My wife and I decided to spend an evening out on the town with the caveat that we would only partake of local entertainment. Our itinerary included dinner at Fifi's Restaurant, and the we followed up with the Toledo Rep's production of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure.
The idea was to duplicate the kind of night we might have if we lived in Manhattan (my wife got a promotion and we wanted to whoop it up a bit). While I might be dismissed as a Midwestern rube for saying so, I found the choices to be as good as anything we might find in the Big Apple, and coming in under $200, we acted like big shots here in Toledo at half of what such a night might cost in New York.
Fifi's continues to be one of the best five-star restaurants around, and all aspects of the meal, ambience, and service were top notch. The Rep had a full house, and the show was strong (a few mishaps, like stagehands breaking a vase, but lead James MacFarlane was a witty and first-rate Sherlock Holmes).
Anyway, I thought instead of creating what could seem a boatful post about my own fancy night out, this thread might instead be a springboard for similar experiences with the theme of living large in a mid-size town. Where do you go when you want to celebrate, or when you want to drop a couple hundred bucks and have a memorable night? What might be your dream Toledo night out, and what hidden gems would you recommend to folks looking to be puttin' on the Ritz, (to quote Irving Berlin)?
Congratulations on your wife's promotion! That's worth celebrating.
I would do just about the same thing: maybe dinner at Giorgio's and then see The Capitol Steps at the Valentine (did that several years ago). It's a great way to endure election season.
Fifi's is always good!
Nice to hear about the promotion, especially in this current climate. I have never been to Fifis. Glad you liked the play, I know the lady who directed and she is very passionate about the thee-ay-tur!
Unless Fifi's has changed ownership I refuse to eat at a restaurants where owners pull guns on contractors when they come to collect for work done on their restaurant.
why you gotta jack up the thread with BS?
Sorry don't see telling how someone runs their business that way as BS. I know I personally wouldn't wanna give my money to a business that runs their company that way.
Ah, of course Ryan...makes perfect sense that you would know her, given that I first met her in the workplace many years ago. And I would agree that she is very passionate about the thee-ay-tur.
I only ate at FiFi's once, an eternity ago in high school. I was student of French from the sticks, & my teacher had arranged for a group of us to travel to FiFi's for dinner one evening. It was my first real experience with fine dining and really trying something outside my comfort zone.
Thanks for starting the topic & bringing back such a fond memory, historymike. :)
Nice post HistoryMike,
My wife and I travel on vacation once a year. About three years ago we decided that we would take a vacation to ... Toledo OH instead of travelling. When you eliminate air fair and hotel that adds a lot to your budget.
We went to Mancy's and Fi Fi's that week. We both got massages, I think at Reve. We did some local shopping.
No waiting in line at airports, no worries about flight delays. All in all it was a pretty nice experience. The trick was limiting the amount of time you spend at home and try to be out on the town. Sounds like you had a great night.
I am having to do a lot of travel as of late, due to my husband being shipped around Ohio to help with the communications infastructure. He is gone for weeks at a time, resulting in us visiting him and having mini vacations in Columbus and Cleveland. Truthfully, Ohio has a lot to offer without needing to go to the big cities.
Im going to write up a photo post about our trips in Columbus and Cleveland. These trips were our first times visiting those cities, and we loved them. While traveling the Toledo Art Museum gets mentioned to me a lot and certainly has a lot of respect.
Hey OK, I know you like your sushi. Next time in Columbus, check out Haiku if you can. Amazing.
Weird fact - I hate sushi (weird I know), and dont eat seafood do to the environmental damage we are doing to our oceans with over fishing and pollution.
oh, i saw spicy tuna posts and assumed....
My congratulations to Mistress HistoryMike on her promotion. I've eaten at Fifi's once or twice; I'm glad you enjoyed it. Main Lady and I have been considering the play and based on your experience I think we'll give it a shot.
In Toledo living large or high on the hog as the saying goes does not always involve Fifi's - I've found that my most enjoyable nights were spent at Griffin's Hines Farm Blues Club where no one cares if you get a snootfull and measure your length on the floor, and you can spend the evening dancing and drinking your fill, eating top quality ribs and listening to a live blues band.
Ryan - my favorite asian food is fried rice. I in fact love fried rice a lot and would eat it every day if I could. My husband loves sushi, I eat rice. Read my review, I talk about how he eats it and I have rice.
There is a wine bar and dinner place somewhere in Maumee I keep meaning to review and show off. Very high class.
I often feel like this when going to the Stranahan theatre.
People might joke, but Toledo does have several classy places.
Glad to also see something about Sherlock Holmes at the Toledo Rep theatre. While kinda lost downtown, and randomly drove around that place. To my delight, had been looking for them and the Valentine theatre.
Looks like they will be doing the show till mid Oct, how do you go about getting tickets?
Fifi's is always on our list for special celebrations and I'm glad you enjoyed it. We always find the service impeccable and the quality of food and wine exceptional. We also love the comfortable and intimate seating areas which is something you don't see a lot of in Toledo.
Congrats to your bride!
For my 30th birthday back in August, went to Mancys for Dinner, nice seats at a Mud Hens game (which ones aren't?) and then out to Levis Commons for a night cap.
This Saturday is our anniversary and we are going to the EPIC Fashion Show.
Also, at times we do the Zoo or Art Museum's wine tasting events and then go out for dinner or other activities.
There always seems to be things to do if you get creative around town. I don't think it's as bad as some people portray it to be.
ah coffee, a student of Reddit, I see...
You might want to try the IHOP next time just to keep up to date on the latest CSI, Law and Order or Cops, show.