Sakura: Japanese Steakhouse

Sakura Japanese Steakhouse

5294 Monroe Street

Toledo, OH

419-843-1300

Toledo shines with the simple elegance of sushi restaurants! For years, Kotobuki was the only Japanese restaurant in the area that served sushi. If you are over 30, you may remember En Japanese Steakhouse that opened and closed in the 1970s, only to come back as a strip mall steakhouse and sushi spot a few years ago.

Now, there are about 10 sushi restaurants, a few take out locations and sushi has been added to the menus of most steak and fish restaurants around town. Add the grocery stores offering fresh sushi and one would assume that maki rolls and tempura are surpassing hamburgers and french fries as the great American meal. This doesn't necessarily qualify any of us as experts in sushi, but I think we are all learning more about the properties of raw fish.

Recently, Sakura opened on Monroe Street near Franklin Park Mall. Locally owned and operated, Sakura offers a full sushi menu and the showmanship and fun associated with a Japanese steakhouse. The owner, Vince Li, is originally from Hong Kong but he has lived in Toledo for the last 12 years. He also owns the China 1/Tokyo Grill in the strip mall between Monroe Street and Sylvania Ave (where they meet near Secor), and the China 1 in Sylvania in the Major Magic's strip mall.

Li and his team did a terrific job converting the space from a sports bar to a Japanese Steakhouse, with a pleasant and Eastern influenced ambiance. At the entrance, guests cross a small wood bridge over a Japanese fish pond with a stone fountain. The bar is directly in front of the door and the sushi bar is to the left. I suspect that the layout is well designed and conducive to a quieter dining area when the bar is full at night.

The main dining area is surrounded by lacquered bamboo fencing with Asian inspired arches. The raised and semi-private tatami eating area is charming for those who don't mind removing their shoes and sitting at these special low tables. However, this area does not include the hibachi grills. There is also a private dining room with four hibachi stations to accommodate up to 50 guests.

My companions and I sat outside of the main dining area in a booth and decided to try the sushi. We ordered the Kamikaze ($9.25) , Volcano ($10) and Toledo rolls ($10.25), some white tuna sashimi ($2.75/piece), as well as an order of Chirashi Sushi ($13.50). There was a $2.50 additional charge for each soup. I ordered the mushroom broth which was rather salty but featured thinly sliced mushrooms and scallions floating in the broth. The miso soup was standard fare. The green tea was a lightly steeped brew and served hot in traditional stoneware cups.

The sushi was adequate. While the rolls and sushi were artfully arranged the color, texture, and quality of the fish in the Chirashi was uncertain. There is a vibrancy to the color and a particular shine on fresh sushi that is unmistakable. These qualities and the expected texture of raw fish were absent from the sashimi. It should be noted that Sakura uses white pickled ginger, rather than pink, so the lack of color should not be a concern for diners accustomed to the pink version. After the meal, we decided to walk over to the sushi bar to inspect the fish and found the smell of old fish present. Just as it is in American fish houses, the scent of raw fish in a clean sushi restaurant should be imperceptible.

Unfortunately, Sakura falls short as a sushi destination. I am optimistic that the Japanese Steakhouse menu is much better as it is the central focus of the restaurant. While we ate our lunch, there were three or four families sitting at the Hibachi tables enjoying the slicing and dicing and interactive entertainment that is so much a part of the Japanese-American steakhouse tradition.

For my next visit, I will try the steakhouse menu or enjoy a bowl of soup in the tatami seating. However, I am reluctant to send anyone here for sushi.

“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".

9/21/07: The Glass City Gourmet wishes to thank Kango for his comments about this review (See comments). The text in green reflects efforts to make the original message about my experience at Sakura clear to readers. In the original text, I had NO concerns about the color of the pickled ginger. I mentioned it because one of my dining companions had not seen white pickled ginger before, and I hoped to make it clear to readers that this is not a problem. I apologize for not stating that clearly. As for the consistency of the sushi, there are many terms to describe sushi. "Firm" is a relative term and I now know to be less specific in describing sushi that does not match my previous experiences.

Yo Yo Girl

The annual physical.

For some, this evokes dread. For me, it generally signals the start of allergy season or the need for a laundry list of prescriptions for a pending overseas adventure.

I decided to knock mine out in a one day flurry of appointments. I starting first with the snatch quack, moved on to the primary care physician at lunch and ended with a stop at a podiatrist's lair after work ended. I'm proud to report that I am blessed with good health...low blood pressure, low sitting pulse, low LDL cholesterol, elevated HDL cholesterol, seasonal allergies well controlled, and female functions in line. My feet look pretty good. I managed to end up with a big fat shot of cortisone on the top of my right foot for some inflammation and nerve pain. While it was most unpleasant to take the shot, I feel much better now.




Here's the bad news: my weight is fluctuating too frequently. I've never claimed to have a stable body weight. I gain and lose the same 10 lbs over and over again. But this time I was busted. Caught by the pros. Not one, but two clinicians picked up on this and declared, "no more yo-yo-ing". The definitive order: Get that last ten pounds off and keep it off. For good.

This is not good news to a girl who loves to cook and eat.

I always thought that keeping the weight radius tight would work. Not so.

"The term "yo-yo dieting" was coined by Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., at Yale University, in reference to the cyclical up-down motion of a yo-yo. In this process, the dieter is initially successful in the pursuit of weight loss but is unsuccessful in maintaining the loss long-term and begins to gain the weight back. The dieter then seeks to lose the regained weight, and the cycle begins again."

Oh, crap. That's me. I'm fortunate not to have this compounded by obesity. I know this. However, the impact of these weight fluctuations on the metabolism, mood, digestive system and the heart occurs regardless of the size of the person.

So, this time I guess I'm going to have to get serious about making permanent lifestyle changes. Ugh. I've struggled with this stuff since I was a teenager. I was a pretty serious athlete and my high school coach used a caliper to check body fat percentages and declare necessary weight loss amounts. I'm not blaming him for this problem. But it definitely set the stage for life as a woman obsessed with numbers.

On many levels it pains me to think that while so many people in other parts of the world worry about whether a next meal might be available, I'm regulating intake in a land of abundance. It's ethically and maybe even ethnically embarrassing. I am Jewish. There are whole generations who would find this situation offensive.

As I start the new year, I wish my friends and family a year of peace and happiness. I pledge to restore my health with dedication to a new lifestyle.

“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".

Tailgate Revisited

Friday night was a shopping and cooking fury as I made preparations for the big tailgate. I got a late start, heading to the store at about 7:30pm to fill a basket with all the necessary ingredients.

A trick I learned from my favorite caterer of all time is to write your shopping list on a piece of paper divided into quadrants for each section of the grocery store. In other words, instead of just writing the list of ingredients (one recipe after another), you take the time to put the dairy items from each recipe in a list of dairy stuff, the veggies in the produce list, etc. This makes for fairly speedy shopping and prevents me from having to go back and forth for ingredients that somehow got missed along the way.

By 9pm I was unloading groceries at my Mom's house. As anyone who has ever been to my place knows, it is a galley kitchen and there is no multi-tasking in a galley kitchen. So, with the mega granite kitchen at my disposal I had enough space to work like an octopus on methamphetamine. Simultaneously, I boiled red skins, blanched green beans, baked chicken for my sandwiches, cooked up the marinade for the artichoke and mushroom salad, sliced and marinated the veggies for my roll ups, whipped up the sauces for the roast beef sandwiches, and sliced and diced like a pro.

Presto!

In two hours I had three prepared salads and all the trimmings for the interior of three different kinds of sandwiches. Oh, how I love a large kitchen...six burners, two ovens, a large double sink for fast clean up, a vegetable sink with disposal, about 15 yards of solid granite counter top and a double door stainless steel fridge to hold everything! Yowsa!

The next morning, all I had to do was buy some booze. The list of salads is on the last entry. For the sandwiches I ended up making:

1) Roast beef with horseradish/cream cheese/sour cream spread, alfalfa sprouts, and cranberry/orange relish on Italian bread.

2) Turkey, pepper jack cheese, sprouts, and guacamole on pumpernickel bread

3) Roasted chicken with marinated mixed vegetables rolled into either tomato basil or spinach basil flat bread.

I served water, iced tea and do-it-yourself cocktails of lemonade, raspberry vodka, ice and a handful of fresh raspberries to float.

The menu was a hit. Coupled with a basket of enormous homemade chocolate chip cookies from my cousin, Gail and a tray of assorted mini brownies (chocolate toffee bars and the good old fashioned nine layer bars you may remember from childhood!) made by my Mom - this was one helluva tailgate!

Too bad the weather didn't cooperate. I ended up serving the whole thing indoors...and then caravanned over to the theater to watch the BF perform in Harvest Theatre's "Taming of the Shrew" at the Ottawa Park amphitheater. For those of you who love Shakespeare, you can catch the show this Saturday or Sunday at 3pm (The amphitheater is located at the corner of Midwood and Kenwood, behind the Police Station in Ottawa Park).

“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".

Party Preparation

I've decided to have a little party. My friend is playing Baptista in Harvest Theatre's presentation of "The Taming of The Shrew" for the next two weekends. I thought that the best way to draw a crowd to Shakespeare in the park was with a clever invitation and a tailgate party.

It's been awhile since I've had to compile the names and addresses of sixty happy people...and it always takes longer than you expect it to take. I found some cute invitations at Hallmark and sent them through the printer. I finished the cards and realized that no one has any idea where the Ottawa Park amphitheater is and probably wouldn't know to bring a chair. I took a road trip to find the theater and create some decent directions. I can only pray that this left handed genius typed up the directions in a way that others can follow.

I was foolish enough to think that 5 boxes of 8 cards would be adequate for my ever-growing invitations list. I ended up making a second batch using pre printed stationery from Kinko's. Half way through printing the Kinko's version my printer got testy and decided to start eating invitations. I'm not kidding here. This happened six times when I realized that this could only be a six round bout or I'd end up short a few invitations again.

So I packed up the whole mess and went to Kinko's to beat on one of their printers. Copy, cut, paste, and use the tray feed to print two invitations at once. Brilliant. I wondered why I'd spent so much money and time on the Hallmark kind. This is the joy of entertaining when you don't do it all that often. Honestly, it is fun to play with this stuff and problem solve on the fly.

Now that the invitations are in the mail (less one or two that ended up purely as emailed attachments because I couldn't find current snail mail addresses...) I could move on to the menu.

Here's what I'm thinking:

pesto potato salad (contains red skins, green beans, green onions, grated parm, and pesto)
corn and cherry tomato salad (contains corn, cherry tomatoes, chopped celery & red onion, fresh arugula and a lovely balsamic vinaigrette with chunks of bleu cheese)
2 types of sandwiches (these are still open for debate)
fresh baked cookies (I might cheat on these!)
bottled water, iced tea, and a premixed lemonade, vodka and floating raspberry combination

Now I'm thinking about props:

Borrow a six foot table and linens
Borrow a few baskets to line and fill with half sandwiches
borrow a big tub for the soft drinks
borrow a big cooler for the loose ice
borrow a big cooler for the lemonade concoction

Oh, no. Who has parties that doesn't already own all the props? I DO! That's who! I didn't register for practical entertaining gear. Park Avenue table service doesn't play in a parking lot.

Anyway, tonight having a test run on the salads. I'm taking them to a pot luck for the holiday weekend and making sure they gain approval from the discerning palates of gourmet friends before I make them in bulk. Stay tuned for more...

“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".

Peach Melba

The luscious combination of poached peaches with raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream was conceived by Auguste Escoffier, the French chef most noted for updating and popularizing traditional French cooking methods - as well as serving techniques - in the 1920's and 30's. He named the dessert after opera singer Nellie Melba, an Australian born soprano.

The story goes that Mr. Escoffier heard her perform in London and was inspired to create a desert in her honor. Rumor had it that Ms. Melba loved ice cream but didn't eat it very often for fear of damaging her vocal chords. The warmed sauce and peaches were combined to take the cold edge off the ice cream and present a special treat for the opera singer.

While descriptions indicated that the original Peach Melba sauce was made with raspberries, currant jelly, sugar and cornstarch, I found a recipe from Nigella Lawson and followed it to the letter.

Peach Melba

For the Peaches
3 cups water
3 1/2 c. superfine sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
8 peaches

For the raspberry sauce

3 cups raspberries
1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon

to serve
1 large container of vanilla ice cream


Put the water, sugar lemon juice and vanilla bean into a wide saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Bring the pan to a boil and let it bubble away for about 5 minutes, then turn the pan down to a fast simmer.


Cut the peaches in half, and, if the pits come out easily remove them, if not, then you can get them out later. Poach the peach halves in the sugar syrup for about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Test the cut side with the sharp point of a knife to see if they are soft, and then remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.

When all the peaches are poached, peel off their skins and let them cool (and remove any remaining pits). If you are making them a day in advance, let the poaching syrup cool and then pour into a dish with the peaches. Otherwise, just bag up the syrup and freeze it for the next time you are poaching peaches.

To make the raspberry sauce, puree the raspberries, confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a blender or else a food processor. Sieve to remove the seeds and pour this fantastically hued puree into a jug.

To assemble Peach Melba, allow two peach halves per person and sit them on each plate alongside a scoop or two of ice cream. Spoon the raspberry sauce over each one, and put the remaining puce-tinted sauce in a pitcher for people to add themselves at the table.

“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".

Lamb is Love

Maybe I'm getting so attached to food that I'm substituting romantic feelings for a Pavlovian response to rare meat? Or, maybe there's nothing tastier or sexier than a perfectly grilled lamb chop. Either way, I had a half a dozen small lamb chops waiting in the fridge and had no intention of freezing them.

Bone Sucking Worthy, Grilled Lamb Chops with Fresh Herbs

1/4 c. olive oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 c. red wine
1 bunch fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
6 baby lamb chops, 1 inch thick (I prefer the French cut)
salt and freshly ground pepper

In a glass dish, mix all of the ingredients. Add the lamb chops and marinate at least 4 hours, turning after 2 hours to marinate both sides.

Prepare the grill. Season the chops with salt and pepper to taste. Grill over high heat until medium rare, 2-3 minutes per side.

Eat immediately. Put down your knife and fork and use your hands while you gnaw the meat off those bones like a robust man playing Henry VIII in a B movie!

“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".

NY Times #93

If you caught the "Dining In" section of The New York Times, on Wednesday, July 18th you saw Mark Bittman's article,

"Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less".

It's a real winner! It was first forwarded to me as an email from the Calphalon g-ddess, and then the newspaper section was passed to me by my grandmother. The email noted #93 as a recipe of interest and my grandmother pointed out her favorite ideas, so I skimmed the list and decided to try some of these recipes during the next few weeks to see what I like best.

Honestly, they are all healthy and hearty meals made from summer produce and basic food staples.

Recognizing that my friend had probably forwarded the article to others with the mention of #93, I thought it would be a nice gesture to start there first.

93: Cut up Italian sausage into chunks and brown in a little olive oil until just about done. Dump in a lot of seedless grapes and, if you like, a little slivered garlic and chopped rosemary. Cook, stirring, until the grapes are hot. Serve with bread.

This is it. Easy and it literally took 10 minutes to finish the whole project. It smelled absolutely divine. I used spicy turkey sausages, seedless red grapes, chopped garlic and fresh rosemary from my patio herb garden.

Stay tuned for more adventures from the Summer Express 101 list.

“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".

Culinary Crush?

I think I've developed a "culinary crush". Or, maybe it's a "culinary infatuation"? There's nothing romantic or even malicious about it (If my vocabulary serves me well, this would exclude "culinary envy" as a label). It can best be described as meeting someone with superior culinary skills, tools and entertaining flair...and hanging on her every word.

About a month ago, I was introduced to a woman who is a marketing executive at Calphalon. (http://www.calphalon.com/) Check out the "history" section of their website.

She has a tiny kitchen equipped with Calphalon pieces from every line . A few weeks ago, I got to enjoy a dinner party at her house. It was a casual barbecue but it included some fabulous salads, grilled veggies, seasoned burgers, and a gorgeous array of home baked pies and cupcakes. I was particularly entranced by the enormous cutting board on which she artfully arranged cheeses, nuts, dried fruit and crackers as an appetizer. In all honesty, the Glass City Gourmet has never even attempted entertaining for a crowd. It all looked so beautiful, and yet she did it all in one day. GASP!

Last weekend, I invited my heroine, her husband and son to join us for Thai night. After dinner, we went back to her house and she performed on the fly, with beautiful chocolate martinis and an array of fun cookies. I was tickled to be given a new "Calphalon Kitchen Essentials 6 Cupcake Pan with Silicone Liners". It turned out that while distribution is underway, this is a piece not yet available in stores. I was giddy with excitement.

As quickly as possible, I tested this in my own kitchen with a recipe for Blueberry Crunch Muffins. These muffins freeze well for up to 3 weeks.

Blueberry Crunch Muffins


Topping
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1.2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into bits


Muffins
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
2/3 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup blueberries (picked over for stems)


To make the topping, put the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse to combine. Drop the butter on top and pulse until the mixture begins to form small, pebble like nuggets. If you don't feel like cleaning the food processor, combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and use two knives or a pastry blender to work the mixture into the crumby nuggets.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line 12 muffin tins with silcone or paper liners.

To make the muffins, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar. Blend in the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mix, then drop the blueberries on to of the dry ingredients and stir until just blended, being careful not to break up the blueberries.

Spoon 1/4 c. of batter into each muffin cup and top with 1 tbs of the crunchy topping. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 17-20 minutes.


“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".

Back on the "Calcium Diet"

I popped a pants button this week. Ugh. It used to be that my stomach muscles were so strong that the contraction of abdominal muscles that accompanies a sneeze could pop a button. Not so, anymore. One of the problems of making cooking a hobby is that the pounds can creep up on you...

I got on the scale and found out that I had gained 8 pounds since February. No wonder I popped a button! In honor of my decision to get back on a diet, I ate a half a pint of Ben & Jerry's and finished every other sweet delicacy in my home (Yup, a half a bar of Scharffen Berger 60% cacao went down nice and easy along with the remnants of a peach cobbler). It just seemed like the most worthy thing to do before the deprivation started.


If you've followed my blog, you may know that I'm a big fan of Dr. Jana Klauer's diet, "The New Calcium Diet". Basically, there is a three day jump start that involves eating a ton of dairy, protein, and veggies and then drinking gallons of water and green tea. This gets most of the water weight off before hitting the more moderate phases of the diet where carbohydrates and fruit come back into your life. It's actually an extremely healthy way for women to eat and I was able to follow it for about a year before I "fell off the wagon" and started eating too much food and too many refined carbohydrates (see the Fage yogurt entry of 04/06).


Anyway, day two of the jump start and I'm a little sluggish. Last night, I prepared my 4 oz of fish with as much flavor as I could pull together.

Broiled Fish with Fresh Herbs and Lemon Zest


5 tbs. olive oil
1 1/2 tbs. finely minced garlic
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
grated zest of one lemon
2 tbs. lemon juice
4 firm fish fillets (halibut, sea bass, swordfish)

In a small saute pan, over low heat, warm 5 tbs. of the olive oil. Add the garlic and herbs and simmer for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice. Let cool completely.

Place the fish fillets in a shallow glass baking pan, salt & pepper the fish to taste, and pour mixture over the fillets. Cover and marinate for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat the broiler. Place fish on a the broiler pan or on a grill rack. Broil or grill, turning once, until opaque throughout when tested with a knife, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a warmed platter and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve at once.

“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".

Breakfast in Bed/Le Petit Dejeuner en Lit

Have you ever put sauteed tomatoes into scrambled eggs? Conceptually, the idea of sauteed tomatoes with maybe a few chopped onions and green peppers sounds pretty tasty. However, because tomatoes are soooo juicy, the extra water can cause the texture of the eggs to get rather grainy. That's the best way I can describe it.


With this in mind, I thought it might be best to add the eggs to the tomato - rather than adding the tomato to the eggs. I whisked up some scrambled eggs with a little fresh grated Gruyere cheese (sprinkled on just as the eggs are finished cooking) and then spooned the cheesy eggs into a tomato. I had made cuts in the tomato, and cleared out the pulp and seeds to open it up enough to hold the eggs. Then I put a few fresh snipped chives from my garden on top for a little extra color. I underestimated how far the tomato would spread open with the eggs inside, so I used a couple of Soy Sausage patties to prop the sides up and make the plate prettier...oh, dear. A "near miss" for the Glass City Gourmet.

It was a hit! And a very neat and tidy way to serve breakfast in bed on a lazy Saturday. I put it on a tray with some fresh cut fruit and all the accompaniments e Voila! Le petit dejeuner en lit!

“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".