Tommy's

 Veggie Burger-Not Your Grandmother's Burger

I love Tommy's. I have been going there since I was 14 years old, the first time my friend Jackie and I got on bikes and were old enough to go all the way to Coventry.

A few weeks ago I described a day spent with my daughter walking around Coventry on this blog. Tommy's was mentioned only in its absence from the itinerary. Today I went for lunch with my son, Aryeh.

The menu has been the same for all these years, with a few additions. I can walk in at any stage of my life and order a Lynne with bananas, a Dale, a Quincy, an MR 4, or a Jackson with Loui on the side and know what I am getting. Sandwiches are named after their orginators: "When the same people would make up sandwiches and order the same things every time, it was easier to just write thier names or initials down. That is how our menu was created. Each item is named after its creator. These lovely people represent the history of Coventry and now make their homes all over the world." (from Tommy's website.)

 Lynne with Bananas

I tell my kids the Becky is named after me. Becky: A wheat spinach pie stuffed with tofu salad and cheese. $8.95

 Black Raspberry Chip Yogurt Shake

Let's not even get started on the yogurt shakes. One Tommy's tradition (maybe it is just me) is to order the shake first and eat it with the meal. Nowhere else do you get dessert first.

Even the Fries are Great

In all the different places I have lived and in all my travels I have never seen a menu like this. Tofu and tempeh salad sandwiches, spinach pies in every shape, size and color. They know where to apply the baba ghanouj, the sesame seeds and the bananas. In short, it is hippy food at its finest. And has proved ageless-been around since I was 10 years old.

When I had an apartment in the Coventry area my roomie Lauren and I came here regularly. In the years I lived outside of Cleveland coming to Tommy's was a fixed item on my itinerary. It was a part of the feeling of home and it was always grounding to be able to eat the same sandwich in the same place. Now my oldest son lives in the Coventry area and it is his hang-out, wait-staffed by his friends. To be a Clevelander, at least an east sider, one SHOULD know the difference between an MR 3 and an MR 4.

A Day at Coventry

No, not the English Village in the County of West Midlands, but our very own Coventry Village in Cleveland, OH. Coventry is the Haight Ashbury of Cleveland, the Greenwich Village of the Burbs. The still thriving Record Revolution is where I bought ALL my records as a teen-ager. At least it was—and the imprint is still there. Part of the fun.

I had to take my car in for service yesterday and I brought Fat Rabbit along since she is on summer vacation and in need of entertainment until she takes off for overnight camp next week. I thought we could leave the car and walk down to the nearby Coventry Road for breakfast and coffee.

Little did I know they would keep my car for over four hours, so we wound up doing a major tour of Coventry Village, which, as it turns out was no problem. Here was our itinerary, stop by stop:

1. The Inn on Coventry

Around since 1981 and probably with the very same waitresses, the Inn on Coventry is a breakfast/lunch staple. We had the Meatless Eggs Sausalito (veggie eggs benedict using artichoke hearts and mushrooms-yum) and their famous Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, which are unbelievably good. Decent coffee, warm and quirky service and great food. Car still not ready so...

 2. Big Fun

 "A cornucopia of delights, a cathedral of counter-culture, a warehouse of nerdabilia and nostalgia."
We were looking for a diablo yoyo for my 15 year old, who has set juggling and yoyo tricks as one of his (many) summer goals. We struck out, but it is a great place for all sorts of bizarre toys. We did find a package of Star Trek Card Bubblegum Trading Cards. I bet that is some dried out bubble gum! Problem with the airconditioning in the car so....

3.  Macs Backs-Books Bookstore

Around as long as I can remember, and conveniently adjacent to the ever popular Tommy's Restaurant (which we didn't get to this day) for browsing while waiting for a table. Reading is our shared favorite hobby, so, of course we stopped by Macs Backs to support-the-indie-bookstore where ever we go. Proprietor Suzanne DeGaetano was on hand to make some fabulous book recommendations for my daughter, and even managed to enroll her in a teen girls book club. Can't wait for first meeting this fall! Agh, rust on the carburetor...

4.  Passport to Peru

Did anybody say Hippies? Passport to Peru sells incense, Indian dresses, Birkenstocks and Naot footwear. Been around since my childhood in the 70's. You get the idea. However, the clothing is really fabulous and well priced and we did find the perfect sun-dress for Fat Rabbit which she has been wearing all day. Recommendation to rotate the tires...

5. Phoenix Coffee

New location on corner of Hampshire and nice vibe. Good coffee, excellent pastries and free wifi. Coffee shop. But wait...leak in the car's air conditioning still not found, injecting dye...

6. Blush Boutique

Not really much of a clothes shopper, but a few weeks ago they had a sale rack of really cute and inexpensive retro dresses by Combat outside so we peeked in. Very cute and different fashions, Espe and Vfish, including some great shoes. If that is your thing it is worth knowing about...Is the car ready yet?

7. Attenson's Antique Store

Did I mention that it was 92 degrees outside and very humid. We did a quick peek into the (air-conditioned) Antique Store. Almost bought a "cool belt" (that was what the label said) and a cute demitasse for Fat Rabbit. Looked at some cut crystal tumblers for my non-existent crystal collection.

8. Picadilly Artisan Frozen Yogurt

My favorite frozen dessert place.

First of all, it is all organic and has vegan selections, so everyone in the family can indulge.

Second, the decor and design is fabulous, utilizing reclaimed materials from crates, the old Grog Shop Door as a counter top (another Coventry historical site), and large industrial whisks as light fixtures. Works from Cleveland Institute of Art (my son's college) are on the walls.

Third, it is delicious, with all the mix-ins, bells and whistles. And great music.

Wait, a missed call from 20 minutes ago that the car is ready! And we didn't even make it to Tommy's for dinner...

Food Truck Summer: Chef the Movie Followed by Live Tasting

  from IMDb.com

Irad and I went to see Chef a few nights ago and had a really good time. I went to see the movie because I had heard an intriguing piece about it on npr. No saving-humanity-from-aliens or impassioned-testimony-to-the-power-of-social justice, or excruciatingly-beautiful-portrayal-of-love-and-betrayal, or, or, or...it was just about a guy and a truck.

A guy and a truck who is reunited with his passion, and along the way repairs his relationship with his ex-wife and child. A lot of food porn, good tunes and feel-good.

Great cast with hilarious cameos by Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey, Jr.,The beautiful Scarlett Johansson has a great supporting role and Sofia Vergar is gorgeous and wonderful as Chef's wife. I particularly enjoyed his two sous chefs—John Leguizamo and Bobby Cannavale.

Just to give fair coverage, my sister whose opinion I always respect, HATED this movie and found it trite and cliche. She even sent me a review to support her viewpoint, written by some guy named Scrooge, or something...  So clearly not for everyone. Or you have to be in the right mood.

I am so unaccustomed to a feel-good movie. I kept waiting for there to be some eruption of violence or for the kid to get dangerous burns from the fryer in the truck while the parents rediscover their connection to each other while huddling together in the emergency room.  But the movie never went there.  Nothing but a good story—guy hits rock bottom, guy climbs back out— and some fun. I had many laugh-out-loud moments! Social Media also plays a role bringing in some topical relevance. And it made me want to go out and find the first food truck.....

[cue Food Truck, stage left]

Coincidentally, this week we had a Food Truck Monday at a local outdoor mall. I went with Amnon and we enjoyed experiencing the food-truck-craze live and off the screen. Very clever initiative to create a bit of hipster vibe out in the burbs. Within 20 minutes of kick-off,  Legacy Village went from ghost town to mob scene. We sampled the goods at several trucks, including some really horrible sushi-as-junk-food from the Sushi Mobile (hate to pan anyone publicly but sushi-ritos? really?)  Our favorite was Zydeco Bistro Food Truck. Interesting and varied menu organized around a New Orleans theme, cooked while you wait, replete with awesome hush puppies!

from Zydecobistrollc.com

 I felt like I was in the movies...well, almost.

Terminal Tower: Observation Deck

picture from Don Iannone at flickr.com

Over Memorial Day Weekend we "vacationed" at home. This included a neighborhood barbeque, a movie ("Chef" - highly recommended), first outdoor swim of the season, and a trip downtown to the Terminal Tower.

Though I grew up in Cleveland I had never been up to the 42nd floor Observation Deck, which is open on week-end afternoons for the shocking price of $5 a peep. We took 13 year old Fat Rabbit, who also had never been up the tower, though both boys had gone during 4th grade class field trips.

I have been through the Terminal Tower Mall on several occasions, usually rushing to a movie or an event, so I have never REALLY paid attention to the detail. It is a stunning building with a panoramic history of Cleveland. With our "vacation" heads on, we really noticed the beautiful foyer as we entered.

foyer as we saw it                           ceiling detail

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After wandering around a bit and appreciating how beautiful the building is, magnificent, really, we bought our tickets and rode two elevators up to the 42nd floor. The observation deck had been restored to its original decor:

The compass came in handy for orientation, though the position of the lake is always a big tip-off in Cleveland! Um, north.  It was a clear day and visibility was extraordinary.

Cuyahoga river snaking back on itself

 My thought was that if this were the Empire State Building on a clear day, we would have waited in line for hours and vied with crowds for a view. But here in Cleveland, we went straight up and had the whole observation deck to ourselves. And the views were no less stunning.