City of Superheroes

Cleveland is completely overflowing with superheroes.

In recent years, the Avengers had to intervene first as Public Square and Terminal Tower were taken hostage and strangely turned into a German city, and then they pretty much destroyed East 9th St just south of the Rock Hall.  Just this week, Captain America was defeating some nemesis, which really messes up traffic.

Cleveland has become the favorite filming location for latest summer superhero blockbusters, but we still celebrate our hometown hero: Superman, long rumored to be from the planet Krypton, the man of steel is a native Clevelander.

Superman began in 1933 as a daily comic by Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel, who met in high school in the East Side Glenville Neighborhood. Siegel and Schuster were long denied credit for their creation, but Cleveland has a long memory. You can find out more about our superhero heritage at Carol and  John's Comic book store in the Kamm's Corner neighborhood, and you can even pick up a map of local Superman heritage sites.

Dollar Dog night

So once upon a time, 13 May 2011 to be precise, the Tribe had a Friday night game against the Mariners. The confluence of random discounts, dollar dogs, and general impulsivity resulted in Glenn driving in to Cleveland for a ballgame.

At 24-13, the Tribe was off to a hot start. Fausto Carmona - more or less our ace - took the mound against Doug Fister. In retrospect, you know this was an inauspicious beginning since Fausto turned out not to be Fausto at all, but some guy named Rob who had adopted a false identity.

Because it was a last-minute trip, Glenn had no time to prepare a proper scorecard and ended up using the woefully inadequate ones sold at Gate A. Adding insult to injury (because he finds it morally objectionable to pay $1 on a stadium pencil) Glenn scored the game with a permanent marker. This led to the single most error-ridden scorecard ever recorded.

Seated in the lower reserve among the "Choo Crew" (our right fielder), Jennifer and Glenn watched the Tribe come out to an early lead, 2-1 over Seattle into the 7th. Fausto, or Roberto, then gave up a single, a home run, a double, a walk, and another single... allowing Seattle a 4-2 lead. Tony Sipp pitched the 8th, then came back out for a turbulent 9th inning.

As the Indian's came up to bat, we found ourselves facing off against Seattle's closer, Brandon League. Leadoff man Michael "Dr Smooth" Brantley hit a double. The shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrerra followed with another double, scoring Brantley and bringing the Indians to within 2 runs at 4-2. Choo advanced Cabrerra with a groundout, but it was one down. Carlos Santana, just emerging as a power hitter, came to the plate. He worked League to a full count before hitting a weak grounder that went 4-3 for the out. Two out. The designated hitter came to the plate, the powerful but oft-injured Travis Hafner, or "Pronk" as we called him. The first pitch was fanned by a massive missed swing. Things did not look good. Only the promise of fireworks kept the crowd at ease. But on the next pitch, a baseball miracle occurred, the likes of which we haven't seen again. Pronk crushed the ball to deep center field for a 2-run scoring walk-off home run.

The Cleveland faithful went wild, and amid the random fist-bumps and high-fives by unknown bros, Glenn turned to cheer with his lovely princess. With a big smile, she looked up at him and asked: "Do you want to marry me?" Glenn paused for a beat, laughed and said of course.

As you know by now; to everyone's surprise, she pulled out hardware. Literal hardware, two hose clamps, and put one on his finger. Just to "cover the bases" (yuk yuk) she produced the flat head screwdriver necessary to adjust them to the perfect fit.

Waterloo Village

Waterloo Ave in the Collinwood Neighborhoodis one of Cleveland's latest comeback neighborhoods. Home of the Beachland Ballroom and well served by the arts organization ArtsCollinwood, Waterloo boasts a still growing population of unique boutiques, venues, and restaurants. It may also have the highest concentration of used record stores anywhere in Ohio. For more information and stories, see the freshwater cleveland listings.

Little Italy

Need a cannolli? Go to Little Italy. Great bakeries, boutiques and galleries. Little Italy is a fairly compact neighborhood, so it's a good option for a stroll and a quick tour to explore. In the evenings, it's worth it just for the smells of all the restaurants. On the East Side along Mayfield Road.

Coventry Village

Coventry Village is in Cleveland Heights on the East Side, just up Mayfield Rd. from Little Italy and Case Western Reserve University.

The neighborhood has gone through dozens of identities over the years. Once it was a counter-cultural center, at another time it was where punk rockers came for shows and to buy records. In the end, Coventry ended up one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city, where, as the Coventry Village website describes it, "The diversity of the neighborhood brings purple-haired punk rockers into contact with elderly Russian immigrants, yuppie families, students from nearby Case Western Reserve University and John Carroll University".

Coventry is a destination for bookstores and restaurants like Tommy's. Phoenix Coffee has a cafe there along with a number of other restaurants.

The Root Cafe

The Root in Lakewood is another fabulous place for coffee, with a special focus on providing fresh, organic and vegetarian options.

Once upon a time the building was an original Phillips Vacuum store, and the owners have gone to great lengths to preserve and restore the unique character and architectural features, ending up with a space with a little of everything. It's a great location to relax and enjoy a scone and some coffee.

In Lakewood at 15118 Detroit Avenue

Gypsy Beans & Baking

Gypsy is a coffee shop in Gordon Square, at the corner of Detroit and W. 65th. Open, well lit space, good place to work or chat. But. The muffins. In fact, all the baked goods. Are. Fabulous. (particularly the muffins.)