Gloria Ferris

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.

I do, and we just did. Every Monday is $.99 Steak Nite at The Pearl Road Tavern & Eatery . Most Mondays you can find Tim and me there along with many of our neighbors and friends. We all know a great deal when we see one. Each steak costs $.99. For every two steaks you buy you need to purchase a side dish as well. Gina is the waitress with the pretty smile who greets you by name and knows your drink order on your second visit. Truth be told, she is one of the reasons that we like the place so well. Good food and great prices aren’t everything. After a hard day, there isn’t anything much better than to walk into a place where someone knows your name and is glad to see you.

As I walked up to the door at Talkies yesterday, it looked awfully desolate for a Saturday morning. Imagine my surprise when the note on the door said “Power out, I will open as soon as it comes on”.
I thought this situation sure complicates things. Meet the Bloggers was scheduled to begin at noon at Talkies. Since I was incredibly early, I needed to find somewhere with power to wait. The West Side Market loomed large in my sights, and I immediately thought of a place to wait The Market Cafe Restaurant. I always meant to eat breakfast there some day but whenever we go to the market we always seem to end up at the bratwurst stand.

Yesterday will not be the last day I eat at The Market Cafe Restaurant. May I suggest the Eggs Benedict? I am a connoisseur of that dish if I say so myself. That had to be some of the best Hollandaise sauce ever.
I settled in with my paper and a cup of coffee to wait until it was almost twelve o’clock.
Luckily, for me my timing was good and I met George, Roger,Bill and Jeff talking outside of Great Lakes Brewery. We decided to drive down to the Town Fryer but before we left we all went into Great Lakes. Lucky thing that we did because Russell of BuckeyeSenateBlog fame and his wife Francie had driven up from Central Ohio. We spent the afternoon in the Great Lakes Pub and although it wasn’t one of our usual places we managed to have a very productive afternoon.

As we left, we noticed that Talkies still did not have power. I had talked to the owner earlier and she was quite perturbed because not only were we scheduled to be there, but she had several other things scheduled to take place at her coffee shop. She said that this loss of power had been happening altogether too frequently and she was thinking of switching from CEI, but just when she thought she would do that the businesses in the area that had CPP started having outage problems.

Granted, yesterday was an extremely windy day, but when we as customers of CEI and Cleveland Public Power pay the highest electricity prices in the state, shouldn’t we have reliable service? Why do we have such high rates but have outdated, old equipment that can’t stand high winds, icy weather, and wetness. Is it time to place this wires underground? Wouldn’t we all be safer if they were underground? Don’t we deserve to have an upgrade in service if we pay the highest prices in the state? If our dollars don’t go to capital improvements and maintenance, where does it go? At first, I only thought of my inconvenience because of the power outage, but what about that business owner whose entire day was disrupted with no revenues and what about those residents that shivered in their homes on one of the coldest days we have had this winter? I think that it is time that we ask our utility companies some hard questions concerning why our electric system is so unreliable during bad weather. Goodness knows, we have enough bad weather in Greater Cleveland.

Tim and I were in this Southeast neighborhood for a friend’s mother’s wake. Since we hadn’t been in the neighborhood for years, we decided to take a drive through the neighborhood on the back streets. For those of you who are not familiar with the area, Mill Creek Estates is on the northeastern edge of the neighborhood. There are some really nice side streets as wel, such as Tioga. As we were driving around, I asked Tim if he remembered that little bar/restaurant where he took me for a fish fry on one of our first dates. He said, “oh yeah, it was right on the crest of Warner Road. Let’s eat dinner there. I thought it wouldn’t be there because this was twenty-two years ago.

It was still there!When we walked in the door, it was liking walking back in time. High tin ceilings, green checkered tablecloths, and stools and chairs right out of the 1950′s but The Cozy Inn has touches even older than that. The clock over the doorway to the kitchen says in neon “The Cozy Inn est. in 1933″. The amazing part of all of this is that Millie the daughter of the original owners still owns the bar with the help of her daughter. Talk about a family business! Photos on the wall attest to the evolution of the business.

Not only does Millie still own the bar she still cooks. Why is that so amazing? Millie is 89 years old and does the cooking four days a week. Her knees just won’t let her cook every day of the week. Her daughter usually helps her out, but tonight she was all alone. Believe me, Millie has not lost her touch. The best fish fry in town just might be served at The Cozy Inn at 4568 Warner Road. The fish was crispy on the outside but flaky on the inside, the coleslaw was shredded thin and had a very light taste. The french fries were fresh and not the least bit greasy.

Tim and I decided it certainly won’t be another twenty-one years before we venture back to the Cozy Inn on Warner Road. And may we suggest that you try it too.