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.
Celebrating A Birthday at J. Alexander’s, Toledo
Posted on 1 November 2007 under Eat This Blog, Restaurant Chit-Chat, Reviews: Restaurants | 14 Comments
Ok, so it’s a ramekin full of macaroni and cheese. Big deal, right? Oh, you are soooo wrong … This is a serving of Not Your Ordinary Mac & Cheese from the J. Alexander’s location on Talmadge Road across from the Westfield/Franklin Park Shopping Center. We’re talking beautifully-made macaroni, swiss and other cheeses, bacon, handmade croutons … definitely worth more than the $4 we paid for this extra side dish.
Mary took me to J. Alexander’s yesterday for my 46th birthday. We’d actually planned on going elsewhere, but unfortunately some confusing information on that restaurant’s web site meant we showed up there a full hour before they opened. Mary had often talked about taking me to J. Alexander’s. Our dear friend Joannie Kitchen, Chief Flight Instructor at Bowling Green, has raved about their salmon, saying it’s the best she’s ever had. Taking Joannie up on her word, the Norwegian Grilled Salmon is exactly what I ordered, with a side of Orzo & Wild Rice:
The salmon was grilled medium-rare, at our server Allie’s suggestion. I’d have ordered it that way anyway … Back in July I’d raved about the Gravad Lax at the IKEA store in Canton, writing “This is the kind of salmon that almost dissolves when you put it in your mouth.” Well, this grilled salmon was just as good, being light and flaky, bordering on ceamy with a little bit of buttery thrown in for good measure. The thinner edge carried a little more seasoning, and there was a more peppery flavor there. But the rest of the filet was so incredibly worth ignoring that one edge. The Orzo & Wild Rice, with its chopped red & yellow bell pepper, dried cranberries, slightly tangy vinagrette and served chilled, makes for an amazing side dish. I brought some home and will have it for lunch today.
Mary ordered their Rattlesnake Pasta. There’s no rattlesnake in the dish. Rather, the linguini-style pasta noodles with peppers and southwestern spices are served with pulled rotisserie chicken that looks like lengths of rattlesnake. It was a wonderful dish.
The open kitchen at the Toledo location of J. Alexander’s is fun to watch. Chickens are roasting in the rotisserie unit on the left, which you can see immediately upon entering the restaurant. A stack of hardwood firewood is near the rotisserie unit … all their steaks are grilled over a hardwood fire. Interesting to note is that a lot of their cooking surfaces, such as the grills just to the right of the wood, are countertop units, making the kitchen simple to reorganize to follow menu changes.
Of course I had to order their Very Best Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream and Hot Fudge. As it was my birthday dinner, Allie had included a lit candle when she served my dessert.
After Mary had taken the first of a pic of my dense chocolate dessert, I took the camera to look at the image on the screen. Suddenly, Mary was wide-eyed, with “UMM … Ahhh … HEY!!” … and just as suddenly, I dropped the camera and grabbed my wrist with a loud, “Oh, SH*T!!!”
Mental note: Beware of lit candles next time someone hands you a camera to look at. Maybe the hair on my left wrist will grow back in a month or two …
While sharing my dessert, Mary also had some Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing to share with me. Served warm, it’s some of the best carrot cake ever.
We’ll be going back sometime, oh yeah, we will. But any dessert will be requested as “sans candle“.
A Monroe Restaurant Ranking Tool: MonroeEats.com
Posted on 9 October 2007 under Review Notes, Reviews: Restaurants | 1 Comment
Jason Blue has emailed with information that he and his friends have created an online restaurant ranking tool for restaurants in the Monroe area. “We originally created it to help us pick out where to go for lunch, but it worked so well that we decided to open it up for the whole community.” MonroeEats.com is an interesting tool for this. Restaurants aren’t simply rated … there are top 10 listings for Menu, Service, Atmosphere, Value, and an overall top 10 list. The tool also keeps track of how you’re voting, keeping track of a set of top 10 listings of your own favorites.
There are a few important notes, from the web site:
- Along the way, we decided that this is going to be a positive-only website: we are only interested in finding the best restaurants. For that reason, we’re only showing the Top 10 restaurants and we’re not releasing the scores publicly …
- (I)t was decided that the Top 10 list will only show results from the last 24 hours, to give all local restaurants an opportunity to rise to the top.
- All votes are based on a match-up between two restaurants, and are recorded as a vote up for the winner. In the case of skipping a match-up, the restaurant with the lowest score is voted up (this is to prevent cheating).The list may appear random, but over time all eateries are matched together evenly. As you vote, you may notice that the match-ups get more difficult; this is how the program sorts out what you really like.
Obviously, the gang has really thought this through in such a way that would even make George Gallup proud. And it looks like fun, too!
Review: Ocean Garden Buffet, Alexis & Lewis, Toledo
Posted on 22 July 2007 under Reviews: Restaurants | No Comments
No, this ain’t your normal, everyday, common, “Yes we have General Tso’s Chicken” pseudo-Chinese buffet. What you see in the above photo is, yes, from a local Asian buffet. But unlike the majority of the buffets around here, this one has freshly-cooked Mongolian BBQ. All you need do is select what you want in your dish, hand it to the cook, and watch him cook it up for you.
You’ll see him in a bit …
Review (sorta): Turkey Roost, Kawkawlin, Michigan
Posted on 13 July 2007 under Day Trips, Food Destinations, Restaurant Chit-Chat, Reviews: Restaurants | 8 Comments
Turkey? A full-blown turkey dinner, with stuffing and potatoes, and cranberries … in July?? You bet your boondockers! Turkey anytime, and this particular plate is one I’ve been enjoying off-and-on my whole life! No, not … the same plate of turkey and stuff … my whole life … that would be … no, that’s not right …
Review: Trout Town Country Café, Kalkaska, Michigan
Posted on 9 July 2007 under Food Destinations, Reviews: Restaurants | 2 Comments
It’s not very often Mary and I find a restaurant that we’ll go back to time-and-time again in a very short period of time. This past weekend, however, we visited the Trout Town Country Café in Kalkaska, Michigan, four times between Friday evening and Sunday morning. It certainly wasn’t our intent to have multiple meals there for the sake of this review. Sure, I could have used an excuse along those lines to generate multiple visits. (You know, me saying things like, “Honey, it’s for the blog!“) But frankly, after that first visit to the restaurant on Friday evening we both wanted to go back. And once we took the boys there Saturday evening, the Trout Town Country Café’s Sunday Brunch Buffet was definitely a given. Besides, Mary wanted to try that Baked Oatmeal at least once. Ok, so I’m getting ahead of myself.
I must say that all was not wine and roses. I do have some complaints, which I’ll talk about later on. But I’ll tell you what, with the friendliness of the staff (including Chef/owner Dan Bloomquist himself), and the food being incredible the majority of the time, I’ll give Chef Dan and his crew 4-out-of-5 Titanium Sporks right out of the starting blocks.
We had seen a blue state-placed sign for the Trout Town Country Café along M-72 east of Kalkaska on our way into town. Without a decent internet connection it took us a while to figure out exactly how to get there from our hotel. That it turned out to be walking distance was a bit wacked, and besides, we never did walk to get there. Come to find out, we should have just followed the arrow on that dang-blasted state-placed sign to get there the first time …
Reading the menu, the rather small restaurant showed its pedigree:
Trout Town Country Café is locally owned and operated by Chef Dan Bloomquist. Dan has been in the restaurant business for approximately 23 years …
Hmmm … we know more than one of these kinds of places, particularly Bolles Harbor Café. Besides this, on the wall near the register was a recent award. It seems Chef Dan won for Best Presentation in the Taste of Trout competition at the National Trout Festival in April.
Ok, Chef Dan, this is your home turf. Let’s see whatchya got …
Our 3rd Anniversary Date: Ski’s Polish-American Restaurant
Posted on 22 May 2007 under Reviews: Restaurants, Special Events | No Comments
If you read the “How We Met” section of our Wedding Web Page on The Knot.com, you’ll find the full story of how Mary and I met three years ago this evening. We’d been emailing and phoning for almost two months by the time that first meeting and first date took place, and were both smitten immediately. We’ll always honor May 22nd as one of our official anniversary dates.
In honor of that first date (when I’d traveled from Flint and Mary had traveled from Luna Pier, meeting at Great Lakes Crossing Shopping Center at Stir Crazy), this evening we met, again coming in from different directions, at Ski’s Polish-American Restaurant in Sylvania. Here, I have to give props to Amanda Wolfe of the Toledo City Paper. Her review of Ski’s, which has only been open a little more than seven weeks, was right on target, and helped push us over-the-edge in deciding where to go. Prices have apparently gone up a bit in the past month: Ms. Wolfe ordered the same Polish Platter Mary and I did, but the menu next to me says $8.99 lunch, $11.99 dinner. This happens with new restaurants on occasion until costs settle, so no fears there.
We started with appetizers of Cranberry Sauce with Cream Cheese & Walnuts, and some Sauerkraut Balls, made with ham and handmade sweet-and-sour cabbage, and then deep-fried. Each of these appetizers had a wonderfully balanced flavor, with the Sauerkraut Balls being piping hot.
The garden salad is unique, a dish of iceberg lettuce topped with raisins, handmade croutons and French-fried onions, which also seemed handmade. The house dressing, a sweet green onion creation, is almost gel-like … and is absolutely incredible. Ski’s already makes this dressing available to take home.
The Polish Platter is as Ms. Wolfe describes, with one exception. The chicken, which isn’t in the list in Ms. Wolfe’s review, leaves a bit to be desired, but frankly, it also seems out-of-place here. Mary said the sweet-and-sour cabbage was exactly the way she remembered her grandmother making it. I know I could probably eat Ski’s version in large quantities. And the pierogies and stuffed cabbage were surprisingly good, as was the rest of the platter.
The side dish we both selected was Cucumbers in Dill Cream (mizeria). Think back to the cucumber and onion salad with vinegar and sugar your Aunt may have made. Ditch the onions, and replace the vinegar and sugar with the Dill Cream. Ok, bad analogy … but the Cucumbers in Dill Cream was an extremely good side dish, with nice crunchy slices of chilled cucumber.
As it was our anniversary and I’d mentioned it when picking out a table (me: “How ’bout the one in the back corner?”; hostess [screeching to a halt, squinting eyes at me]: “Only if the two of you behave!”), our hostess allowed us to take a couple pieces of the handmade coconut cream pie home. Thick and rich, piled high with meringue and toasted coconut, the crust just perfect, the coconut cream pie is something you’ll want to eat slowly.
We also brought home a loaf of their Polish coffee cake, which I’ll slice up in the morning for breakfasts.
Mary and I had thoroughly enjoyable time at Ski’s, and the friendly and wise-cracking staff (waitress [cleaning the table after I’d sat down]: “Oh, yeah, I see, you just had to pick the only dirty table in the place!”) made our 3rd anniversary of our first meeting and first date that much better. We know a lot of family and friends we’d like to take to Ski’s who would appreciate that kind of scrumptious food.
Check it out. You’ll love it.
Review: Scrambler Marie’s, nee Café Marie’s
Posted on 21 May 2007 under Reviews: Restaurants | 2 Comments
I’d eaten often over the span of a few days at the Café Marie’s on Wheeling St. in Oregon, Ohio, a couple years ago when Mary was in St. Charles Mercy Hospital for some surgery. I hadn’t eaten at one of their locations since then and have been wondering if the food was just as good as it was then. There’s a location on Lewis Ave. in Firecreek Plaza just south of Stern’s Rd. in Temperance that still has the Café Marie’s sign even though the company is in the process of changing all of them to Scrambler Marie’s.
Yesterday morning, Mary and I had the opportunity to have breakfast at the Lewis Ave. location, so that, we did.
Review: Gander’s of Luna Pier Reopens
Posted on 5 May 2007 under Restaurant Chit-Chat, Reviews: Restaurants | 1 Comment
As I mentioned a few days ago, Gander’s Restaurant here in Luna Pier reopened this morning almost five months after a burglar-initiated fire. Mary, Caleb and I were there before 9 a.m. to enjoy breakfast as we remembered.
Gander’s exterior, with a lot full of cars.
The counter and waitress station,
almost exactly as it was prior to the fire,
but completely new.
Gander’s newly-rebuilt dining room,
full of very satisfied diners.
The completely rebuilt kitchen, containing mostly new
equipment. This was only a few hours after they’d reopened,
but they’d been working so hard it appeared the recently
spotless kitchen had been operating for years.
Caleb ordered the popular Farmer’s Omelet. Mary ordered pancakes and eggs (breakfast #2), while I ordered the steak (medium-rare) and eggs over-easy (breakfast #5). Everything was done perfectly and tasted as nice as we’d remembered. I also had them substitute biscuits for the toast. When the biscuits arrived, they’d cut them in half and actually grilled them vs. toasting them. It made for a great flavor and a marvelous “crunch” when I bit into them. The steak was moist and tender, and the hashbrowns very crispy on the outside while being tender on the inside.
We’re glad to have Gander’s back as it was, but even better than before because of the rebuild. If you enjoy great diner food that has those few extras that makes it more than just diner food, Gander’s is for you. It’ll be great to be able to start taking visitors over there again when we can.
To get to Gander’s, take exit 6 on I-75, head east toward Lake Erie into Luna Pier and take the first driveway on the right after that overpass.
Addendum, 5:30 p.m.: This afternoon, after Mary’s 17-year-old John had started as a dishwasher at Gander’s, we went back for dessert. Ok, and to harrass John … Mary and Justin each ordered a bowl of homemade rice pudding (made by our server’s sister, who was behind the counter), and I ordered the freshly-made coconut cream pie. The pie was dense, having a consistency more like a thick creme brulée, with a rich coconut flavor, heavy on the cream. The large bowls of rice pudding, the pudding made by the owner himself, were also rich and thick, with lots of tender grains of rice and topped with lots of ground cinnamon. Save room … you’re gonna want some of the stuff we had.
A Fun Review: Bolles Harboe Café, Monroe
Posted on 4 May 2007 under Reviews: Restaurants | 1 Comment
I’ll subtitle this one, “Two BlogsMonroe bloggers finally met, and the world didn’t end …”
Over on Not From Around Here, fellow BlogsMonroe blogger Jessika gave the Bolles Harbor Café quite a nice review. I’d driven by the place a couple times and it looked interesting. This morning there were five of us, and I convinced the rest that Jessika’s review was enough for me to want to take everyone there.
The Bolles Harbor Café is easier to get to than the directions Jessika originally found would lead you to believe. I know, I know, step 21 is a doozy … all you need do is follow LaPlaisance road east of I-75 (that’s exit 11) for about a mile, and at a curve that’s almost 90 degrees to the right, make sure to follow that curve a bit as the restaurant, designed as a quaint seaside building, will be directly in front of you. Make an immediate left turn to park.
Going inside we found even more “quaintness”. It’s rather comfortable in the dining room with an immense amount of marine memorabila. An old rowboat hangs from the ceiling, there are ancient military lifejackets draped over the ductwork, and framed photos and artwork abound, including a series of black & white photos from the launch of the doomed Edmund Fitzgerald. There’s even an old single two-footed water ski with a rear stabilizer, intended for slolam runs. It’s a great place to simply wander through for a bit as the room is similar to a marine museum on its own.
Of course, we were there for the food. Breakfast, that is. There are extensive Breakfast Offerings in the menu, from eggs and toast, to various omelets, Belgium Waffles, Dutch Baby Apple Pancakes (our server told us these take 30 minutes to make), Cheese Blintzes with Berries, even a Mexican omelet with onions, chorizo sausage, peppers, cheddar cheese, and a side of salsa.
Mary ordered pankcakes, while John ordered pancakes and extra crisp bacon. Caleb and David both had the Belgium Waffles, “with fresh berries and whipped cream”. That’s when the fun started. The server asked, “Oh, now you’re reading me the menu??” I mentioned I thought the Fisherman’s omelet, with sausage, ham, bacon & cheese, might actually have seafood in it, possibly crab. The server turned to me and said, “Honey, the only crab in this place is the one in the kitchen cooking the food”. Ok, she’s getting a nice tip … She explained it’s called a “Fisherman’s omelet” as the restaurant is located in a fishing community. Well, ok, I guess, if you say so, sure thing … so I ordered the fish-lacking Fisherman’s omelet anyway, even though I was hoping for one having crab …
A girl came in about then and sat at the table in the front-left corner. I didn’t think much of this till later when I got a better look at her.
Our server took special care in keeping our coffee mugs and water glasses filled. When Caleb asked for an orange juice, she asked if anyone else wanted some … because she had to freshly-squeeze it.
Ok, now things were starting to sound a bit different, a bit more “high-end”. Something was decidedly upscale here.
Looking at the menu a bit more, I found some interesting things. A Lake Erie Cherry Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing. “Frost Top” root beer. Fresh fruit smoothies of pineapple, bananas and strawberries. A Greek burger with fresh onions, olives and feta cheese. Penne Pasta Alfredo, Filet Mignon, Lamb Chops, and raviolis stuffed with Portabello mushrooms or lobster. Even a manicotti made from crepes filled with three cheeses and topped with a special tomato sauce.
So, who the heck’s this Silverio C. Corte who’s signed the menu? Is he the “crab in the kitchen”?
And why’s that girl in the corner suddenly looking familiar??
When Mary spotted “the crab in the kitchen”, he was wearing a white chef’s jacket and standard checks (those black-and-white checked pants a lot of chefs wear). The server filled us in that, yes, that was Silverio. His parents own the popular Detroit Beach Pizzaria, where Silverio learned to cook while growing up, and yes, he’s a full Chef.
That explained a lot.
The food came, and frankly, it was incredible. The entrées were on beautiful 12″ round heavy bone china platters emblazoned with the Bolles Harbor Café logo in blue in the center, with side dishes on 6″ versions of the same design. The 6″ pancakes were nice and thick, very fluffy, and the waffles were topped with fresh sliced strawberries and a huge mound of real whipped cream.
My omelet was an even yellow color without a single brown spot, which is something you’ll rarely see unless whoever cooked it is seriously paying attention to it. All the fillings were chopped small, exactly the same size, with a finely-shredded cheddar cheese. There was also a side of hash-browns, also finely shredded before being grilled perfectly.
All the food was amazingly good. The various flavors in the omelet were nicely balanced, and the hash browns only needed just a touch of salt. I asked around the table, and even John, our pickiest eater (the pickiest eater I’ve ever met) said, “I’d call this place highly recommended”.
That about said it all.
And the girl in the corner again looked familiar … and then she didn’t. I got up to write the URL for this blog for the server while the server went to get the Chef so he and I could meet. I glanced over at the girl in the corner one more time … and my mind solidly connected the face I was looking at with this picture. I excused myself to interrupt her reading, asked if her name was Jessika … and even though she’s Not From Around Here, there she was!
Jessika and I chatted for a bit just to get acquainted, and then Chef Silverio came out. In chatting with him for a few minutes, we found out his parents have owned the Detroit Beach Pizzaria for 42 years now, he had had just over three years as a cook in the Army, he carries a Culinary Degree from Monroe County Community College, and he also knows Chef Tad and Catherine from the Frog Leg Inn. He told us war stories from Vietnam from 1975, and about how he he ended up in the Galley of a Navy ship with a Chief that just didn’t like him.
Chef Silverio came across to me as quite a stong, confident Italian chef of the old-fashioned variety … who’s spent the past eight years creating a warm, comfortable diner with a wide-ranging menu of beautifully-made food. He’s the kind of guy who’s had a solid life as a detail-oriented cook as that’s how he seemed to be born to be.
I don’t care that Chef Silverio is ”the crab in the kitchen”. My family doesn’t care about that, and obviously Jessika doesn’t either. Frankly, I think the server likes the place that way.
Quite simply, as Jessika has already shown, Chef Silverio C. Conte’s Bolles Harbor Café is the kind of place you’ll want to go back to again and again. Oh, and meet up with friends there, too. It’s quite the comfortable place for that.
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