered a Thai bowl with tofu. I looked pretty promising, but...it was mainly rice with a small handful of veggies and tofu doused in a peanut sauce that could have used a little something. It was ok but not great. (my friend had a burger that was just ok, too...but she loved her fries) I won't hold that against Town Hall, though. When I went, I don't think they'd been open for even a month, and I know it can take a little while to get the recipes just right on a menu. I still give them an A for effort for offering delicious juice and lots of vegetarian options. 

I've read a ton of Yelp reviews for Town Hall and many of them talk about bad service. We didn't have that experience. We had to flag someone down to get silverware and I might have liked some more water but nothing was terrible. Again, I can cut a restaurant some slack when it's new and overflowing with people during happy hour. 

I bought a discount gift certificate through Cleveland Independents (there are still some available!) and I hope to go back sometime soon to see how everything is coming together over at Town Hall. I think it's a great addition to Ohio City and has the potential to be the new hot spot in the neighborhood. 

Summertime Fun at Sunset Harbor Bar and Grille

Although I'm a cubicle dweller by day, I dream of owning my own business.  One of these days I'll get around to developing a business plan for Roxanne's vegetarian cafe (I've actually given this a lot of thought - I just need to find someone with cash money to invest in my idea).  But until I do, I can live vicariously through others. 

I think most people who work in an office have dreams of doing something else.  I don't think anyone says "I want to stare at a computer all day" when they're growing up.  But few of us have the cajones to actually try and make those dreams a reality.  Except my former manager, Tom Moore.  When I worked for him years ago in cubicle land, he talked about opening a bar.  Sure he knew a lot about bars.  I mean no disrespect when I say this, but he frequented enough of them to know what worked and what didn't.  He had plenty of idea about what could make a bar profitable.  But...it seemed like most other cubicle pipe dreams.  Until he was RIF'ed.

Unless you, yourself work in a cubicle, you may not be familiar with a RIF or reduction in force AKA layoff.  My manager and I were in a department that was RIF'ed.  I was days away from signing my severance paperwork when I found another job within the company. (it ended up being the worst job I've ever had and led to one of the worst year of my life, but...a girl's gotta earn money somehow)  He was not so lucky.  After working for the company for almost as long as I'd been alive at that point, he was let go.  Granted, his severance package lasted him a good long time and he got to have an amazing summer doing all the things he'd missed out on while he was working 12 hour days.  Golf, spending time with his family, enjoying time at his lakeside condo.  (I've never met anyone who enjoys Lake Erie more than this man) But all good things must come to an end and he went back to work in the corporate world for a few years once his severance ran out.  I lost track of him at that point, but recently decided to shoot him an email to see what he's up to.  Much to my surprise, he'd bought a bar with a few business partners.  And not just any bar, a lakeside bar.

Have you heard of Sunset Harbor Bar and Grille?  Unless you're from Fairport Harbor, Ohio or any of the surrounding areas, you may not have.  I hadn't.  And if you have been there before, you might not have thought much of the place.  It's a small, interestingly shaped bar, right on the lake in a yacht club in Fairport Harbor.  Online reviews tell me this place was a bit of a dump before, but I can tell you that my former manager and his business partners have really put a lot of work into this place.  For one, the food is now good.  There's an actual chef in the kitchen.  (and there are a few vegetarian options - yay!) Also, unlike in the past, food is served warm when it's supposed to be, and cold drinks, are, well...cold.  The bathrooms have been redone and are probably nicer than the bathroom in my house. (I tend to judge a place on its bathrooms - if the bathroom is gross, generally the rest of the place is pretty bad, too)  There's a brand new outdoor bar and a rooftop deck is going in this week.  Oh, and this is the view from outside:   

Gorgeous, huh? 

I spent a really nice night on the patio with my boyfriend, chatting it up with Tom and a few of his business partners.  It was really great to see him so...happy.  He's living his dream.  As he said, he works really long days but enjoys every minute of it.  How many of us get to wake up every morning and say that we're doing something we truly love for a living? 

To learn more about Sunset Harbor Bar and Grille, check out their facebook page. (their web site is under development).  They're open 7 days a week and feature live entertainment on weekends.  I dare you to find a nicer place in Cleveland to check out the lake and grab a drink or 5.  Trust me on this.  I never thought I'd like anything in Fairport Harbor, either.

Vegetarian Friendly Options at The Treehouse in Tremont

'Tis the season where I want to spend every free moment ouside running or drinking on a patio.  This past weekend I got to do quite a bit of both and happened to discover that one of my favorite bars - The Treehouse - now serves food.  And vegetarian friendly food, at that.  Their entire menu is "vegetarian coded" so you can easily determine what you as a non-meat eater can or cannot eat.  (my dream in life is for every restaurant to mark their vegetarian items so I don't have to ask waiters and waitresses 57 questions before ordering) And it seems like many of these vegetarian items can easily be vegan by removing cheese, ranch dressing, etc.

Grilled veggie sandwich - interesting pickle placement

I ordered a garden grill which is just what you'd imagine - a sandwich made up of grilled vegetables.  Unlike many of the grilled veggie sandwiches I've eaten, the vegetables on the one I ordered at The Treehouse tasted fresh and hadn't been overcooked.  I opted for a side of tots to go with my meal and they weren't quite as awesome.  Just your average run of the mill tater tots.  But what's not to like about a tater tot anyway?  I washed all that down with an excellent (and strong) Moscow Mule and spent an enjoyable couple hours on the patio.  Some of my friends tried out some of the other vegetarian friendly items - like the black bean burger and an Thai chicken salad (minus the chicken) and seemed happy with their meals. 

I'm happy to know that I now have another option for relatively cheap and vegetarian friendly patio dining in Tremont.  (my first gluttonous love is Edison's, but their patio isn't nearly as nice as the one at The Treehouse) 

The best summery martini in town

If you didn't have a chance to go to this past weekend's Taste of Tremont - what were you thinking?

Seriously, it was a great event with more food, booze, and entertainment than I've seen in Cleveland ever before. It was great to see people from all walks of life eating drinking, and walking their dogs in the streets of Tremont. (Apparently you need to own a dog to live in Tremont. They were everywhere.)

While my meatatarian boyfriend and I were wandering around, we decided to stop at Fahrenheit for a drink. We'd checked out Edison's and the Flying Monkey first, but they were completely packed. Besides, I wanted to check out the new patio at Fahrenheit and people watch. My boyfriend ordered one of the few beers that they had left and I got a margarita martini. Yes, a margarita martini. I didn't even know it was possible to combine two of my most favorite things. It was phenomenal. I could totally see myself heading back to Fahrenheit on a regular day to enjoy some beverages and food on the nice, new patio. If you haven't been to Fahrenheit in awhile, you should definitely check it out.

The next big happening event is the Tremont Ark Walk, which takes place on Friday, August 14. Although the website hasn't been updated, you can still check it out to see what sort of neat exhibitors will be on hand.