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.

Motown the Musical

We saw Motown the Musical yesterday at Playhouse Square.  Huge autobiographical musical about the creation of Motown Records in Detroit by Berry Gordy and the stars he helped create.   It features 66 songs used in part or whole throughout the piece.  It shows the roots of Smokey Robinson, the Jackson 5, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops and many more.   I grew up listening to these tunes as oldies thanks to my mom.

The opening to the musical is great.  It starts at the 25th anniversary of Motown Records with all the stars coming back to celebrate.  However, it is soon pointed out that they left the company and the protagonist, Berry Gordy feels quite betrayed.  The show then goes back to the beginning and the founding of the company and the rise of the stars.

The music was extremely enjoyable.   I particularly liked how they used "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" to underscore changes happening in the company.

The celebrities are portrayed extremely accurately.   Especially Diana Ross and little Michael Jackson.  The love story in the show is the tumultuous relationship between Ross and Gordy.

The pacing of the show was a tad uneven.   The opening was great, but the endings of both acts were pretty weak.   Usually at the end of a jukebox musical, there is some kind of rapid fire review of all the best loved hits.   Motown didn't have such a thing at the end the way that Mama Mia and Jersey Boys did.   You will probably love this show if you have fond memories of Motown music.   I enjoyed it despite its flaws.