📰 Cleveland’s most mischievous art show

Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: The first chilly evening is coming. Before it does, we’ve assembled 11 patios for one final lap around outdoor dining season 🍂🥶🍽️

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John Petkovic & Jude Perez

The vinyl revival has fueled a mania in ‘special editions’ and jacked-up prices.

Whatever.

Cleveland native Greg Wooten has 5,000 records that are all one-of-a-kind, at a fraction of the cost.

For years, he’s flipped through bins hunting for album covers that are defaced, er, personalized by vinyl vandals armed with markers and mischief.  

Come Saturday, you’ll have the chance to tap your inner vandal at Marred For Life!

The art exhibition at Sixty Bowls Gallery in Ohio City features 150+  jazz, rock, pop, hip-hop covers from Wooten’s collection.

Sponsor Blue Arrow Records is also hosting a ‘Defacement Contest’ in which you can submit you’re creations. (They have tons of covers, er, canvases.) Entries due 4 p.m. Friday. Info.

Marred for Life! – like Wooten’s 2019 book of the same name -- celebrates the found-art phenomenon.

The movement started with Marcel Duchamp’s Mona Lisa mustache painting and continues today with ‘ready-mades’, graffiti and Banksy.

“Some of these covers are legit beautiful,” says Wooten, an Los Angeles-based musician and antique dealer.

“Others are kids doodling while stoned.”

They love to deface Simon and Garfunkel.

“They go for the eyes,” says Wooten. “Beatles albums – especially the White Album, because it’s all white – also get the treatment.”

Wooten played in Slam Bamboo and with musicians Michael Stanley and Trent Reznor while living in Cleveland.

He operates a gallery in Hollywood and is the pied piper of art’s most unlikely movement – resulting in some weird twists.

“People try to pull the wool over my eyes,” he says. “They doodle in their van, run in and try to sell it to me  – and I’m like, ‘Dude, I can smell the fresh sharpie.’”

That’s not to say there isn’t a revival in defacing records.

“People interact with music and let their freak flag fly,” he says. “Then they start defacing.”

Something always snaps when the gap between the ruling class and the public grows so wide that it can’t sustain itself anymore.

We saw the public backlash build against data centers and Flock – and the message is not lost on City Hall.

Activism, protests and hundreds of comments against on social media posts by Mayor Bibb resulted in a temporary moratorium on all data centers.

And while City Council approved a new contract for Flock, it came with came strings attached.

Six of 15 voted no and even supporters criticized the controversial company amid pressure from activists.

On the surface, Flock and data centers are separate issues. But the threads of opposition are intertwining in Cleveland.

Our next 216 Insider will look at rising distrust in technological power and how the stripping away of natural resources and privacy has created a grassroot network that is pushing back on power.

It’s hard enough to find a pay phone anywhere. The Whip has one in the dining room and uses it as a business phone.

Welcome to a time machine that feels like home.

Open since 1940, the diner is a gem from many eras ago – when Parma Heights was a village of 1,330 and Pearl Road was a rural route.

The cash register is the same one used when the Whip debuted as an ice cream shop – when a scoop and cone cost a nickel.

Judging from the plates on the wall you’d think the Rat Pack still ruled Vegas and LBJ is president.

“No changes allowed,” the waitress laughed. “Customers want everything to stay as it is.”

Mohammad Alam bought the Whip in 1979 and preserved the décor, and the menu of comfort classics – from meatloaf to stuffed cabbage, stews, omelets and hotcakes.

The cream-cheese-stuffed French toast is a doozy.  

After my third bite, the pay phone rang.

I scanned the dining room, red-vinyl tables, the knickknacks.

It felt like some other time calling – far away, yet homey.

It’s too soon to declare the last al fresco supper. But the clock is ticking on summer and who knows what the weather does from here. Check out these charming spots for outdoor dining…

Astoria Market and Café: Mediterranean market and café boasts a patio that pairs well with the cuisine and vibes of this place. Take your time, enjoy.

Bruno's: When in Cleveland, do as the Romans – at this Italian patio adorned with flowers, ivy, iron gates, a fountain and cappuccino on the table.

Don's Pomeroy House: The grove of thick trees and luscious plants amid this mid-19th century mansion feels like a breezy day in some old southern novel. One lemonade, sir.

L'Albatros:  With its creative mix of stylish décor and leafy, organic charm, the patio of this French eatery is reminiscent of something in swank South Beach.

La Dolce Vita: Al fresco dining is perfect for people watching. The patio behind the restaurant is snazzy and manicured. Ah, like Fellini said, “the good life.” 

Luxe: It’s like some South Beach pad. Except that you never feel like you’re crashing someone else’s party. Stylish and cool without being pretentious.

Olesia’s Taverne of Richfield: This circa-1886 building boast iron gates, greenery, a spacious layout – along with a superb Continental menu and the vibes of a 19^th-century novel.

Pickwick & Frolic Restaurant: The eclectic menu -- small plates, flatbreads, mains and stellar cocktails – lets you people watch and dig in at your own pace.

Poppy: The eatery boasts a homey vibe and sophisticated menu – and charming café seating and a carriage house bar on the patio.

Sarita: The immaculate greenery, flowers, vines and overhead trellis at this secluded getaway do a good job of telling the world: Leave me alone

Vosh/Georgetown: You’ll think you’re lounging around in a park with all the tall trees and brick walls blocking out the noise of Detroit Avenue and the world.

👉 View Listing on Zillow

Forget Progressive Field, Rocket Arena, the Browns’ rental unit on the lake.

The Cleveland sports scene is in purgatory:

Browns: They lost Saturday’s pre-season opener to the Bears. But all eyes were on the passers. Deshaun Watson was good, not great. Shedeur Sanders struggled. Fans still love love the latter, will probably get the former. The slog continues.  So we wait.

Cavs: They traded guard Dennis Schröder to free up cash to go after their two top targets: Wings Peyton Watson and Jonathan Kuminga. But first, they’re trying to trade Max Strus to free up salary-cap space. So we wait.

Guardians: They’re lifeless and 8-19 since the All-Star break. They should be in hell, but the American League is so bad that they’re only 1.5 games out of the playoffs. So we wait.

Clevelanders embrace summer with a hug at Edgewater Beach in 1972.

Ooh and don’t forget! Tag @The216Scoop on Facebook & @scoopcle on Instagram to get your photos in the Scoop!

74 °F 🌡️ 65 °F | ⛅ (Partly Cloudy) | 20% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 11 mph NNW (≈ 10 knots)

78 °F 🌡️ 67 °F | ☀️ (Sunny) | 20% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 8 mph W (≈ 7 knots)

80 °F 🌡️ 67 °F | ⛅➡️⛈️ (PM Thunderstorms) | 20% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 14 mph SSW (≈ 12 knots)

_{Please note that weather conditions can change rapidly. For the most up-to-date information, consider checking a reliable local weather service.}

Home vs. Giants, 6:40 PM August 18 (Tuesday)

Home vs. Giants, 6:40 PM August 19 (Wednesday)

Home vs. Giants, 1:10 PM August 20 (Thursday)

Away vs. Rockies, 8:40 PM August 21 (Friday)

Away vs. Rockies, 8:10 PM August 22 (Saturday)

Away vs. Rockies, 3:10 PM August 23 (Sunday)

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