Cleveland, day 3: A day of food

When Hubs and I vacation (really vacation...on our own and for our own enjoyment) it's all about slowing down to enjoy each other's company, but also it has a lot to do with finding good spots for a cocktail and some good food.

Here, at home, we tend to stick to the same few favorite spots for a bite or a drink date. Lately, we have cut way back on the extracurricular drinking and dining, though, so vacation was our chance to feel less trapped, and get out and try some new stuff.

So, day 3 was our chance. We headed out to the West Side Market. What a cool place. I only wish I wasn't so stressed out by how stressed out my MIL was so that I could really soak it in. I can't really even look at anything because then everything becomes a chance for them to buy us something. It's exhausting having to explain every time I show interest in something that 'I don't need it, I'm just looking at it.'
I don't mean to sound ungrateful for their generosity, by any means, but it is not in my personality to be fawned upon or have so much attention that I feel the need to watch my every move.
At any rate, the market was very cool and, had it just been me and Hubs, we could've spent quite a lot of time there, I think!
Check out the link for specifics on the market, but here are a couple pics I snapped...
Butchers galore! (sorry, veg/vegans, but I will keep it to just the decor of the meat vendors)

SWEETS!!

Spices!

The roof was amazing. The whole building was very cool.

After wandering the market for a bit...thankfully MIL kept her eye on us the whole time so we didn't get lost! (sarcasm there, of course...insert eye roll)...we headed to lunch, at Mabel's BBQ.
Again, I didn't get any pics of my Big Pig sandwich or the smoked beets with fresh horseradish but it was delicious.
As was my Old Fashioned

A small menu of BBQ and sides but pages of scotch, bourbon and beer. Another place Hubs and I could've stayed for hours, but not really the type of joint the 'rents frequent.

This little section of Cleveland is pretty cool. Lots of bars and places to stop in for a bite. We saw that the place we had decided on for dinner that night was right across the street from our lunch spot! Which meant finding dinner would be a snap and cut down on some of the anxiety that that part of the day brings. We even decided to uber, to avoid game day traffic, as the Browns had a home game that night and the stadium is right in town.

Butcher and the Brewer was our dinner spot.
A very crowded and loud venue that had a pretty cool vibe. I'm not big on crowds but this was one of those places where, even sitting next to a stranger, it's such an experience that I didn't feel that anxiety I usually get in crowded restaurants.
As we sat there, by the front window, we watched a crowd of football fans plow through the streets. It was like a scene from the Walking Dead...funny.
It's a small plates kind of menu with loads of interesting choices.

I was happy to be in a party of 4, instead of just us 2, this time so that we could order more stuff without feeling like piggies!
We, of course, got drinks before food

I was tempted to order the Zombie Killer, as I had had it at the B.Nektar meadery the first time I visited my mom in Detroit, near Ferndale.
But I decided to try one of the local beers that I had not had...when in Rome, right?

I don't honestly remember the name of this one...something about a dog...it is brewed in conjunction with a local shelter and part of the proceeds from sales goes to the shelter.
We ordered a few things: Bone marrow, tartare, mac & cheese, peirogi flatbread, sausage and mash...

We also got the brownie sundae for dessert, but no picture from me (though Hubs takes pics of everything so he probably has one I should've grabbed...)
I had another beer, a short 5 oz pour, of a Black IPA. Tasty. Good with dessert.

It was a good day and night of food. And at that point, we only to get through Monday afternoon and back to the airport. We had a pretty big chunk of Monday to kill...I'll share that in another post.