Cleveland restaurant recommendations?

[Shasta]

Hello. Just delurking to ask for some advice....My dh and I will be going to Cleveland in April for the marathon (I'm the runner). I promised dh if he went along, we would find some great restaurants...help me keep my promise. :)

I would like to locate a good Italian restaurant for the night before the marathon (gotta carbo-load!) that isn't too far from where we are staying (the Hyatt at the Arcade on Superior). We enjoy a variety of cuisines so any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

TIA!

[jennkristy]

Hi,

Cleveland has a "Little Italy" neighborhood that has a plethora of authentic Italian restaurants. Every one I have tried has been wonderful. I would have to map it out to see how far it is from the Arcade, but I'm thinking under 8 miles. Here is a weblink link to a listing of restaurants in the Littly Italy neighborhood. I'm not sure how to post weblink, so I hope this works....


www.universitycircle.org/uc_se_restaurants2.asp

I am not familiar with many restaurants right in downtown, although I know there are many. You may want to try www.cleveland.citysearch.com. You can search for restaurants there by cuisine type and neighborhood.

Good Luck.

-Jen

[jennkristy]

FYI: I mapped out from the Hyatt in downtown to one of the Italian restaurants in Little Italy (Guarino's...yum!)...it is 5.2 miles, so not too far at all if you have a car. Or you could taxi it. All of the restaurants in that area are within a 0.5 radius, approximately.

Note: I lived in Cleveland my entire life until about 15 months ago when we moved to CA. :)

[Shasta]

Jen,

Thanks so much for your input. Sounds like we will be headed to Little Italy for sure!

BTW, since you know the area well I'll ask you this....are we better off taking public transportation for short distances (like to Little Italy) or driving ourselves? How easy is it to navigate the city?

Thanks again.

~Tami

[jennkristy]

Hmmm....I think you may be better off driving yourselves or taking a taxi. It is easy to navigate Cleveland, especially if you are from PA and have ever navigated Pittsburgh! Now that city I get lost in! Although if you did make a wrong turn on your way to Little Italy you could end up in a less than desirable neighborhood. So a taxi may be worth not having to worry about that.
Cleveland does have a rapid transit system, but I don't believe it goes to Little Italy. If you were going to, say, a Browns football game, I would say take the rapid transit because it's great and drops you off right in front of the stadium, but you're not. The municipal buses probably run to Little Italy, but I have not had the best experiences when riding the bus...that's just my experience though. You can find information on the public transit system at www.gcrta.org.
Parking is difficult in Little Italy, especially on a weekend night, so if you don't want the hassle, than a taxi may be worth the $$.

Hope that helps!

[Beth H]

I grew up in Cleveland, too. You might be able to take a bus from the Arcade to Little Italy but I'm not sure I would recommend that at night. Many restaurants there have valets, so I don't think you would need to worry too much about parking.

My favorite place in Little Italy is Corbo's Golden Bowl - it's very traditional yet delicious Italian. Great service, neat atmosphere. Sort of expensive, but not outrageously so, and delicious. They have fantastic veal dishes there if you like veal. (and many other great dishes too) Guarino's also is very good. I think everyplace in Little Italy is probably pretty good!

I am not sure about Italian places right downtown - I'm sure that there are some, but restaurants downtown have changed quite a bit since I last lived in Cleveland. It would be extremely easy for you to drive from the Arcade to Little Italy, though, and would probably only take about 15 minutes.

If you go to Little Italy, you definitely need to stop in at Presti's bakery after dinner (it's now called something else, actually but I can't remember what - ask your server and they'll tell you) and pick up some doughnuts. You'll be burning off the calories, right? :) Their doughnuts are without question the best I've ever had.

[alisajean]

You must, you must go to Johnny's Downtown! It's on W. 6th street. . I guarantee you won't be disappointed. It's not a traditional Italian, but has an Italian influence. The # is 216-623-0055. Blue Tip Grille is also a good one . .wonderful seafood. A wondeful french restaurant is called Sans Souci which is in downtown hotel. Little Italy is great if you want to venture off away from downtown. I would definatly rent a car. Cleveland is easy to get around in. Let me know if you need more ideas!

[Shasta]

Originally posted by jennkristy
Hmmm....I think you may be better off driving yourselves or taking a taxi. It is easy to navigate Cleveland, especially if you are from PA and have ever navigated Pittsburgh!

LOL! Jen, I can navigate the 'Burgh quite well! So I guess we'll have no trouble getting around Cleveland! ;)

You ladies are awesome! I knew I could count on you for great tips and advice.

Beth, the bakery suggestion is greatly appreciated...doughnuts aren't my favorite but I have a huge sweet tooth.....it fuels my running. :o

Any suggestions for a hearty breakfast? Preferably something other than a bagel shop.

Keep the ideas coming......

[jennkristy]

:D ...while we are on sweet treats, try to go to Corbo's bakery for canolli! Yum!!!

I assume you will be driving from Western PA, so you will have a car? Than I would agree with Beth about driving to the restaurant....I forgot about all the valets so parking would not be a huge problem.
Tratorria's is also a good choice for dinner.

Breakfast, I will have to think about that one.....

[Shasta]

Jen,

Yes, we'll be driving....so valet parking would be a good thing if parking tends to be a hassle.

My dh loves canolli so we just may be checking out Corbo's. :D

Thanks again.

[MKSquared]

Here's a thread (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?threadid=53300) with several great restaurant recommendations! :) :)

I'd suggest heading down to the West Side Market in the morning if you're looking for something to do, some fresh produce, and a great idea of what Cleveland's really about. Try Great Lake Brewery while you're at it - you're just down the street from it! :D