Cleveland Scene - June 5, 2024

UPFRONT

STUDY AIMING TO REVAMP ARCADE AS ‘CLEVELAND CULTURAL CENTER’ NEARS COMPLETION

THERE’S THE HUNGARIAN Museum in Erieview. There’s the Italian American Museum in Little Italy. And the mostly obfuscated and private museum over Emperor’s Palace restaurant in Historic Chinatown.

A recent plan asks the question: What if we assembled all of these cultural collections into one place.

And have that place be none other than the Downtown Arcade.

It’s the dream of a conceptual plan drafted up lately by Sandvick Architects, the firm that spearheaded the Arcade’s $60 million renovation in 1999, and former head of the Gateway District Neighborhood Corporation Tom Yablonsky. The team’s nearly-completed pitch to Arcade owners Skyline Investments is a two-birds-one-stone deal: fill the nearly 60% empty building with a cosmopolitan spin.

That is, as recent plans show, a so-called Cleveland Cultural Center. Occupying the currently vacant 18 spaces on the Euclid and Superior levels would be an opportunity for a specific ethnic group to rep its traditions—via a bite-size museum, walls of video, through lectures and music, or selling wares.

Or food. Five of the empty kitchen stalls would be occupied by culinary legs of these cultural groups.

Yablonsky, currently a consultant for a number of downtown development projects, believes that clustering dozens of different culturally focused outposts in a building that—architecturally speaking—is already a cultural melange could boost the Arcade’s vibrancy beyond weekend weddings, lunchtime loungers and hotel guests at the upstairs Hyatt Regency. (Sandvick and Skyline Investments did not respond to calls for comment in time.)

And take influence from arguably the Arcade’s best pasttime: hosting thousands during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in March. “Imagine experiencing a Kenyan Mombasa carnival,” the plans read, “or Chinese New Year in the splendor of the Arcade!”

That vibrancy “could be greater if we created an atmosphere,” Yablonsky told Scene. “And a vibrancy that you don’t feel in the inside right now. It’s intuitive.”

“But it’ll give us so much atmosphere that you’ll be able to quantify over time,” he added, “that the hotel’s operational side and sense of place and purpose would be grandly improved.”

Since the 1990s, when the Arcade’s previous owners, along with the city and the county, bankrolled that eightfigure investment into the building’s revival, the Arcade has always suffered a certain beauty paradox: How can a space of such a resounding aesthetic, with its Romanesque facades and 300-foot-long skylight, be so empty most of the time?

Apparently, Indianapolis had a similar conundrum. As Yablonsky and Sandvick cite in their plans, the city was brainstorming ideas of how to revamp their recession-struck Lafayette Square. That cosmopolitan notion hit: the square would be renamed the International Marketplace.

But there’s a clear difference here. Indianapolis’ Marketplace is a 2.5-square-mile area, pockmarked with some 900 ethnic businesses, including, a recent brochure suggests, “over 50” markets and 115 restaurants. According to the Sandvick idea, the Arcade would essentially be an indoor version of Cleveland’s Cultural Gardens. Not a massive ethnic food hall.

“I think it might be good for families,” said Bradley Spirakus, 36, drinking coffee with his coworkers at a table on the Arcade’s second floor. “But for thirty-year-olds, there’s nothing in here for any of us. Maybe make it more hip and meaningful— maybe a lounge-type thing. And make it more family-oriented.”

“Nobody’s coming in here from the ‘burbs,” his coworker Michael Dimarino, 40, said. “I mean, half of the restaurants are closed. What’s the point?”

Others pointed at the Arcade’s prime revenue source (along with the Hyatt guests) in the past decade.

“That’s my biggest question: Where will all the weddings go?”

Taylor Baker said, eating lunch nearby. “I suppose you just keep them on the weekends?”

“Maybe you keep weddings on the weekends, and do the cultural thing on the weekdays,” her friend McKenna Donahue added.

Baker closed her Styrofoam container of finished noodles from Zen Cuisine, a rare food stall still operating. “And what’s gonna happen to my favorite lunch spot? Really!”

Yablonsky said that he and Julie Dornback, the lead architect on the Cultural Center plans, will be presenting a final version of the concept to Skyline in June, and ideally begin the implementation— and seek confirmed tenants—by the end of the year.

As for any doubts, Yablonsky turned to his years convincing doubtful investors that the Warehouse District could be reshaped into Downtown’s most populated neighborhood. He sees the same for the Arcade: a space ready to host a concept not yet tried in Cleveland’s limits.

“It’s a glass half full, half empty discussion,” he said. “You have to have a vision, you have to feel positive while you’re trying to implement. You got to believe in it. You could quickly find reasons not to go forward, and then you won’t ever do the right thing.” – Mark Oprea

Cleveland Heights School District Failed to Address Student Sexual Harassment and Assault Incidents, Lawsuit Claims

Superintendents, principals and student coordinators at the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District failed to handle multiple instances of sexual harassment and assaults going back at least 14 years, a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday afternoon alleges.

The complaint, filed in the Northern District of Ohio Court by parents of students and former

students who are now adults, accuses the district and employees of Fairfax Elementary, Roxboro Middle School and Cleveland Heights High of ignoring clear violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal statute that protects students from any major discrimination on the basis of sex or gender.

CHUH and the nine other defendants listed “failed to take prompt and effective steps to end the harassment and assaults,” the complaint reads, “once notice of the misconduct had become sufficiently severe.”

The allegations, compiled over the past year by attorneys Eric Long, Karen Truszkowski and Antoinette Frazho in the 36-page suit, cover a wide range of sexual misbehavior by male teenagers that were, lawyers say, mismanaged by a string of teachers and principals.

At least five former female students, titled as Jane Does 1 through 5 due to them being minors at the time, are involved. In one incident, a Heights High freshman was raped by a member of the varsity soccer team, and was later denied a transfer to a separate building after admins chose not to punish the assailant, the lawsuit alleges. In another, a mother named “E.K.” was unable to pull her daughter out of a kindergarten class at Fairfax Elementary after a boy placed “his hand up her shirt and down her pants.”

And in one of the extreme cases, an 11-year-old girl was allegedly assaulted by an eighth grader in a production closet behind the Roxboro Elementary Auditorium. She was, the complaint claims, later coerced by a Roxboro counselor into admitting the closet sex was “consensual.”

“At the time, Jane Doe 1 was 11 years old, and did not know what ‘consensual’ meant,” the lawsuit reads, “nor did she have the legal ability to ‘consent’ to sexual contact.” Though the boy had charges brought against him eventually, the girl was initially suspended for “engaging in sexual conduct while on school property.”

In an interview Wednesday,

by

Photo

Mark Oprea

Long told Scene that he and the plaintiffs had waited so long to file— about a year—due to the nature of formulating a sound Title IX case, along with the obvious sensitivities that go into matters of sexual assault.

“I think part of that answer is that it takes time to realize that you’re not the only one. Right?” he said. “When we’re talking about systemic problems and actively trying to avoid doing what needs to be done under the law, it takes time for this stuff to come forward.”

Long said that he and his team had attempted to mediate a settlement outside of court with CHUH’s legal team but those talks had failed. He declined to reveal the dollar amount the litigants were seeking.

The suit filed brings ten counts of charges against the district, from three involving the Title IX sex discriminatio, to those of negligent hiring, retention and supervision of school staff. But the bulk of the claims, Long said, are straightforward: CHUH failed to protect at least five female students from assault “because of their gender.”

Which, to Long, is a relatively unique case in Northeast Ohio courts.

“I’m not aware of kind of a multi plaintiff case that kind of fits the same pattern where over a course of a decade plus, the school has continuously failed to take the steps they need to take under Title IX,” he said. “So I think this is somewhat unique in that way. But I would venture to guess this will not be the last case like that.”

In a statement to Scene, Elizabeth Kirby, CHUH’s superintendent, backed up the school system’s ability to both handle Title IX issues and prevent them.

CHUH, after all, she said, has a “full-time Title IX Coordinator” to provide “education sessions” to students; teachers and staff regularly attend Title IX seminars; and, following a particular case in 2022, the school beefed up its support staff to combat sexual harassment.

“We take all allegations of this nature seriously, including the District’s obligations to report and investigate,” Kirby wrote in a statement. “We are aware that a number of parents are dissatisfied with the District’s Title IX response. We respect their right to voice their opinion.”

CHUH and their legal team have 60 days to respond to the complaint. – Mark Oprea

Cleveland State’s Waterfront Line Study Urges Apartments on the Muni Lot, New Loop Connections

From the perspective of a Downtown Cleveland optimist, the area spells promise for the near future as far as development is concerned.

A new Rock & Hall of Fame extension is coming. Bedrock just broke ground on its $2 billion riverfront neighborhood. And Mayor Justin Bibb’s Lakefront Plan’s likelihood got a boost after his Shore-to-Core-to-Shore tax-increment financing plan was passed earlier this year by City Council.

But, a group of students at Cleveland State’s College of Urban Affairs asked recently: What is to be done with Downtown’s prime piece of transit potentially linking—key word being potentially—all of the area’s newest points of interest?

That is to say, how do we ensure the Waterfront Line, the RTA’s twomile line of track that hasn’t been in daily service since 2021, doesn’t miss out on Cleveland’s trajectory forward and serves as a reliable connector?

Such speculation was at the heart of the study released this week by a team of 16 graduate students, a plan detailing, in a highly-comprehensive 125 pages how the city, the county and the RTA could efficiently makeover the line and idling land around it. A plan that cried with a resounding voice: build housing, build housing, build housing.

“Right now, there are a lot of great opportunities, but there’s not a residential density that supports the Waterfront Line,” John Miesle, 29, a graduate student and member of 17th Street Studios, the moniker the CSU team gave to their cohort project, told Scene. “There’s not a commercial density that could support it. That could support 24-hour rail service.”

Miesle’s lament, common amongst transit advocates, revolves around the cry to reopen the Waterfront Line to how it used to function before it went out of commission following the need for necessary repairs in the fall of 2021.

Although the RTA teased its comeback by running the line during Browns Sunday home games last season, the result—and ridership—was somewhat disappointing. Only 2,300 Clevelanders and Browns fans rode the line on average each football Sunday; twenty-two years ago, in 2002, the entire light rail system (including the Green and Blue lines) clocked about 259,000 riders per month.

Hence 17th Street Studios’ central thesis. The team believes that, like found in light rail systems in Denver and Minneapolis, the Waterfront Line could see a whopping comeback if large amounts of shops and apartments were built nearby it, primarily on the vacant parking lots built decades ago to meet a perceived

demand for cars.

Like the actual feat of reviving the lingering waterfront in general, the students’ ideas are quite massive in both scale and financial heft.

Along with trails and bike paths up and down West 3rd and East 9th, the students suggest a new connection—with a line of townhomes—linking East 18th St. to the easternmost South Harbor Station. (Near where Noble Beast Brewing is.) Over in the Flats East Bank, redoing West 10th with a tree line and erecting a brand new Settlers Garage to consolidated parking demand left by new housing a few blocks north.

And, of course, the plan’s pièce de résistance: linking the South Harbor Station and the Tri-C Station with an on-street track line running down East 17th, a line that would link Historic Chinatown, Playhouse Square and Cleveland State with, for the first time ever, an actual route.

And call it, appropriately, the Waterfront Loop.

In urbanist parlance, that’s transit-oriented development, homes erected as close to transit stations as city permits will allow. Which should in theory lead to, the students believe, “increasing density, getting parking right, providing safe connections, fostering vibrant public spaces, and prioritizing affordable housing.”

“As the area becomes more livable, walkable, and connected, this will attract more residents and visitors and increase demand for regular light rail service,” it added. “This, in turn, will make the Waterfront Line an even more convenient and attractive option for getting around, thereby creating a virtuous cycle that benefits everyone.”

The key word being everyone Though Downtown’s population has grown 41% in the past decade or so, the growth has been mostly composed of white people in their mid-to-late twenties and thirties. RTA’s average rider, which it has long catered to, is a carless Black woman in her twenties making less than $25,000 a year.

17th Street’s study, which echoes Bibb’s calls for equity on the lakefront, makes an attempt to bridge the gaps left by demographics and pure economics. (And those who can afford a car in the first place.)

Either near the Settlers Landing Station or the Muni Lots hugging the North Coast Station on East 9th, the students suggest, based on housing data, that there’s “unmet demand” for some 1,840 apartment units. And units of varying rent levels. In one analysis of the Historic Flats, the students found that 400 units clocking $456/month would be worthwhile

to build—just as some 500 units charging renters $1,902/month.

But, as 17th Street’s shiny renderings give off, anything is better than barren concrete lots. In the Muni Lot West, they imagine a shipping container park and mid-rises. In “The Pit,” the gargantuan lot south of the Browns Stadium, some 70,000 square feet of day cares, pet goods stores, apartments and restaurants.

Both the demand and promise for defeating RTA’s, and transit in general, oldest stigma as lesser than car trips comes straight from 17th Street’s survey of hundreds of Clevelanders, about half of which claimed they would ride the Waterfront Line even if they didn’t own a car. A little more than half called the line “not convenient”; two-fifths found the train cars took “too long”; twenty percent couldn’t find the RTA sufficiently safe.

“The Flats have lost their color,” another stakeholder wrote. “Everything is gray.”

“Public transit has a stigma,” another said.

Thomas Hilde, a professor who co-teaches, with James Kastelic, the “Planning Studio” graduate course that produced the study over the past two semesters, told Scene that his students came to the typical conclusion that planners have long arrived at: defeating RTA’s “unsafe” perception and increasing its riders are parallel goals.

“I think that’s the biggest challenge, just getting more people” on the line, Hilde said. “Like Jane Jacobs said in the 1960s—eyes on the street, just having people present. That’s the best way of changing that perception.”

But could the city actually build all of this? Will developers, often skeptical observing rising construction costs and steep lending rates, see the vision promulgated by a series of optimistic planners in their mid-to-late twenties?

Hilde thinks so, to some extent.

“Many of these planning studio projects have influenced real outcomes in the city,” he told Scene. He cited “Balancing Broadway,” 2022’s study of Lorain’s Main Street. “They’ve taken off! I mean, not as they’re written, but they’re influential. And they contribute to the conversation. —Mark Oprea

CLEVELAND, YOU ARE SOLID GOLD

A certified winner. And to prove it we’ve rounded up the very best the city has to offer, all with your help.

Best of Cleveland 2024 is here and the readers have spoken… loudly.

After tens of thousands of nominations and votes cast this spring, Scene readers have once again built the indispensable guide to Cleveland -- where to eat, what to do, what to listen to, where to shop, where to be seen, what’s stood the test of time, what’s newly arrived that’s worthy of your time and attention.

Our thanks to everyone involved: the people of Northeast Ohio doing their part every day, the winners, the voters, the commenters who will inevitably disagree with the list, the residents who have yet to receive their due, and the ones poised to break through and join the winner’s circle in the future.

And now, the envelope please…

BEST OF CLEVELAND

Ryder Slowly

Jace Blaze

The Twisted Transitioner

BEST DRAG QUEEN 1. Omega 2. Anhedonia Delight 3. Sassy Sascha

BEST DRAG TROUPE

1. House of Honeydew 2. Not Wearing Wigs 3. Black Mass

BEST ENTERTAINMENT PODCAST

1. Love and Danger 2. The Guiltless Podcast 3. Revenge of the ’90s BEST FAMILY OUTING 1. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Cedar Point

Edgewater Beach BEST FREE OUTING

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland Metroparks

Lakeview Cemetery

HOTEL

The 9

The Ritz

Aloft

BEST INDOOR WEDDING VENUE 1. 78th Street Studios 2. The Madison

Tudor Arms

BEST LOCAL INSTAGRAM FOLLOW 1. @imfromcleveland 2. @thingsivebeeneating 3. @theclebucketlist

BEST LOCAL STARTUP

1. Music Izz Groovy 2. Basil & Rex 3. Left Bank Creative

BEST NEWS PODCAST 1. Loud & Local

Trend Kill Radio 3. Not Even a Podcast

BEST NEWS REPORTER 1. Wayne Dawson 2. Natalie Herbick 3. Damon Maloney

BEST OUTDOOR WEDDING VENUE

1. Cleveland Botanical Gardens 2. Lago Custom Events 3. Truss

BEST PLACE FOR AN ADULT BIRTHDAY PARTY

1. Mahall’s

2. CLE Tiki Barge

3. Pins Mechanical

BEST PLACE FOR A KID’S BIRTHDAY PARTY

1. Sky Zone

2. Malley’s

3. CLE Bounce Houses

BEST PLACE FOR A FIRST DATE

1. Little Italy

2. Cloak & Dagger

3. Humble Wine Bar

BEST PLACE TO TAKE A VISITOR

1. West Side Market

2. Rock Hall

3. Cleveland Museum of Art

BEST PLACE TO WORK

1. Cleveland Clinic

2. Paws in the Land

3. No Class

BEST PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL

1. Lakewood

2. Avon Lake

3. Rocky River

Sequoia

Bostick

Here We Go Brownies

Terry Pluto

Andre Knott

Munch Bishop

Stefani Schaefer

Cleveland Botanical Garden

Gourmet

BEST OF CLEVELAND

1. Cleveland Burlesque 2. House of BurlesCLE 3. Shrimply the Best Burlesque

BEST COMEDY VENUE 1. Hilarities

No Class 3. Spotlight Cleveland BEST CONCERT VENUE 1. Beachland Ballroom 2. The Agora

Grog Shop

BEST COVER BAND 1. 4LOCOS 2. Bad JuJu Cleveland 3. Sweet Chin Music

BEST DANCE PARTY 1. Emo Night by Lake Erie Emo Club

Sapphic Night

Nocturnal at the Foundry Concert

BEST DANCE TROUPE

Destiny’s Fools

Imaj’nation

Crib Collective

DIRECTOR

B.J. Halsall 2. Matthew Mark Hunter

Joey Gentile

BEST DJ

DJ Deana

Carrie Danger

Koly Kolgate BEST FEMALE COMEDIAN

Tabitha Jones

Mary Faktor

3. Cam Godfrey

BEST FEMALE VOCALIST

1. Aimee Lennox 2. Ashley Nemeh 3. Mallory Jean

BEST FILMMAKER

1. Robert Banks 2. R&A Productions

Joey Gentile

BEST HIP-HOP ARTIST OR GROUP 1. Mighty Misc

Marquis Storm 3. South Park

BEST ILLUSTRATOR

1. Chris Singleton 2. Aaron Sechrist 3. Tabitha Ice

BEST LOCAL ALBUM

1. Another Dead Rockstar

2. Cherry Red

3. Tilt, The Fifth Wheel

BEST LOCAL AUTHOR

1. Ryan Polk

2. James Renner

3. Starkks

BEST LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT

1. Lisa Langford

2. Cat Kenney

3. Michael Oatman

BEST LOCAL RECORD LABEL

1. Say Less Entertainment

2. Westside Productions

3. Delayed Gratification Records

BEST MAGICIAN

1. Rick Smith

2. Cory Woodford

3. The Alans

BEST MALE COMEDIAN

1. Bill Squire

2. Ryan Polk

3. Martin Malloy

Sequoia

Bostick

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Photo by Emanuel Wallace

Cleveland Burlesque

BEST OF CLEVELAND

Eddy’s

Joy Machines

Blazing Saddles BEST BOOKSTORE

Loganberry

Mac’s Backs

Visible Voice BEST BOUTIQUE 1. Salty Not Sweet

Spellbound

SLFMKR

BEST CAR DEALERSHIP

Westside Toyota

Metro Toyota

Ken Ganley Jeep BEST CIGAR SHOP

Cousin’s Cigar

Cigar Cigars

Mayfield Smoke Shop

CLEVELAND MAKER

Cleverland Puzzle

Burdick Custom Flags

Revival Body Care

COMIC/COLLECTIBLES SHOP

The Geek Peek

Carol & John’s

Superscript

CONSIGNMENT SHOP

Flower Child

Seconds City

All Things for You BEST EYEWEAR

Eye Candy 2. David Ford 3. Eyes on Chagrin

BEST FASHION DESIGNER

1. Valerie Mayen 2. Koko Mystique 3. Alphonse Moore

BEST FLORIST 1. Urban Orchid 2. Blossom 3. Tipsy Designs

BEST FURNITURE MAKER 1. Rickey Tanno Design 2. Rustbelt Reclamation 3. Sawhorse Woodworks

BEST GIFT SHOP 1. Made Cleveland 2. Uniquely Handmade for You 3. The Rift Shop

BEST GROCERY STORE

1. Heinen’s

2. Lucky’s Market

3. Cleaveland Grocers

BEST HEALTH AND BEAUTY STORE

1. Revival Body Care

2. Glam and Grace

3. SLFMKR

BEST HOBBY STORE

1. Apple Jax Toys

2. Lakewood Art Supply

3. The Quilting Bee

BEST HOME/GARDEN SHOP

1. Petitti Garden Center

2. Lakewood Garden Center

3. Gale’s Garden Centers

BEST JEWELRY STORE

1. Oceanne

2. Goldsmith Jewelers

3. DeWitt’s

BEST LOCAL GAME STORE

1. The Geek Peek

2. The Exchange

3. Superscript

Sequoia

Bostick

SHOPS + SERVICES

1. Stella and Shay

2. Glossy Nails

3. Sacred Hour

BEST PLACE TO BUY HOUSEPLANTS

1. Lakewood Plant Company

2. Urban Planting

3. Buyers Outlet

BEST PLACE TO BUY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

1. Guitar Center

2. Royalton Music

3. Woodsy’s

BEST PLACE TO BUY A WEDDING DRESS

1. Radiant Bride

2. David’s Bridal

3. Liliana Bridal House

BEST PLACE TO FURNISH YOUR HOME

1. Arhaus

2. Wayside

3. Mishi Lifestyle

BEST RECORD STORE

1. My Mind’s Eye Records

2. Record Den

3. The Current Year

BEST RETAIL BEER SELECTION

1. Rozi’s Wine House

2. Red Wine and Brew

3. Ross Beverage

BEST SALON

BEST

1. Root Healing

2. Willow Room Collective

3. Holistic Halo Salt Spa

BEST SHOP TO FIND A PIECE OF CLEVELAND

1. CLE Clothing Co.

2. Made Cleveland

3. GV Art & Design

BEST SMOKE SHOP

1. Daystar Boutique

2. Puff n’ Stuff

3. Hippie House

BEST SNEAKER SHOP

1. Chilly Kicks

2. Second Sole Mentor

3. Xhibition

BEST SPA

1. Sacred Hour

2. Bethesda Wellness

3. Stella and Shay

BEST STORE TO BUY CBD

1. American Shaman

2. Cleveland Vape

3. Reverb Wellness

BEST STYLIST

1. Tina Frimel

2. Louie Leonetti

3. Caitie House

BEST TATTOO ARTIST

1. Kyle Manley

2. Haley Gunz

3. Lauren Callahan

BEST TATTOO SHOP

1. Reflection Room

2. Atom Bomb

3. Femme and Fauna

BEST THRIFT STORE

1. Common Threads

2. Flower Child

3. Savers

BEST TOY STORE

1. Apple Jax Toys

2. Learning Express Westlake

BEST VAPE SHOP

1. Planet of the Vapes

2. Puff n’ Stuff

3. Hippie House

BEST VINTAGE SHOP

1. Flower Child

2. Sweet Lorain

3. Magically Found

BEST WINE STORE

1. Rozi’s Wine House

2. Minotti’s

3. The Wine Spot

BEST WOMEN’S CLOTHING STORE

1. Torrid

2. Apricot Lane Boutique

3. Ladder

Cleveland Curiosities

BEST OF CLEVELAND

Smedley’s

Crobar

Christie’s

Diamond Men’s Club

HAPPY HOUR

Treehouse

Lago East Bank

Funhouse BEST HIP-HOP CLUB

B-Side

Inferno

Rumor

BEST JAZZ CLUB/BAR

Velvet Tango Room

Bop Stop

Treelawn BEST KARAOKE

Corky’s

Tina’s

Twist Social Club BEST LGBTQ+ BAR/CLUB

Twist Social Club

Vibe 3. Cocktails Cleveland

BEST LOCAL BEER 1. Great Lakes Brewing Company 2. Noble Beast

Bottlehouse

BEST LOCAL BREWERY

Great Lakes Brewing Company

Fat Head’s

Noble Beast

BEST METAL CLUB 1. The Foundry

No Class

Maple Grove Tavern

BEST NEIGHBORHOOD BAR 1. Happy Dog

2. Solid Gold Lounge 3. Jukebox

BEST NEW BAR

1. Never Say Dive

2. Spotlight Cleveland

3. Danny’s on Professor

BEST ROCK CLUB

1. Beachland Ballroom

2. The Agora

3. Mahall’s

BEST SINGLES BAR

1. Around the Corner

2. Twist Social Club

3. The Winchester

BEST SPOT FOR DAY DRINKING

1. Lakewood Truck Park

2. Rowley Inn

3. Townhall

BEST UNDERGROUND MUSIC BAR/CLUB

1. Grog Shop

2. The Foundry

3. No Class

BEST WATERFRONT BAR

1. Collision Bend

2. Whiskey Island Still and Eatery

3. Shooters on the Water

BEST WINE BAR

1. Rocky River Wine Bar

2. Humble Wine Bar

3. The Wine Spot

Sequoia

Bostick

BEST OF CLEVELAND

1. Grumpy’s Café

Lucky’s

Rowley Inn

BRUNCH

Rowley Inn

Southside

Juneberry Table

BURGERS

Hecks

Eugene Kitchen

Doinks Burger Joint

BUTCHER SHOP

Ohio City Provisions

Gibbs Butcher Block

DW Whitaker

CAKES

Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes

Sean Buckholz

Wild Flour

CHEF

Doug Katz

Jill Vedaa

Vinnie Cimino

Li Wah 2. King Wah

LJ Shanghai BEST CHOCOLATE SHOP

Malley’s

Sweet Designs

Sweet Bean BEST COFFEESHOP

Rising Star

Emilie’s

Roasted

DELI

1. Slyman’s 2. Larder 3. Lehman’s

BEST DESSERTS 1. Mitchell’s 2. Rudy’s Strudel 3. Foodhisattva

BEST DINER 1. My Friends 2. George’s Kitchen 3. The Place to Be

BEST DONUTS 1. Brewnuts 2. Jack Frost 3. Bigmouth Donut

BEST FOOD TRUCK

1. Barrio 2. Parilya

3. Cheesy Dave’s

BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT

1. Le Petit Triangle

2. L’Albatros

3. Chez Francois

BEST FRENCH FRIES

1. Tommy’s 2. Hecks

3. Eugene Kitchen

BEST FRIED CHICKEN

1. Soho Chicken + Whiskey

2. Boss ChickNBeer

3. Cordelia

BEST GERMAN RESTAURANT

1. Das Schnitzel Haus

2. Hofbrauhaus

3. Der Braumeister

BEST GREEK RESTAURANT

1. Astoria

2. Niko’s 3. Greek Village

Sequoia

Bostick

HAPPY HOUR

MONDAY-FRIDAY | 3-6PM

$1 off tacos | $1 off drafts | $5 select margaritas | $15 casa pitchers | 1/2 off whiskey + tequila

AFTER HOURS

SUNDAY-FRIDAY | 9PM-CLOSE

late night build-your-own nachos | 20oz draft + margarita specials

FOOD + DRINK

Scooter’s Dawg House

Honey Hut

Mason’s Creamery

INDIAN RESTAURANT

India Garden

Amba

Choolaah

IRISH RESTAURANT 1. The Harp

P.J. McIntyre’s

Stone Mad BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT 1. Luca Italian Cuisine (Casa la Luna)

Bruno’s Ristorante & Catering

Flour

JAMAICAN RESTAURANT

Irie Jamaican

Taste of Jamaica

Gar and Mar Jamaican Cuisine

JAPANESE RESTAURANT 1. Pacific East 2. Sora 3. Goma

BEST JUICE BAR 1. Pulp 2. Beet Jar 3. Restore

BEST KOREAN RESTAURANT

1. Seoul Garden 2. Korea House 3. Mashiso

BEST LATE NIGHT EATS

1. My Friends 2. Prosperity Social Club 3. Mars Bar BEST LATIN RESTAURANT 1. Barroco 2. Batuqui 3. Twisted Taino BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANT

1. Cilantro Taqueria 2. Cozumel 3. Momocho

BEST MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT

1. Aladdin’s 2. Zhug 3. Sittoo’s

BEST PHO

1. Superior Pho 2. Ninja City 3. Pho Thang

BEST PIZZA

1. Angelo’s

2. Ohio Pie Co. 3. Il Rione

BEST POLISH RESTAURANT

1. Rowley Inn

2. Prosperity Social Club 3. Rudy’s Strudel

BEST RESTAURANT

1. Marble Room

2. Cordelia 3. Amba

BEST NEW RESTAURANT 1. Fahrenheit 2. Parilya 3. Never Say Dive

BEST RESTAURANT (ASIATOWN/ GOODRICH-KIRTLAND)

1. Li Wah 2. Superior Pho 3. LJ Shanghai

BEST RESTAURANT (BELLAIRE-PURITAS)

1. GLIZZYS 2. Grayton Road Tavern 3. Café Roma

BEST RESTAURANT (BROADWAY-SLAVIC VILLAGE)

1. The Red Chimney

2. Daisy’s

3. Marsha’s Soul Food Café

BEST RESTAURANT (BROOK PARKMIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS)

1. The Aviator

2. Santo’s

3. Sips and Such Social House

BEST RESTAURANT (BROOKLYN)

1. Mom’s Pierogies

2. Kintaro

3. Aldo’s

BEST RESTAURANT (BUCKEYE-SHAKER/ BUCKEYE-WOODLAND)

1. EDWINS

2. Zanzibar

3. The Vegan Club

BEST RESTAURANT (CENTRAL)

1. The Crispy Chick

BEST RESTAURANT (CLARK-FULTON)

1. Johnny’s on Fulton

2. Pupuseria y Antojitos Guanaquitas

3. The Green Kitchen

Courtesy of Brassica

Brassica

Photo by Doug Trattner

Cilantro Taqueria

FOOD + DRINK

(CLEVELAND HEIGHTS)

Eugene Kitchen at Bottlehouse

(COLLINWOOD)

RESTAURANT (DETROITSHOREWAY)

(DOWNTOWN)

Fairview Tavern

Raan Thai

RESTAURANT (FLATS)

Collision Bend

Lago East Bank

Alley Cat

RESTAURANT (GARFIELD HEIGHTS)

Flava Southern Cuisine

3. Trattoria

BEST RESTAURANT (MAPLE HEIGHTS)

1. Sam Sylk’s

2. Auntie Lumpy’s

3. Tee Deez Gourmet Kitchen

BEST RESTAURANT (MOUNT PLEASANT)

1. Mount Pleasant BBQ

2. CMB Soul Food

BEST RESTAURANT (OHIO CITY)

1. West Side Market Café

2. Momocho

3. Amba

BEST RESTAURANT (OLD BROOKLYN)

1. Dina’s Pizza & Pub

Hola Tacos/Barroco

Batuqui

(LEE-HARVARD/LEEMILES)

1. Angie’s Soul Café

2. Island Cuisine

3. Brown’s Corner Restaurant BEST RESTAURANT (LITTLE ITALY)

1. Mamma Santa’s

2. Mia Bella

2. Never Say Dive

3. City Diner

BEST RESTAURANT (PARMA)

1. Schnitz Ale Brewery

2. Fast Eddie’s

3. Au Jus

BEST RESTAURANT (ROCKY RIVER)

1. Rocky River Wine Bar

2. Salmon Dave’s

3. Tartine

BEST RESTAURANT (SHAKER HEIGHTS)

1. Brassica

2. Lox, Stock & Brisket

3. Northstar Café

BEST RESTAURANT (SOUTH EUCLID/ UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS)

1. Geraci’s

2. Pizzazz

3. Eat at Joe’s

BEST RESTAURANT (ST. CLAIRSUPERIOR)

1. Slyman’s

2. The Roaming Biscuit

3. Goldhorn

BEST RESTAURANT (STOCKYARDS)

1. Sachsenheim

2. Gually’s Baker

BEST RESTAURANT (TREMONT)

1. Fat Cats

2. Prosperity Social Club

3. Literary Tavern

BEST RESTAURANT (WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS)

1. Hooked

2. Frederick’s Wine & Dine

3. Nonna’s at Thistledown

BEST RESTAURANT (WEST PARK)

1. West Park Station

2. Public House

3. Hatfield’s Goode Grub

BEST RESTAURANT (UNIVERSITY CIRCLE)

1. L’Albatros

2. Otani Noodle

3. Wolf Pack Chorus

BEST RESTAURANT COCKTAIL PROGRAM

1. LBM

2. Thyme Table

3. Sora

BEST RESTAURANT PATIO

1. Shooters on the Water

2. All Saints

3. Lago East Bank

BEST ROMANTIC RESTAURANT

1. Pier W

2. Marble Room

3. Amba

BEST SANDWICHES

1. Herb’n Twine

2. Larder

3. Superior Deli

BEST SEAFOOD MARKET

1. Kate’s Fish

2. Euclid Fish Co.

3. Seven Seas

BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

1. Pier W

2. Blue Point Grille

3. Sora

BEST SOUL FOOD

1. Soho Chicken + Whiskey

2. Zanzibar

3. Angie’s Soul Cafe

by

Photo

Doug Trattner

FOOD + DRINK

2. La Plaza

Cilantro Taqueria

TEAHOUSE

Algebra Tea House

The Tea Lab

Sacred Waters

THAI RESTAURANT

Thai Thai

Banana Blossom

Ty Fun BEST VEGAN RESTAURANT 1. Cleveland Vegan 2. Foodhisattva

Cloak & Dagger

Tommy’s

Foodhisattva

The Green Kitchen

VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT 1. Superior Pho

Saigon Restaurant & Bar

Pho Lee

WINGS

Good Company

Boss ChickNBeer

Woodstock BBQ

Good Company

Good Company Wings

BEST OF CLEVELAND

Punderson State Park

Tremont Athletic Club

BEST HIKING TRAIL 1. Towpath Trail

Ledges Trail

North Chagrin Reservation

BEST KAYAK RENTAL

41 North

Great Lakes Watersports

Chagrin River Kayak

BEST LASER TAG

Area 51

Fear Warfare

Scene 75

BEST PHYSICAL TRAINER

Melissa Roth

BEST PICKLE BALL COURTS

1. Studio West 117

2. Tri-City Park

3. UH Avon

BEST PLACE TO BIRDWATCH

1. Cuyahoga Valley National Park

2. Lakefront Nature Preserve

3. Headlands Beach

BEST PLACE TO ICE SKATE

1. Winterhurst

2. Mentor Ice Arena

3. Cleveland Skating Club

BEST PLACE TO PLAY TENNIS

1. Cleveland Racquet Club

2. Force Sports Rocky River 3. Impett Park

BEST PLACE TO SKI

1. Boston Mills-Brandywine

2. Holiday Valley

3. Snow Trails

BEST PLAYGROUND

Maggie Ruper 3. Leland Coffey

1. Lakewood Park

2. Edgewater

3. Preston’s Hope

Courtesy Aerial Agents Lakewood Park

GET OUT Everything to do in Cleveland for the next two weeks

WED 06/05

In

the Heights

The hard-working residents of Washington Heights grapple with love and lust, identity and racism, all while the prospect of a winning lottery ticket hangs in the air. The musical pairs Latin rhythms and dance with hip-hop lyrics to tell the story about what it means to chase your dreams as you cling to your roots. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the Allen Theatre, where performances continue through June 9.

1407 Euclid Ave., 216-521-2540, playhousesquare.org.

Midnight Rental presents Secret Movie Night

Hosted by Lenora from the internet hit-series Midnight Rental, this movie night features what it deems to be the best in VHS horror, thriller and campy

classics. The event begins tonight at 8 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, and the club will feature a special movie night menu for the event.

2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.

THU 06/06

Game On! Double Play: A Benefit for moCa

The Museum of Contemporary Art’s fundraiser that takes place at Studio West 117 will feature games for pairs. There will be sport games, play games, drinking games and art games. The event begins at 7 p.m.

1638 Hird Ave., Lakewood, 216-8014286, mocacleveland.org.

Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals

A three-game series between the Guards and division rivals, the Kansas City Royals, a team that’s played surprisingly well this season, concludes with today’s game

that takes place at 1:10 p.m. at Progressive Field. 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb. com/guardians.

FRI 06/07

Glamgore: 6th Annual Pre-Pride on the East Side

The locally based drag show celebrates its anniversary with performances by Turner, Rebecca Mae, Selena T. West, the Girl Named Jack, Saint and Biqtch Puddin’. The event begins tonight at 8 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.

MIX: All Out

At this Pride-themed edition of MIX, DJ Navy Jayde will create a dance set for the evening as Cleveland’s drag star Dakota Cox will pay homage to the Black women who’ve inspired

her. Themed food and drink items, including cocktails, beer, and wine, will be available to purchase from Bon Appétit. Guests are also invited to view artworks by LGBTQ+ artists. The event takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Cleveland Museum of Art. 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org.

Sister’s Summer School Catechism

Another installment in the Late Nite Catechism series that debuted way back in 1993, Sister’s Summer School Catechism comes to the Hanna Theatre tonight at 7. 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org.

SAT 06/08

Girls Night: The Musical!

Five friends revisit their pasts and celebrate the present in this musical that features celebratory songs such

Parade the Circle returns to Wade Oval. See: Saturday, June 8.| Emanuel Wallace

A ROCK ’N’ ROLL SNAPSHOT

Taking Back Sunday delivers its most fully realized album

By Jeff Niesel

THE PRESS MATERIALS

for 152, the latest effort from the hard rock act Taking Back Sunday, maintain that it’s the band most “fully realized” album. Could it really be that the group has finally found itself after twentysomething years?

“I do agree with that statement,” says singer Adam Lazarra via phone from his Charlotte home, where he was getting ready to rehearse for a tour that brings the group to House of Blues on Tuesday, June 18. “I’m proud of a long list of things that we’ve done, but one of the main things is that each record is a snapshot of the people we were at that time — sonically and lyrically and musically. When we would go into the studio in the past, there would be this voice in your head that you don’t want to alienate anyone or go too far out to left field. With the approach with 152 and just where we are in our lives, I feel like all of us were able to quiet that voice better this time around than before. This is who we are.”

The group started to write the songs for the album during the height of the pandemic. After continued lockdowns thwarted a few in-person songwriting sessions, the group finally got together about two years ago to begin working on the album in earnest.

“When we did get back together, there were some ideas we had started kicking around in 2021, but we were throwing things at the wall,” says Lazzara.

A call from DJ Steve Aoki would set the wheels in motion.

“[Aoki] was putting this record out that was all collaborations, and he reached out because they wanted me to do some [vocals],” says Lazzara. “Instead, I suggested he work with the whole band.”

Aoki happened to have a show in Charlotte, and the Charlotte studio where TBS recorded its last album,

TAKING BACK SUNDAY.| Ashley Osborn

TAKING BACK SUNDAY, CITIZEN.

7 P.M. TUESDAY, JUNE 18, HOUSE OF BLUES, 308 EUCLID AVE., 216-523-2583. TICKETS: $45-$79.50, HOUSEOFBLUES.COM.

Tidal Wave, was available.

“At that session, we met Tushar [Apte] who wound up producing 152,” says Lazzara. “It was fascinating seeing how those guys work in that world. We’re used to recording as a rock band. You go in and mic up the drum kit and do the whole thing. That’s still how we recorded 152, but the speed and efficiency of how these guys work rocked our world. From that point forward, we realized what we were chasing and how we could get there.”

Album opener “Amphetamine Smiles,” a Bowie-esque ballad that commences with acoustic guitars and tender vocals, showcases the album’s rich sonic textures from the get-go. The soaring strings turn the track into an evocative power ballad.

“Those are live strings on the song,” says Lazzara. “That song was originally a completely different thing. [Apte] pulled the rhythm section out for almost the first half of the song, and it was amazing. From there, we inserted synth-y sounds. The bulk of the lyrics came from [guitarist] John [Nolan]. When he first brought it to us, it was like a folky kind of tune. Then, our drummer wanted to speed it up to 200 bpm. We brought it down, down, down from there. It was one of the few songs on the record that was brought in and the bones and structure were pretty much realized.”

The album shifts musical gears with “Keep Going,” an intense track that features accelerating synths and gang-style vocals.

“There’s one chorus where it’s all of us singing and one where it’s

John [Nolan] and I and one where it’s John and Tushar [Apte] and I,” says Lazzara when asked about the layered vocals. “It was all gang vocal style. I like the energy about it.”

A shimmering ballad with ‘80s undertones, “I Am the Only One Who Knows You” shows off Lazzara’s powerful voice. The band drew inspiration for it from an unlikely source.

“It originally had a different chorus,” says Lazzara. “We recorded at a few different studios because we were doing the album in bursts. We could sit with certain decisions. We were at this one studio in Los Angles and trying to figure it out. We talked about how much we love ‘Sailing’ by Christopher Cross, and there’s this idea of slowing it down and changing the chords around, and once we did that, there was this ‘aha’ moment. We just added a bit more distortion to it.”

While 152 isn’t quite a year old, the TBS guys have already started thinking about the next studio release.

“On days off, we started going into the studio, and there is a lot of material there,” says Lazzara. “The plan for us — and we realize this now — is that you have to change with the times, like Bob Dylan said. We come from this mindset that it always has to be all analog. It’s so dumb. I see that there is another way and a middle ground with that other way, and it’s not only efficient way to work but some of the most fun I’ve ever had.”

jniesel@clevescene.com t@jniesel

STREETWISE

At Honest in Parma Heights, an extensive tour of India’s regional cuisines and a vegetarian’s delight

By Douglas Trattner

LIKE MANY KIDS GROWING up in Gujarat, Dharmesh Patel looked forward to dining at Honest, a well-known restaurant chain in India. Years later, after immigrating to Cleveland, graduating from college and settling down in Parma, he began seeing the Honest name popping up on this side of the globe. After nearly six years of pursuing a franchise, he opened his own local store in early 2023.

“I always wanted to have a restaurant, and especially this one,” the owner explains.

For many Indian-born diners, the name Honest evokes feelings of nostalgia, craving and confidence. The popular street-food concept is a safe place for strict vegetarians, with no meat ever allowed into the building. What’s more, many of the 100-plus items can be prepared for vegans and those adhering even to more restrictive Swaminarayan and Jainism diets.

Patel purchased a former Friendly’s location in Parma Heights, one that he and friends often stopped into for ice cream after outings to Parmatown Mall. The 90-seat dining room is bright, open and appealing, with ice-blue booths and tables surrounded by walls of windows.

Patel says that Honest hit upon a winning formula by combining street foods from various regions onto one menu, which appealed to people traveling throughout India. It’s also a formula that appeals to inflexible diners in this country, the owner adds.

“Normally, whenever we go to a restaurant, somebody has to compromise,” he says. “But at Honest, if I want something light, I can get it. If my wife wants South Indian, she can get it. If my kids want North Indian curries or IndoChinese, they can get that. We can get it all in one restaurant.”

The diverse menu combines South Indian dosas, Mumbai-style pav bhaji, Punjabi curries, Indo-Chinese

noodle dishes and unique cross-over items like pizzas and sandwiches with origins in India. Despite the fact that Honest is billed as a streetfood restaurant, the menu features numerous entrée-style dishes – and most items, street food or otherwise, are robust in size.

An obvious place to start is with pav bhaji ($9.99), the dish that started it all. Often described as a vegetarian Sloppy Joe, the comforting blend is served piping hot alongside four warm, soft, fresh-baked rolls. The savory butterenriched stew is garnished with cilantro, topped with chopped onions and scooped up with pieces of bread.

Honest offers an intriguing selection of chaat, a diverse group of crispy, crunchy, saucy street-food snacks. In addition to the familiar pani puri, the restaurant prepares dahi puri ($8.99). The thin, brittle, hollow shells are filled with veggies, chutney, yogurt and fried noodles, making for bite-size snacks that pack an outsized punch.

Dosa, the shatteringly crisp crepes served with sambar and chutney, get an Instagram-worthy glow up in the Dabang dosa ($13.99). Named after an Indian action film, this version is topped

with vegetables, cheese and sauces, rolled, and sliced into cylinders. The result is a multi-layered treat that shifts diners from crispy to saucy to tangy to blissful.

While Indian pizza seems like an American creation, Patel says that this popular munchy has origins in the dairy-rich region of Northwest India. The Bhakri ($8.99) starts with a crisp, dense crust that’s topped with tomato sauce, onions and peppers. As with any great pizza, the star is the cheese, in this case a creamy mild buffalo-milk cheddar from India’s famed Amul.

More traditional curries like tikka masala, korma and kolhapuri join compelling Indo-Chinese dishes like gobi Manchurian and paneer 65. Tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce, the paneer ($12.99) is crisp and firm from flash frying, giving it a meaty texture. Served in an elegant two-handled vessel, the kolhapuri ($13.99) is loaded with crisp-tender veggies in a very spicy gravy (as requested). The naan ($3.49) here is tender, rich and pliable but not fluffy given that it’s made without eggs.

To drink, there are yogurt-based mango lassis, fruity ice-cream based faloodas, and refreshing masala chaas.

Meals like these make it easy to forget that you’re eating vegetarian. The food is packed with flavor, texture, and spice – and often enriched with butter, cheese and yogurt. Patel estimates the Greater Cleveland South Asian population at around 40,000, with many of those people electing to dine vegetarian often if not always. But these days, of course, more and more diners are in search of meat-free meals that don’t leave them feeling dissatisfied.

“We did not anticipate that we would get a lot of customers who are American and into vegetarian, so we are discovering that,” Patel reports. “A lot of people – not just Indian or Asian – who are looking for vegetarian options are finding us.”

HONEST

Photo by Doug Trattner

BITES

First Look: Boom’s Pizza, opening next week at Van Aken

By Douglas Trattner

BEN BEBENROTH, JONATHAN

Bennett, and the rest of the Boom’s Pizza team are putting the finishing touches on the new Shaker Heights restaurant. Located in the former home of Michael’s Genuine, the colorful, casual and attractive space shares plenty of DNA with the Lakewood original, which opened a year and a half ago. Following a weekend of private events, the restaurant will open to the public sometime next week.

The second location for any restaurant group comes with a large dose of wisdom, experience and awareness. Having 18 months of service under their belts to go on, Bennett and Bebenroth are much better equipped to anticipate the next few weeks and months in Shaker. The expectation, they say, is to see numbers more than double those out west.

For starters, the dining room at Van Aken District is twice as large as the one in Lakewood, accommodating 86 guests versus 40. A spacious patio on the edge of the central park offers carryout customers an alfresco option. Shaker Heights will also be open seven nights per week as opposed to six – and will be adding weekend lunch hours, while staying open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“You walk around here on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and it’s mobbed,” says Bennett.

Combined, the two shops will be flying through approximately 3,500 pies per week, Bennett estimates. In advance of the opening, management centralized dough production at Spice HQ in Detroit Shoreway. The dough will be delivered fresh to both shops throughout the week.

“We just want to make excellent pizza,” says Bennett. “We knew that consistency of dough would be our biggest hurdle – and we found that we were right. But we also found that our dough is a little more durable than we thought it was.” As for the food, flow and process,

diners can expect the same efficient fast-casual operation. Dine-in guests order, pay, grab their beverages and any salads or appetizers, if they ordered them, and find a seat. When the pies are ready, they’ll receive a text message.

The menus are identical east and west save for the beverages. Shaker has four draft beers, four draft cocktails, wines by the glass and a small selection of self-serve bottled beverages. Van Aken District is a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area – or DORA – meaning that customers can take their beer, wine or cocktails with them when they walk out the door.

One departure out east: Boom’s in Shaker will sell slices during lunch service Fridays through Sundays.

Bebenroth and Bennett could not be more pleased with their new environment.

“The ownership and management group here do a phenomenal job keeping this district lively and local and clean and niche,” says Bennett.“They have something they want to curate and they have a vision and they’re doing a great job of executing that vision.”

Old Brooklyn Mustard is Rebranding as POP Mustard After New Partnership with Michael Symon

In 2016, Michael Januska launched Old Brooklyn Cheese Co., an artisanal cheese venture in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood. In his quest to find the perfect accompaniment for those amazing cheeses, the owner began experimenting with wholeseed mustards. After exploring various mustard seed blends, and processes like fermentation and smoking, Januska launched Old Brooklyn Mustard. Before long, distinctive products like Original IPA, Pepped Up and Bohemian Blend were snagging top honors in food competitions around the country.

And yet, says Januska, his products were failing to gain the attention and traction he felt they deserved. He wasn’t alone. Michael Symon, one of Old Brooklyn Mustard’s biggest fans, had the same impression.

“At Lola, we always did these pickled-mustard seeds, and I thought his products were superior even to what we were making,” says Symon.

Recently, Symon and Januska formed a business partnership.

“I started working his mustards into my repertoire — using them more and more in recipes and for cookbooks — and that’s how the partnership started,” adds Symon.

After rebranding the products as POP Mustard, the Cleveland-

based company is poised for growth, adds Symon.

“There are a lot of wholegrain mustards out there, but there’s nothing like what Michael is making,” he says. “I feel that there’s an opportunity for a unique whole-seed mustard like this to go nationwide.”

Januska says that all of the changes are on the outside of the jar; the mustards are still produced in Old Brooklyn using the same ingredients, techniques and recipes.

“Nothing has changed; we just got a new coat of paint,” Januska says.

Customers will begin seeing the new labels on store shelves shortly. And those store shelves might start multiplying, says Symon, adding that some very big distribution deals are currently being ironed out.

In advance of these developments, Januska recently invested heavily into his production facility, giving him the ability to scale up output.

POP Mustard is launching with three varieties: Smoked, Kraut, and Original IPA.

Photo by Doug Trattner

LIVEWIRE Real music in the real world

THU 06/06

Cannons

Led by whispering singer Michelle Joy, this alternative rock act writes pop tunes with enough of an edge to appeal to the alt-rock crowd. Last year’s Heartbeat Highway established the group as an underground sensation and Cocteau Twins-like songs such as the title track, “Loving You” and “Metal Heart” really shimmer. The group plays tonight at 7 at the Agora.

5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com.

Kenny Chesney: Sun Goes Down Tour

The popular country singersongwriter brings his Sun Goes Down tour to Blossom. Of course, the show will be one huge unhinged party. And yet, Chesney tries to get serious on his latest effort, Born “The Way I Love You Now” is a tender ballad and “This Too Shall Pass” adopts a somber tone. Still, expect party hearty tunes such as “One More Sunset” and “Blame It on the Salt” to really resonate. The concert begins tonight at 7:30.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com.

FRI 06/07

Orville Peck

The masked alt-country singersongwriter channels old school country acts such as Willie Nelson and Roy Orbison on his latest effort, Stampede: Vol. 1, a collection of duets that pairs Peck with everyone from Elton John to Nathaniel Rateliff, performs tonight at 6 at Jacobs Pavilion. Durand Jones and Debbii Dawson open. 2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com.

Planet Booty

Having just released a new new single and music video for the single “SXFNK,” a tune that channels Parliament/Bootsy Collins with its thick bass riffs and ribald lyrics, this funk band brings its first tour in two years to the Beachland Tavern. The show begins at 8 p.m. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

SAT 06/08

Anybody Out There

This Buffalo-based Pink Floyd tribute band presents a live show that consists of a stage production that emulates and recreates the sight and sound of a classic Pink Floyd show. The group covers the entire Pink Floyd catalog, from the early Syd Barrett days to 1994’s The Division Bell album. The group performs tonight at 7:30 at the Goodyear Theater in Akron.

1201 East Market St., Akron, 330659-7118, goodyeartheater.com.

Cloud Nothings

Recorded with Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile, the War on Drugs, Torres, Purling Hiss), mixed by Sarah Tudzin (Porches, Tim Hiedecker, Pom Pom Squad) and mastered by Jack Callahan (Ryley Walker, Merchandise, Wolf Eyes), Final Summer, the latest effort from this indie rock act with Cleveland roots, features a sonic density that’s apparent right from the start as the opening title track features a psychedelic rock feel thanks to its trippy synths. The band comes home for a special show at Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakewood. 13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com.

SUN 06/09

Nektar

As they begin the next 50 years of their career, the prog rock group Nektar has released Journey to the Other Side — Live at the Dunellen Theatre June 10, 2023. Recorded during the band’s 50th anniversary tour, this release captures the band in all their glory with a 5-camera shoot and multi-track recording. The group’s tour in support of the release brings it to the Beachland Ballroom tonight at 7:30. Dave Swanson’s Mystery Airship opens. 15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.

Smoking Popes

Emo before it was a thing, this poppunk band out of the Chicago area probably should’ve been as big as Weezer, but it just never got the right marketing person behind it. Songs such as “Need You Around” feature just the right combination of noisy guitars and sensitive vocals. The group performs at 7 p.m. at Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakewood.

13200 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216521-3280, mahalls20lanes.com.

TUE 06/11

Burning Spear

Influenced by soul and R&B, Burning Spear (aka Winston Rodney) became a crossover star shortly after his career started in the early 1970s. One of his early hits, the dub reggae tune “Marcus Garvey,” masterfully expresses his socially conscious lyrics. Burning Spear performs tonight at 7:30 at MGM Northfield Park — Center Stage. 10705 Northfield Rd., Northfield, 330-908-7793, mgmnorthfieldpark. mgmresorts.com/en.html.

Loudon Wainwright III

Best known for the novelty hit “Dead Skunk (in the Middle of the Road),” this veteran folk singersongwriter has had a storied career that’s even included a few acting gigs (he played the singing surgeon on M*A*S*H). A consummate storyteller, Wainwright is a singular American artist with more 20 albums to his credit. He returns to the Kent Stage tonight at 6:30. Wesley Stace opens the show. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

WED 06/12

Jacob Collier

This Grammy winning singer-

songwriter and multi-instrumentalist out of the UK is known for his experimental live shows that tend to be highly interactive (he’ll enlist the audience to sing harmony vocals or provide percussion). The current tour supports Djesse Vol. 4, another collection of meticulously crafted pop tunes featuring a slew of cameos. Collier performs tonight at 6 at Jacobs Pavilion. Emily King opens. 2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com.

Foreigner and Styx with John Waite

Neither Foreigner nor Styx can claim to have all of its original members, but that hasn’t stopped the classic rock acts from touring. They come to Blossom tonight with singersongwriter John Waite of the Babys. The show begins at 6:45. 1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com.

XOMG POP!

Highly successful pop group XOMG POP! was created from JoJo Siwa’s Emmy-nominated hit TV show, Siwa’s Dance Pop Revolution. Just a few months after their national TV debut, XOMG POP! took the stage with JoJo Siwa as part of her international arena tour, also appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and America’s Got Talent. The group comes to House of Blues at 5:30 p.m.

308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

Jacob Collier comes to Jacobs Pavilion. See: Wednesday, June 12. |Courtesy of AEG Presents

FRI 06/14

A Day to Remember

This veteran metalcore group adopts a more accessible sound on its latest offering, 2021’s You’re Welcome. Album opener “Brick Wall” features both loud and soft moments, but the guitars give it a groove that you wouldn’t necessarily find on Day to Remember songs from the past. The group performs today at 5:30 p.m. at Jacobs Pavilion. The Story So Far, Four Years Strong and Militarie Gun open. 2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com.

Hot Water Music

For its latest album, Vows, Hot Water Music reunited with longtime collaborator Brian McTernan, who produced 2001’s A Flight and a Crash, 2002’s Caution and 2022’s Feel the Void. As result, the songs feature the hoarse vocals and driving guitars for which the punk band is known. The group brings its 30th anniversary tour to House of Blues. Quicksand, the veteran indie band that played on the very first Warped Tour, opens the show. The concert begins at 7 p.m. 308 Euclid Ave., 216-523-2583, houseofblues.com.

New Kids on the Block with Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff

On tour to support Still Kids, their first new album of new material in more than 10 years, New Kids on the Block —Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood — capably deliver pop anthems, dance tracks and love songs. The group leads this multi-band bill of ‘80s acts that comes to Blossom tonight at 7. 1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com.

SAT 06/15

Taj Farrant

The Australian guitarist who’s opened for acts such as Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas and Orianthi, performs tonight at 7:30 at the Kent Stage. Jazel Farrant and Nathan Bryce and Loaded Dice open the show. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

Rolling Stones

These aging rockers remain one of the few acts that can really command the crowd at a stadium. The current tour’s setlist features all the hits — “Start Me Up,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” The set even includes

“Angry,” a new tune that retains that Stones-y swagger. In its first local concert in years, the group plays at 7 tonight at Cleveland Browns Stadium. 100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, clevelandbrowns.com.

SUN 06/16

Goose

This jazzy jam band released its debut album in 2016 and has steadily toured and recorded ever since. Released in 2022, the band’s third studio album, Dripfield, broadened its fanbase. On tour to support the new album, Ted Tapes 2024, an album of meandering jams that show off the group’s solid musicianship, the group performs tonight at 6 at Jacobs Pavilion. 2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com.

Horsegirl

Horsegirl, a New York-via-Chicago group of best friends, released its debut, Versions of Modern Performance, to a ton of hype. Now, the indie rock act has embarked on a brief North American tour, their first full run of shows in nearly a year. They play the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights tonight at 8. 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.

Los Lobos

On its 20th anniversary in 1993, this terrific Mexican-American group released a two-CD collection of singles, outtakes, live recordings and hits dubbed Just Another Band from East L.A. The fine collection of material that drew from rock, pop and Latin music, proved the group is anything but just another East L.A. band. The act returns to Music Box Supper Club tonight at 7. 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com.

MON 06/17

Lucinda Williams

Best known for 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, an album that still stands as her crowning achievement, singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams is a terrific songwriter whose career is distinguished by just a few releases. She might take years to record an album, but the wait is always worth it. She performs tonight at 6:30 at the Kent Stage. 175 E. Main St., Kent, 330-677-5005, kentstage.org.

May 4 - August 18

Michelangelo Lovelace. AWorkInProgress, 2010. Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the estate and Fort Gansevoort. © Michelangelo Lovelace Estate

11:00 am – 5:00

am –

Michelangelo Lovelace painted, drew, and crafted insightful scenes from the streets of Cleveland and the world events that shaped his life.

SAVAGE LOVE

MASK 4 MASK

By Dan Savage

1. Is pegging only for butts or can vaginas get pegged too?

I’m not a pegging purist.

When the term originated in my column — when my readers selected “pegging” as the name for a woman fucking a man in the ass with a strap-on dildo — it was gendered; pegging was something a woman did to a man. But now people use “pegging” in reference to someone of any gender fucking someone of any gender in the ass with a strap-on dildo, an evolution of use and meaning that I fully support. But I think it’s good we have a term that refers to a particular and very popular kind of ass fucking. But meaning follows use, of course, and I am not the boss of the English language, and if people start using pegging to refer to any kind of penetrative sex that involves a dildo and a dildo harness, I won’t be mounting any legal challenges.

2. Best sex position for celebrating the NY verdict?

Not sure — but it should be something you can get away with doing 34 times.

3. I’m a unicorn to a hot married couple that lives a few hours away. I came up for her birthday and a fun party. For the first time the sex was off. The wife and I had our usual hot time, but the husband seemed to be ignoring me and focusing only on his wife. I left feeling rejected. I called and said it’s ok if he wants to fuck his wife, but why was I there then? He apologized and assured me he’s still attracted to me and wants me to come back. Should I go back?

Maybe the husband felt his wife should be the center of attention on her birthday… or maybe you were the center of attention the last ten times and his wife asked to be the center of attention on her birthday. Either way, if the husband had a plan to focus things on the wife for a change, he should’ve shared that plan with you in advance. But if the sex was good every other time, I think you should give it and them another go. If you expect to be the center of attention during every threesome, you should share that expectation with them — but I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation. A one-off threesome with a couple? You’re the very special guest star and you should be the center of attention. A relationship with a couple that involves lots of threesomes? Everyone should get to be the center of attention once in a while.

4. After four years together, I found out that my boyfriend cheated on me. I became suspicious because he didn’t want to have sex anymore and he spent most of his time on his phone. At first, I learned he kissed a coworker after I found the shadow of a hickey on his neck. He uses a car sharing service to get home, and I asked to see where he got the car, and it was the street where this woman lives. He insisted it only happened twice. Now I know it has happened fifteen times in nine months. I love him dearly and I can’t live without him. What am I supposed to do? How can I believe it just two kisses? Can I ever trust him again? If you can’t live without him, you’ll have to put

up with this shit. If you can’t put up with this shit, you’ll have to learn to live without him.

5. Married 24 years, haven’t had a BJ in fifteen years.

That sucks.

P.S. Since I’m an advice columnist and you’re a straight married man — men couldn’t marry other men 24 years ago — I’m supposed to ask if you’re doing your fair share of the housework, if you have good personal hygiene practices, and if you’re making sure your wife comes when you have sex. The implication: you must not be doing these things — or eating her pussy — because otherwise you would be getting regular blowjobs. But there are men out there who do everything right — their fair share of the housework, they shower and brush their teeth, they get their wives off — and they never get blowjobs. They may have married women who never liked sucking cock or they may have married women who loved sucking cock at first but something about the act doesn’t work for them in the context of an established relationship.

P.S. If you want a BJ, ask the wife for one. If she won’t give you a BJ, ask the wife for permission to get a BJ elsewhere. If she won’t give you a BJ or let you get a BJ elsewhere, do what you need to do to stay married and stay sane.

P.P.S. Not calling it a “BJ” might help.

6. Best soap for cleaning smelly cock?

Any soap will do — seriously, cocks don’t smell bad because men are using the wrong soap.

7. My boyfriend said he wants to ask his therapist “for their approval” before we can have a threesome. Is it a no-go?

Does your boyfriend have a long history of compulsive sexual behavior? Did he need years of therapy before one-on-one sex with someone he actually cared about was a possibility for him? Did your boyfriend’s ex-husband leave him for someone they had a threesome with? And did the fallout from the breakup require years of therapy to clear away? Did your boyfriend walk in on his mom getting double penetrated by his dad and his dad’s best friend when he was ten? And has your boyfriend only recently managed — with the help of his therapist — to block the mental images that were ruining sex for him and him for sex? If any of the above or something close is true, your boyfriend might have a good reason to check-in with his therapist before having his first threesome with his new boyfriend. But he could’ve and should’ve checked-in without telling you about it.

8. Sex has become boring and routine. Best advice for spicing it up?

Location, location, location — meaning, if you’re having sex with the same person in the same place over and over again, you might wanna fuck that person somewhere you’ve never fucked that person before, e.g., at the office, on the roof, in the darkroom of a sex club with other couples having sex all around you. If you’re having sex lots of different people in lots of different places and you’re bored, you may need to take a break.

9. I can take really big sex toys, but men’s dicks are painful. Why?

Men come attached to dicks — typically — which can make dicks somewhat unpredictable. Toys, by way of contrast, are very predictable; toys stay where you put them, toys don’t make any sudden moves, toys don’t their own ideas about the depth, angle, or pace of penetration. If you’re someone who experiences even mild anxiety around penetration,

playing with typical dick — the kind that comes attached to man — may be causing you to tense up and tension is the enemy of painless penetration.

10. Cis female here who has sex with trans women with [eggplant emoji] who also sleep with people with [eggplant emoji, eggplant emoji, eggplant emoji]. Should I be on PrEP?

Yes.

11. What’s the most erotic thing you’ve watched IRL in a room?

Pass.

12. How legit are all the ads telling me I have low T? I’m a 45-year-old male. Do all men my age have low testosterone levels?

Those ads are designed to make all men feel like they’re suffering from low testosterone, which not all men do. Luckily for men, getting your testosterone levels checked is a pretty simple procedure.

13. My partner and I enthusiastically adopted your #fuckfirst philosophy and doing so has improved our lives immeasurably! But I have noticed that on the social occasions when it’s not an option, I often find myself feeling disconnected and prone to being testy with my partner. Is this a problem? Is our relationship too dependent on sex? Would we be together if it weren’t for our incredible sex life?

I couldn’t tell you — but if you stay together long enough, i.e., if you’re together into advanced old age, you’ll find out.

14. Will casual gay sex between consenting adult males ever be normalized?

God, I hope not — because it feels like discomfort with gay sex is the only thing keeping bachelorette parties out of bathhouses.

15. Are friends of exes or exes of friends always off limits? What’s the best way to handle one of these sticky situations so you don’t lose a good friend?

Friends of exes and exes of friends are never off limits — life is too short for those kinds of baby-ass dating games. If you’re dating the ex of a friend, you owe your friend the courtesy of a call. Your friend should hear it from you and — yes —it’s gonna be awkward, but the sooner you make the call, the sooner the awkwardness ends. If you’re dating the friend of an ex, they need to make the call.

16. If I’m having a quickie outside, what’s the best way to deal with unclean surroundings?

You can plant your feet — and stay on your feet and get plowed and seeded all at the same time.

17. How do I get my low-libido partner to fuck more often?

No idea — but if you figure it out and the solution is something you can bottle and sell, you’ll get rich.

18. Quickest way to remember the sex my boyfriend has with other guys is sexy and not scary?

Being showered with attention, affection, and gratitude — along with all the dirty details (if you wanna hear ‘em) and sloppy seconds (if you like that kind of thing) — may not be the quickest way to remember why it’s sexy when your boyfriend has sex with other guys, as you will have to wait for him to get back, but it is the most effective way.

19. Can you teach someone to give better head?

Someone giving you head wants two things: they wanna get you off and they wanna get you off in a reasonable amount of time. If there’s a simple thing they can do that’ll make head more

pleasurable — something reasonable that’ll get off a little quicker — you shouldn’t hesitate to share it.

20. Every time my girlfriend and I have sex — we’re both female — we have to change the sheets. Tips for less messy sex?

Have sex on the floor (easier to mop), have sex on your kitchen counters (easier to wipe), have sex in your tub (easier to drain), etc., and invest in a few of those pricey-but-worth-it waterproof blankets toss it on the bed when you’re getting started, toss it in the wash when you’re done.

21. How can a girl help her vanilla husband get more comfortable being an aggressive Dom top sometimes?

A friend complained about her husband’s inability to dominate her properly a few years ago — he was doing what she asked, but that’s all. “It feels like he’s going through ‘topping’ motions,” she texted me, “but I need a top with an agenda.” A year later, the same woman raved to me about her husband’s topping skills. Turns out, he just needed some time to get comfortable in the dominant role and a better, almost instinctive feel for what his wife wanted before he felt comfortable improvising —that is, before he felt confident setting the agenda. So, give your husband detailed instructions, then give him time.

22. Why does it sometimes hurt when a silicone dildo is inserted even after I’ve been prepped for it?

If you’re using the same silicone toy over and over, you may have a toy with a small surface tear or imperfection you can’t quite see but your ass can definitely feel. If all your toys are silicone and this always happens, you may have a small internal anal fissure. If you use a variety of toys made from a variety of materials and only your silicone toys hurt, you may have stumped me.

23. I only squirt when I gag — am I the only one?

Since lots of people enjoy gagging — some enjoy retching, some enjoy hurling — it makes sense that someone might enjoy gagging so much that a welltimed orgasm, i.e., one they have while gagging, is going to be more powerful and intense than the orgasms they have when they’re not gagging. So, while you’re the first person I’ve heard from who squirts when she gags, I doubt you’re the only person out there with this superpower.

24. How to tell older GenX straight men to take more pleasure in eating pussy?

GenX was all about oral sex, from all rainbow parties (that didn’t happen) to all the mutual oral sex (that did and still does) — so, I don’t think the problem is GenX men in general, but the specific GenX men you’ve been fucking.

25. How do I get out of the friendzone and into the FWB zone?

You ask once for a transfer — just once — and if the answer is no, you never ask again.

P.S. The “friend zone” isn’t a thing, it’s a cope.

26. Any post-orgy hygiene tips?

Rent a convertible, drive to the nearest carwash, go through it with the top down.

Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love!

Or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan!

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