Today’s lunch was a visit to Nick & Jimmy’s. There is a boatload of options on the menu—including fried pickles which, of course, were ordered. There was also a burger with green chili, which D. picked. He has been on a quest for proper tex-mex green chili in Toledo… the Nick & Jimmy’s burger is the closest so far. If you are also a green chili fan and have found anything great in the area, please let me know.
Nick & Jimmy’s | 4956 Monroe St. | (419) 472-0756
We enjoyed dinner at Calvino’s last night. I had only visited once before for lunch, several years ago. It was pretty great! I ordered a small white pizza with sausage and D. had a stromboli. We also asked for a small garlic bread as an appetizer, but it was unnecessary as the Calvino’s house bread was totally tasty.
I’m eating cold, leftover pizza for lunch today. Yum.
Calvino’s | 3143 W Central Ave | (419) 531-5100
A few years ago I was pleasantly surprised to learn of a restaurant that does dim sum in Toledo. We’ve been doing weekend brunches at New Empire ever since & only for the dim sum. I haven’t actually eaten off the regular menu.
New Empire doesn’t do the carts thing but they do have a little menu with pictures for people who are unaccustomed to dim sum. Every dish is delish. My favorites are the taro dumplings and various steamed dumplings. The little pork buns and fried shimp balls are great too. It’s easy to end up ordering too much. If you like spicy be sure to ask for a side of chili paste.
New Empire Restaurant | 6540 Centers Drive | Spring Meadows | (419) 868-6565
My favorite cuisine is French. Hands down. But in Toledo that’s not the easy to come by. Fifi’s is close but according to Fifi herself, her restaurant is “continental”.
Eating a dish called “margarita”-something isn’t exactly French either. But it was crazy good. I’ve had my share of great food here and decided to go out on a limb during my last visit. Yay for me. D. ordered some sort of a scallops dish and couldn’t stop raving about it. This is all coming from resident chefs Tad and Jeremiah (the latter being an ex-chef from Manhattans in Uptown Toledo).
A bottle of Pelee Island Pinot at a totally reasonable price is a good way to start dinner. When ordering be sure to ask for the “house” salad dressing. The first time we visited, we left with a pint(!) of the house dressing because I wouldn’t leave without it. So freaking good.
Anyhoo, the menu is pretty much proper French fare with adventurous specials. It’s also easy on the wallet—easy as in would be the same cost as some of those crappy chain restaurants that are unfortunately packed on a Friday. Keep it local ($$$), people!
Frog Leg Inn | 2103 Manhattan St | Erie, MI 48133 | (734) 848-8580
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 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
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
The parking lot to El Camino Real was packed last night… and so was the restaurant. I had a bean burrito with guacamole and D. had a taco and a couple of those chili relleno things he loves so much. And, we shared a pitcher of margaritas—my favorite reason to visit. It’s apparently a fave of a lot of Toledoans because there were some pretty tipsy folks out last night… like falling down on the ground tipsy.
El Camino Real | 2500 W Sylvania Ave | (419) 472-0700 | There’s one on the east-side too… google it.
P.S. Don’t drink and drive, K, thanks, bye.
Hungry? Hungary? We just got back from our first visit to The Budapest. Open for lunch and dinner this little time-capsule of a restaurant is really something. A blast from the past, from the rotary phone and the old-fashioned cash register, to the antiquated music in the background. Even the waiter seemed like he had just stepped out of a time machine with a vintage vest and bow tie… even his watch and spectacles. I was too shy to ask him to pose for a photo.
The menu was on the board. I had pork chops and D. had the special—a ribeye steak with sauteed peppers. Both came with small salads, potato and noodles. The portions were way too much for me and I brought home most of my dinner but the food was good. Very “comfort food”… comforting like the atmosphere where everyone seemed like a regular.
Suggestion: call ahead to make sure they are open.
The Budapest Restaurant | 3314 Monroe St | (419) 241-1513
Our friends R. and M. invited us to go apple picking this afternoon, just over the border into Michigan. Visiting an apple orchard/pumpkin patch is something I haven’t done since I was a little kid in CT. and other than the fact I hadn’t lived near an orchard most of my adult life, I have no idea why… it was amazing fun.
I found two beautiful pumpkins that may or may not become horrifying jack-o-lanterns… we’ll see.
We also picked a bag full of apples. Apples of all sorts of color and flavor… all ending up in the same bag so we’ll have no clue how to separate the Golden Delicious from the Granny Smiths, but who cares?
Some of the apples were pretty high up, so R. climbed up a tree and tossed them down to M. At one point D. picked me up (bless his soul) while I picked what I could.
We found a patch of Indian Corn. I’ve never been in a corn field before and they always remind me of scenes from films where people are running through them, like the X-Files or Signs or even worse, Children of the Corn. At one point I wandered past a pumpkin patch and braved an honest to goodness real corn field on my own.
After picking our apples, pumpkins, gourds and indian corn we walked to a big barn and left with some of Erie Orchards famous donuts and cider. The donuts were particularly amazing. Fried dough transcends all borders and cultures—no matter who you are or where you’ve come from fried dough is something we can all stand behind.
Erie Orchards and Cider Mills | 1235 Erie Road | Erie, Michigan | (734) 848-4518
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!
“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
“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
Calvino’s
Kotobuki
J&G Pizza Palace (in Sylvania)
Manos
Doc Watson’s (good bar food)
5. Beirut Restaurant
4. Mercado San Pedro Taco Bar
3. Manos
2. Manhattans
1. Rockwell’s Steakhouse
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
Rose Thai
Frog Leg Inn
Real Seafood (editors note: I think this might be a chain?)
Beiruit
Wasabi Bistro
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
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
1) The Original Sub Shop & Deli
2) Grape Leaf Diner
3) Tony Packos
4) Star Diner
5) Whitehouse Inn
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)
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
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.
I carry a bit of Bavarian blood in me and have visited Germany twice, BUT I’ve never been to a German-American festival. We’ve heard nothing but good things about the festival in Oregon and that raccoon mascot/logo is so damn nice… we grabbed our designated-driver/lawyer and drove over the river. The cornfield on both sides of the drive to the parking lot was a little ominous.
We ran into M. almost immediately, and of course, he was in lederhosen. He was also a few beers ahead of us so we got some tickets and started drinking. D. was able to finish the night off with a free glass mug by trying 7+ different beers. I tried to stick with old reliable Bitburger. Bitte ein Bit.
There was more to this festival than just beer. There was food, lots of it, pretzels and sausages and potato latkes/pancakes. There was quite a bit of dancing. And there was a parade!
But in the end, the real focus was on drinking bier. Except for our designated driver who had none. 
At one point, there were dancers on a giant cuckoo clock-styled stage. It was around this time that I started to realize the crowd was getting bigger.
Much bigger. And it was about this time that we decided it was time to go home.
But not without saying bye to the rollerderby girls. BYE!
German American Festival Society | Oak Shade Grove in Oregon, Ohio
The booth for Chicago BBQ Company was a little over the top, right? Ribs aren’t really my thing—I just don’t care for meat on the bone—but I think I’m in the .5% of the population that feels this way. By the time we left, the park was pretty populated with rib lovers.
D. is in the top 99.5% that loves ribs. His favorite was local staple, Po Moe’s. There was a warning sign speaking to the fact that “spicy means spicy”. He ordered “spicy” and says: “I would describe those ribs as facemelting”.
I was just happy to see people enjoying Downtown. There’s little reason for Promenade/Festival Park to be empty on any weekend.
Promenade/Festival Park | Downtown
Have you seen the $4 bell peppers at the grocery lately? Not the sweet, red ones. Nor the cute orange or gold ones. The $4 run-of-the-mill green ones.
Yeah, well try 2 peppers for $1! One dollar! The farmer’s market at Erie Street Market continues to rule. We rode our bikes down and came back with 2 lbs of green beans ($2), squash, zucchini, tomatos, parsley, hungarian-looking sweet peppers, Syd & Diane’s artichoke dip, and cheese (sans homornes, etc.)
Toledo’s Farmer’s Market | 237 S. Erie Street | Downtown
This weekend we co-hosted a croquet & casseroles party with our friends C. & K.
In the end, over 20 different dishes showed up! We had to get very creative in finding spots for all of them. Funny enough, the one guest from Minnesota actually brought a salad (which was very yummy). D.’s favorite casserole was a Martha Stewart chicken and artichoke pot pie.
C. and K. brought a fantastic croquet set and the badminton set was up—both, great games for warm summer days.
As day turned to night we settled around the fire. Good times and the casseroles made life easier on the hosts than a traditional BBQ. Throw your own!
A good friend (and great Toledo artist) and his fantastic wife are moving to Hotlanta this month so we went to their going-away party, held at the Jerk Hut on LaGrange Street. We enjoyed music and food on the front patio… with great weather. It’s sad to see our friends go but wish them the best.
D. fell in love with the food immediately (the pic above was his plate). I’m looking forward to going back and trying their meat pies or “meat patties” and some sweet plantains—a throwback from when I went to school in Miami.
Bye W. and H. We’ll miss you.
Jerk Hut | 3117 Lagrange St | (419) 720-5375
Dinner at Manos’ kicked off our weekend. One of my favorite dishes is the baked feta… typing this is making me hungry.
The opening of Ottawa Tavern has been pushed back a week (thanks to Manos for letting us know), so after a short moment at Space 237 for their opening we drove straight to Frankie’s to see Sinker (above).
We chatted with friends over Dr. Reed’s. What’s a Dr. Reed? you ask… PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) + Ice + Lime + Straw.
Not Miller High Life.
Not lemon.
PBR, Ice, Lime, Straw. Period. It’s the drink of the summer, courtesy of D’s co-worker Harper.
Friday ended with the first ever show by the Secret Swords [2 parts Stylex + 1 part Shuttlecock = Secret Swords]. Keep your ears peeled.
Manos | 1701 Adams Street | (419) 244-4479
Sinker | myspace.com/sinkersinker
Secret Swords | myspace.com/secretswordsmusic
The Tandoor… delish Indian food, “spicy, please”. Traditional parasols, hanging upside-down like bats, pepper the ceiling.
Tandoor Cuisine of India | 2247 S Reynolds Rd | (419) 385-7467
We figured Friday would be as good a day as any to visit the Polish Festival on Lagrange Street.
If I understand this correctly, when we arrived there was a Polka band that played Pink Floyd covers entertaining the crowd. The scene was a little confusing. I am also pretty certain I saw a grown man riding a cooler… a beer cooler… that had wheels and an engine… grown man riding it…
There was also a gentleman on stilts making balloon sculptures for kids, who later juggled knives, and later on was tossing a large yo-yo about between two sticks, and later still was playing with sticks on fire. He had amassed a pretty large crowd by the end of the day.
The people watching was pretty epic. So was the kielbasa on a rye roll (!!!) that D. picked up from The Stanley’s Market tent.
The Polish Festival of Toledo | LaGrange Street | Fri. 5-11pm; Sat. 12-11pm; Sun. 1-7pm
Remember that cherry tree in the yard? Well we picked a bunch of cherries this weekend, enough for two pies, and there are still more to be picked. I think I need to use a ladder.
Now I did ask for recipes, but for all my millions of readers I got none. No worries, Food Network to the rescue with a recipe for crust and another for the pie itself. You would think that with the best, fresh ingredients, good recipes and all the tools necessary, it would have been a success. And it was! It just didn’t look like one:
Such is life. The life of a first-time pie.