That... sounds... gooey and romantic.
April 26, 2011 11:12 AM   Subscribe

Help me plan a swanky superdate in Cleveland!

I got some fun Cleveland date ideas in this thread. We've been dating for over a year now (thanks for the suggestions, Metafilter!), and now I need ideas for a different type of date. While we were watching How I Met Your Mother's Super Date episode, I realized it had been a long time since I'd done anything really swanky and romantic. We've found lots of simple, fun things, and we've done adventurous things, but it's been a long time since I took her somewhere that requires dressing up. Unfortunately, I still don't know Cleveland very well because I don't live there (yet).

So, Clevelanders, help me out: what classy places can we go and what swanky things could we do on our super date? Recommendations for restaurants, shows, galleries, etc would all help, as would out-of-the-ordinary ideas (horse-drawn carriage! Private room! live music!). This will probably happen May 13 or 14 if that helps.

This is going to be a little expensive no matter what, so feel free to throw out cool-but-pricey ideas and I'll whittle down based on budget - maybe you'll suggest something that is expensive but so, so worth it!

As far as I know she's not on Metafilter, so this is probably a safe place to ask this question.
posted by Tehhund to Grab Bag (6 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Michael Symon (Iron Chef, etc.) is from Cleveland and has a few restaurants here, notably Lola and Lolita.

Cleveland has a lot of great restaurants, but my tastes run to cheapish ethnic food rather than swank, so my ability to advise you here is pretty limited.
posted by jon1270 at 11:23 AM on April 26, 2011


Response by poster: *duh* She even pointed Lola out to me once as a place we should go when we really want do something nice. So that is definitely the place we'll go for dinner, and it'll be a great surprise!

Okay Clevelanders, help me fill the rest of the evening. Shows? Events? Carriages rides in the park? Swanky cocktail lounges? Tell me your favorites.
posted by Tehhund at 11:48 AM on April 26, 2011


Drinks at VTR.
posted by kickingtheground at 11:51 AM on April 26, 2011


Best answer: The VTR. Without a doubt. If you drink alcohol, go here. It's relatively expensive ($15 a drink), romantic, and there's nothing else like it in Cleveland. There's usually live music (a pianist or blues player) crooning in the background on the weekends.

What are your and your dates other interests ?

A performance by the Cleveland Orchestra at Severence Hall is also quite nice and classy.
http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/event-detail/2011-May-12.aspx
- I've heard on a cleveland yelp thread that they're not as good as they used to be, for whatever it's worth, and I know very little about classical.

If you're not in classical, there's a nice classy jazz club, named Nighttown, in Cleveland Heights.

For what it's worth, the international beer fest is in town that weekend. Not classy, but if either of you are beer snobs, might be worth checking out.

If you're into nature, there's a wine tasting aboard the cuyahoga valley railroad, which runs through a picturesque national park. see here [pdf]

Food-wise:

I've never been to a Symon joint but the foodies in cleveland still love him. B-Spot is his casual hamburger place and is not what you're looking for.
Other dining suggestions:
- Anyone of the places of Zach Bruell is relatively nice, Chinato, l'albatross, parallax, and table 45 [45 a little less fancy].
- Hyde Park steakhouse. It's a fancy steakhouse downtown.

Place to stay ? Try a B&B in University Circle. [Glidden House].

(with many of these places, I've never been there, but have heard plenty of good things about them who people who visited there firsthand. I'd go to them if I had the $.)
posted by fizzix at 11:57 AM on April 26, 2011


Seconding Glidden House.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 12:01 PM on April 26, 2011


Best answer: fire (at Shaker Square) is a better restaurant and it's in a very charming town square. There are a couple of new ice cream shops that are open late: Jeni's in Chagrin Falls and Sweet Moses in the Detroit Shoreway area. Of course, there's always been a good variety of frozen custard places. I like East Coast Custard and Rosati's (various locations).

I don't drink, but VTR has a cult following amongst cocktail fans. They have a "secret" back room. As I understand it, anyone is allowed but you need to make arrangements in advance. They give you a password. It's a beautiful room. Outside there's a patio that looks beatiful, too. I've never been when the weather was friendly enough to enjoy the patio.

The 13th is also Tremont Art Walk day, right?

Cats is playing at the Beck Center and West Side Story (among others) is at Playhouse Square. A play called Ruined is at Karamu. My Barking Dog at Cleveland Public Theater (also dance performances). Circle Mirror Transformation at Doboma.

I think the Cultural Gardens are really cool. Some are well maintained, others are in various states of disrepair. So each is beautiful in a different way if you're into that kind of thing. And they're pretty unique to Cleveland. My friend had his wedding pictures taken at one of them. Greek? Nearby is the Rockefeller Greenhouse.

I searched for music stuff, but only classical and only on the dates you mentioned. All I found was the aforementioned Cleveland Orchestra. If your plans change, let us know.

Also, if you're interested in other things: sports, nature, comedy, popular music...

I'd never notice if the Cleveland Orchestra were entirely switched out for the Shaker Heights Middle School Orchestra, but I think everything great isn't as good as it used to be according to someone. They're still one of the premiere orchestras in the world. I doubt many credible people would say they aren't still one of the top three or four in this country.

Check out coolcleveland.com. They'll post events in their newsletter which will come out on Wednesday, the 15th, which may be cutting it too close. pluggedincleveland.com, cleveland.com and clevescene.com also have events listings.
posted by stuart_s at 12:39 PM on April 26, 2011 [1 favorite]


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