In mid-October, I found myself the lucky holder of a VIP box seat ticket to the Cleveland vs. San Antonio preseason game. The Cavs play in Quicken Loans Arena, also affectionately known as "the Q." In addition to watching a great team play ball (at least this year), there's Lebron James (King James), the Cavaliers Girls (all volunteers), the Scream Team, and Moondog and the Animal Control team. It's quite the show.
Checking out a Cavs game is a good idea for friends who want to get together, a date, or even family fun.
Price: approx. $20 (general admission)
Time: approx. 3 hours
www.nba.com/cavaliers/
--- OSU Buckeyes ---: recommended
I know this isn't IN Cleveland, but if you're a Big Ten sports fan, it might be worth your trouble to get in the car, head south on I-71 for a couple of hours and take in a football game at the "Shoe" at THEE Ohio State University. You can go online and check out the schedule to find a game worth driving down for. I recently went to the OSU v. Penn State game with the BF. Rather than attend the game, a large group of us tailgated near the Schottenstein Center. If you’re going to drive down I recommend actually getting a ticket, but I went to OSU so I didn’t mind just tailgating.
You can also take some time to tour the campus on your own, stop by a tailgate on High St., attend the Skull Session at St. John Arena (usually about 2 hours before kickoff), be a part of the tunnel to the Shoe, watch TBDBITL do Script Ohio, and Brutus and the Buckeye Cheerleaders run and tumble down the field before the team. Then after the game, you can always stick around in Columbus for dinner, etc. It's a whole day's event, so plan ahead.
Price: approx. $60 (non-student)
Time: approx. 3 1/2 hours
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/
--- Elephants on Parade ---: highly recommended
Apparently, every year when the Barnum and Bailey Circus comes to town (at Quicken Loans Arena), the circus puts their elephants and a couple of other animals on parade. I didn’t know about it until someone in my office asked if I was going down to watch the elephants. There were several of them lined up and parading down the middle of E. 9th in the middle of October! How fun!
People, young and old, lined along the street to watch them go by. I didn’t actually make it to the circus, but watching the elephants in the middle of downtown Cleveland made my day.
--- Restaurants Galore ---: highly recommended
Being the foodie that I am, I've been trying to get out and sample a few more of Cleveland’s restaurants. So far, here’s what I’ve found:
-Sushi Rock-
Absolutely EXCELLENT calamari! The best I’ve ever tasted. Sushi Rock is located in the “Warehouse District.” They marinate it in a sweet and sour type of sauce and it is delicious! They also serve shrimp that also comes in the same sauce. The crabcakes and lobster mashed potatoes are a must try, but I think most people go for the sushi. It’s not the best sushi I’ve ever tasted (to be fair, I’ve had some great sushi), but it’s very good and there’s a wide variety to choose from.
Every Wednesday they have half-price sushi, but it’s a bit of a mad house because everyone shows up. I recommend making a reservation, but FYI: the hostess won’t seat you unless your entire party is there. There are special rules on Wednesday because of the discount, such as everyone has to order at the same time and you can only order once for the whole night (just the sushi, not drinks and appetizers or meals).
Oh, and they have a valet service for $6 if you can’t find a place to park.
http://www.sushirockohio.com/
-Café Sausalito-
This place is a nice little café inside of the Galleria that happens to serve pretty good food, considering it’s in a mall. I tried their veal meatloaf (I know; I’d never heard of that either) and it was surprisingly savory and very tasty. It’s good for lunch if you work downtown and want to skip the Galleria food court, an early dinner after work (I think they close at 7PM), or just drinks.
http://www.cafesausalito.com/
-Zocalo Mexican Grill & Tequileria-
This place is located in the E. 4th St. Neighborhood and it’s run by a finalist of one of the “Next Top Chef” shows. It has a great atmosphere and good food. They feature tequila flights and some crazy top-shelf bottles of tequila. If you’re ever in the mood for Mexican, remember this: it’s more like an El Vaquero than a Chipotle (meaning it has more of an authentic taste).
http://www.zocalocleveland.com/
-Waterstreet Grill-
Two words: lobster quesadillas (tastes a lot better than it sounds). I had a great meal here with friends, but it definitely struck me more as the type of place you would go to drink and also eat as opposed to eat and also drink.
http://www.wsgrill.com/WSG/WS_Main2.asp
