Dino Palmieri Living Social Deal

Dino Palmieri Salon, with several locations through out Cleveland, is offering a hair cut + styling for $19 or a mani/pedi for $46. The West 6th location is just a few steps from the Cleveland City Living office, and I will definitely be stopping in!
View the Dino Palmieri Living Social Deal Here.

New Year's Eve Cleveland Hot Spots

NYE is always a night to be remembered, and I know it can be hard to sort out how you want to celebrate. If you are still looking for ideas on where to ring in the New Year on Friday night, look no further. Below is a compiled list of restaurants and parties that should leave everyone content!

Dining Options:

Table 45 is offering full dinner service from 3-11pm with a personal favorite of mine, beef wellington.

Sushi Rock (both Beachwood and West 6th)is hosting a NYE Masquerade Ball that begins at 9pm. Mouth watering dinner specials, a champagne toast, plus a balloon drop seals the deal.

Fahrenheit in Tremont is featuring two Prix Fixe dinners (with to die for menus), before 7pm the cost is $65, after 7:45pm the cost is $100 per person. It does include champagne!


Drinking and Dancing:


Snow Year's Eve at Progressive Field's Snow Days. Diner, dancing, drinking, AND fireworks. All at the Terrace Club.

Tropical Cleveland- ring in the new year with some serious Latin flair at Rose Angel (5800 Detroit)

Velvet Dog is offering VIP open bar (top shelf liquor) packages for $125 *includes a full buffet provided by Sushi Rock, party hats, and a champagne toast!

Family Events:

7-9pm, Learn about mammals, take a hike, and enjoy some hot chocolate at The Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation

The Children's Museum of Cleveland is hosting a NYE party from 11-2pm on Friday that features dance parties and prize giveaways.

MOCA Cleveland

Have you seen the rendering for the NEW MOCA Cleveland building? I love it and can't wait to see it completed. It will give the area such an amazing new *modern* feel. What do you think of it?

(Image courtesy of Cleveland.com)

Cleveland- GREEN City

Cleveland.com has been reporting on some great Cleveland news all week, but especially great to me was the recap on Cleveland Farmers Markets in 2010. Living away from Cleveland for six years, in much bigger urban environments, it was sometimes hard to find great local produce (even more so on the cheap).
So I loved hearing that Cleveland is now a top contender in most farmers markets in the nation. Here is a quote from Cleveland.com :

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently updated its national list of farmers markets, Ohio ranked the seventh highest in overall number of registered markets at 213, and sixth in the top list of winter markets, with 34. It was also the ninth highest in percentage growth of markets with a 36 percent growth from 2009 to this year.

Its really great news knowing Clevelanders can eat local, fresh, and affordable all year long. On that note, its lunch time here....

Cleveland: Be a tourist in your own city

CLEVELAND -- With the kids off from school, it can be hard to keep them busy. But there is a way to keep them entertained and learn something at the same time. A local woman created walking tours of Cleveland's main attractions.

Jennifer Coleman started City Prowl Cleveland. She has gathered a wealth of information about the buildings some of us pass everyday or haven't seen in a while.

All you will need is a computer and an MP3 player to download the tours.

Jennifer gives you specific instructions on where to start the tours, and walks you through giving you the history of that specific area.

"I think if people knew more about how special some of the structures and the story of the culture of the city are, they would be ambassadors and know that Cleveland is really a special town," says Coleman.

The tours are less than 45 minutes and you can stop and start them as many times as you like.

There are 8 tours, including the Warehouse District, Public Square, Wade Park and the Fairfax neighborhood.

Click here to download the tours at City Prowl Cleveland.
(Article Courtesy of WKYC-TV)

La Strada Groupon

Today's Groupon is $40 worth of Mediterranean Fare for $20. Make sure to pick one up for a great date night on East 4th. Now that the days are getting longer again, I've been feeling the itch to go out. Enjoy!

La Strada Groupon

Flats East Bank project closes financing, to start construction

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Construction will start this week on the long-delayed Flats East Bank project, now that developers have finally locked in the money to build offices, a hotel, retail and a park at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties closed on their financing Tuesday - making a $272 million development real after years of dreaming and planning. Set to open in spring 2013, the project will extend downtown Cleveland to the waterfront and include the central business district's first new multi-tenant office building in more than a decade.

The project is a rare private, urban development to move forward, in the wake of a recession and a financial crisis that roiled the real estate industry. And it is one of three potential game-changers for downtown Cleveland, where a new convention center-medical mart project is scheduled to break ground soon and a casino is in the works.

"We have major headquarters that are here in Cleveland that will remain in Cleveland as a result of this," Mayor Frank Jackson said. "I believe it will eventually attract other people to that part of the city and, in some fashion, may even move what we consider the center of town as people begin to consider the water's edge as a place where they want to live and work."

Loans and grants from the city are among 35 sources of funding for the project. To pay for the 18-story office building, a 150-room Aloft hotel, a parking garage, retail and public spaces, the developers lined up everyone from major banks to foreign investors who hope to gain U.S. residency in exchange for putting money into the Flats.

Stakeholders described the project as the most complicated financial transaction in Northeast Ohio's history.

"Every professional involved would tell you this was the most complex undertaking and closing that they've ever been part of," said Adam Fishman, a principal with Fairmount Properties.

The $272 million first phase will house accounting firm Ernst & Young, law firm Tucker Ellis & West and the CB Richard Ellis real estate brokerage -- all downtown tenants itching for a new location. The Flats East Bank also will include a riverfront boardwalk and 14 acres of parkland. The green space eventually could be the site of residential development, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues, once the economy improves and more financing becomes available.

"Today is finally the beginning of implementing my husband's vision for the Flats," said Iris Wolstein, whose husband, Bert Wolstein, hoped to turn the former nightlife mecca into a riverfront district. He died in 2004.

"While it has been a very long and treacherous road to get to today, this family collaboration will benefit our hometown and give the city a vibrant showcase for all of us and future generations of Clevelanders to enjoy," she said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.

Iris Wolstein and Scott Wolstein, her son and the executive chairman of Developers Diversified Realty Corp., unveiled their plans for the Flats East Bank in 2005. When financial markets collapsed in 2008, money for real estate disappeared and the development was put on hold. The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties struggled for two years, split the construction into phases and sought additional public and private funding sources to revive the project.

Wells Fargo Bank funded $53 million in bonds to support the office building. The Ohio Carpenters' Pension Fund and the Cleveland International Fund, a group of foreign investors, also stepped in on the first-mortgage bonds. FirstMerit Bank provided a loan. The federal government, the state and Cuyahoga County kicked in loans and grants.

Cleveland contributed nearly $53 million, $37.2 million of that in loans, worked with the developer on a deal to divert anticipated increases in property taxes from the project to pay for construction, and took advantage of a federal economic stimulus program to lower the cost of bonds for the project.

"These deals don't work with straight private financing anymore, particularly in cities like Cleveland or Pittsburgh where the market is not booming," said Tom Murphy, a senior resident fellow with the Urban Land Institute and a former Pittsburgh mayor. "This is an investment for the future that will create momentum in Cleveland."

(Article courtesy of Michelle Jarboe and Cleveland.com)

Dip into Downward Dog at Battery Park

As a yoga lover, I have some very exciting news to share with the Cleveland community. The Battery Park Powerhouse is transforming their second floor and it will now serve as a yoga room on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Justin Glanville, who has been practicing yoga for over ten years, and teaching yoga since 2005 will be heading the classes. He is offering a beginners Vinyassa on Saturday mornings from 9:00am to 10:15 and an intermediate Vinyassa class on Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm to 7:45. The cost per class will be $10 for a drop in with packages available at discount. Classes begin January 17th, and Justin can be reached at jgville@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments. I hope to see you all at the classes, I know I will be there on Wednesdays. Namaste!

An early E-Christmas Card from LeBron

Courtesy of SportsPickle

West Side Market Sing-out: The Recap

Happy Monday morning everyone! If you missed heading over to The Westside Market this past Saturday for the Sing-out, here is a video from The West Shore Chorale of the Sing-out performance. Enjoy!

Coffee Lovers Unite- Phoenix Coffee gives Roastery Tours

Cleveland local business, Phoenix Coffee Company, will be hosting two tours of their downtown roastery(where the coffee is made) just after the Christmas holiday. On December 28th there will be two tours available at 10:30am and 1:00pm. Stop by and find out how your favorite Cleveland coffee is made, and also walk out with a free bag of beans! More details are available at Phoenix Coffee

Cleveland: Eat and drink local this holiday season

CLEVELAND -- Its a chance to try a variety of local cuisine, and expand your pallet at over fifty different restaurants.

For its second consecutive year, Cleveland Independents is bringing back "the deck" of 52 cards. This is a chance for you to try 52 restaurants in the Cleveland-area.

Doug Katz, President of Cleveland Independents stopped by our studio to tell us more about this great holiday gift.

Each card offers $10 off of a $30 food purchase.

The cards are valid through December 30, 2011.

If you are one of the first 10 people to buy two or more decks and mention Channel 3, you'll receive a $25 gift certificate from one of the restaurants in the deck.

The goal of the Cleveland Independents is to support, protect, and nurture independent restaurants in Northeast Ohio.

For a complete listing of participating restaurants visit www.clevelandindependents.com
© 2010 WKYC-TV
(Article Courtesy of WKYC-TV)

Remembering Bob Feller

Bob Feller was not only one of the best athletes in Cleveland, he was one of the best athletes in The United States. Bob was a Clevelander through and through, always attending spring training sessions and a regular staple at Indian's home games. He set numerous records and is still considered one of the best right handed pitchers in the game. Feller is the only Cleveland Athlete to be immortalized with a statue, it stands outside of Progressive Field. Feller and his wife Anne were residents of Gates Mills,a Cleveland Eastside suburb for many years. He passed away after a battle with Leukemia, entering hospice for pneumonia earlier this week. As Clevelanders, we should all remember Bob Feller as a true American Hero. Rest in Peace.

(Photo courtesy of The Associated Press)

Sing-out!

FACT: It is a dream of mine to one day be apart of/chance upon a flash mob dance. I love watching videos of them, and would just DIE if I saw one IRL. That being said, I've gotten word that there will be a 'spontaneous' sing-out outside of The Westside Market this Saturday (12/18) at 2pm. A sing-out is kind of like a flash mob dance, right?

It should be fun, and what market shopper wouldn't want to jump in for a chorus or two of some Christmas tunes?

I'll take it, sold.

Santacon is Coming!!

The Santacon trend has made its way to Cleveland! This Saturday (12/18) at Bar Cento, West 25th Street, Kringle Kaos will break out. It starts at 7 pm and there are only a few rules for the evening as you jump bar to bar.
1. Dress like Santa.
2. Bring your Christmas cheer.
3. Remember that Santa is in charge.

Party on!

Christmas Cabaret at Nighttown

Early next week, Cleveland Heights' dining and entertainment staple, Nighttown, will be hosting their 5th annual Christmas Cabaret. From the 19th to the 21st you can purchase tickets for one of the nightly shows and sit back and listen to jazz renditions of your favorite Christmas songs.

Nighttown is located at 12387 Cedar Road.

Battery Park Wine Bar

I had a chance to peak at the BPWB when I was at The Reckoning Event on Saturday, but have yet to visit it myself. Below is a snippet of a write up from Blog-friend Alexa, at Cleveland's a Plum. Enjoy!

Last night, post errands, i ended up having a lovely impromptu evening with friends at the newly opened battery park wine bar in the detroit shoreway neighborhood.

this having been my second visit i knew what to expect in the great decor, delicious wine and wonderful and attentive service - but this time i came with an appetite and just in time for happy hour.

battery park wine bar, or BPWB as i'm beginning to call it for short, has a great happy hour for people who don't necessarily get out of work at 5pm. their happy hour goes from 3pm to 7:30pm and you can get $4 heavy poured glasses of wine, $3 beer specials and $2 off all appetizers which are more like meals in my humble opinion.

as seanski and i bellied up to the bar we had made it just in time for happy hour and we took full advantage of the $2 off appetizers by ordering a lot of food and thanks to chef dimitris ragousis and sous chef paul demelto it was a whole lot of delicious food.

the y.o.l.o. (you only live once) salad (only $4 during HH!)- greens, candied pecans, golden raisins and a grappa vinaigrette was so light and refreshing and quite honestly i've never tasted anything like it - i'm officially a grappa vinaigrette fan now.

To read the rest of the post, click here.

Its The Weekend!

Round 'em up! Lets talk about what to do around town this weekend. I am still up in the air on my plans. I do know for sure I will be spending Saturday at Battery Park's Powerhouse to support The Reckoning Place . So without further adieu I present, things happening in The Cleve:

Full Moon Rising II- Art Exhibition of Cleveland's best and brightest running all weekend at The Urban Mosaic Art House & Gallery (9800 Detroit Avenue, 3rd Floor)

Tremont Art Walk- Tonight from 6-10. Start out at Grumpy's Cafe and stomp around the neighborhood to check out the shops and all the lovely art on display.

Bodies... The Exhibition- Check out all the complexities of the body with over 200 specimens! (340 Euclid Ave.)

Browns' Sunday- Watch the Browns dominate the Bills this Sunday, anywhere on W6th.

Oh and don't forget about our post earlier this week for Last Laugh Cleveland

Lets go to a Vikings Game.

The Cleveland State Vikings are currently 11-0. So why not show them some hometown love? Here is the schedule for their next three home games. Lets get out there and show those Viking men just how serious we are about our sports. GO VIKINGS!

12/22- vs. South Florida @ 7:00
12/30- vs. Loyola University Chicago @ 7:00
1/01- vs. UIC @ 2:00

Get your laugh on.

This weekend The Brother's Lounge is combining three of my favorite things (1.laughing 2. puppies and 3.beers) I mean, I'm willing to bet these are three of everyone's favorite things so hopefully I have your attention.
This Friday (12/10) The Brother's Lounge (11607 Detroit Avenue) is hosting Last Call Cleveland, a nationally recognized comedy troupe that was voted Best Comedy Troupe by The Fox 8 Hotlist. They will give you belly aches with their talents and all proceeds benefit The Lakewood Animal Shelter. So stop in and laugh, drink, and save some puppies... its a win-win for everyone.

The Merry Freaking Christmas Ride

This Saturday, December 11th, Crank-Set Rides will be hosting the Merry Freaking Christmas Ride. So grab your bicycle, your holiday gear, and get ready to ride through the Ohio City neighborhood- its for a good cause (donation to The Domestic Violence Center required) and drink specials will be aplenty at every bar visited. Bars participating include ABC Tavern, Redstone, Tap House, and Cranky's Pub. To RSVP or find more information click here to link to the Facebook invite.

Michael Stanley Holiday Show

Cleveland born Michael Stanley will be having his annual holiday show at The House of Blues this weekend, on Saturday, December 11th. The Michael Stanley Band will go on at 8:00 and doors open at 7:00. Tickets start at $31.00. VIP tickets are available, and come with a meet-and-greet.

The Cleveland Crush

Gentlemen, this post is for all of you...one void of shopping, art, and all things Christmas... I am here to announce that Cleveland is now the proud home of the latest Lingerie Football League (LFL) team, The Cleveland Crush. The lingerie clad ladies will begin playing at The Quicken Loans Arena in the Fall of 2011.

Chairman and founder Mitchell S. Mortaza was quoted with the following statement

"We could not be more excited to be in a market like Cleveland, with its storied history in support of its pro teams, whether they won or lost. LFL Football will translate incredibly well and, based on the initial fan support, we suspect Cleveland will be a top market for the league."

Any qualified individuals, as well as prospective players, can inquire at: Talent@LFLUS.com

(Photo Courtesy Edie Perlas LFL)

NYC Is So Over, Artists Moving To Cleveland

BOOM! Here is some very exciting news that isn't sports related today (not that I'm not pumped about the Browns win) Gothamist.com reported the following last week:

One relocated artist told WKYC that in New York, "you’re losing the sense of community and working together… Cleveland is a great place for art. There’s a lot of culture and diversity here. You still get the big city feel.” It also has this charming nickname: the Mistake by the Lake.

A recent WNYC report pointed out that artists aren't just fleeing New York, but "artists fresh out of art schools around the country are choosing to live in nascent artist communities in regional cities like Detroit and Cleveland—which are dangling incentives to attract this group—and bypassing New York altogether."

What do you think about this? Do you think the Collinwood/Waterloo area is Cleveland's next up-and-coming artist community? Did you stop by Weekend on Waterloo? If so, we'd love to hear your thoughts.

Native Cleveland Opens TONIGHT

Come out and Celebrate NATIVE-Cleveland’s Official Grand Opening During the WALK ALL OVER WATERLOO HOLIDAY Event! We’re going to try to OPEN the day before Thanksgiving and be open on Black Friday and then Saturday as well, but the OFFICIAL GRAND opening is December 3, 4, 5 and we’ll have special events during the weekend.

(Courtesy of NativeCleveland.com)

Travel Channel's Adam Richman is hungry for Cleveland

Adam Richman likes Cleveland. A lot. How much does the Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food" host like Cleveland? Let's compare city citations in the index of his new book, "America the Edible: A Hungry History, From Sea to Dining Sea" (Rodale, $25.99).

Washington, D.C., and Boston each garner three references. San Francisco, by any measure a "food city" of the first order, earns a 23-page spread. Same as Brooklyn, N.Y., Richman's hometown.

Cleveland's chapter (entitled "I Still Call It The Jake") gets a full 24 pages. And in Richman's distinctive voice -- gruff rhapsodies punctuated by a fair share of F-bombs and other epithets -- it's a destination for any right-thinking foodie in search of a memorable nosh.

Richman spent the better part of a year here while a resident at the Cleveland Play House, performing in a lengthy run of Chaim Potok's "The Chosen." Then a knockabout actor (who happens to have earned his master's degree from the Yale University School of Drama), he routinely sought good food in hidden-away spots.

It's one thing to read it in print. If you nab the opportunity to meet him when he returns to town Tuesday, when he'll sign copies of his book at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lyndhurst, get him talking about his affection.

During a recent phone conversation, Richman showed a commanding grasp of the place, beyond the usual landmarks and big-name eateries. In a rapid-fire recitation, he issued a sprawling litany of hidden gems and locals-only haunts.

"Every time I'm there, I love knowing these little teeny places: Chinatown, places on Mayfield Road, on St. Clair and Superior avenues. I love that to get to Superior Pho you have to turn off Superior, park, turn a corner and then walk through a building, past a nail place and through another restaurant to get the best bahn mi sandwich I've ever had anywhere. That's impressive."

His ardor runs deeper than Cleveland's food scene. Aside from near-paeans to foodie landmarks such as the West Side Market and Great Lakes Brewing Co., Richman offers knowing nods to such treasures as Cleveland's "Emerald Necklace" Metroparks and the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood.

"There is just so much to experience in The Cleve," Richman says. "The chance to shed light on the amount of heart, the sheer joy of that city, is important to me. It has such a bountiful amount of heart.

"Cleveland is like Rocky Marciano, with a crushed nose and a bloodied face, that still gets up," he says. "People in Cleveland wear their scars as a sign of honor. Why do you think Great Lakes Brewing has a beer called 'Burning River?' "

(Article courtesy of Cleveland.com)

Feds award $32 million loan for office building at Cleveland's Flats East Bank project

Another key piece of financing for the $275 million Flats East Bank Neighborhood project is falling into place.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to award a $32 million loan for the office tower component of the project. A news release from Sen. Brown's office said he repeatedly had urged HUD to approve the loan.

“This news will keep over a thousand good-paying jobs in Cleveland and create hundreds more construction jobs,” Sen Brown said.

The project includes a new office tower that will house the Ernst & Young accounting firm and the Tucker Ellis & West law firm, as well as a hotel, retail space and a parking garage.

(Article courtesy of CrainsCleveland.com)

Cleveland-area restaurants get top ratings in Zagat guide: Restaurant Row

Twenty Cleveland-area restaurants appear on Zagat's recently released "America's Top Restaurants 2011."

Three local landmarks earned coveted "extraordinary to perfection" top rankings: Chez Francois (29 out of a possible 30 points), Johnny's Bar (28) and Dante (27). Parallax, Lola, Crop Bistro & Bar, Downtown 140, Red the Steakhouse, Flying Fig and L'Albatros Brasserie and Bar all round out this year's Top Food rankings.

Restaurateur Zack Bruell is the only Northeast Ohio chef to land all of his independently owned restaurants among the top 20. Chinato ranks among Zagat's Other Noteworthy Places in its Cleveland section. (A fourth restaurant with which he is affiliated but doesn't operate, Table 45 at the InterContinental Hotel & Conference Center Cleveland, is not among the 20 listed by Zagat. Blue Point Grill, Fahrenheit, Fire Food & Drink, Greenhouse Tavern, Lolita, Luxe Kitchen, Momocho, Sergio's in University Circle and Three Birds are all on the Noteworthy list.

For those unfamiliar with the Zagat guide procedure, more than 150,000 diners -- not professional critics -- across the U.S. weigh in with their assessments of restaurants in 45 cities coast-to-coast. You can join in. Go to zagat.com for more information on how to participate.

(Article Courtesy of Cleveland.com)

That Poor Pig

I can't imagine a single Clevelander isnt talking or at least thinking about the return of LeBron James to The Q tomorrow. Frankly, alot of the chatter has been pretty negative. However, I am proud to say Barley House on West 6th has found away to spin the evening into celebrating TRUE Cleveland Athletes as well as rally Clevelanders for a self proclaimed 'pep rally'.

From the Cleveland.com:

That poor pig

Come next Wednesday, Dec. 1, the Barley House (1265 West Sixth St., Cleveland) will get the ball rolling by hosting a LeBron James Roast.

It runs from 9 to 11 p.m. and features comedians razzing LeBron, not to mention drink specials -- 23 cents off all night if you bring a LeBron jersey.

It also boasts a pig roast.

"We're also roasting it out front," says Corey May, of the Barley House. "We're going to brand No. 6http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3719417955572510905&postID=3660267966094554588# on it."

Yikes.

The fun starts on a positive note, at 6:30 p.m., when Cleveland Browns Peyton Hillis and Joe Haden will chat with fans and sign autographs.

"It's a pep rally," says May. "And we're proclaiming Joe Haden the new No. 23 of Cleveland." Free. Call 216-623-1700.

I'm thinking about heading over after work to start the celebration and of course- meet Peyton. Tweet us if you would like to join in- @Clecityliving.
See you there!

Weekend on Waterloo!

Happy Hump Day! Here is another post to get you geared up for the weekend. I mentioned on Facebook and Twitter that there is A TON of stuff to do around Cleveland this weekend.

Cue to Weekend on Waterloo- The holiday arts sale will be taking place this Fri/Sat/Sun and feature amazing work all from local artists. Its a great way to explore the Cleveland art scene or pick up some gifts for the holidays.

If you are looking for more information check out http://artscollinwood.org/weekend-on-waterloo-holiday-sale/