On the Side

R.I.P. Greg Miller

Visitors from across the country used to flock to Miller's Luncheonette on South Main Street, and why wouldn't they? It was one of those great greasy spoons that you could settle comfortably into without worrying too much about your waistline - everyone else was also partaking of the sausage gravy and buscuits, so no big deal. That's what I had when I interviewed Eric Fingerhut there for a failed congressional run against Oxley. The smell of fried hamburgers and eggs would smack you in the face the second you opened the door. It was pure Americana and inherently blue-collar Findlay.

Whenever it flooded, Greg Miller would inevitably get a call from one of us at the paper, wondering how he and his place were fareing. By the time the August 2007 monster hit, everyone knew the river's basic flood pattern - if anything downtown is going to get soaked, the block north of the Main Street bridge usually gets it. And so I remember calling Greg a few times before a few floods, interrupting him as he moved stuff on top of tables and did his usual rearranging routine that all downtown business owners have down pat now. Greg would always take the time to tell me what he was up to at that moment. I'd ask him a few quick questions, making sure not to keep him on the phone for too long. Then he'd sigh with resignation, tell me it was all getting pretty old, and return to damage control.

When Miller's didn't open back up after The Big One, it sucked. I think we all missed the little place, its atmosphere, the warmth on a cold day. I didn't know Greg personally, but I suspect he'll be missed even more. 

Greg's illness, although terrible, seemed to bring out the best in the community. So many fundraisers. So much money and giving. I thought it served as a testament not only to his cooking skills, but to what kind of person he was, that so many people cared.

Slowly but Surely

It's cold out there. Really cold. Winter doesn't officially begin until Monday, but so what? I feel like hibernating for the next five months. And eating while I'm at it, of course. Lately, my evening hibernation routine has consisted of giant bowls of popcorn and hot cocoa, that, while you're watching "Elf" and "Blades of Glory" and therefore not really paying much attention, will leave your tongue good and burned throughout the next day. The spouse fixes a mean mug of hot chocolate that melt the stalest of stale marshmellows.

I'm not the greatest hot drink maker, even though the basics are really very simple. But what I am good at, so far, is slow cooking. I'm talking crockpot mania that will make tender the toughest of the toughest cuts of meat, that will infuse the blandest of bland with deep, flavorful goodness. We received two crockpots as wedding presents and previous to last week, they'd only been used to keep work carry-in goodies warm. But an old college friend convinced me that such devices are really the way to go when the weather turns all ice princess and you don't feel like doing much of anything else after you've put in a full day's work.

So I picked out this spicy steak recipe, and as Cousin Eddie would say, it was goooood. Like Clark W. Griswold's scorched pussycat chair, it was a high quality item. A cheap cut of cow, some chopped canned 'maters, cumin and chili powder, and a dousing with red sweet pepper and pinto beans near the end made for a hearty meal. Ten minutes tops were spend the night before with prep work like veggy chopping and spice mixing. It was almost too easy, and enough was left over for next-day lunch.

Have any of you already discovered the wonder of crockpotting? Do you have any favorite recipes or tips?

Service from a Celeb

Hancock Regional Planning Commission grant coordinator Lydia Mihalik can run a 5K and arrange flood-blighted property purchases using federal grant money like nobody's business. Findlay attorney Phil Rooney knows his zoning laws and German beers. But can they make a mean margarita on the rocks or hustle chicken wings?

To wrap up its 2009 campaign, the fundraising geniuses over at United Way of Hancock County have organized "Celebrity Server Week," which should be entertaining.

Here's the schedule:

Monday, Nov. 30, 5-7 p.m.: Lydia and Hancock County Commissioner Ed Ingold at the West End Tavern, 506 W. Main Cross St.

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 7-9 p.m.: Judge Reg Routson at Coffee Amici, 328 S. Main St.

Wednesday, Dec. 2, 5-7 p.m.: Rooney and attorney Matt Klein at The Gathering, 114 E. Main Cross St.

Thursday, Dec. 3, 5-7 p.m.: Cooper Tire execs at Fricker's, 1410 W. Main Cross St.; and First Federal execs at Tavern at the Inn (Findlay Inn & Conference Center), 200 E. Main Cross St.

Friday, Dec. 4, 5-7 p.m.: Paul Kramer, Scott Malaney and Frank Guglielmi at Findlay Country Club, 1500 Country Club Drive.

According to their news release, the public is invited to attend/heckle/telltheirlifestory at all establishments during those times. The Country Club will even have free hors d'oeuvres. Tips will go to United Way.

It appears to me that Routson has landed the easy gig.

I wonder if Ingold knows how to make a Redheaded Slut...