daniellewiley

Yum, I love watermelon. We just got our first Bubble Drink place in Toledo. I was excited. They even made a mini one for my daughter. She was not a fan of the bubbles.

Which tastes extra good with an appetizer of soft warm pretzels. Their pizzas aren't bad either.

Packo's is certainly a good idea, though my favorite is the Stuffed Cabbage - it's excellent. I also always get the fried pickles. Delicious. Beirut is certainly the best Lebanese Food, and though I can't partake due to my pregnant state, my husband is a huge fan of the Bronze Boar, both for drinking and for smoking cigars. The owner of Beirut also owns Poco Piatti, a fun small plates restaurant with amazing Sangria. If you go down to the docks to eat, I'd say that you should stick to either Real Seafood or Zia's. They are part of a small restaurant group called Main Street Ventures which is based out of Ann Arbor. They are both very good. We often eat at the bar at Real Seafood - best house salad in town, in my opinion. Navy Bistro has gone dramatically downhill, Tango's (the Mexican) has never been good, and neither has Gumbo's. They are all owned by the same guy - Tom Cousino, and the quality has suffered greatly in recent years. It's rather sad. We have two good lunch/dinner options in downtown proper. Diva, on Huron Street is very upscale dining. Jackson's is owned by NBA player Jimmy Jackson and has a bit of a specialization in Cajun cuisine. They have excellent music weekend evenings. For breakfast, check out Star Diner on Alexis Road. The waitresses look like they got lost on their way to Hooter's, but the food is of excellent quality. Orange juice is freshly squeezed, bacon is thick cut, etc. For Japanese, Kotobuki is great quality, wonderful service. A new Chinese restaurant just opened on Reynolds Road between Dorr and Hill, specializing in authentic cuisine. Lots of interesting food on the menu. It's called Wei Wei Noodles. Feel free to PM if you need more Toledo advice!

Kristin, I hope we can organize an eGullet get-together in Cleveland while you are here. I'd be thrilled to drive the 1.5 hours to meet eGulleters!

I'm in Toledo, and we have Tapas here. The restaurant choice probably depends more on the people, than the region.

We love it here too. It's the secret ingredient to my barbecue sauce. Not so secret now.

Interesting post... I must admit that I do look down my nose at most, though not all chains (especially those of the Applebee's type), but b/c I'm the mom of a toddler, we do end up at them occasionally. It also might be due to the fact that we live in Toledo. I have to say though, that I truly despise Red Lobster. I just can't find anything there that I like! I was dragged there by a client a few months ago, and overheard the funniest interaction. Well, it was funny to me, though some probably think I'm an ass for finding it funny. My client bumped into someone he knew, and said, "Hey, how are you doing?" The acquaintance replied, "Well, I'm alive and I'm at Red Lobster. What more could you want?" I raced to my car to call my husband and relay the interaction. It just cracked me up.

I'm so glad you typed this! My cousin Laura had a Boysenberry shirt back in the eighties. She's about 8 years older than me, and I was maybe 7. I thought it was the coolest shirt ever, and started ordering the Boysenberry sorbet just to be cool like her. Perhaps I'll need to find one of these on eBay.

We, too, travel the Ohio Turnpike quite frequently. I'm thrilled that Panera has arrived. It's a much better option than McDonald's!

I have an accidental food tatoo - a lobster on my right shoulder. I was 18 and thought it was red scorpion... until my dad asked me if there was any symbolism behind my new lobster tatoo.

We just got a Biaggi's at our new upscale "outdoor mall". I'll have to check it out. I'm not a huge fan of chain restaurants, but with a toddler, I have gained a new appreciation of how kid friendly most of them are. Some independents could learn a bit about kid-friendliness from the chains. We have a Carraba's here that is insanely popular. It's not bad. We tried to go one night with friends (a Saturday night) and were shocked to learn that there was a 3.5 hour wait!! And people were still putting their name on the list! We instead ended up at a small local Italian bistro, waited 15 minutes, and had an excellent meal - just down the road.

We usually eat at our kitchen peninsula, on stools. And, though I hate to admit it, the TV is often on, though we are usually talking over it. If Wheel of Fortune is on, though, we all watch - Dylan is learning her letters, and that's a great show for that. Our dining room is very formal, so we eat there when there are more than 3 of us, but it's much harder to clean up toddler spills and messiness in that room. When I'm dining alone, I do so in front of the TV or a book, or sometimes in bed, especially if I'm eating comfort food. I love eating in bed.

We went to Traffic Jam and Snug before the Pixies concert a few months ago and had a great dinner. Wonderful soups and salads, and they make their own cheese. My only complaint was that the cheese was served cold, but after leaving them out a while, they were quite good.

I think the people I know are in Sunward - that sounds familiar! I had forgotten about Arbor Farms - I like that place. Good to know that the produce there is economical - we've moved to mostly organic at our house, so I am always searching for low-cost organic produce, and we already do most of our food shopping in Ann Arbor.

Hey Tammy! Good to see a local mom! We're in Toledo, but are likely moving back to Ann Arbor (we moved away 5 years ago) as soon as we sell our house here. Are there multiple co-housing communities in Ann Arbor? I know a few people that live in one, and was wondering if it was indeed the same place... Do you use a cookbook for the baby food? I relied on Super Baby Food quite a bit when Dylie was eating smooshed stuff - it was great. Regarding Sunday's meal, maybe some sort of Indian curry with flatbreads? I think that would go a long way, and with some very economical ingredients. Where do you shop? I'm assuming Whole Foods is a bit pricy given the Co-Housing requirements, as is Zingerman's, of course. Do you shop at the Food Co-Op? Welcome! I'm looking forward to this blog.

Yes, that was a beautiful Tarte Tatin - one of my favorites, especially served with creme fraiche. YUM. I have a recipe downstairs I believe - from the NY Times perhaps? I will try to post it later today if I can find it.

Yesterday - Moroccan Tempeh Today - so far, a fried egg sandwich, but I'm hoping to make it to my favorite Japanese restaurant tonight for some Spicy Tofu Maki. Yummmmm

My favorite cereal is Heritage-O's, and it includes all of the above grains. It is delicious and incredibly healthy - a great combination. Of the above grains, I've only cooked with quinoa - love it.

How bizarre - we just discussed this at breakfast today. My father-in-law hit and killed a swan with his car many years ago. He was in front of his friend's house, so he brought it in, and the friend and his family ate it. My father-in-law, surprisingly enough, didn't have any (he'll eat anything), but he reported that it is very similar to goose (dark meat, lots of fat), just much bigger!

First Lucy, thank you so much for this blog and for last year's. I was up for two hours in the middle of the night with a terrible cold (and unable to take anything truly helpful as I'm pregnant). Last year's blog helped me through the long dark hours. And, when I checked this year's, I was thrilled to see that you were already up and starting to post. Sometimes a time difference is a wonderful thing in blog land. I was wondering why you so frequently partake in the cafeteria lunch when you aren't always thrilled with the offerings. In last year's blog, you mentioned that Loic brought dinner leftovers for lunch. Could you not do the same? Or is that not really accepted at your job? Or, is it just a really affordable way to go? Thanks again, and by the way, I haven't told my husband yet, but I'm loving the name Loic. (we haven't selected our baby names yet, so anything goes at this point)

That's what we call our 3 year old daughter. She dishes it right back though. I love it when she turns to my husband and says, "You silly goober!!" She also calls him butterfingers whenever he (frequently) drops something. Perhaps we need a new thread of food names that our children use for us! Edited to add: And my dad always called me Cookie. Now, it's been shortened to Cook. He sends me notes addressed to Cook, and when he calls, he always says, "Hey Cook..."

I wonder how many of us did that! Last week I emailed my husband and said, "please find a job in Vancouver." Today, I emailed and said, "OK, I've changed my mind. We're moving to France."

I agree! The cheese photos just do me in. Last fall, we traveled to Paris, and during a light lunch of a cheese plate at Fauchon, I found myself crying. Just because it was so goddamn good.

I've never had a problem with Chinese restaurants, but I am very leary of eating at Vietnamese or Thai restaurants. I would actually be nervous about traveling to Thailand or Vietnam, given the ubiquity of fish sauce. There are a couple of local places that respect my wishes for no fish sauce. They are usually not happy about it, and explain to me that it won't taste right, but, it still tastes pretty good to me, and it's not like I have a point of restaurant. So, there is a degree of personal responsibility. I'm aware of the cuisines that are potential danger zones for me, and I make sure that when I am at one of those restaurants that I am very communicative and very careful. If I were traveling in a country with limited English, I would prepare note cards that state my allergy in the appropriate langauge. And, when I travel to Europe, I always learn how to say "fish" in the appropriate language, and I dog-ear the page with fish terms in my dictionary.

We try to be good, but I'm out a lot in the evenings, and my husband and daughter end up going out. Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with a Big Salad (My 3 year old helped quite a bit with this one) Tuesday: Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf (bad recipe from Bon Appetit), mashed potatoes, and my father-in-law brought a Greek salad. Wednesday: I went to Bunco - the family went out. Thursday: We signed with a realtor and didn't finish til late, so we ended up at the Outback. It was quite good, surprisingly. Friday: I worked - the family went out for BBQ. Tonight: we are going to a fundraiser.