The Hungarian Scout Festival, Cserkesznap, pronounced Chair-kayz-nop, which means scout day, is yet another reason I love Cleveland. The first thing that strikes you about the festival is that people will speak to you in Hungarian. They try Hungarian first and if you look baffled they switch to English. But no matter what language you speak the people are friendly and inviting. The next time you go to your local ethnic festival see how much of the language is spoken. That's all fine and good, you may be saying to yourself, but what about the food? I'm glad you asked because I discovered something interesting the last time I went. I knew that the paprikas, the gulyas, the stuffed cabbage, the Hungarian pastries and crepes were all made by the people that ran the festival. In other words Hungarians. What I didn't know was that they made the sausage as well. When I asked one of the guys doing the cooking where the sausage came from, he informed me it came from a pig. He wasn't just grilling the sausage, he was one of the guys that made the sausage for the festival. I got the recipe from him, it's all by taste not measurement, and I will try my hand at making some this fall. Do I have a point doing all this bragging about the Hungarian Scout Festival? Yes. There is a different level of ethnic intensity in Cleveland than in most of the cities in which I've lived and it's evident in it's festivals, neighborhoods and markets. It's just one more reason why I love Cleveland.

Why I love Cleveland

Now that I've told you that it was a mistake for LeBron James to leave Cleveland in the previous post, I will now tell you why I love Cleveland which I will do in individual posts. My lovely wife and I make a trip up to Cleveland once or twice a year for various events and attractions. Let's start with the West Side Market. The West Side Market started as an open air market in the mid 1800's and the large structure you see to your left was completed in 1912. It's row after row of bakeries, butcher shops, seafood, spice stores and other goodies. My favorite being Dohar's meats, a Hungarian butcher shop that operates only out of the West side market. They have several varieties of fresh and smoked sausages and also carry Hungarian style bacon and salami and other things to fortify us paprika based life forms. And, they speak Hungarian.

You need some veggies? The vegetable stands run the length on the building on the north side of the market. The vendors are of any ethnic flavor you can think of. These folks are selling stuff. They do not wait quietly for you to pick up a pepper or an apple, they're yelling out prices, reaching over the fruit and vegetables to hand you samples. They compliment ...."these strawberries are as beautiful as you are" They admonish ..."I can't believe you are not going to buy this corn" a man said to us after we walked away from what was in his mind the best deal on corn in the history of the world. Towards the end of the day the prices start to come down as they would in any proper market. 2 for 5 becomes 2 for 4. That's not good enough? They make special price just for you! All these things make the West Side Market a very interesting place to say the least. But there is another thing which completes the experience, authenticity. You get the feeling not much has changed over the nearly 100 years of operation. It's being used much the same way in 2010 and it was in 1912. You walk around and see folks from all over the economic scale speaking a variety of languages. The only comparable market in my area is Findlay Market in Cincinnati. It was recently renovated and all they did was pretty the thing up. Adding seating areas and doo-dads to fancy up the place. Now it's just a tarted up market in a bad neighborhood. Having said that there are still gems in Findlay Market. Silverglades and Lukens Seafood and Poultry, Castellini's produce, the Arabic store and an asian store are all still there. No such thing has happened to the West Side Market and you can not only see the difference, you can feel it. So, take a trip to the West Side Market in Cleveland and experience it for yourself.

You made a huge mistake Lebron

You'll excuse me for being extremely late to the party on this one. Lebron James, in my humble opinion, has made a terrible mistake. I'm motivated to comment on this now because I've just returned from a trip to Cleveland. LeBron, as you know, has decided to play basketball in Miami rather than Cleveland. If you are not familiar with the city of Cleveland it may seem like a good decision. Phooey. Cleveland sports fans are loyal like no other sports fans in the world and LeBron was one of their heroes. The man would have been treated as a god and all he would have needed to do is play good basketball, keep his nose clean and get involved in the community. They would have erected statues to the man. In fact, when he was still there, on one entire side of the arena where the Cavaliers play was a huge picture of LeBron. Needless to say it's gone now. I understand that Miami is the sexier selection and Cleveland winters are harsh, I get that, but some things are more important than flash and glitter. Cleveland is the city that LeBron grew up in. A son of Cleveland if you will. I'm not saying he owes it all to the city, but a little loyalty would be nice. To add insult to injury, he booked a slap Cleveland in the face hour long special on ESPN called The Decision. In the end, LeBron chose more money over his hometown and it's my opinion that it's one "decision" he will not be proud of at the end of his career.