The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
New choice in Willoughby for breakfast, lunch
The Chagrin River Diner, a new breakfastand-lunch place, has opened on a corner in downtown Willoughby, at 4099 Erie St.
Open from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week, the restaurant boasts a menu that has several stylish surprises, including mussels in white wine sauce and Parmesancrusted tomatoes.
Hearty breakfasts are typified by the Lunker, at $10, with two homemade biscuits topped by three eggs, bacon and sausage links smothered in sausage gravy, topped with melted cheese and served with breakfast potatoes. Stop in to eat and introduce yourself to partners Kirk Swanson, James Turcotte and Arturo Batista Cervantes, the chef.
Details: 440-527-8452; www.chagrinriverdiner. com.
Mentor Farmers Market
The Mentor Farmers Market is now reigning from 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays on the upper grounds of Eleanor B. Garfield Park, almost a stone’s throw from the Great Lakes Mall at 7967 Mentor Ave. In addition to freshly harvested fruits and vegetables, baked goods, jams and jellies, syrups, honey and olive oils can be found.
Because this will be the last Friday of the month, creations from crafters will also be available.
Taste, learn Hungarian food
Join chef Tim McCoy to learn techniques for making both strudel and spaetzle as he leads An Evening on Lake Balaton from 6 to 8:30 p.m. June 30.
The old-world charms of Hungary will satisfy body and soul in this demonstration class at the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking, 8613 Mayfield Road, Chester Township that will impart skills for traditional sauce-making, including paprikash and vinaigrette. Menu: veal crepe with mushrooms, paprika gravy and sour cream; stuffed peppers with sausage, bacon tomatoes and Hungarian yellow and banana peppers; beet salad with chive vinaigrette; pork schnitzel with lemon-caper sauce; and spaetzle topped off by cherry strudel.
The class is $65. Register at 440-729-1100; lpscinc.com.
Picnic to music
Picnic suppers are ideal for the summer lawn concerts that abound this time of year, and the Holden Arboretum’s Sounds of Summer garden concerts beckon with a most sublime setting.
The 90-minute concerts begin at 7 p.m., with guests providing their own seating on blankets or lawn chairs. A concert caterer provides inexpensive and sometimes elegant meals for purchase, while beer and wine is also available.
Picnics from home are welcome, but adult beverages may not be brought in.
Nonmembers pay $5 admission after 5 p.m., and concerts are free for members.
The concert on July 3 features the duo of Sands & Hearn.
Details: holdenarb.org.