Fresh + Fast + Hip = Balance

May 1, 2014

I’m hooked. I’ve BEEN hooked. But now my children are hooked, too. There is just something about Balance Pan-Asian Grille. Actually, there are A LOT of somethings about Balance and that’s why we love it.

Fast, casual and fresh

A little over a year ago, my husband and I were a bit curious about the newer restaurant on the scene and stopped into Balance Pan-Asian Grille on Central Avenue. We were fast fans. I recently visited the restaurant in Maumee off Dussel, which opened in 2010. Interestingly enough, the co-owners, Prakash Karamchandani (PK) and Ho Chan (CJ) Jang met in college and neither have a culinary background. However, their Indian and Korean backgrounds, travel experiences, and creative ability to fuse all things Asian have proven to be a recipe for success in this fast casual restaurant.

The restaurants are bright with a minimalist and contemporary feel. The Indie music gives it a fun, upbeat vibe. Many people place carry out orders, but there is always plenty of seating for those who prefer to eat in. The menu maintains year round staples and an entire seasonal menu is changed over every equinox according to co-owner Karamchandani.

The concept is simple, yet the first time I stopped in I had a little studying to do. The friendly staff is always more than happy to answer your questions and offer suggestions.

They had me at the sauce

The menu offers a variety of “snacks” in the three and four dollar range such as pork dumplings and creamy wontons. The mainstay of their menu is their “bowls.”

“There is a huge misconception when it comes to Asian food, some think that it’s all unhealthy,” said Karamchandani. He acknowledges that many people envision deep fried, heavy sauces and buffets. He said outside of America, Asian food is in fact made fresh daily, using all fresh ingredients, and is very “balanced” meal with a vegetable, starch, and protein.

The variety of bowls start with fresh combinations of vegetables, then you choose your protein such as grilled or breaded chicken, golden tofu, or wok fried steak. You also select your starch; brown rice, wheat noodles or fried rice. Each bowl comes with a special sauce that is made from scratch daily in house. The sauces are FABULOUS and served on the side so you can add as much or as little as you like.

I was confident my daughter would find a bowl she liked for $7, but I was at a loss on what to order my younger two as Balance does not provide a kids’ menu. The counter help was quick to offer a couple suggestions. For $5, you can purchase a protein and starch of their choice, and the Sassy Me sauce is tangy, yet mild enough for your little one. My sons both selected the grilled chicken and one had fried rice and the other wheat noodles. The portions were generous and they loved the sauce.

My daughter devoured the seasonal Bangin’ noodles complete with yet another unique sauce. My friend enjoyed the Nuts4Pao which was on the spicier side, and I couldn’t resist the Thai Guy with a flavorful peanut sauce. Did I mention their sauces are pure deliciousness?

I think I did. For summer they have also added a variety of tacos along with a couple new bowls. The cilantro sauce with the Lean Green is out of this world. (Yes, I had to return to try the summer menu after our family visit.)

Drinks are offered by the can and bottle, but organic milk can be purchased at the tea bar, and complimentary cups of filtered water are also available. My daughter tried the bubble tea, but according to PK, kids love the colorful, fun fruit teas. They include fruit pearls that pop when they come up through the straw. It sounds intriguing, so we may try some on our next trip.

Bottom Line: Don’t let the lack of a traditional kids’ menu deter you from stopping in with the family. Balance offers tasty, healthy choices that will please even the youngest palates. And I bet your youngster can’t resist the giant paw-sized dessert wonton filled with chopped pecans, fresh bananas, and Nutella® on the side; fittingly named Monkey Business.

Balance Pan-Asian Grille
5860 Central Ave. Toledo 43615
419-578-7777
Daily 11am-9pm

514 The Boulevard Maumee 43537
419-893-9999
Mon-Sat: 11am-9pm
www.Balancegrille.com

Karen Zickes is a mom of three active children and freelance writer who resides in Holland, OH. She can be reached in c/o [email protected]

Through Adversity Comes Great Strength

Karen L. Zickes

May 1, 2014

Karen Zickes is a longtime contributor to Toledo Area Parent and our expert restaurant reviewer in the monthly column, Food Fight. She is the mother of three beautiful children and one of the strongest women we know. After losing her husband to cancer several months ago, she continues to amaze us with her courage and passion to move forward with her family. This is the second of her series of articles about life after loss, allowing readers to hear her story.

“I can’t_____.” I remember saying those words on two occasions early on in my husband’s Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer diagnosis. These two words are crippling. Uttering these words invoked feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and defeat at a time when I needed to dig deeper than I ever imagined. I never said them again. We had a long race ahead of us and we had barely left the starting line.

Just as adrenaline kicks in during times of crisis, our true inner strength surfaces during times of extreme adversity. The reality is that we all possess more inner strength than we realize and our children do as well. I have no doubt that our children drew much of their strength and perseverance from watching Jim and I face every obstacle head on with a positive attitude. I know watching their father fight with everything he had, never once feeling sorry for himself, gave our children the strength to continue living their lives. They knew it was okay and it was almost expected that they carry on with friends, activities, and even having fun! Children are certainly more resilient than we give them credit for; however, at the same time, I caution, don’t overestimate their resiliency. It is a fine balance.

“The Year of Exceptions”

At times it took a village to manage everything with three school aged kids in tow. Keeping their routines and life as normal as possible made a monumental difference in how they dealt with everything at home. There is no pause button. (Trust me, I searched for it daily and it was nowhere to be found.) Maintaining a sense of normalcy was very comforting to them.

I’m a rule follower and can be a people pleaser. I prefer guidelines and expectations. Well guess what? When you find yourself on a most unexpected journey, be prepared to make your own rules, write your own guidelines, and be ready for exceptions… everywhere! Life was already turned upside down, so in order to maintain the strength to go on, we bent rules here and there. Missing a day of school was not the end of the world when it was to spend a day fishing with dad. Maybe we did movie night during the week because Jim felt the best that he had in a few days. I even coined it “The Year of Exceptions.” If you trust your instincts along the journey, you will rarely be led astray.
While it was necessary to find and rely on my own inner strength, I can’t deny that I drew so much strength from those around me. I am a people person and my energy doubles when I surround myself with others. Though it was OUR journey and no one could ever know exactly what we were going through, there was no need to walk it alone. There are people just waiting for you to reach out.

Empathy v. sympathy

If you find you are a friend wanting to help and be supportive, the odds are pretty good your friend in need is looking for empathy and not sympathy. Many good meaning people don’t understand the difference between these two similar sounding words, but to a person going through adverse times, the difference is significant. Simply put, empathy is a connection and sympathy is a response. Friends in need are looking for connections from others, not someone to point out all the silver linings of an unfortunate situation. Though we pull much of our strength from within, when we remain open, we can also gain much strength through the connections with those around us.

You may not realize just how much strength you possess because you may never have had to dig that deep. But when the time comes, don’t cripple yourself with “I can’t.” Replace those words with “I can. I will.” It is actually quite liberating and even invokes a slight sense of control when you find yourself on a journey where you have so little control.

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”- Cayla Mills

2014 Birthday Guide

Digital Media

May 1, 2014

From cupcakes to party favors, every detail was carefully thought out for these birthday bashes. Read on and get inspired!

Sweets & Treats: Custom sock monkey cookies, cake pops, chocolate covered pretzels, and a delicious cake from Janes Cakes and Confections in Perrysburg. janesweddingcakes.com

Activities: A sock monkey decorating station where the kiddos could create their own sock monkey and take it home. There was also a puppet stage that Jack’s Dad hand made for the party. As a guest book, each guest left their fingerprint on a tree that was designed to be framed and later hung in Jack’s room. Bethany also had a time capsule where guests wrote down their favorite memory with Jack before burying it.

Decor: Traditional sock monkey colors, brown, red, and blue, were used and incorporated in the linens and backdrop décor all designed by Nikki Wolfe at Elite Events. Each guest received their own mason jar to fill with a monkey punch of their liking adorned with a colorful striped paper straw. To bring in the Monkey feel, they created small centerpieces with branches twining from one center piece to another with a tiny monkey stuffed toy swinging between them. eliteeventstoledo.com

Photographer: Jack’s mom, Beth

any Leisure, from Wellspring

Photography wellspringphoto.com

Party favors: Decorated Mason jars, desserts, sock monkey puppets

Tables & Chairs: Meredith Party Rentals .meredithpartyrentals.com

Birthday cake: Cake My Day, Marisol Compton, [email protected]

Food: Chicken fingers, fries, fruit kabobs, chicken salad croissants, and Asian Chicken Salad.

Activities: Princess Laurel handled the entertainment by reading a story focusing on the true meaning of being a princess, believing in themselves, taking responsibility for their actions and being kind to others. The girls made decorated crowns, had a dance party, walked the "red carpet" and had their pictures taken with Princess Laurel.

Decor: Royal dining table with paper plates, chargers and crafted no-spill drink cups from small Mason jars. Carolyn used a small glass container filled with pink M&Ms for place cards, and floated helium filled balloons on the ceiling. The center pieces were created from a few cute containers and silk flowers.

Inspiration: The mother of three daughters said there's no shortage of princess decor around their home.

Photographer: Kellie Jo Sherie of KJ Photography, Waterville. 419-340-8278

Party favors: Princess, pink canvas bags from Hobby Lobby, ribbons and a decorative patch filled with gloss, and other dollar store princess items.

Laure

l love: “We aren't annual birthday party throwers for our kids. We tend to do a big party for them every few years. This was probably one of the easiest and most special parties we've had thanks to Princess Laurel. I cannot say enough about the value of her message for young girls.” Laurel’s Princess Parties, laurelsprincessparties.com, 419-349-0850

Activities: A large pond was perfect for the guests to swim and keep cool in the summer heat. The candy station and photo guest book station where guests could take a photo of themselves and write a message to her to place in the photo album were also a hit!

Sweets & Treats: Cupcakes, cookies and pretzels were made by Janes Cakes and the hard candy was from Oriental Trading Company. janesweddingcakes.com, orientaltrading.com

Food: BBQ Chicken, pasta salads, chips, and other BBQ staple items.

Party favors: Candy, lots and lots of candy

Tables & Chairs: Meredith Party Rentals meredithpartyrentals.com

Decor: The color scheme of the party was based on bright colors found in most candies, yellow, pink, green, blue and many more! Nikki created lollipops from colored balloons and colored plates, wrapped with cellophane and tied with ribbon, that she lined the walkway with. She also had colored paper lanterns and gumball machines made from flower pots and a round bowl. Each place setting featured a colored napkin and custom napkin ring that was accented with a colorful lollipop.

Inspiration: Isabella’s love for sweets

Photographer: Nikki Wolfe

Birthday Cake: Jane’s Cakes and Confections www.janesweddingcakes.com

Food: Aubrie’s favorite food is breakfast food so the menu was based off of her favorite things including cucumber sandwiches, mini quiches, bacon on skewers, fruit pizzas, and yogurt shooters (Lime and Lemon Meringue flavors), and pancake cupcakes with maple syrup frosting topped with bacon!

Activities: Guests visited with each other and watched Aubrie open and play with her new gifts. There was also a viewing of the movie Frozen- none of the guests had seen it yet so it was streamed on Netflix.

Decor: Laurie, associate coordinator at Elite Events, did all the decor herself including building the “drinks” stand, flower arrangements, a “diaper cake”, and suspending bird cages. A large birdcage was propped against the “drinks” stand. On it were notecards for guests to write a short note for Aubrie. A smaller birdcage hung on the wall by the cake table and it had Aubrie’s newborn and first birthday photos on it. Flower stand and succulent pots, straws, Mason jar lids, and goody bags: Elite Events eliteeventstoledo.com

Photographer: Krystal Gabrielle Pratt, Krystal Pratt Photography facebook.com/krystalprattphoto

Inspiration: “I had a high-risk/complicated pregnancy and Aubrie basically wasn’t growing properly. She was diagnosed with IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) when I was 17 weeks pregnant. Aubrie was born at 37 weeks 5 days at a whooping 4lbs 1oz. We call her “Peanut” or “Little Bird.” I wanted a feminine bash, so I decided to use her nickname as inspiration for the party by going with a subtle bird theme,” said Laurie.

Party favors: Mason jar with flower lid/straw. Guests also had a goodie bag that they could take a slice of cake home in.

All aboard

Marisa Rubin

May 1, 2014

Whether traveling to Hogwarts or the east coast, trains will get you to your destination. Since the early 1800s, the railroad has been a major staple in transportation. On May 3, celebrate National Train Day Toledo with friendly Amtrak officials and other train enthusiasts with a day of activities and exhibits. On the floor level of the station, visitors will be able to explore the trains and locomotive engines on the tracks, as well as enter raffles and view fantastic art displays. The third flood Grand Lobby, there will be music, food vendors and miles of winding tracks from model train layouts.

Saturday, May 3. 9:30am. Toledo Amtrak Station & Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza, 415 Emerald Ave. Free

Dart Frog Dash for Fish!

Christina Cordova

May 1, 2014

Support the reopening of the Toledo Zoo’s aquarium with a foot race the whole family can run! There are mud runs, color runs, races and countless other races and dashes for adults all across the country—but how many of them let kids participate? Not many. The Toledo Zoo is changing that, with the Medical Mutual Dart Frog Dash! After adults complete the 5K race, kids 12 and under will be invited to line up for their very own 1K dash around the Zoo’s grounds. As they run, they’ll be able to check out the lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) as they go. For them, they’ll finally be able to explore the zoo at their own chosen speed! Register for the race by May 11 to receive your Dart Frog Dash t-shirt. All raised funds go to the zoo’s aquarium re-opening.

419-481-0102. facebook.com/#!/MadisonsCreations. Saturday, May 17 from 7am-11am. Pre-registered entrants, $21; Late registration, $24; Race day registration, $29; Preregistered kids, $9; Late and race day registrants, $9. Toledo Zoo, 2 Hippo Way, Toledo. toledozoo.org/calendar/event/147.

A Mother’s True Identity

Matthew Reger

May 1, 2014

Usually I can be found the night before Mother’s Day in the grocery store, the Hallmark store having been closed for hours by then, looking over the Mother’s Day cards that are left, trying to find the one that conveys just the right message. I look for one that expresses the humility of motherhood. Sometimes that humility can be hard to find in real life, but in those situations where it is found, it shines like a full moon in the middle of summer.
A friend of mine once shared an experience she had that demonstrated to me the simple and wonderful humility of a mother.
My friend attended an East Coast college in the late 1980’s and met a whole host of interesting people who in turn knew even more interesting people. In spite of knowing such connected people, Amy was always composed and little impressed with station or status, and very few people could overwhelm her composure.

That stoicism was challenged once, though, when she met a particular woman. On a brisk November day, Amy was invited to a birthday party in New York City. She knew no one at the party except for the friend who invited her. She had no connection to the person whose birthday was being celebrated and even the prospect of meeting this person – an internationally known person at that time – did very little to impress the unflappable Amy.

She traveled to the city with her friend and they made the trek to the Upper East Side apartment where the party was to be held. The guests were welcomed by a perfectly dressed middle-aged woman. In her soft voice she introduced herself as John’s mother, the man whose birthday was being celebrated.

Amy was speechless. She accepted the gracious introduction and walked in but the introduction stayed with her forever. This woman who introduced herself as John’s mother was Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onasis, who in her life, was linked to many powerful and well-known men, carving an identity for herself, but on this day – the birthday of her son – her identity was that of a mother.

Throughout life we all have many different identifies. We start out as a son or a daughter. In school we might be a bright young student; in college a stand out in sports; in later life a doctor, lawyer, mechanic, cashier or one of many other careers. But if we are truly blessed we get to be a parent – a mother or a father. From the day of the birth of our child we hold that moniker no matter what. What we do with it and how we use it is up to us.
Jaqueline Onasis is known for many different roles: photographer for a Washington, D.C. newspaper, wife of a Senator, First Lady of the United States, wife of a billionaire, and philanthropic socialite. But that day in November, she celebrated her greatest role – the one she humbly discharged through her life – that of a mother.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers who humbly rock the cradle that rules the world.

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