Koreana Brings Fine Korean Cuisine to Toledo

Koreana
"Fine Korean Cuisine"
536 S. Reynolds Road
Toledo, OH 43615
Tuesday-Friday 11am to 2:30pm, 4:30pm-9:30pm
Sat/Sun 12pm-10pm
Closed Monday
Visa, Mastercard

Koreana is a new addition to the culinary options in Toledo. It is the only authentic Korean restaurant in our area offering a pleasant dining room as well as a full carry out menu.

Owned and operated by Ivie and Don Kline, Koreana is the fulfillment of a dream by Ivie's sister, Young, to own a small family style Korean restaurant. Young is trained in classic Korean cuisine and worked in Manhattan as chef for a hotel featuring Korean dining. When Dan retired after a forty-one year career with General Motors, he agreed to help the sisters start their own restaurant with both financing and sweat equity.

The sisters and other family members successfully provide the uninitiated with an understanding of Korean flavors and food preparation. While Young prepares the meals, Ivie circulates the dining room to answer questions and offer menu suggestions.

Our group sampled some traditional dishes including Tuk Bok Ki ($6.95) rice cakes and vegetables in a spicy red sauce, Bul Go Ki ($13.95) sliced tender prime beef marinated in a ginger sauce, Seafood Pa Jun (11.95) Korean style potato pancakes with mixed seafood and green onions, along with Chap Chae ($9.95) clear vermicelli noodles served with shredded beef and vegetables in a flavorful sauce.

Every meal is served with complimentary Ban Chen. This consists of assorted small side dishes that may include pickled radishes, spicy kim chee, fish cakes, sweet cuttlefish, as well as individual portions of cooked and chilled watercress, bean sprouts, and broccoli. Ban chen is served with meals and is a fun way to get a sense of the unique colors, flavors, and textures of Korean food.

I returned the following week to sample the Good Mandu ($4.95) which is Korean fried dumplings stuffed with meat, mushrooms, stir fried zucchini and bean sprouts. These delicious appetizers were served with a spicy soy based dipping sauce. For dinner, we ordered the Gob Dol Bi Bim Bab ($9.95). This is a one dish meal that consists of marinated cooked beef and assorted vegetables over rice with a fried egg on top. It is served with a spicy red sauce that can be added according to diner preference before mixing all of the contents of the bowl together. Gob Dol is served in a heated stone bowl that cooks the rice on the interior surface of the bowl while you are eating the mixture so that you have a crispy rice treat at the end of the meal. For those who have never tried Korean food before, this is a great place to start.

Koreana is a welcome addition to the Toledo dining scene. If you've never experienced this type of cuisine, let Ivie know and she will graciously lead you through the menu. Fans of Korean food will be pleased that Koreana offers both international Korean favorites and authentic specialties for the more adventurous diner.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. 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 official "Glass City Gourmet".

Mad Brothers Spices

Mad Brothers Spices...because if we were rich and had a lot of money, we'd be called "eccentric". So begins the adventure of Mad Brothers Spices a story of three brothers whose love of travel, adventure, and people influenced their unique spice blends.

Bill Eggleston serves as the front man for Mad Brothers. Last Saturday afternoon I had the chance to see Bill in action. He provided a cooking demonstration and product demo for about fifteen people in a private home. The demo featured steaks seasoned with "Really Righteous Rub for Flesh", Sazon and lime grilled chicken along with a "Carefully Crafted Consortium of Curry" used to season roasted kielbasa with vegetables. While preparing these dishes, Bill charms his audience with his encyclopedic knowledge of spices and incomparable story telling. Weaving fact and fiction into stories of pride and heroism among the brothers, his style only adds to the charm of the products. Bill's brother, Dan, attended the demonstration and enthusiastically answered questions about the products and the partnership.


As Bill educates and entertains, guests learn of his love for cooking that gained momentum when he would spice up the celebration barbeques at the completion of the construction of a new Home Depot store. Faced with a grill and a stack of frozen hamburger patties, Bill used his spice blends to make the meals special. With ongoing encouragement and interest from building contractors working on these projects, he decided to start packaging his spice blends for sale.

He partnered with his brothers, Dan and Ed to move forward with Mad Brothers Spices. The Mad Brothers are currently using an industrial kitchen to manufacture and package the blends. Their labeling states, "ingredients: Yup!". While humorous, I asked Bill about this and he explained that they need to reach $65K in sales for a product to be required to provide a full listing of ingredients. For now, their products have gone for laboratory testing to be able to incorporate nutritional information into the packaging as well.

In the meantime, the products are terrific. Each spice blend sells for $8 and comes with serving suggestions. However, Bill encourages friends of Mad Brothers to experiment and be creative.


Spice blends include:

Bodacious Blackening Bouquet: A traditional blackening seasoning made without salt.

Really Righteous Rub for Flesh: An unusual sweet rub designed to create a crust of flavor around grilled meats.

Potent Pulverized Pepper Dust: Hot and spicy flavor that can be used to enhance other seasonings with adjustable heat!

Sazon: (Spanish for Seasoning) is a common spice found in Spanish markets that combines dried coriander, garlic, salt and other flavors.

Carefully Crafted Consortium of Curry: A light and mild curry flavor for the Western palate.

For more information, to schedule a product demo party, or to order these locally developed seasonings for your own kitchen, contact Bill at: 419-450-2162.


“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. 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 official "Glass City Gourmet".

Long Over Due

Sorry for the big break in entries. I started the year with the best intentions to write a weekly post and fell behind with the obligations of full time employment...stay tuned. I will be back in mid to late March with more.

Also, coming soon, you will be able to find restaurant reviews and other Toledo-specific food writing from "Glass City Gourmet" on Toledo.Com.

I am honored and grateful for this opportunity. Thanks for your continued interest and encouragement.

Cheers!
Glass City Gourmet

Iron Chef Artichoke, Salmon Pasta

Remember the Iron Chef? The chefs are assigned a group of fresh ingredients and expected to develop a new creation with just the items at hand.

While I may not have the academic credentials or the restaurant experience of a true Iron Chef, every American housewife and wannabe gourmet chef eventually learns to "make do" with whatever is available.

Last night I had leftover salmon fillets as the main ingredient. Upon searching my cabinets and fridge, I came up with a jar of artichoke hearts, a head of garlic, white wine, fresh basil, fresh parmesan cheese and a box of pasta bow ties.

In about 20 minutes I dropped artichoke, salmon, basil pasta on the table. Light, flavorful, easy to make and well received.

Serves 4

2 salmon fillets (grilled or broiled)
2 cups dry pasta
8 oz chopped artichoke hearts (marinated or just in water)
3-5 leaves of basil (washed, chopped or made into a chiffonade)
1-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
3 tbs. olive oil
3/4 c. white wine
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large sauce pan filled with water to a rolling boil. Add kosher salt. Add pasta. While pasta is cooking, saute garlic in olive oil until it becomes fragrant. Add white wine and stir. Add chopped artichoke hearts and stir gently until warmed. Add salmon in bite sized chunks. Toss carefully so the salmon chunks stay intact. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and reduce heat to low to heat through. When pasta is finished, throw basil in with salmon saute and put cover back on top of saute pan. Drain pasta. Put pasta in bowls, sprinkle with cheese and carefully spoon salmon saute and accumulated broth over each bowl. Serve immediately.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. 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 official "Glass City Gourmet".