Exploring the Tasty Variety of Northwest Ohio's Cuisine

The Satiated Blonde
12 minutes ago
10 min read

Since I have shared about northeast Ohio restaurants, coffee shops, and markets, I thought I'd do the northwest, too! I am always amazed how many neat places we come across that are tucked in this part of the state!

Coffee Talk

Flatlands (Bowling Green) a cool minimalist style coffee shop and roastery that only offers the best beans. They have won awards and been named Best Ohio Roaster by Food & Wine. Even going back to before they roasted their own beans, I remember being amazed by their curated coffee choices highlighting top roasters from all over. My love for 49th Parallel coffee began here. There is plenty of space to spread out, plug in your laptop, and get to work. We were there for almost 5 hours! They offer homemade organic scones and baked goods, and have a unique coffee and tea menu with a variety of brew methods. Not to mention the cheery and inviting baristas, the exotic plants, and analog sounds from the record player behind the bar!
The Flying Joe (Perrysburg) - Recently renovated, this place has a unique, rotating coffee menu, has coolers of Olipops, Kombucha, and other drinks! I really like the green inside, especially the green velvet couch - not sure why I like those so much, haha! Let's talk about the menu...they have the coolest one I've ever seen. It rotates and is so colorful. You really have to see it for yourself!
Rust Belt Coffee (Toledo) - This coffee shop is in the heart of downtown Toledo, with a small parking lot and street parking available outside. They have done a great job of creating a welcoming atmosphere in an industrial-chic space, with tables big and small, hanging lamps, and even additional event spaces that you can reserve for meetings or after hours events. The coffee options are creative and seasonal, using house blends roasted by Actual Coffee, and they also sell good local juice and pastry options.
Uptown market + Cafe (Leipsic) - This is a cafe, bar, and market all in one, with the bonus being they also carry Knueven ice cream (more on this in the ice cream section below!). I was so excited when I found the last of the season strawberry pint here! There's a cute little downtown and we went on a beautiful day!

holding strawberry ice cream up in Uptown Market & Cafe

4. Hoen's Garden Center: Queen Bee & Honey Coffee (Holland) - A quaint coffee shop nestled in the garden center. They have a tiny old truck they have the espresso machine on, and overall it's very "aesthetic" (my niece would be proud of me, haha). I appreciate that they update their sign (they were out of something and it's just nice to know before instead of after ordering, lol). We got a tasty dirty chai. It's not technically on their menu, but it's a chai with a shot of espresso added. Their signature chai mix is from Kolkata chai and uses 100% organic assam black tea. We also walked around the garden center and wow! We'd never been there before but it was amazing - everything was in bloom...even things I didn't know bloomed, were blooming. Like, this snake plant (I know this post is about food, but I can't help but to share this, lol!). But c'mon, have you ever seen a snake plant bloom?

5. Heavy Wheelhouse (now under new management) - Nestled into a metro park building in Oak Openings, near one of the longest trails in Ohio (the Wabash Cannonball Trail), and surrounded by mountain bike training courses in the forest and within steps of the biggest public treehouse village in the USA that you can actually stay overnight in, you'll find a brewery and cafe. We have had lattes, cold brew coffee, and dirty chais, and they are very consistent with their beverage options!

Pizza

Wild Side Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, Toledo) - They have great appetizers like wild game charcuterie boards, flatbreads (offer gluten-free), an impressive array of authentic Detroit-style pizza, and it's a nice atmosphere for a date night or group of friends--often with some of the best live music around. With two locations, you can get their tasty food and drinks whether you're downtown Toledo or out farther in the country at their original location in the charming little river town of Grand Rapids. They got their start brewing wild-fermented sour ales, and have since expanded their offerings to include other types of in-house brews, a curated selection of local craft beers, and more recently, one of the best bourbon selections in the area.

5th Street Pub (Perrysburg): When they first opened they got my attention since they're Ohio's only certified Napolitano pizzeria! I'll be sharing more about what that means (post coming soon). We enjoy their side salads, pepperoni with sausage pizza, meatballs, and my personal favorites (ordered with the crust extra crispy): the Picantizza which has basil leaves, fresh mozzarella, capicola, banana peppers pecorino romano & olive oil and the Padrino: basil leaves, fresh mozzarella, soppressata, black olives, pecorino romano & olive oil.

Middle Eastern

South Side 6 (Bowling Green) - For quick and tasty shawarma, this is our go-to. Their fries are delicious and so is the garlic sauce. I order it "in a kit" which is basically without the pita. It comes with a bunch of meat, pickled veggies (turnips and cucumbers, I think), and garlic sauce. We request extra garlic sauce because the fries are delicious dipped in it! They have carry-out items too, like hummus and baba ghanoush. Their gyros are bigger than my head, and they're super friendly, too! It's a family-run business, and you can tell that they take pride in their work.

Sidon (Toledo) - Recommended by a friend, we tried out this lebanese grille and bakery. The food came out fast and their sides are ready to-go as well. If we happened to be in the area, I would check it out again.

Middle East Market (Toledo) - This market is right next to Sidon. Their bakery looks phenomenal and we found some unique items we've never found in the store before - like selected Mymoune products, Olive Harvest (Maalouf) Extra Virgin Olive Oil that we've only seen available from their personal site and Milk Street Kitchen - this was a unique find! They have a small produce section, meat counter, a couple aisles with mostly international options, and a wall of coolers (they have some wild cheese options we may just have to go back and try)!

Thai

Bangkok Kitchen (Maumee) - This is probably the cuisine I crave the most. Spicy with some meat and carbs, it's so good! Oftentimes when we call they're busy, so we just keep trying. My go-to is their panang curry with chicken. Medium spice level works for me, although it ranges from the mild medium to lower high spice. However, I ordered spicy one time and I ate it, but it was S-P-I-C-Y! We also get Tom Kha (coconut soup) with no mushrooms, adding chicken. I scoop out the extra chicken in the soup to finish off my curry along with the container of rice. But, I always start with a couple bites of my hubby's pad thai! Most recently, we ordered the Laab Salad Dinner. It comes with chopped meat, red onions, mint, green onions, cilantro, and Thai spices with choice of meat. It had such straightforward ingredients and was surprisingly delicious! We've tried other things, too, but these are our mainstays. It's worth mentioning how friendly they are and they have the absolute best headset/noise cancelling system to order - no background noise!

American

Farnsworth Cocktail Bar (Waterville) - this is a newer restaurant, but it's located right off the main strip in a historic bank building--their wine cellar is inside the old bank vault, which you can see behind the bar! It has a lot of seafood options, which my husband likes as well as smash burgers (my personal favorite). We've tried a few of their sides + snacks, including the chips. There are a few other things I'd like to try - like their Imperial Wagyu Skirt Steak - so I'm looking forward to going back! Also, their menu rotates pretty frequently, including fresh oysters from both coasts, flown in multiple times a week.

Benchmark (Perrysburg) - Located in Levis Commons, this steakhouse is great for a special date night. We went for a friend's birthday party, so we were in a private room. I ordered the ribeye of course and we got the fries and brussel sprouts, which were good but needed a bit more salt. My hubby enjoyed the caesar salad, ribeye, and a couple cocktails (old timer & sazerac). They have an array of desserts with gluten-free options, too. I'd go back for a special occasion since it is a bit of a splurge.

Claudes Prime Seafood (Perrysburg) - Also located in Levis Commons, it's a modern seafood restaurant that has great steaks, too! Everyone we went with got seafood, but I opted for the eight ounce filet and roasted potatoes -- so good! A member of the same restaurant group as Benchmark.

CoreLife Eatery (Maumee) - This is more of a Chipotle-style fast food option with straightforward ingredient options. I like their steak bowls with rice and the seasonal veggies!

Real Seafood Company (Toledo) - This is a classic sit-down restaurant with plenty of traditional seafood and steakhouse options, located right on the waterfront downtown Toledo on the Maumee River. We go here every year with my husband's parents because they have the best birthday deal in town! I usually get the steak, but most recently got the scallops with risotto that was really tasty! My hubby likes to get the seafood alfredo with salmon, shrimp, and scallops, and my in-laws really like the crab cakes and jambalaya, when available.

Uzbeki

Chayhana (Perrysburg) - We found out about this place from a review. After checking out Ohio's Redwoods at Schedel Gardens, we stopped here for some dinner. The menu seemed straight forward and the dishes looked vibrant and served on cool kebab skewers. The food did seem to upset my body, but everyone else seemed to like it.

Mexican

El Salto (Maumee) - this is the traditional type Mexican restaurant I grew up with. Chips and salsa, and all the regulars, like my hubby's favorite, the ocho. I order the tostaguac with rice and beans, hold the lettuce.

Lupitas Cantina (Perrysburg) - This is my favorite Mexican restaurant in the Northwest I've tried so far! The street tacos are my favorite. I get chicken and al carbon (a mix of steak and chorizo) - it's so good and it surprises me that this is my favorite! It comes with two sides, so I get refried beans and rice. It comes with a small bag of chips and salsa but we order extra. Their salsa is so fresh and tasty! My hubby likes their street tacos and ____. We also get their queso with ground beef and request the jalapenos to be diced.

Loma Linda (Swanton) - I am including this one because I came across a cute picture of a group of us meeting there. For a Mexican restaurant, we were surprised they didn't even have hot sauce! I will leave it at that...

El Vaquero (Perrysburg) - Their tacos are good also, I'd say it's more of a mix of Lupitas and El Salto. It's good and relatively fast. Their chips and salsa are good, too.

Lupita Mexican Taqueria (Bowling Green) - This is a family owned, Mexican restaurant with a little window style ordering set up. The food looked great, I got my usual street tacos, hubby got birria and a side of queso. I'd like it a little spicier for my tastes, but my hubby liked it a lot! They also have more traditional menu items, like elote, which my hubby also picked up (food pictured above).

Los Pollo Loco - (Perrysburg) My husband found this among the many food trucks at the Perrysburg Farmer's Market and had a mission to try it out, lol. I got the street tacos (my go-to Mexican menu pick lately). He got the birria taco platter (2 tacos with rice and beans) and one steak street taco. They were both tasty (the birria and steak) but the beans were really delicious! My choice of 3 street tacos included one chicken which was seasoned well and really tasty and two ground beef. They were good, but the beef was plain - after a squeeze of the slices of lime it came with was nice and refreshing. We picked "traditional style" for all the street tacos which comes with onion and cilantro -- yum! It was definitely a good, quick eat. It didn't come with salsa like shown in the picture, so I guess I have to ask for that extra next time? But really, didn't need it with all the lime wedges and was probably the first time I had Mexican without chips and salsa, but something about that also felt good! Pictures of our meals above.

Ice Cream

Knueven Creamery (Gilboa) - This is my absolute favorite. Also at the Toledo Farmer's Market, they make ice cream from their grass-fed milk that is non-homonogenized and low vat temperature pasteurized (as close as you can get to raw but still legal). It's family owned and they have a cafe, too (see Uptown Cafe above). Their creamery has a rotation of flavors with some unique seasonal ones. I like that most of their ingredients are very straight forward and they make a lot of ingredients for the ice cream in-house. My absolute favorite flavor is their strawberry. However, I would not say this is classically my favorite ice cream flavor. Their chocolate and vanilla bean are top notch, and I recently tried sweet cream, which is the base for all their ice creams (so good). We've also enjoyed: rocky road, cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, cold brew, honey lavender, mango chamoy, peach bourbon, raspberry cheesecake, toffee, blackberry, rhubarb crumble (one of my husband's favorites) and a few others! I'm always up to try new ones in case I find a new favorite. However, I do inspect the ingredient labels closely. They have a VERY cute shop inside that has a variety of items I think would be great to put in a gift basket. In the cooler, their drinks includes a range of craft sodas including: Root and Reverly, Aura bora sparkling: basil berry + hibiscus passionfruit, kombucha, and root beer - they let you pick which kind you'd like if you order a root beer float!

Erin Ann's (Sylvania) - A unique gluten and dairy free ice cream shop. They also have organic juices.

O-deer diner (Perrysburg) - this is a family owned diner and my hubby especially likes their hot fudge milkshakes in the summer.

Hope you enjoyed this tour of Northwest Ohio food options. If you want to see more of my restaurant and grocery shopping posts, be sure to come back soon for these ones: