Cleveland Food Memories: A Nostalgic Look Back at Great Food We Ate, the People Who Made It, and the Places Where We Bought It [Paperback]

Gail Ghetia Bellamy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003

Remember when food was local?

. . . when Cleveland companies made it, and local people sold it and ran the restaurants where we ate it?

Food makes powerful memories. Just mention Hough Bakeries 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 fellow Clevelanders who all share an ache for treats from the past. There were Frostees in Higbees’ basement. Popcorn balls at Euclid Beach. Burgers at Manners or Mawby’s or Kenny King’s. Entertainment-filled nights at Alpine Village. Mustard at old Municipal Stadium . . . and so much more. Look inside and rediscover some of your own favorite local flavors!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Cleveland Food Memories" bites off a big chunk, covering roughly the last 100 years of everything food in Greater Cleveland. -- Twinsburg Sun, December 25, 2003

If a picture is worth a thousand words, Bellamy’s book brims with tens of thousands of memories . . .an absolute smorgasbord. -- Plain Dealer, December 17, 2003

If you long for the days before the ubiquitous chain restaurants staked out every corner, this book is for you. -- Focus, March 1, 2004

Nostalgia runs deep . . . as comforting as a large piece of white-on-white cake topped with iced flowers from Hough Bakeries. -- Currents, February 19, 2004

About the Author

Gail Ghetia Bellamy is a Certified Culinary Professional with a Ph.D. in creative writing. Currently the managing editor and food editor of Restaurant Hospitality magazine, she has also written about food for many local and national magazines as well as 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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Gray & Company Publishers; 1st ed edition (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886228795
• ISBN-13: 978-1886228795
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #596,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Grade it: "Incomplete", February 18, 2005

By 

A. Grant (Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cleveland Food Memories: A Nostalgic Look Back at Great Food We Ate, the People Who Made It, and the Places Where We Bought It (Paperback)

This is a good book for baby boomers like myself to trip down memory lane. Or so I thought. I enjoyed the pictures. But I had several problems with this book. If we were in school I would have to grade it "incomplete". Some of the pictures do not indicate the location: the picture of the people lined up in front of the Hough Bakery after V-J; the two pictures of the Manner's on page 37; the old Lawson store that is pictured...and it goes on and on and on. Where were they located?

Many of her stories start off interesting then drop you and leave you hanging. She mentions that in the 1940s there were four Chandler & Rudd stores. Then she switches to Heinen's. What happened to Chandler & Rudd? There is an old ad for Fisher Foods but only a mere mention of Fazio's and no mention of Stop-N-Shop.

Many items that folks may remember get an one word mention like the Forum or Dearings, others are shown over and over again like Manners. Whatever happened to the Uncle Marty ice cream trucks? No mention of them. Some of the East Side barbeque joints of the 1950s and 60s like Whitmore's or Hot Sauce William's or Ferris'? No mention of them. Peterson Nuts. Yes. King's Nuts. No.

But the kisser is: there's a picture of Otto's Deli. And that's it. All of the places you could go and get a great corned beef sandwich? Hold on to the memory.

And don't look for them in this book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eat this book - YUM!, June 20, 2006

By 

Mimi Testen "Lover of Movies!!" (Shaker Heights, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cleveland Food Memories: A Nostalgic Look Back at Great Food We Ate, the People Who Made It, and the Places Where We Bought It (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book for exactly what it was - a walk through the Cleveland Food, Beverage and Snack businesses from the early 1900's to the eighties. As any Clevelander knows, Clark's, Mawby's and Hough Bakeries were right up there with Heaven on Earth! It was a pleasure to read snips and short histories on the many establishments that I grew up with. The book had wonderful photos and the samplings of memories about each of the places were fun to read. NO - this isn't John Grisham or Stephen King as far as literary genius - but who cares? It is a terrific collection of CLEVELAND FOOD MEMORIES! Buy the book!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tasty stroll down memory lane...., December 30, 2010

By 

Hollymom (Chagrin Falls, OH USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cleveland Food Memories: A Nostalgic Look Back at Great Food We Ate, the People Who Made It, and the Places Where We Bought It (Paperback)

Gave this book to my parents...a native West Sider, and Geauga county country girl. My dad spent the rest of the day savoring all the antecdotes and photos, thorougly enjoying the dining of his past. The book is mostly a compilation of personal memories, not as much of a factual historical listing of Cleveland food establishments....but aren't memories personal anyway? Food is universal, and even though my mom was a country girl who didn't go into the city often....they had common dining memories. A great gift for the pre-boom and boomer age. (I'm a older Gen Xer...and hardly knew any of the places listed) I put this book in a gift basket of several of the food products from the book that are still available...Humphrey Kisses, Bertman's Mustard, it was a big hit.