Best things to do in Cleveland

Be sure to check out cleveland.com's new “Essential CLE” visitors guide a robust and searchable database of the best “Eat, ” Drink” and “Play” options in Northeast Ohio. We unveiled the guide Jan. 25, and we're promoting it this week with mini-guides mined from database.

Today, were featuring Top 10 picks from “Authentic Cleveland” category — a guide to area restaurants, bars and attractions that are quintessentially CLE. The West Side Market. A Christmas Story House. Michael Symon’s Lola Bistro. And more. Check out the Top 10 list here and be sure to go to the "Essential CLE" visitors guide for even more "Authentic Cleveland" entries.

Think of it "Essential CLE" your in-the-know online Cleveland concierge. That’s how we envisioned it when we began work on the project more than 6 months ago. We didn’t want a run-of-the-mill entertainment calendar, or a collection of simple listings. We built it as a guide capable of serving up smart, instant and trusted recommendations for the very best restaurants, bars and things to do in the region.

To do that, we enlisted the help of writers and critics at cleveland.com and our partners at The Plain Dealer, folks with with decades of experience covering restaurants, bars and culture in the CLE. They know the city, the region and its secrets. So, we built the database around their recommendations, with an eye on capturing “The Best of Cleveland.”

We think the “Essential CLE” guide will give you a great roadmap to Cleveland’s booming resrtaurant-and-bar scene and its extraordinary cultural richness.