Tour de CLE: My Ultimate Memorial Day Weekend in Cleveland

Monday, May 29, 2017


Based on Instagram, it seems like nearly everyone I know attended a wedding this Memorial Day weekend - but not us! We had a whole three-day weekend full of nothing - not a plan in sight, the best feeling in the world. As it turns out, though, we ended up doing all kinds of stuff, turning it into the ideal long weekend around town.

Comedy at Hilarities 4th Street Theatre

On Friday, we had tickets to comedian Mike Birbiglia's new stand-up show "Working It Out" at the city's best spot for comedy. We had great seats in a booth with a perfect view, & as expected, the show was hilarious; there's no feeling like laughing that hard! We ordered drinks (they serve you at your seat), but we didn't get any food because we were super stuffed from...

Dinner at The Greenhouse Tavern

We had reservations at Jonathon Sawyer's East 4th Street restaurant, which I hadn't been to for two years. Their carrot risotto with pancetta was to die for, & my friend Lilly & I split sides of Brussels sprouts & beets, also amazing. We were seated upstairs in a corner booth, where the service was a little slow, but the food made it worth it.

Drinks at Wonder Bar

Between dinner & the show, we killed some time at this understated bar on East 4th, which I'd never been to. I'll be back, though: They serve cocktails on tap! I had something called the "I'll Have What She's Having," though frankly, I have no idea what it was that she & I had, except that it was strong. Low-key bar with a good selection & a chill vibe.


Nightcaps at at Society Lounge

After the show, we stopped into this East 4th speakeasy-style bar for fancy cocktails. Mine was a "Snapple Sour," made with a snap pea & apple gin, & while it was tasty, it sort of tasted like... a garden? The bar was full of bros in tuxedos (post-wedding?), so it was a bit of a weird atmosphere, & we left after one drink to go get...

Pizza at Edison's Pizza Kitchen

Home & hungry, we closed out the evening with a slice at Tremont's best late-night pizza joint. There's always a bit of a wait, even when there's no one else in line, but it means the pizza is always super-fresh, as was the case this time. We took it back home & chowed down on the patio before calling it a night.

A cookout in Atwater Township

On Saturday afternoon, I drove an hour out to Portage County to my cousin Jim's college graduation/going away party; he just moved to Dayton for a sweet job with an Air Force contractor. It was a shlep to get out there, but it's a beautiful drive through the country, & I loved getting to spend some time with my family over hot dogs & beers. On my way there, I stopped for...

A dozen cupcakes from Cookie & a Cupcake

On a whim, I popped into this Tremont bakery to grab a dozen cupcakes on my way to Atwater. I went with a champagne cupcake myself - I'm not much of a chocolate gal - but I got a full array of flavors, which went over really well with the fam. Each cupcake is not only iced with frosting but stuffed with it, too!


Indians v. Royals at Progressive Field

Mike's boss is generous enough to offer employees the occasional set of tickets to local sporting events, & we were the lucky recipient for Sunday's Indians game. The seats are pretty sweet - under the awning behind first base - & though a storm was on its way in, it held off for most of the game. Long enough for us to watch the Tribe defeat the Royals 10-1!

Lunch at Momocho

I was so excited about all the local restaurants with new food kiosks at Progressive Field, opting for a meal from someplace I've never been before: Ohio City's Momocho, a modern, Mexican-inspired joint. Their field menu is limited, but my $14 pork carnitas quesadilla with cheese between the double shells was delicious & well worth it. Much better than a standard ballpark hot dog.

Shopping at CLE Clothing Co.

We left the game a little early to avoid the rain & to use the 20% off coupon we got on our way out for one of the best T-shirt companies in town. Every Ohioans needs a little CLE gear! I grabbed a "Believeland" shirt as a gift for a friend, & because it took the cashier so long to ring me out, she even gave me back the coupon to use again another time. Scorrrre.


Patio time at Flannery's Irish Pub

Before the rain rolled in, we capitalized on the last of the nice weather with an afternoon drink at the one casual dive bar on East 4th Street. We hopped in a Lyft just before the raindrops started to fall, then we hunkered down for the rest of the night o read & chill in our cozy new apartment.

Iced coffee at Civilization

To my delight, my favorite local coffee shop was open on Memorial Day, so I fended off a wicked caffeine withdrawal headache with a large, sweetened iced coffee with soy milk, my favorite. And then we ran into one of my favorite baristas while we were in line for... 

Gyros at the Tremont Greek Fest

This is one of my favorite events of the summer, & today marked Mike's & my third summer in a row attending together. One of our first-ever photos was together outside the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church where it takes places! We chowed on the best gyros in town, ran into multiple people we knew, & then closed out the weekend with a casual Monday at home.

 

How'd you spend your Memorial Day weekend? And if you're a Clevelander, did our weekend activities overlap at all? There's still time to grab a gyro before the festival ends!

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