Glass City Gourmet

April 2006
Toledo, OH

Toledo is more than the Mud Hens, Tony Packo's, and the birthplace of Gloria Steinem. A city of approximately 304,000, Toledo is small enough for me to bump into someone I know every time I leave the house but large enough to have one of everything (Ex., A single skyscraper in our downtown view, one Vietnamese restaurant, one world class museum, etc.). Maybe this is an exaggeration, in some cases we have two or even a few, but it is a point I frequently make to natives who have never lived anywhere else and are apt to complain.

Urban legend states that Toledo has more chain restaurants per capita than any other comparably sized town in the United States. Toledo is also alleged to be a "testing ground" for new menu items for national chain restaurants. I have no proof to substantiate either of these claims. But ask anyone from Toledo who remembers "McRibs" or recalls seeing more than 31 flavors at the Baskin-Robbins and they will share similar stories.

This is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to eat, cook, diet and entertain with flair and whimsy in a place that offers many challenges. I encourage you to read on, as the Glass City Gourmet attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the "Glass City Gourmet".