Our usual contact with the city of Fort Wayne (pop 260,000) is to zoom past it on our way to and from New Mexico. It is Indiana's 2nd largest city, after Indianapolis. Our most recent visit here was a short getaway to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Our main interests this time around were craft beer, craft coffee, and a visit to the downtown river walk.
Our two-night stay actually had three parts to it: the drive from Detroit to Fort Wayne; Fort Wayne; and a quick visit to Toledo to see the Museum of Art. So this short blog will highlight all three phases. Since everything was centered on the Maumee River, it could be called the Maumee River Adventure.
PART 1: Detroit to Fort Wayne
We drove to Fort Wayne Sunday morning/afternoon on the 21st of August. The tunnel border crossing from Windsor to Detroit went quickly, though the border guard was pretty curious as to why we were going to Fort Wayne. So were people in Fort Wayne, once we had arrived. It is about 165 miles from the tunnel to downtown Fort Wayne. Toledo is about 60 miles south of Detroit. In Toledo the route turns west.
A little more than halfway to Toledo along I 75 is the town of Monroe, MI. Deb was attracted by a coffee shop she had seen on-line, and wanted to stop for espresso. Agua Dulce Cafe is just off the main street, and very close to the river. I had tea and Deb tried the espresso, which she liked a lot. We took a stroll down to the river. They seem to have a decent trail along the river, and it leads all the way to the Detroit River. We hope to return with our bikes!
Agua Dulce Cafe, downtown Monroe, MI. They serve coffee from Frenchtown Roasters.
Downtown Monroe, MI, looking west up the Raisin River. Trails lead from downtown to the Detroit River.
After our downtown stroll, we headed south towards Ohio. Bypassing Toledo for the time being, we stopped in Waterville, OH. Waterville sits just north of the Maumee River, an impressive river that begins in Fort Wayne and ends in Lake Erie beyond Toledo. There is a lot of canal history between Toledo and Fort Wayne, and in previous trips along here we have explored much of it. The main street of Waterville, now home to gift shops and restaurants, was once the actual canal.
Our goal today was to find some vegan food here. We thought we might end up at the service station nearby looking for peanut butter crackers. Instead, we scored a major find!! Cocina de Carlos is a Mexican restaurant located just around the corner from the main street, and is located in a mini-mall which was once a bustling blacksmith shop. Their rice and beans are vegan, and they offer vegan chorizo in place of meat. We had five meal choices!! We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch, and I also had a delicious bottle of Negro Modelo ($3!).
A mural depicting the original blacksmith shop in Waterville, Ohio. Now a mini-mall, it is home to a wonderful Mexican Restaurant. The mural is inside the mall, near the entrance to Cocina de Carlos restaurant.
Waterville is also home to this amazing garden ornament store. The ornaments are mostly made locally.
The Columbia House was built even before the canal reached Waterville. It was a coach stop between Toledo and Fort Wayne. It is currently abandoned. It shows up on a lot of haunted buildings websites.
Several miles west, or upriver, from Waterville is Grand Rapids, Ohio. Today there was a jazz festival on the riverfront, just behind the touristy but attractive little downtown. There is great walking in this area, including a riverside trail that follows the old canal towpath all the way back to Waterville. A restored canal boat operates near the town, there is an old mill, and the Bluebird, a tourist train that travels between Grand Rapids and Waterville, may be back in operation soon.
Independence Dam is just upriver from Grand Rapids, OH. Walking trails lead to it.
View downstream from Independence Dam towards the 900' long railroad bridge near downtown Grand Rapids, OH.
Looking along Main St., Grand Rapids, Ohio. At least one bar serves craft beer. Even better, there is a great candy and toy store! We stocked up on chocolate espresso beans!
Detail of old town hall, Grand Rapids, OH.
Continuing west, we drove along the south bank of the Maumee River to Napoleon, OH. Napoleon is a county seat, and the old highway between it and Grand Rapids is very winding and scenic. Near the main town you will pass a giant Campbell's Tomato Soup can. Andy Warhol would have been very impressed. We had no time this trip for Napoleon and its fine courthouse and emerging downtown. We crossed the river and drove to Defiance.
We got some (terrible) takeaway coffee from Bigbee Coffee near downtown, then headed to one of Defiance's very fine riverfront parks. The park at the library overlooks the joining of two impressive rivers, as the Auglaize joins up with the Maumee. Just a bit further upstream, the Tiffin River also joins the Maumee, but there is no park there. The library park is called Old Fort Defiance Park, and gives great views of the two large rivers joining forces. Across the Auglaize River is Kingsbury Park, and across the Maumee is Pontiac Park. All three parks can be turned into a really fun, and not too long, walk. We have yet to do this in all of our many visits, but it will happen!
View from Old Fort Defiance Park. The Auglaize River comes in from the south (right), joining with the Maumee River as it heads east towards Toledo and Lake Erie.
Fort Wayne has come a long way since our last visit, when only one brewpub existed. This time we would visit four! Trubble Brewing is north of downtown, anchoring a small commercial corner. It is the most recent brewery in Fort Wayne, and they have only been pouring for a couple of months.
After our scenic coffee stop in Defiance, OH, we continued along the river route towards Fort Wayne. There are a few places to stop along the river, but we continued on. I was getting thirsty.
PART 2: FORT WAYNE
Fort Wayne has come a long way since our last visit, when only one brewpub existed. This time we would visit four! Trubble Brewing is north of downtown, anchoring a small commercial corner. It is the most recent brewery in Fort Wayne, and they have only been pouring for a couple of months.
Our first stop in Fort Wayne, IN was Trubble Brewing.
Inside Trubble Brewing. I managed to get a wooden beer mat (!), and a decal for my beer fridge!!
Here is what I had, 10 oz (US) each:
Peanut Butter Stout
The peanut butter stout is a well balanced stout, dry hopped with peanut butter powder, cacao nibs, & cacao powder. ABV=4.5% IBU=35
Special Bitter
Yer Bitter is our Special Bitter. A well balanced special B with Challenger and Fuggle hops for bittering. ABV=4.6% IBU=56
Though these were pretty solid beers, they did not seem to stand out from the pack, so to speak. Not enough peanut butter, for one thing. I probably liked the bitter better. They also had a number of guest taps, plus 3 kinds of their own IPAs, and a pale ale. We had originally planned to eat here, but Sundays they only served brunch till 3 pm, and nothing afterwards. So it was soon time to head out in search of food. Captain Deb was now at the wheel.
We headed for a Thai restaurant on the opposite side of downtown. It seemed to be closed down. Just as we were about to pull away from the strip mall, Deb noticed a sign for an Ethiopian restaurant, with vegan food. It was open!! In we went. Though they also served meat, there were any amount of vegan options. Mom, the main chef, was currently in Ethiopia. The place was being run by two sons and a daughter. The eldest may have been 21, though it looked iffy. Daughter was the cook, having learned from mom. The inside of the place was fantastic, decorated in the green/red/yellow of the Ethiopian flag, along with a number of African musical instruments.
We ended up sharing a massive plate of all of their veg offerings, with lots of homemade injera, the national bread. No eating utensils are used in Ethiopian dining; the bread is your utensil for scooping lentils and such. We stuffed ourselves, but the best was yet to come. Next to our table was this setup, for Ethiopian coffee.
Photo taken from our adjacent table, showing the coffee making area.
The young female chef came out from the kitchen to prepare coffee, from scratch. She lit a fire in a small stove (we assumed that the smoke detectors were disabled in the seating area). She roasted Ethiopian coffee beans (Harrar) over the fire, and the smoke billowed forth, as well as the now-familiar aroma (from Deb's roastery). Since coffee beans are not the best immediately after roasting, she set the freshly roasted beans aside and hand-ground some beans previously roasted. Soon, very fresh coffee was bubbling away and set before us in a coffee urn. It was delicious, and certainly a highlight of our coffee-drinking days.
Preparing to roast the beans.
Our coffee ewer, and the end result. This just might count as our best serendipitous find ever!!!
We had had two wonderful and unexpected vegan meals today. Both places had been discovered by chance, but are now on our list when in the area. Next stop was a final brewery for today.
Summit City Brewwerks was pretty quiet. Though they closed at 9 pm Sundays, we stayed until 9:30. We were watching the closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics, and the torch was being passed to Toyko. We met a fellow beer enthusiast there, and he sat with us to talk about beer and watch the Olympics. No one asked us to leave, so we overstayed our welcome.
Here are the 5 oz samples I tried: Cherry Single; Carl's Creamy Ale; Coconut Breakfast Stout; Thai'd Stick. Those were from their brewery--they also had guest ales. I tried Mudder Pucker from Bird Boy (in Fort Wayne), and then finished off with a cider from Michigan, Flannel Mouth from Blakes. All were fantastic, especially the cherry one. With 36 taps, I can't wait to get back here someday!!
Summit City Brewery, Fort Wayne. A magic place for craft beer lovers!
Despite a very fine hotel room and a great bed and pillows (Comfort Inn), I had a terrible sleep. No doubt it was the late night coffee. Still, it was worth it! Delicious memories of a fun and unusual meal stayed with me all next day. The hotel put out a fine complimentary breakfast, and we partook of juice, tea, oatmeal, toast, and fresh fruit.
As it was now past rush hour, we drove downtown and parked in a garage ($1 per hour!) across the street from a cafe Deb had interest in visiting.
Parking structure view of Fortezza Coffee, downtown Fort Wayne
Like a lot of American city downtowns, the area is home to the court house, lawyers, banks and such. There is not a lot of retail, and this was the only decent coffee shop in the main street area. However, not only is it a very fine coffee shop, but it is also a main taproom for Chapman's Brewery! This morning Deb was here for espresso, but we would be returning later in the day so I could sample their brew. They have great hours, six days a week.
After her espresso shot we headed out on our walking adventure. We traveled north a few blocks to the rivers. Two great rivers, the St. Marys and the St. Joseph, join here to form the mighty Maumee River. As a result, there are a lot of parks and bridges here. We entered the trail system via Wells St. Bridge, now for pedestrians and bicycles only. We followed the river for a mile or so, then recrossed the St. Marys and walked back into downtown.
Next up was a used book store. Hyde Brothers Books was exactly the kind of store that is really fun to discover and browse. The extensive SF section was downstairs. So was Sherlock, one of two very friendly resident cats. In between filling my arms with books by Budrys and Farmer, I had to bend down and give him belly rubs. Upstairs we met Scout, just as friendly. As we checked out she jumped up onto the counter and demanded some attention. The outside wall of the store has a giant painted mural of Fort Wayne.
We left downtown Fort Wayne and joined the riverfront trail system via the historic Wells St. Bridge.
The trail (left side) passes beneath this railroad bridge. A canal bridge once crossed here, and the ruins of the foundation can be seen on the walk.
The walk back downtown took us through a historic district, with many fine old homes.
The courthouse dome. The building is massive and architecturally very
significant. We tried to go inside, but they do not allow cameras or cell
phones. Next time we visit we will leave our stuff in the car until our
visit is over.
Internet photo of the main courtroom. We did not get to see the inside this time.
Next up was a used book store. Hyde Brothers Books was exactly the kind of store that is really fun to discover and browse. The extensive SF section was downstairs. So was Sherlock, one of two very friendly resident cats. In between filling my arms with books by Budrys and Farmer, I had to bend down and give him belly rubs. Upstairs we met Scout, just as friendly. As we checked out she jumped up onto the counter and demanded some attention. The outside wall of the store has a giant painted mural of Fort Wayne.
Wall mural at Hyde Brothers Books, Fort Wayne. Even if you know just a little bit about the city, this is a very fun mural to look at.
It was nearly lunch time. Loving Cafe was actually pretty close to our hotel. We drove back out to the sticks to the cafe, part of a chain of vegan restaurants in the Loving Hut family. We have eaten at two others, the one in Cincinnati, and the one in Brighton, England (with Caroline). This one featured their extensive menu and deliciously prepared food. We each had a soup/sandwich lunch combo. The place was really busy, and as we left a group of about seven was just arriving. In addition, we ordered two take away dinners. Due to my terrible sleep last night, we were heading back to the hotel to rest. Our room had a fridge and a microwave, so we stored the dinners in the fridge for later tonight.
I snoozed till about 3 pm, then we headed back downtown. Even though Fort Wayne does not have a direct freeway leading downtown, they have set up a great system of 3-lane one-way streets that get you there in a hurry. It only takes about ten minutes from the outskirts, where our hotel was, to the city center. We parked at a meter near Fortezza Coffee. Meters are only 50c per hour, and you only have to pay till 5 pm!!
We had pour over coffee, quite delicious, then I sampled four of the Chapman ales. Three of them were quite fabulous. The only one I wasn't crazy about was called Brighton Pale Ale. It was a bit less than average. The really good ones were the Englishman (a southern English brown ale), Red Ryeding Hood (Imperial Red Rye), and Valiant (American Stout). We played a game of Carcassonne at a huge table in the main sitting room.
Fortezza Coffee, downtown Fort Wayne. It's also a taproom for Chapman Brewery.
Part of the main sitting room, Fortezza Coffee.
We stayed till just after 5 pm, then headed to one final brewpub. We have visited Mad Anthony's Brewery twice before, and enjoyed both visits. Here is what was on draft on our visit! I drank #11 and #16, and left with a six-pack of #12. They have food here, too, but we had dinner waiting back at the hotel. The Loving Cafe closed at 7 pm, and we knew we would not make it back in time. Thus the take away dinners in our little fridge, now awaiting our return.
Original Brewpub & Eatery Draft List - Fort Wayne
- Olde Fort Blonde Lager
- Auburn Lager
- Six 2 Midnight Session IPA
- Good Karma IPA
- Ruby Raspberry Wheat
- Harry Baals Irish Stout {Nitro}
- Jolly Cougar Meloncamp
- Hefeweizen
- IPL
- Barrel Aged Raspberry Lambic
- Damn Skippy Peanut Butter Porter Damn fine!
- Ol' Woody Pale Ale 6-pack came home with me.
- Oktoberfest
- West Coast Stout
- Hop Loco
- Barrel Aged Mad People's Scotch Ale Mostly delicious.
- Palate Jacked 200
- Horse House Honey Cream Ale
Mad Anthony's, Fort Wayne.
We were back in our hotel room about 7 pm. We ended up sharing just one of the dinners, the large order of Udon Noodles! It was an early night, and this time I slept like a baby, right through the night. I awoke at 8:35 am, and we had to hustle downstairs, as the complimentary breakfast ended at 9 am.
After checkout, there was time for one more stop in downtown Fort Wayne. Deb required her morning espresso fix. A brand new cafe had just opened across the river from downtown. Conjure Coffee was brand new, and we were one of the first customers. A girl who worked at Fortezza had told us about it yesterday, as one of her friends had opened it. It is also a roastery, so things were pretty fresh. I had one of the best chai teas ever, and we ended up sipping and sharing it as we drove to Toledo.
PART 3: Toledo, OH
We had time for only two stops here today: The incomparable Museum of Art, and, of course, a cafe. I really need to do a full write-up on the Toledo Museum of Art. It is such an important part of our past, too. We have visited many, many times, always coming away impressed, refreshed, and looking forward to our next visit. It is not nearly as tiring or disorganized as the museum in Detroit. Iy also nicely fills in gaps in Detroit's collection, owning works by several key artists that are lacking in the bigger city.
We arrived around noon, and ended up eating our 2nd dinner from last night for our lunch today at an outdoor picnic area on the museum's grounds. Parking costs $5, but museum entrance is free. This place is very well endowed. Because Toledo is the home of Libby Glass, the Libbys donated dozens of masterpieces of painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and cash. However, they also left behind their priceless glass collection, which is now housed in a separate pavilion. This has freed up the main galleries for more contemporary art, and they have arranged it really well. Many of the galleries reminded me of Tate Modern.
The old master collection is to die for, and they seem to be adding significant works to it all of the time. We spent several hours reacquainting ourselves with some wonderful art. If we get to return soon, I will take more representative photos and do a blog entry on just the museum. We have yet to visit the newer glass pavilion, with its collection of glass from ancient times to contemporary.
We arrived around noon, and ended up eating our 2nd dinner from last night for our lunch today at an outdoor picnic area on the museum's grounds. Parking costs $5, but museum entrance is free. This place is very well endowed. Because Toledo is the home of Libby Glass, the Libbys donated dozens of masterpieces of painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and cash. However, they also left behind their priceless glass collection, which is now housed in a separate pavilion. This has freed up the main galleries for more contemporary art, and they have arranged it really well. Many of the galleries reminded me of Tate Modern.
The old master collection is to die for, and they seem to be adding significant works to it all of the time. We spent several hours reacquainting ourselves with some wonderful art. If we get to return soon, I will take more representative photos and do a blog entry on just the museum. We have yet to visit the newer glass pavilion, with its collection of glass from ancient times to contemporary.
Toledo Museum of Art: Gallery Photos
Part of the ancient art gallery.
The Cloister
Two views of the medieval cloister.
Medieval reliquary casket.
Jewellery pins.
Dutch 17thC Seascape
Extreme detail from a Dutch 17thC interior church painting.
Seascape by Vernet (Sherlock Holmes' grandmother was Vernet's sister)
Humid landscape by Boucher.
Ophelia, by Arthur Hughes
Just up the road from the museum is Black Kite Coffee and Pies, where we enjoyed delicious pour over coffee. Aside from stopping in Detroit for 48 bottles of craft beer, we headed home. It had been a fun two days and nights, and we look forward to our next visit.
Mapman Mike
