dianaschnuth

Koreana serves up delicious Korean food with genuine hospitality, time and again. That’s why my husband and I are repeat customers, dining at Koreana an average of two to three times a month.

The owner is friendly and gracious, and will gladly give suggestions on what to order — which is helpful when trying Korean food for the first time. For first-time diners, he frequently suggests that each member of the party order something different and share with the others.

There’s something on the menu for just about everyone. For those with a low tolerance for spicy heat, bulgogi (marinated beef), chap chae (thin noodles with beef), or jajang myun (noodles and pork with black bean paste) may be a great introduction. Tang-su-yuk is essentially the Korean version of sweet and sour pork, but with more of a distinctly tangy sourness than the sickly sweetness of American-Chinese sweet and sour.

For the slightly more adventurous, there’s dolsot bibim bap (beef, vegetables and egg with rice in a stone bowl) — or, for those with a penchant for sinus-clearing spice, the kimchee chigae (fermented cabbage soup), o-jing-a bokeum (spicy stir-fried squid), or any of a number of savory and spicy soups involving various meats and vegetables.

Each meal is served with several side dishes, some of which look unfamiliar to the average American diner. Try them all at least once; my favorites are the fish cakes and the black beans. A word to the wise, though: the red ones (kimchee) are indeed spicy.

Plenty of the soups and other entrees are appropriate for those who, like myself, are watching their girlish figure. Bad news for the vegetarians, though: the vegetarian selections are basically nonexistent.

The only other minor complaints I have about Koreana, as a frequent patron, are the sometimes-odd musical selections (from easy listening to classical) and the slowness of receiving the final bill. Those are minuscule issues, though, compared to the consistently delicious meals we’ve enjoyed there, especially over the past year. The owner’s handcrafted woodwork continues to beautify the restaurant, adding charm to what was once a small, plain restaurant next to a strip bar. His wife’s cooking is always extraordinary. And we will keep coming back for more.

(The Toledo City Paper is currently running a coupon for a free appetizer at Koreana! Try the shrimp shumai.)

But don’t just take my word for it:

Enjoying Toledo: Korea Na or Koreana (1/24/2010)
Toledo Blade: Restaurant review: Korea Na **** (7/9/2009)

Before I got my current job, there were only two reasons I ever had for going to downtown Toledo: to shop at the St. Vincent De Paul thrift store, or to go to the Greyhound bus station. For the past two years, though, I’ve been driving into downtown every weekday, and I’m honestly embarrassed at the state of my city.

Especially since my trip to Chicago this past Labor Day, I’ve been trying to think of ways to improve the things I perceive as problems with downtown. I’m not a civil engineer, a politician, or any sort of logistics guru, but I do play a mean game of SimTower. So, now I’m thinking of downtown revitalization in terms of a Sim / Sid Meier game.

Continue reading →

From the recesses of the inbox:

from: Diana Schnuth
to: Aaron R. Schnuth
date: Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 1:13 PM
subject: during today’s walk

I’ll probably end up blogging about this later…

I was walking up by Promenade Park when a college kid with a clipboard approached me. I decided to actually let him do his spiel, since he was polite about it. He said that he was collecting signatures to put an issue on the ballot: the government is apparently taxing cash advance companies out of existence, and “we” feel that the issue should be put to the voters, instead of letting the government decide. Since I think cash advance places are a Very Bad Idea, and only make bad finances worse, I politely told him I’d pass, but thanks for approaching me. I love being nice when I reject someone, because they get really confused. This kid was no exception – it took him until I nodded my goodbyes and taken two steps away before he managed a Have A Nice Day. Heh.

Then, past the other side of Promenade Park, there was a college chick with a cooler on a wheeled luggage caddy. She asked if I’d like some free bottled water, and I said yes, and steeled myself for whatever proselytization I’d just agreed to. She just handed me a water and a flyer and bid me good day. The flyer? Was for Cash AdvantEdge, located inside Rent-A-Center on Starr Ave. The bottled water had a custom label, too (which, incidentally, said nothing about the number of fluid ounces in the bottle).

When I took another turn around the park about 20 minutes later, there were a bunch of young people huddled under a tree, comparing notes and packing backpacks. I’m guessing they all came out with their various methods of spreading the word, and spent the lunch hour ensnaring the downtown workers (who, interestingly enough, probably don’t need cash advances).

I just thought that was amusingly transparent, and probably not very effective overall.

Incidentally, that issue was on the ballot for the November election, and I voted against the cash advance places, in favor of more restrictive lending.

Over a month ago now, Aaron and I were planning to take Aaron’s brother out to lunch at the Saigon Bistro, the only Vietnamese restaurant in Toledo. When we arrived, we were angered and confused that the “Closed” sign was up. Upon closer inspection, they were VERY closed: the decorations had been removed from the foyer, and pots and pans were strewn about the dining area. Only then did we catch the significance of the truck and trailer that were parked in front.

The Saigon Bistro was closed. For good.

While we were contemplating where we were really going to eat lunch, I posted this unusually profane tweet:

Last weekend, Aaron and I drove past the restaurant again, just to make sure they hadn’t been doing some major remodeling, or moved to another location. Alas, all the signage had been removed from the building, and a Restaurant For Lease sign was posted where the Closed sign used to be.

Writing a review is pointless now. Suffice to say that the Saigon Bistro had been one of our favorite restaurants, and became our go-to when we weren’t sure what was for lunch. I sincerely miss my bún and chrysanthemum tea. Aaron was partial to the phở, which was also quite delicious.

I guess that when we want Vietnamese food now, we’ll have to make a pilgrimage to Ann Arbor or Cleveland or some other more culinarily savvy city.

We miss you, Saigon Bistro.