It’s not surprising that the Ritz Carlton Cleveland, with its impeccable Midwestern warmth and old-world charm, is the place to stay when you’re in town. And if you are planning a visit anytime from May to November, you will find an unexpected treat: the not-to-be-missed Fresh Market Package, a hands-on guided tour of Cleveland’s historic West Side Market, with Executive Chef Richard Sören Arnoldi, who picks things up, feels them, smells them and narrates along the way. “I always look for what’s freshest,” he says, as you wind through stalls of local Lake Erie cheeses, Amish Country meats, gorgeous local produce and Ohio City Pasta and pierogi. Sören has no problem concocting the best West Side Market recipes from his guests’ selections. Whatever you select turns into a delicious three-course lunch.
A lot is changing right now in Cleveland, but some things stay the same: you can count on the West Side Market, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, to remain as irresistible—and integral—a part of the community as it always has been, since opening in 1912, and to offer, as Chef says, “Excellent local stuff.”
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