Archive: Local Eats
A very fancy Double Soy Latte from Ground for Thought. Kaelyn and the other baristas will jazz up your latte with some slick straw work. A hot delicious piece of art. But if you want the flower, no whipped cream.
Thanks a latte GFT!!!
- Mushroom Beef or Chicken Lasagna Rice pilaf
- Mixed veggies
- Texas toast
- 4 oz grape juice
- 1/2 pint of milk
The other day I volunteered serving lunch at the senior center, which is the old post office downtown by the city building. While the meal is free (or $2 donation) for seniors, it's only $5 for anybody under 60. And you can get seconds! Lunch is served @ noon M-F, and dinner ($7) is served Tu-Th @ 5:30 p.m. Reservations are required for dinner by 2 p.m. Did you know the seniors have a Wii at the center? haha! I guess they like Wii bowling the best.
Oh Corner Grill.
How you sit so contently in the heart of town; so short and so squat. Your inelegance is your appeal. The soft clanking of stir spoons against coffee cups your anthem. Why fix something that isn't broken?
I had a really good time at The Melting Pot. I say, DO the FONDUE
The whole fondue concept is great. I like having to work a little for the food. Having to dip your fondue forks before each bite slows down the meal and increases table conversation.
The whole fondue concept is great. I like having to work a little for the food. Having to dip your fondue forks before each bite slows down the meal and increases table conversation.
I didn't know what to expect when I walked in the doors, but knowing that there are over 100 Melting Pot restaurants nationwide, I was expecting it to resemble a Max & Erma's or Chili's look. But the Melting Pot is beautiful! The lighting is a little dark, but the booths are cozy and intimate. The Melting Pot offers a unique dining experience that rivals Bene Hanas Japanese steakhouse (the place where the chef entertains the patrons while he cooks). Fondue is a very sociable form of dining, great for first dates or awkward family dinners.
My date and I got the 2 person entree, which cost about $55. It included:
Cheese fondue (of our choice) with bread, vegetables and sliced apples. I really enjoyed watching our waitress prepare the cheese sauce
Salad (of our choice)
Main course: raw beef, chicken, duck, shrimp and pork. The waitress brings out a hot pot of broth (or oil) and explains how to cook the meat.
Lots of sauces for dipping
Toledo's (Sylvania) Melting Pot opened earlier this summer. It's located on Monroe Street right off I-75. My waitress told me another one is opening in Ann Arbor. Check the Web site to find a location near you. www.meltingpot.com
Went out celebrating last week at a spot called Poco Piatti. A few people recommended it on Chow.com as a nice place in Toledo. What really appealed to me was the name, which means small plates in Italian. Because with small plates you aren't tied down to one entree. Their menu is very eclectic, jumping all over the globe from Greece, Italy, Southern U.S., Lebanon and Thailand. We ordered a handful of menu items -- not including the 2 pitchers of Sangria, which alone is good enough for a visit.
I wanted to go to the original location on Monroe Street, but opted the closer Levi's Commons location instead. It's a comfy place; not so quiet that you feel you have to whisper, and loud enough to keep private conversation private.
The plates are appetizer size, and all dressed very well. My date and I would order a plate each time the server dropped one off. I recommend the Thai Shrimp "Lasagna" (see photo), Prosciutto Crepes, Vongole con Salsiccia (clams roasted w/ hot sausage), Saganaki Kasseri (flaming cheese ... the server will shout "OOPA!!!") and of course, the Sangria.
So if you are looking for a fun place to take a date, I recommend Poco Piatti for a unique dining experience. I will be trying the owner's other restaurant on Monroe Street, The Beirut, soon.
If you haven't heard about South Side 6, it's because it's hard to talk with a mouth full of food. The small party store on South Main Street celebrates almost every day with an awesome special, but it's the gyros that really put the party in the store -- and then your mouth.
It doesn't look like much from the outside, and that's OK, because once you set foot in the parking lot your nose will quickly dismiss your eyes.
And inside is a spectacular scene. Three giant roasts twirl elegantly on the vertical gyro grills like three bountiful ballerinas. The owner, So, shaves off caramelized strips of either chicken or beef and hands them off to his faithful gyro technician, Abod, who tightly wraps each gyro with lettuce, onion, tomato and plenty of cucumber sauce. And how much do I owe? It it's Thursday, only $1.99.
The owner, So, was born in the U.S. but raised in Lebanon where he learned all about authentic Lebanese cuisine -- Fattush, Taboli, Kabobs, Hummus, Chicken Shawarma and Baklava. It's all there, even his American side.
The gigantic Route 25 Burger is almost as satisfying, but falls just short to the mighty South Side 6 gyro. And I think it's because the gyro stays with you all day long. Spicy little burps act as pleasant reminders of the delicious meal you made love to earlier. If you have a date later, make sure they eat one too. Because it's OK if you both have bad breath.
- Sep 7 2008 Feasting at the Festival
- Apr 29 2008 China Village
- Apr 4 2008 The Cookie Jar's Cookie Eating Contest
- Mar 28 2008 Trotter's Brown Jug
- Mar 2 2008 Tuna's Bloody Marys
- Feb 7 2008 Subway's New Southwest Turkey Rueben
- Nov 30 2007 Buffets: Grazing humans
- Nov 6 2007 Easy Street, more like Meatball Avenue
- Oct 22 2007 Reverend Chico's
- Sep 10 2007 Gator Basket
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