Gloria Ferris

Sixty years in business, same family, same name, same destination. Do you know? If you said Ferris Steak House you would be right.

This restaurant holds a very fond place in my heart. Thirty two years ago when I moved to Cleveland to teach at West High School located on Franklin Avenue Ferris Steak House was the first bar and restaurant I entered. On the first day of school, the other teachers invited me tocome with them to one of their favorite after school watering holes. We were much younger then and drinking a few beers was more of a priority than eating. Ed Ferris and his brother were always behind the bar.
Every Friday they had the best fish fry. We drank and ate there often.

But times change and now when I enter Ferris Steak House it is to sample some of the best red meat in town. Last night I had one of the best cheeseburgers in recent memory. Tim noshed on potato pancakes that we both found a tad too crispy, but he had nothing but good things to say about his bowl of Manhattan Clam Chowder.

Although times have changed, you are still greeted by one of the Ferris family–Bruce Ferris. He has carried on the best traditions of his grandparents and uncles with the gracious hospitality he showers on his customers and the good food serves.

If you haven’t been there in awhile, you will be pleasantly surprised that Bruce has opened the windows creating a spacious, welcoming dining space.

DISCLAIMER: Barbara Ferris may claim us as her Irish cousins but this in no way influenced our rave review of this great establishment.

Yesterday was really busy–0700 saw us at Theo’s for the very first gathering of the Brooklyn Business-to-Business Connect chapter, the 15th such group started in this area since May of 2005. Joe Gardner, one of the Theo’s business partners, is just finishing off his downstairs state-of-the-art meeting room, and we’re all grateful for his hosting the chapter.

Heads up: This coming Monday, January 23rd, Business-to-Business Connect co-founder Laura Leggett will be a guest on the Lanigan and Malone Show. Going to their site just now to fetch the link, I realized that we missed Kate O’Beirne’s appearance January 11th, promoting her new book that’s raising such a ruckus–I do wish those guys would get a feed going over to the blogosphere.

Two of my neighbors have emailed me about a critical issue facing our state. Read more here. I have already mentioned it once a few days ago, but it deserves another mention. We are faced with allowing developers to again decide the road that we are traveling in Ohio. We need to sit down, take a deep breath, and decide as Ohioans if this is what we want in our future.

The question facing Ohioans on the creation of a “new and improved” Middle Bass Island Marina is Is it really the direction to take?
The other question facing us here in Ohio is can we afford this continuous attack on nature. Here in Cuyahoga County we are trying to turn back “progress” on the banks of the Cuyahoga River to bring back a more natural habitat, and at the same time we are destroying one of the few natural habitats left in our state. We have lost much of what made our state a unique place to live over the years and now we are faced with the results. Is it time to say “no more?”

Please take a few moments over the next few days to consider the fate of Middle Bass Island, and then take the time to let your state government know how you want our state to proceed. Remember all Ohioans can hike through the wetlands, sit on the banks of a pond, drink in the view and watch as birds fly overhead, but only a select few, 360 to be exact will be able to use the new marina. I think I just told you which side I am backing on this issue. Who will you back, nature or development? The last date that the Ohio EPA is accepting comments on this marina proposal is January 28th.

Bread, I am talking bread here folks. If you wander the streets of Cleveland looking for loaves of “right out of the oven” bread with a chewy crust Caribe bakery is the place for you. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in the door that not only is this a unique bakery but there is also a small restaurant where you can dine in or take out. I glanced quickly but they offer Cuban sandwiches, whole or half roasted chicken, and the rice that my daughter loves so well. On the pastry side, I saw tins of flan which I certainly need to try. I will travel back soon to sample the food.