Missing in Action

Wellll... since I never really published this to a die-hard readership, I cannot be surprised at the lack of outcry for a new posting within the past... oh 378 days!

With that said, I'm ready to get back onto the horse so to speak and even test out a few other great reasons to read my random musings!!

I'll keep this particular post short, but the long of it (see what I did there?) just came down to having enough time to devout to writing a proper blog! We started saving for a house and therefore not going out so much, so not much to share, then my husband's grandfather passed away in July and our whole world got flip-turned upside down.  We ended up buying his house from the estate (aka Mom) and have been knee deep in making an adorable but outdated split level in Bay Village into our adorable and retro-cozy home ever since!

That doesn't mean we didn't find a little time and cash to hit up a couple of my bucket list restaurants along the way!  Here's the quick-ish list:

White Oaks, Westlake: this is now right around the corner from our new house. Got a groupon and Tim was always talking about how good their food was. Judging a book by it's cover, I was not really sold, but I gave in for our 2 year wedding anniversary (again - thanks to Groupon there). The food and service were great! I really would go there again to eat and it was the 2014 Best Romantic Restaurant in Cleveland on the Cleveland Hot List - thanks to the gorgeous view in the back of the restaurant. Only downsides were that it still feels geared toward the older clientele with the average age of our fellow patrons on a Saturday night at around 60-65. It really was as outdated in the decor as the home we had just agreed to buy, but I have become fond of saying I married an 80 year old in a 30 year old's body so this was right up Tim's alley. It also felt really weird that they served a complimentary relish tray and cottage cheese. No joke, this is what my grandma used to do at dinners when I was little (she was in her seventies when I was a kid)

Touch Supper Club, Ohio City: this was a little spur of the moment dinner with the intention of catching a friend for a drink that I hadn't seen since college. He ended up being a no-show but all was well because we had a great time! Again, for a Saturday night I expected more action in the place, but we're old and were there before 7:00 ;)  Anyway, the biggest highlight for me was finally having a gin-based cocktail that I wanted to keep drinking! I wish I could remember the name - and I tried to look it up, but they are in the process of revamping the entire restaurant, including the menu! Which just means we have to go back and re-check it from our list again!! :)

Fahrenheit, Tremont: I know, I know. How is it that I am in love with all things Cleveland (and have a super obsession with our local chefs, including Rocco) and haven't actually eaten here yet? Simple semantics, my friend. Every time I've tried to get a reservation for any occasion, it is booked solid. Until the off-chance of my birthday dinner this year. We were supposed to dine at Crop Bistro on Friday night after drinks with my closest girls, but a freak snow storm waylaid the snow-plowing husband so I had to cancel my own birthday :*( Box mac & cheese with sausage, tomatoes, and green onions did not exactly feel birthday festive.
Anywhooo... because my husband is wonderful and didn't want me to miss out on celebrating, we decided to wing it and find something decent on Saturday night. We made this decision at 3:00 in the afternoon. Not much was open, but I showered and started getting ready for...somewhere... and happened to refresh OpenTable and all of a sudden angels came down from heaven singing to me at the bathroom sink! There must have been a cancellation b/c all of a sudden there was a 7:00 opening at Fahrenheit!!!! I squealed. I do that.
To cut off this long story and get down to business, since I was finally there, I could not get anything other than the famous Kobe Beef Short Ribs and I'm a better person for it. My husband was a tad more adventurous and got what our server described as an under appreciated gem on the menu - a very delicious ramen bowl. We got some dessert (can't remember what! eek!) and some Fahrenheit coffee and it became a perfect birthday dinner celebration!

So that's the highlights - going forward I'm going to attempt to post quickly and give some better detail than "it was so good" including pix and links to the site, all that fun that hopefully a couple people read besides those I force because they love me.