On the coattails of our visit to LaRoe’s we decided some fried pickles at Easy Street would be a great idea last week. The batter was decidedly on the thick side for some reason, but that made them even more decadent. I’m a big fan of the thick cut slices you get at Packo’s but there’s something to be said of that beautiful spear… the surface to volume ratio allows for more of a crisp pickle taste.

I ordered a cheeseburger as well. Easy Street offers a bunch of things to top your burger off and for some odd reason I chose green olives. Yeah… odd… I ended up pushing them off after a couple bites. Aside from the poor choice of toppings on my end, the burger was great.

Toledo Easy Street | Downtown | 822 Washington St | (419) 255-0010

On a whim, we took a midnight bicycle ride tonight. We were careful — kept our front and back blinkers on and stayed mostly on the sidewalks. It was a very warm feeling 50-something, so I grabbed a light jacket and scarf and we rode. I didn’t feel like bothering to take a photo but I am reminded of The Triplets of Belleville so I am grabbing a screenshot from a favorite film that captures the spirit of this post. It was a wonderful ride.

Rent it, Netflix it, Amazon it, or just borrow it from the Toledo Public Library. It’s a French film but you need not know a lick of French or worry about subtitles. Trust me.

Once more, I will make note of Toledo’s importance in bicycle history because it is just that… a piece of history.

Built in 1880 and lovingly restored in the 1970’s, The Kerr House is where I spent the last weekend before the Election for a little R&R. Every detail in this Victorian mansion is perfect for the period, from the antique furnishings and decorations to the wallpapers and lighting. Breakfast was served in bed to start off a day of massages, sauna and yoga with Laurie.

My room was beautiful — like I was living inside a jewelry box. It was the perfect setting to read The Devil in the White City, a superb drama happening during the Chicago Worlds Fair and factually based.

The Kerr House | 17777 Beaver Street | Grand Rapids, OH | (419) 832-1733

On the way home from from our scenic drive last weekend we stopped in Waterville for a bit to eat. According to D. there had been a Koral Hamburg on River Road when he was younger.

Seems this place has been around a long time, since 1926 in fact. I had high expectations for my burger because you would hope in all those years they would have gotten it right.

And they did. It was a perfect cheeseburger, or should I say cheeseburg? D. took one bite of an onion ring and exclaimed, “This is the best onion ring ever!” We mentioned Koral to a friend the next day and they too said the onion rings at Koral are the greatest… so if you’re a fan of onion rings you know where to go.

Koral Hamburg | 12 North 3rd St. | Waterville | (419) 878-7007

J. graciously opened his home on Tuesday for his, now second, election night party. Guests brought a ton of food and tended the bar while others had their eyes glued to the TVs. Towards the end of the night revellers pushed out of the house, into the yard, and celebrated with some fresh air.

I had never heard of fried pickles until my first visit to Toledo. Tony Packo’s was touted by D. as THE place for fried pickles… and I fell in love with those wonderfully breaded and fried slices. Easy Street also has fried pickles on the menu, in the form of spears and with a different sort of batter (more like Tempura). The only other place I’ve had fried pickles was in North Carolina at the famous Penguin Drive-In; they were thin slices… about a quarter of the size of Packo’s pickles… and man… so good!

This weekend we stopped at LaRoes’s in Grand Rapids and were pleasantly surprised to see fried pickles on the menu, so of course we ordered them. These were entirely different… spears with a crunchy (maybe cornmeal?) batter that was seasoned well. They came with a sweet poppyseed dipping sauce which at first seemed an odd pairing, but once we tried them it just made sense. Highly recommended. The weather is still nice enough to sit outside and enjoy the river view. Do it.

LaRoe’s | 24138 Front St. | Grand Rapids, OH | (419) 832-3082

Take advantage of gas at 2 bucks a gallon and drive; drive down River Road… past Toledo… past Maumee… and simply enjoy the fall colors. You will get alternating views of the river and then of a multitude of greens, yellows, oranges and my favorite reds. The road and topography of the hills — swirling up and down and over — are reason enough for the drive.

You can stop at many points along the drive. We chose a spot in Grand Rapids where there is a small dam.

Mary Jane Thurston State Park | 1-466 State Route 65