Cleveland travel guide
Nobody Goes to Cleveland on Vacation, So We Did: Mabel's BBQ, West Side Market, and a Cavs Game We Left Early
We'd never heard anyone say they were going to Cleveland on vacation before, so naturally we went to Cleveland on vacation, on our quest to see a game in every NBA arena. We weren't sure what to expect from the city, and it surprised us enough that we left a game the Cavs were 99.9% likely to win just to go explore it further.
Where we ate.
Mabel's BBQ
2050 E 4th St, Cleveland, OH 44115Cleveland-style barbecue, Eastern European influence
Get: Fatty brisket, ribs, a pierogi, kielbasa, and a fried appetizer described as basically pig ear fries
Genuinely its own regional style: dry rubs, sauerkraut, and pickles pull from Cleveland's Eastern European roots instead of the usual Texas or Kansas City playbook. The brisket was very tender with a smoky bark, and their house sauerkraut cut the richness without tasting overly sour. The pierogi, a Polish dumpling with onions and sour cream inside, tasted almost like a barbecue brisket dumpling; the kielbasa was hard with a good snap, meaty and peppery, closer to a white kimchi pairing than we expected. A full spread for two, with leftovers, ran $82, which we guessed would run $100 or more back home.
West Side Market
1979 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH 44113Historic public market
Get: A sausage roll and a mini cheesecake cannoli
A market that reminded us of the one we visited in Toronto, produce on one side and a chaotic mix of food vendors on the other. The sausage roll was extremely flaky for $7, and the mini cheesecake cannoli was simple, just cream cheese inside a cannoli shell, but a fun bite to graze on while walking the market.
Rocket Arena concourse
Downtown ClevelandArena food, Cavs vs. Pacers
Get: A walking taco with sour cream, cheese, and jalapeños
Arena number 22 or so on our quest (we lost count). At $15, the walking taco felt like too much for what it was, though we got it anyway since it was the first time we'd seen the concept at an NBA arena. This was also the first arena where we noticed you could actually buy lotto tickets on the concourse, and we caught Donovan Mitchell signing autographs before tip-off.
Mango Mango Dessert
3133 Payne Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114Dessert, Cleveland's Asiatown
Get: Ask what's fresh; we stopped in for dessert
Set inside Cleveland's Asiatown, a neighborhood just 10 minutes from downtown with over 150 years of history that most visitors don't know about; Chinese immigrants started settling here as early as the 1860s, many after leaving the West Coast to escape anti-immigrant hostility. Mango Mango honestly felt like it had been airlifted straight out of the San Gabriel Valley, and Asia Plaza next door, while quiet on the Sunday we visited, was still worth the short walk to see how the community has held on for so long.
Good to know before you go
- We ended up leaving the Cavs-Pacers game early with the Cavs at a 99.9% win probability, only for our Uber driver to turn on the radio and reveal the Pacers had forced double overtime and won; those same Pacers went on to become Eastern Conference champions that season.
- We were staying right across the street from Progressive Field, home of the Guardians, and noticed a lot of empty seats even on a non-sellout night.