While I take a vacation from, well, everything, I’m so happy to have Poise in Parma, WhyCLE, and HungryinCLE guest blog for me. Today we take a trip out to Parma with an expert on the neighborhood — Alicia from Poise in Parma, who clues us into her favorite places in this Cleveland suburb.
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HEY CLEVELANDERS! Greetings from your biggest suburb – Parma! So I know you’ve heard all the jokes: that we have pink flamingos in our yard, that we wear white socks with black shoes and that we eat a lot of pierogies (okay, so that one is true). We’ve had our share of controversial things go down over the years, but believe it or not, Parma’s quite the neat place to live.
While Amanda does quite the fabulous job cluing you all into the fabulous things going on around the Greater Cleveland area on a regular basis, I thought I would take this guest post as a chance to clue you into Parma. Gotta share the love on all those hot spots and hidden gems that I know and love!!
Little Polish Diner
If you read my blog regularly, you know that I’m gluten intolerant, so I cannot indulge in the well known Parma delicacy of pierogies. But if I wasn’t, I would be at the Little Polish Diner on a weekly basis! This little restaurant is known for their array of pierogi, pork chops, stuffed cabbage and other Polish dishes. The restaurant was kind enough to feed us runners after the recent Run for the Pierogies 5K in July:
(Digging into the post-run pierogies with WhyCLE?)
Stearns Historical Farm and Society
Yes, Parma has a farm and yes it is located across the way from Parmatown Mall. Get your Target shopping in then roll across Ridge Road to find this historical location.
(picture via their Facebook page)
I remember taking field trips here when I was young and always daydreaming about riding the horses that they kept in their pasture outside the barn. In addition to being the current home of the Parma Historical Society, the location hosts a Farmers Market on Sundays from August through October. They even hold social events such as their ice cream social that was recently rescheduled for August 28th.
You would never believe that my favorite Cleveland sushi joint is located in a small strip mall across the street from Sam’s Club on Brookpark Road. But there lies Mizu Sushi. With a wide array of all things “sushi”, there’s something for everyone – from the novice to the experimental.
I love also that they honor Restaurant.com gift certificates. Let’s just say it’s quite impressive how much sashimi, maki rolls and green tea two ladies can go through in two hours!
There are many fine bakery options in our suburb, but I’d like to introduce you to Rudy’s. Not only do they have some excellent pierogies, Rudy’s carries some of the best strudel around. This picture speaks for itself:
(picture from Rudy’s website)
In addition, they also carry some tasty kolachi, a type of cookie popular in central European cultures. The ones at Rudy’s are so good, my Aunt Linda requests we bring her some every time we come to visit her on the other side of the country.
Not a lot of people know about this portion of the Cleveland Metroparks. The West Creek Preservation was recently created in the West Creek Preserve, a 9-mile creek that travels through Parma, Brooklyn Heights, Independence and Seven Hills. Last year, my hubby and I went on some fun trail runs in this area that is located right in our backyard.
Unfortunately now, the tricky thing is they are doing construction on the main entrance area on West Ridgewood Drive which won’t be completed until 2012. However, there are other entrance ways to still get your outdoor fix on in the Parma area.
No Parma list is complete without a mention of the Southside’s most coveted frozen treat shop. I’ve been going to Honey Hut since I was a newborn. The location in Old Brooklyn used to have a life sized cow statue and all children in the neighborhood had been placed on it at some point in their youths. Now, our family frequents the State Road location in Parma for all our favorite flavors including their infamous butter pecan, banana peanut butter and coconut. SO GOOD.
So if you find yourself in Parma, check out one of these or any of our hidden gems. And if you need some help finding them, don’t be afraid to stop by Poise in Parma for some guidance!
About the Guest Blogger
Alicia is the happy blogger behind the healthy balance blog, Poise in Parma. She is a proud lifelong Clevelander, full-time event planner, gluten-free runner and golden retriever lover. For more of her love of all things in the Northeastern Ohio area, follow her on Twitter at @poiseinparma and “like” Poise in Parma on Facebook.