Cleveland’s food trucks driving dining innovation

by Paul Brady on

A group of pioneering Cleveland cooks is taking advantage of a new government policy initiative to spur the growth of their small businesses. As of this summer, food trucks will be allowed into downtown Cleveland, thanks to a temporary ordinance that lets them serve curbside in a part of the city previously closed to them.

Credit for Cleveland’s rapidly growing truck scene is due to Chris Hodgson, the owner of Dim and Den Sum, who’s on the roster for Food Network’s second season of The Great Food Truck Race, which premiers August 14. (The show is in the process of being filmed, and the gossip around the city is that he’s one of the two finalists, if not the winner.)

So I hit the streets to map the food truck landscape.

Traveling the American Road – Cleveland’s Food Trucks


Hodgson started his truck before being joined by three others, StrEat Mobile Bistro, UmamiMoto and Jibaro, that form a sort of core-four food trucks in Cleveland. Zydeco Bistro, out of Wadsworth, Ohio, and the truck from Cleveland’s Fahrenheit restaurant round out the offerings, with Traveling Treats and Oh! Babycakes driving dessert.

But there’s no innovation without growing pains, it seems, as brick-and-mortar restaurants have taken to the local press to voice concerns about their own business interests. One pizzeria claims its business is off 25 percent. But food truck crews say there’s room for everyone.

Chef Oleh Holowatyj, who we spoke to in front of Dim and Den Sum as it was parked on Ninth Street Street, voiced a common refrain: “You’re not going to pass up a sit-down dinner for a $7 taco.”

Jeffrey Winer of StrEat credited the city council for creating opportunities for entrepreneurs when I talked to him on East 12th Street. “Councilman Cimperman, who is the councilman for downtown, has really gotten behind us. I think he really understands that food trucks aren’t a danger to any restaurant. We’re actually going to bring more people to the area.”

At least one traditional restaurateur is hanging his hopes on Clevelanders love of eating out. Jonathon Sawyer, who already operates the wildly popular Greenhouse Tavern, will open Noodlecat this summer. The ramen-and-Japanese steamed bun house will be downtown on Euclid Avenue, a stretch known as much for empty storefronts as exciting dining.

Says Chef Sawyer about the neighborhood, “The thing that East 4th has that most other streets in Cleveland don’t have is that the landlords own, from end to end on that block, every single storefront, even going [west] toward Public Square on Euclid. So we get a sense of community.” He credits, as does StrEat’s Winer, the work of Joe Cimperman, a city councilman that’s helped the industry-on wheels or otherwise-thrive downtown.

The combination of innovative offerings and experimental policy making is turning Cleveland into a dining destination-and building the economy, Sawyer says. “We’re not necessarily as dense as San Francisco or Chicago or New York City, but we have the raw products and the talented chefs to really elevate our terroir to be much more than it is right now. If we keep having awesome customers and people keep paying attention to us, there’s a lot more that Cleveland can do.”

The Twelve Tribes Cafes: are they worth it?

by Elizabeth Seward on


Visit the website representing the members of the religious group, The Twelve Tribes, and they’ll cheerily tell you all about themselves. Visit one of the cafes the group, now located in the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia, owns and the workers will warmly welcome you and feed you while you uncover the details of their religious beliefs in pamphlets and papers, some of which are difficult to miss because they’re tacked on bathroom walls. Check out the Yelp reviews for the respective cafes, bakeries, and delis and you’ll find myriad mixed reviews. Some people leave before they order, scampering off scared by the uncommon religious propaganda. But other people seem to love the cafes, no matter their ideological differences.

As I write this, I’m sitting upstairs at Common Grounds–a Twelve Tribes cafe in Hyannis, Massachusetts. To follow is the breakdown of what I know so far about these people, their cafes, and whether or not you should drink their juice.

%Gallery-126493%Who they are:
An international confederation of religious communities. Founded by Gene Spriggs in 1972, the group’s original base was Chattanooga, Tennessee. The group attempts to recreate the First Century Church from the Book of Acts.

What they say:
(Everything below was copied directly either from their website, free paper, or menu)

  • We follow the Messiah, Yahshua, the son of the living God. He gave up His life for us so that our sins could be forgiven. This is why we love Him. Our love for Him is expressed in our daily care for each other…
  • We believe and follow the teachings of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, in a very real and practical way. We believe that God is good and just, and will judge all men according to their deeds…
  • We live together in households, clans, and tribes, sharing our possessions in common. We strongly support marriage, and we teach our children at home. We dress modestly, eat wholesome food, work hard, pray together, and celebrate our life in music and dance…
  • We hate the death, war, strife, hatred, starvation, murder, injustice, greed, and selfishness that is leading the whole world to destruction. We want to see all of this come to an end. We want many, many more people to hear the voice of hope we have heard, to come and see the life. We are thrilled to be able to invite you to come and see that it is a reality.
  • Community, as we use the term, means those who love one another so greatly that they are of one heart and mind, holding all things as common property, living together, taking their meals together, devoted to one another because they’re devoted to the One who saved them from death and misery.
  • The ones we are most concerned about are the ones who think they are fine.
  • We live in an environment that is separate from the world while remaining right in the middle of it.
  • If you worry that many catastrophes may happen soon, you’re right.
  • We regard all hardship as discipline, which will eventually cause us to be conformed into the likeness of our Master.
  • When the world sees Yahshua’s disciples dwelling together in unity, denying themselves for the good of their brothers, it proves something.
  • A woman is to desire her husband and let him rule over her. She is to bear their children in pain. A man is to toil and sweat to provide for his family, not live off the labor of others. He is to rule over his wife. Sexual relationships are to be limited to the covenant of marriage.

What others say:

  • “I was once a member of the twelve tribes and I tell you now, they are a high-control cult that twists scripture to suit their own needs. As far as you must accept Jesus, they consider him a demon. Further, when I left the cult they told me I would be dead in two years because the holy spirit cannot live outside of their community. That was three years ago. Stay away from this group and if you can organize prayer groups to disband them I recommend it. The world will be a much better place without them…for one.”—Mark.
  • “I do not plan on joining this group, however they are great people and I suggest going and finding out what they are really about. I may go back to find out more with the same people, simply because it seems they live a simple, yet fulfilling lifestyle.”—Observer.

Check out other comments on the group on these websites:

GoodMason.com
TwelveTribes-Ex.com
TheAntiTourist.com

More or less, what others say is mixed. The Twelve Tribes appears to be a polarizing group. People seem to think they’re either a manipulative cult or good people with a good message.

What they serve:
Pretty undeniably delicious food and beverages. Also, “the fruit of the spirit”.

Where they are: Check out their own list of where they are located.

So… is it worth it? I say yes. The food is good, the wifi is strong, the caffeine is even stronger, and, generally speaking, the two places I’ve dined in were nice, welcoming, and comfortable. I say go, but go with information about the people who operate the cafe in hand.

Contemplating the risks and rewards of extreme adventure

by Kraig Becker on

This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Outside in Aspen event held annually in Aspen, Colorado. The three-day festival is a gathering of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts who get together to enjoy some fantastic activities such as hiking, climbing, and mountain biking, while basking in the great spring weather of the Rocky Mountains.

One of the highlights of this year’s Outside in Aspen was a symposium held on the final day, during which a panel of elite adventure athletes discussed the risks and rewards of extreme adventure, something that they were all very familiar with. The hour-long discussion gave them the opportunity to share their own stories and to give the audience a glimpse of why they go to the remote corners of the Earth to pursue the activities that they love.

The panel consisted of kayakers Brad Ludden, and Ben Stooksberry, mountaineer and adventure filmmaker Michael Brown, professional skier Nick DeVore, and three-time Everest summiteer Melissa Arnot. Each of these speakers shared stories, experiences, and thoughts on what compels them to take sometimes substantial risks in order to accomplish their goals. For instance, Arnot had arrived in Aspen straight from a Kathmandu hospital where she had been recovering from pneumonia, which she had contracted while attempting to climb Makalu and Mt. Everest. Similarly, Stookesberry talked about a recent kayaking expedition to Africa, during which one of his teammates was pulled from his boat by a crocodile, and was never seen again.
Sitting in the small crowd that had gathered to listen to the panel, it occurred to me that the risks involved in these adventures were very real and tangible, while the rewards were often more nebulous and personal. Those rewards were something that were far more difficult to explain to people who didn’t “get” why someone would push themselves to the extreme just to reach the summit of a mountain or paddle an unexplored river. The panelists had weighed those risks many times in their lives, and yet they still found reasons to go ahead with their expeditions, saying the incredible sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction was worth the dangers they faced.

Several of the speakers mentioned times when they had taken a look at both the risks and the rewards and elected to not move ahead with their plans. In the case of Arnott, she turned back on both Makalu and Everest this spring because due to illness. Both Ludden and Stooksberry cited whitewater rapids that they portaged around to avoid the inherent dangers as well. each of them noted that those choices were the ones that stuck with them long after they had gone home, often leaving them with a sense of unfinished business.

For many, it is difficult to understand what drives these adventurers to do the things they do, and oddly enough, they didn’t seem to have a complete understanding of it themselves. When asked to explain it to the audience, these adventures would often rambled on with some explanation about challenging themselves or pushing their limits, but in the end, it really boiled down to the fact that they were most happy while out on their expeditions, even if that meant suffering for weeks on end without the creature comforts of home.

Now, happiness is something that we can all relate to. After all, we all want to be happy in our daily lives, whether we’re at work or home or off on some amazing trip. We may not understand all the risks and rewards that go into climbing a mountain or paddling a raging river, but we all know those feelings of happiness and contentment that we get when we’re doing something that we really really love. In the end, it doesn’t really matter if we find those feeling on the top of a remote Himalayan peak or sitting in our favorite comfy chair in the safety of our living room. The important thing is that we do find it, and grab on to it as best we can.

Now that sounds like an extreme adventure.

Virgin Atlantic celebrates 25 years flying to Miami

by Chris Owen on

4.5 Million passengers later, Virgin Atlantic is celebrating 25 years of flying to Miami. Sir Richard Branson walked the wing of a Virgin Atlantic Airways 747-400 at Miami International Airport this week to celebrate 25 years of flying from London to Miami.

“This is a fantastic milestone in Virgin Atlantic’s history,” Branson said reports the DailyMail. “Miami was the second route Virgin Atlantic launched two years after the airline began and to think that we are now a world-class airline with 32 long-haul destinations is a dream come true.”

In celebration, the airline is offering fares from London to Miami for as low as $281 per person each way during it’s 25 year anniversary sale . Originally good through June 15th, the sale has been extended through June 21.
Since starting to fly the London to Miami route in 1986, the airline’s fleet has flown a total of 67 million miles to and from Miami and served guests over 5 million of their signature meals and ice cream. Passengers have enjoyed 165,000 bottles of champagne with the millionth glass supposedly served aboard the June 15 flight.

“Miami is a key route for Virgin Atlantic” Branson said “with many business travelers commuting on the route each year and holiday makers jetting out to enjoy Miami and its many beautiful beaches. Our promise to our passengers when we launched the route was to offer a fantastic quality of service and innovation onboard at great value and I believe that we continue to fulfill that promise 25 years later.”

Virgin Atlantic also celebrated this week the 10th anniversary of flights between London and Las Vegas with Branson and the world’s most famous burlesque performer Dita Von Teese, at an airside photocall as they walked the wing of the plane on arrival.

Since June 2000 Virgin Atlantic has flown 2 million passengers to the destination, with its twice-weekly service increasing to a daily flight in may 2006 due to the route’s popularity. Today, the airline is also announcing the launch of twice-weekly flights from Manchester to Las Vegas in April 2011.

Here’s to 10 and 25 more Sir Richard!

“B-cycles” comes to Boulder: grassroots bike share program ideal way for visitors to explore

by Laurel Miller on

As a former resident of Boulder, Colorado (If you regularly read my posts, you may have the impression that I’ve lived everywhere. You are correct.), I can attest to this lovely college town’s biking obsession. Boulder has more than 300 miles of dedicated bikeways, and there are almost as many bikes as cars.

One of the reasons Boulder is so bike-friendly–besides its firm stance on reducing carbon emissions–is that the terrain is ideal for every kind of wheeled pursuit. There are tree-lined urban paths; flat; hard-core mountain trails, and lots of rural roadway.

But Boulder isn’t just for hobby cyclists; this year it’s even home for one of the Tour de France teams. Competitive road cycling and mountain biking are much like oxygen in Boulder: essential for existence. Unless you’re me. I’ve always been a cruiser bike kind of gal, and I always will be. And downtown Boulder is just right for that type of low-key peddling.

This is why I was so delighted when, in town on business this past week, I discovered B-cycles. Launched on May 20, this non-profit community bike share program (a growing movement nationwide), is an inexpensive, fun, and active way to get around town if you’re a visitor. There are a number of conveniently located B-stations downtown, so you can just grab-and-go. When you’re done, re-dock at the nearest station and walk away.

Users must buy an initial five dollar membership fee online or at any B-station (kiosks accept debit or credit cards). Then you’re free to peddle off into the sun…shine. There are three types of memberships–24-hour, 7-day, and unlimited. The 24-hour rentals are just five bucks. It’s a lot cheaper and more practical than a bike rental for the casual rider.

%Gallery-126471%These are some sweet bikes, too. Spanking new crimson cruisers, equipped with metal baskets (big enough to fit a 12-pack; Boulder is also home to some of the nation’s top craft breweries).

If you’re a casual rider like me, I highly recommend my personal favorite, the Boulder Creek Bike Path. Its a five-mile meander along gorgeous Boulder Creek (the water levels are raging right now, so you can watch kayakers running the rapids. There are also calmer spots prime for tubing. Don’t forget to pack a picnic (those baskets hold more than just beer, you know); there are loads of creekside tables and rocks just right for a bike break.

P.S. If more serious biking is your thing, Valmont Bike Park–the largest free urban bike park in America–opened June 11 in Boulder. It’s a 40-acre off-road bike park with competition-grade cyclo-cross racing trails, big dirt jumps, dual slalom tracks, pump tracks, and slope-style trails.

[Photo credits: Laurel Miller]