MorningTheft

I don't think Cleveland is mentioned in the Huey Lewis song. Alot of people think the chorus is "The heart of rock n roll is in Cleveland" but its really "The heart of rock n roll is still beatin'" And they mention a bunch of cities in the song, but I don't think Cleveland is one of them.

Zat is, ow do you say, zee same place as in l'ouest-side market

I agree that the walkway is already there and could be reused. I was just thinking about creating more of a streetlife instead of putting people underground and then directly in the Q. If the front door of the casino is on Ontario, I don't think you'd ever see anyone coming in or out of it because you'd be facing 8 lanes of traffic. I went to see Dan Gilbert speak yesterday at the Q. He didn't get too much into the design or actual placement (he did say it would be at grade with ontario/huron), but he mentioned that part of the land specified in the amendment is underneath the Higbee building. Not sure if he meant that the casino just might extend underneath it or if there could be an entrance on that side as well.

Thats great to hear...I think that will be a great location and remove a large chunk of the chainlink fence on the west side of ontario. Considering that location, obviously Gilbert is going to want to make it easy to get to the Q from the casino. I know there is the walkway from TC that he can probable tap into, but if he truly wants a street presence, people will need to go out the front door, right onto Ontario. Ontario is a pretty scary street to cross, especially right before a cavs game. What does everyone think of a Las Vegas BLVD-style raised, pedestrian overpass? Maybe leave the 2nd story of the casino and walk over Ontario and down the stairs , onto the sidewalk right in front of the Q? It would also make it easier to get to E4th and Gateway from the Casino.

^Like I said, only the old casinos have those deals...and I think Barbary Coast changed names...I can't remember what it is but it surprised me last time I was there.

Where are you dining in Vegas? Also, what do you consider "expensive"? Last time I went to Vegas was in May and we stayed at ph. It was more of a midrange vegas hotel and only had 2 upscale restaurants (a steak house and Koi) the mid-range restaurants were pf changs, a similarly priced mexican place, etc. There were also some fast food options. But there were definitely no $3.99 steak dinners type places that you see in downtown las vegas or at a place like the Orleans or Terribles. I did get comped a free buffet, which for dinner would have cost, I think, $35. So while not every place is Joel Rubichon's $250 tasting menu, they aren't drawing people in with free food either. Usually when I go to vegas it's for a conference, and its at Mandalay, Venetian, Ceasar's or Bellagio. Pretty much every restaurant at those hotels are medium to higher end...definitely not trying to lure you with food specials.

^Not anymore. Most restaurants in a casino on the vegas strip are very high end and even the food court options can be fairly expensive. Dinner buffets cost $25 - $30. The MGM in Detroit is mostly high end, the Greektown has a lot more less expensive food, but its not like their giving it away. Its really only the older vegas casino's that still have the $3.99 steak dinner.

I watch DD&D every week, and rarely have I seen Guy so in awe of a place's food as he was with Lucky's...especially how ridiculously homemade everything is.

Here is a posting from another cleveland food message board. It is from Eric Williams, who is the chef and owner of Momocho: its official / last night we finalized the purchase of the happy dog on west 58 + detroit / im very excited to be a part of the new + energized gordan square district / i had an opportunity to partner up with my friends rini mcnulty + sean kilbane (who is a great foh guy + musician) / the plan is to clean + do a small "rearrangment" of the space but keeping that old bar-diner-hall feel / hope to be open by 10/17 / the focus will be on creating a cool corner bar that continues to have live music from both local + national musicians / as for the food ... we will be serving only 2 items / an all beef chicago style hot dog + fresh cut fries / the catch is we will offer 50 plus home made toppings ranging from unique ketchups + mustards, pickled vegetables, bleu cheese coleslaw, + chorizo chili, to some cool stuff like house made korean kim chee, cola + soy braised baby bok choy, or vodka saurkraut / the combinations are endless / as for the name ... possible plans for a new name that not only captures the venue but also celebrates the history of the neighborhood / thanx for all your continued support + we look forward to seeing you soon chef

^^So basically its going to go where the TC Amphitheater is? If the entrance to the hotel is on grade with Ontario, I think it be a huge addition to the gateway neighborhood. If you have to get to it through the flats or TC, then there would be no spillover.

^But I think the people who still travel to Niagra or Pittsburgh to gamble because they want to travel will be cancelled out by people from Pittsburgh and Niagra who will travel to Ohio because they want to travel.

^a friend of mine went last week and said the food was very good and the prices were reasonable. Haven't been there myself, but I agree it looks nice inside.

^^They've been transitioning for quite a while. From what I can tell not much has changed at the new space in 6 mos or so. I'm assuming the financial crisis might have slowed them down.

i live in ohio city, it's a 35 min drive there. my point was that usually one would say "needless to say I won't be back" after giving a negative review. In your case, you just said "I went to Bar Symon". So it would be needful for you to say that you won't be back, because we wouldn't assume that.

This brings up a point that has bothered me about non-vegas casinos. The casinos in Vegas give away alcohol to draw you to the games and then loosen you up so you either make bigger bets or play less than perfect strategy. Makes sense. The Detroit casinos (and most other non-vegas casinos I've been to) can't give away free alcohol. State law, I get it, no problem. But then they go and charge $5 for a Miller Lite and like $6.50 for a Jack and Coke. Why wouldn't they charge $1 for every drink?!? I'm already getting $1 chips to tip the waitress, so its not a big deal for me to give her 2 $1 chips. This would basically serve the same purpose as giving drinks away, but it would comply with state laws. Dan Gilbert, if you are reading this, make all drinks $1 for people gambling!

^why would it be needless for you to say you won't be back?

To think in such a place, I led such a life

Tony Rizzo and "The Really Big Show" on 850 are filling in for Jim Rome on Monday while Rome is on vacation. So they will be broadcast to all of Rome's affiliates nationwide (much like when the Sklar Bros or Jay Moore fill in). They must have made quite an impression when Rome was in town to visit a few weeks ago.

codomirok, where in Ohio do you live?

All fine and dandy as long as you implicitly exclude Mayfield Heights from being part of "Cleveland." The perception of coolness isn't going to lure kids from OU or Miami to Cleveland without a job waiting for them in the area--whether it's downtown or in Mayfield Heights. I don't think anyone said that. Where did someone say that? Count the number of times MorningTheft used the word "downtown." That's implicitly exclusionary against Mayfield Heights, because otherwise, the same exact paragraph could be written putting in "Mayfield Heights" instead of "downtown," and still end with the contention that it would attract college graduates to "Cleveland" instead of Chicago (they would just come to Mayfield Heights instead of downtown, but if both of the above really were "Cleveland," that wouldn't matter). Therefore, the implied premise of the statement was that "downtown" is "Cleveland," whereas "Mayfield Heights" is not Cleveland. At least, that's the implied premise unless you also assume that people would move to Greater Cleveland with no jobs awaiting, just because it was "cool." No, I said "downtown" because I know alot of grads who have job offers in Chicago and Cleveland and decide to move to Chicago because they want to live in a bustling URBAN environment. That means downtown and not a suburb. Downtown Cleveland needs more people to live and work in its boundaries in order to increase the number of restaurants, bars, clubs, stores, galleries, etc that make "cool" cities cool. Having things spread out throughout the region is not as good as having them concentrated. If a cool bar opens in Mayfield and a hip restaurant opens in Westlake and Pinkberry opens in Medina, what fncking good is it to someone that wants to frequent all three? They'll go to Chicago where all 3 are on one street.

^ The idea is to create a critical mass downtown. The more office workers that are downtown the more likely I am to open my store downtown. The more stores and jobs that are downtown, the more demand there is for downtown housing. The more demand for downtown housing, the more likely it is for a developer to renovate a building (or build a new building) into apartments or condos. The more people that live downtown, the more likely that more stores and bars and restaurants will open and downtown becomes more lively. Once downtown is more lively (and is perceived so) the more likely the college kid graduating from OU or Miami will decide to move to Cleveland instead of Chicago. Etc, etc, etc. See, its just that easy!

Not really, but probably more so than where Bar Symon is located

^The burger themed Symon restaurant is going to open in Eton on the east side.

^The new structure off of 90 near 117 is being added on to another structure that can't be more than 3 years old...business must be booming for whatever company it is. I want to say I heard they make something for the military there, but I'm not sure.

I'd play.