On the Town: It's always fun to go out to eat

3/14/2010

Dinners just for the fun of it are always popular.

The Toledo Symphony recently held the season finale of three Concert Night Dining events in the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art. It tied together music with art and a gourmet experience with Chef Erika Rapp.

Anecdotes about works of art in the TMA collection that share the same theme as the evening's symphony performance were enlightening, and the gourmet meal was divine: canap s, truffled mushroom soup, hazelnut gremolata, seafood vol-au-vent, lobster-bianco vermouth cream, toasted almond cake with vanilla bean cream, dark chocolate-passion fruit ganache.

Then it was on to the concert in the Peristyle where guest conductor Alain Trudel led the orchestra in enchanting musical selections featuring Sax 4th Avenue.

MEMBERS and guests of the Toledo Yacht Club recently enjoyed a progressive dinner that lasted an entire day.

The participants boarded a Childers Limo bus for a land cruise to several yacht clubs east of Toledo, including Cooley Canal Yacht Club in Curtice, Nugent's Yacht Club in Port Clinton, Fremont Yacht Club on the Sandusky River, Bay Harbor Inn on the Cedar Point Causeway, and Port Clinton Yacht Club. Warm welcomes and great food were offered all day long from fellow boaters. This first land cruise planned by TYC Past Commodore Becky Vincent and Rear Commodore Jim Balogh was so well received that more are on the charts.

The Zepf Center's third annual tennis fund-raiser and silent auction, Serve Up and Ace, was earlier this month at Laurel Hill Swim and Tennis Club. More than 100 supporters attended the event sponsored by Gallon, Takacs, Boissoneault, and Schaffer and supported by Northwest Ohio Tennis Association.

Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken gave opening remarks, then it was all fun with tennis contests, shopping the silent auction, feasting on food donated by La Pam Pam, and listening to tunes provided by the Sounds of Music DJ.

John Daney, Dawn Krueger, Janet Daniel, and Jack Eid won the tennis contests; Chuck Mira won a $2,500 cash raffle; John Fisher won an iPod nano, and Tim Goyer won a coffee basket.

Nearly $14,000 was raised for the Elizabeth A. Zepf Foundation, supporting behavioral health services in Lucas County at the Zepf Community Mental Health Center.

Thanks go to Pat and Annette Birney, Mark Faber, and all of the tennis pros who donated their time.

Mike Cassidy was to be honored as the Hibernian of the Year for 2010 last night during the 20th annual Hibernian St. Patrick's Festival at Central Catholic High School.

The festival combines two family-oriented celebrations of St. Patrick and the Irish Heritage sponsored by the Lucas County Hibernians, an Irish-American Catholic fraternal organization.

The festival was scheduled for Friday and yesterday, and everything was Irish from the live music and dancers to the food and beverages, vendors, and the Ireland trip raffle.

If you missed that, no problem. The annual all-ages St. Patrick's Day Party will be 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the West Toledo Knights of Columbus Hall, 4256 Secor Rd. The event includes a Jiggs dinner, beer on tap, live music, dancers from the Ardan Academy of Irish Dance, and a special performance by Central Catholic's Alumni Glee Club.

Proceeds from the festival and the party benefit the Ancient Order of Hibernians scholarship fund and the food bank at St. Patrick's Historic Church in Toledo.

HAVE AN Irish Jiggs Dinner from 1 to 4 p.m. today at Sidelines Sports Eatery, 2111 Mellwood Ave. It's to raise funds for the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank. The traditional Irish dinner is $20 a person and includes entertainment by the band Punching Buddha and raffle and door prizes.

A ST. PAT's Jiggs Dinner is 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday in Collingwood United Methodist Church at 703 Phillips Ave. It is hosted by the Summit Academy high school. For reservations, call 419-476-7859. Tickets are $8 for adults; $5 for children under 10, and $7 for seniors. Take-out orders are available by calling 419-944-9615. They cost $5 each and do not include a beverage or dessert.

Put these on your calendar:

• The fourth annual Knight of the Vine is slated for 5:30 p.m. March 23 at Real Seafood Co. The gourmet dinner, which benefits the St. Francis de Sales High School Endowment Fund, will be followed by a live auction of rare wines and exclusive trips.

• The 15th annual Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation Toledo will be April 25 at Fat Fish Blue. The committee has been planning all year and finalized details at a party held recently at the Perrysburg home of Dean and Becky Kasperzak. Of course, wine was served along with delicate creations by Richard Fortney, owner of Maumee Wines.

Heather Allen, ticket ambassador chairman, said this year's grant recipients include Aurora Project, Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank, Toledo Day Nursery, and Toledo GROWs.

Event chairmen Labib Hajjar, Marla Schecht, Moussa Salloukh, and Terri Thompson were assisted by Craig Joseph, Mr. Kasperzak, Gus Mancy, and Ty Szumigala.

The Taste of the Nation includes national award-winning chefs Andy Husbands and Celina Tio and food from at least 25 restaurants. Only 400 tickets will be sold, so get yours early. Contact Heather Allen at 419-705-6635 or go online at toledotaste.org.

The annual Business Network International Awards Banquet for northwest Ohio was held recently at the Toledo Club.

BNI is a business and professional referral organization that allows only one person from each profession to join a chapter. Its mission is “to enable our members to increase their referral business by encouraging positive team relationships in a structured and supportive environment.”

John Meyer is a national director for BNI. He also shares the position of executive director of BNI Ohio with Kevin Carmony, who is the executive director of the northwest Ohio region, which consists of 20 chapters ranging from Toledo to Lima.

After networking and dinner, awards were presented. The Giver's Gain Award in memory of Lynda Goodremont, the late assistant director for BNI, was presented to Jason Madasz of United First Financial. Her husband, Mark Goodremont, presented the award, which honors those who give without thought of receiving in return. Others honored were Donna Friesner of Danberry Realtors and Debbie Papay of Bayer, Papay & Steiner.