A lot of people make New Year’s resolutions that somehow involve food. Mostly this involves eating far less of it, particularly stuff like donuts, potato chips, or just about anything that can be had at a vending machine.

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.

Apparently, there’s something about January. For the 2nd year in a row, I’ve been asked to feature read in this frozen lead-off month, to get the ball rolling on the 2010 literary year here in town. Or so I tell myself.

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.

For the next few days, my family and I will be celebrating Christmas. Yes, Christmas, in accordance with the old Julian calendar.

(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…

I was in a sports coma yesterday, with the genius NHL Winter Classic game in Boston and the Buckeye’s Rose Bowl win, and so too preoccupied to post something on the first day of 2010. So now that the sports frenzy has subsided, I want to take a moment and wish all my readers and visitors (all 2 of you) a very Happy New Year and good health, good times, and prosperity in this new year.

Now, back to intense planning for 2010.

It’s not every day that the humble CSU philosophy department makes the news, but this day, apparently, is not like other days.

This story in the PD says that the entire 19th floor of Rhodes Tower will be off limits for 2 whole years while crews remove asbestos that was exposed when a few ceiling tiles caved in due to a leaky roof.

Oddly enough, my office was one of the offices that leaked (a little bit), and where a ceiling tile had bowed due to water. However, as an adjunct, I was hardly in the office anyway.

Either way, our new digs in Mather Mansion are far better. And the adjunct office, which was the library in the ornate old mansion, one of the few remaining markers from the age of the millionaire estates that lined Euclid Avenue and made it one of the most celebrated in the world, isn’t too shabby.

It’s not uncommon to pass Harry Potter in the hallway.

Ohh… that? Just a fireplace. In my office.

Yeah, not a bad ceiling, I suppose. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Each December brings the usual long look back in the year’s rearview mirror. But once every decade we go even further. The other day I saw the first of what are sure to be a slew of shiny magazines and supplements attempting to sum up the key events of the last 10 years.

This video, which I stumbled across on the YouTubes while watching the best highlights of the past week in the NBA, does a good job of hitting some of the biggest stories. What did they miss?

Hey, look! I’m updating my blog!

The Christmas Ale song is back again this year, albeit a shortened version.

the fact that a Pacific Ocean typhoon has been named after my fair little burg here in Ohio has me feeling oddly… oh, I don’t know… proud? (That’s just wrong, right?)

This Friday and Saturday, the 25th and 26th, there’s a party happening on the lower level of the Detroit-Superior bridge. Twice a year for the past few years, the county engineer’s office has opened that level of the bridge to the public to meander about and discover new vistas of the city and river below. Now, that space will be filled with artists, performers, music, and who knows what else.

It’s probably a far cry from the 80s when artists like Smith and others would throw impromptu art happenings on the closed off trolley level, but still, it’s great that Clevelanders are finally getting access to this wonderful public space 90 feet above the Cuyahoga River.

In a way, this continues the tradition of the Ingenuity Festival’s uncovering many of the city’s hidden gems by putting on performances and events in alleyways, abandoned buildings, and the city’s nooks and corners.

I know I’ll be there.

More info at the Cleveland Bridge Project web site.

And a view from the lower level I took a few years ago during a Memorial Day tour of the underbelly of the bridge: