Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

10-15 from the airport is sort of tough, it's a driving town but there are a lot of good places worth the extra 5 or 10 mins on your drive.

(1) Lola, Michael Symon's best restaurant, located downtown on East 4th St;
(2) Lolita, Michael Symon's more casual but still excellent restaurant in Tremont, right next to downtown and easily accessed off the highway;
(3) Momocho, a modern Mexican restaurant that is still putting out incredible eats in a really fun, casual atmosphere, in Tremont;
(4) La Petite Triangle, a French bistro making classic French food (croque madame, sweet and savory crepes, etc.) in Tremont.
(5) Dante's, or Ginko, which is owned by the same guy but downstairs from Dante's. Dante's is a modern American bistro, Ginko is Cleveland's best sushi/Asian, I think.
(6) Sokolowski's is old-school Cleveland, Polish food (pierogies, sausages) served cafeteria style in Tremont. Perhaps better for lunch.
(7) Slyman's is Cleveland's old-school deli, serving incredible corned beef sandwiches; this is another good lunch option.
(8) Hot Sauce Williams is another Cleveland landmark, serving classic BBQ;
(9) Angelo's in Lakewood is a sit-down or takeout place and they make incredible deep-dish pizza;
(10) Crop Bistro is another incredible modern American bistro, highlighting local, organic, seasonal eats. One of my favorites, it's downtown right across from the Westside Market, which is a must-see if you have some extra time in town.
(11) Johnny's on Fulton is classic Italian eats in a sort of dressy place, and they have a bar downstairs that is more casual and serves high-quality burgers and such;
(12) Another vote for Symon's B-Spot Burgers. Incredible burgers and delicious other food as well, great bourbon list, great wings. Closest to the airport is probably the one in Strongsville off of Royalton Road. If you see signs on the right for a Target plaza, turn in there and B Spot is on your right.

Do you have any more specific parameters? Price?

You can make hot cereal on Sunday or Monday and then eat it throughout the week, adding mix-ins as you go. I like steel cut oats, which can be made in a slow cooker, or Bob's Red Mill 5-grain (I buy it at Whole Foods but you can also buy online I think), but whatever whole grain you like is great. To reheat, add a little water or milk, or I guess since you're looking to gain weight, some cream would be delicious too. You can mix in nut butters, nuts, maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, jams, applesauce, fruits, a dollop of yogurt, or go the savory route--avocado, chopped raw or cooked veggies, sesame oil, hot sauce, etc. It's really versatile and if you make one big pot it is good to go all week.

An ice cream concoction involving booze, chocolate, and coffee, each element adding to the taste and also serving a distinct purpose that will aid in Valentine's Day festivities.

I'm pretty sure the wings they serve at Michael Symon's B Spot restaurants up in Cleveland are confit'ed and they are crazy delicious so I can't wait to try this. First stab at home frying, here I come! I swear the only value to the Superbowl is an excuse to make delicious junk food like this.

When I read this, I literally gasped aloud: "I think I'm coming to the conclusion that it might be pretty close to what I do once I reincorporate meat and dairy into my diet: stay vegan whenever I have the choice, but not make a big deal out of it if I want to hang out with friends at a non-vegan establishment."

Stay vegan whenever you have the choice?? Kenji, are you in there? The man who gave us perfect prime rib, lasagna bolognese, perfect oven chicken wings...on and on....what?!

Look, I support this new attitude and I try to live the same way, except vegetarian about 2/3 of the time, not vegan, but as a long time SE reader, to see you write that was simply stunning. I for one will be very excited to see that magical recipe machine brain of yours applied to more veg-friendly pursuits, as long as you oblige us with delicious meat some of the time still.

B Spot is so crazy delicious. It holds its own with some of the best burgers I've ever had. Every time I return home to Cleveland for holidays, I have to stop in. Plus the other food there is equally as delicious--awesome wings, fries, sauces...man I miss it.

As for the silly people on here who like to take high quality, carefully mixed ground beef and order it overcooked, do all of us a favor and just go to McDonald's because overcooking beef removes the whole reason for getting the higher quality meat in the first place. That beef is not raw and you're being a troll.

In other news, holding the food you eat to high taste and quality standards is not elitist.

Sachertorte, no contest!

I'm an omnivore and perhaps more accurately a "flexitarian" if that's a term we're recognizing now but I congratulate you in making this choice and I will be observing your journey with great interest. It's easy to make assumptions about different lifestyles and the people who chose them but it's much harder to adopt them for yourself and live with the challenges firsthand. I go vegetarian for a month or so at a time every so often and I use that time to eat in a vegetable-centric way. I'm always glad when I do because there is always something new to learn about cooking and what's good for my body, and because eating more vegetables is healthier, period. Nonetheless, omnivores' reactions to these experiments of mine is fascinating; the sense I get most often is that people feel threatened no matter how you present the issue. It's perplexing, since you're not asking them to change their behavior nor are you criticizing them, you're just choosing a different path. But that choice makes almost everyone who isn't making the same choice very, very defensive and angry. It's astounding, really. That's why reading these comments is so interesting, so many people are defensive about this temporary choice you've made. Why? Shouldn't we all be more open-minded? Do any of us really think that eating more fruits and vegetables is harmful? If you use this time to be a processed food and carb lover, then sure, your health will probably deteriorate. But even under the awning of vegan there are many different paths you can take, and I'm sure you'll take one that embraces whole foods and high-quality plant products as much as is reasonably possible.

The science of nutrition and weight loss and all related fields is filled with contradicting studies and evidence that usually doesn't seem black and white but the suggestion you have made, generally, that cutting back on animal products is probably better for your body isn't really that controversial anymore. The thing is, I think eating animal products can probably be part of a healthy diet, but only if it is high-quality meat raised without antibiotics, steroids, outside the CAFO system, etc. But most of the meat eaten by Americans is not high-quality in this way, and the bulk of our animal protein is produced and processed in simply disgusting ways in this country. We all know it, but most of us continue to eat it for lack of access to better meats. Without a doubt, many of the people already criticizing you are the ones who, without a second thought, eat ground beef that came from a cow from a feedlot who was miserable, lived in a pen no bigger than the cow itself, up to his knees daily in puddles of cow waste, fed antibiotics and steroids since birth, and then killed and processed in a facility using things like ammonia washes. I want to vomit just thinking about it, and I still eat meat, probably some meat just like this more often than I care to acknowledge. Yet these people are going to self-righteously preach to you about the unhealthy lifestyle of veganism... give me a break. Defensive omnivores should examine their own eating choices more critically before getting defensive and dismissive about people choosing to eat less, or no, meat.

This is sort of cheating but when I make meat filling for tacos, I always make a ton and freeze it in dinner portions. So my quickest meal is defrosting the meat, making fresh guac (avocado, lime, garlic is the most basic for me), and mowing down.

Now I want to try making something like she describes with the pears, Meyer lemon and bourbon. I've got all that at home, if only I wasn't at work right now... I'm not a big cocktail maker, does anyone have something that's a little more specific and recipe-like? I don't have ginger liquer but would prefer to leave that out anyway.

Surprised that Pound Coffee, on the Hill, didn't make this list! Also ME Swing Coffee Roasters in Foggy Bottom roasts their own beans and they are some of my favorite ones I've ever tried, especially the Embassy Row variety. I wish Peregrine was better than it is, to be honest. The workers at both locations have been largely off-puttingly condescending and arrogant when I've visited, making me feel like a bother instead of a welcome, paying customer. I'm probably not dressed alternative enough but this is DC, I'm merely one in a legion of preppy office dwellers. I live really close to their 14th St location and was very excited about their arrival but after going in once and being treated badly, I won't return. Glad to see Chinatown Coffee on the list though, love those guys and that store. Coffee need not be served with 'tude to make it legitimate and delicious.

When I click on the recipe card, "Get the Recipe!" it works, but the link at the bottom of the article does not work.

25th please!