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Love that chicken! Great idea - we'll have to check their nuggets out!

When I was a kid, we loved having Popeye's chicken leftovers so I fried it in yakisoba, cooked in chicken long rice, or as a topping in ramen since they were the only way to get spicy fried chicken.

My mother and I would spend 30-45 min shredding the chicken at the dinner table after dinner, wrap them in 1/2 c servings -- a very substantial serving size -- and freeze them.

Popeye's didn't have nuggets back then. Hell, McDonald's didn't even have McNuggets back then either. If they existed, I think we would have bought them just to have leftovers. :P

Seeing "burnt ends" made me chuckle, since I'm still reading through Trillin's Tummy Trilogy. :)

Creepy, yes. A good campaign is one that is memorable. I think they achieved that!

@KB in Toledo I've never been there before -- guess I won't be from what you've said. My favorite Lakewood exclusive was Niko's on Detroit...the best Greek food, but they closed as well. I've heard a lot of great things about 3 Birds.

I've been meaning to try the Parma (pierogi) melt but have yet to get around to it. Always want to try their monthly or movie theme specials. I went to see Aliens at the Capitol and didn't find out about their Aliens themed sandwich using until too late -- battered then deep fried calamari, roasted poblano jam, lemon garlic mayo, and garlic herb cream cheese sounds awesome to me...

For someone spending the weekend Downtown, I'd recommend Lola, Greenhouse Tavern (*big nod @KB in Toledo*), Crop, Chinato, ...I'm missing some places. It's a mess to drive there even if you are from Cleveland, let alone drive in for the first time. The Avengers has been filming there all month. As a result, several major roads are closed to traffic, and I don't know when they will wrap up shooting.

This weekend, I plan on checking out Noodlecat near Public Square, now that they are open on weekends (Saturday).

My favorite Turkish restaurant is in Tremont (Istanbul Grill). I love Parallax as well.

L'Albatros may be interesting...

My trips to Hot Sauce Williams weren't that great. It's fine if you don't mind waiting in line for 45 minutes for 3-4 people and poor service. Fried chicken - great, when the pieces are available. Ribs - dry and they charge for sauce (I'm not talking about extra sauce).

I don't recall when the Avengers will complete filming in Downtown Cleveland, so I would avoid any cool restaurants (there are many, which is a shame) there to avoid the confusion on top of downtown traffic and parking.

B Spot restaurants are nice and fairly near highways (5 to less than 10 min away). They aren't expensive, plus they are located in outdoor malls so you can pick up provisions at nearby markets. The one in Strongsville is near Costco, if you have membership to get cheaper gas, and a large mall. The one in Woodmere is in a nice mall with Anthropolgie, Sur la Table, Trader Joe, etc. They serve brats as well and a tasty vanilla bacon apple pie shake.

Melt is, to me, the best one to experience as far as popular Cleveland gimicky, OMG What? factor type of food that is solid and inexpensive. They *may* have 3 locations by the time you come through, but go in as soon as they open 11 or 11:30, or they are packed. The two existing stores aren't near the highway so you'll end up navigating at least 20-30 min each way.

Lakewood, where the original is located, is a fun neighborhood though, and if you're tired of the tunes, there's a CD store nearby to buy new/used CDs. (I live nearby and I haven't found the time to get their special sandwich of the month that has falafel in it, and I missed their Goonies themed one (Goonies was playing for the weekend at the nearby theater) that is what you'd imagine -- chocolate, peanuts, caramel, etc.

I agree with Healthytouch101, West Side Market is a good place to go. I love taking people there. Despite living nearby, I never go there to shop for produce because since I hate being wedged in with a lot of inconsiderate people. It makes me want to punch people.

Some popular places nearby are Bier Markt and Great Lakes Brewery. I am sure you can find similar in any major city. Nate's has great Lebanese and standard deli food (cash only). Phnom Penh is good and cheap Cambodian and Northern Vietnamese food (cash only). I love Flying Fig, but they may not be your thing.

OH, West Side Market is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, closed on holidays. The surrounding area is open Monday - Saturday, some stores are open on Sunday.

Love, love skin.

I am not a dog connoisseur but my favorite is Schmidt's (Columbus, OH) spicy Bahama Mamas. We make the 3 hour trip each way every few months for the snappy sausage (snausage?) love.

What about Mishaps in the Kitchen?

I love, love, love chicken adana with pilaf or sauteed bulghur w/ lentils and burnt onion strings. Dolma and a light salad with some sumac. I love the salty dryness of ayran. Of course, kazandibi to finish. :)

Of course, kibbeh and falafel wouldn't hurt! ;)

I had a sinking feeling in my belly that I missed this when I lived in PA, but it would have probably taken me several hours to get there as I lived west and just N of 80.

I've always loved chili dogs, even though they always came with 1-2 scoops rice and a scoop of macaroni potato salad. :)

@scalfin Hah! Awesome -- ferrets! :)

They are so cute, I would just stare at them and not eat them. Of course, I say this because I can't smell them.

As far as national chains, I prefer Donato's and California Pizza Kitchen because of their consistency and, in particular with CPK, when I'm in the mood for a different type of pizza that isn't margherita or pepperoni.

Unfortunately, Cleveland has 6576546465 family pizza joints, and a number of those that we have gone to are lackluster, even the ones that are lauded. I realize one person's nirvana may be another person's hell. Maybe we just have bad luck.

I have passed Champps by for the past 10, maybe 15, years. I thought it was a local chain, not as national as it is. It looked like a sports bar, so I wrote it off immediately.

We'll have to stop by for a burger some time along our usual burger circuit of 5 Guys, Brown Bag Burger, Morton's, Hardee's, and B Spot...so it may be a year from now.