Cleveland Metroparks Zoo & Sokolowski's University Inn

So, woke up early this morning to an unexpected day off which was honestly very nice after a long week of, as Chuck Barris would say "more stuff".  All is good, no worries.  We headed out to one of our favorite Cleveland landmarks; The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  I have been coming to the zoo longer than I can even remember.  The zoo has been an affordable option for Cleveland residents since the 1800's.  However, I have only been coming since the 70's as a kid.  I remember back in the day when you could feed the animals.  We would stop off at the Wonder Bread outlet store and pick up countless loaves of the stuff to throw to the lions, tigers, bears and monkeys.  This was way before the days when animals were on silly restricted healthy diets.  I am not 100% certain when the change took place but I think it is funny to look back and think holy shit what were we thinking?  It probably saved on the food bills for the zoo but I am guessing the animals had shorter lifespans and were fat as fuck.  

I remember the times of the Zoo Key which at the time was high tech gadgetry.  They sounded like a busted Taco Bell Drive-thru, and spouted little snippets and factoids about the animals that were probably bullshit like "The Polar Bears love eating stale Wonder Bread".  I don't know or remember because we never had the coveted Zoo Key, we obviously spent too much money on Wonder Bread to get a key.  I knew the zoo layout like the palm of my hand as a kid.  To this day my favorite animals are still in their same spots.  The zoo itself has changed over time including multimillion dollar projects including the Rainforest and the Elephant Crossing which is being built now.  The zoo itself is always being updated in one way or another.  I still want to know what happened to the old monkeys on Monkey Island though.  I think some weird fringe conspiracy shit went down there, but then again I am nuts.  

The mission today?  Go see the lonely Polar Bear.  There is nothing sadder in life than a lonely bear.  I think the bears name is Aurora if I am not mistaken but the poor thing just lays around most of the day with no interaction except from the folks that come to visit.  It is kind of sad to see.  So hey Zoo..go get another Polar Bear dammit.  Steal one of the ones at Erie or something.  While we were in the Northern Trek we checked out the various other bears, and the sea lions who were very active except for one guy who looked hilarious sleeping in the sun.  You had to take the Zoo Tram to get to the Trek due to the bridge they have been building for what seems like 20 years above that general area.  That was fine by me because that hill totally sucks anyhow.  It was quiet and we were the first tram up to the Trek so it was nice to have the place to ourselves for a bit.  

Next stop was over to the Dinosaurs! exhibit.  No, I am not yelling it is "!" Dinosaurs.  Honestly these guys are pretty cool.  They scared the bejesus out of some of the kids, as they should, and others loved them.  They even had a couple of them that spit out water if you are so inclined to be spat on by a dinosaur this is the place for you.  They are completely interactive with lifelike movement and dino-growls.  I love this new little exhibit however I think it's bullshit people are more into the fake animals than the real thing.  I think it is really there to make up for the crowd pleasing Elephants since they are in Columbus waiting for their new home.  The new Elephant crossing looks amazing for the record and I can't wait to see the grand opening.  The Zoo is an amazing place for all ages to enjoy.  It's an affordable option for something fun to do all day.  You can tackle the zoo in one day or make a weekend of it checking out the main zoo one day and the Rainforest another.  Either way you do it, it is a Cleveland treasure.

On the way home we decided to hit Sokolowski's University Inn for lunch.  I have been here many times but this is the first time this year.  It is a popular place for lunch because it is cheap, affordable and pretty amazing.  It is a cafeteria style eatery; grab a tray and go on down the line.  Salads and deserts are first, then the soda fountain then comes the entrees.  I had to grab a rice pudding first off which was excellent.  I saw they had Vernors Ginger Ale on the fountain which I had to get.  Where do you ever see that?  For lunch I had the Salisbury Steak with beefy mushroom and onion gravy (phenomenal), mashed potatoes (so-so), and potato pancakes (awesome).  The Salisbury Steak is more like a mini-meatloaf smothered in a wonderful rich thick beef gravy.  I get it every time and will never deviate from that menu option.  I will change side dishes here and there because they have some of the most amazing pierogies around.  

The portions are enormous and you won't ever leave hungry.  The one thing I have never figured out is the drink thing.  The fountain pop thing is in the middle of the line making it impossible to jump back in for a refill.  So I don't know if you can even get refills because you would be going against the lunch rush tide in order to get a refill.  I never asked to be honest but I was super thirsty as I drank my Vernors way too fast.  So my drink to lunch ratio was all out of whack which was bothersome.  So here's the deal, as I tell the Cleveland institution that is almost 100 years old how to do business, get bigger cups or figure out a way to make it easier to get a refill.  It is irritating.  Other than that I love you.  You are a long standing Cleveland tradition serving up good old fashioned homestyle ethnic eats.  I think every one in Cleveland needs to eat here once in their life.  It should be a right of passage to be able to call yourself a citizen of the city.