Cleveland is no longer the Mistake by the Lake. Unless it comes to football. The Browns are still like the Titanic sunk in the lake. Under a whale. With diarrhea.

But some of Ohio's golf is surprisingly good, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame can be interesting (though not nearly as great as Cleveland's tourism people want you to think) and the restaurants go beyond just burgers and fries. Which you couldn't say back as recently as the late 1980s in Cleveland.

Sans Souci helped bring about some of the dining change though and it still holds up today. It's in the Renaissance Cleveland, a hotel in an impressive old building that's smack dab in the heart of all the city's attractions. Sans Souci professes to feature French Mediterranean cuisine, but it's largely the typical trendy upscale American fare (though they do offer Sangria by the pitcher). The chefs do the food right though and it's doubtful you'll leave disappointed.

The pan seared scallops are tasty and the prosciutto wrapped pork will make you wonder why anyone ever wastes their stomachs on hot dogs. Better yet, Sans Souci does not employ the typical high-end hotel ripoff food pricing. There is only one lunch main course over $16 and many are around $12.

In short, Sans Souci is as good as Brady Quinn will never be for Cleveland. It's Browns fans' fate to be cursed by a goofy quarterback from the most overrated college football program of the last 20 years, Notre Dame. As if the Dawg Pound doesn't have enough crosses to bear, they will soon have a ditz with a mop haircut calling their signals.

Hey, maybe the Indians won't choke this year and lose their last eight games of the season to miss the playoffs.

Either way, Cleveland always has Sans Souci.

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