Hi Everyone! My name is Beth and I’m the author of the food blog Dining and Dishing, which documents my life and eats in Washington DC. A big thanks to my darling foodie friend Allison for having me today on Green Dog Wine.

Before I moved to DC I was also a Clevelander. I grew up in Ohio and miss it very much now that I’m gone.

One of my very favorite things about Cleveland is its amazing dining scene. Cleveland really does have some of the best restaurants you can find, at a fraction of what it costs to dine out somewhere like DC. While it’s impossible to highlight them all, here are five places I really love to eat in the city of Cleveland. I hope you’ll check them out!

1. D’Vine Wine Bar – D’Vine serves a really great array of wines and small plates. My favorite thing about this bar is the wine flight selections, which allow you to try several wines at a time. Last time I was in town, this is actually where I met with Allison, along with the lovely Heather.

Halloumi Fresh Watermelon, Pan Seared Halloumi Cheese, Mint, Aged Balsamic & Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2. Lucky’s Café – Since moving away, it’s become a tradition for my family to have brunch at Lucky’s whenever I come home for a visit. Lucky’s does THE BEST brunch I’ve ever eaten. Everything is super fresh and handmade and you can absolutely taste the difference.

Pancakes  Sweet corn griddle cakes, drizzled with elderberry syrup and lemon verbena sweet corn crème anglaise.

3. Sergio’s – A mix of French and Italian influences located in an old house, Sergio’s is absolutely adorable inside and out. If you go for no other reason, please order a slice of their famous coconut butter cake. I promise you – it is heaven on a fork!

Coconut Butter Cake The now legendary cake, with crème Anglaise, whipped cream, and toasted coconut

4. Southside – I love meeting old friends at Southside when I go home because the atmosphere is young, fun and bar-like while the food is total quality. Per one of Allison’s recommendations, I ordered the sea bass last time I was there and was totally blown away!

Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Lobster Risotto, Grilled Asparagus and Sweet Rosemary Buerre Blanc

5. Of course I can’t mention my favorite places to eat in Cleveland without mentioning the best of them all: home. My dad is a fabulous chef and I always look forward to sharing one of his delicious meals with my family around our kitchen table.

Birthday Clambake, Fall 2009

And there you have it! Like I said, it’s impossible to highlight everything there is to love about Cleveland dining in one post, but I hope you enjoyed that little taste. Cleveland gets a bad name sometimes but I promise there is a lot to love if you take the time to look. And I know that if you’re ever in the area, there’s a wonderful group of bloggers that’d be happy to show you around some more.

- Beth