Koral Hamburg, A Couple Long Walks, and a Silver Chafing Dish
Posted on 27 March 2008 under Antiques, Cookbooks, Hiking, Restaurant Chit-Chat | 8 Comments
Click the above image for a larger version.
Note: Part of this blog entry is written with my friend Mike Ingels of the blog The Erie Hiker in mind. I know Mike and his wife are always looking for interesting areas to hike and spend time. Here are a couple nice places to head to.
One of the things Mary and I really enjoy doing is going on day-trips. Just get in the car and drive somewhere nearby, having absolutely no plans whatsoever, just a “target area”. While I’ve been to Grand Rapids, Michigan quite a few times, I’d only heard of the little burgs of Grand Rapids and Waterville, both in Ohio. Of course I hear of these cities mostly because of school closings and traffic reports on 13abc. Also, both Waterville and Grand Rapids have taken quite a beating recently because of what’s become annual flooding. Both cities have sounded to be rather interesting and I’ve said so to Mary on a couple occasions. So yesterday morning we headed through Toledo and then southwest along 24 for quite a scenic drive. We hadn’t had breakfast yet, so we decided to wait until we got into Waterville before finding a place to grab a bite.
Mary hadn’t remembered there being a Koral Hamburg location in Waterville until we actually saw it yesterday morning. Established in 1926 and growing to multiple locations over the decades, the Waterville location is now once again the only location left. With its inviting exterior and bright-and-friendly dining room we were frankly surprised there weren’t more patrons than there were yesterday.
As it was 10:55 a.m. and breakfast hours were until 11:00 we were able to order a breakfast for myself and a lunch for her. Mary ordered the restaurant’s signature Cheeseburger, seen at the top of this post and something she apparently was looking forward to since we got there. When the sandwich arrived I thought it looked rather ordinary. However, on tasting it I have to say it’s one of the better burgers I’ve ever had! What’s unique about it isn’t only the flavor of the meat itself, but also how the flavors of the condiments and the bun have apparently been selected to blend into what’s a very flavorful sandwich. Meanwhile, I ordered a Farmer’s Omelet which, while quite enjoyable, very satisfying and not at all disappointing, was the same breakfast dish I’ve had in countless other restaurants.
Leaving Waterville we headed along 24 again toward Grand Rapids, stopping at the visitor center at Fort Deposit.
Toward the top of the enlarged image (to the left) of the map on the sign (click on the image for a larger version) you can see “You are here”, which has been painted over. This park is the beginning of a trail, seven or eight miles long, which follows the river all the way to Grand Rapids, Ohio. The map itself dscribes a lot of activity which ocurred from this area into Fort Wayne, Indiana, and then further south to the Ohio River at Cincinnati. Besides the lengthy trails along the river and some amazing views with accompanying historical markers, the park also offers picnic areas with the ubiquitous cast iron grills on posts and public rest rooms that aren’t outhouses. (They’re in the back of the beautiful visitor’s center shown below.) This summer we’ll probably head back down to this area and walk the trail. Unfortunately, yesterday’s brisk wind along the river was far too cold for such a lengthy walk.
Click on the above image for a larger version.
We walked around the Fort Deposit site for a while and shot some photos, and then headed on down to Grand Rapids, Ohio. The first thing that got my attention was this building which houses a bed & breakfast called, simply, The Mill House.
Built in 1889 as an operating mill house, the bed & breakfast now hosts guests in four bedrooms. This is just the kind of bed & breakfast we like to look for, so we took a brochure from the box on the front door. We’ll likely be staying here at some point this summer.
It wasn’t too long ago the Couzin’s Restaurant and the rest of Grand Rapids, Ohio was flooded under 5-or-more feet of water from the nearby river. The restaurant had been completely remodeled in 2003, and is now finished undergoing other renovations due to the recent floods. Yesterday after browsing through the town’s countless antique, craft and specialty shops, we found Couzin’s Restaurant to not only be open, but with a warm atmosphere and a fire in the dining room’s fireplace. Mary and I each had a slice of their wonderful homemade pies with some coffee. The pies are large, probably 10″ diameter, and each slicece is one-sixth of a pie, at a current price of $2.50. Mary’s slice of Banana Cream Pie was so rich and creamy she deemed it to be better than that of one of my closest relatives, which is really saying something. My own slice of Dutch Apple Pie with Crumb Topping had a beautiful apple flavor and was just moist enough to complement the toasted topping itself. This is definitely a destination restaurant for special occasions.
Because of the age of the city of Grand Rapids there are a number of curiosities that you need to seek out or you won’t notice them at all. While the steel brochure box in the image to the left is empty, the fact that the tree has literally grown around it makes it interesting on its own. Beyond this box you can see a mural in the rear dining area of one of the town’s many restaurants. (Click on the image for a larger version.)
What we found interesting were the many shops I’d mentioned earlier in this post. Two of the items we found are in the image below. The cookbook, “The Margaret Rudkin Pepperidge Farm Cookbook”, contains Rudkin’s autobiography, including how she and her husband first founded the baked-goods company in their barn in 1937. Some of her personal bread and cake recipes are included in the book’s 500+ recipes, including pages of discussions and “rules-of-thumb” regarding making the best baked goods. I felt this was quite a find at $5.
That was, until I found the chafing dish.
This silver-plated chafing dish from F.B. Rogers Silver Co. (see the image below) includes an outer container for water, with the dish itself having the handle attached. The cast base is designed to hold one Sterno can for heating the water. Mary and I really like this chafer, and feel it was worth the whole eight bucks we paid for it. This weekend I’ll get on it with some decent silver polish, and once it’s cleaned up I’ll post a better photo.
Apparently both Waterville and Grand Rapids have various festivals in the summer, with Waterville having a farmer’s market and Grand Rapids having their Apple Butter Fest and other events. As both of these places are less than an hour’s drive for us, we’ll likely be back many times in the years to come.
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.
Eat This Blog: Reuben Sandwich at Gander’s, Luna Pier
Posted on 25 March 2008 under Eat This Blog, Photos, Restaurant Chit-Chat | 2 Comments
Click on the image for a larger version.
Ah yes, a simple Reuben sandwich. Lots of tender corned beef, cheese, sauerkraut and thousand-island dressing on a good toasted rye bread, with a side of fries and slices from a real Kosher dill pickle. This has got to be one of the best meals there is when you really want something satisfying after a hard day when you’re already looking at a busy evening.
KFC’s Grilled Chicken? “I don’t want nobody foolin’ around with his own ideas.”
Posted on 24 March 2008 under Rants, Restaurant Chit-Chat | 2 Comments
Many news organizations are reporting that KFC will soon offer grilled chicken. From the CBC article:
Kentucky Fried Chicken customers will be greeted eventually by lighted “Now Grilling” signs, starting in coming weeks in select cities in the United States …Storefront signs will be altered to promote the new product — called Kentucky Grilled Chicken. Even the brand’s ubiquitous chicken buckets will get a makeover, though they will still feature the iconic founder Sanders … Doug Hasselo, KFC’s chief food innovation officer, says “This is transformational for our brand.”
No, not transformational. More like complete and utter nonsense, totally ignoring what KFC’s founder would have wanted.
One of the many autobiographies I own is that of Col. Harland Sanders. If alive today, the Col. would have completely pissed, and would have simply removed control of the organization’s “innovation” from Hasselo. Here’s why he would have been pissed, in the Kentucky Colonel’s own words:
Well, every greasy spoon restaurant in the country has fried chicken on its menu and most of them call it Southern fried chicken. It’s fried in the same French fryer as they fry fish, shrimp, and everything else. Well, I didn’t want my chicken to be in that category. So I called mine Kentucky Fried Chciken, way back from its very inception when I first started frying chicken in the state of Kentucky … In the Southeast, we usually season our food more highly than the people in the Midwest or the West. Also, folks in the big cities usually liked thier food cooked in one way, while people in the country another way. But it didn’t seem to make no difference where people came from, they liked my Kentucky Fried Chicken just the way it was … Since then, we have seen this fact demonstrated in many parts of the world where Kentucky Fried franchises have been opened - thirty-three countries in all.
Why do I say the Col. would remove Doug Hasselo from the organization? Again, I’ll let the Col. explain:
Many times I’ve been accused of being a perfectionist. Maybe I am. But I do know how chicken should be fried, and if it’s goona be fried usin’ my special recipe, then it’s got to be done right. I don’t want nobody foolin’ around with his own ideas. [emphasis mine] If he had my franchise then he had to do it my way.
One time Mildred called me on the phone from Newport News, Virginia, to tell me there was a franchisee that wasn’t fryin’ chicken with my equipment. Someone come along and sold him on another type cooker.
At the time I was in Roanoke, so I drove up there, and sure enough there was this inferior equipment. There was also a pile of chicken left over from the night before and it was a horrible mess.
Well, I got there just after daylight. Wasn’t any business in the restaurant, so I backed up my car to the platform, raised the trunk lid, and went through the kitchen.
“Where’s the chicken-frying department?” I asked the first man I see.
“Over there,” he jerked his thumb.
There was the cooker. There was the pile of chicken left over from the night before. So I crawled under the counter and started handin’ the cookers over to my man. He carried them out and put them in the back of the car. Then we got the barrel of spice that I sent him. We took everything that had to do with Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Then I got into the front part of the restaurant and find the manager in there smokin’ a cigarette.
“Where’s the owner?” I asked.
“Not here yet.’”
“When he comes, tell him he’s out of the chicken business as far as Kentucky Fried Chicken is concerned. I’ve pulled his cookers, his spices, everything he’s got, and he won’t represent me anymore.”
The Col. physically shut down this franchise, and others like it, for fairly minor infractions against what he founded KFC on.
And then there’s Doug Hasselo, KFC’s “chief food innovation officer”, changing products and storefront signs.
Doug Hasselo, KFC’s “chief food innovation officer.” Chief what? Chief of, “If the Col. were alive today, he’d throw me out on my ass, with my grills not too far behind.”
I guess I’d better get over to a real KFC and get some real, honest, original recipe before these dad-gummed kids run the place right into the ground.
HJ’s Prime Cut, Toledo
Posted on 22 March 2008 under Photos, Restaurant Chit-Chat | No Comments
Click the image for a larger version.
A couple months ago I spent a couple days at Mary’s brother’s house while a crew installed carpeting. To thank us for this, David gave us a $50 gift card to HJ’s Prime Cut on Alexis Rd. at Dixie Hwy. This evening we were finally able to head down there to have what’s probably some of the best beef in Toledo. In the above photo you can see my serving of their signature prime rib which I ordered as the Prime Rib & Perch Combo. The 8 oz of prime rib itself was perfectly done, needing no additional sauce, with the perch being moist but firm. This is an exceptional dish that HJ’s does quite well. Behind the plate you’ll see I also had a bottle of the new Land Shark Lager from the folks at Margaritaville. The lager is on the lighter side with a full-body flavor, making it a good party brew.
Click on the image for a larger version.
This is Mary’s serving of the restaurant’s Baby Back Ribs. Even though she was only able to finish half of these ribs she was very happy with the immnse flavor and how the meat simply fell off the bone. She has plenty left over for another meal.
Even though we didnt happen to catch our server’s name she was very attentive, taking care of everything as necessary. We’ll definitely be back sometime.
Note: HJ’s Prime Cut will be closing this particular location April 1, 2008, moving all of it back into their current banquet facility just west of where this standalone restaurant is. The location on Heatherdowns will be unaffected by this move.
MDA Lock-Up at the Frog Leg Inn, and Accident Details
Posted on 29 February 2008 under Restaurant Chit-Chat, Special Events | No Comments
So yesterday morning, the call came. “Dave, there’s going to be a great photo op over here today … it’s the MDA Lock-Up and there’s already three limos parked next to the restaurant!” Grabbing my gear I headed for the Frog Leg Inn and found exactly that, with lots of activity inside the restaurant.
Now, I had intended to tell you the story of the whole day in this post. Instead, since my right shoulder’s fairly sore today, I set up the Photo Gallery on the restaurant’s web site to tell the majority of the story. There are 19 images in that gallery featuring Luna Pier City Administrator Greg Stewart, along with shots of other participants, some of the volunteers and, of course, the food. (Mary was asked if they could arrest her as well but she works too far away for that to have been practical.)
As to yesterday’s limousine accident: I wanted to get video of Greg being arrested, so I was along for the ride. Ron, the driver, had asked if I wanted to sit in the rear of the limo, but I wanted to sit up front so I could shoot the vehicle’s approach to City Hall before Ron “arrested” Greg. At about noon we had dropped off two of the morning’s participants in Lambertville and Ron had “arrested” a gal at an insurance agency in the Bedford area.
We were headed north on Secor on our way to Luna Pier City Hall so Ron could “arrest” Greg and were about to pass through the intersection at Erie Road … when the maroon minivan seen in yesterday’s photo pulled out from a full stop and headed west right in front of us. (Secor Road doesn’t have Stop signs at that intersection while Erie Road does.) Ron pulled left to get around her but she just kept going. He did everything he could (including yelling!) to stop that limo but at about 45 mph there was far too much momentum. The limo hit her minivan from the driver’s door forward, shoving her vehicle 90 degrees around to head north on Secor, while the limo literally ground into the pavement to a stop just short of a telephone pole.
The driver of the minivan would be my only real concern, but as I never learned her name I’ll likely never find out how much she was injured. I heard late yesterday the gal from the insurance agency was fine, was the person who called 911 and took over from me to assist with the woman in the minivan while I directed traffic till police got there. And Ron’s likely back on the job today.
This incident is one of those proofs that, indeed, you never know what will happen.
Frog Leg Inn: The Demise of the Orange Formica Bar
Posted on 15 February 2008 under Restaurant Chit-Chat | 2 Comments
For those familiar with the 1970s-era orange Formica bar at the Frog Leg Inn in Erie, Michigan (the bar with the exceedingly-uncomfortable forearm ramp) … as you can see from the above photo it’s no longer there! In its place is a couple inch thickness of this beautiful quartz. The front of the bar, its step and the floor on its platform will also be re-finished to compliment this new surface. Yes, you can finally eat at the bar if you’d like without too much trouble!
Eat This Blog: Saturday’s Dinner, a Stuffed-Salmon Terrine
Posted on 11 February 2008 under Eat This Blog, Restaurant Chit-Chat | 4 Comments
Saturday evening at the Frog Leg Inn in Erie during my annual “Daddy-Daughter Date” with Briahna, I had my first taste of Chef Cedric’s Asparagus & Wild Mushroom-Stuffed Salmon Terrine. Fresh Atlantic salmon lines an oiled bowl, and the inside is stuffed with an asparagus and wild mushroom stuffing. This is steamed for about 20 minutes, and is then inverted into a basil cream sauce. The presentation is amazing, and the basil cream sauce sets the whole thing off perfectly. Frog Leg Inn co-owner (and Cedric’s mom) Catherine hadn’t tried this dish yet either but now she has … it was so good, she almost double-dipped when she tasted from my serving!
Photos: Salad Gallery, Toledo
Posted on 6 February 2008 under Photos, Restaurant Chit-Chat | 4 Comments
We’ve been wanting to try the Salad Gallery on Navarre Ave. east of St. Charles hospital for a couple years now. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but inside are all kinds of fresh goodies in a brightly-lit and clean environment … and, the place gets busy!
There are all sorts of salads. Above you can see the chicken salad with some cottage cheese, a fruit cup and a Nantucket Nectar orange juice.
Below you can see some of the selections of green salads. There are also creamy salads, along with subs, sandwiches and desserts.
This is just a quick look at the place. The food was fresh, cold and very crisp. We’ll head back another time for a better look!
CBC Video: North Vancouver City Councillor Asks for Banning of Drive-Thrus
Posted on 31 January 2008 under Food In The News, Politics, Restaurant Chit-Chat, Video | 4 Comments
North Vancouver City Councillor Sam Schechter is attempting to enact a ban on any future drive-thrus within his city. There is currently one drive-thru, at an A&W restaurant. Councillor Schechter claims banning drive-thrus will help reduce global warming and will not have an effect on individuals who are more likely to use a drive-thru because of disabilities. Click on the “Drive Thru Open” image to view the CBC Morning News video. (Runs 4:24; Windows Media Player required to view.)
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