Drink to your love of Lake Erie with Lake Erie Love Light

Now, you can drink to your love of Lake Erie while helping to protect it, as well.
Lake Erie Love Light is a new craft beer brewed by the Catawba Island Brewing Company. The family-owned craft microbrewery is donating a portion of the proceeds from every keg of the recently released beer to the Lake Erie Improvement Association.
The Lake Erie Improvement Association is a Lake Erie watershed-wide economic sustainability initiative dedicated to healthy waters and fish. The group has membership from a wide variety of business segments working to promote cooperation and wise resource management for the benefit of the Lake Erie basin.
Catawba Island Brewing released Lake Erie Love Light in partnership with Lake Erie Shores & Islands as a salute to its Lake Erie Love marketing campaign. The brewing company completed a license agreement with the destination marketing organization to use the logo used in promotional advertising for visiting the region. The logo has been incorporated into the taps made to accompany the kegs sent to various area establishments. While the beer is currently only available on tap, plans are underway for canning and retail distribution.
Catawba Island Brewing Company describes Lake Erie Love Light as, "a thirst-quenching beer, brewed to be enjoyed by everyone over the age of 21. It's a simple beer at face value, containing bready, citrusy flavors and a subtle hop presence for the trained pallet. Straw in color with a medium-light mouthfeel, this beer is sure to be a hit after a long day of enjoying the pleasures our great Lake Erie has to offer."
Lake Erie Love Light is on tap at the brewery tasting room, 2330 E. Harbor Rd., Port Clinton. If you have a business that would be interested in serving Lake Erie Love Light, contact Eric "Lou" Ludrowsky, Catawba Island Brewing Company, at 419-680-1706.

Ritz-Carlton adds Tailgate Brunch for Browns' home games

Football fans can enjoy a more memorable game day experience this season with the addition of the Ritz-Carlton's Tailgate Brunch and ultimate Bloody Mary Bar.
Served in Muse from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Cleveland Browns home game days, the brunch features local favorite breakfast and lunch dishes, an omelet station, sushi boat, dim sum and dipping sauces, and a Bloody Mary Bar with vodkas, fruits, vegetables and assorted garnishes. The buffet theme is an ever-changing "Tale of Two Cities, with selections from visiting cities added to each date's buffet. Menu additions for the Sept. 27 Browns vs. Oakland home game included West Coast seafood stew and linguine with clams and mussels.
Upcoming dates for the Tailgate Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland are Oct. 18, Nov. 1, Nov. 30, Dec.6, Dec. 13 and Jan. 3. The price for the buffet is $39 for adults and $20 for children under 10 years of age. Phone 216-902-5255 for reservations. The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland is at 1515 W. Third St.

Raise a stein to autumn at Oktoberfest

Raise a stein to autumn at the annual Oktoberfest celebration at Great Lakes Brewing Company, Sept. 25-26, in Ohio City.
Festivities include music by the Joe Wendel Orchestra, a "keep the stein" special, extra-large barley pretzels and a menu of traditional Oktoberfest fare. Appetizers are a special Oktoberfest soup, fresh baked pretzels served with Stilton Cheddar cheese dip, sauerkraut balls with housemade Russian dressing, and a German sausage sampler platter with assorted mustards. Also on the menu is pork schnitzel, potato dumplings and braised cabbage. A pork schnitzel sandwich is served with sauerkraut on a brioche bun. Dessert is Farkas Bakery apple Linzer and Farkas pumpkin Napoleon.
Admission is free. Festivities are from 11:30 a.m. to closing on both days.

Fat Casual BBQ wins "People's Choice" title in Cleveland BBQ Throwdown

When it comes to world-class barbecue, Chef Walter Hyde is doing his part to put Cleveland on the map.
That is why he organized the First Annual World Famous Cleveland BBQ Throwdown, held at Sterle's Bier Garden on Sept. 12. The barbecue cook-off pitted Hyde and Chef Scott Slagle of Fat Casual BBQ against the Saucisson team of chefs Melissa Khoury and Penny Barend and Chef Adam Lambert of Ohio City Provisions. Each team prepared one main dish and one side dish. Each dish was blindly judged by an expert panel as well as by guests in attendance.
The competition had more of a backyard barbecue atmosphere, with judges and ticketed guests invited to help themselves to snacks and a pickled vegetable and sauce bar. Proudly displayed prizes included items like bacon duct tape, a handmade macaroni necklace, and a bottle of Open Pit barbecue sauce paired with a bottle of Liquid Smoke and imitation bacon bits.
The real winners of the competition were the audience and judges. Hungry for good barbecue, they were served an array of excellent dishes and tasked with determining the award winners. Dishes included mammoth beef ribs and creamy banana pudding tarts prepared by the Fat Casual BBQ team, tender and juicy beef brisket and cornbread with tangy greens from Ohio City Provisions, and a deconstructed pork rib, terrine-like "McRib" with Ohio peach barbecue sauce and redskin potato salad from Saucisson.
Chefs Hyde and Slagle of Fat Casual BBQ won both the judges' and people's votes for best meat dish. Saucisson's potato salad was named the side dish of choice.

Join the party at Cornucopia's "Event in the Tent"

Join the party at the, "Event in the Tent" starting at 6 p.m.on Sept. 18 in Lakewood and help support Cornucopia.
Cornucopia, founded in 1975, is celebrating 40 years of training people with disabilities for success in the job market. The program began with The Bin, a small fresh fruit and vegetable market on Madison Ave., and later expanded to The Nature's Bin location on Sloane Ave. Proceeds from the party will benefit Cornucopia's Vocational Training and Job Placement programs.
Enjoy hors d'oeuvres and finger foods from Nature's Bin Catering, local beers and a selection of wines. Silent auction items will be available for bidding and you will be supporting a great cause. Tickets are $100 a person and 70 percent of the ticket price is tax deductible. Contact Mary Johnson at 216-521-1282 for ticket information. Party attire is "summer cocktail." Valet parking is complimentary. The party takes place at 18228 Sloane Ave., in a tent covering the Cornucopia parking lot.

Celebrate the harvest with farm-to-table foodies

Celebrate the bounty of the season in the company of other farm-to-table foodies at Amp 150's Fall Harvest Dinner on Sept. 18.
The four-course dinner, with drink pairings, will highlight the freshest ingredients and will be served family style. The first course will offer corn variations including chorizo and corn cakes and corn fritters served with pickled blueberries. The second course includes corn soup with charred corn relish and popcorn shoots, and roasted peach salad with goat cheese mousse and vanilla vinaigrette. Entree selections are orecchiette pasta with garden tomatoes and Pecorino cheese, potato and beef cheek pierogies and pork schnitzel with red eye gravy. Dessert is peach cobbler with marscapone mousse and a nut tart with cherry gastrique.
The cost is $45 per person. Phone 216-706-8787 to make a reservation, or visit www.amp150.com. The restaurant is at 4277 W. 150th St. in the Airport Marriott Hotel.