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

Happy New Years Eve, everyone! We stocked up for the night at Joseph’s Beverage Center. It’s bonkers out there!

Josephs Beverage Center | 4129 Talmadge Rd | (419) 472-1421

ps. Don’t drink and drive! ABCO services is offering free towing and a ride home from midnight to 3 a.m. The number is 419-536-6123. Jot it down.

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

The Rosary Cathedral was on the Tours de Noel OWE home tour this year. It was beautiful, moving and I’m surprised at myself for not visiting earlier. We arrived in time to catch the beginnings of their Advent Lessons & Carols Service.

Rosary Cathedral | 2535 Collingwood Blvd. | Old West End

Whitaker-Casper Home

A little over a week ago D. and I took our first home tour in the Old West End. Tours de Noel is an annual event produced by The Women of the Old West End featuring 7 homes and sites in one of this country’s largest historical districts.

Our first stop was Mansion View, a property the Old West End neighborhood association owns and runs as a bed and breakfast and is rented out for parties and events. It is a beautiful house, like many in the neighborhood, featuring amazing architectural features like woodwork you simply don’t see in cookie-cutter modern homes.

We enjoyed each stop on the tour, including Our Lady Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral and the Park Lane Luxury Apartments which held a holiday boutique and “cookie walk” as part of the event. I did have a favorite… the Whitaker–Casper home (pictured above).

Keep an eye out for the home tours that usually accompany The Old West End Festival in June of each year!

More about The Women of The Old West End.

Visit our local animatronic utopia and cacotopia combined.

It’s all sorts of epic. Including wonderful antique diatribes.

And injection molded toy machines. Wow. Kids love it.

Children’s Wonderland | Lucas Co. Rec Center in Maumee | Runs through New Year’s Eve.

Friday night was the Second Annual ‘Tis the Secor Show at the Secor Building downtown. Highlights included an exhibit of works from 40+ local artists, open studios and live music.

One of my favorite pieces was front and center in the lobby—a portrait by Richard Reed of his friend Marty.

It’s beautifully done.

There was live music in the lobby including Toledo’s best experimental group, KDB.

After leaving the Secor show we met up with friends for drinks at Wesley’s in uptown. It’s a sure bet on Friday nights and features some of my favorite pro-Toledo decor, including the infamous “You Will Do Better in Toledo” sign, the original of which is sadly long gone.

We finished things up with a nightcap at The Attic on Adams—the new hotspot above Manos. Hope to see you there soon!

The Secor Building | 425 Jefferson St @ Superior | Downtown

KBD | myspace.com/kbdtoledo

Wesley’s | 1201 Adams Street | 419-255-3333‎

The Attic on Adams | 1701 Adams St. | 419-243-5350

Right?

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

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 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 it did remind me 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.