Best of Cleveland 2017: Shuffleboard Bar

What if there was a bar free of hunched iPhone junkies? Well such a place exists, friends. It’s called Forest City Shuffleboard, a sanctuary where phones are pocketed for cocktails and text dings are replaced with the sound of clay biscuits colliding. “People engage with each other here,” says owner Jim Miketo. The hot attraction is the bar’s ever-growing, three-times-a-week shuffleboard leagues, where more than 50 teams compete seasonally ($50 per team table, $100 per team court). With a clever seasonal cocktail menu, a lengthy craft beer list and a kitchen that rotates monthly guests such as this month’s Lakewood bar Yuzu, the Ohio City oasis is easy to slide into. Plus, winners get their names on a banner that hangs over the five indoor courts. Even if you lose, coming here is still a win. “After the games are over, people who have never met each other have drinks and socialize together,” says Miketo. 4506 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, 440-821-1578, forestcityshuffle.com