Melt Bar & Grilled Invades Columbus
Matt Fish opened the original Melt Bar & Grilled in Lakewood just six and a half years ago, and what’s happened since is nothing short of amazing. In that time, the grilled cheese-and-craft-beer-themed eatery has added locations in Cleveland Heights, Independence, and Mentor. There’s been a lot of chatter about Melt’s next big move, but…
High-Profile Chef Divulges Plans for Waterloo Resto
There’s been talk about a high-profile chef making a move with regard to the ambitious Waterloo redevelopment project. And now we know just who that person is. Steve Schimoler, chef-owner of Ohio City’s Crop Bistro, says he just inked a deal on the former Key Bank building located two doors down from the Beachland Ballroom.…
Theatrical Digs for Craigslist Killer Jury Selection
The Civic Theatre’s Grand Lobby Jury selection began yesterday for the trial of Richard Beasley, the man charged in 2011 with luring men to his Noble County farm with a bogus work ad on Craigslist, only to slaughter them execution-style . Since the throng of prospective jurors exceeded the capacity of the Summit County Courthouse,…
Cleveland Heights Approves Historic Legislation
On the same day that Ed Fitzgerald applauded Cuyahoga County for its commitment to prisoner re-entry programs and education funding, the Cleveland Heights City Council applauded itself for a bold legislative step forward. They approved a pilot program to allow dogs in Cain Park. In Cleveland Heights, dogs have been banned from all city parks…
Footprints in Snow Lead to Arrest
Word to the wise, or not-so-wise, out there: keep your mischievous, probably illegal activities relegated to snowless times of the winter, would ya? We’re just lookin’ out for you, because it seems when there’s fluffy stuff on the ground, you’re more susceptible than normal to being tracked down and caught for your nickel-and-dime crimes. Evidence?…
USPS Partners With Cleveland Company For New Clothing Line
Nothing screams “sexy” like a postal worker’s garb, so the next logical step for the faltering United States Postal Service is to start up a clothing line! With a company from Cleveland! Wahconah Group, which operates rather quietly on Pearl Road, is entrenched mostly in men’s fashion with a penchant for integrating technology into the…
Matt and Kim, Passion Pit Cancel Tonight’s Cleveland Gig: UPDATE
[UPDATE, 5:47 p.m.:] Passion Pit confirmed that, also due to illness, their end of the how is canceled as well. Here’s a message from the band, complete with makeup date: “Due to a stomach flu going throughout the Passion Pit tour, we unfortunately will not be able to perform tonight. We’ve already gone ahead and…
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ ‘Push The Sky Away’: New Music Tuesday
“We No Who U R,” unfortunate title and all, kicks off this latest outing in elegantly sublime style. Released today, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ first album in four years is a budding spring afternoon right when we need it most. As the album grows, it maintains a very minimalistic attitude. But the band…
Cleveland Well Represented in Beard Award Semis
This morning the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists in the 2013 Restaurant and Chef Awards, and once again Cleveland is well represented. Michael Symon for Outstanding Chef Jonathon Sawyer for Best Chef: Great Lakes Zack Bruell for Best Chef: Great Lakes Matt Danko for Outstanding Pastry Chef “This is great news,” Symon said after…
Cleveland Charter Schools: Stoner Havens?
Last Thursday at Citizens Academy, a “high-performing public charter school” near University Circle, school authorities were appalled when they found a bag of weed in a 5-year-old’s backpack. When asked if he was aware of the contents of the bag, the boy identified the substance as “his dad’s weed that he smokes.” The boy’s parents…
Beautician Births Baby in Akron Beauty Salon, Baffling Medical Personnel
Image: Fox 8 Akron beautician Marquitta Anderson gave birth Friday morning to a healthy baby boy—at work. She told Fox 8 that she had felt contractions earlier in the day, but came in to Polished Hair Designs anyway. When her water broke, there was no time to wait for paramedics—her coworkers helped deliver the baby…
Cleveland to Lima: (This is Literally a Link to Driving Directions)
If you’ve got that jonesin’ for Ohio politics in general and the pageantry of annual speeches in particular, then boy have I got a treat for you. Though Governor John Kasich, in a devious “coincidence,” scheduled his State of the State speech for the same day as Ed Fitzgerald’s State of the County address, at…
Aesop Rock and Busdriver at Grog Shop: Concert Review
ERIC SANDY/SCENE Aesop Rock, right, dished up a fierce set last night. There’s something really great about underground hip-hop shows. Whether it’s the sense of community in the room or the danceable beats, the whole affair is kinda like shooting sugarcane right into your sweet tooth. The Grog Shop was packed for last night’s sold-out…
Plans Divulged for Remaining Flats Resto Spot
The Flats East Bank still is a construction zone, but plans continue to come together as it applies to the food scene. In addition to Fabio Salerno’s new location for Lago, Ken Stewart’s steakhouse, and Shawn Monday’s Flip Side, we learned details regarding one of the few remaining spots. When The Willeyville (pronounced like smiley-ville)…
This Is Your Rocky River Youth On Drugs
DEA The Sun News’ Ed Carroll reports on quite the event that unfolded last night in utopian Rocky River. A teenager had taken two doses of LSD and began leading police on a chase through backyards down by the Cleveland Yacht Club. Officers eventually found the teen near Lake Road, and the teen attempted to…
Ohio Realizes Rape Is Bad, Should Be Punished
Prompted by a hearty nudge from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, police forces throughout the state have been sending their backlogged caches of rape kits (forensic evidence collected from victims of sexual assault) to state crime labs, potentially yielding leads to scores of unsolved rape cases dating back to the early 90s. Almost half of…
Cuyahoga County Library: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Borders
A $110 million transformation plan is injecting new life into the Cuyahoga County Library system. Area directors say they want libraries to be community gathering spots — like cafes or bookstores — with 21st century technologies and cozy atmospherics. The plan was designed in 2011 and aimed at renovating 18 of the system’s 28 branches.…
Dave Matthews Band slated to play Blossom on June 1
Area frat boys have good reason to rejoice. The Dave Matthews Band has just announced its summer schedule and — as always — Northeast Ohio is on the itinerary. The tour, which begins at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Woodlands, TX on May 17, comes to Blossom Music Center on June 1. DMB Warehouse Fan…
Badfish at House of Blues: Concert Review
Badfish, the preeminent tribute to 90s dancehall-punk legends Sublime, showed up in Cleveland last night and brought out one of the more raucous welcomes this city has coughed up so far this year. The crowd, indeed, was ecstatic throughout the night. That much was extremely clear even before the band took the stage. Queen’s “Bohemian…
W. 65th: Not Just For Crack Deals and Drag Racing
Image: Environmental Design Group Substantive improvements are on the horizon for Cleveland’s formerly neglected W. 65th corridor, currently Cleveland’s foremost destination for scrap metal scavenging and GTA-style motorist mayhem. Scenic family strolls and swoony late-night bike rides? Not so much. But cycling advocates, city planners, and community members are making big strides toward revolutionizing the…
Big Money and More: What We’re Reading This Morning: Feb. 15
– The Cleveland Leader reports that the state of Ohio overpaid on thousands of unemployment compensation claims last year: More (than) 110,000 claims from throughout Ohio last year saw over payments totaling $87.3 million in 2012. The state also recovered $43 million in overpaid funds in 2012. – Vincent Jackson Jr., housed at the Lorain…
Art Museum Gets a Sleuth
The Cleveland Museum of Art has used dollars from a discretionary fund to hire a “historical provenance” expert. Victoria Sears Goldman — of the New York Sears Goldmans — fresh off her PhD at Princeton, will bid her big city law firm adieu and come to Cleveland with hopes of tracking down sordid art histories.…
ALO/Ryan Montbleau tour coming to Cleveland
ALO (short for Animal Liberation Orchestra), the hippie dippie band out of California signed to Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records, has teamed up with singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleau for a short 8-date tour this spring that begins in Milwaukee. Cleveland is on the schedule; ALO and Montbleau will play the Beachland on April 21. Tickets for the…
WKYC’s Tom Beres Barred From Reporting on Advance’s Michigan ‘Newsroom’
The sage of The Plain Dealer’s slow wilt is still garnering a handful of comments here and there. But the paper’s ownership isn’t talking. In fact, they’re making damn sure that no advance information gets out about the strategy. WKYC’s Tom Beres trekked out to Ann Arbor, where Advance Digital’s first great step into The…
Federal Charges Filed After Youngstown Companies Dumped Fracking Waste: UPDATE
[UPDATE, Feb. 15:] Ben Lupo, owner of D&L Energy and Hardrock Excavating was charged yesterday with one count of violating the U.S. EPA Clean Water Act. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says civil charges from the state are likely to follow. State and federal investigators discovered oil field waste and brine (fracking waste water), benzene,…
Cleveland Rules for Young Single Men
Real estate website Zillow.com just released its “In the Mood for Love Index,” a ranking of the 150 largest U.S. cities based on their desirability for young singles, and Cleveland triumphed in three of four categories, the only midwestern city that performed so well. Take that, Chicago! Go puke and cry on your hot dogs!…
What to Drink with Your Fried Fish
With fish-fry season upon us, the question of what to eat is pretty well answered. So that leaves just one other looming question: What to drink? “I approach this issue the same way I approach any question about food pairings,” says Manny Nieves, beverage pro and owner of Grady’s Fine Wines and Market (20253 Lake…
Local Fish Fries Worth a Visit
Whether you observe Lent or, like us, you just can’t pass up a great fish fry, Cleveland is blessed to have no shortage of places that make meat-less Fridays more gain than pain. Below is short listing of places that do it well. Secular The Public House (17219 Lorain Ave., 216-252-6608)For years, this Kamm’s Corner…
Another Charge For Perennial Villain Raymone Clements
Clements Raymone Clements, the venomous hulk who shot Forrest and left him for dead, is facing a second federal charge. In a case that jumped around several jurisdictions before landing in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Clements was slapped with the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. …Why he was not immediately…
New Indian Trevor Bauer Released a Diss Track
(Update: It seems it was “recorded in December and re-released this week, according to the beat writers floating around Twitter. Either way.) New Wahoo flamethrower Trevor Bauer arrives in Cleveland with a strong arm, some funky background, and some burned bridges. He had a very public falling out with former Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero…
Downtown’s Long-Awaited Barroco Grill Will Open on…
If you’re a fan of Lakewood’s popular Barroco Grill, you have been waiting (at times impatiently) for the opening of the new Warehouse District location, which has endured excruciating construction delays. Well, we now have an opening day. On March 4, Carlos and Juan Vergara will (finally) open Barroco Grill Downtown (1303 W. 6th St.).…
Toledo Blade Editor Calls Out Deadspin
[UPDATE, FWIW:] The Toledo Blade’s executive editor, Kurt Franck, has proffered a bit of peace toward Deadspin. Jim Romenesko relays the message. Here’s an excerpt: Both stories have different styles, written for their respective audiences, but they each get the point across that the track coach sent inappropriate texts to at least one of his…
Fit for Framing
Granted, one doesn’t visit an art museum for the food. But for the longest time, what passed as dining in the Cleveland Museum of Art could have wiped the smirk clear off Mona Lisa’s mug. What a difference eight years and $260 million can make on an appetite. This fall, Provenance and Provenance Café opened,…
The Iceman Cometh
After a failed bid for County Executive in 2010, the business guru-cum-philanthropic kingpin now has his sights set on the 2013 mayoral race—”I’ve all but thrown my hat in the ring,” Lanci confirms. Though he’s known in the business community as “the turnaround guy,” his friends call him “Ice,” a sobriquet that belies his obliging…
We Get Mail
On: “Good Energy: FirstEnergy’s naming rights raise questions” A company is not going to lay off people to make room on the books for a naming rights payout. Utility rates are very low at this point and have been for quite some time. $42K/person is also too low. First Energy pays out how much for…
Don’s Frighthouse
When he was just a child, Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, The Beastmaster, Bubba Ho-Tep) became a fan of old-school horror movies. He used to watch a Saturday night show that would show all the classics. “The babysitter would be there talking to her boyfriend and I’d sneak over and watch the show,” he recalls in a…
Artist of the Week
Meet the Artist: Morgan Mecaskey (vocals, guitar) Reaching New Heights: Mecaskey grew up in Cleveland Heights and took piano lessons through the Music Settlement when she was 4. “I loved it and did the classical method where they teach you ear training,” she says. “I found a flyer for guitar lessons at a local place…
CD Review: Chris Black
chrisblackohio.com Willoughby native Chris Black makes for an unlikely rapper. It’s not just that he’s white; rather, he lacks the kind of swagger we normally associate with most rappers. Welcome opens with the mild-mannered “Thank You for Understanding,” a piano ballad on which Black raps about why he’s more interested in writing about accomplishments than…
Staying Alive
Last summer, rap-rock act P.O.D. came out of hibernation to headline the side stage on the Uproar Tour, a huge multi-city swing that included a stop at Blossom Music Center. The surprising thing about the performance—a relatively small operation on a satellite stage set up in the Blossom V.I.P. parking lot behind the box office—was…
Still Reeling
When Ian Hultquist first saw Michael Angelakos perform at a Boston bar, only a laptop computer accompanied the singer, then a student at Emerson College. But that was enough to convince Hultquist, a Berklee College of Music student who had befriended Angelakos prior to that show, that they could collaborate. “I’m not sure what made…
Cinderella Story
For the past ten years, Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer has been at work on his solo album, The Way Life Goes. Now, in advance of the album’s April release, Keifer has embarked on a short tour to preview some of the material from the forthcoming disc. The solo material is a bit of a departure…
Opening: A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III
Judging by the cast of writer-director Roman Coppola’s A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, you’d think it would be a terrific film. Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman — veterans who have worked so well with Wes Anderson, a Coppola collaborator — have major roles in the movie. Patricia Arquette is another veteran…
Pants On Fire
There were inconsistencies between what Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said in a July 25, 2008 deposition regarding a civil suit brought by former officer John Franko and what McGrath told Franko in an audio recorded conversation two years prior. McGrath’s answers under oath contradict the recorded conversation. And while it’s hard to prove he…
Top Pop Culture Picks for the Week
TOP PICK Skyfall (MGM) The latest James Bond film might suffer a bit from its protracted ending, but that’s a minor point of contention. This is a heady, smart movie that takes on a socially relevant theme about fighting terrorism and espionage in the complex postmodern world. Matt Costa Matt Costa (Brushfire/Universal) Recorded in Scotland…
On Stage This Week
You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up! PlayhouseSquare, 14th St. Theatre All the predictable milestones of a romantic relationship are hit in this two-person comedy: the early break-up, the reconciliation, the wedding, the pregnancy, the kid, and so forth. And there are some genuine laughs, especially since it starts out with Annabelle being the one…
Leaving the Station
Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell are, together, some of the most impressive art collectors in the region, a distinction that comes at a price. Pictures take up space, and at the Bidwell home, it was getting to the point where the couple’s new acquisitions would pile up in spare bedrooms, or go straight into storage.…
Savage Love
Dear Dan — I’m a 37-year-old single father with a 14-year-old son. I’ve raised him on my own basically since birth, with help from some good friends and nearby family. Overall he’s a good kid: gets decent grades, rarely gets in trouble. Our relationship isn’t perfect—I work a lot and he’s a teenager, but no…
Opening: A Good Day to Die Hard
In this, the fifth installment of the Die Hard franchise, John McLane (Bruce Willis) jets off to Russia to reunite with his long lost son Jack (Jai Courtney) and winds up in the middle of a secret CIA operation. Sounds like a good enough premise for an action film. Too bad the film then spins…
Hand Job
If you’re looking for a quick and easy visual example of dark humor, how’s this: An American Tourister suitcase full of chopped-off hands. That’s what an itinerant fellow named Carmichael is lugging in A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh, now at the None Too Fragile Theater. The luggage and its contents serve as a…
On View This Week
Art Spot Illustration. Cleveland Institute of Art students display illustrations for artistic and practical purposes, ranging from the technical to the artistic to the comedic. Marvel at the fresh accomplishments of the next generation of artists while enjoying the beverages of Wine Spot, in which Art Spot displays. Through February 28 at 2271 Lee Rd.,…
Screens
It’s getting to be Oscar time, and there is a ton of worthy films nominated this year. If you want to catch up on a nominated director’s prior work, then there’s always streaming. Flirting With Disaster (1996: Netflix Streaming, Hulu Plus) – People sure love David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, and I won’t be…
Adventures in Argyle
It’s Tuesday, February 5th and my very first column for Scene is due Friday, February 8th. My assignment: showcasing the cool vibes in Cleveland. Writing about the cool spots, a bar, an event, or just interesting, debaucherous or otherwise like-minded people that I run across—Cleveland though my eyes. Where do I start? I live in…
Sunk by Sandy
As dawn broke across Lake Erie on Oct. 26 last fall, Alexandria Elias was sleeping on her boat at Edgewater Marina and dreaming. From the depths of REM, her subconscious watched as water flooded the rig and jarred her awake. The lake’s own discharge carpeted the boat – a foot or more of water, at…
Brewed Perfection
Walking into Rising Star Coffee feels nothing like popping into Starbucks— or any coffee shop, really. The space looks more like the lab of a mad scientist than your friendly, neighborhood cafe. For starters, the equipment is all wrong: Instead of normal-looking coffee machines there are Erlenmeyer flasks, glass beakers and an apparatus that’s a dead…
