CLE – Get Elod(ie) of This

Bakersfield

Tacos. Tequila. Whiskey.

Cinco de Mayo.

bakers1843 — We actually were able to see somebody take shots after shots on the luge. $3 shots were dope.

I love tacos. And I love tequila. And I love them both at the same time. Who doesn’t? I also love any excuse to drink shamelessly. Finals were over and I just cannot pass up watching white people wear sombreros and use bad Mexican accents.

Quick history lesson: Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla during the American Civil War. That’s really all I know. I don’t even know what really happened during the American Civil War. Our education system needs to do better and my brain needs to remember and retain more information.

Anyways. I get the same exact thing every time I come to Bakersfield: carne tacos and baja shrimp tacos. I honestly recommend the baja shrimp. Crispy shrimp, avocado, chipotle lime cream, and some cole slaw. I just have this habit of ordering 2-3 of the shrimp (and the carne) and just eating the fillings out of the tacos.

I should just start asking for the taco without the taco shell… But I already am extra for ordering burgers with the bun on the side, just for the picture aesthetics.

Oh, and the pineapple margarita. Pitcher every time.

I know what I want. I know what I like. And I stick with it.

Honestly, I’m surprised that I even got some good pictures from this day. Started day drinking only to end at Bakersfield. And then woke up right at midnight, confused as heck. But survived. The two friends I went with… We were all struggling. BUT Your girl is officially in her third year of law school!!!

As per always, stay tuned for more posts. It’ll be a Cleveland hiatus, while I explore Baltimore and D.C. For any of my DMV friends or visitors, let me know some of your favorite places so that I can check them out!

Edwins Leadership & Restaurant Institute

I have heard so many good things about this place, from the quality of food to the personable service, but what really piqued my interest was the social responsibility that surrounds Edwins. Edwins incorporates ex-convicts into its non-profit business model.

Built on the mindset that everybody deserves a second chance, Edwins takes it upon itself to teach these ex-cons, these human beings, how to gain employable skills and reintegrate into their communities. Edwins opened in November of 2013, and since has graduated almost 500 students. In addition to teaching them, Edwins also helps their students in basic medical care, clothing, legal services, employment searches, job coaching, and literacy. Yearly, 95% of the students find employment after graduation, and only 1.3% go back to jail. Now how about those amazing numbers? *cough this is why TEACHING and REHABILITATION is IMPORTANT when you’re going to incarcerate somebody instead of subjecting them to slave labor but ok cough*

Anyways… I also did want to come to Edwins to actually try the food. Honestly, I was sold on the restaurant when I received 10 compliments from different people, both staff and customers within minutes.

I was shocked at how packed Edwins was. Every table, even though it is a small restaurant, was full. And once a party got up to leave, another party was seated within minutes. The atmosphere was dressed up but still relaxed, and I enjoyed that. My young blogger self felt out of place taking pictures of everything, since the demographic was older, business/professional people, but oh well.

We spent probably way too long trying to pick out a wine, only to end up with a bright and clear wine from the mountain regions of France. I went in wanting to get the sea scallops (hence the choice of a white), but the burger was calling out my name a million times. And since I am now paleo-ish instead of seagan-ish (even though I do try to not eat meat on Fridays), I decided to opt for the burger (Le Burger), mainly for the theatrics of it. The burger and sauce is prepared table side.

Our burger prep person was named Richard. Richard is from Cleveland and he, like all the other staff members, is an ex-con who just wants to be better and give back. Richard will graduate in June and is deciding on which cruise ship he wants to accept an offer from. His childhood dream was to travel the world, and especially visit France, and now he will get to do that, as a chef aboard a cruise ship. Hey mom, let’s do all the cruises to see if we can find him, okay? Since Edwins does pride itself on teaching their students, I did ask questions about the history of the Diane sauce and the preparing techniques, and Richard went above and beyond answering the question. It was more than a simple memorization, but an actual application and comparing it to other techniques.

My food crew got the Confit de Canard (salted duck leg with mushroom risotto) and boy, was it actually salty. And the Saumon en Croute de Raitfort (salmon encrusted with horseradish and a cucumbers and cream sauce). Now, the white we picked out paired amazingly with the salmon and fresh cucumber sauce.

We wanted to get dessert, but we were just so full. So, obviously, next time, I’ll have my dinner and my dessert too. They also prepare the Banana Foster table side.

What’s your social impact?

Inn on Coventry

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I’ve been here once before, so I had a friend over for the weekend, so I decided to take her here. It’s yummy, it’s close, and it’s popular.

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Last time I came, I got the Maryland Style Crab Cake Benedict. Like I said, I’m seagan-ish. Not gonna turn down some poached eggs. Fun fact though, this was the first time I’ve had eggs in about 2 months. Not as good as I remember them, though. I used to eat eggs like 3 to 4 times a week: over medium, over medium omelets, hard boiled, regular omelet… It’s just so easy to make with a side of fish.

Anyways, this time around, I got the same exact thing. Mainly because that was the only fish option on the menu. But this time, I got a side of avocado.

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Now, does this look like fresh avocado to you?

Here’s a funny story: I once bought non-ripe avocado and I had a serious urge to make some guacamole. So, I decided to google “how to quickly ripen avocados.” First thing? “Put avocado in microwave for 30 seconds” or something like that. So what did I do? What Google told me to do. Do you know how it turned out? More or less, just like that picture above. It was okay when I was making my guacamole. I put some spices in that. But these avocados up there? Not spiced and you can taste the weird mushy, not- butter, kinda-plastic texture of it. The nice waiter noticed that we did not like (we had taken a bite out of it and, whew, our faces) the avocado, so she stuck it from our bill.

Besides for the avocado, the food was good. I love crab cakes, even outside of Maryland and the east coast, so no complaints from me.

Mitchell’s Fish Market

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It was a series of twists and turns that lead me to Mitchell’s Fish Market. I wanted to help out a friend in dire need, so I took her phone to the Apple Store. They SAID it would take a little over an hour, so to kill time, my friend and I walked around the Eton shopping center, and we were deciding between B Spot Burgers and Mitchell’s. Since I had B Spot the first time I was ever in Cleveland (and man, the fries were good!) and my friend was feeling a lighter lunch, we chose Mitchell’s.

I was looking extremely bummy. Ripped jeans, my snow boots (because it’s April and Cleveland is still cold with snow drizzles), an over-sized sweatshirt, and a beanie hat. I wasn’t expecting to go to a nicer place for lunch, let alone anywhere outside of the Apple store. But, I had the money, the lack of shame at that time, and the appetite, so does it really matter? (No).

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The menu was extensive for lunch. I could have gone for the lunch options, but none of the fried options were really appealing to me. So I availed myself to the larger menu. I’m not sure why I was so shocked about the amount of fish options, and preparations, I could have had. I’m simple, so I chose pan seared salmon and opted to get a side of french fries.

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But first, we probably had the best sourdough bread I have ever eaten in my whole entire life. Ever. It was fresh out of the oven, light, melts in your mouth. And the butter was my favorite type: whipped! Bread was so warm that the butter just melted perfectly. Everything was perfect. Normally I don’t pig out on the bread, but we asked for a second loaf, which we also ate with a fierce intensity — even though we were already stuffing ourselves with our own plates.

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Back to the salmon. It was okay. I honestly make a better salmon. I think the pan seared could have been a little more darkened. Maybe I should have asked for broiled salmon or specified for a darker pan sear? Anyways, like I said, I make a better salmon. Maybe I should have gotten some swordfish or scallops, or one of the featured items. Or next time I’ll just go back for dinner, so I don’t feel some type of way about spending $30 or so on my meal.

My friend’s plate looked very good. Sesame crusted pan seared tuna with quinoa and pureed peas, with a side of rice. To me, it seemed more like a dinner entree than a lunch special, but to each their own. I’m more of a light lunch, bigger dinner type person anyways.

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If I go back, I’m definitely going to try their cocktails. And not the salmon. Being seagan-ish is hard when going out, mainly because I make my fish the way I like it. Salmon, scallops, and tilapia are three things I think I make better than most restaurants (and my friends who have tried them have yet to tell me otherwise).

Market Garden Brewery

Happy Easter, friends! Decided to hop on over the Ohio City to get some yummy tummy brunch. I had wanted to go to Cleveland Chop, since they have $7 “pitchers” (maybe like 12 ounces or so) of mimosas and margaritas. BUT, it’s Easter Sunday, and I did not make my brunch reservations in time (aka a week or two ago), so I did not find a time at Cleveland Chop. I also wanted to go to Urban Farmer… But guess what? Also full! This is what happens when you underestimate Cleveland. But, by the glory of God, Market Garden Brewery had available times.

I’ve been here once before for dinner. Then, I got the buffalo cauliflower tacos (highly recommend!) and this cocktail drink with St. Germaine (one of my favorite liquors). My friend and I also split this tray of different mustards and meats, and a scotch egg. This was my first time having a scotch egg, and I really did enjoy it. But, this post is about the brunch we had! It was delicious. First, we started off with a flight of mimosas. From most favorite to least, it was passion fruit, strawberry, blackberry, and white peach. I LOVE passion fruit. LOVE. LOOVVVEEE. Every day when we were in Haiti, I would have all the passion fruit cocktails. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I don’t care. I had it.

MK 4 — From left to right… blackberry, strawberry, passion fruit, white peach.

So naturally, since we all loved the passion fruit mimosa (I love my cultured friends with good taste), we got a carafe of it.

MK 13 — passion fruit, it’s like i’m back in haiti

I’m not really an egg person when it comes to brunch. If I get eggs, it’s usually with some steak, or on top of a burger… But, I’m seagan(ish), so could not opt for my burger with a friend egg on top for brunch. Instead, I got the crab cake tacos. At first, I was suspect. I normally don’t eat crab cakes outside of Maryland, let alone the true east coast. But since I became seagan(ish), I had to let that curtain fall. Ohio has pretty good seafood. Where it comes from? No idea. Was it tasty? Yup!

MK 8 — not maryland crab cakes but yum nonetheless

So the crab cake tacos were topped with hollandaise sauce (hence the “ish” in seagan-ish), red cabbage, cilantro, tomatoes, and red onions. The dish came with a side of guacamole and pickled jalapeños. Uh, I would not have picked jalapenos again, but Market Garden’s guac? Definitely better than Chipotle’s, but not as good as mine. Stay tuned for posts about my guac.

My friend got the egg burrito with potatoes and chorizo, and her boyfriend got the same thing I did (honestly, the crab cake tacos were very VERY yummy, and I honestly would get it again, no shame).

I really do enjoy the vibe of Market Garden, and Ohio City! If it wasn’t too far away from my school, I would probably live in Ohio City. The other places (Porco, Bier Market, Bar Cento, Speakeasy, Townhall, Bakersfield…) are so cool, and I would just love to walk downstairs from my apartment to grab a craft drink or a paleo entree at Townhall, or a pitcher or margaritas from Baskersfield… Unfortunately, I’m in University Circle. Sucks. But, I will be doing more outings, most likely when I get back from summer vacation.

MK 6 — Oh! Dress by Elizabeth and James. So cute.

Until next time, Ohio City!