Last call to enjoy summer delights

by Debbi Snook

Friday September 05, 2008, 12:00 AM

Chris Stephens/The Plain DealerIdentical twins Lindsey, left, and Sydney Boughter, 14, enjoy ice cream cones at the Honey Hut ice cream stand at Huntington Beach in Bay Village.

Works up an appetite.

Good. This is the time to seize the delicacies of a season moving out of reach. It won't be long before the sweet corn won't be so sweet, the ice cream so refreshing, or the restaurant patios so inviting.

Do it now. Store up the sunny memories to keep you going through the cold and darkness. You know how long that lasts.

Here are some seasonal treasures to count down.

1. Having a beer outside. Tastes like the first time, doesn't it? Go for the good stuff at Great Lakes Brewing Co. (2516 Market Ave., near Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, 216-771-4404), where you also can order a savory pretzel made with some of the grains that made the brew. Take it all in under the leafy canopy the restaurant shares with others on Market Street. No tables? Consider other options: The dazzling rock patio at Stone Mad (1306 West 56th St., Cleveland, 216-281-6500), and the lake view at The Harp terrace (4408 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, 216-939-0200).

2. Picking sweet raspberries. If you work downtown, go picking on your lunch hour at Rosby's Greenhouse and Berry Farm, 4963 Schaaf Lane, Brooklyn Heights (216-661-6102). There's grass between the rows, and you don't have to stoop like you do for strawberries. Freeze them on a cookie tray and pop them in plastic bags for reliving the sparks of summer.

3. Walking up to a window and ordering a cone from someone younger than you. Remember the eagerness, the innocence, the feel of a starring role? Check out the Honey Hut stand at Huntington Beach, Lake Road at Porter Creek Drive in Bay Village (440-871-7699). The deftly honey-sweetened local ice cream comes in dark chocolate-covered bars, with mint chocolate chip as the city fave. Don't forget the locations in Brecksville, Cleveland, Parma and Strongsville.

4. Picnicking at Brandywine Falls. Put your life on cruise-control for a day. Not with just any picnic, but one that harks back to the 1940s. Stop at a Dave's Supermarket for some great fried chicken. Drive to Independence to pick up the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (1-800-468-4070). Get off at the Boston Mills Station and hike 1 1/2 miles on a wooded trail -- c'mon, you can do it -- and set up next to the falls. Then do it all over again backward.

5. Drinking wine in Ashtabula County. Tarsitano Winery has that friends-with-a-farm feel, cooking pasta or grilling chicken in a small barn, serving up vineyard views and promising wine from certified organic grapes. They're open daily for wine, Thursdays through Sundays for food, reachable at 4871 Hatches Corners Road, Conneaut (440-224-2444). Make it a two-winery trip by hiking a rustic ski trail from there over to Markko Vineyard (4500 S. Ridge Road, Conneaut, 1-800-252-3197), where they excel in chardonnay.

6. Buying just-picked sweet corn. Look, if it's brown at the spot where it was snapped off the stalk, it just isn't that fresh. Green or white is good. Dripping with corn sap is even better. Consider three places to find it that fresh. East: Sirna's Farm & Market, 19009 Ravenna Road (Ohio 44), Auburn, 440-834-0696. West: Pickering Hill Farms Market, 35669 Detroit Road (just east of Ohio 83), Avon, 440-937-5155. South: Szalay's, 4563 Riverview Road, Peninsula, 330-657-2727.

7. Meeting a talented farmer. See them beam at harvest time, after a whole season of work. Look for them at farmers' markets across Northeast Ohio. Find entertainers at many of them, including Kent, Kamm's Corners and Peninsula. Look for our big list of markets online (pdf).

8. Eating perch tacos on South Bass Island. Don't move the Lake Erie islands off your map just because the calendar is flipped to September. This might be the quiet day off you've been searching for all summer (which runs through Sept. 21, by the way). Goat Soup and Whiskey (820 Catawba Ave., Put-in-Bay, 419-285-4628) is open daily for a few more weeks, serving up the tacos, a Lake Erie version of the Southern California treat. Bring your bicycle and work up your appetite.

9. Catching your own perch. Really, the success rate is high aboard the Linda Mae, a 58-year-old converted trap-netter that goes out every day from Wildwood State Park, 8701 Lake Shore Blvd. in Cleveland (216-481-5771). Check the Web site for reports of recent catches. First-timers are welcomed with a helpful staff, rod rentals, fishing license sales and fish-cleaning services. Trip rates are $30-$37 for four to six hours, depending on the day. Seniors and children get a discount. Call ahead for a reservation. The boat holds 30 people, but business has been brisk this year because of fuel costs.

10. Dining on the water. Come winter, this definitely won't be on your list. So go all out. Make a reservation, head down Akron way and linger at the edge of this water community of little lakes. The Olde Harbor Inn (562 Portage Lakes Drive, Akron, 330-644-1664) is known for Italian and other specialties. Make a reservation if you want a seat by the window indoors. If you don't mind serving as captain, you also can hit one of several area rental shops for a pontoon boat. Then float your own picnic into the sunset.

Now that's a way to end a season.