Chicago Tribune Covers Cleveland Dining Experience

World-famous food writer, Iron Chef judge and longtime Clevelander Michael Ruhlman recently gave Chicago Tribune reporter - Monica Eng - a true taste of life in Cleveland.

In the Jan. 16 article, Eng gives a first-hand account of a personal culinary tour with Ruhlman that featured such spots as Iron Chef Champ Michael Symon’s Lola and Lolita, Great Lakes Brewing Company, The Flying Fig, The Velvet Tango Room, Sokolowski's University Inn and the Westside Market, as well as an exquisite homemade breakfast cooked by Ruhlman.

Eng poses the following question in her article:

“So you might think that this dashing uber-foodie would make his home in a culinary capital such as New York, San Francisco or even Chicago, right? Nope. Cleveland.”

The article also states, “The national food press -- Gourmet, Food & Wine, Esquire and Playboy.com -- heaped praise on several Cleveland spots this year for best new restaurant, best steakhouse, best farm-to-table programs and great new neighborhood eateries.”

Ruhlman’s notable quotes include:

"What I love about Cleveland is that it is so eccentric...There's no other place like it. People are so quirky."

"Our move back here was supposed to be temporary, but I didn't realize how much of a draw this place has for me…I just like living in Cleveland. I know who I am here."

Cleveland?!?
Former Mistake by the Lake is getting national attention as a hot new dining city. So we sent our intrepid reporter, who had never been there, even to see the Polka Hall of Fame.
By Monica Eng, Chicago Tribune reporter
January 16, 2008
Click here for the full story

Fox 8 Features The Avenue District

Cleveland Fox 8 news reporter Angele Ringo visited The Avenue District on Thursday, Jan. 24, for a hard hat tour of 1211 St. Clair Ave.

Ringo conducted interviews with Nathan Zaremba, president of Zaremba, Inc., and Mark Panzica, Panzica Construction project manager, and reported live from The Avenue District for the 5 and 6 p.m. broadcasts. The Avenue District segment ran five times between Thursday evening and Friday morning.

Fox 8 News also provided links to the segment and The Avenue District Webcam on MyFoxCleveland.com. Click on the screenshot below to view the segment (available as of 1/28/08).

Townhome Building 2 Goes Vertical in The Avenue District

Downtown Cleveland’s premier walkable neighborhood continues to take shape. Foundation work is complete and framing work has begun on Building 2 at the townhomes site, which will bring 10 additional for-sale units to The Avenue District.


Demand remains strong for the townhomes, as many young professionals and Ruppies have been attracted to the urban living lifestyle with spacious three-story floor plans. Each townhome includes the convenience of a two-car garage, plus a rooftop deck with views of Cleveland’s skyline.


(Below: Construction of lofts and penthouses at 1211 St. Clair can be seen centered in the background.)


Meanwhile, the lofts and penthouses at 1211 St. Clair continue to draw interest from buyers as construction reaches the 10th and final floor.


Zaremba, Inc. and Panzica Construction are expecting to top off the mixed-use structure later this month, with occupancy scheduled to begin in fall 2008.

Penthouse Views from The Avenue District

Rising up into the downtown Cleveland skyline, construction of 1211 St. Clair at The Avenue District has reached the 10th and final floor. The 9th and 10th floors will feature eight penthouses ranging from 1,870 square feet to 2,700 square feet.

Following are images taken from the 10th floor on Friday, Jan. 11:

(Below: Looking east down St. Clair.)

(Below: A peek into Browns Stadium, just a few blocks away.)

(Below: Channel 3 headquarters, Burke Lakefront Airport and Lake Erie)

Meanwhile, Panzica Construction is making excellent progress on the 50 loft units at 1211 St. Clair. As you can see in the images below (also from Jan. 11), the first phase of mechanical, electrical and plumbing is underway on the 2nd floor.



Stay tuned for details on a top-off date announcement for 1211 St. Clair . . .

The End of Sprawl?

Is the sprawl that has continually pushed Americans further away from the urban cores since World War II coming to an end?

That's the question posed by Eduardo M. Penalver, associate professor at Cornell Law School, in a recent Washington Post column, "The End of Sprawl?"

Penalver, who teaches property and land-use law, points out that, "American sprawl was built on the twin pillars of low gas prices and relentless demand for housing . . ."

However, according to Penalver, as gas prices continue rising, long commutes are becoming less desirable, and, "the price people are willing to pay for homes in remote areas will fall."

Meanwhile, according to the New Urbanist News (as cited in the article), "homes close to urban centers or that have convenient access to transit seem to be holding their value better than houses in car-dependent communities at the urban edge."

Penalver ends with a compelling statement on returning to walkable, urban neighborhoods:

"We may discover that it's not so bad living closer to work, in transit- and pedestrian-friendly, diverse neighborhoods where we run into friends and neighbors as we walk to the store, school or the office. We may even find that we don't miss our cars and commutes, and the culture they created, nearly as much as we feared we would."

Source: "The End of Sprawl?" by Eduardo M. Penalver