Final Cupcakes from Main Street Cupcakes Rocky River

Today was the last day for Main Street Cupcakes in Rocky River.   Their other locations are in Hudson and Chagrin Falls.   I'm really going to miss them being just around the corner.  There is always online delivery though.

Our friend Ellie joined us today.   Her order is below:

Left to right:

Top row: Chip Overload, Birthday Cake, Red Velvet

Bottom row: Classic Chocolate, Caramel Apple, Wedding Day White

We started off planning to order four, but went with a half dozen instead.   

Top row: Caramel Apple, Coconut Cream

Bottom row: Strawberry Cookies and Cream, Hot Cocoa

The left one is MSC Fluff and right one is Chip Overload.

A Cookie & A Cupcake

It was such a pretty, sunny day today that we stopped by A Cookie & A Cupcake.

Top row: Strawberry and Apple

Bottom row: Salted Caramel and Nutella

The apple one was basically covered in apple pie filling and the core had cinnamon.  The strawberry one was filled with vanilla custard with strawberry pieces.

The salted caramel had salt sprinkles on top.  It wasn't overly salty.   The nutella was today's special flavor.

The frosting is very light and more similar to whipped cream than buttercream.  It is a nice little shop and definitely worth a visit.  Next time we're going to order their sampler tray of all their flavors.

Mary Poppins

We just got back from seeing Mary Poppins at the Beck Center.  Now that is how a musical is supposed to be!  It was dozens of times better than White Christmas!

The plot has changed from the movie version, but all changes are an improvement.  You get a little more background on Mr. Banks, and Mrs. Banks has an internal struggle as she adapts from being an actress to a wife.  The children are naughtier in this version, but Mary Poppins sets them straight.  She's not all sugar and roses, but perplexing and enigmatic which makes her an intriguing character.  
This is a very strong production from the Beck Center and is not to be missed.

White Christmas the Musical

We saw White Christmas the Musical yesterday.  From the season's announcement, I really doubted that I would enjoy it.   White Christmas was exactly what I expected.   It brilliantly shows off the music of Irving Berlin, but as Joe Garry said in the pre-show talk, the plot is cellophane thin.

I am not a fan of classic Broadway musical style.   The plot exists only as a vehicle to bring up more songs.  The costumes are nice, as are the sets and choreography.  However, I cannot relate to any of the one dimensional characters.   There is no major development and they are essentially cardboard cutouts.   The character with the most growth and change is the barn keeper, and he's a running gag character.

If you are a fan of the holiday movie, you will probably enjoy this.  If you're a fan of Broadway shows, you may find this disappointing.   It's optimistic, sweet, and ultimately fluffy.   Every single song is written in a major key.  You will not be burdened by major thinking or heavy plot analysis.  

December Holiday Cupcakes

I stopped by Main Street Cupcakes today and got a couple of flavors.   The red one on the left is December's Flavor of the Month, Ruby Slipper.   It's red velvet cake with champagne buttercream frosting.  The yellow one is Lemon with a Twist, a lemon one with a generous dollop of raspberry filling in the center.   Both were extremely yummy.

They also gave me a mini hot chocolate cupcake for free!   See the tiny marshmallows?

Normally, Main Street has 16 to 20 flavors on a daily basis.  Today, I counted 25, 26 if you count the mini hot chocolate ones.

Newsies

We just got back from Newsies: The Musical at Playhouse Square!  I had never seen the movie and I didn't have huge expectations for the show, but I was greatly surprised and enjoyed myself.   The movie bombed back in 1992.  Alan Menkin actually got a Razzie for the score.   However, when it was produced as a musical version for the stage, that same show earned him a Tony Award.

It's all about the newsboy strike around the turn of the century.   There weren't protections for child laborers, who were greatly abused.

I really enjoyed the dancing and the singing.   Particularly, it's an all guy chorus of dancers.  There are lots of flips, tap dancing, and overall enthusiastic acrobatics.   The show is 98 percent sold out everywhere that it plays and I was fortunate to win some really nice seats in the loge.  

The dancing isn't just on the ground, it extends through the 3 steel towers that rotate around the stage.   The dancers climb and dance, and dance and climb.  It's an extraordinary show and is not to be missed!

Churned Ice Cream

As a treat today, we went to Churned Ice Cream.   I quickly decided on my flavors.  Steve and I both agreed on them and were able to share.

The scoop on top is Malted Cookie Dough.  The malt was nicely subtle.

The scoop on the left side is Blondie.  It reminded me of sweetened condensed milk because of the caramelized sugar.  Yummy!

The flavor on the right is Chocolate Passionfruit.  It's a rich dark chocolate and the passionfruit flavor comes out towards the end.   It reminds me of a chocolate truffle you'd get in a fancy shop.

The final flavor in the front of the picture was Apple.  It had large chunks of sweet apple.   A perfect fall flavor!

My ice cream dish was basically full of fall desserts.   I really enjoyed it.

Lastly, I had to try the weird flavor.   I tried the Horseradish Chive savory ice cream.  It had chips of beef in it!

Yes, I'm not big on beef in ice cream.  If there is going to be a meat product in desserts, I prefer bacon because it just goes better.   I couldn't resist trying something so unusual.  It was spicy and definitely fit the description of "dinner in a cup without mashed potatoes."  The flavor is apparently more popular than their roasted garlic and rosemary ice cream which I want to try.   

River Dog Cafe

Tonight we had dinner at the River Dog Cafe.   Neat little place.  I didn't realize that they have been open since this past April.   They specialize in fancy hot dogs and sandwiches.  It reminds me of Happy Dog, but without the bar.

I ordered the Jenny Dog.  It's a hot dog with brie, bacon, and truffle honey glaze.  It's a very tasty flavor combination.   The honey glaze is extremely sticky though.

Steve had the Chubalub.  It's a hot dog with crispy onions, scallions, macaroni and cheese, and a fried egg.   Tasty, but again messy to eat.  

We also split an order of Tot-Chos, which are tater tots with taco toppings.   Best to eat these with a fork.  

I really liked this place.  Next time I would like to try their duck breast BLT sandwich.  

Evil Dead: The Musical

Steve and I saw Evil Dead:the Musical last night.   I love this show!   It's wonderful mix of camp and horror, and of course gratuitous stage blood that douses the audience members.  It was the first musical we saw together at the Beck Center.  The one we saw last night was the North American touring company.

The music is really fun.  I found myself singing along to the lyrics.   The high point of the show is the epic zombie fight.  They do a Thriller type of dance followed by a chainsaw battle with Ash.  Each of the zombies is wearing a prosthetic that sprays blood out into the audience.  

We came right from work, so I made sure to get seats outside of the splash zone.  I really recommend this show.  It's one of my all time favorites!

The Side Quest

I'm not usually into bars, but I really am a fan of this one.   The Side Quest in Lakewood is not a sports bar.   It's a geek bar and I couldn't be happier.   They have card and board games that you can borrow, a fun selection of food, and themed activity nights. I have attended Mario Monday, free board game Tuesday, and the crafting session on Sunday (Stitch & Bitch).

Pictured above is the No. 11 slider, with fish fingers and custard.  It's got a nice crunch and the sauce is mild.

This slider is the Shark Jumper.   It's got bacon, beef, and an assortment of bacon flavored condiments.   It's tasty, but a little on the greasy side.

This one is the Hamelot.  It's got ham, cheese, apple, and spicy mustard. Definitely spicy mustard.   It made my eyes water, but I'm sort of a wimp when it comes to spicy food.

This is my favorite slider so far.  The Why Not Zoidberg is crunchy calamari with a lightly spicy sauce.  It doesn't even need the lemon wedge it comes with!

They have two dessert options.  These are Jelly Babies imported from the UK.  They're kind of like sour patch kids, minus the sour part.   The texture is a bit different from your standard gummy candy.   I like them.   They also have some fantastic hot mini donuts.

If you're in town, be sure to stop by the Side Quest.   There is always something interesting to do.

[title of show]

We saw [title of show] at the Beck Center, and I loved it!   It's pretty unusual for two musicals to be going on at the Beck Center.  I definitely enjoyed this one much more than Forever Plaid.  

It's witty metatheater about the creation of a musical, namely, this one.   Two guys, Hunter and Jeff, decide to write a musical in three weeks and submit it to a festival.  Their friends Heidi and Susan help.  It's really quite clever.  There are lots of references to other shows within it.  There are even several quotations from other musicals.  

The show runs 90 minutes without intermission and is funny and self referential.   It never takes itself too seriously, but there are serious moments that don't kill the light bubbly fun.   If you are a fan of Broadway, this is definitely a show for you!

Fears' Confections

We also stopped by Fears' Confections.  They opened in a new location in Lakewood.   Delicious brownies and geeky chocolates.   Starting from the left going clockwise: raspberry marshmallow, inverted s'mores marshmallow, space invader, dark chocolate sponge candy, milk chocolate sponge candy, and Hans Solo in carbonite chocolate.

We also bought two brownies that we got last time.

 This is the Ghost Story brownie (s'mores).

This brownie is the Lavender Citrus.

So many neat places are opening around Lakewood!

October Cupcakes

We stopped by Main Street Cupcakes today to redeem my free birthday cupcake coupon.  I decided on the Berry Berry Strawberry because I don't remember having one before.

It's vanilla cake with strawberry pieces inside.   Very nice and fragrant too.

Steve decided to get Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake.  

Notice the Oreo cookie piece between the frosting and cake.   He liked it.

Fat Cats

 Steve and I went out and met with some friends the other night at Fat Cats in Tremont.  It's a small restaurant and the owner also owns the Lava Lounge.   Pictured above is the appetizer we ordered, warmed goat cheese.   Those crostini were nicely crispy and served in tomato jam.   It had a slight spicy kick to it.   The herbs on the cheese were very nice.

Steve had the pan roasted salmon for dinner.  Those are Ohio corn pancakes, green beans, and a jalapeno relish with it.  

I ordered the duck breast.  This was absolutely perfect!  Duck confit, cooked medium, just the right balance of tender and chewy.   The round piece in front of the kale is apple challah bread pudding and it all is sitting in a mustard shallot sauce.  I was concerned that mustard would be the main flavor, but it was nicely in the background.   The bread pudding went extremely well with the duck.

The portion sizes were just right at Fat Cats.   We didn't have to worry about leftovers.   I really enjoyed my meal and I wouldn't mind going again.