"Three years later I was a home economist working for The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI) at 55 Public Square. There I became acquainted with the multitude of restaurants which Stouffer's (founded in Cleveland!) operated, because one of them was right inside the door on the first floor of CEI's building. We girls rarely -- or never! -- ate there on our own, though, perhaps because it was the place where our supervisor took us for our annual performance review, as well as any other time she had something to say to us about our performance. I couldn't tell you a single food item I ate during those lunches, but I will never forget what she ordered every single time -- a bowl of mushroom soup with melba toast!

"A short, narrow street -- Frankfurt, maybe -- ran west off Public Square in front of part of the Illuminating Company building. On it was a restaurant called The Pewter Mug. It was part of the Pewter Mug chain, and was where we girls would most often go when we wanted to eat lunch out. Their meals came with a salad with the Pewter Mug's signature creamy garlic dressing, and frugal customers like we were knew that we could also just order a salad separately.

"Another restaurant was also in the shadow of the Illuminating Company building -- The Lincoln Inn. It was a bit north and east of CEI, and was largely frequented by attorneys.

"Just east of Public Square on Superior Ave, was a large place called The Roundtable. Circa 1970 it was being used as a gathering space for young professionals looking for a band and alcoholic beverages but I think that it was a restaurant before that.

"There was also a restaurant inside The May Company, a huge department store east of Ontario St. between Euclid Ave. and Prospect Ave. It was called The Mayfair Room and was definitely still in existence in the late 1970s (and maybe beyond that) because I remember going there during that period with a "Buy One Lunch, Get One Free" coupon from the Entertainment Coupon Book.

"As you know, Otto Moser's was on E. 4th St. between Prospect and Euclid. I don't think that many people knew that such a cool, historic place could be a stone's throw from the pawn shops and prostitutes of the 1970's Prospect Ave. we all knew. A co-worker from CEI introduced me to the establishment and at his suggestion I ordered a corned beef sandwich, which was scrumptious.

"Of course plenty Euclid Ave. shoppers ate at the lunch counters at two of the downtown dime stores -- Woolworth's and Kresge's. That's where my Grandma and I ate when she took me on a downtown outing. We just had hot dogs, as I recall, but I'm pretty sure that there were 'Blue Plate Specials' in those days, too….

"The Forum Cafeteria on E. 9th St. was also a busy lunch spot, but to me, it was just what its name implied -- a cafeteria.

"…Circa 1969/70, Stouffer's opened one of its Grog Shops on Short Vincent. It was popular for drinking, dancing and 'picking up' someone of the opposite sex, but I don't remember whether or not it served food.

"The Roxy Bar and Grill was down E. 9th St. E. 9th, perhaps where the former burlesque house was, at Chester.

"There was another Pewter Mug near St. John's Cathedral (E. 9th and Superior) but on the opposite side of the E. 9th and maybe a bit north.

"Stouffer's Top of the Town restaurant at Erieview Plaza, though, was the restaurant 'to die for on E. 9th St. My first experience there was early in 1966; the occasion was Junior Ring Day at Nazareth Academy in Parma Heights. After the ceremony at the school, small groups of girls got together for dinner (and often a movie) afterwards at the best place they could afford. In my friends' case, it was taking the bus downtown to eat at Top of the Town, (and then flagging down a taxi to get us to the Yorktown Theater in Old Brooklyn in time for a late screening of My Fair Lady.)

"A couple of decades later I enjoyed revisiting Top of the Town with vouchers I'd won from WQAL's Larry Morrow. In the era before anyone could easily look up the answers on an electronic device, Larry hosted a couple of weekly trivia contests on his morning show. Monday Morning Mind Mania was the one which ran the longest, but winners in both contests received super prizes, including theater tickets and the vouchers to fine dining establishments like Top of the Town and The French Connection (another Stouffer facility in the Terminal Tower complex).

"There was also a restaurant even closer to the Lake on E. 9th St. than the one in Erieview. It was called Captain Frank's, and was a 'casual dining' seafood place. I ate there in 1972 with the very small refund we got back from our income taxes. As quaint as it appeared on the outside, however, the eatery's food was a far cry from the sophisticated seafood restaurants in today's Cleveland. Most -- if not all -- of Captain Frank's offerings were fried, and my French-fried oysters were very greasy.

"… Moving on to the restaurants in 'The Theatre District', I'm first of all remembering that The Halle Brothers Company also had a restaurant in its department store. It was called The Geranium Room.

"In the early 1970s, when the revitalization of Play House Square was just getting underway, Swingo's opened in the Theatre District. It had the reputation of being a very classy place to eat, but my one-time experience there was disappointing. The other lady in our party wanted to have the experience of tableside cooking and she ordered something called "Broccolini". Although it was a weeknight, the restaurant was quite crowded and it would not have been easy for the 'chef' to get his cooking cart over to our table. So he prepared her food in an aisle a few tables away, and her whole reason for making that choice from the menu was lost. I think that the owner, Jim Swingo, had restaurants with the same name in a couple of other Greater Cleveland locations.

"I'm not sure if an ice cream parlor qualifies for a book about Cleveland restaurants, but for many years (maybe many decades) there was a place down that way called Bukkair's. I don't actually know how to spell it, or even exactly where it was, but I do know that in the 1960s one of my friends often appeared in theatrical productions at The Hanna Theater, and after the performances which her parents attended, they would all go to Bukkair's for ice cream." Editor's note: The restaurant was Boukair's See Sweets Restaurant at 1520 Euclid Ave.