Fall brings apple cider and pumpkins to West Side Market.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, West Side Market opened in 1912, dazzling visitors with its lofty ceiling of yellow brick, a wide concourse arrangement that houses over 100 vendors, and a 137-foot clock tower that dominates the area around it.

Since 1912, West Side Market has housed vendors of fresh foods and produce in an architectural gem of a building.

It’s estimated that over one million people visited West Side Market last year.  We’re  thrilled to be counted among the guests this year as the whole marked amazed us with colorful produce, unusual offerings, and artful displays.

Up first — fruits and veggies. (And if you don’t know passion fruit from figs, someone will patiently explain all. We know because we asked a lot of questions.)

Inside the main hall, the variety is endless.  From bacon with flavorings you’ve never heard of to links and sticks of sausages. And yes, even chicken feet.

And Bert’s favorite, though, had to be this packed-with-goodness apple provolone stuffed tenderloin!

Stuffed tenderloin bundled and ready to take home.

Baked breads were ready to purchase whole or sliced as were several varieties of fresh, homemade pasta.

And what could be wrong with a bagel topped like a pizza?  Nothing we could find.

From the Pizza Bagel Lady’s booth: yum!

Sweets like French macarons had delectable names like Salted Caramel, Red Velvet Cake, Pistachio, and Dreamy Mango.

Cookies were big: you could hardly get your hand around them!

How many calories?

Pretzel sticks lay in waiting, covered in chocolate and nuts, drizzled with icing.  To die for.

At last: a snack you can eat while walking!

But I really wanted to try something I had never tasted:  a perogi.

Perogies ready to take home — but where could I find one cooked?

It was easy to find ready-to-cook perogies, but not the ones ready to eat.  When I asked the perogi vendor where I could taste one, she suggested that we have breakfast in West Side Market Cafe, the restaurant in the back.  Which we did.  Immediately.

West Side Market Cafe in Cleveland, Ohio

After ordering a plate of corned beef hash with an over-medium fried egg and crispy toast, I felt a little sheepish asking for a perogi on the side.  But how else could I taste one?  The waitress brought out two freshly cooked perogies so we could both try one.

On a diner plate (what else?) was piled-high corned beef hash at West Side Market Cafe

One bite of a hot perogi — a tasty bit of fried dough wrapped around creamy potatoes — and I knew I could live in an area that served this on a regular basis.  Carb heaven, perhaps.  But soooo good.

A perogi on the side!!!

If you live in the neighborhood, don’t take West Side Market for granted.

And if you’re a visitor, start your day here.  Just be sure to bring along a cooler.  You’ll want to take something — or a lot of things — home for later!

Historic West Side Market filled with edible treasures!

Do you have a favorite market you like to visit?  If so, we’d love to hear where.

Other markets we love:

Decatur Farmers’ Market in Alabama

Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Capital City Public Market in Boise, Idaho

For more information:

West Side Market, 1979 West 25th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113; westsidemarket.org

Open Year-round:  Mondays and Wednesdays, 7 to 4; Fridays and Saturdays, 7 to 6; Sundays, 10 to 4; Closed Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Chad gets ready to move the chalkboard at the new Elm & Iron OTR in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati’s old-but-now-new Over the Rhine section has quite enough going for it to warrant a visit by any tourist or city resident.  In fact, it’s almost pretty in an urban sort of way with freshly painted, architecturally rich buildings and edgy businesses springing up in tiny spaces, spilling out onto sidewalks where musicians entertain passersby day or night.  But one new business got our attention just from the creative displays in the front window, luring us in for a closer look:  Elm & Iron OTR.

Open only four months, Cincinnati’s Elm & Iron OTR is a branch of the original Elm & Iron in Columbus that owner Dan McClurg established  a mere two years ago.  According to an employee who spoke to me by phone after our visit, McClurg had been shopping extensively for an eclectic mix of industrial/vintage/urban pieces for his own home outside Columbus, Ohio, when he decided he may have stumbled upon something that would appeal to others.  And he was right.

A deliberate mix of metal, ceramic, and vintage pieces stand next to an aged brick wall in Elm & Iron OTR in Cincinnati

Lofts in Over the Rhine (and other parts of the city) may hold the now-discovered vintage stools with leather seats, rusty bicycles, metal cans, and funky monkeys McClurg stocks in his stores.  Add to the mix the art of creative store designer Alethea Yeisley who arranges/poses/stacks McClurg’s finds to form interesting vignettes and the positive energy of store manager Hart Neely, and you have a hit in Cincinnati.

Creative vignettes of vintage pieces draw you in for a closer look at Elm & Iron OTR.

When you first enter the door, a 1960 Morris Minor greets you, inviting you to smile reminiscently if you’re old like us or marvel at this relic if you’re young as we imagine most of the paying customers at Elm & Iron OTR probably are.

Vintage 1960 Morris Minor greets you as you enter Elm & Iron OTR. Want to take a test drive?

But even if you don’t buy a thing, you can’t help but be fascinated at the collected whimsy everywhere.  Take a look.

I wondered what sold best.  Was it wall maps that would look chic on exposed brick walls of an urban loft?  Metal letters?  Bentwood chairs?   Cincy memorabilia?  No, it’s candles in repurposed wine bottles from a company called Rewined candles. So, maybe a mix of old and new, vintage and created-to-look-vintage, and urban, sort-of-citified stuff sells well at Elm & Iron OTR.

Pleasant check-out area with wall map decor and vintage counter at Elm & Iron OTR.

Whatever it is you find to love about this store — creative displays, interesting found objects, or purchased new-to-look-old goods that Dan McClurg snarfs up on his shopping sprees — you’re sure to remember this special place in Cincinnati.  We sure do.

Could these have belonged to budding Reds fans? Well, maybe!

For more information:

Elm & Iron OTR, 1326 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH; (513) 954-4217; Facebook: Elm & Iron OTR

Featured on Monday Escapes #18 at My Travel Monkey.  For more entries, click here.