Food Is Social (Media) 101

Yesterday I presented a workshop at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association annual conference called 'Food Is Social: Using New Media to Market Your Food Business'. More people attended than I had handouts, so I promised to reprint my notes here.

Why Invest Time in Social Media?

“Four out of every five people who have access to the internet across the world use social networks in some form, many several times a day, some on multiple devices.” Linda Abraham, comScore Co-Founder and CMO & Michael Lazerow, Buddy Media CEO and Founder

“Consumers trust information they receive through blogs more than Facebook or Twitter.” Social Media Examiner, December 2011

“In the U.S., social networks and blogs reach nearly 80 percent of active U.S. Internet users and represent the majority of Americans' time online.” Technorati, October 2011.

Where and How To Start

Website (4-8 hours to set up) Represent yourself online with a website that contains, at a minimum:

• Information about you, the personality
• Products/Services you offer
• Contact Information
• Links to other pertinent online profiles/social media

If starting from scratch, choose Wordpress for a free, simple, but robust software. Upgrade to ‘YOURNAME.com’ for $12/year. Under Settings/Reading select ‘a static post’ to be your front page. Add other information as pages.

Blog (1 hour per article, ideally updated once per week at a minimum) Consumers trust and share blog articles. Use yours to promote:

• New products or services
• Timely information, such as farmer’s market locations
• Press/reviews received
• Information and articles that support the values of your business
• Recipes featuring your products

If using wordpress.com, this timely information will be entered as ‘posts’. For best Internet search-ability, categorize each post and add tags.

Good blog posts (both in terms of readability for users and search engines) have:

• Specific and catchy titles
• Naturally included keywords
• Length between 200-750 words
• At least one picture, with an alt tag that includes keywords
• A conversation starter if you are looking for blog comments

Google Places (30 minutes to set up, nearly no maintainance) Help customers find your location by claiming a Google Place. Simply click the 'Get Started' button and follow the simple directions to be included on their online and mobile map searches. Be ready to add a few pictures, your hours, payment information, and a short description of your business. You will need a google account to set up this profile.

Facebook Page (30 minutes to set up, 10 minutes maintenance daily) Navigate to http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php to set up your page. Be ready to include a profile photo (and a few more if you have them) and share information about your location and products/services.

Once your Facebook page is set up, participate daily, if you can. Each time you check in, respond to any questions or messages. ‘Like’ comments that people give you. Share a status message, which could include:

• Short blurb about what you did that day
• Link to an article about your industry
• Announcement about a future event
• Quote from which you draw inspiration
• Photograph of something around your farm/kitchen/facility

Twitter (5 minutes to set up, 10 minutes maintenance daily) Twitter makes it easy to set up your account and then you can start sharing messages in 140 characters. Share tidbits about what you’re doing right now, links to blog posts/events/facebook, and retweet other’s info. Converse with twitter followers by starting a message with @user.

The real power of twitter, however, is in the search. Go to search.twitter.com and look up keywords related to your business. Answer questions if people are asking, follow competitors and friends, converse with partners like @OEFFA, @4H, seed companies, governmental officials, etc.

Keys for Social Sharing

Simple is better - flash graphics, music, and multi-paged sites can be fun when done well, but customers will understand you better when the message is simple and presented cleanly.

Keep mobile in mind - The use of smartphones is growing. Design your site and messages with mobile users in mind and make sure nothing on your site is too complicated for phones to view. Wordpress is easily viewed on most smartphone devises.

Converse and thank - Think of social networks as a way to have public conversations and share as you would at a dinner party. Thank those who follow you and those who share your information generously.

Promote genuinely - Too much self-promotion is inauthentic. Share a balance of information, news, links to other trusted sites, and fun.

Advanced Social Networking

QR Codes QR codes are scannable graphics that link a mobile device to a designated web URL. The destination can be an introduction page, introduction video, or more info about a specific product or service. Museums are using them to give more details about an artwork. Realtors publish QR codes on house signs to link to online picture galleries. Musicians link QR codes to current videos.

Create yours at http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ for your website or a welcome page for a specific event. If you are packaging goods for an event location where you will not be present, create one for each product variety that leads to more info for customers.

Analytics Once you have your website established, you will want to know who’s visiting.

Set up a free account at http://www.google.com/analytics/ to track data. Learn about your pageviews, location of users, keywords, etc. Use this data to provide information that people request, i.e. write more about popular keywords. You can also track how changes in your website organization or promotion are working and who is sending traffic to you.

Wordpress has their own set of data tools. These are less robust but still useful if you don’t want to bother with Google.

Other social networks Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Flickr, Google+ and hundreds of other social networks are out there. Explore them when you have time and use them if they will work for your business.

Remember that social networks are like all other tools - they only work for you when you enjoy working with them.

Also keep in mind that I offer writing and social media services at reasonable rates. If you want to have a social media presence but don't want to set up and maintain it yourself, contact me and let's find a way to work together.

Downtown Cincinnati {Road Trip Roundup}

Just a week after visiting Cleveland, we hit the road again for two nights in Cincinnati. Our trip last Friday - Sunday was motivated by my participation in the 5B Conference and Cincy Winter Beer Fest. In between drinking and talking about blogging, we visited Terry's Turf Club, the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History & Science, the Cincinnati Art Museum, Senate Pub, and Findlay Market.

Terry's Turf Club

The Restaurant Widow (RIP and may Lisa write again soon!) has a thorough review of the burgers at Terry's. I want to add some footnotes on the experience beyond the food.

The decor at Terry's is an expertly curated array of sign memorabilia from the last 100 years. Much of the neon, posters, and signs are of local Midwestern brands. Three classic Bevador beer coolers chill a great selection of craft brews. There is no better way to distract your dining partners from the delicious meat juice dripping down your arm than to point at one of the thousand neato things on the wall.

Staff at Terry's also gets major props for providing first class diner service. They are welcoming without being overbearing, quick without rushing, and a tight knit group. Turnover is obviously very low as we've seen the same people working each time we go and we overheard a waitress say they don't even accept applications because openings are so rare.

Go for the burgers, go for the museum-quality memorabilia, go for the service - just go!

Cincinnati Museum of Natural History & Science

The Cincy Museum Center first wows you with its amazing location. On a hill overlooking a valley in one direction and city in another, a family can spend a long time just taking in the scenery. Step inside, and you are taken aback again by the stunning Art Deco architecture of the old Union Terminal. 22-foot tall mosaics illustrating the history of Cincinnati line the rotunda of the common area. Witnessing the beauty of the Union Terminal is reason enough to go to the History, Children's or Science Museum housed in the building.

Though the Natural History & Science Museum was largely unoccupied (it was late in the afternoon during a snowfall), we managed to lose each other in a darkened exhibit. I walked through the hall several times looking for Alex and nothing caught my attention; I couldn't even tell you what the hall intended to display.

We reunited to go through the limestone cave experience.  The recreated limestone cave was safe for kids* to touch, climb, and explore. We all enjoyed walking through without the worry of disturbing a natural system. *This cave might not be safe for rambunctous toddlers or early walkers as there are many steps, slippery areas, and small pools.

The dinosaur hall was fun for Lil. I found it circutous in routing and information beyond observation of fossils hard for a child to absorb. Several interactive exhibits did not function fully.

We all enjoyed the Nature's Trading Post, though we brought nothing to trade. Apparently those in the know bring in natural treasures (hopefully collected under legal circumstances) to trade for others. They had a great collection of rocks, fossils, and shells for trading as well as live animals and displays of nature collections like the eggs pictured.

Overall, the quality of the Natural History & Science Museum did not live up to the beauty of the building. It was a fine way to spend an hour, but next time we will check out the children's museum instead. As a reciprocal museum, admission is free for COSI members.

Cincy Winter Beerfest and 5B

I like beer, it's true. But at the Cincy Beerfest and 5B conference, I was in the company of people who LOVE beer.

Because I was a conference speaker I was given a VIP pass to the beerfest for Friday and Saturday nights. This entitled me to local restaurant and rare beer samples in a private area plus early entry into the main hall. With over 300 beers on hand, the time before the crowds was key to sampling without long waits. The best bite I ate was the braunschweiger from Virgil's Cafe and best beer was North Coast's Le Merle, though I can't claim to have tasted them all by a long shot.

Mini-rant 1: Many people at the beerfest wore necklaces made of pretzels. This is unsanitaryish (I clearly don't have high sanitary standards), unfashionable, and just plain weird.

Mini-rant 2: The longest line was for Yuengling. Seriously? People paid $35 to come to a beerfest and stand in line for Yuengling. I was dumbfounded.

Thankfully the 5B conference surprised me in a good way. The leader, Carla, is clearly a master at friendly organization. She lined up casual, knowledgeable speakers and kept registration limited to allow for genuine interaction among participants. I met Jen from Our Good Food Life and Lori from Fake Food Free in person for the first time and caught up with Diana from Cookerati and Julie from Wine Me, Dine Me Cincinnati.

Everyone was approachable, swag was minimal, and the obvious focus was on community. I can share my session notes on building your blog through groups if anyone wants them. I consider the first year of 5B a huge success and hope to see it grow in the future.

Cincinnati Art Museum

When we drove up to the art museum on Saturday afternoon, the attendant told us parking was free. While most people might think this is a great thing, I started to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. A special event must be going on. This place is going to be crowded.

I was right. Nick Cave, fiber artist, was visiting, the museum was hosting a fundraiser, and it was a family fun day. The historic building was simply crawling with people.

We immediately happened into the source for some of the chaos - a three story interactive fiber installation. White wigged and clothed women helped visitors make yarn pompoms to keep or add to the jellyfish-like oversized mobile pictured above. We never did understand why the assistants were in white but their costuming added to the absurdity and beauty of our crowded visit.

Though our senses were overstimulated with a very loud band and so many visitors, the art pulled us in. Cincinnati has an amazing collection of everything from ancient world artworks to two Tiffany loving cups to modern paintings.

The curators display their excellent array in a interesting ways. Some is grouped by style and age as one might expect. The Nick Cave visiting exhibit (January 21, 2012 - April 29, 2012) is installed in galleries throughout the museum and connected by green lines on the floor. Another rotating exhibit, Monet in Giverney (February 04, 2012 - May 13, 2012), is housed in a single room with paper decorated ceiling and careful artwork placement to compare how garden sights inspired Monet. An entire hall on the 2nd floor is filled with art in a display so compact that there is no space for information placards and instead a booklet provides details.

We had to leave after an hour and a half because the crowd was just too much. Do as I say, not as I do - plan to spend an entire week day at the art museum to peacefully absorb the very fine collection. If you are a fiber artist or appreciate recycled materials, go before the end of April to see the Nick Cave works - they are fun and provocative.

Senate Pub

Senate is the darling of the Cincinnati dining scene, so far as I can tell from recommendations and reviews. The last two times we've been in the area, we haven't made it to Senate and I was determined to do so this visit.

We missed our first opportunity when we left later than expected on Friday and exceeded the lunch hours. We almost missed Saturday dinner because we were hungry before they opened but I insisted that we wait.

I thought that arriving right at opening time would be a good way to beat the crowds. Somehow the restaurant was almost full when we arrived! We grabbed the last table, one right by the door. It was a little chilly but the food more than made up for the location.

Senate is decorated in a modern classy pub style. Flat screen televisions over the bar play old movies. A fabulous country eastern music selection blared over the speakers. Most of the seating was either at the bar or at tables with shared bench seating. Senate has a solid cocktail menu and beer list prepared by informed bartenders.

The pub atmosphere continues to the menu where the selection largely consists of sandwiches and hot dogs. These are no ordinary patties and sausages, though. They are creative combinations made in house and served with house-made condiments.

We started with poutine, a current favorite of mine. Senate serves the classic fries-gravy-cheese curds melange on top of bechamel. I thought this combination would be over the top indulgent but somehow it worked. The 'gravy' was a very meaty topping of beef short ribs and the creamy bechemal covered for the lack of saucy gravy. This is a heart-stopping dish that must be shared among diners.

Alex ordered the lobster BLT. Again, we suspected that a BLT with lobster would be a waste of amazing seafood. Alex said this sandwich was perfectly balanced, however, and he ate it so quickly I didn't even get to share a bite.

I chose the daily special hot dog, the 'Danny DeVito'. A spicy andoullie sausage was smothered in Chimay cheese sauce, a few bits of broccoli, bacon, and shoe string potatoes. The bacon and potatoes seemed unnecessary and I wished there was more broccoli but I wouldn't hesitate to order this again.

Lil, with her expensive tastes, ordered the duck leg entree. Duck leg is not hard to do well and Senate excelled with a wine sauce and perfectly prepared vegetable accompaniments. Indeed, the roasted brussels sprouts, parsnips, and carrots were my favorite parts of the dish.

I was a little confused by the loud bar feel and pricey gourmet food paired together. On the upside, the loudness would cover almost any noise a kid could make and the staff was very accommodating to Lil, even making her lemonade from hand when she ordered. I, personally, enjoy conversation without shouting and would have preferred a bit more space and quiet.

By the time we left, Senate was bustling with a line practically out the door. I can understand the appeal for the food. To take advantage of the demand and the needs of those who want a softer experience, perhaps management will open a second Senate in a more spacious quiet location. Even if they stick with the single noisy bar, I know we will return.

Findlay Market

On the way out of town we hit up Findlay Market for breakfast and meat for dinner. The 'market' is actually a series of buildings that include permanent and week-to-week vendors.

We limited our visit to the main indoor market for lack of time to explore more. A half dozen meat vendors offer a variety of quality and price points. Several from-scratch baked goods and prepared food vendors stand at the ready to supply home cooks. A coffee shop, creperie, Asian, Mexican, juice, and gelato stands are available for ordering freshly made meals. Tables and chairs are scattered through the market for those wanting to eat at Findlay. The late breakfast we ate (smoothies, coffee, and a Mexican rice bowl) was acceptable, though not the gourmet fare offered at the North Market.

In the growing season, farmers line the walkways with local produce. The fresh produce offerings this time of year were scarce. Though I may have missed them, fine cheese and alcohol also seem to be missing from the market. Even though we clearly visited in the slow season, Findlay Market is big and could support nearly all of a family's grocery needs.

Final Notes

Beyond the fantastic art museum and plenty of places for good eats, Cincinnati boasts a more hilly landscape and older architecture than Columbus. The Netherland Plaza Hotel (now owned by Hilton and open to friendly tourists who don't bother the paying guests) shares Art Deco stylings similar to the Cincinnati Museum Center. Homes and businesses are wedged onto steep streets reminiscent of San Francisco. I enjoy simply driving around Cincy to the top of the hills and looking around.

What are your favorites in downtown Cincinnati?

Plan Your Trip

Terry's Turf Club 4618 Eastern Ave Cincinnati, OH 45226 (513) 533-4222 burgers $7 and up, peanuts in shells free

Cincinnati Museum Center 1301 Western Avenue Cincinnati, OH 45203 (513) 287-7000 $12.50 Adult/ $11.50 Senior (60+)/ $8.50 Children (3-12)/ $4.50 Toddlers (1-2), reciprocal with COSI

Cincinnati Art Museum 953 Eden Park Drive Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 721-2787 Free admission

Senate Pub 1212 VINE ST Cincinnati, OH 45202 1 513.421.2020 cocktails $9, gourmet sandwiches $11, entrees $16

Findlay Market 1801 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 665-4839

PS. My apologies that pictures are again taken with my crummy camera phone. I am accepting donations towards a faster better phone camera. If enough of you care about travelogues, I might be convinced to take the big camera. Tell me what you think in the comments.

PPS. Interested diners may want to read Columbus Underground's recent review of the Taste of Belgium Bistro near Senate in Cincinnati.

Presidential Hoecakes {Recipe}

It's President's Day on Monday and you know what that means, right?

Hoecakes!

No?

According to the Mount Vernon website, hoecakes were George Washington's standard breakfast. I figured this meant I should experiment with hoecakes for President's Day.

The site also shares a recipe. Unfortunately it is sized for a huge crowd and sounds a little funky.

Taking inspiration from Mount Vernon, I reworked the recipe and portions to fit my family's taste. I added a little wheat flour to give more body to the pancakes. Before cooking, I stirred in an egg for lift and richness.

The hoecake batter ferments overnight, giving a slight tang to the final pancake. The taste harkens of cornmeal mush, a rustic breakfast starch my father and I love fried.

This recipe is so simple that it only really requires three things: very fresh cornmeal (I like Carriage Hill delivered by Green B.E.A.N.), time to ferment, and sweetener. Berries, maple syrup, and molasses are all great toppings. I prefer local honey.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:9]

Added to Simple Lives Thursday 83.

The Sweetest Valentine's Day {Wordless Wednesday}

1. devil's food cake in Alex's grandmother's copper mold 2. Alex's sweet sriracha garnish for our lunch quesadillas 3. Lil's heart shaped lunch in my new Fiesta bowls 4. Lil dressed as a 'mail girl' delivering cards 5. 30 before 30 gift to my sister: 30 cans of cat food 6. delivery number 3 of 10 7. delivery 10 of 10 8. father daughter nerf gun gifts

Sparkling Love

Love is:

-Saying yes to buying glitter glue and the most shimmering paper in the craft store

-Patiently cutting hearts by hand

-Making a list of people you love who need a Valentine

-Totaling the list to 24 and then remembering more people you love

-Spending three days of craft supplies strewn all over the dining room table

-Hand applying stickers, glitter glue, and everything 'just so'

-Writing a personal message on each card

-Hand addressing the envelopes

-Selecting a stamp to match the recipient's personality and placing it perfectly in the corner

-Playing cupid to deliver cards on foot and by car

-Taking time, lots of time, to do Valentine's the slow, sparkling, handmade way

How are you expressing your love today?

Week of February 13, 2012 {Meal Plan}

Ingredients & Inspiration

• We are in the middle of a mad period of travel and last week's meals were a bit haphazard. I want to eat better this week.
• Our freezer is full but only getting more full. I want to work on eating some of the surplus in the next few weeks. Look for the (f) to indicate an ingredient from the freezer.
• We're celebrating Mardi Gras a few days early so I can write about it next week.

Menu

Monday - mushroom swiss bison burgers with homemade potato buns, roasted broccoli and parsnips

Tuesday - afternoon Valentine's tea (pimento cheese sandwiches, homemade crackers, chocolate cake, fruit), stir fry and eggrolls (f) for dinner

Wednesday - Dad's treat restaurant (Thank you Dad!)

Thursday - ravioli (f) and home dehydrated tomatos sauce

Friday - Mardi Gras early: boudain & grilled okra on ciabatta with Tobasco aioli, shrimp etouffee over rice, king cake

Saturday - R at OEFFA, A&L: fish (f), rice, peas

Sunday - family dinner

Love-ly Books {Book Hounds}

Valentine's Day is a moment to tell those we love how much they mean to us. Our family likes to get into the loving spirit by reading picture books. Our favorite stories have beautiful illustrations and themes about companionship and friendship.

Books say things that we sometimes can't put into words. They start conversations about devotion, gratitude, and acceptance.

Maybe it's just me, but I think an inscribed book is a truly romantic gift for a person of any age. Try one of our family favorites for the love of your life.

The Big Blue Spot by Peter Holwitz - One of the first books we bought for Lil, The Big Blue Spot tells a story of finding companionship in a simply illustrated, interactive book.

Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - A standout new book of this winter, Plant a Kiss explores a fantastical idea: if you planted a kiss, what would happen? If it grows, should you share it? The 'kiss' is illustrated by a textured glitter ribbon that sensory-seeking kids will love to touch on the page.

Valentine Surprise by Corinne Demas - This story follows a little girl as she struggles to make the perfect card for her mother. It shows that DIY projects can be frustrating in the making but ultimately rewarding.

The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jan Brett - A hibernating bear surprises his mate in this seasonal story. Other than the anthropomorphising, the illustrations and text are true to nature in midwinter.

Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - Awarding-winning Rosenthal deserves inclusion twice in this list for Sugar Cookies. Soft illustrations of people and pets by Jane & Brooke Dyer accompany definitions of loving words like 'considerate', 'admire', and 'forgive' in the context of making a batch of sugar cookies.

What love-ly books do you recommend?

Two Days In Cleveland {Road Trip Roundup}

Last weekend, Alex, Lil and I travelled to Cleveland for a quick getaway. In a matter of 48 hours we dined at Noodlecat, cooked yakitori with Chef Jonathon Sawyer, visited the Great Lakes Science Center, stayed in a very interesting Marriott Residence Inn hotel, shared a late night bite at The Greenhouse Tavern, explored the Cleveland Natural History Museum, and ate at Great Lakes Brewing Company Brewpub. I did not intend to write about our experiences so I left the big camera in the hotel room and just enjoyed the days. But too many things were too great not to share, so I illustrated this recap of our trip with phone pictures. Enjoy!

 Noodlecat

(comments by Alex and Lil)

1. Very fun quirky restaurant. Lil loved the Noodlecat logo. 2. Service was excellent and the wait-staff was very kid-friendly. 3. The food was creative and yummy. I very much liked the miso bbq chicken wings and Lil loved her soba noodles with butter and poached chicken. 4. My udon dish was very well done and nicely spicy even though udon is somewhat unappealing to me personally. 5. The restaurant is very convenient to downtown hotels and other attractions. 6. The Greenhouse Lager (by Great Lakes Brewing Company) is a very nice crisp and clean lager. It went very well with the spicy fare.

Science Center

(comments by Alex and Lil)

1. It was a very easy walk from the downtown restaurant and hotel area. 2. The reciprocal membership with COSI was a very nice thing to have as we were able to explore the museum for free. 3. We were there late in the day so quite a few things were closed. Also as it is winter, the outdoor exhibits were not open. 4. The second floor has a discovery area with dozens of different displays. These range from sound-based to motion or light based. Simple circuits are explored and magnetism is presented in an approachable manner. 5. All of the exhibits allow you to interact and experiment with the setups. 6. All of the exhibits are easily child-accessible. 7. There is more than enough there to keep adults occupied as well.

Freshstreet Japanese Festival

While Alex and Lil dined and museumed, I made skewer after skewer of tongue, short ribs, chicken thigh and scallion, pork belly, and pork cheeks in the back of the Noodlecat kitchen. I helped Kenny and Misako from Freshstreet transform the front of the house into a Japanese street festival feel with Japanese masks, toys, hand-written signs, and games.

When guests began to arrive, I grilled skewers over bincho-tan charcoal with Chef Jonathon Sawyer, one of Food & Wine Magazines’ Best New Chefs and recent Iron Chef contestant. We chatted a bit as we cooked but mostly worked to be sure the yakitori skewers were at their best for the party-goers. I had a blast!

Read Columbus Crave and Kristian's post for more pictures of the food and decor. Thanks to Bethia Woolf of Columbus Adventures for sharing the pictures above.

Greenhouse Tavern

After service and clean up, I was tired but wanting to wind down from the night. I met Jason, mastermind behind Thunderkiss coffee, and his wife Emily at the Greenhouse Tavern bar. Though I had munched on several yakitori skewers, I left room for a midnight snack. GHT's gravy fries did not disappoint. Thick, black pepper-spiced gravy smoothered the hand-cut fries and hand-made mozzarella curds. If anything there was too much gravy, but it's hard to complain about something so delicious.

The thorough and soft-spoken bar manager (I'm sorry I didn't catch his name) made me the best French 75 I've ever tasted with Cleveland's own Tom's Foolery Applejack. The drink, as well as conversation with him about the state of Ohio spirits, was just what I needed to relax after a busy day.

Residence Inn Downtown

Alex is a Marriott gold star super elite fancy pants reward member, so he naturally selected a Marriott brand hotel for the night. For family trips, he usually chooses the Residence Inn brand because they have a mini kitchen, snacks, breakfast, and often a door between bedroom and sitting area so the adults can chat after kid bedtime.

The Cleveland Downtown Residence Inn was a bit difficult to find but turned out to be a hidden treasure. It is a renovated century old hotel that spans a whole city block. This hotel had stained glass windows, antique marble walkways, and an open shopping arcade.

Thanks to Mr. Points and a slow night, the manager upgraded Alex to the largest room in the hotel. The square footage was nearly as large as our whole house! Lil was delighted to occupy her own bedroom and bathroom. The manager even let Alex know that no one was staying in the adjacent rooms so Lil could run around if she wanted to. (And you know she did!)

Even without the upgrade, this Residence Inn is a recommended accommodation: it has the beauty of a vintage city hotel with all the modern amenities a family could want. Plus, it's in the middle of everything - one can walk to the stadiums, science center, and both Jonathon Sawyer restaurants.

Cleveland Natural History Museum

The Cleveland Natural History Museum is nestled behind a brass stegosaurus, life-size Linnaeus likeness and oversize sundial on University Circle. When we finally entered the museum after thirty minutes of viewing the outdoor sculptures, we were greeted by a staff person holding a tame opossum. You might remember how we feel about opossums, yet we all pet Daisy and studied her prehensile tail.

We wandered into the hall of Humans & Nature next. This was a brilliantly designed collection of taxidermy animals alongside geographically paired human artifacts. Lil enjoyed the dioramas while Alex and I stood slack-jawed at the quantity and beautifully displayed variety of creatures. We studied Balto up close, one of our favorite characters from modern history.

Next up we took in the human evolution exhibit. Again we were stunned at the thoughtful presentation of information - this exhibit, more than any other I've seen on the subject, simply conveys the evidence and process of evolution.

Thanks to the unseasonably warm weather, we were able to spend a half hour enjoying the outdoor Wildlife Center. Populated with wild creatures that can be found in Ohio, we were able to see raptors, river otters, and mammals up close. We especially enjoyed communicating with the two crows, birds that for some reason avoid our very dense neighborhood. This area reminded me of the Ohio State Fair ODNR wildlife exhibit without the fair food smell and crowds.

Finally we made our way to the cafe for lunch. Here is where the museum fell flat as the choices were limited to lunchmeat sandwiches, fries, uninspired salads and soda vending machines. We were very hungry but didn't want to spend usury rates for something we wouldn't enjoy, so we mired in indecision. Lil had a little bit of a breakdown.

Fortunately, a travelling exhibit of Antarctic photographs calmed us all down enough to make the decision to leave for another lunch spot. Before we left, we watched a portion of a TedX talk by the photographer Paul Nicklen about his amazing encounter with a seal.

Great Lakes Brewpub

Knowing we were all very hungry and wanted a restaurant with healthy options, we opted for a known quality restaurant, Great Lakes Brewpub. This was our third visit to Great Lakes Brewpub in the last decade.

The wide menu features plenty of from-scratch recipes we wanted to try. We started with the charcuterie and cheese plate. Filled with treats from the nearby West Side Market and in-house cured compliments, the plate was a winner and served as Lil's lunch. I tried the vegan burger and salad, both of which were lacking in enough textural variety to make them exciting but amounted to a filling and healthy meal. Alex chose the special, a Cuban sandwich and excellent Parmesan crusted fries.

Our trip was a whirlwind two days that did more to fill us with desire to return than to come home. We want to go back in the spring when we can finish exploring the Natural History Museum, see the outdoor exhibits at the Science Center, visit the art museum, and perhaps check out the new aquarium.

We have to conclude that Cleveland rocks! Have you ever been? What do you enjoy in CLE?

Noodlecat Restaurant 234 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44114 216 589 0007

Great Lakes Science Center 601 Erieside Ave. Cleveland, OH 44114 (216) 694-2000

Residence Inn Downtown Cleveland 527 Prospect Avenue East Cleveland, Ohio 44115 USA 1-216-443-9043

The Greenhouse Tavern 2038 E 4th Street, Cleveland, OH 44115 216-443-0511

Cleveland Natural History Museum 1 Wade Oval Drive University Circle Cleveland OH 44106-1767 U.S.A. 216.231.4600 | 800.317.9155

Great Lakes Brewing Company & Brewpup 2516 Market Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44113 216.771.4404