Cleveland Food Memories
A Nostalgic Look Back at the Food We Loved, the Places We Bought It, and the People Who Made It Special
by Gail Ghetia Bellamy
- Format: Softcover, 112 pages, 8.5 x 10.5 inches
- Illustrations: 209 black-and-white photographs
- ISBN: 978-1-886228-79-5
- Price: $17.95
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Description
Remember when food was local? Cleveland companies made it, and local people sold it and ran the restaurants where we ate it. Food makes powerful memories. Mention Hough Bakery and see how quickly we Clevelanders start to drool over just the thought of those long-lost white cakes. This book collects the fondest memories of Clevelanders who still ache for treats from the past. There were Frostees in the Higbees basement. Popcorn balls at Euclid Beach. Burgers at Manners or Mawby's. Entertainment-filled nights at Alpine Village. Mustard at old Municipal Stadium . . . and so much more. Heavily illustrated.
Reviews
- “[The book] makes us yearn for what we think of as comfort foods of Cleveland--Mawby's hamburgers with grilled onions, pot roast dinner at Mills Cafeteria, and carrot salad and sticky buns at Miller's Dining Room . . . As comforting as a large piece of white-on-white cake topped with iced flowers from Hough Bakeries. Be prepared to be hungry, not only for your favorite foods, but for the special times from your childhood . . . Easy to read with lively graphics and snappy writing with bites of humor.” — Currents
- “If a picture is worth a thousand words, Gail Bellamy's new book brims with tens of thousands of memories . . . an absolute smorgasbord of “remember when” images . . . Talk about a blast from our collective culinary past. Endless images from older Clevelanders' youths populate most of the space in Bellamy's 112-page love song to things gustatory, Northeast Ohio style . . . Bellamy readily joins in the delighted laughter her book almost invariably evokes. She's a treasure, not only for the trove of knowledge she possesses, but because of what a charming character she is.” — The Plain Dealer
- “For those of us who grew up in the city-chicken capital of the world, it is a smorgasbord of memories.” — Dayton Daily News
- “You'll eat up the chapters . . . Bellamy probes the food memories of all sorts of folks throughout the book . . . Richly illustrted with photos.” — News Herald
- “Takes readers on a nostalgic trip down the memory lane of Cleveland food . . . What emerges is a picture of food's centrality to family, experience, and--not least of all--identity . . . While wistful nostalgia is the main ingredient in Bellamy's book, it benefits from a liberal seasoning of interesting facts. Extensive sidebars and even more extensive photos from the past enhance the book . . . One of the tastier morsels to savor is the diverse food heritage Cleveland brings to the table.” — Sun Newspapers
- “Bites off a big chunk, covering roughly the last 100 years of everything food in Greater Cleveland . . . while [the book is] certainly a look back, it also offers a way to contextualize Greater Cleveland's current food scene and whet our appetitites for its future.” — Twinsburg Sun
- “I put on 10 pounds just reading it. A terrific book.” — WEOL AM Radio
- “If you are looking for a great gift for someone who harkens back to the good old days, is a Cleveland trivia buff or even a youngster who hears about "crusin' down the drive-in at Manners" when grandma and grandpa were dating, then this is the book. It is full of memorable photos and interesting facts about restaurants and food products and producers from the '30s to the '60s. Nostalgia is rampant in this well-written volume, bringing back some of those "almost lost" memories . . . This delightful book takes you back to those good old days.” — Aurora Advocate
- “If you long for the days before the ubiquitous chain restaurants staked out every corner, then this book is for you . . . anyone who appreciates good food will enjoy this nostalgic look at the great food that made Cleveland famous. But fair warning, this book will make you hungry.” — Focus on Boomers and Beyon
- “Bellamy uses short quotations from several contributors that should stimulate not only our appetites but stir up our own memories of comparable places.” — The Review
About Gail Ghetia Bellamy
Gail Ghetia Bellamy is a Certified Culinary Professional with a Ph.D. in creative writing. The managing editor and food editor of Restaurant Hospitality magazine, she has also written about food for many local and national magazines and for America Online's Food & Drink Network. She has lectured extensively on food trends and food writing throughout the U.S. and has contributed to several books about food, including Fodor's/Wall Street Journal Guides to Business Travel in the U.S. and Canada and Bergh's International Digest of Gastronomy, Cookery, and Wine. An accomplished poet, she is the author of the book Victual Reality: Food Poems. She is a native Clevelander. More About Gail Ghetia Bellamy
Contains References to:
Ball Park Mustard, Brown Derby, Chef Boyardee, Cleveland Food, Cleveland Nostalgia, Euclid Beach Park, Franklin Ice Cream, Ghoulardi, Higbees, Hofbrau House, Hough Bakery, Kenny King's Diner, Kiefer's Tavern, Kon Tiki, Manner's Big Boy, New York Spaghetti House, Stouffer's