CLE Foodcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Matt Fish approached the literal zenith of a restaurant career with his concept Melt Bar and Grilled. With 14 stores at its peak, discussions for more, featured tv segments on The Food Network, Melt became one of the "must see" attractions in Cleveland, holding court with the Rock Hall and the West Side Market.

And then, over the course of a few years, fueled by changing tastes, a pandemic fallout, labor shortages, and wave after wave of economic challenges, it all ended in December 2024.

In this episode, Matt painstakingly chronicles the events, and decisions he had to make to stay afloat and preserve the brand. As you will hear, Matt is starting to look forward and he's thinking about future projects, and also how he can use this experience to help others.

This episode, and the CLE Foodcast, is presented with support from Edgewater Hospitality and Kate's Fish.

When we think of restaurants our minds tend to go right to the food on our plates, but they are important ecosystems that contribute so much more. Restaurant owners Karen Small and Jillian (Jill) Davis created restaurants that became our favorites—Flying Fig in Ohio City, and Toast, in the Gordon Square district.

Less talked about are how these successful destinations spurred neighborhood growth around them, contributed to tourism, and put Cleveland on the culinary map.

Their joint venture, Pearl Street Wine Market and Cafe closed unexpectedly earlier this year prompting introspection about the last few, very hard years. Karen still owns the very successful Juneberry Table, but prioritizes time to be with family and travel. Jill practices law and is focused on spending time with the people who matter most.

The theme of this episode? Life happens. Good friends help.

This episode is presented in partnership with Edgewater Hospitality and Kate's Fish.

I wanted to call this episode Ice Ice Baby, but I was concerned that many of my listeners would not get the reference. If you DO get the reference you are truly among my people,

This episode is presented in partnership with the Ashtabula County Visitors Bureau and it is all about Ohio's Grand River Valley, a premier wine-making region. We're talking ice wine, a variety of wine that allows for creativity and that appeals to all types of wine drinkers. Ice wine is the focal point of the Grand River Valley Ice Wine Festival which is happening all through March. Seven locations on the "ice wine trail" offer pairings and difference experiences for the ice-wine-curious.

In this episode I speak to two winemakers and you'll learn how ice wine is grown, harvested and produced, and you will get a taste of what awaits you in the nearby Grand River Valley. (For more Ashtabula information, try episode 88).

Thanks to Chef Douglas Katz for being a supporter of the CLE Foodcast and to the Ashtabula County Visitors Bureau for the collaboration.

Chef Eric Wells doesn't own a brick and mortar restaurant space and that's just fine with him.  A flexible business model helped him stay busy throughout the 2020 pandemic.

Chef Wells was the first African American graduate of ICASI in Chesterland, Ohio, in 2004. He's known for taking the road less traveled, guided by faith, family and a desire to leave an imprint. Skye LaRae's Culinary Services (I ask him about the name!) offers catering, cooking lessons, and very popular intimate dinners for two that recreate an intimate chef's table experience right in your home.

I talk to Chef Wells about an upcoming Juneteenth dinner event at Edwin's Too, why people love his intimate in-home dinner services (maybe it is because he decorates and does the dishes?), and how he got his start in the business after making a career change.

I caught up with him right after he and his wife returned from a culinary-focused vacation in Cartagena, Colombia. Chef Wells is one of the good guys in the business and we can all learn something from his steadfast work ethic and the enjoyment he derives from his work.

Tricia McCune has a big personality, a hearty laugh and 45,000 followers. The creator of the wildly successful CLE Foodies Instagram account is known to many for her quirky, offbeat video posts about food. She and partner Ster-Fry are out most days of the week chronicling their adventures, making videos and sharing them on social media where people can't seem to get enough of the duo enjoying all kinds of food.

Most of those followers have no idea that Tricia has battled three serious cancers. After beating cancer the first time, Tricia changed her outlook on life and decided to pursue her dreams. She created a robust and enthusiastic online food community, developed and operated the successful Wok n' Roll food truck and even managed to get on the Food Network.

I talk to Tricia about the origins of CLE Foodies, what it is like to have 45,000 people watching you eat and how her serious, life-threatening illnesses gave her permission to be less serious about life and motivated her to make things happen.

Please follow CLE Foodcast on Facebook and Instagram! DM me at either place with ideas for stories, issues or to tell me about cool people doing important things in food.

CLE Foodcast is hosted by Lisa Sands, a Cleveland-based local food advocate, writer and communications strategist.

This is a follow up interview with Ohio farmer, Lee Jones and chef Jamie Simpson. Farmer Lee Jones and food writer Kristin Donnelly have just released a 600+ page book that is the quintessential encyclopedia of vegetables. The Chefs Garden, A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables with Recipes shares decades of knowledge about the most familiar vegetables and those that might be new to us like salsify, cardoons or oca. Jamie Simpson, The Chef Garden's executive chef, has devised recipes that honor the best qualities of each vegetable and stretch our understanding of what we can do with them.

In this episode we talk about how the vegetables we eat have changed over the years, how the book is organized and how to use it, and Jamie's discovery of a brand new way to make vegetable stock, among other things. And I get schooled on the difference between soil and dirt.

Farmer Lee Jones knows a thing or two about vegetables...and not just the ordinary ones like carrots, potatoes and peas. For more than 30  years his Huron, Ohio farm has been growing the most interesting, nutrient-dense, and beautiful vegetables for the prestigious restaurants around the country. Vegetables from The Chef's Garden are a staple ingredient for well-known chefs that include Daniel Boulud, Jose Andrés and Thomas Keller and are familiar to food TV celebs as well as northeast Ohio's culinary greats.  Lucky for us, we can also access those same veggies at an old fashioned farmstead or in home delivery boxes.

Farmer Lee Jones and food writer Kristin Donnelly have just released a 600+ page book that is the quintessential encyclopedia of vegetables. The Chefs Garden, A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables with Recipes shares decades of knowledge about familiar vegetables and those that might be new to us like cardoons, salsify and oca. Chef-in-Residence Jamie Simpson has devised recipes that honor the best qualities of each vegetable and stretch our understanding of what we can do with them.

In the first of two interviews we talk to Farmer Lee and Chef Jamie about why a plant-forward future is inevitable and necessary, how looking back in time is actually the key to our culinary future, and how asking more of our plants and vegetables is a key to a more sustainable food system.

Kristian Campana has been blogging about festivals for more than a decade, attending more than 500 community festivals, fairs, and events both large and small. As we head into Memorial Weekend 2021 I talk to Kristian about his hobby and some of the festivals that have announced plans to return this year. We also talk about how festivals here in America compare to those in other countries, the difference between a festival and a fair, and some must-try food at festivals around the area.  

Kristian maintains the website ohiofestivals.net which is a one-stop place to look up area festivals. Your favorite one is probably on there.

Mentioned in this episode: Berea National Rib Cook Off, Columbus Italian Festival, Circleville Pumpkin Festival, Milan Melon Festival, Chardon Zucchini Festival, Harrod Pork Rind Festival, Lorain International Festival, Tiro Testicle Festival, St. Joseph Ox Roast Fair.

While Memorial Day weekend is often considered the unofficial start of summer, may we all remember the reason for Memorial Day and pay homage to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our freedoms.

Does Akron have the best burgers in the country?  Listen to find out! 

Prompted by COVID-induced job uncertainty and the prospect of homeschooling two kids, Akron Ohio-based photographer Shane Wynn embarked on a journey of a lifetime. Shane, her husband filmmaker Josh Gippin, and their children Amelia and Malcom, left Akron in September of 2020 to travel the country exploring the food, culture and lifestyles of Americans from Maine to Malibu. Shane is an award-winning photographer who can take fabulous pictures of anything, but she enjoys shooting interesting local food and illuminating social justice issues that depict underrepresented or misunderstood communities. In this interview we capture just a sliver of her adventures and talk trailer life, cooking and eating local on the road, and interesting places they've set up camp like fairgrounds, an alpaca farm, and an RV park in Malibu with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. 

Read more about the family's experiences and see some of Shane's travel photos in Akron Life or on Shane's two Instagram accounts. @Shane_anne_igans and @ShaneWynnPhotography. 

Mentioned in this episode: PawPaw Festival, Swenson's, Barberton Chicken, Mystic Pizza, In-N-Out Burger, Shane Wynn Photography, Joshua Tree Productions, Louie's Bar and Grill, Where The Wynns Take You on Patreon. Shane and I share a love for messy burgers, loud laughing and seeing the good in people. If I could have squeezed into her 21-ft trailer to go along for the ride, I would have. But, like you, I'll just have to wait for the upcoming docuseries and other projects that will develop from this life-changing adventure.  

In this episode I talk to Jeremy Umansky, chef and owner of Larder, about how he and his partners, Kenny Scott and Allie LaValle-Umansky managed to steward their popular neighborhood deli through the uncertainty of the past year. The tight-knit team had unknowingly created a model that was able to adapt quickly to the take-out environment and thrive while other concepts struggled.

In just a few short years Larder has proved mighty for its size, drawing national attention from national media like Food & Wine and Eater, and two James Beard Award nominations. It is also a must stop for visiting culinary royalty like Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller (he's got the pics to prove it). Jeremy is a renown foraging and fermenting expert who has co-written a book on koji, the foundational technique behind his mouthwatering pastrami.

Outside of the kitchen Jeremy uses his voice and keyboard to share and promote things he cares about. While you are likely to find him writing about why you should fry latkes in schmalz or how to safely forage mushrooms he has also written candidly about his journey to sobriety.

We talked about making hard decisions, how the recent months both helped and hurt those struggling with addiction, and the kind of chef Jeremy wants to be.

Mentioned in this episode: koji, pastrami, Rising Star Coffee, Saucy Brew Works.

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