This Side of Ohio - Exploring the Cleveland Area

Breakfast for my friend Jess and me began with eating a pint of Graters. After several hours of walking around Cleveland to work this off and seeing some interesting places, we became famished and looked for something to eat. My friend Jess had some great suggestions. I picked Phnom Penh because I had never had Cambodian food. The restaurant did not disappoint with its Cambodian and Vietnamese flair.

They have a varied selection, in fact they have so many selections and variations it takes you awhile to choose what you want. The menu is long and detailed, the waitress will help you out if you are uncertain of what to choose. Grammar nuts should have someone else read the menu so as not to spoil their time in the place. There are many vegetarian choices if you so desire and carnivores will not be disappointed. Their main courses can be big enough for two, especially if you ordered appetizers. You can order each dish in a variety of heat levels from mild, medium, and hot.

The space itself is modern and well decorated with wood carved artwork. The waitress was attentive to our needs. The food was brought out promptly and our water glasses were refilled.

The food itself rates from just ok to truly outstanding, depending on what menu item you pick. My friend Jess and I chose what we wanted based on the ingredients. We both wanted to have something that we could not eat anywhere else. For appetizers, I ordered the nitin, which is described as coconut ground pork with crispy rice, and Jess ordered the fish cake. For the main course I ordered the Chha Kreoung Marass Prowt which has lime leaves, garlic, turmeric root, galanga root, coconut whip, lemongrass, ma rass Prowh, onions, green peppers, red peppers, roasted peanuts, with a side of rice. I paid extra to have some tofu thrown in there. Jess had Banh Sougnh which has rice noodles, lettuce, cucumbers, bean spouts, whipped coconut milk, cut spring rolls, Asian basil, ground peanuts, and served with a special sauce. Let’s rate the food dishes. The appetizer nitin tasted like a sweet ground Italian sausage with a rice paddy, the taste was OK but not exotic. For the main course, Banh Sougnh was OK. The spring rolls inside the dish were excellent but the noodle dish itself was a bit bland. You could not taste the lemon grass or coconut inside.

For what I would consider a truly outstanding appetizer and main dish combination, try the fish cakes and medium spiced Chha Kreoung Marass Prowt. The flavors in each complement each other. The lemongrass is mind-blowing. Truthfully, I hate fish and I have not had a bite in several years. My friend Jess asked me to try the fish cake several times and I said no each time. She told me it did not taste like fish and the taste amazed her. I reluctantly gave the fish cake a try because she had been right about everything the whole day. To my surprise I devoured two more! Not wanting to appear too greedy I wanted, but did not try for, the third. The medium spiced Chha Kreoung Marass Prowt with the lemongrass and coconut milk is very flavorful and complements the fish cake.

Phnom Penh has a few exotic drinks available, made from fruits that we'd never heard of before. We didn’t try it because we ordered a lot of food so we stuck to water. One thing to remember is that they do not serve alcohol. They do allow you to bring it in. I know this because one of the guests was asking this very question and the waitress suggested places close by to buy it. My suggestion as a complement to the lemony and lime taste of fish cakes and Chha Kreoung Marass Prowt would be to pick up some Coronas and some cut lime and have it in your car. Then ask if you can bring them in. The Corona beer and the outstanding dishes above would make for a perfect meal.

I would recommend taking a big group so that you can try different foods and share like a family. However, dinner for two is always an option ordering the foods above. I wish I could live close to that place so I could eat it everyday. Please remember they serve lunch and dinner. The food is the same but the portion and costs are different. Definitely go here for lunch so you can save money and try more things. What I like to do is order something I know is good and an experimental dish to try. You’ll never know if the new dish will become your favorite.

On the down side credit cards are not accepted, so bring enough cash with you. The prices are so low it will not give your wallet too much of a hit.

Overall: Try this restaurant, you will not be disappointed. Try a variety of things. One or more of the dishes should hit the spot.

Kendall Cliffs 
60 Kendall Park Rd.
Peninsula, Ohio 44264
(330) 655-5489
 
I had always wanted to do rock climbing on one of those rock walls you always see. My friend Jess had a picture of her rock climbing on her profile on Myspace. When I saw this I told her she definitely had to take me the next time I came for a visit.

Kendall Cliffs is professional rock climbing gym in Ohio that has a large climbing area. There are a variety of climbing areas for different skill levels with the height of the wall reaching about 35 feet up. There is a beginner level for bouldering which has a straight wall and easier rungs to hang onto. Then there are more advanced levels where you have to problem solve and use upper body strength to get to the next level. Most of these walls are at an angle. One suggestion I would have is they should have an intermediate level on the angled walls with easier rungs to hang on for people to. 

The coolest feature of the place there is a 35-foot arch traversing the middle of the building. It looks like a little piece of an actual mountain in the gym. Here you can see people with ropes climbing what looks like a mountain. Some people were climbing and hanging onto the top of the ceiling. It was a pretty cool sight.

When climbing I started on the beginner walls and got pretty high before coming down. Don’t let the beginner levels fool you they are pretty hard. I did fall down at least once trying to come down. I tried to do the beginner level with harder rungs but could not get myself up. I think you have to be a contortionist to do this.

It amazing to see the more skilled climbers doing their thing. Their conversations I was eavesdropping on focused on solving ‘bouldering’ problems. In a real mountain, there are not handholds for you to get to up the rocks easily.  You have to hang on and contort your body in different ways to get up. The more experienced climbers looked like Spider-man or something. They were moving up sideways and sometimes hanging on only with their hands and letting their feet dangle, using their upper body strength to get up. In fact, some course were challenging even for them to solve. They were working together to find new ways to place their hand and feet and move up these more challenging courses.

One suggestion is to get some one on one guidance on the course and the basics. Remember you have to call ahead to request this class and you need 2 people for the course to take place. It is good to have an inexperienced friend with you so the course can take place. We went without reserving this so I missed out on the option of doing this.  Perhaps, next time I will plan ahead and do this.  It would help me progress to the intermediate course. I was struggling through the beginner course without the guidance.

Some courses offered are:
1) ROCK GYM BASICS
This is a class for beginners where you are introduced to indoor rock climbing. $20.

2) ROCK GYM 101
This class is for people who know some of the basics of indoor rock climbing and want to learn some more rock climbing skills. It is a two-hour lesson covering knot tying, belaying, rope management skills, the use of technical equipment and climbing commands. $30.

3) LEAD CLIMBING 101
This class is for people who know some of the basics of indoor rock climbing and want to learn some more advanced rock climbing skill. The lesson introduces climbers to leading sport routes. Topics covered include safe and efficient lead belaying, how to clip protection, lead climbing techniques and the art of falling safely. $30.

4) TECHNIQUE CLASS-After the basics this is a good class to learn how to move on the rock, footwork, and how to problem solve climbing problems. $30/hour.

COSTS:
 Adult Weekdays $10, Adult Weekends $12, Children (12 & under) $8.
Climbing Shoes  $4
Harness $2.50
Belay Device (ATC) $2.50
Chalk Bag $2.50

Times
Monday-Friday 5pm to 10pm ;Saturday, Sunday 11am to 7pm

Overall: This is a great place to visit for beginners and people with skills. A great tip is to take advantage of the specials. On Friday Nights, ladies climb for half price. On Monday Night College student with ID climb for half price.

After walking around, my friend Jess had a great suggestion to stop off at the West Side Market before heading off to dinner. The West Side Market can be seen from a far and easily identified by its neoclassical clock tower and building.

Since October 31, 1912 the West Side Market has supplied many people with a variety of foods. Many tourists, families, locals, and restaurants come here to shop or take in the atmosphere. You can get a sense of Cleveland’s rich ethic history and culinary culture by a walk through this market.

The market is divided into two areas. There is a visually stunning and colorful fruit and vegetable market. These fruits and vegetables range from ordinary run of the mill fruit and vegetables such as apple and carrots to the more exotic lycee and bok choy. Some vendors offer samples of products to entice you to buy more. Some good deals are the sweet sugar peas in their pods, which make an excellent healthy snack to munch on as you walk through the market. Another very good deal was the spring mix for $1.

Another area is the meat and fish market, which is also where you can find bakery items. Don’t be put off by the chicken feet and beef hearts and cow tongues that you may see here. Continue to walk around and take the market in. Some things I found interesting here was a store selling homemade flavored pasta. I definitely want to try the lemongrass pasta and many of the flavored homemade ravioli. As for the dessert, there is one shop of a particular note that has some good dessert. I unfortunately did not note the name. I took out a pistachio mousse cake and a raspberry sacher from here. We later ate these at Cleveland in one of the many Cleveland parks. The cakes were rich and had a variety of textures and tastes, which made the experience enjoyable.

One of the best tips is to visit on Saturdays when the open-air market is held. During the summer on this day the market hosts events such as cultural activities, live music and other performers.

The market is open Monday and Wednesday from 7am to 4pm.

It is closed Sunday and Thursdays.

It opens Friday and Saturday from 7am to 6pm.

The Cleveland Metroparks was founded by Jeptha Wade. It has come to be known as the Emerald necklace. It consists of 14 reservations: Hinckley Reservation, Euclid Creek Reservation, Rocky River Reservation, Big Creek Reservation, Ohio & Erie Reservation, Garfield Park Reservation, Mill Stream Run Reservation, Bedford Reservation, Bradley Woods Reservation, Brecksville Reservation, Brookside Reservation, Huntington Reservation, North Chagrin Reservation and the South Chagrin Reservation. The parks are open 6am to 11pm and are free to use. The Metropark zoo is part of this system, it is the only Metropark which is associated with an entrance fee.

There is so much to do in each of the parks. There are trails for hiking, biking and other fitness activities. In the summer you can picnic, swim, golf, or fish. In the winter try cross country skiing or even a snowball fight. There are some cool sights to see such as the Savine castle in the South Euclid Reservation, which is said to be haunted.

I and my friend Jess headed off to the Rock River Reservation on a hot with 2 pints of Graters Ice Cream. We sat on a couple of benches and relaxed while eating our ice cream. We watched the river and saw several types of birds. To our side there were people who were fishing but didn’t catch anything yet. The people here were all pretty nice and talked to us as we past. An older couple told us how they came by to see a family of ducks that fly in. The couple who were fishing was talking about how much patience fishing takes. We continued devouring our ice creams.

When we finished we decided to walk around the water on a trail to walk off what we had eaten. The trail were great we saw chipmunks and several types of birds. We catch sight of a group of ducks and wondered if these were the ducks the older couple was looking for. As we continued walking, we walked off the path to look into the river. There were these tiny fish in the river that looked like they just hatched. We joked that the fishers should use microscopic bait to catch these.

All in all these parks make for fun and also relaxing times. Visit them more than once, if you have time. I was biking riding in a different Metropark 2 days later. I had an enjoyable experience here as well.

6125 St. Clair Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44103 Phone: (216) 391-9400

Going to Empress Tatu is an Ethiopian experience. There are traditional basket table and thatched roof structures which look like huts in the restaurant. You can see some of the history of Ethiopia by the tapestries, tribal artwork, maps, the photos on the wall and the Ethiopian music playing in the background. The menu itself gives a history and background of Ethiopian culture. We learn that Ethiopians are mainly vegetarian due the lack of meat. In addition, during Lent, for about 55 days before Easter, they may abstain from eating meat. This is true for Orthodox Christian Ethiopians who do not even eat butter, cheese, or milk during this time.

For those who have never eaten in an Ethiopian restaurant, the main and side dishes arrive on large trays covered with injera. Injera is light airy flatbread made with a blend of teff and wheat flo. It kind of looks like a crepe and it is what makes the meal. All food items that were ordered are placed on this one dish for people to share. No utensils are used, you scoop up the food with a piece of the Injera you break off. The sharing food from a common plate, signifies the bonds of loyalty and friendship. Admittedly, you should not invite people with bad table manners or someone with a cold to this type of affair.

The service at the restaurant was very good. Our water was kept full and our food was brought out quickly. The server dressed in Ethiopian clothing were friendly and are happy to offer suggestions

We each ordered our own drink. I think everyone like the iced tea which tasted like chi tea. For the main course we ordered the two meat combinations, the vegetable combination and the sega wat (lamb stew). The entrees were puree for the most part with pieces of meat or vegetable in them. Everyone tried everything and everyone had their favorite. Most of us like the meat dishes over the vegetables, although they all were pretty tasty. As for spice levels, each food had their own level of heat to it. When in doubt, ask the server what everything is and what is the heat level.

One thing I would have liked to do is try the coffee ceremony. Perhaps, the next time I will do this. This place is great to share a meal with family and friend that you are close with.