"lebron james" news and stories

When NBA phenom LeBron "The King" James made his televised decision to depart the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, he left northern Ohio's fans with a bitter taste in their mouths.

To blunt the pain of James' departure, Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewing has fittingly released Quitness, a beer "as bitter as the mood of Cleveland."

Quitness (a take on James' "Witness" campaign for Nike) is a dry-hopped, cask-conditioned India pale ale that Great Lakes released on Wednesday, July 14, at the brewpub. Three hours later, all 30 gallons of the beer were gone, with nothing left but rave reviews: "It was very floral, didn't hit your tongue very hard and actually wasn't bitter at all until the aftertaste," Beer Advocate member abraxel wrote. "It was downright delicious!"

While Great Lakes re-released Quitness on Saturday, and may do so again in the future, don't expect this to hit bottles anytime soon. Heck, I doubt this is even a brand-new beer.

More after the jump...

Shake Shack -- the popular string of burger and frozen custard stands that launched in New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2004 -- is shaking it up with a new Times Square outpost and a new hot dog in honor of the Miami Heat's acquisition of NBA star LeBron James.

Miami's Shake Shack is offering the Le-BRAT James, a grilled bratwurst "bringing the Heat with Tabasco simmered onions," Eater reported.

The Le-BRAT was originally a one-day menu item in New York and was a culinary attempt to woo LeBron James to choose the New York Knicks. The Shake Shack Facebook page describes the hot dog as having the "taste of victory!" Oh well. It still looks delicious.

Meanwhile, Shake Shack is expanding in New York City with the opening of its first Times Square restaurant -- the Theater District Shake Shack, which is located at 8th Ave. and 44th St.

Iron Chef and Cleveland native Michael Symon, who almost single-handedly put the city back on the culinary map with the opening of his first restaurant there (Lola) in 1997, is hoping that the old adage proves true: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

The object of Symon's (and, these days, most other Clevelander's) affections is NBA superstar LeBron James, who this summer is up for free agency. Rampant speculation has the two-time MVP landing anywhere from the New York Knicks to the Los Angeles Clippers-or staying put with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On Tuesday, Symon posted a heartfelt (some might say gushing; others desperate) open letter to James on his Facebook page. "I first off would like to thank you for what you have done for the fine city of Cleveland," the letter begins. "You have created a energy downtown that has not been seen in years and have allowed businesses to thrive beyond their wildest dreams."

More after the jump.