Eat*Drink*Cleveland: Mamma Santa's

Shop Local - Little Italy Art Walk

Now that Thanksgiving (and all the leftovers!) are done, holiday shopping is kicking into high gear. Cleveland has so many great locally owned shopping destinations! One of my favorite places is Little Italy - not only for the food - but also for the quaint local shops and art galleries. This weekend is the annual Winter Art Walk. If you haven't been to Mamma Santa's in awhile, it's worth a stop. They remodeled the right half of the restaurant and it's looking great! Plus if it has Santa in the name, it's gotta be perfect for a Christmas shopping feast.

Or if you haven't been to Washington Place Bisto, this might be the perfect time to check it out. You can get a soup, sandwich and salad for $11.50 at lunch.

Lots of great shops and restaurants to choose from. One of my Must Do's when I'm in Little Italy is to get a cannoli. You can even have your own Taste Off and see if you prefer Corbo's or Presti's.

Stop in to Little Italy Wines for a nice selection of wines and craft beers. They also have lots of wine themed decor, bottle openers and the like that would make any wine lover on your holiday gift list happy. Grab a bottle to go and some cheese and you have a party in the making. They are known for stocking an unusual but super tasty variety that recently went through a name change. Here's the info from their email blast:

THE CHEESE - THE NAME - THE CHANGE

Our beloved Cheese, BellaVitano, has a NEW NAME. It is now called: MontAmore. According to Sartori, the manufacturer, there is another cheese in their catalogue with the same name, so they changed, "this" BellaVitano to MontAmore.

One of the complaints that plague Little Italy is the parking. You'll be happy to know that valet parking is available for the Art Walk.

For a chance to win a stupendous shopping extravaganza celebrating our very own 216, check out the Chef's Widow blog here. She get's a little Oprah and is giving away all kinds of goodies to one lucky shopper.