Chocolate nirvana

Dave “Coondog” O’Karma, a Cleveland Magazine contributor and fixture of the Northeast Ohio competitive-eating scene, will emcee the first-ever National Brownie Eating Championship at The Northeastern Ohio Chocolate Festival on Mother’s Day weekend. “Cleveland’s a major league town,” says O’Karma. “We need a major league eating competition.” Think your stomach’s as big as your eyes? Register for the contest at www.competitiveeaters.com. The festival,hitting the Cleveland Heights Community Center May 10 and 11, will also feature The Mustard Seed Market’s Bev Shaffer, author of “Brownies to Die For!”

Moxie gets red
California vintner Steve Burgess is bringing the fruits of his family’s labor toMoxie as part of a six-course wine-tasting dinner May 13.Burgess Cellars, which produces red wine exclusively, will supply a Merlot, a Meritage and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The cost is $100 per person, all-inclusive. Call (216) 831-5599 for reservations.

Cooking with the Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic has another notch on its belt. The International Association of Culinary Professionals selected the “Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide & Cookbook” as a finalist for the prestigious 2008 IACP Cookbook Awards. Nominated in the “Health and Special Diets” category, this book by Bonnie Polin and Frances Giedt mixes heart-related diet and fitness strategies with recipes such as beef chili with butternut squash.Dr. Steven Nissen, a contributor to the cookbook and chair of the Clinic’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, calls it “real, practical advice based on science, not fad diets.”

A new post
Michael Fiala, previously of the Inn at Turner’s Mill, is going green as executive chef at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association. Tuesday through Friday, schoolchildren visit and get hands-on learning about sustainability and biological life cycles. Fiala believes the park’s food service should practice what it preaches. He has set a goal for the start of next school year to make the menu 10 to 15 percent locally sourced. Fiala wants to find a way to make local foods, which he says provide the best nutrients and flavors, appealing to kids — “even if that means eating a heck of a lot of carrots and lettuce.”

Openings:

#1 Pho, 7778 W. 130th St., Middleburg Heights, (440) 888-2150
87 West 2, 287 Crocker Park Blvd., Westlake, (440) 250-2334
2020 Martini Café, 2020 Center St., Cleveland, (216) 776-0202
Brothers Lounge, 11609 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, (216) 226-2767
Cedar Lee Pub & Grill, 2191 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, (216) 371-1713
The Original Pancake House, 3000 Westgate, Fairview Park, (440) 333-5515
Saigon, 2061 E. Fourth St., Cleveland, (216) 344-2020

Closings:
Que Tal?, 1803 Coventry Road, Cleveland
Two Amigos, 804 W. Market St., Akron
Aura Global Bistro, 9200 Broadview Road, Broadview Heights