Nearly a quarter century ago this magazine assembled a group of influential foodies, a cartel of culinary cognoscente who had the power, prowess and presence of mind to be on the forefront of Cleveland’s gastronomic revolution. Thanks to those assembled in this now-dated photograph, our town has awakened from its stodgy meat-and-potato slumber and blossomed into a full-fledged dining destination.
In the article that accompanied this photo, Herskovitz was described as “the foodies’ favorite purveyor of meat products who was loved even more for his gourmet gossip.” So we asked this self-proclaimed yenta to bring us up to speed on some of the key players in this group.
Hiroshi and Mary Tsuji • “Hiroshi was the guy who brought quality sushi to Cleveland. They divorced and closed Shujiro. Now he runs Shuhei on Chagrin Boulevard and she ... she disappeared from the face of the earth.”
Brad Friedlander (at left) and Craig Sumers • “Together they ran Lopez Y Gonzalez. That closed and reopened down the street as Lopez. Then Craig and Brad split up. Now Craig runs Lopez and Brad owns Red [the Steakhouse] and Moxie.”
Sergio Abramof • “Look how young he was. At the time he was chef at Giovanni’s. Right after this picture, he got canned. Now he owns Sergio’s in University Circle and Saravá at Shaker Square.”
Gene Parrino • “In a word, he’s dead. I think he had a heart attack. He was founder of Vintage Wines, which was one of the first to import excellent California wine.”