This summer has been so busy but I still had to share some of the fun we had a couple weeks ago. The weather in Cleveland has still been so confusing. Is it summer or is it fall? That was the question of the week depending on what day it was. This week was surprisingly busy with lots of yummy food and good times.
We celebrated my mom’s birthday at Nonna T’s, in Mentor, Ohio. It opened up back in January and everyone has been talking about it. We had been there once before and I was excited for my mom to try it. We had a wonderful dinner and tried mostly different stuff from the first time I was there. I say mostly because my husband got the cheese tortellini again because it was so good. We also tried the chicken and veal marsala both were fabulous. Both times I have been here everything always tastes so fresh. We also celebrated with some Cannolis to end the night.
As you will learn I’m a sucker for festivals. It is something about summer I just really enjoy. The Kirtland Strawberry festival was this week and is always a must stop for some strawberry shortcake. The rides, games and food vendors returned this year. There were a bunch of food options from fried periogies to the Fungry food truck, to gyros, to homemade pasta made by a local Kirtland restaurant Down the Block. There were so many good options. We went with the Gyro and chicken pita and both were pretty good. The real reason we were there was for the strawberries. We got a strawberry shortcake and some chocolate covered strawberries. All of the above were excellent!
The weekend was a busy one and we were all over the place. On Friday we tried Gril Craft BBQ in Willoughby, Ohio. They list themselves as a authentic Texas fusion experience. It reminded me of a BBQ version of Chipotle. We got two bowls both with Mac and cheese, which looked creamy and amazing. It was a little on the bland side for me but mixed with everything you couldn’t tell. One of the bowls we got chicken and the other with pulled pork. Both of the meats were juicy and had tons of flavor. I also got the pinto beans and coleslaw on top, both were very good additions. The last option for bowls is the sauce which they have multiple sauces you can add to your bowl. I got the Cilantro lime and the Tangy BBQ, which we liked both. This is a fast causal restaurant that I will for sure visit again.
Saturday we went out to the wineries in Ashtabula county for our friends birthday celebrations. We stopped at some of my favorites and one day I’ll write full reviews for all of them. For now let’s just cover where we went and what we got. There are a couple roads in Ashtabula county where you have winery after winery. One of them is Route 307. The first stop of the day was Stonegait Winery which is on the corner of 307 and Bates Road. They have a beautiful property and building. They serve wine, some beer and bourbon and have a full menu that includes pizza, appetizers and sandwiches. My husband and I got sandwiches. Both were fresh and tasted amazing. Most of our friends got pizza and everything looked so good. Our next stop for just wine was Cask 307. Cask 307 has my favorite wine a Bourbon Chardonnay but I have also tried others of their wine and they have some good options. The day we were there they did have a couple special mixed drinks as another option. Our last stop was Hundley Cellars which is right down the street from Cask and Stonegait.
They as well have some really great wines. Some of my favorites are the Blonde Ambition and the Endless Summer. Besides loving the property and vibe of this family owed winery I also love love love their brownies. Every time I visit I must get their brownies and even if you are not a wine drinker it is so worth visiting to enjoy their outdoor area, listen to the band and eat brownies.
To close out the weekend we stopped at Scooters Dawg House in Mentor, OH on Sunday. This establishment is always busy so expect to stand in line but it is totally worth it. Scooters brings in people that are leaving the beach, locals and travelers that are looking for a small locally owned business. I love that they have added more and more options to their menu but we always go and get hot dogs and fries. This visit we got a Chicago, a Scooter Dawg and honestly something else I can not remember and we split a fry. We of course picked the wrong size fry, as in it was still huge, but managed to finish them all.
I also want to give a shout out to our friends Jim and Amy for having a great cook out at their home tiki bar on Saturday night. I didn’t take any pictures, as we were having so much fun but I give them a 10/10 for experience, vibe and food. Thanks again for having all of us!