Mandate Politicians to use RTA in Cleveland?

Rahm Emmanuel interacting with other Chicago commuters

In Chicago, new mayor Rahm Emmanuel has ordered city employees to use public transportation for jaunts about town on city business once they’ve arrived at the office. He did this because he uses public transport himself, and because he wants to trim the fat. Estimated savings? A million annually. There had been some shady doings with reimbursements, including those for car washes and parking tickets. Chicagoans are pleased.

I love this idea, but want to add a twist for Cleveland. Yes, let them do this, but also, twice a month, have the councilmen and other city politicos TAKE PUBLIC TRANSIT TO AND FROM WORK. It’d be nice if they did this voluntarily, but I wager few would opt for it. But if they did…

A wandering story repository

They would learn how convoluted are the routes and times many have to plot to get to work. They’d reconsider where a bench or shelter would be invaluable. They’d think about the reasoning that puts police substations in Rapid stations, then doesn’t staff them. And if they had to do an occasional schlep to stop for groceries, they’d wonder how to get to a stop without breaking their bags and arms. They’d appreciate the free city trolleys and think about how they promote business and city living–maybe they’d install a J trolley that would loop from Detroit and W 25th to Lorain, heading West to W 65th and back up to Detroit and east again. People could go to the West Side Market, dine out in Ohio City or Detroit Shoreway, get to a multiplicity of churches to worship or enjoy architectural treasures, see a play at Cleveland Public Theatre or catch a film at the Capitol. I can’t help but smile at the thought.

The Thrifty Bon VIvant dreams of a trolley line circling from W. 25 to W. 65, Lorain to Detroit

More importantly, they’d understand their citizens’ lives better in the here and now–which might help them understand the transformative power of good public transit. Only the most desperate of the middle class ride the bus now–otherwise they avoid the lingering stench of some homeless, or the rowdy curses of schoolchildren heading home. Most of the citizens on the bus are members of the hoi polloi. Unshy about their phone conversations, politicos would soon be clued into how very common stories of incarceration (pending, just ending or about to commence) are, as are tales of late child support payments, missed job interviews, and overwhelming illness. Lines outside the West Catholic center, non-hipsters at Unique Thrift. Want to know where free meals are that day? Someone on the bus will know. It can be Jerry Springer without the twisted entertainment factor, but it’s an indispensable part of the city. We all need to know what life is like for all, especially those planning the city’s direction. Numbers and trends don’t make it as personal as overheard conversations about public housing and molesting uncles.

There’s a story a day on the RTA (copyright pending). And if the councilmen pushed past the baby buggies to climb on board regularly, it would be a better story.

Adapting Great Depression Christmas Customs to the New Depression

Chicago ad from the Depression

My parents grew up on opposite sides of the Monongahela River outside of Pittsburgh during the Great Depression. Neither of their families had much money, but one had a house and land, the other an apartment. One had lots of kids, the other just two, a widowed mom, and a grandmother. My Mom was the townie, and remembers having a tree in a box at first, then agitating for a real–albeit small–tree. My Dad was in a quasi-rural area with “hollers,” and they’d go and cut a tree from their property. It’s from him we heard stories of one orange a year (he wasn’t alone; such stories abound–how many requests today with produce memories like these?) and the excitement of a handful of nuts and a special cheese. My Mom got presents–games, then clothes. She said she used to shop at the 5 and 10 (ah, the progenitor of the dollar store, but more fun), but graduated to a real store. In those days the store lured in customers with a coupon book and a lottery aspect. Each week a customer would pay a sum–say a dollar–and at the end of the saving period (five weeks? three months? she isn’t sure) they’d have a lump sum to spend ($30?), save from the grubby hands of little brothers or greedy husbands. Each week the store would draw one ticket, and that customer would have a shortcut to the lump–maybe you were only two dollars into your saving, but you’d get the full thirty dollars nonetheless. If you didn’t do that, you had layaway! Stockings were hung, paper chains in varied colors festooned the tree, Midnight Mass was really at midnight. And if you were lucky enough to be Greek or Russian Orthodox, with a later Christmas date, you could pluck your tree (perhaps with slightly fewer needles) from the sidewalk where the trashmen were due to pick it up. One of the best parts of Christmas in town was visits by relatives and friends, all

Horace Pippin's "Christmas Morning Breakfast" 1945

marked with special foods you didn’t have the rest of the year.

These days, depending where you live, fresh trees may be hard to find or not too economical, but nothing beats their smell and the fun of decorating them. In my day, we had everything our little hearts desired–we were circling potential gifts in the Sears catalogue and elsewhere once Thanksgiving hit. My sister, a planner, partook in the Christmas Club at the bank, socking away $5 or $10 or $20 a week into a special account–but the bank didn’t pluck an account a week and reward the lump sum in advance. There were plenty of special foods and cookie baking and visitors, and it’s still the only time of year we get nuts in the shell and have the cracker and picks handy.

This isn’t just an exercise in nostalgia. Part of it is about making Christmas and other holidays less about Martha Stewart and new purchases, and more about creating an atmosphere that reinforces specialness–in terms of religion, of family, of season. The creation of memories doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s also a thumbs down to gift certificates (except in case of emergencies) and thumbs up to thinking of those you love and searching for just the right item that will bring that look of pleasure to their face.

1955 Spiegel catalogue Christmas decorations

Hey, I’m not trying to match the stores by rushing Christmas. I mention it now because I have a personal challenge ahead. One of my generation in the family has asked for us to hold our giving to each other at $25 per person (parents are the exception, and they don’t know about it). This won’t be easy; we have always liked an overboard Christmas, just for the sheer fun and spectacle of it. But the reasoning behind it can be appreciated (if not shared!), and my challenge begins–how do I not only hold each person at $25, but still have a plethora of things they’ll love to unwrap. Not one nice gift–oh, no. There must be many! I believe I can do it, but it will take passion, a hunter’s training, and a keen eye. No children are involved, just two adult women (easy) and two men (difficult). Let the games begin! For this kind of operation does not allow for the last minute–no, it takes a careful plan of attack.

If you’re trying to hold your spending this year, join me on this adventure and be aware of the free. We’ll continue to revisit this subject, but right now I urge you to look over your credit cards. Do you have any, as I do, that have credits toward gifts? Citibank, for example, has such a program. Some of the gifts are great–but you have to cash in your points this month if the gifts are to arrive in time. Going to make things (yes!)? Then you’d best get busy. Gears must start turning, cranks cranking. I don’t believe in holidays making one nuts–rather, I believe in eating nuts on holidays. We need not be extremists, going into debt or selling our hair like an O. Henry character. The Bon Vivant wants everyone to be happy, and for Christmas to signify an excess of joy. Nobody during the Great Depression spoke of holiday stress and duress–it was a beacon to remind everyone of the precious, and of possibility. Part of my problem is that I was loathe to realize that prices were rising and my salary wasn’t keeping pace; I hadn’t grown up to expect that I wouldn’t be able to afford the expectations of my social class. Well, well, well. There’s an easy solution to that: adjust your expectations for material goods, expand them for rewards for the mind, the eyes, the heart, the spirit.

A great thrifty adventure–our zoo

Great touches of color in the zoo plantings

The Bon Vivant spent an enjoyable day at the Cleveland Zoo today, and urges you to visit this coming Monday. Why? Partially because the beautiful weather is predicted to continue, but also because on Monday the zoo is FREE to residents of Cuyahoga County and Hinckley (what did Hinckley do to get this privilege)–you’re expected to prove your residency.  How can you beat that? The zoo is normally $11 for adults, $8 for kids 2-11 (though from Nov. 1 through March 31st, it’s $8 and $5 respectively), and is open from 10-5. On FREE MONDAYS, the only charge is for the Rainforest, but it’s only $5, with kids 2-11 at $3. Oh, you can’t beat free–parking is free, too, as is the shuttle that takes you up the long and winding hill to primates, cats and fishies.

This is a gorgeous time at the zoo. In the summer, the heat may prove exhausting. Though it was warm today (with plenty of glare–bring sunglasses), the shade was blissful. They have fabulous landscapers, and the just-turning foliage is contrasted with gorgeous flowers and the oddly intriguing sight of trifoliate oranges. There are youthful (if no longer babies)

Some did not feel like Bon Vivants

rhino, giraffe and other offspring–irresistible. The elephants have returned in a new, freer environment, and you can be about a foot away (admittedly behind glass) from them, noting their need for moisturizer. Today babies in strollers were out in full force, as were busloads of schoolkids (some of whom needed their own cages); a pleasure to note their big eyes (we shall not mention their whining and furious temper tantrums). A pleasure too to see solicitous daughters with aged mothers, exchanging smiles and observations, and those in scooters zipping up the hills.

Interestingly enough, there were no enquiries heard regarding elephantine proportions

Now, sad to say, the Thrifty Bon Vivant was not so thrifty–not just because she didn’t go on the free day, but because she took a cab. In the summer, a bus goes right to the entrance. And–far worse shame–she was not prepared with a Bon Vivant lunch. By all rights, a picnic lunch would have been just the ticket, and the zoo allows coolers and picnic baskets, and has plenty of seating. Not wanting to be weighed down not only limited dining options (I could have had a jerk chicken sandwich, dried peaches, dill pickle flavored potato chips!), but racked up the dollars. Aramark is the food service company that works the zoo–while there may be a Pizza Hut, a McDonald’s etc., things are under the Aramark umbrella. A small iced tea? $2.25–a far cry from my usual delicious and hefty serving that costs 2 cents. A personal cheese pizza at Pizza Hut Express was $4.50, a very small popcorn $3. Milk and water both were over $2 each–imagine a family of four. And that walking and the deliciously fresh air do build an appetite! So I recommend taking your drinks and snacks–if you have to buy, let it be something you can’t make at home, like cotton candy or a snow cone (and drat–I saw neither today! I’m guessing because we are post-season).

One of a number of frolicking lemurs from Madagascar

Drawing and photographing with only the iPad was great, and a conversation starter as well. Aside from the thrift, your Bon Vivant found the experience totally relaxing–many a bench to watch the world go by, the pleasure of nature from faraway brought near, even contemplation of our own place within our world raising a little philosophical musing. And it fit with the current self-challenge and master plan–I did a good four hours walking (albeit at a tortoise pace), got some vitamin D, and had a fine time as a part of the human race–as well as a bipedal mammal with opposable thumbs. You go on a free Monday–this upcoming one–pack a delicious lunch or snack, and revel in your thrifty and rewarding outing!

If you’re feeling in the mood for a mammalian/fish fix, a small album is on my Facebook page

Reinvention

The punishing lengths vanity will send a middle-aged man to

Reinvention is usually the result of a spur. I was talking to my pal Miss J the other day, and said that vanity has its good side–and perhaps I needed more of it. “How so?” said she. I recounted the tale of a someone with frozen shoulder syndrome (a diabetes related disability), whose awareness of his teen splendor drove him to exercise ferociously, learn yoga, stretch till he practically ripped in half–and not only kept it at bay, but got rid of it. Or of another pal whose horror of a beer belly–and a love for beer–keeps him running and going to the gym on the regular, punishing his 54-year-old self. I just didn’t have that. From a fashionable grad in my early 20s, middle age and the results of thyroid medication (after a successful cancer operation) have/had turned me into a schlub. Clothes are for comfort, not a form of creative expression. I haven’t been to the doctor to deal with my heel issues, instead limping about in undashing (and perhaps not the best) shoes. My waistline, once 20 inches–well, let’s stop right there. Makeup when I think of it. Some of this, of course, is due to good things, like not being overconcerned with other others’ opinions, or having the confidence to be self-accepting, to stick my tongue out at all the external pressure to conform to a slimmer body type, even in the name of health.

Pisarro or Picasso? Gladwell sees different genius paths in both

But. While I don’t think I need strive to fit into the clothes I wore as a 20 year old (women over 42 should be cautious about being too thin–scraggy necks result, as do deepening naso-labial folds; I have neither), self-care definitely gives one a lift, I do feel expressing creativity should extend to one’s appearance, and–well, reinvention of appearance often coincides with other reinvigoration. I’m writing like a wild woman, actually improving my housekeeping (at least in my own eyes), participating in more things. It may be a second wind, but I prefer to think it’s related to Malcolm Gladwell‘s What the Dog Saw essay concerning genius at a young age and genius at a later stage–here’s the great original version from the New Yorker. In any case, with modest but interconnected goals, I am making a public pledge here.

By the end of the year (craftily omitting whether I speak of an academic or calendar year), I shall: reduce my waistline to at least 30, eat without so many snacks (my base meals are normally very healthy–it’s what I add), fully buy into the Project 330 wardrobe paring and planning, and redevelop a personal style. Such modest goals! And I shall do all of this thriftily.

How so, you ask? Forget exercise and diet programs you pay for. While I have not been too much of a repeat offender, I have gone to Weight Watchers and to Curves. Did they help? Yes, I have to say they did; Curves in particular got me moving without complaint and showed steady results with little time inv. But since I don’t drive, getting to them is a problem, and I tend to waste my membership that way–and it mounts up. The Y? Same problem. There are now two yoga classes nearby and I would like to be more limber, but NO MONEY is going to change. This will be a DIY operation, yet I believe it can still be successful if I commit to it. I have some of the tools already–and so do you.

Spark People: great free site to help you track calories in, calories out--plus more

I’m lucky–I neither have diabetes, high blood pressure nor high cholesterol. But if I did, I would find this awesome resource even more spectacular. Available as a free iPad app or as a free website, my highest praise goes to SparkPeople. It is a fabulous resource that looks at both calories and exercise, and can hook you up with encouraging online buddies who share your interests as well as your wish for a trimmer version of yourself. It’s so well-organized, it tempts you into participation (I particularly like the iPad version). Weight loss is a calorie game; there are no magic secrets. SparkPeople asks you for a goal and then sets a daily calorie limit and graphs your day as you inch closer. It also has a plethora of exercise activities with video instructions. Now, exercise is a dirty word to me–but I love to dance, and I’m going to exploit that and track it on Spark People. I’ve already got a little momentum going–at 55, I’m going to have my first mammogram (yes, I can hear the collective indrawn breath from my hermetically sealed abode) later this month (hey, my 92 year old mom’s never had one! I feel positively virtuous!).

As earlier reported, a closet purge is ongoing, and the wardrobe issues will soon be plotted. I’ll be reporting back on progress and observations, and pleased that I didn’t give into a common American impulse–to see a problem and throw money at it. Join me! The impetus for all this was the summer thought “I used to have an exciting life” (I really did). Well, what’s stopping me now? Nothing, nothing, nothing. My savings on bodily improvement are going towards a special adventure fund. Because once the basics are taken care of, it’s life enrichment (your own and others’) that make money useful. Be a fellow Bon Vivant!

Eating out–like a Bon Vivant

Know your fast food energy per dollar

A lot of things were hopscotching through my mind today. I had posted a tweet to an article about how the slow food movement (that’s two slow food movement links for the price of one) stacked up against fast food, dollarwise, and that brought to mind a recent conversation with a friend who had read about how, calorie-wise, a typical fast food meal provided more energy per dollar than many slow foods. I wanted to address this subject, but it became tricky for me–especially after hearing @cbnickras’s warning that slow food discussions often mark one with a jerkish, self-righteous martyr stamp, or even crankishness. My angle? To combine bon vivant tastes–and in food, that means good-tasting food, preferably with entertaining conversation and attractive surroundings–with cost consciousness.

In principle, fast food has no place in this equation. It’s reason for being is counter to the bon vivant credo! Or is it? I am not someone who is a daily or weekly or often even monthly eater of fast food; part of that is that it’s car-oriented and mall-oriented, and I don’t drive. Do I disdain it? Not entirely. I like the Burger King Whopper (but only with onion and ketchup). I love the  Chik-fil-a chicken sandwich–that pickle makes all the difference! And I would like to try Church’s spicy tender strips. Just none on the regular. Much as my ideal is a relaxed meal, sometimes life doesn’t allow it, and better fast food than no food. In short, I have no beef (or chicken) with the existence of fast food, I just don’t have it on the regular. Nutrition? No one forces you to eat your hamburger with fries (I never do–of course, I can’t stand fries). No reason you can’t have an apple in your pocket and eat it with your hamburger! If you aren’t eating ONLY fast food, an occasional quickburger isn’t going to send you to dietary perdition, or break your purse either.

Watermelon and lemon sorbet, chocolate seeds! mmmmmm

I lean toward the pragmatic, rather than the doctrinaire. But on the regular, eating out–healthy or not, slow cooked (let me not pretend to understand all the global ramifications of this movement) or fast–is not good for your pocket. Period. It may or may not be good for your waistline–that depends on choices. That doesn’t mean any bon vivant will absent herself from ever eating out! There’s no denying that eating out habits have changed radically in the past 35 years. When I was a child, parents might go out for their anniversary, but getting hamburgers out (not from a chain, either) was a special thing. Eating out was really for road trips (I have fond memories of Howard Johnson’s hot dogs on the PA Turnpike; their special bun and flavor was duplicated by Friendly’s, now heading for Chapter 11. So sad. I cannot do without a Wattamelon sorbet delicacy in the summer. Chocolate seeds!). Today children are crammed into restaurants at every price level. Why? Working moms, that’s why. Working non-moms like to eat out, too. You can’t expect two people who have had rough workplace days to come home with a joy of cooking in their bosoms. But when I look at friends and relatives who are feeling the pinch of the New Depression, feeding themselves out of the house leaves the biggest bruise (drinks and vending machines are big pinchers, as well as restaurants). In the Old Depression, those who stayed rich might dine out, but restaurants (diners and small joints) were for shift workers or the wifeless. It’s alarming to think how much our economy depends on the food service industry. How common is it elsewhere?

Europe has plenty of restaurants, slow and fast. Street vendors dish out in India, China, Brazil, West Africa. Italy used to have (does it still?) a three-tier system: the tavola calda, a kind of cafeteria; the bar or hosteria, where snacks and coffee prevail; humble but tasty neighborhood trattoria, where you might meet friends for an inexpensive meal and a chat; and the ristorante, a full-service spot for an occasion. Prices here in Cleveland–as well as atmospheres–aren’t so clearly defined. Food trucks are making a big splash. In my home town of Philadelphia, we have every ethnic variety of truck, from Jamaican to Korean to Mexican, but the typical truck has cheesesteaks and pizzasteaks, all made right on the spot on the grill, potentially served with a can of soda and some chips. Not pricy, but our signature sandwich. Cleveland’s going in for upscale, restaurant-run trucks. Not a bad idea–result of a local ordinance change last summer, allows innovative entrepreneurs a chance to establish their abilities; those with restaurants and trucks might lure new customers in by a trial this way. While overhead might be low, what are the prices like–for no service except a hand-over and a paper napkin, and no place to sit? Dare I suggest the prices will be higher than the Polish Boy bought from the hot dog man on Public Square, not just because of the relative cost of ingredients, but because of self-valuation?

Clean, modern lines of Elements on Euclid Ave., CSU campus

Where’s all this going? We eat out too much. It drains our pockets. We should keep eating out “for special”–special circumstances where speed is of the essence, special occasions where a convivial, mood-establishing atmosphere makes it worth our while, as does the food. I haven’t reached my brother’s level, where a rant about the “$10 hamburger” is right around the corner–in fact, I was delighted to host three other colleagues at CSU’s attractive Elements restaurant and come away with only a $45 lunch bill (three had delicious sirloinburgers with side dishes, and drank tap water). I miss it when I don’t eat out at least three times a month–but that’s different from three or four times a week.

This leads me to a slow self-challenge: to find Cleveland restaurants that deliver taste and atmosphere without overly damaging the budget. More than just a neighborhood joint or a chain place, but somewhere where you can have a bon vivant experience for under $10. So you can step out now and again.

Walter Sinz, sculptor of the West Side Market’s tempting food reliefs

No turtles currently sold at the West Side Market--mock it up

Yesterday’s post on Cleveland’s West Side Market got me wondering about the sculptor, and I contacted @ohiocitytweets to find out if they knew. Their quick research led them to To Market To Market by Joanne Lewis, who stated they were the work of Cleveland sculptor Walter Sinz (many thanks, @OhioCityTweets; you also noted the interior ceramic corbels were by Herman Latzen, who created Public Square’s Mayor Johnson monument). I did some quick research of my own on Sinz, whose father had been a lithography instructor. Sinz went to what became the Cleveland Institute of Art, as well as Paris’s Academie Julien. He was a regular exhibitor at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s May Shows–112 entries–and created numerous sculptural commissions, including medals and portraiture, usually in clay, plaster or bronze. He also worked at Cowan Pottery.

Cowan was first based in Lakewood, then Rocky River, but the Depression sent it belly-up. Their temporal positioning meant they were involved in the Arts & Crafts movement, Art Deco and eclecticism–and there’s a book about it! Cowan pottery lives on in a “museum” at the Rocky River Public Library, which consists of over 1100 pieces displayed in circulating exhibits. They provide a ceramics scholarship at CIA, and this coming May 5 they’re holding a symposium, presumably for collectors and historians.

The Thompson trophy, now at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum

Sinz (1881-1966) taught at the now-CIA from 1911-52, frequently working in bronze. He designed the Art Deco Thompson Trophy, which was the award for one of many air races popular in the 30’s, and known to airplane buffs (funny enough, my brother recently told me about these famous plane races, far more dangerous than today’s air shows–they flew around pylons on a course). The trophy came about because the air race’s organizers felt most trophies at the time were mere loving cups, unconnected to the competition at hand. They called upon national sculptors to submit maquettes, and the five were submitted to five judges for their choice–one of the judges was Orville Wright. Unanimously, they picked Sinz’s design, which featured Icarus–whose flight efforts, marked by hubris, ended in disaster.

Sinz medal for Cleveland's Rowfant Club, a bibliophile's retreat on Prospect

Sinz’s other Cleveland public art includes a 1949 plaque honoring poet Emma Lazarus at the Hebrew Garden of the the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, as well as a sculpture of St. Luke at St. Luke’s Medical Center and his 1926 Portage Path Marker,  in Akron, a bronze relief of a Native American carrying a canoe through the portage.

Post a Day Challenge!

Since I started this blog in September, I’ve been writing at least a post a day–but it’s only today that I saw the Post a Day (or Post a Week) Challenge  promulgated by The Daily Post! The $25/week menu challenge got me into a challenge mood, so I’m signing up! Ostensibly, it’s to help prepare for Nov. 1 and National Novel Writing Month, which I participated in last year (as well as April’s Script Frenzy), and I’m certainly game for it this year, too!

Cleveland’s West Side Market–city treasure, Bon Vivant treasure trove

On the Lorain Avenue side, look up!

Next year Cleveland’s West Side Market will be 100 years old, though its roots on the spot go back even further. When I lived in Cleveland Heights, I got there a few times a year. Now I’m not that far away, and a run to Dave’s Market is often accompanied by a West Side Market trip. Go prepared–have some of those ecofriendly bags, since the Market’s plastic bags often break–or dig into your hand. If you are either a bon vivant with your food OR thrifty, get thee hence! The market is open four days a week: Mon and Wed from 7-4 (but try and arrive by 2), and Fri and Sat from 7-6. Some vendors don’t come on Mon and Wed–there’s lighter traffic. Saturday is to be avoided at all costs, unless late in the afternoon–way too crowded, with many people unaccustomed to maneuvering baby carriages, cell phone conversations and thoughtful pauses within a structure of courtesy–i.e., outside of junctions and main market thoroughfares. If you’re being thrifty, I advise going in the late afternoon–vendors want to unload things, and will beg you to buy things with enticingly dropped prices. If you want everything you want, I advise Friday at 11, with a stop for some food to round off your day.

How to get there? If you drive, park in the free lots behind the market, entering by turning east from W. 25th St. onto Bridge. Don’t park in the little strip shopping center across from the market on Lorain–they tow. You can take the Red Line Rapid, since there’s a handy stop across the street, or, like we public transit mavens, take the bus (#22 and #20, among others) and get on and off across the street at W. 25th.

Inside the main market building

I’ve been going to the market, whether periodically or regularly, for 21 years, but just noticed the charming reliefs on the Lorain side earlier this month. As I snapped some photos today, I was pleased to see at least two couples were looking up and commenting: “Oh, they must have sold turtles here at one time!” “Look at that duck!” I’m putting more of the photos on our Facebook page, if you want a look at the album.

The market’s organization keeps the fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers outside in an L-shaped, heated enclosure. Everything else–meat, spices, bread and baked goods, cheese, fish, etc. is inside the main building, which also has a Mediterranean grocery (every variety of olive known to man, some African staples, some European dry goods that are hard to find, certain cheeses). The wonders of the Market’s over 100 vendors are many, with many ethnic offerings of specific cheeses, smoked meats, and a plethora of ethnic breads and sweets. I’m going to mention a few oddities that are hard to find elsewhere or are too delicious not to note: on the inside–bison and goat meat, fabulous pita and hot pepper hummus, red candy apples (the only ones I’ve seen in Cleveland itself), buffalo flavored turkey lunchmeat, fabulous sculptural breads, gorgeous baked goods I don’t eat but they belong in a Food Museum, Amish-raised chicken, crepes, the best fresh pasta with a great variety of flavors, from lemon pepper to jalapeno; outside–the only dried peaches (and every other dried fruit) I’ve seen in three states lately, good prices on the less common–star fruit, champagne grapes, inexpensive fresh herbs, habaneros for peanuts, a zillion lettuce types.

$2 strawberries, waiting for my Rice Chex

If you come late in the day, you can make out like a bandit at the bakeries and fruit and veg, in particular. Today I got the last four “cut up fruit in a container” containers–the regular price is 3/$5 or $2 each, and the standards are pineapple, honeydew, watermelon, canteloupe. I saw a comparable cut up pineapple one day at Heinen’s–same size, one container for $5. And they’re fresh. This afternoon, they pushed 4 containers on me for $2. Once I got a whole flat of strawberries in season for $5. Today I got one for $2, almost a dollar less than their current grocery store price. The best? My veg man (south side, not too far in from the W. 25th entrance). He knows I eat a lot of Roma tomatoes, and gave me a late in the day price–$5 for an unbelievable 8 lbs.

Mind, you have to watch your fruit and veg–there may be an occasional bad one or they may not keep as long. But if you return to the same vendors and banter, you’ll reap the benefits. And almost everyone will urge you to try a new fruit, or test how the flavor is at any given point. The cacophony of languages (vendors and buyers), the variations in the customers (dress, class, origins), the casual conversations and recommendations of other shoppers–unforgettable.

West Side Market Cafe! A treat--and a useful restroom

Feeling peckish at the Market? There are many inside stands that have ready to eat goods, from the crepe place to the pizza bagels, but if you want to relax and really enjoy, go to the Cafe. You can enter from within the Market, on its south side, or come in through the Lorain Ave. entrance. It’s nothing fancy, but the food is delicious, the service friendly, and it’s a bargain for the quality. There’s a bar if you’re thirsty. My visitors are very attached to the Cafe’s generous portions of walleye and pulled pork sandwiches. They’re open on non-Market days through the Lorain entrance, but in the evenings it’s just wings, french fries and drinks. The food is afternoon fare, at least for now.

The whole Ohio City neighborhood is getting involved in the fresh food movement, and more and more events will be turning up once January starts the anniversary year. If you haven’t been for a while, remember you can eat like a bon vivant and still be thrifty. If you’ve never been, wait no longer! Your friends will need an experienced guide once they keep reading about it in the paper.

Final Day of the $25/wk challenge! Did I make it? And some musings…

On the very last day of the @cbnickras $25/wk challenge, I had only $1.59 to make it on–yikes! Remember, I’m a picky eater (no beans, lentils or rice for me), and the object was not to feel deprived, but indeed satisfied. One problem–food was low, for I didn’t reach the market till today.

Breakfast 45 cents

A Thomas’s English muffin (bought at a bargain as previously described) for 28 cents, plus a small dollop of peanut butter–about 15 cents worth. Iced tea for two cents. Total?45 cents.

Four containers of fruit for a $2 total late today at the West Side Market!

Lunch 17 cents

Held lunch down to a quick Lipton’s Ring O Noodle chicken soup, as previously described–17 cents. Water to drink.

Dinner 97 cents

I went to the market, and got an unbelievable 8 lbs of Roma tomatoes for $5. That allowed me to make a pasta dish for a lower price than my Dave’s Market tomato-based dishes earlier in the week. I made spaghetti to the tune of 50 cents, then made a slightly different sauce from fresh, cut-up ingredients. With 25 cents worth of tomatoes, onion, a habanero pepper and a little oil, I chopped all ingredients finely, and fried them in oil, adding plenty of basil and a little salt. By the time the spaghetti was off the boil, this peppery pasta topping was ready. Served with two cents’ worth of iced tea, dinner hearty, filling and spicy. That was LOTS of spaghetti–believe me, I don’t stint with pasta. And, as shall be outlined in a separate post today, I got a huge bargain on cut up fruit–four containers for two dollars. I had twenty cents’ worth of pineapple as dessert! All for a dinner total of 97 cents

and yes, came in for a week’s total of EXACTLY $25! Woohoo!

This was a great experiment. It mirrored my usual eating habits fairly closely, but without my usual snacks. Somewhat less fruit at the end of the week due to shopping access, and less salad than usual–if I had bought all my fruit and veg at the West Side Market, and had actually stocked in advance, there would have been salads and fruit galore. If I used cheaper cuts of meat and poultry, costs would have allowed for some extras, too–but I prefer deboned, skinned chicken breasts and ground sirloin. If I had actually planned all this in advance, I could have had more variety with more freezeables. And with that in mind, I think I’ll do some other challenges in future.

What if I DID go  shopping with just $25 and was restricted to that for the entire week (not counting spices and condiments)? A different set of conditions, where planning becomes critical. What if I wanted to plan a special dinner for four–with just ten or fifteen dollars? Maybe you can challenge me to some other variations.

I wish you would. I really learned a lot from this exercise. I grew up with the idea that, however much you might budget yourself on clothes, you should buy the food you wanted–so I never really tracked how much a week’s worth of eating cost, just how much I spent at the grocery store. It became clear that judicious planning could bring my grocery bill way down. While I don’t know that I’d want to hold it at $25 each week, I now know I could, without a sense of deprivation. And if I challenge myself to different dishes (or at least main courses) per day for a week another time, I could fill my freezer for much tastier “I’m home from work, what can I eat days.” Hope you enjoyed eating with me (ice cream cools the peppered tongue better than anything–good thing I didn’t need any!)

Dinner   1.00 quick stew

Rounding the Post–Day 6 of the $25/wk challenge

After today, one more day left! It’s looking possible, though it won’t be a cakewalk, by any means.

Breakfast 33 cents

Out of fruit till the possible market foray tomorrow! So, back to the peanut butter crackers. Ten Zestas for breakfast, like yesterday, for 31 cents, plus iced tea at 2 cents, for a total of 33 cents.

Lunch 17 cents

Had Lipton’s Ring O’Noodle Chicken Soup, with a few hot pepper flakes shaken in. I wasn’t feeling too great, and didn’t want more. 17 cents, plus free water.

If the bun isn't Amoroso's, it's not a true Philly--and the chips should be Herr's

Dinner $2.91

Felt better and a little homesick, and needed a Philly cheesesteak! The closest commercial substitute in Cleveland is at Penn Station; mushrooms are NEVER the norm on a cheesesteak, whatever misinformation Ohio has been given.  The biggest difference is the bun–without Amoroso’s, it’s never quite the same. For my grocery-made substitute, I just use Italian sub rolls. They come 8 to a packet at $2.99, so one was 37 cents. I used the frozen SteakUmms, which were $4.69 for seven steaks; I used two, so $1.34 for the meat, which you throw into the pan at the same time as the sliced onions–the grease cooks the onions, which amounted to about 20 cents. You cook the meat, then neaten it into a portion and lay on the sliced mozzarella (it was on sale for 2 packets/$5; about 40 cents), then put a lid on the pan and it melts in less than a minute. Deftly scoop it onto the roll, and shake out some chips (see earlier posts) at about 60 cents. Water to drink. Total $2.91.

Day’s total? $3.41, weekly total now at $23.41. That leaves me very little for tomorrow! Uh oh…….stay tuned.