Friendship, Food and the Italian Festival

One of the best things since move to Ohio has been my Cheryl.
She would giver the shirt off her back for me or for you for that matter. Of course, in the process of giving said shirt, she will tell you its linage, price point and why it looks so great on her this week (her newest diet). And please return it dry cleaned, thank you. She is deliciously evil, sweet and funny. I could hate for her the stunning brown doe eyes and beautiful hair, but I can't.
Last Friday she called me out of the blue. Yay! Toby told me that if I had stayed home, I was out of my mind, so I left my family for a few hours.
Cheryl and I spent the evening in Cuyahoga Falls River Front at the Italian Festival. Yum. We had a cheap beer, shared a sausage sandwich, listened to fairly a good tenor and wandered into a couple of antique shops. And then the humidity and teenagers started to increase.

That was when we spotted LeFever’s River Grill. I hadn't been in years and she had never been. The patio over looking the river was calling us. The quiet, the decent bottle of wine and the lack of teenagers. The ladies room. It all beckoned us to come and sit.

We stared with a bottle of Lagaria Pinot Grigio. A crispy, bright wine which was perfect for a hot night. Then we decided we should snack... Cheryl and I are among other things foodie friends after all. We had brie and bread, perfectly ripe fruit, shrimp and then we decided on the sesame ahi tuna. Okay, we've all had ahi tuna by now, and it was really good. But what made this extra special was the addition of pickled ginger, so lovely and pink and crispy fried tortilla(?) noodles and a soy based sauce. The spicy ginger, salty sauce and fried noodle added a perfect side to the delicate tuna.

We had a very nice time at LeFever. Our food was very well done and the patio was peacefully away from the crowd. I did however get stuck in a ladies room stall which I blamed on the humidity and the artwork can hardly be called art, but that is only my opinion. I recommend trying the restaurant if you are ever in Cuyahoga Falls.

On our way back to our cars, we wandered through the crowd where I purchased Italian pastries for my family. I'll admit, Italian pastries are not highest on my list, but how can one go wrong with lemon cookies and almond biscotti? Then I saw something I had never seen before. Sfogliatelle. A delicate clam shell cookie with ricotta and citron. Heaven! Hurry and call Corbo's Bakery in Cleveland for this delicacy. 440-785-1097 or go to www.corbos.com