Last week I posted some of my favorite restaurants in the area and asked what yours were. Here are the replies I got, which include several local spots I haven’t visited yet. The Beirut seems to be pretty popular, no? Thanks to everyone who answered the call!

Jody:

“I’m not sure which is a number one for me. If I had a choice, I’d have five stomachs.”

Al Saher (super falafel sandwich) on mcCord
Fujiyama (shitake mushroom and tempora sweet potato sushi) reynolds
Calvinos (greek pizza-spinach pine nuts garlic sun dried tomatoes and feta) at cricket west
Deepham Deli (indian deli, saturday & sunday Dosa’s) on central past mcCord heading west
Thai Kitchen on dussel in maumee

Jeff:

“Here are my 5 (okay, 6) favorite restaurants in Toledo.”

Shorty’s BBQ 5111 Monroe Street  Toledo (419) 841-9505
Jo-Jo’s Original Pizzeria 4336 Monroe Street, Toledo (419) 473-1223
El Camino Real 2500 W Sylvania Ave  Toledo, (419) 472-0700
Star Diner 3067 W Alexis Rd, Toledo – (419) 472-5103  (girls in stupid outfits, ridiculous portions of food)
Indian Jewel of Toledo 6711 Airport Highway, Holland (419) 865-9500
Tandoor Cuisine of India 2247 Reynolds, Toledo (419) 385-1552

Kelly:

Calvino’s
Kotobuki
J&G Pizza Palace (in Sylvania)
Manos
Doc Watson’s (good bar food)

John Henry:

5. Beirut Restaurant
4. Mercado San Pedro Taco Bar
3. Manos
2. Manhattans
1. Rockwell’s Steakhouse

Mark:

1. The Beirut, 4082 Monroe St. Toledo, OH
When I take someone from out of town to a local restaurant, I take them here. The best tabouli on the planet, hands down!
2. Kotobuki, 5577 Monroe St. Sylvania, OH
In my opinion, still, the best sushi in Toledo. Which is saying a lot, in a town with pretty good sushi for a city it’s size and 600 miles from an ocean.
3. The Village Idiot, 309 Conant St. Maumee, OH
The best pizza in Toledo. Throw in an ice cold Bell’s Beer and the best juke box in the area and I’m pretty happy.
4. Bangkok Kitchen, 582 Dussel Dr. Maumee, OH
Just great Thai fast food

Scott:

Rose Thai
Frog Leg Inn
Real Seafood (editors note: I think this might be a chain?)
Beiruit
Wasabi Bistro

Sarah:

Poco Piatti 5333 Monroe St., Toledo 419.885.0101
Jing Chuan 4424 Secor Road  Toledo, OH  419.472.9612
Grumpys is also one of mine!
Romans Deli 526 Jackson St. 419.254.0191 (you can’t sit and eat in there though, just a sandwich place. yum.)
Glendale Garden Cafe 2521 Glendale  419.382.1011

Michael:

1. Calvino’s – 3143 W Central Ave, Toledo, OH 43606 (419) 531-5100
2. Bangkok Kitchen – 582 W Dussel Dr  Maumee, OH 43537  (419) 897-7777
3. Beirut – 4082 Monroe St  Toledo, OH 43606 (419) 473-0885
4. Sori Sushi - 5236 Monroe St  Toledo, OH 43623  (419) 720-7674
5. Mr. Spots - 125 E Court St Bowling Green, OH 43402

Joel:

1) The Original Sub Shop & Deli
2) Grape Leaf Diner
3) Tony Packos
4) Star Diner
5) Whitehouse Inn

Jacob:

The Original Sub Shop & Deli (of course)
The Grape Leaf Diner
Schmucker’s
Toledo Market (best shawarma sandwiches in town)
Star Diner (when I’m up and actually make it out for breakfast)

Kristen:

The Beirut
Sori Sushi
Mancy’s
Sam and Charlie’s Breakfast
Al Saher
Real Seafood

My first visit to the Greek Festival in Toledo was on Saturday. The food was incredible!

I had mousaka, pastichio and a tiropita (cheese-filled philo). I was too busy stuffing myself with amazing food to notice what D. was eating. I think there was some chicken on his plate?

I left with a small box of pastries (think butter cookies and baklava) after we watched some darling children re-enact a greek monster myth.

Greek-American Festival | Downtown

On Saturday morning we drove down to Bowling Green for the Black Swamp Arts Festival. BG has one of the cutest Main Streets ever.

There were quite a few booths… most being more craft than art, but regardless there was plenty to see. One surprisingly cute booth had little animals and creatures formed of everyday rope.

We also spent some time checking out the shows at the electronic stage. Above is HMNLCD.

The Wookalar (from Wicked Lung and the Wookalar of Columbus) played. See above. Wicked Lung did a set too.

We made sure to catch the Secret Swords show before leaving the festival.

Cheers! And thanks for putting up with the poor video quality!

Black Swamp Arts Festival | Bowling Green, OH

D. and I were having dinner at the River Cafe last night and after a pause both agreed that this is one of our favorite places in Toledo (or nearby). “What are our top 5…”, I asked. We mulled it over in our heads and came up with a list, in no particular order:

The River Cafe | Point Place | 6215 Edgewater Dr. | (734) 723-7405

Frog Leg Inn | Erie, Michigan | 2103 Manhattan St. | (734) 848-8580

Mac & Tong’s | Talmadge & Central | 4330 W Central Ave. | (419) 531-3103

Grumpy’s | Downtown | 34 S Huron St. | (419) 241-6728

Manos | Uptown | 1701 Adams St. | (419) 244-4479

Each one is special in their own way. So, what’s yours? Shoot them over in an email and I’ll list them in a later post. Please note: no chains.

Fighting our sedentary lifestyles and a couple extra pounds, J. and I made plans to start running during the week. Day 1 was rough… less running and more power-walking.

By the time we got to Monroe Street we were practically crawling. But it felt good to get up off my butt and move a little, and today will be a little easier. I hope.