A cooking break after Thanksgiving

Well, it’s that time of year again, time for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the two busiest days of my life. One day I spent cooking and eating the greatest food on Earth, then I have a midday nap and I get ready to stand out in the cold so that I can get amazing shopping deals. Now, if you are like me, you won’t want to cook for about a week after this blessed holiday. I don’t blame you at all; in fact I have a plan. My master plan this year is to get gift certificates that at a discount on sites like citydeals or others and then use them for restaurants the rest of the week. If I am not going to be making dinner for a little while, as I recoup I don’t want to pay full price. And the great thing that I have found about these sites, they seem to have a lot of local joints instead of just the big chains.

Where everybody knows your name!!!

I am not trying to steal from the Cheers theme, but there definitely that feel when you step a quality family restaurant. I don't know what it is but have a family owned and operated restaurant has a special feel to it and that what I like taking my family to.

There is a little Italian place in my hometown of Cleveland Ohio and that has known 3 generations of my family that would welcome us over to Christmas dinner if we ever took them up on their offer. These are genuine good people and this is how you retain clients. My family and friends do not go anywhere else for Italian even though there are quite a few restaurants that have moved into the neighborhood.

Does anyone else have this kind of restaurant in your neighborhood or have we found the diamond in the rough? I am curious because I would more the happy share the love with our places and cuisines, I just are unaware of their existence. Please let me know.