Demolition of some parts of the building began recently, while the main part technically still belongs to the owner and has to be sold to ODOT before it can be fully demolished, making way for the new innerbelt bridge. (Read all about it here.)

Until then, some photos.

This Saturday night, February 20th, I’ll be co-reading with Azalea Tidwell and movin’ to the block-rockin’ beats of Blackwell at Blue Arrow Records in the Collinwood neighborhood, a few doors down from the Beachland Ballroom.

Come early. Stay late. Surprises abound.

Arts Collinwood + The Haiti Emergency Village Project in conjunction w/ NEONAC + Cleveland Tapes

Join us Wednesday February 10 from 6-10pm at Arts Collinwood for the Art for Haiti Benefit, including a live art auction from top local and national artists, food, cocktails and live jazz music. Proceeds will go directly to the Haiti Emergency Village Project.

THE HAITI EMERGENCY VILLAGE PROJECT (HEVP) is a consortium of organizations working towards the building of emerging villages in Haiti that will provide housing, infrastructure and other aspects of what constitutes a community. This group brings to Haiti transferable lessons learned from Katrina. HEVP has been conceived, organized and put into action by New Orleans residents, supporters and rebuilders, and Haitians on the ground, most with longstanding ties to New Orleans, to create a model for recovery.

You will have a chance to bid on art from some amazing regional, and international artists including – Keith Marlowe, Amy Casey, Dan Tranberg, Julius Lyle, Dana Depew, Bridget Caswell, Sunia Boneham, Paul Sydorenko, Jacob Wesley Lang, David Wilder, Tary Yu, Petroucha Moise to name a few!

PLUS a SILENT AUCTION of AN AMAZING ARRAY OF Donated items from local Merchants +venues including Macback’s Bookstore, Beachland Ballroom, Visible Voice Books, House of Blues, Playhouse Square, Grog Shop!

6 – 7 PM: Mingle, cocktails, food, browse silent auction and live auction items in the Arts Collinwood Gallery and Cafe

7 – 8:30 PM: Live art auction with auctioneer Lawrence Daniel Caswell

8:30 PM: Live jazz with Will Mason Trio in the Cafe

$10 Suggested Donation

Arts Collinwood, 397 E. 156th St., Cleveland, OH 44110

http://artscollinwood.org

I promised myself I’d visit B Spot again, and I did yesterday to have lunch with a really good friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen or talked to in a really long time. This was mostly because he, at least, had a pretty good 2009 and traveled a lot and finished some projects that he’d started years ago. Needless to say, he’s been a real inspiration to me for many years so it was refreshing to spend a little time with him to catch up, but also, for me at least, to be re-inspired in this still new 2010.

As for the food resolution, that continues. Yesterday for lunch, I had the Clevelander, a brat with coleslaw, hot sauce, and fries.

A little messy, true. But isn’t that really a good indicator of the best food? The Clevelander earns a sturdy thumbs up, in my opinion. And B Spot continues to impress. Even my friend, who had the Thin Lizzy burger (caramelized onions , cheddar, mayo and pickles), was impressed.

And last week, I managed to check out the Cornerstone Brewery in the Berea Commons with some friends after the Cornel West lecture at BW. Not really “new” in the sense of having opened within the past year or so, but new to me.

I had 2 brewer’s pretzels, one plain with a side of mustard, and another stuffed with pepper jack cheese and served with a side of ranch dressing. Not too bad for the cheesy pretzel, not too much cheese oozing out or making a mess. Nicely balanced flavors and textures, too. For the beer selection I had a Seven, their unfiltered 7.5% ABV IPA. Not as bitter as I’d hoped for, but a decent  beer nevertheless. Next time I think I’ll try one of the house-made root beers.

Off to make plans for next week.

Enduring Questions Lecture Series

Enduring Questions Lecture and Martin Luther King Jr.,  Keynote presentation
Friday, January 22, 8:00 p.m,
Lou Higgins Center 136 E. Bagley Rd.
Dr. Cornel West
Cornell West, professor of religion and African-American Studies at Princeton University, is one of the most provocative and insightful public intellectuals of our time. As author, speaker and commentator, Dr. West addresses fundamental issues concerning topics such as democracy, racism, ethics, morals and preserving our global society.  Author of “Race Matters,” he has written 16 other books, most recently, “Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom.”

This year, I, too, made a resolution of sorts that has to do with food. Except I’ve resolved to eat more of it. Specifically, from new local restaurants and food purveyors. I’ve resolved to either eat at one new restaurant or buy food from one new store roughly every week. (If it slips to once every 2 weeks, well, that’s OK too.)

And I’ve already cheated… sorta. I began my adventure during the last week of 2009, visiting Blackbird Baking in Lakewood to sample their bread, Maha’s Café on W. 25^th next to Metro, and even Umami Asian Kitchen in Chagrin Falls with some friends for a New Year’s Eve dinner.

I was helped along by Doug Trattner’s 2009 year-end review of Cleveland-area restaurants in the Scene, which did a good job of surveying the landscape of openings (and closings) over the past year.

This week’s stop was Michael Symon’s B Spot at Eton Chagrin Blvd., billed as a burger, brat, and beer joint.

I got there a little after 11, just after they’d opened for the day, and was only the 2^nd customer on hand, the other person being a guy at the bar. I figured I’d start simple and easy with a burger and fries. The server was friendly and cheerful and brought my food out in about 10 minutes.

The burger arrived with a Calphalon knife in the tray, just in case I needed to cut it down to size. No need, as the size was just about right; not too small, not too big. And not overly sloppy either, although I got a relatively neat and orderly cheeseburger with chopped lettuce, tomato, and red onion rings.

Pat La Frieda, a well-established family-owned NYC-based meat supplier, is the source of the beef for B Spot, and my medium-well patty was juicy and tasty. I was told there was a pickle bar too, but not being a fan of brined cukes, I passed.

And how were the Lola fries? Although I’m generally not a fan of the shoestring cut, these were really flavorful, probably because they’re cooked in that most heavenly of fats, lard. And the sea salt and rosemary seasoning helped, too, although the flavor can get a little intense as you near the bottom of the container where the seasoning settles out. The slightly spicy and tangy Lola ketchup (kept at the table along with a few other condiments) was the perfect accompaniment.

Each table also comes equipped with a handy roll of thick brown paper towels, perfect for cleaning up messy burger detritus.

The vibe is pretty laid back with good music, played not too loud. I sat next to a functioning Wayne Dalton garage door, which will open in warmer weather and allow for some alfresco dining.

For me, B Spot is a handy place for a meal when I’m on the east side of town at Trader Joe’s or somewhere else near Chagrin Blvd. Next time, maybe I’ll go for one of the Bad **s Shakes made with Mitchell’s ice cream. And there most certainly will be a next time.

BTW, I’m taking suggestions for my weekly adventure, so feel free to pass along any tips.

This Wednesday January 13th, I’ll be reading at Mac’s Backs Books on Coventry in Cleveland Hts. with Claire McMahon and Virginia Konchan.

Here’s the promo:

Miles Budimir is the author of Rustbelt Romance (deepcleveland press, 2006) and Missing Albertly (Green Panda Press, 2008). His poetry has appeared in Poetry Motel, MoonLit, ArtCrimes, Muse and the Hessler Street Poetry Anthology. A philosophy lecturer and freelance writer, his writing has also appeared in the Plain Dealer, The Free Times and Northern Ohio Live magazine.

A recent graduate of the NEOMFA, Virginia Konchan’s poetry and translations have appeared or are forthcoming in The Believer, The New Republic, Notre Dame Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Jacket, A Trunk of Delirium. She regularly contributes reviews at ForeWord Magazine and the Rumpus—other reviews have recently appeared in Rain Taxi and The Boston Review of Books. A practicing visual artist, the latest solo exhibition of her paintings was at the CSU Art Gallery last fall. She teaches at Lorain County Community College and lives in Cleveland.

Claire McMahon, Ph.D, has an MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa University (The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder) and a Ph.D. in 20th Century American and British Poetry from KSU. She is co-editor of MoonLit poetry journal and the author of Emergency Contact (Van Zeno Press, 2009). She has taught English writing courses at Lake Erie College, Baldwin Wallace, Tri-C and Chancellor University. She is currently an assistant professor of English and Chair of the First Year Experience Program at  Chancellor.

Come on out and celebrate the mercury surpassing the freezing point (if the weather forecasts hold up.) You’ll be glad you did.

(And who knew that there’s an entry for Bozic (the Serbian word for Christmas) on the Urban Dictionary page.)

At least it’s a white Christmas this year…

Now, back to intense planning for 2010.