Thus continues my blogging excursion to Cleveland, led by Positively Cleveland. You can read about the first three parts to learn about where we had been so far. For lunch on Saturday, the #HappyinCLE voters sent us to Tommy’s Restaurant in Coventry.
Tommy’s has long been on my to-visit list for Cleveland. Unfortunately, we were too late for breakfast, but we still got to sample a lot of their Mediterranean specialties for lunch. We started with a shared plate of their homos (their spelling, not mine), which you can order hot or cold, and comes topped with fresh sprouts and veggies.
Tommy’s is also known for their milkshakes, so we ordered rounds of chocolate, cookies & cream, and the tofu chocolate & peanut butter. All three were very thick and rich. And I can hear you thinking, “tofu milkshakes?” Yes, that’s correct. For someone who doesn’t each a lot of tofu, I liked it quite a bit. I’d have been hard-pressed to tell the difference between that and a regular milkshake unless I was comparing them side-by-side.
To make sure we weren’t getting too healthy, we also split a giant plate of fresh-cut fries.
The lunch menu featured things like falafel, baba ganouj, and toasted cheeses. I spotted the list of meat and veggie pies, and chose the M.R., a spinach pie with falafel, cheese, veggies, and mushrooms. It was a giant tasty pile of food.
A couple doors down from Tommy’s is Big Fun, a vintage toy store that can keep you occupied for hours. We just got one in Columbus, and now I know I need to check it out.
The space is absolutely jam-packed with toys. Every available space is stacked and loaded with stuff. For instance, stacks of old video games: Atari, Nintendo, SNES, Sega. It makes me so happy that these games are still out there.
I spent a long time staring at this case of G.I. Joe guys, slowly identifying all the ones I used to have (why the heck did I ever sell them?!). It’s funny how specific memories are attached to so many of these figures.
And then I went and worshiped in front of the Star Wars figures, again remembering all the ones we had (and fortunately we still have most of them). Maybe I could finally get a stormtrooper to replace the one I owe my big brother Mike, after I tried to do a side-kick with it.
Although we didn’t stop at Great Lakes Brewing Company on this trip, we were near it often enough that I snapped a couple pictures. I’ve been to the brewpub and on their brewery tour before. It’s well worth the visit for both. The tour is free, and you get to see many of the old buildings. The brewpub serves excellent food – I remember their burgers being especially good – and you can try some pub-only beer specials.
Mrs. Bfast w/Nick and I peeled off from the main group for dinner on Saturday. The #HappyinCLE voters sent the group to Hodge’s across from our hotel.
We wandered a little closer to the lakefront, watching the sun go down behind Browns Stadium (or whatever the new corporate name is).
I took a couple panoramas to capture the absolutely beautiful evening.
It was an ideal time to appreciate downtown Cleveland and its buildings! Next up: dinner!
