***A bit of blogkeeping: Have you entered to win a Cleveland is Home shirt from Fresh Brewed Tees? Check it out! Remember, you can tweet daily for additional entries.

Also, this is the 500th post on Why CLE? I’m blown away by that number (what did I talk about in 500 posts?!) and by all the fun, support, friendships, and learning that the blog has brought into my life in the last 2 1/2 years. Thank you all so much for making 500 possible!***

Last week, I had a perfectly lovely evening in a perfectly lovely spot with some perfectly lovely ladies. I met up with Kimberly, Nadine, Maria, Becky, and Jaclyn for drinks and dinner at Tartine Bistro.

Tartine Bistro is tucked in the Old River Shopping Area in Rocky River and is a small, intimate space that feels like something straight out of Paris.

We started our evening with the cheese platter that includes fruit compote, candied nuts, and truffled honey. While devouring this, our group was as quiet as we would be all evening!

For dinner, I chose the duck confit tartine, with brie, black pepper and caramelized onions. It was rich and sweet, with just the right bite from the pepper and a delicious smoky taste from the duck. In other words, I was in love with this dish!

We had it all: food, wine, and a fabulously charming server!

It was great chatting with blogger friends, as well as reconnecting with an old college pal. Maria and I met in our freshman year at John Carroll and, since graduation, had lost touch. It’s been wonderful to reconnect through the blog world, which brings not just new friends, but old friends into my life!

I left entirely charmed by the entire evening! C’est la magique de Paris, non? If you need a little Paris in your life, head on over to Tartine Bistro!

Where’s your favorite spot in Cleveland that just transports you to somewhere else?