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CONTENTS JANUARY 12-25, 2022 • VOL. 52 NO 14
Upfront .......................................5 Feature ..................................... 10 Get Out ..................................... 12 Art ............................................ 23 Dedicated to Free Times founder Richard H. Siegel (1935-1993) and Scene founder Richard Kabat Publisher Andrew Zelman Editor Vince Grzegorek Editorial Music Editor Jeff Niesel Senior Writer Sam Allard Staff Writer Brett Zelman Dining Editor Douglas Trattner Visual Arts Writer Shawn Mishak
Eat ............................................ 25 Music ........................................ 29 Savage Love ..............................30
REWIND: 1972 Euclid Media Group Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP Digital Services Stacy Volhein Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon www.euclidmediagroup.com National Advertising Voice Media Group 1-800-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com
Stage Editor Christine Howey
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In 1972, Scene was extolling the virtues of the Beach Boys on the cover.
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| clevescene.com | January 12-25, 2022
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SCENE with you with the Issuu app! “Cleveland Scene Magazine” COVER ILLUSTRATION BY AMALIA DEGIROLAMO
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Photo courtesy city of Cleveland
Safety director Karrie Howard
UPFRONT
CLEVELAND SAFETY DIRECTOR, POLICE BRASS COORDINATED ANTI-ISSUE 24 MESSAGING CLEVELAND SAFETY Director Karrie Howard and former Police Chief Calvin Williams were “on a mission” to inform the public about Issue 24, internal emails reveal. And while they purported to remain neutral in the debate, the information they marshalled and disseminated at community meetings through October represented a coordinated campaign to oppose the controversial ballot measure in the leadup to the Nov. 2 general election. Issue 24 was the initiative to create a more powerful civilian commission with ultimate oversight in matters of police discipline. It passed overwhelmingly in November. Mayor Justin Bibb, who was formally inaugurated this weekend, supported the measure. It was launched by a local coalition called Citizens for a Safer Cleveland. Opposition from the Department of Public Safety was to be expected, as passage was interpreted as an affront to police autonomy. It was also opposed by Mayor Frank Jackson, mayoral
challenger Kevin Kelley and the majority of Cleveland City Council. According to October emails obtained by Scene via public records request, the police wanted to maintain an air of neutrality on Issue 24. “Our goal is to inform, not persuade,” Howard wrote in an Oct. 4 message to Calvin Williams and the commanders of Cleveland’s five police districts, coordinating attendance and talking points at upcoming community meetings. But the talking points Howard favored, and Howard’s own language, demonstrated otherwise. Howard’s “mission” was set in motion in the aftermath of a Sept. 29 Cleveland City Council Safety Committee meeting. He had spoken with Paul Forsgren, the local man who founded Greater Cleveland Citizens for Public Safety to oppose Issue 24, as well as councilmen Blaine Griffin and Brian Kazy about “raising awareness in the community.” “With early voting in two weeks,
we should begin putting this information into strategic sense to begin messaging next week,” Howard wrote to Chief Williams and Frank Jackson’s communications chief, Valarie McCall, on Oct. 1. Williams agreed, responding that getting the media involved was an important next step. Howard promptly communicated to the district commanders, encouraging them to schedule and attend community meetings in the coming weeks to address safety concerns generally and Issue 24 in particular. He asked that calendars be shared so that either he or Calvin Williams could attend block clubs and safety meetings to advance the police message. “We will not take a position [on Issue 24],” Howard wrote, “but will speak with an informative tone and intent.” The talking points he distributed to his commanders largely concerned the language of the charter amendment itself, highlighting fears that it would
remove power from both elected officials and police leadership. Howard and Williams felt that these elements were not being communicated to voters. Commanders followed up to share meeting dates as they were scheduled. Others asked questions about specific responses to community members. Commander Thomas Stacho, of the Second District, said it would be helpful to see material that the Issue 24 proponents were disseminating to establish a “frame of reference.” Commander Dorothy Todd, of the third district, sent Howard an email asking how to respond to Alan O’Connell, the President of the Downtown Cleveland Residents Association, who had shared a cleveland.com article with her and asked if she thought it fairly represented both sides of the Issue 24 debate. He wanted to distribute “neutral sources” to his organization’s membership, he said. In a response to Todd, Howard said that the article, written by
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Starbucks photo Via Google Maps
UPFRONT City Hall reporter Bob Higgs and outlining the positions of supporters and opponents, provided “some info, but not enough of the truth.” The next day, Oct. 5, Todd responded to O’Connell expressing personal ambivalence about the cleveland.com article and sharing Director Howard’s talking points. Additionally, she attached data showing declining use of force by the Cleveland Police. Chief Calvin Williams, both in public and private, was keenly interested in promoting this data. He believed that the Division of Police’s improvement under the consent
DIGIT WIDGET 207 inches Circumference of a Black Walnut tree in the Metroparks that was recently cut down by a brother and sister who believed it was on their land. They’ve now been charged with theft of the tree, one of the oldest of its species in Ohio, and valued at more than $25,000.
7’0” Height of Warrensville Heights Mayor Brad Sellers, who formally entered the 2022 race for Cuyahoga County Executive last week.
5’6” Height of former Cleveland mayor and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who sued Cleveland. com and The Plain Dealer last week for what he claims was libelous 2021 election coverage.
$186,000 Debt accrued by Akron alternative publication The Devil Strip, which abruptly laid off its entire staff late last year and now appears to be done for good.
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decree was evidence that Issue 24 was unnecessary. The declining use of force and reduction in citizen complains was “an important narrative that the community needs to hear,” Williams wrote in an email to Howard. This was a narrative advanced by the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association as well. In a “No on Issue 24” mailer paid for by the CPPA, President Jeff Follmer penned a four-paragraph letter to residents, outlining the main points of opposition. “Issue 24 is being sold as providing necessary oversight of a Division that lacks accountability and discipline,” the mailer read. “Nothing could be further from the truth. During the past six years of reform under the Consent Decree, both accountability and discipline have reached all-time highs. The Office of Professional Standards and the Civilian Police Review Board have been transformed into an effective investigator of citizen complaints.” (That position is undercut by a recent report by the Consent Decree Monitor, Hassan Aden, which found “an overall, systemic failure” in the investigation of the police chase that resulted in Tamia Chappman’s death.) Follmer’s letter concluded by saying he stood with “the Mayor, the Safety Director, the Chief and the council members with whom I have spoken against Issue 24.” Though the October emails Scene reviewed showed no
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direct coordination between the Department of Public Safety and Kevin Kelley’s mayoral campaign, Steven Rys, Kelley’s longtime operative and aide, does make an appearance. On Oct. 12, he sent an email to Howard asking to be sent a copy of the data that had been assembled in the aftermath of the Sept. 29 Safety Committee meeting. “In specific, Chief Williams made a number of claims about the positive impacts of the Consent Decree and the police reform the city has undertaken thus far,” Rys wrote. “Any information you had about the reduction in the number of complaints, the reductions in use of force, the reduction in police involved shootings, etc would be very useful.” On October 11, Howard and Commander Stacho attended a meeting of the Lincoln Heights block club in Tremont, held at the Tremont Taphouse. Howard took time at the beginning of the meeting to go over a flyer he’d brought, which hardly could be mistaken for a neutral document. It began by calling Issue 24 a “problematic proposal that stands to make attorneys a lot of money at taxpayer expense.” Both the tone of the flyer and its anonymous authorship didn’t sit well with some of the block club’s members. Developer Josh Rosen, who couldn’t attend the meeting but was sent a PDF of the flyer the following day, had a testy exchange with Commander Stacho — an exchange that was forwarded to Howard and police leadership — after he inquired
into the authorship of the document. “I have no idea who created that paper and I had not read it until a few hours ago. I have not studied it,” Stacho wrote back to Rosen. “Is there anything in that document that is incorrect or misleading?” Rosen said that he didn’t know, only that he was skeptical of unsigned political literature and that much of the language sounded more like opinion than fact. “I think if/when [the flyer] comes from a group like the police, assuming it did, it hits even worse since we should have complete trust in what they represent and be able to separate fact from opinion,” Rosen wrote. “I think police are very entitled to their opinion—no different than me being entitled to mine—just that if it is going to be distributed, it should be signed and the author should be noted.” “Once again, I have no idea who authored that piece and it did not come from me or my office,” Stacho responded. “I only read it today after it was handed to me at a separate meeting. I am sorry that you have decided that someone in the Division of Police authored that document. Clearly an agenda on your part.” Rosen told Scene that his suspicions weren’t unfounded. He’d been informed by the block club president that Howard brought the handouts personally and went over their contents “paragraph by paragraph” during the meeting. The assumption by the attendees was that Howard himself was the author. In fact, in an Oct. 13 email from
Howard to Deputy Police Chief Joellen O’Neill, Howard says that the version of the one-pager distributed at the block club meeting was “given to me.” It’s unclear in the emails who gave it to Howard, but the safety director had previously sent the one-pager to Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones. It included the talking points he distributed to commanders on Oct. 1. O’Neill had drafted another version to be distributed to district commanders for their use, but preferred the version Howard sent her. “Yours is much better,” O’Neill wrote. Responding to inquiries from Scene, Director Howard provided the following statement. “The citizens of Cleveland voted for and passed Issue 24. It is now part of the City’s Charter. My entire legal career has been dedicated to the rule of law and reform of the justice system, to include police reform. I remain dedicated to my obligation to uphold the law and carry out my duties in support of the Charter of the City of Cleveland. As the City’s Public Safety Director, I look forward to doing my part to advance the incoming administration’s vision for public safety and working with the new commission.” -Sam Allard
Employees at W. 6th Starbucks Take First Step Toward Unionization Employees at the W. 6th Starbucks location in downtown Cleveland have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a union representation election. The Cleveland Starbucks would be the first Ohio store to unionize and follows similar efforts at locations across the country, including in Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Seattle and elsewhere. In a letter to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson sent Monday morning, workers at the W. 6th store said that while they served at the forefront of the customer service industry during the pandemic, they haven’t felt adequately cared for. With insufficient guidelines and safety measures, disillusionment and burnout are now commonplace. Starbucks workers are euphemized as “partners” in the corporate lingo, but workers say that during the pandemic, they’ve felt more like “cogs in a machine.” “We see unionizing as the best way to achieve true partnership, beyond just the title of ‘partner,’” the letter reads. “Through this union,
we are committing to our goals of improving our own work lives, establishing equity and equality within our store and the company, and doing our part to move the company forward. By signing onto these principles, Starbucks can prove itself as a partner alongside us in this commitment.” Cara Rovella, 22, is a barista and barista trainer at the W. 6th location. She started working at the popular coffee chain in July of this year. She told Scene that she signed a union authorization card, along with the overwhelming majority of her colleagues, for a number of reasons. “A lot of people say Covid is the big reason,” she said, “because we feel let down by the safety measures put in place by our company during the pandemic. But I personally am a barista trainer, and the training plan simply doesn’t provide enough time to really teach people how to become a barista.” Wages are another reason, Rovella said, both the base pay and the raises for longtime employees. “The crux of all these issues is that we just want to have a voice,” Rovella said. “Decisions at Starbucks are made in a top-down manner. We just have to do what they tell us. But we’re the ones on the ground, working with the public. And we don’t think it’s realistic or fair that we don’t have a say in how things get done.” Rovella said that the unionization process has moved extremely quickly, and that local workers were inspired by the unionization effort at the Buffalo location. “That made us think, if Buffalo can do it, maybe we can too,” she said. “Once these things started to happen, people began to see the possibilities for themselves.” Rovella said that she suspected Starbucks wouldn’t voluntarily approve the union in Cleveland and that, if Buffalo were any guide, corporate would work to delay the vote and lobby against the unionization effort by a number of means. But when the National Labor Relations Board holds the vote, a simple majority of the location’s 20 workers is all that will be required to form the union. “At the end of the day, we all like working for Starbucks and are doing this because we’re dedicated to the work and want to make the jobs better,” Rovella said. “I hope this can set the stage for others in the region, and that people will start to think, ‘Hey, we don’t have to endure unfair treatment. We can stand up for ourselves.’” -Sam Allard
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FEATURE
The 2022 Comics Issue
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| clevescene.com | January 12-25, 2022
IT’S 2022, WHICH IS REASON enough to be excited, but the new year also brings the 10th annual Comics Issue to Cleveland, so things are looking especially great this week. This year’s issue is once again curated by the two-woman team over at Vagabond Comics: Sequoia Bostick and Amalia Degirolamo, and features work by illustrators John G., Samantha Green, Emily Kardamis and Leo Covault, as well as their
own work. This year their comics speak of the wonderful world of food and how it connects us to home, our local community and those around us. So kick back, stay safe, and stay warm while you enjoy these wonderful comics.
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Making food for the holidays was always an all hands on deck affair for my family. turkey’s ready!
table’s set!
We all pitch in.... in our own little way.
Lets eat!
And It all just comes together.
dedicated to my mom, Lisa
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GET OUT WED 01/12 Tig Notaro More than just a standup comedian, Tig Notaro does a bit of everything these days. Back in 2012, Notaro turned heads when she spoke about being diagnosed with cancer. Massive success has followed as Notaro subsequently did a segment on This American Life, landed a book deal, released a live recording, appeared on Conan and teamed up with comedian pals Kyle Dunnigan and Amy Schumer to write Inside Amy Schumer. Notaro, whose deadpan delivery and storytelling skills slay, performs tonight at 6 at the Agora. Check the venue website for more info. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.
THU
01/13
Disney On Ice Presents Mickey and Friends The pandemic put this annual tour on pause last year, but Disney on Ice returns to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this year for a series of special shows. Tonight’s event begins at 7, and events continue through Sunday. Check the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse website for more info. One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
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01/14
Walkabout Tremont Walkabout Tremont, which takes place on the second Friday of every month from 5 to 9 p.m., showcases the best of this smart neighborhood, with art openings, extended hours at galleries and shops, restaurant and bar specials, street performers, live music, pop-up vendors, neighborhood walking tours and much more. experiencetremont.com.
SAT
01/15
That Golden Girls Show! This Golden Girls parody featuring puppets (!) promises an evening of “cheesecake, laughter, jazzercise, shoulder pads, sex, and the elegant art of the quick-witted put down.” Performances take place at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. today at the Hanna Theatre, where shows continue
Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks SUN 01/23
tomorrow. Check the Playhouse Square website for more info. 2067 E. 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
SUN 01/16 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert Prominent Black composers such as Dolores White, Mary D. Watkins, Carlos Simon, Brian Raphael Nabors, William Grant Still and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor will be featured in this program that concludes with James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson’s hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Severance Music Center. Admission is free, but tickets must be obtained in advance. If you don’t have a ticket, note that the concert will be broadcast live on 90.3 WCPN, on WCLV Classical 104.9 and on ideastream.org. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com.
MON 01/17 Cavaliers vs. Brooklyn Nets One of the favorites to win the NBA title this year, the Brooklyn Nets come to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to take on the upstart Cavs at 3 p.m. Led by Kevin Durant, the Nets have a potent offense that will undoubtedly pose problems for the Cavs’ stingy defense. Check the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse website for more info. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
TUE
01/18
Monsters vs. Grand Rapids Griffins The Monsters play a rare Tuesday night game tonight at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as they take on the Grand Rapids Griffins. The puck drops at 7 p.m. Check the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse website for more info. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
WED 01/19 Shitshow Karaoke Local rapper/promoter Dirty Jones and Scene’s own Manny Wallace host
In the first big concert of the year, Kacey Musgraves comes to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. See: Sunday, Jan. 23. Adrienne Raquel
Shit Show Karaoke, a weekly event at the B-Side Liquor Lounge wherein patrons choose from “an unlimited selection of jams from hip-hop to hard rock,” and are encouraged to “be as bad as you want.” Fueled by drink and shot specials, it all goes down tonight at 10 p.m. Admission is free. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-932-1966, bsideliquorlounge.com.
THU 01/20 Dustin Nickerson This SoCal comedian describes himself as “the world’s most average person,” so you can expect plenty of jokes about being married with children. He even has one bit about being honest with his kids, whom he calls his roommates. The show starts tonight at 7 at Hilarities. Check the venue website for ticket prices. 2035 East Fourth St., 216-241-7425, pickwickandfrolic.com.
FRI
01/21
Hasan Minhaj The host and creator of the weekly comedy show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, a series explored the modern culture and political landscape, Hasan Minhaj brings his live show, the King’s Jester, to Connor Palace tonight at 7. Check the Playhouse Square website for more info. 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.
Kacey Musgraves Singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves spent two years on the road in support of her critically acclaimed 2018 album Golden Hours. She hit festivals such as Coachella, Stagecoach, Fuji Rocks Festival, Global Citizen Festival, Austin City Limits, Outside Lands, Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, Governor’s Ball, Farm Aid and Lollapalooza. Now, Musgraves has graduated to even bigger venues as a headliner and comes to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight in support of last year’s Star-Crossed, an intimate collection of tunes about her recent divorce. The concert begins at 8 p.m. Check the venue website for more info. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
MON 01/24 Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks Led by Julius Randle, the current incarnation of the New York Knicks are doing their damnedest to restore the storied team’s reputation. Too bad they just ain’t that good. The middle-of-the-road Knicks play the upstart Cavs tonight at 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Expect the Cavs to come away with a W. Consult the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse website for more info. 1 Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
TUE
01/25
Open Turntable Tuesday Tonight from 7 to 9, the Winchester hosts its weekly Open Turntable Tuesday. Jason Gokorsch will book guest DJs and offer slots to people who want to bring their own vinyl and spin their favorite songs or deep tracks. First time DJs are encouraged, and equipment is provided. Patrons can also bring records for the night’s DJ to add to their set. Sign up on Northeast Ohio Vinyl Club’s Facebook page. 12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-600-5338, facebook.com/ TheWinchesterMusicTavern.
scene@clevescene.com t@clevelandscene
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EAT WORTH THE WAIT
Immigrant Son is already hitting on all cylinders in Lakewood
IT FEELS LIKE EVERY NEW project takes longer to reach the finish line these days than they have in year’s past, but for Andrew Revy, those delays seemed interminable. For more than two years, the beerbewitched entrepreneur strived and struggled to convert a former grocery store in Lakewood into that city’s first official brewery. And every other month or so, another hurdle landed in his lane. So imagine Revy’s irrepressible glee when Immigrant Son did finally, miraculously open and people flowed through the doors like so many dealcrazed shoppers on Black Friday. That occurred in late October and the rush hasn’t much subsided, proof that if you take your time and do things right people will reward you with return visits. “It’s been everything I had hoped for,” Revy said. “After that long delay, getting over the finish line was fantastic and the response has been overwhelming. People are loving our food and our beer and our service.” If you land in the camp of critics who believe, without much empirical evidence, that Cleveland has too many breweries, know this: Immigrant Son is not your typical brewery (nor is it in Cleveland). Equal attention has been paid to the four main elements of the operation – beer, food, service and setting – so that even if you don’t happen to fancy a frosty pint of crisp, clean, straw-colored Kölsch, you needn’t sit there and squawk. But since it is a brewery, let’s start there. Thanks to brewmaster Erik Luli, ISB features nearly 20 different varieties of beer that flow through the mighty tower and into waiting glasses. The best way to get acquainted with the offerings is by ordering one or two flights, which include four 5-ounce glasses ($10). Classic styles like pilsner, saison, common ale, IPA and stout are joined by seasonals like Festbier and Belgian dubbels. Guests seated in the dining room have nice views of the 10-barrel brewhouse and tank farm through a trio of plate-glass windows. Also, barflies around town will be seeing more and more tap handles devoted to ISB.
Photo by Douglas Trattner
By Douglas Trattner
Breweries are notorious for serving crappy wine, but the glass pours and bottles offered here, while not likely to earn recognition from Wine Spectator, should appease most oenophiles. One such person at the table was thrilled to land a
gilded with buttery onions and créme fraiche. For larger appetites, there is an immensely satisfying chicken paprikash ($24) that features both skin-on, bone-in white meat and offthe-bone dark meat. Down below is luscious gravy-soaked spaetzle.
IMMIGRANT SON BREWING 18120 SLOANE AVE., LAKEWOOD 216-600-4483 IMMIGRANTSONBREWING.COM
glass of dry riesling from Mosel, Germany (which, by no coincidence, paired perfectly with the food). If you prefer a basic cocktail, the bar also has that covered. Revy is indeed an “immigrant son,” whose parents fled Hungary just weeks before the revolution in 1956. Those roots appear on the menu in various forms, few better than the puffy, irresistible lángos. In the “loaded” version ($8), three airy, crispy discs of Hungarian fried bread arrive topped with butter, sour cream, cheese curds and chives. A massive, supple-skinned pierogi ($6) is stuffed with cheddar cheese, pan-fried and
Executive chef Rob Dippong, a Johnson & Wales grad, looks farther afield than just Eastern Europe for his culinary inspiration. There’s a Greek salad, a French onion soup and a Spanish-style grilled octopus small plate. Naturally, beer makes its way into much of the food, as with the Kölsch-steamed mussels frites, porter-brined pork porterhouse and stout pot de crème. While pub-style traditionalists might scoff, the restaurant’s fish and chips ($23) is exceptional. Replacing the predictable (and, frankly, expected) beer batter is an ubercrunchy potato crust that conceals
sweet and flaky walleye. The fish is perched atop a mound of skinny fries, capped with a bright shaved fennel, onion and parsley slaw and paired with creamy tartar sauce. Show up for weekend brunch and you can enjoy upscale diner classics like avocado toast, banana pancakes and brown butter waffles alongside cheffy gems like croque monsieur, lamb shakshuka and eggs Benedict that swaps out the English muffin for that killer lángos. Immigrant Son is set inside the former Constantino’s Market, a 9,000-square-foot building with cathedral ceilings, skylights and exposed timber framework. There is plenty of seating throughout the space at standard tables, booths, high-tops and a 15-seat bar. Because of all the hard, flat surfaces, it can get loud AF in there when it’s packed, which is often. It’s quieter on an enclosed porch connected to the main space and come spring, a new patio will usher in outdoor dining and drinking.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
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EAT BITES
A sneak peek at Bartleby, opening soon in former Crop space in Ohio City By Douglas Trattner THE DAZZLING INTERIOR OF the historic United Bank Building in Ohio City can be both a blessing and a curse to restaurant operators. Designed by the renowned Cleveland architecture firm Walker & Weeks, the grand 1920s-era structure boasts a soaring coffered ceiling, bronze light fixtures and a run of arched windows that flood the space with natural light. But bringing those elements down to human scale so that diners will feel comfortable and content is a major interior design challenge. Another challenge is turning all those hard, cold surfaces into a backdrop for a warm, inviting dining room. Yet another task is to devise a way to make the cavernous 8,000-square-foot restaurant seem active and engaged when it is operating at less than capacity. These were the big assignments that awaited Morgan Yagi when he leased the former Crop Bistro space at W. 25th Street and Lorain Avenue and announced he was opening Bartleby. Based on a recent visit, it appears that he is succeeding in his endeavors. Newly constructed shelving serves to divide the interior into three somewhat equal zones. The towering U-shaped structures combine to create a distinct bar and lounge area, main dining room, and “bonus” space that can be used for overflow dining or private events. But because they aren’t solid walls, energy can flow from zone to zone. “The idea is to have some visual transmission so there will be some activity between, but hopefully not feel that there’s this cavernous, empty space,” Yagi explains. “I think it’s working; it already feels more manageable.” Another tactic that Yagi employed was the reliance on soft seating areas with richly upholstered furniture, plush built-in booths and banquettes, boldly colored carpet and other attractive fixtures that add visual appeal. “I think this kind of seating is more forgiving when the room’s not completely full,” notes Yagi. “Like
Bartleby.
Jade.
when you walk into a hotel lobby with a lot of soft seating; you can walk through it and not notice. We’ll see if my theory proves to be true.” While Crop Bistro (both iterations) leaned more to fine dining, Bartleby will be more approachable and accessible in its offerings. “Fun dining not fine dining,” Yagi remarks. Consulting chef-partner Dante Boccuzzi is developing a menu that defies easy pigeonholing, veering as it does from sushi rolls to steak frites. Essentially, it’s a modern American bistro where diners can enjoy a burger, pizza and bowl of pasta but also a great grilled ribeye, all dished up in a supper club-style environment. To that end, the formerly open kitchen has been sealed off from the main room. Other notable partners in the project include general manager Ryan Britton, Stephen Taylor of CBRE and Spotted Owl owner Will Hollingsworth, who is putting together the bar program. Lounge lizards will enjoy sumptuous seating, a gold-flecked black quartz bartop and top-flight cocktails. What they won’t see behind the bar is the 100-year-old mural by local artist Glenn Shaw. It is
Doug Trattner
Doug Trattner
being covered up (but protected and preserved) by a new backbar. For Yagi, who also operates Hibachi Japan Steak House restaurants in Cuyahoga Falls and Solon, and is a partner in Boccuzzi’s DBA in Akron, Bartleby presents a foothold into one of his favorite neighborhoods. “Ohio City is more of a neighborhood,” he says. “It feels different if people live around you. I’ve always thought that’s what makes Ohio City – and Tremont – different from other entertainment districts. There’s more staying power and it feels different.”
First Look: Jade, Opening Soon in the Flats East Bank Ever since landing in Cleveland decades ago, it has been Zdenko Zovkic’s dream to have a restaurant on the waterfront. That finally will happen this spring when he opens Jade, a multi-level Asian-fusion concept in the Flats East Bank neighborhood. This ambitious project has been nearly four years in the making, with Zovkic signing on even as his Warehouse District mainstay
XO Prime Steaks was cruising through its second decade. But after shuttering XO a year and a half ago, Zovkic was able to devote all of his energy into getting this project done during a very difficult time. “My two biggest wishes were always that I wanted to be downtown in the Warehouse District and I wanted to be on the water,” Zovkic says. “So both dreams fulfilled.” Jade will be one of the first businesses to open in a pair of sideby-side duplexes on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. When it does open, it will offer guests three different experiences on three different levels. Each floor will accommodate approximately 100 guests and feature its own bar, menu, vibe and views. Both the first and second levels will have walls that open to the river. “The first floor is more about the sushi, lounge and bar,” he explains. “A different menu, a little hipper, a little younger, a little more high energy. The second is designed to be more upscale.” The main floor will be a noreservation dining room with a lengthy sushi bar, separate cocktail bar and plenty of seating. On the menu will be sushi, steamed buns, noodles and other “street food” style items. The second floor, reached either by an elevator or grand staircase, has its own small bar and lounge plus a dining room. There, diners will enjoy sashimi, whole fish, steak and Asian-inspired items. “The whole point is that it should be a different experience,” notes Zovkic. The rooftop will be a membershiponly club when it opens in spring.
dtrattner@clevescene.com t@dougtrattner
January 12-25, 2022 | clevescene.com |
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| clevescene.com | January 12-25, 2022
MUSIC
Singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde
Catherine Powell
GIRL GOING SOMEWHERE Ashley McBryde embraces ‘straight-up rock’ on her terrific new album By Jeff Niesel SINGER-SONGWRITER ASHLEY McBryde grew up listening to bluegrass and classic country music and says that’s what put the “bug” in her and made her want to start writing and recording her own songs. “I’m the youngest of six kids, so not everybody wanted to play with me,” she says in a recent phone interview from a Salt Lake City tour stop. Ashley McBryde performs with Ashland Craft at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15, at the Agora. “I started playing just so I could entertain myself. Where I grew up was very, very rural. We lived on a little cattle farm. There were instruments available. My dad played guitar, and my sister played flute, and I had a brother that played trumpet for a while, and there weren’t a lot of distractions. Once you find something to do, there’s not a lot to get in the way of it.” Originally, McBryde took her talents to the local biker bars. “I wouldn’t trade what I saw and learned [at those bars] for anything,” she says. “It doesn’t come in a textbook. They do not offer a degree in it. I ran across a picture of me from six or seven years ago. I was in my early thirties. I looked at the girl in the picture, and I thought, ‘What a baby.’ I was traveling on my own and playing in these biker bars. I loved it. I learned that people who own motorcycles are some of
the finest people in the world — even the guy who seems rough will bend over backwards for you. Playing in bars in general was a great way to educate yourself as an entertainer. If you can get those guys to listen to you, you can get anyone to listen to you.” McBryde self-released a couple of albums before inking a major label deal for 2018’s Girl Going Nowhere.
Will, I started asking the guys to do what we naturally do, and since we naturally lean in that rock ‘n’ roll direction, we should turn it up a bit and not be afraid to write a song that’s straight-up rock,” she says, adding that she grew up on heavy doses of Janis Joplin, Carole King and Linda Ronstadt. “So we did it on purpose this time, and I was so excited for that record to come out,
ASHLEY MCBRYDE ASHLAND CRAFT, 8 P.M., SATURDAY, JAN. 15, AGORA, 5000 EUCLID AVE., 216-881-2221. TICKETS: $25-$45, AGORACLEVELAND.COM.
The transition to the big-time came with one particularly drastic change. “[As an independent artist,] I booked everything and rehearsed the band and drove the van, but once you get with a major label, you’re not in control of everything anymore,” she says. “That is a really difficult thing to get used to. And then, after you have gotten used to it, you can’t even book your own flight.” If Girl Going Nowhere represents what McBryde describes as “a snapshot of the time,” last year›s Never Will is a conscious attempt to crank up the guitars and emphasize the rock side of McBryde’s sound. “When we started making Never
even though it came out at a strange time.” Working again with producer Jay Joyce, a guy McBryde describes as a “mad scientist,” McBryde writes with a sharp eye for narrative. That approach comes across nicely in songs such as album opener, “Hang in There Girl,” an anthem buttressed by soaring vocals and bits of acoustic instrumentation. “At the time, I was living out toward Watertown, TN, which is about an hour outside of Nashville,” she says. “I was driving into Watertown one day when I saw this young girl. She seemed to be in her teens. She was walking around in her sweat pants. She looked kind of
like me when I was younger. It was probably her older brother’s handme-downs that she was wearing. She had gone out to the mailbox and looked like she was just mad at the world. She was kicking rocks. I wished I could tell her that in just a couple of years, she’d be out of school, and she’d have a job and have a car, and she would look back at the place so fondly and be so proud of how she was raised. I was the same way, even though I loved growing up on a farm. I’m so proud and so lucky I was raised that way.” The rollicking “Martha Divine,” a song about cheating, comes off as McBryde’s answer to Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” “I would say, yeah. That’s my ‘Jolene,’” says McBryde of the tune. “It’s a little different. It’s as if ‘Jolene’ was written from the standpoint of the daughter instead of from the standpoint of the woman being cheated on.” “Stone,” another album highlight, was inspired by her brother’s suicide. McBryde wrote the ballad with her friend Nicolette Hayford. “[Hayford] had also lost her sibling in a much different way,” says McBryde. “I was telling her how I was still pretty angry about losing my brother and wanted to write something about that and tell him that he made a big mess we were all left to clean up. She said, ‘You know I’m not going to let you write an angry song about my brother.’ I laughed really hard and that made me tear up. I sounded like my brother when I laughed. I also get pissed as easy as he did too. [Hayford] said, ‘Go grab your guitar.’ We started writing it and started with that chorus. We wrote a song that wasn’t angry at all, and I was happy to honor him with that song, which we recorded on what would have been his birthday.” McBryde hit the road over the summer and has been going strong ever since (she’ll be off for about 11 days over the holidays before returning to touring). “We were so out of shape when we started out,” she admits. “I hadn’t run around and sung for 90 minutes in a while. We gave ourselves a couple of shows, but we were so happy. Everyone is so happy to be back in front of an audience and on the stage that what little mistakes we made were received with a lot of grace. I can’t fricking wait until the tour comes to Cleveland. It’s going to be great.”
jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel
January 12-25, 2022 | clevescene.com |
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SAVAGE LOVE Hey, Dan: I’m a gay man in his forties. I very much love my husband, but two years ago we acknowledged that our desire for each other sexually just wasn’t there anymore. Thanks in part to reading your column for many years, we were able to have a calm conversation about whether we wanted to remain together in a companionate marriage or split up. We decided to stay together and I’m glad we did. Sex was the thing we fought about most, and our relationship improved when we took that conflict off the table. My husband has a couple of fuckbuddies that he sees while I do most of my playing online. (We had this conversation at the start of the pandemic and playing online feels safer.) One of the things I’ve able to explore in the last year is FinDom. I really get off on sending money that we can spare to younger, hotter guys and being degraded for my pains. Thing is, almost all the guys doing FinDom are straight. It’s often a part of their persona they play up: they’re hot straight guys demanding cash tributes from “pathetic fags” that they would never touch in real life. As much as I like having my wallet drained by a hot young straight guy calling me a fag, I would so much rather give my money to a hot and dominant young gay man. Why do so few gay young men get into this? Do young gay men realize how much money they’re leaving on the table? Could you please tell them? Chances Are Some Hot FinDoms Are Gay “I don’t know why there aren’t more gay FinDoms out there,” said Master AJ, “but I’m certainly not the only one.” AJ is 23-year-old sexually dominant gay man who lives, works, and drains gay subs all over the world from his home base in the Pacific Northwest. He first stumbled over the the FinDom scene on Twitter when he was a kinky gay college student struggling to pay his rent. “I was working two jobs, and while I wasn’t desperate, I was thinking about money a lot,” said AJ. “So, the idea of being in control, which I was already really into, and dominating someone by demanding cash from him that he’d earned? It was a huge rush.” Most male FinDoms go to such great lengths to emphasize how straight they are that AJ sometimes wonders. “There are no male Doms I’ve seen draining cisgender women,”
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said Master AJ. “So, if these guys really are straight, they would have to stumble on the gay FinDom scene or have the idea to start targeting a community they weren’t a part of in order to establish themselves.” And having seen how much pleasure so many straight-identified male FinDoms get out of dominating gay men, “it seems possible that at least some of these guys aren’t being completely truthful about their sexualities.” Why would a gay or bi male FinDom claim to be straight? Because, as AJ points out, it’s going to make him more appealing to a significant segment of the gay finsub community. “There are a lot of gay men who fetishize being bullied by straight men,” said AJ. “And a lot of gay subs enjoy the idea that they are tributing to someone who will never be attracted to them. Which I find kind of laughable because being gay doesn’t necessarily mean a guy has a chance with me.” There’s also the issue of anti-gay slurs in FinDom play and how those slurs land. “Slurs get used a lot in the FinDom/kink scenes,” said AJ, “and they really can sound and feel different depending on the sexuality of the speaker.” Meaning, for some gay men being called a fag by a straight guy in a safe, controlled, and consensual way — like during a cash draining session — feels more degrading (in a sexy way) than being called a fag by another fag ever could. “But other gay men prefer gay FinDoms because they don’t like hearing slurs from straight men,” said AJ. Zooming out for a second… While it may be the case that a small handful of gay FinDoms pretend to be straight to attract gay subs, CASHFAG, I think something else is going on here. Namely, financial domination and other forms of online sex work have so lowered the “gay for pay” bar that the kind of straight man who wouldn’t have been able to profit off gay male lust twenty years ago — because he wouldn’t have sex with other men on camera for money — is now posting photos of his feet on Twitter, flipping off the camera, and ordering his gay followers to pay “fag tax” for the privilege of looking at him. Just as straight gay-for-pay porn stars managed (and still manage) to get off doing gay porn, there
| clevescene.com | January 12-25, 2022
FinDom(s) all the money you can reasonably spare. “Because when you think about it,” said AJ, “tributing to a gay FinDom is like supporting a small queer business, and that’s something we should all be doing.” Follow MasterAJ on Twitter @ CashMasterAJ1.
JOE NEWTON
are straight male FinDoms getting off on what they do. “I know I enjoy draining cash from men I find unattractive,” said AJ. “Being dominant turns me on even if I’m not into the person. So, there could be straight male FinDoms out there who get some sort of sexual satisfaction from draining gay men but are still straight.” And it’s easy to see why a straight male FinDom who got a little turned during an online draining session with a gay male sub might make a point of emphasizing his straightness — not just to rub his sub’s nose in it, CASHFAG, but to reassure himself. Still, even though there are more straight FinDoms out there than gay ones, AJ’s bank account and spotlessly clean bathroom proves you don’t have to be a hot straight guy to be a successful FinDom. He’s always been very open about being gay, CASHFAG, and not only do gay male subs all over the world send him cash, but local gay male subs clean his apartment and run errands for him. “I’ve had a good experience with this,” said AJ, “it’s been both profitable and enjoyable and I’ve made great connections with so many people, including other gay Doms. I’ve always really liked talking to other gay men — whether they are submissive and into FinDom or not or just intrigued by my profile.” And if you really want to attract other gay men like him to the FinDom scene, CASHFAG, AJ suggests making an effort to find out gay FinDoms who are already online, diligently promote their content with likes and retweets, and — of course — sending your favorite
Hey, Dan: Many years ago, as an apprentice cocksucker, I hooked up with a guy whose online profile indicated that he was uncut. I’m a Person of Foreskin myself, and I prefer uncut men, and his intact status was a selling point. Upon arrival, it was instantly clear that this gentleman had been circumcised. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Not only was his dick cut, it was cut highly, tightly, and very visibly. When I asked him about the misinformation, he got defensive. I think about this episode from time to time as I search for new and exciting cocks with which to do cock-related things. Every time I go in search of cock, without fail, I encounter men who claim to be uncut who are clearly cut. (I’ve enclosed a few pics sent by “uncut” men who do not, in fact, have foreskins!) The opposite has also happened: self-identified “cut” men who are unambiguously “whole.” But the latter is much rarer an occurrence than the shockingly common false-uncut self-reporters. Have the terms “uncut” and “cut” fallen from the lexicon? Are men that unfamiliar with their own anatomy? Is it a generational or regional thing? What’s going on? Unexplained Nomenclature Confuses Usual Terminology I suppose it’s possible that a small number of men out there don’t know whether they’re circumcised. But I think the obvious explanation is the likelier one: These men are telling you — a prospective new sex partner — what they think you wanna hear. A cut guy will tell you he’s uncut (or vice-versa) because he’s concluded you prefer uncut dick (or vice-versa). Then he sends you a photo of his actual dick, essentially asking, “Who you gonna believe? Me or your lying eyes?” So, you’re being gaslit with dick pics, UNCUT. You’re being dicklit.
mail@savagelove.net t@fakedansavage www.savagelovecast.com
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Days & Evenings, weekends. Warm candlelight atmosphere. Lakewood/West Suburbs Linda 216-221-5935 January 12-25, 2022 | clevescene.com |
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| clevescene.com | January 12-25, 2022