The October issue of Saveur Magazine has a great article written by Jane and Michael Stern about the pleasures of eating around northeast Ohio. Here’s a teaser:
“…a road trip from the shores of Lake Erie around Cleveland south to Rubber City (a k a Akron) and Canton is, in our opinion, one of the finest a food lover can take in all of America.”
What prompts this high praise from these writers are the traditional ethnic dishes served at mom and pops throughout the region. In fact, based on the places named, I’d be willing to wager that they used my book as their guide (although they don’t mention it). The pair give big shout outs to the West Side Market (the subject of my next book), Balaton, Perla Homemade Delights, State Meats, Little Polish Diner, Babushka’s Kitchen, and Al’s Corner Diner.
None of this will come as a surprise for those of you who read this blog. But it’s nice to see this part of our culinary community in the national spotlight and getting some well deserved compliments. Take a look at the article. Find more details in Cleveland Ethnic Eats. Then get out there and enjoy what the region has to offer.
Cleveland Ethnic Eats 
Thanks for posting this, Laura. It’s always great to get press coverage from a national publication like Saveur. I think that people who don’t live in this part of the world just don’t think there could be anything good to eat in northeast Ohio and I almost feel like it’s my job to show others how good we actually have it here.
It IS your job to keep tooting the region’s culinary horn. (and you do it well!). My job too (literally). And everyone else’s who knows about the thriving food scene we have. The ethnic diversity in this part of Ohio, reflected in the variety of restaurants and markets, is really a perk to living here. I wish I would have had a chance to show the Stern’s around. I bte you’d have liked doing that too. But clearly they found some of our treasures without us.
Laura,
I’m writing a story for ESPN.com about the city of Cleveland and wanted to make sure and show the ethnic diversity of the place. Since I love to eat, and I find that the foodways of a place are closely tied to its culture, I figured this was a good place to start.
-wright
The article in Saveur and my book Cleveland Ethnic Eats are both great ways to get to know Cleveland.