CLE Foodcast

When you think of “homesteading” what image comes up in your mind? The Amish? Pioneers? Maybe some mountain man types? Alan Block and Chris Zielski are nothing like that. Well, they don’t have a furnace…but they do have an incredible amount of knowledge of science and agriculture behind the pursuit of simple, authentic living at their Flannel Dog Farm in Ashtabula County. Alan is a self-taught bre...

What does fall in Ohio look like to you? To me, autumn along the north shore means sweatshirt days, juicy purple grapes, picturesque apple orchards, and cozy fires with a glass of seasonal beer. Fall is prime time in Ashtabula County! "Instagramable" in every way, there are covered bridges, windswept beaches, farm markets, and plenty of local food and drink options. I spent 36 hours disc...

Rosie Galaz is a long way from her birthplace of Chile, but she's keeps her distant family close in photos on the walls of her restaurant Pachamama Kitchen and Garden. Rosie and partner Chef Will Norris present tapas, wines and cocktails that reflect a mix of culinary influences infused with fresh, clean produce of the season, much of it grown on their own three farm sites. Pachamama (Andean f...

Tzedakah is the Jewish word for charity and justice, a cornerstone of the work at the Cleveland Kosher Food Pantry. Behind this South Euclid-based nonprofit is a family origin story resulting in three generations of helping others. Sarah Yaffe Alevsky recently succeeded her mother-in-law, who had taken over the Kosher Food Pantry from her own parents, Rabbi Zalman Kazen and Shula Kazen, who starte...

Hank Kornblut could have had the life of an academic, teaching English literature to students, and maybe writing a"great American novel." How lucky we are that the setting for his life's story became the family business, running the second generation of Mister Brisket, a no-frills butcher shop in Cleveland Heights that will celebrate 50 years in 2024. I ask Hank about the store's...

Chris Bush of Hiveworks Honey Company fell into beekeeping when a neighbor left town and passed along a few of his beehives. Now, he has collections of hives all over Northeast Ohio and runs Hiveworks Honey Company, which produces honey for sale with a mission to employ differently-abled people. As the world's climate conditions change, there is a lot of talk about the importance of keeping po...

Join me for a conversation with Chef Rocco Whalen just two days before the biggest and boldest project of his life would take flight. In this minimally-edited episode, you will find yourself injected into the manic mind of a chef and entrepreneur days away from the realization of a dream. In June, 2023, Chef Rocco Whalen presided over his final dinner service at Fahrenheit Tremont. It was a specia...

There are many reasons people eliminate alcohol from their diet and lifestyle and the "sober-curious" movement seems to be growing. Those who choose not to drink when socializing are often met with uninspired "mocktails" or simply resort to the old standby, club soda with lime. Molly Cheraso, a former risk management pro turned "dry bar" owner, has just opened Verbena...

This was the first time I sat down with both brothers, Bob and Lee Jones, the second generation operators behind Farmer Jones Farm and The Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio. Farmer Lee is the more familiar, red bow-tied public face of the business, collaborating with chefs and TV personalities across the country to spread the word. Bob Jr. is the the boots-on-the-ground innovator, bringing the revo...

CSA programs serve a really important purpose (many, actually) but they can be out of reach for many people in our community. Enter City Fresh , a CSA Farm Box Program designed by the people, for all people, because everyone deserves access to nutritious, fresh foods. This conversation with City Fresh Executive Director Anna Kiss Mauser-Martinez (who has a fantastic story about her name) and Farme...

Cleveland's West Side Market opened to great fanfare in 1912 and is still an important shopping destination for locals and tourists. Passion for the market remains strong among northeast Ohio residents and a new city administration that seems to understand the significance of the place. It's on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the top tourist stops in the city. More than...

Imagine this. You're sitting at home and you get kinda thirsty. To quench your thirst, to satisfy this basic human need, you have to walk two miles each way to get yourself some water. This is a real experience for people in remote, underdeveloped regions of the world. Erin Huber, founder of Drink Local Drink Tap knows these circumstances all too well. For 13 years her Cleveland-based nonprofi...

There are only about five makers of soy sauce in the United States and one of them is in Cincinnati, Ohio, where it is brewed using a natural fermentation process alongside all those great Ohio-made beers. Sam Pellerito started CinSoy, makers of small batch soy sauce, tamari, tofu and other tasty things using Ohio-grown soybeans. He says Ohio soybeans are some of the very best in the world and we...

Laura Gabbert found purpose during the Covid 19 pandemic creating her documentary Food and Country. In collaboration with renowned food writer and critic Ruth Reichl, Gabbert created a film that depicts the early days of the pandemic as told through people on the front lines of local food. From farmers and ranchers in rural America, to fine dining restaurateurs in urban settings, to small minority...

Inspired by the humble Friday fish fry of the Lenten season, I started thinking about the fish on my plate our Great Lake, and the future of seafood. With costs of everything going up, we're making tough choices to feed ourselves and our families. Some local chefs have participated in the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Blue Ribbon Task Force, and I wanted to know more. Executive Chef Matt...

This is a different episode than I usually make. But, given that we will soon have an influx of visitors for the Cleveland International Film Festival and many other fantastic things happening here in the coming months, I decided to make an episode that highlights some of my favorite things...and those of some other Clevelanders in the hospitality biz.  I was inspired to create this episode a...

JB Douglas describes foraging as one of the most accessible and natural things we can do...but it is also fraught with overtones of land access, politics an racial and environmental justice. Not to mention, you have to know what you're doing! JB is the VP of Culinary and Community for Foraged, this very cool online marketplace for foraged, wild and unusual foods. An avid forager himself, JB proudl...

Bette Lou Higgins doesn't get downtown as much as she used to. But I forgive her, because she's a treasure trove of knowledge about the past...especially the iconic, unique and sometimes very odd restaurants that existed years ago, She explores dozens of them in her book Lost Restaurants of Downtown Cleveland (available at many local book stores and Amazon) and the interesting thing is, she ONLY c...

Looking in from the outside, it seems that chefs and food professionals have an uphill battle when it comes to relationships. Late nights, erratic schedules and stress don't make for the best foundation for marriage and family. But sometimes, with lots of perseverance, understanding and effort, things just work.   I sat down with Chef Lloyd Foust, who just joined the team of Salt, to open Pop...

Carlos Ramos was a tea fan long before he purchased The Tea Lab a few years ago. He's become somewhat of a self-taught expert on the beverage, its origins and how to select teas that appeal to individual tastes and needs. So many of us here in Ohio start the day with coffee, but globally tea reigns...second only to water. There is an incredible amount of variety in tea, which is essentially a beve...

Karis Tzeng is a VP of Planning at Midtown Cleveland where she works on many projects for the district including the stewardship of AsiaTown. If you think of AsiaTown as a place to "get take out" you are missing so much...from an array of Pan-Asian foods spanning multiple cuisines and cultures, to art and history, and distinct traditions that arrived with each wave of immigration. We talk about th...

Boom's Pizza's slogan is "Born of Hard Times." Truer words were never spoken when it comes to the 18 months or so following  March 2020.  While most of us moved on as fast as we could rip off our masks, the restaurant industry and its people suffered a collective PTSD that, for some, remains today. Episode 9 featured a version of Ben Bebenroth that was exhausted, disillusioned and unsure...

For the first episode of 2023 I sit down with Dillon Stewart, editor of Cleveland Magazine , to look ahead at a rapidly changing food and drink scene. Food news is coming fast and furious—with no shortage of new spots from fine dining, to kosher BBQ, an Asian food hall and sophisticated cocktail bars. If you aren't following and subscribing to Cleveland Magazine you're missing out on lots of food,...

If you don't look for it, you might miss the sprawling complex called The Fieldhouse, positioned behind the old Phantasy Nightclub building in Lakewood. If you are not in the LQBTQ+ community, chances are you don't even know about it. I had the chance to speak with two women who each have distinct roles in the success of this evolving queer gathering space. Chelsea Huizing (known also as Ox, for h...

Ahhh, uploading this one felt really good. Pat Bennett joins me to co-host this gargantuan episode which is actually quite fun and, dare I say, helpful. We are hosted by Destiny Burns at CLE Urban Winery, and she also makes an appearance to talk about her business and the fantastic community of local merchants on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. This one's for all of you who have yet to write a sing...