The Demise of a Camera

Posted on 23 June 2008 under Photos | 5 Comments

It looks as though the trusty Canon A560 I’ve been using for the photos on this blog for the past year has bitten the dust, at least for now. Some sand may have gotten into the lens mechanism, but it also appears to have been dropped at some point recently. Now the lens won’t open at all so it’ll have to go to the shop when we’re able to do so.

I still have a few photos to post so you’ll see those. I’ll have to find out how well my video camera does as with its still-camera mode. It doesn’t have the necessary macro function though.

For some reason, I feel like attacking a half-gallon of good ice cream with nothing more than a spoon …

Coffee With the Chief

Posted on 20 June 2008 under Beachhouse, Photos | 5 Comments

This morning Dan Shaw stopped by the Luna Pier Dog House for coffee and a chat. Managing Editor at the Monroe News, Dan is also the benefactor behind our host environment of BlogsMonroe.com and helped to get this blog up-and-running 18 months ago. (Has it been that long??)

[See Dan? I told you the coffee you’d spilled on your shirt wouldn’t show up in the photo! No one but you and I will know you’d even done that …]

I did screw up the other day. Luna Pier Cook reader and MonroeTalks talker Griff Crammond stopped by for a Flint coney … and I totally forgot to grab a photo. Sorry, Griff!

Photos: Monroe St. Grill

Posted on 17 June 2008 under Photos, Restaurant Chit-Chat | 4 Comments

In a fairly quick rush, we ended up at the Monroe St. Grill for dinner yesterday evening. While the place doesn’t look like much on the outside, the food is a different story. Above is my serving of Grilled Salmon with Capers & Butter Sauce, while below is Mary’s dish of Pistachio Chicken. Yes, that’s purple cauliflower.

Janet had the Daphne’s Club Sandwich, with bacon and grilled chicken breast, topped with guacamole. Those waffle fries had more of a thickness to them than we’re used to so we could actually taste potato in them.

John had one of the Grill’s cheeseburgers as well but dove in before I could get a photo. He said it was one of the better ones he’s ever had, and that was cooked exactly right for medium-well.

Yeah, we’ll go back for more!

Preview: Mayoral Exchange ‘08, The Food

Posted on 7 June 2008 under Photos, Politics | 3 Comments

No, nothing’s happened … we’re still here! I’m currently digging through a couple hundred photos from Thursday and Friday. Mary and I, along with a few dozen other people, made it through our part of this year’s Mayoral Exchange Day. The Michigan Municipal League sets up these exchanges, arranging for an exchange with similar communities. Thursday we were up in Carleton, Michigan and yesterday they were here in Luna Pier. Once I have the photos done, I’ll post pics of everything … especially the food! For now, here’s a look at the snacks available in the high-tech ”auction arena” at Manheim Detroit, where each of 12 lanes auctions off a car every 30 seconds. That’s shrimp on the top rack, chicken below it, and I believe that’s perch in the bottom trays. Stay tuned …

Photos: Clay, Minus the -mation

Posted on 26 April 2008 under Fairs, Photos, Special Events | No Comments

Yesterday evening I attended the Tecumseh High School Spring Art Show. Some of the clay sculpture entries were of food, some of which included commercial wrappers from what they were based on. These are a few of my favorites.

Road Trip! Ohio City Pasta in Cleveland

Posted on 22 April 2008 under Photos, Restaurant Chit-Chat, Shopping | 3 Comments


Click on either of these top two images for a larger version.

What’s seriously annoying is going on a food-related road trip, getting to where I need to be, seeing mounds of fresh food everywhere … and not being able to eat any.

Yeah, that would have been today. Mountains of freshly-made mushroom ravioli … and I mean absolute mounds of the stuff … and not a single pot of boiling water anywhere.

That just sucks.

Oh yeah, the shirt the young man making the pasta was wearing had the pasta’s cooking instructions printed on the back. But could I so much as practice?? Nooooo … sorry, no can do.

What you’re seeing in these top two photos is the manufacturing kitchen at Ohio City Pasta. Located in the Old City area just east of Cleveland overlooking Lake Erie, these folks staff this facility 24/7 to keep up with orders from multiple restaurants in multiple states. You may have had some of the pasta from Ohio City Pasta in a restaurant and not even known it. And if you get a chance to visit the West Side Market in the same Old City area you can purchase their pasta for your own kitchen at home.

I’ll tell you what, this is some darn good stuff. If you can’t get to a restaurant serving Ohio City Pasta products, get over to the West Side Market on Mondays or Wednesdays and get some of your own. I’m not so sure, though, that if you ask for cooking directions they’ll give you the shirts off their backs. In fact I’ll hasten to say it:

Probably not.

Executive Chef Tad Cousino of the Frog Leg Inn in Erie, Michigan is
seen below visiting with the staff at the Ohio City Pasta stand at the
West Side Market in Cleveland.

Eat This Blog: First Grilling of the Season - BBQ Ribs

Posted on 5 April 2008 under Barbecuing, Eat This Blog, Grilling, Photos | 6 Comments

As it was finally 60 degrees here in Michigan for the first time this year we took the opportunity this afternoon to set up everything on the back deck, including my grill. After getting up fairly late and having a late pancake breakfast we’d picked up these ribs for this evening’s dinner. I made up a quick rub of dark brown sugar, Kosher salt, pepper and granulated garlic. After drying the ribs and rubbing them with the mix I baked them at 275 degrees F for about three hours. I then lit the grill, slathered these things with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce and grilled them over low heat for about an hour. While I did cut them before serving the meat fell right off the bone anyway. Oh yeah, the grilling season has begun! Tomorrow evening is supposed to be the same kind of weather, and there’s chicken waiting in the wings.

(Click on either of the images to view a larger version.)

Photo: An Antique Silver-Plated Chafing Dish

Posted on 29 March 2008 under Antiques, Photos | 4 Comments


Click on the image for a larger version.

Toward the end of this post the other day I’d blogged about how I’d found this beautiful antique silver-plated chafing dish at a shop in Grand Rapids, Ohio for $8. This morning I’ve taken some Weiman silver polish to its various pieces, and it’s turned out pretty darn nice. We’ll use this for special occasions, as will the Frog Leg Inn whenever they feel they need it.

Eat This Blog: Deep-Fried Frog Legs

Posted on 28 March 2008 under Eat This Blog, Photos | 4 Comments


Click on the above image for a larger version.

While we were having dinner at the Frog Leg Inn yesterday evening it dawned on my I’d never photographed the restaurant’s signature dish: Deep-Fried Frog Legs. The above image is the appetizer version of the dish, with the entrée having more than this plate did. As the meat of a frog leg is quite light, Chef Tad has created a light batter to complement the meat. Even people who don’t like frog legs have found they like these!

Review: Bravo! Cucina Italiana, Toledo, Ohio

Posted on 25 March 2008 under Eat This Blog, Photos, Restaurant Chit-Chat, Reviews: Restaurants | 2 Comments

Yeah, this was a cool way to get dessert! Neither of us were expecting this display stand and its contents whatsoever, but there it was. We’d figured that, when we’d ordered the Bravo! Trio, “Three of our most popular desserts; Cheesecake, Crème Brûlée and Tiramisu”, we’d probably get sample sizes of each of the three desserts and would have room for coffee afterward. But honestly, the menu description says nothing about the three being anywhere near the sizes of samples. And they’re not! The servers just bring out all three full-size desserts on a metal stand, place plates in front of you with some spoons, and that’s that! That Bravo! Cucina Italiana is full of wonderful surprises is an understatement, and we’re glad we took the time this afternoon to have a late-lunch/early-dinner and of course, dessert.

The Bravo! Cucina Italiana location we went to this afternoon was the one closest to us, on the south side of the Westfield/Franklin Park Shopping Center at Monroe and Talmadge in north Toledo. Attached to the south side of the mall itself (I’m not even sure you can get into the restaurant from inside the mall) the exterior of the restaurant is distinctly Roman in its design. Of course, the closer you get to the door the louder the seemingly Latin American music becomes. It’s a bit confusing, but really that’s alright.

The restaurant’s interior is light and airy with plenty of light shining on the tabletops so you can see what you’re eating. The theme is what the restaurant’s web site calls “Roman ruin decor.” There are huge amounts of space between individual tables where other restaurants may try to pack in as many tables and seats as they possibly can. Look closely at the image to the left and you can see the end of the exhibition kitchen, which was probably 30 feet long. Prominent in this kitchen’s center is a wood-fired pizza oven for the restaurant’s pizza and other specialized offerings.

After an appetizer of a thick Lobster Bisque containing countless chunks of lobster, I ordered the Hickory Wood-Grilled Salmon with green beans, crispy potatoes, lemon caper butter sauce and pesto crumbs:

Those beans may look like something off a cheap non-authentic Chinese buffet but they were crisp, firm and downright tasty. I could have easily eaten more of them. The salmon itself also retained a ton of flavor, and with freshly-shaved Parmesan Reggiano on the pesto crumbs, was a wonderful balance of rich flavors.

Now, about those potatoes. They were, in a word, amazing! Light and tender inside, crunchy and well-seasoned on the surface, those potatoes rank up there with some of the best I’ve had anywhere at anytime. When I asked specifically how they were prepared, we were told they were first par-boiled, then oven roasted, then quickly pan-fried over high heat to get them as crispy as possible without burning or scorching or further cooking the tender insides. They were perfect! I’m going to have to try to recreate those taters …

Mary ordered the Spaghettini Rustica with bacon, red onion, crushed red pepper, tomatoes and chicken broth tossed with olive oil, spaghettini and Reggiano Parmesan cheese:

One mistake that’s made with spaghettini (aka “angel hair”) is to serve it with a tomato sauce that’s far too dense to balance the textures within the dish. The sauce used here was very light, complementing the noodles perfectly. This is one of the better pasta dishes we’ve tried anywhere.

Here’s a better look at the Crème Brûlée that was on the dessert stand from the Bravo! Trio:

The strawberry had been cut almost all the way through into fairly thin slices. The torched surface wasn’t as thick as we’ve seen elsewhere but instead was thin and delicate. And the custard itself was thick and creamy, unlike some that end up more like a pudding than a custard.

The Tiramisu was more interesting than we’d thought it’d be:

This was probably some of the richest Tiramisu we’ve had, and we’ve had the dish in many places! While the dessert itself was rich and flavorful, there was also a considerable amount of beautiful coffee included. (We think that might be a fine layer of ground coffee on the surface.) And the chocolate-covered coffee bean adds a great touch.

The Cheesecake had it’s own curiosities:

The strawberry was cut the same way as the one on the Crème Brûlée. But if you look closely at the side of the dessert (now the top) you’ll see it was also torched, rendering the same thin, delicate sugary layer as on the Crème Brûlée. This is a good New York-style cheesecake, thick and creamy with plenty of ricotta cheese.

While this was my first visit to Bravo! Cucina Italiana Mary’d been there twice before. The food is so incredible, and the service so wonderfully friendly, that we’ll definitely be back.

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