Posts Tagged ‘Toledo Food’

Your local coffee/tea cafe…Mine… Plate 21

// June 27th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog, Restaurant Reviews

Tin Chef Josh

I believe everyone needs to have a local coffee cafe/house that knows your name and what you like. With this said, I have noticed that people have adapted this concept but are doing it at chain coffee shops like Starbucks or Biggby and I can be accused of this also. But what I have noticed like banks and their tellers, that after a few months the girls that know you are rotated out for a new bunch and you have to go through the acclimation process all over again. I want a place that takes the quality to a higher level and be able to support a local business not a chain! That is where Plate 21 comes into my lime light. Plate 21 is a neighborhood cafe that is worth driving across town for. Thank goodness I live a mile from it. The owner and her employees are great, they will never let you walk out of their place unhappy. They have a small food menu with a few paninis, salads, a daily soup, bagels, and fresh baked muffins, cookies and a few selections of gelato. They have a very nice tea selection for anyone’s mood and their palate. The coffee and espresso is fantastic. When your there and they are talking about the humidity in the air affecting the espresso you know they care about what they are giving you!

I tend to drink coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon. I like the traditional cappuccino, but for the last two weeks I have been trying everything. Today for example… This morning I tried a small americano and a small mocha soy latte. Yesterday I tried a iced nonfat hazelnut latte and they day before that I had a cappuccino with honey and cinnamon. I stop there in the afternoon sometimes and have a little tea, maybe open my mac and decompress for a little bit. Place is great, definitely go check it out and maybe it will be your local cafe.

Plate 21 is located at 3664 Rugby Dr., in Toledo, Ohio just off of Detroit Ave., between Copland Blvd. and Glanzman Rd. PHONE: 419.385.2121  http://www.plate21.com

 

2 New Burger Bars in Toledo with Ingredients we like to see… Finally!

// June 20th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog, Restaurant Reviews

Tin Chef Josh

Two new burger bars have opened in Toledo: Burger Bar 419 and Bar 145.

FYI I have not read TC Chucks review on the burger bars before I write this.

I am going to start with Burger Bar 419. This place is located where the old Matthew’s and Mustard Seed used to be in the plaza off Heatherdowns next to Shawn’s and the Beer and Wine Cave.  Go see Matt at the Beer and Wine Cave… but that will be a blog post for another time. The menu for the burger bar 419 was posted online a month or two before it opened and I have to say I was so excited to see a smaller menu with great ingredients South Toledo doesn’t have! For example: bone marrow, crispy pork belly, kimchi, sriracha, taleggio cheese for some great examples and items I’m in love with! Maybe the second or third day it opened TC Chuck and I went and ordered the whole appetizer menu and burgers and milkshakes… We had a great time trying the appetizers: like crispy pork belly with kimchi, bone marrow, soy deviled eggs with sriracha and arugula (Which is my fav appetizer there). The only execution error of all the apps was the bone marrow was undercooked but they fixed it no problem. I must say an awesome appetizer list. Now lets get to the burgers… The first burger I had there was the “Must Have” but I have tried almost all of them except maybe two, I will have to look. Here is my ranking of my top 3 favorites:

1. Pate Melt – This burger is so so so damn good. It is rich and very delicious, but me being who I am (critical) I wish the pate was thicker and stayed more as a patty on the burger then pretty much melting into a sauce. I understand the play on words with the pate melt name but I don’t like it because the association with patty melts don’t really come with a good reputation.

2. Vintage Bleu – This burger is awesome. I love bleu cheese, I love pickled red onions (we make those a lot at home) Great Burger!

3. Three Little Pigs – Another over the top awesome burger. Everyone will love this burger and I wouldn’t be surprised if its the most ordered one on the menu.

These burgers are more on the rich, dark, messy in a good way side of the burger world.

Their sides are also good. Fries are good especially with bacon and crazy cheese melted all over them! The only side I thought was just ok are the onion pedals. They are good but they are what they are.

I have tried two of the milkshakes: the banana foster and the oreo mint. For $5 a shake I don’t think there are amazing, and this will be my really only not great review here. The oreo mint I got to go and it came in a really small styrofoam cup and it was good but not over the top great I would expect from a place like this. The banana foster shake I got sitting at the bar and it was pretty good but again I didn’t feel like it was amazing. I would definitely add Captain Morgans to the banana foster shake next time. But then it would be like a $10 shake probably. I saw the peanut butter they get is from Gordon Foods so I will say the shakes should be a little bigger and probably use better ingredients. Little surprising from a place that has awesome ingredients like taleggio and gruyere cheeses and get there meat from a local butcher. I am technically a milkshake snob being that that was one of the things my dad and I always made together growing up and I never stopped making shakes at home by hand with great ingredients. I haven’t had any of there salads, desserts or floats yet.

I am so happy there is a place like this in South Toledo. A small place with a small kitchen, a small menu with great food ingredients that is casual. I love that you can sit at the bar and see into the kitchen and watch everything being made. That is awesome. With that said I haven’t sat in the dinning room and have had a server so I cant really comment on the service there. This place is a mile from my house which is so fantastic. Every time I have been there at the bar, Moussa (one of the owners) has come over and said hi to make sure everything was good and stayed and chatted a bit, and has even bought us drinks. Try the Widmer dark IPA, it is awesome. I will be a regular.

Bar 145 is located out on Monroe street a little farther from my house… I hear the place is owned by the guy that owns a few places at Put-n-Bay like Mr.Eds. Before going I had a few different friends give me some not to great reviews about the place except the inside of the restaurant is cool but the service was bad and burgers are ok but not seasoned properly, over cooked from the temp they ordered and a little overpriced for what you got. Ok… wow… bummer.

So TC Chuck and I go and Chuck ended up knowing the day manager very well and who I have meet a few times. This is awesome for us because I know service will not be an issue and it wasn’t, it was great… but we were sitting with the manager. We tried all the appetizers and made our burgers from the make your own sheet instead of ordering off their menu. The appetizers aren’t as good as BB419 but very different and I am sure more appropriate for the masses instead of things like kimchi and crispy pork belly… Not they are boring but just not as crazy as BB419. Most of Toledo is a chain restaurant loving (what I call) the “chicken finger and diet coke crowd”!!  Anyway I will say there apps are good and you cant go wrong with any of them but none of them where wow this is over the top.

Now to the burgers… I created my own (Which I like this because I am crazy and dangerous when it comes to these things) I created a $12 burger which consisted the onion roll (luv!) burger at 145 degrees (the name of the place if you wondered) spicy cole slaw, pickle chips, heirloom tomatoes, gruyere and brick house cheese (Brick house is from Zingerman’s deli in Ann Arbor!!!! Best deli in the country if you didn’t know.) Arugula, fried egg, hot sauce, and garlic aioli. I think that’s it. My burger did look good when it came out. I do think the toppings are a little on the skimpy side, I got two pickle chips, a tiny bit of the spicy slaw, and for ordering two different cheeses it wasn’t over the top cheesy. The fried egg was over cooked and not runny but seasoned well and tasted good. For ordering a burger 145 degrees hence the name on the place and on the menu it says perfect or perfection. My burger was overcooked, like the reviews from the others I heard. Now this is the most important thing I think. You have to get this right with no exceptions especially since its the name of the place. Even though my burger was over done than what I ordered it still was juicy and really good. Was it a $12 burger… probably not, but it was very good despite for all my critical observations. I definitely need to go back and get a burger off their menu that is cheaper and see what’s up.

Back to Zingerman’s deli, Bar 145 gets 3 cheeses and their gelato from Zingerman’s. This is soooooooo x 10 to the 5th cool!

Now the vibe here is more of a Jed’s/Bar Louie which I’m not real fond of. I hear the bands that play at night are so loud you can hear them in the neighborhoods surrounding. I know I’m getting old when I say this… But If I can’t talk to someone next to me because its so loud then I’m not going there to eat. Not that that’s entirely a bad thing. I go there for lunch and eat and go there at night for drinks, maybe apps and listen to bands. People hear in Toledo love this kind of atmosphere and I can see this place staying in Toledo and doing well. I will probably take people from work there for lunches since its closer to my work and maybe go occasionally at night.

 

 

 

Homemade Marshmallows

// June 5th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog, Recipes

Tin Chef Chuck

It’s summertime and there is nothing better than sitting around a bonfire outdoors.  Adult beverage in hand, it doesn’t really get nay better.  Well, except for roasting marshmallows over the open fire.  Why not try your hand at making your own? Homemade marshmallows are pretty easy to make, but they can be messy.  But don’t let that scare you, it’s well worth the effort.  Be creative with the flavoring and food coloring as well.

This recipe will make about  about 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows.

 

Ingrediants

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold water, divided

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large organic egg whites

1 tablespoon vanilla or ½ of a fresh vanilla bean**

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

 

Directions

Sprinkle a combination of corn starch and confectioners’ sugar on a 13- by 9- by 2-inch rectangular metal baking pan.  To be safe you can spray the pan with non-sticking cooking spray first.

In  a mixing bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water, and let stand to soften.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, 1/2 cup of water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved.  Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a candy or digital thermometer registers 240°F, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.

Beat the mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about six minutes or so.

In separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters, beat the egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla (or your choice of flavoring, about 2 teaspoons) into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into the baking sheet. It’s easiest to smooth with your hands.  Sift 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, for at least three hours or overnight.

Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a pizza cutter, cut the marshmallows into one inch squares.  Sift confectioners’ sugar back into the baking pan and roll the marshmallows through it, coating all of the sides, gently shake off the excess.  Enjoy!

TC Chuck

Happy Birthday TC Josh and Ricotta Cheese….

// June 4th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog, Recipes

Tin Chef Chuck

First, I would like to take this time to wish my fellow Tin Chef, Josh Happy Birthday.  Now what does that have to do with ricotta cheese you ask?  Nothing.

I just decide now would be a could time to talk about ricotta cheese.  I love the stuff and I am always picking up some for the store for pasta, ice cream or whatever other uses I can come with.  A while back, I came across a recipe allowing you to make your own ricotta.  I finally got around to giving it a try.  Two thumbs up here!  It’s really good, way better than the store bought pre-made stuff and it is super quick and easy.  It’s one of those things that can really impress people, as long as they don’t read this blog and find out how ridiculously simple it is to make.  So here is my recipe…

Materials:

  • 1/2 gallon of whole milk, preferably organic
  • 1 pint of buttermilk, again organic if you can find it
  • Cheesecloth
  • Colander and large glass bowl
  • Stainless steel saucepan

Instructions:

  1. Fold several layers of the cheesecloth and line the colander with it.
  2. Combine the milk and buttermilk in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir with a rubber or silicone spatula being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan.  You don’t want the milk to burn.
  3. Once the mixture is warm, you can stop stirring.  Continue heating until the temperature is between 175-180°F.
  4. You should now start to see lumps forming.  These are the curds separating from the whey.
  5. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the mixture into the colander.
  6. Once it is well drained, carefully gather the edges of the cheesecloth and tie it into a small bag with some butchers string.
  7. Hang it from your faucet and allow it to cool and drain for another 10-15 minutes.
  8. Try to use it fresh or remove from the cheesecloth and refrigerate.

Give it a try- it’s awesome!  Now I need to figure out what to do with the whey.

So happy birthday again  Tin Chef Josh, won’t be long and your going to catch me!

TC Chuck

 

Garden in a jar…

// June 3rd, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

Tin Chef Chuck

I have always enjoyed growing my own vegetables.  Recently I have really tried to increase the variety and size of my garden.  There are many reasons; first and foremost, fresh vegetables just taste better.  They are also better for you.  I am sure everyone has noticed that the cost of food is also going through the roof.  This is a trend that I am becoming increasingly concerned with.

I’ll try to stay politically neutral, but with the increasing cost of oil, the massive national debt, and my overall feeling that our economy is only going to get worse, I am planning for potential food shortages.  If this doesn’t happen, great, but I still suspect it will cost an arm and a leg for a carrot.  Many of the disaster planning and survival sites have talked about sprouts.  I will be honest, I didn’t know a lot about growing your own sprouts, but after a little research, I have my own sprout garden.

The only thing I ever new about sprouts was you paid four or five dollars for a little plastic tub of sprouts at the grocery store.  I would use them in salads, on sandwiches, stir fry, all the usual stuff.  What I didn’t know was that fresh sprouts are incredibly good for you.  I also didn’t realize all of the things you could “sprout” or how easy it is to grow your own.  It is also very inexpensive.

I picked up a “sprouting” jar for about 10 bucks at a local health food store.  I also bought a selection of different seeds to sprout.  It’s super easy to grow your own.  Soak the seeds in water for a few hours and drain, then rinse 2-3 times a day, keeping in a dark place.  In a few days you will have a jar full of sprouts.  You need to bring them into the light for a day of so and they will turn green.  Voila, ready to serve and enjoy, for a few cents!

My suggestion is to buy the little plastic strainers for the tops of the bottles and pick up some mason jars; it’s a little cheaper that way.  I would get several so that you always have a fresh batch that is ready to go.  There are several other ways to grow your own sprouts, but this one worked pretty well for me.  It will be nice to have fresh “green” stuff this winter.

Has anyone else grown their own sprouts?  If so, would like to hear from you and have you share your experiences and advice.

TC Chuck

You did what?!

// May 25th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

Tin Chef Chuck

As many of you may know, I am very interested in disaster preparedness and survival skills.  In fact, my love of cooking dates back to my Boy Scout days.  As I have honed my culinary skills, fine tuned my taste buds, and graduated above and beyond the fast food binges of my youth, I started to ask things like where does my food come from?  I started to question things like quality and nutrition.  I have been blessed for most of my life to have not been overly concerned with how much my food cost.  Sure there were those college days of ramen noodles and bologna, but for most of my adult life, I went to the grocery store or the restaurant and ordered or bought what I wanted.  That really hasn’t changed, but it may.  And that bothers me.

If you have read some of my other blogs or looked at my other site, Toledo Tactical, you know that I feel the economy is going to implode.  I just don’t understand how we can keep going the way we are.  I don’t understand how we can divert so much of our food producing resources to make biodiesel fuel.  Never mind how much energy needs inputted into the system or how much carbon dioxide is generated to get one gallon of biodiesel.  Oil prices are going to continue to rise- period.  Yes I know they are dropping a little, that’s because of a transient drop in demand from the record high prices, so enjoy it while you can.  If oil goes up, so will food.  I am learning that it is much more complex than that.  I encourage you to read the article The New Geopolitics of Food by Lester R. Brown.

So where is this going?  First, I think prices are going to go up.  A lot.  Second, I think at some point, the fundamental way that we live is going to change drastically.  Finally, if there is any disruption in our food supply, the proverbial poop is going to hit the fan.  This disruption can be natural or manmade.  We just put a bullet in Bin Laden’s head, I am sure somebody is looking for revenge.  Half of our country is flooded and the other half is being devastated by tornadoes.  And the other half is either in a drought or out of water.  OK, I know, that’s 3 halves, but you get my point!  I may not like what’s coming, but I am not going to bury my head in the sand.  I am going to plan and prepare.

Part of my preparation is that I recently purchased and hand powered grain mill and I high end vacuum sealer.  And I ordered a fair amount of 5 gallon buckets of beans, rice, and various grains. (I can’t wait to see the look on my wife’s and office manager’s face when this gets delivered.  I feel sorry for the poor FedEx guy!)  I never knew that most of the vitamins are lost within 24 hours from flour once it’s ground.  Sure, I know that whole grain is better for you and all that, but even the “healthy” stuff I buy isn’t really that healthy.  I am really looking forward to grinding my own flour from different grains and making really fresh pasta and bread.  I know this is one hundred and eighty degrees from my “molecular gastronomy”, but I am really looking forward to my new experiments.  If anybody has any advice or recipes, PLEASE share them with us.  On a different note, I found it somewhat interesting that almost everything I ordered is sold out and on back order for weeks to months.  Maybe I am not the only one with this idea!  If you are interested in getting your own food stash, check out Pleasant Hill Grains, after a lot of research, I think they have the best stuff and reasonable prices.

TC Chuck

“Men Who Love To Cook” An event for the Asolo Theater in Sarasota, FL

// May 12th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

Tin Chef Josh

I was invited to cook in a fundraiser event for the Asolo theater in Sarasota, FL at The Long Boat Key Club (Harbor Side) on April 10th this year. I posted the duck and and andouille gumbo recipe I made for the event in an earlier TTC post. This was a fantastic event and so much fun to do. Here are a few photos:

Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta (Buckhead)

// April 22nd, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

Tin Chef Josh

On my last trip down to Florida I always stop in to see some great friends the Conetta’s in Atlanta. As always in every city I always do research and try and find some great spots to eat! I found Flip Burger (owned by Top Chef Richard Blais) and looked at the menu online and was like I’m in love and this is the place we are going. Our first attempt there didn’t go so well. We arrived at 8:45pm on a Thursday and they where closed due to the season finally of Top Chef and all the employes where getting together at a local theater to watch. Bummed but understandable. On our way back home from Florida we where going to try again. Success! The inside of the place is really cool and different from most restaurants. Side by side white tables in the middle and booths on the outside we got a very cozy booth. You have to go to http://www.flipburgerboutique.com and check out there menu! I am going to say this right now… I had the best artisanal burger of my life to date here. We started with vodka onion rings and fried pickles with sriracha. I had to order the d’Lux burger: black diamond steak, truffle herb butter, roasted mushrooms, french onions, foie gras, red wine reduction. It was awesome awesome, like I said earlier… best artisanal burger I have had to date. Then on to there No2 milkshakes!! I had a nutella and burnt marshmallow shake, yes that’s what I said, very cool and very good! Check there menu for all the crazy shake selections. Definitely check this place out if your in ATL!

“Men Who Love To Cook” Longboat Key Club – LIVE Sunday April 10th 7:20pm

// April 8th, 2011 // No Comments » // Video



Live video by Ustream

Beans, Guns, Bullets, and Gold

// April 7th, 2011 // No Comments » // Blog

I have been busy over the last few months starting up a new business venture.  I have always been someone who believes in being prepared.  It’s the Eagle Scout in me and has been reinforced by my military experiences.  Our new venture is called Toledo Tactical.  It’s a company formed to reduce risk and hazards for individuals and businesses.  We will offer consulting services, disaster preparation supplies, firearms, tactical firearm training and other services along that theme.  FEMA recommends that everyone have at least a 3 day food supply on hand in case of an emergency.  I am pretty sure the folks in New Orleans would argue that 3 days is not enough, but that’s what Toledo Tactical is about.

With my research, I have come to the conclusion that the best investments are beans (food), guns, ammunition, and gold.  If you look into these things, they all have consistently gone up in value.  The guns, bullets and gold are or will be addressed by Toledo Tactical, but I am going to share some of my food thoughts here.  There is no doubt in my mind that food prices are going to continue to climb.  Since last year, gas prices have almost doubled.  They will likely continue to climb, unless the demand drops from the high prices, then they will likely stabilize a little.  The bottom line is that oil is a cornerstone of our food supply; it’s involved in every aspect of the supply chain, from fertilizers to fuel for tractors and delivery trucks, to the stores refrigeration.  So if fuel goes up, so will the cost of food.

Stay with me, I am going somewhere with all of this.  First, now is a great time to think about a garden.  Whether you live in an apartment or out in the country, a garden can offer great tasting, fresh fruits and vegetables and save you some money.  There is a lot of hype about heirloom varieties.  The hard core survivalists are stockpiling these seeds.  Their rational, which is true, is that if the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI) came to an end, you would have to grow your own food.  If this happens you will need a supply of seeds.  Most of the seeds that you buy in a store are hybrids that have either been specially bred or genetically altered for various reasons.  I don’t buy all of the conspiracy theories about why they do this, I think the seed producers are trying to develop plants which will survive and produce in abundance in your area.  I have nothing wrong with these seeds, but the problem is that you can’t usually use the seeds from these plants to continue growing stuff year after year.  So for the preppers and survivalist out there, go for the heirloom stuff.  But for you foodies, I am sure that you notice high end grocery stores carry heirloom varieties and that they are more expensive.  This shouldn’t be a surprise, they are harder to grow and the yield is going to be lower.  But they do have some unique flavors and textures.  I especially love the various heirloom tomatoes that are available.  So when you plan your garden, pick up an heirloom tomato plant or two.  They are awesome.  If you think the world is ending soon, then buy a bunch.

Another way to save some money is your local farmers market.  Remember to buy in season.  It’s the law of supply and demand.  When strawberries are in season, the taste better, there are a lot of them, and hence the price is lower.  Learn to plan your menu around what is in season, fresh, available, and less expensive.  Great flavors and you save money!

Finally, I am going to throw in my two cents about emergency preparedness.  I do think you should have a little food cache at home.  I think 3 days worth is a little naive.  How much after that depends on your political views and your beliefs about the potential for a disaster.  But realistically, we are not immune to disasters in Northwest Ohio.  Last summer we had tornadoes, last winter we had ice storms, and who knows what lies ahead this spring.  So when you are stocking your pantry, put in a little extra just in case.  I know you may be thinking that your freezer is full, but what happens when the power is out for 3 or 4 days or longer.  Unless you have a backup generator, things are going to get stinky pretty fast.  By the way, if you need one, take a look at my other site, and we can hook you up.

Think about what you put away too.   Eating tuna fish for a week straight gets pretty old.  Just because you’re in “disaster” mode doesn’t mean you can’t eat well.  One of my favorite stories goes back to when I was a Battalion Surgeon with the Marines.  We were in the field and the Battalion CO stopped by my Battalion Aid Station for a visit.  I offered him a cup of espresso.  He was a big coffee drinker and wondered how the hell I had espresso in the middle of the desert.  I always carried a tiny little espresso maker used for camping that I had found with me.  The Marines always were giving the Navy guys that served with them crap about not being tough enough or too soft, typical Navy-Marine stuff.  First, I did everything they did, and second, it was a blast to eat my MRE and sip espresso- made them nuts!

Tin Chef Chuck

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