#CLEevents: Grapes and Ale 2015 Recap

Grapes and Ale is always one of my very favorite events. The combination of tons of great wine and beer and delicious food at Progressive Field is hard to beat. A lot of other folks think so too - this year there were a record breaking number of attendees - over 1,500!

This year, the new stadium layout really enhanced the experience. The event was more spread out and really took advantage of all the cool additions. I especially loved seeing Barrio and Sweet Moses showing off their new digs for our event. Thankfully the weather even cooperated for us in spite of it being the rainiest June in Cleveland history.

The band was the best yet! Ace Molnar had the whole place dancing and singing a long all night. They play a great mix of music so there was something for everyone and tons of people were dancing.

As usual there were so many wines we only were able to sample a few. One vendor even offered sangria. Yes please! We also purchased tickets and sampled some of the many craft beers offered. Truly this is an event where the choices will make your head spin.

And last but certainly not least, let's talk about the food. MUCH better selection this year - really enjoyed the variety and the additional vendors were much needed. All the drinking and dancing makes people hungry.

This was the show stopper of the night:

Not only did this burger have a sparkler on top, it also included a pierogi. The "If You're From Cleveland Burger You Already Know" from Tree House in Avon was a delicious and fun burger and had everyone buzzing.

Hodges had my favorite bite of the night - pork rinds with pimento cheese. Super fun, delicious and easy to eat too.

Our Lady of the Wayside's Grapes and Ale 2015 #GrapesandAle

from top left: Hodges Pork Rinds with Pimento Cheese and Hot Pepper Jelly, Horseshoe Casino's Brisket Wellington, Tree House's If You're from Cleveland You Already Know Burger and Corleone's Tiger Shrimp with Chipotle BBQ Sauce and Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Barrio was there but the line was crazy ass long All.Night.Long. Until they ran out. No way were we wasting our whole night in line so we skipped that and doubled down on desserts: ice cream from Sweet Moses and pastries from Beckers. For the first time, the bakery wasn't the first thing to run out. My sweet tooth was very thankful.

We had so much fun running into friends, dancing and hitting the photo booth (another nice addition!)

Lauren, Michelle, Frank and MacKenzie all made this an extra fun night!

This year's event was even better than in past years. Loved the additional room, more water available, coffee stations, more plentiful desserts, great music and expanded selection of food. Still can use some work on getting in (LINES!!) and accessing food (LINES!! )but otherwise another FANTASTIC year.

Way to go Our Lady of Wayside! We're already looking forward to next year.