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In recent years, the Cleveland area has blossomed into a significant centrum of culinary culture, spanning all cardinal directions and everwhere in between. But Matt Mytro, formerly of Beachwood's Paladar and Cleveland's Boulevard Blue Restaurants, has decided to take things one step further - trending more towards a representation of comestible counterculture.

Mytro has taken his experience as a chef to new heights, going beyond the call of eats and venturing into the worlds of fashion and entertainment. After serving as a chef consultant at Waldorf Astoria, Red the Steakhouse, and working as a personal chef preparing meals all over the country, he and colleague Anthony Lynch created the clothing line called Stove Monkeys in 2007. The intriguing thing about Stove Monkeys, however, is the niche they have discovered: providing apparel designed to celebrate the passion of the culinary industry.

The 15th Annual Market Under Glass is being held at the Galleria at Erieview on
Thursday, April 22nd. The event runs from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm and will feature a silent auction with proceeds going towards Cleveland's Foodbank Harvest for Hunger Campaign. Tickets are priced at $65 - $85 ($100 at the door) VIP $150. Food, beer, and win will be served.

To purchase your tickets, click the following link that will take you to Cleveland Foodbank's official website.

Orchid Mania, Cleveland Botanical Garden's annual ode to nature's most exotic plant, returns to the Garden Saturday, February 27 through Sunday, March 28. The Garden is located at 11030 East Boulevard in University Circle. Visitor hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday; the Garden is closed on Mondays. The exhibit is free with general admission to the Garden: $7.50 for adults, $3 for children ages 3-12, and free for members and children under 3.

Now in its 7th year, the Garden's orchid show offers a welcome late winter respite and the opportunity for visitors to see hundreds of dazzling blooms in all their staggering variety, color, shapes and sizes. By popular demand, hundreds of orchids will once again be displayed in fanciful ways in the naturalistic setting of the Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse. And in keeping with the unlimited floral design possibilities inherent in using orchids, a dramatic, contemporary "orchid forest" will greet visitors upon entering the exhibit.

Join PAWS on Saturday November 14, 2009 for their 2nd Annual Reverse Raffle and Silent Auction. The event will be at St. Michael's Woodside Party Center. ( 5025 East Mill Road, Broadview Hts.) Tickets are $75.00/person or $130.00/couple.

The night will include a fabulous dinner, a DJ, silent auction prizes, and a chance to win the $1,500 grand prize! Dinner will be hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, rolls, salad, buffet dinner and three main entree selections, side dishes and dessert. Complimentary beer and soda all evening with complimentary wine until 7 pm.

Purchase your tickets at http://pawsohio.org.

The 29th annual Fine Lines Art Show presented by American Greetings opens tonight. The event runs until August 8th and will have 80 pieces of artwork on display. The event kickis off with Brazilian jazz musician Moises Borges will provide entertainment providing entertainment tonight.

Here is the information on the event:

Cleveland will once again play host to some of the Vatican's most treasured and prized items, some of which have never before been on public view. Opening May 31 at the Western Reserve Historical Society is the "Vatican Treasures" exhibit, which features some of the earliest known depictions of Jesus amongst a collection of Vatican art and artifacts..

One of the largest Vatican collections to ever tour North America, the exhibit features works by Michaelangelo, Bernini, Giotto, Guercino, and many others, as well as the venerated relics of Saint Peter and items from the election of Pope Benedict XVI. Some of the 200 artifacts included in the exhibit date back to as early as the 3rd century.

The exhibit is dived into four thematic sections, illustrating the evolution of the Church and the papacy beginning with Saint Peter, leading up to modern times through the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI. The exhibit places a special emphasis on founding 500 years ago of Renaissance Saint Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and the Papal Swiss Guard.

"Feast of the Seven Fishes", an Italian cookbook/graphic novel, is kicking off an East Coast tour on December 9th in Erie, PA, with additional planned stops in Cleveland, Youngstown, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. Started in 2004 as an online comic strip, the book follows the romantic and culinary adventures of an Italian-American family getting ready for and celebrating the traditional Christmas Eve seafood fest.

"Feast of the Seven Fishes" is written by Robert Tinnell, with artwork done by Ed Piskor and Alex Saviuk, and recipes by Shannon Tinnell. The book includes the entire run of the comic strip, some never-before-seen strips, and some yummy Italian recipes so you can create your own Feast.

"Feast of the Seven Fishes" is also currently in pre-production to be made into a feature length film, and is slated for a Thanksgiving 2008 release. Shooting will begin in January 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Already starting to get cabin fever as the temperature in Cleveland starts dropping? The Metroparks offer a great family outing at The Chalet in Strongsville. Tobogganing at The Chalet is an affordable and fun filled event suitable for all ages. The tobogganing kicked off yesterday and will go will run on Thursdays-Sundays all the way to the beginning of March. Tickets cost $8 for an all day fun filled day and season tickets cost $35 for adults and $25 for children. A family pass is also available
for $100 which is good for four riders. The shoots are refrigerated meaning snow will not be needed to operate the ride.

If you are planning an event, you can also rent the facilities when the tobogganing shoots are not in use to the public.

For more information the Metroparks's Chalet, please call 440-572-9990 or visit http://www.clemetparks.com/recreation/tobogganing.

Do you hear the sleigh bells? Santa Claus is making two special appearances at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on December 8 and 15 from 9:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. for 'Breakfast With Santa".

Children's crafts, face-painting, Get Close Animal Encounters and Sleigh Bell Express rides to Northern Trek are all part of Santa's big visit.

Admission is $10 per person ages 12 and older, $5 for kids ages 2 to 11 and free for children under 2.

For more information call (216) 661-6500.

This week marked the grand opening of one of the most innovative new bar/sports facilities in the Cleveland area - Mulberry's. The idea has been six years in the making, with the last two of those years spent planning and constructing the facility.

Owned by partners John Teel and Darrell Seafler, Mulberry's is not only a place to grab a few drinks, but they also offer indoor basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, kickball, floor hockey, and whiffle ball in the facility's gymnasium through Teel's other venture, Cleveland Plays.

Cleveland Plays is a social club that organizes leagues for people to play a variety of games at locations throughout Cuyahoga County. Sports leagues offered by Cleveland Plays include flag football, bowling, dodgeball, volleyball, softball, kickball, and more. Over 5,000 people are members.

Mulberry's fulfilled a need for Cleveland Plays' own gym space, as they found out that playing venues were not always available when they were needed for their organized games. John Teel credits partner Darrell Seafler's, construction skills and financial backing with getting the pair this far. Seafler also owns Seafler Home Improvement, which is based out of Lakewood.