But the fun is who you're with, right?
May 12, 2017 3:30 PM Subscribe
When a good friend and I made general plans to go to dinner tomorrow, she said, "Let's go somewhere FUN!" Really? How do we do that?
We live on the east side of Cleveland (she's in Beachwood, I'm in Aurora), but we don't mind venturing over to the west side. Is there really a fun place to go for dinner?
Difficulty factor: she doesn't drink and while she has no problem with my having a glass of wine or a beer, she would be uncomfortable any place that is more bar than restaurant. Hope us! Even if you can't suggest a specific place in Cleveland, maybe you know a type of restaurant that is fun.
We live on the east side of Cleveland (she's in Beachwood, I'm in Aurora), but we don't mind venturing over to the west side. Is there really a fun place to go for dinner?
Difficulty factor: she doesn't drink and while she has no problem with my having a glass of wine or a beer, she would be uncomfortable any place that is more bar than restaurant. Hope us! Even if you can't suggest a specific place in Cleveland, maybe you know a type of restaurant that is fun.
I have a couple of friends I go out to lunch with every month, to a chain restaurant. No shame, no apologies, fried appetizers, neon-colored drinks (alcoholic or otherwise), split a ginormous dessert. It's surprisingly fun, because it's not the sort of thing we'd otherwise ever do unless there was an airport or work lunch involved (and none of us work at that kind of place). A long time ago I had a friend I saw maybe quarterly, and it was always a Chinese buffet. It was just our thing.
Alternately, you can do something non-traditional. Breakfast for dinner, all-dessert dinner, classic diner. Bowling alley snack bar. Or maybe your area has some kind of food truck gathering on Saturday nights?
posted by Lyn Never at 3:44 PM on May 12, 2017 [5 favorites]
Alternately, you can do something non-traditional. Breakfast for dinner, all-dessert dinner, classic diner. Bowling alley snack bar. Or maybe your area has some kind of food truck gathering on Saturday nights?
posted by Lyn Never at 3:44 PM on May 12, 2017 [5 favorites]
Kind of depends what you find fun!
There's a newish Ethiopian place on Lee.
There's a Cheesecake Factory at Legacy Village.
You could go to Happy Dog down at University Circle.
All these seem like fun of one kind of another but it's hard without knowing what you all think is fun!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:15 PM on May 12, 2017
There's a newish Ethiopian place on Lee.
There's a Cheesecake Factory at Legacy Village.
You could go to Happy Dog down at University Circle.
All these seem like fun of one kind of another but it's hard without knowing what you all think is fun!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:15 PM on May 12, 2017
Hibachi!
posted by TheCavorter at 4:53 PM on May 12, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by TheCavorter at 4:53 PM on May 12, 2017 [11 favorites]
Any chance your friend is a fan of Miss Manners? She has suggested "fun" as a euphemism for "cheap." This is from her Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior:
Allow Miss Manners to suggest another such euphemism: Fun. If you had asked "Shall we go somewhere that's simple and fun, where the children will feel comfortable?" your friends would have known that you were offering to let them off cheap.
posted by FencingGal at 4:57 PM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Allow Miss Manners to suggest another such euphemism: Fun. If you had asked "Shall we go somewhere that's simple and fun, where the children will feel comfortable?" your friends would have known that you were offering to let them off cheap.
posted by FencingGal at 4:57 PM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
To me, 'fun' is a place that is busy and has good music or an otherwise festive vibe. Nice desserts and drinks would need to be a part of 'fun' (for me).
posted by nanook at 4:59 PM on May 12, 2017
posted by nanook at 4:59 PM on May 12, 2017
How about dinner theater? A quick search shows many dinner theater options in Cleveland.
posted by ejs at 5:13 PM on May 12, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by ejs at 5:13 PM on May 12, 2017 [3 favorites]
Cheesecake Factory, baby.
posted by stoneandstar at 5:15 PM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by stoneandstar at 5:15 PM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Do you guys have a hot pot / shabu shabu or Korean BBQ place in town? These places can be quite fun, a little diy, hopefully all you can eat.
posted by ellerhodes at 5:25 PM on May 12, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by ellerhodes at 5:25 PM on May 12, 2017 [5 favorites]
"That sounds great! You pick the place!"
posted by metaseeker at 5:47 PM on May 12, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by metaseeker at 5:47 PM on May 12, 2017 [17 favorites]
To me this would imply just doing something different to what you normally do.
posted by man down under at 6:04 PM on May 12, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by man down under at 6:04 PM on May 12, 2017 [4 favorites]
Best answer: You are looking for this. Food is OK, but I just did appetizers. And the whole street (W 25) is fun, just take your pick!
posted by waving at 6:43 PM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by waving at 6:43 PM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
There's a fondue restaurant, The Melting Pot, in Lyndhurst. (Pro-tip; do not wear anything that needs to be dry-cleaned, only things you can immediately throw in the washing machine, unless you want your whole place to smell like cooking oil.)
posted by soundguy99 at 7:03 PM on May 12, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by soundguy99 at 7:03 PM on May 12, 2017 [2 favorites]
Most of the restaurants that Tilman Fertitta owns are "fun".
posted by MexicanYenta at 8:03 PM on May 12, 2017
posted by MexicanYenta at 8:03 PM on May 12, 2017
Similar to metaseeker's response, I would suggest saying, "That's great! What do you have in mind?"
posted by Juniper Toast at 10:09 PM on May 12, 2017
posted by Juniper Toast at 10:09 PM on May 12, 2017
Response by poster: Any chance your friend is a fan of Miss Manners? She has suggested "fun" as a euphemism for "cheap."
Good thought, but no. My friend doesn't worry about spending. If anything, I'm the cheap one!
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I'm going to suggest Tabletop.
posted by Dolley at 5:26 AM on May 13, 2017
Good thought, but no. My friend doesn't worry about spending. If anything, I'm the cheap one!
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I'm going to suggest Tabletop.
posted by Dolley at 5:26 AM on May 13, 2017
If you're enthusiastic about your meats, we went to a Brazilian steakhouse recently and it was very fun. Looks like Cleveland has a few..
posted by raider at 7:15 AM on May 14, 2017
posted by raider at 7:15 AM on May 14, 2017
I find the suggestion vague and unhelpful and kind of want you to tell her you'll meet her at Chuck E. Cheese's just to see how she'll react.
(Needless to say, do not actually follow through.)
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:03 AM on May 15, 2017
(Needless to say, do not actually follow through.)
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:03 AM on May 15, 2017
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