Another national outlet "discovers" Cleveland's food scene

The "innovative" folks on the coasts once again have had an "aha!" moment after, once again, stumbling on the Paris of the Midwest while detouring through flyover country. Why they haven't made this discovery earlier probably has something to do with that ex-Clevelander in their New York office who doesn't have enough bad things to say about the city she left while simultaneously griping about hot garbage on the sidewalk and fantasizing about moving to Denver. Oh well, the grass is always greener.

Thrillist Field Guide published their article "Why You Need to Care About Cleveland's Food/Drink Scene," revealing everything that Clevelanders have taken for granted for years and marveling over just how many more things there are to do here per-capita than, say, San Antonio.

Cleveland is now a destination food city... and nobody seems to know.

 Hello? We're still here. And we can hear you! Well, enough with the "I told you so." This is unequivocally good news, and it adds to the growing pile of positive national news about our food scene, even if they're a bit late to the party. The New York Times has had us in their crosshairs for years as one of those "unorthodox" places to visit that you'd never tell your mother about. The Chicago Tribune (via LA Times) uses generous amounts of exclamation points to express its shock that there are still operating businesses here. But that's ancient history, back in 2008, and much has changed for the better since then.

We hit dive bars, markets, community gardens, beer gardens, and a ton of restaurants... some that helped define the city's culinary landscape, and some that are redefining it. Then we slept for a week. This is what we found... and best of all: it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Well, I'm glad they enjoyed our average Fridays. Maybe someday they'll come back and discover we have a music scene as well. Or an airport, with direct flights to New York no less! I suppose a rag that has exclusive coverage of the Hamptons (and Dallas!) before Cleveland is probably a bit biased towards big centers of population and money rather than places rife with creativity and quirkiness. If you're dying to waste a few minutes of your life, check out how hoppin' the Dallas section is. Highly recommended reading: ten things you didn't know about Big Red.

Thanks for "discovering" us, Thrillist. We'll still be here, doing what we've always done, below the radar of the east coast as always. Maybe some day you'll come cover us. We have food trucks too!