Sunday is 419 Day — a celebration of northwest Ohio and all that is good here.

In honor of the event, today we’re remembering a few of the Toledo area’s classic dishes.

This came about through a confluence of circumstances. Reader Debbie Hine had written an email and mentioned the Press Club of Toledo’s Broadcaster Sandwich, which her husband particularly likes. Before that, a caller had wondered about the elusive recipe for the chicken croquettes that Bud and Luke Restaurant, formerly on Madison Ave., used to make.

Those who had shopped at Tiedtke’s Department Store before it closed more than 40 years ago have said that they still long for the orange cake, custard pie, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, tapioca pudding, breads, and seemingly every other dish that the store offered either at its lunch counter or in its grocery and deli sections.

COMMENTARY: Recipe for avoiding a disaster

Longtime residents all have memories of these foods. Newcomers, however, have never had the opportunity to try them in their original incarnations.

There are so many dishes that are a part of Toledo’s history that deserve not to be lost as time passes, as so many others have been. It’s essential to save the ones we can.

At Thanksgiving, it seems to be just as important to Toledoans to serve Tomato Pudding as it is to carve a turkey. It is an amalgam of simple ingredients; retired Blade food editor Mary Alice Powell has described it as “gooey with butter, sweet with brown sugar, loaded with bread cubes.” Nothing fancy, but it is beloved.

“The original name is Tally Ho Tomato Pudding, named for a tearoom in downtown Toledo that apparently introduced it,” according to Miss Powell, who has written about the dish extensively over the course of her many decades as a food authority for The Blade. “For many years it was a hallmark at the Columbian House in Waterville,” which is now also closed.

Another local treat was the toasted, cheese-topped bread appetizer served at the late Northwood Inn on Summit Street, which was a favorite establishment for elegant meals and special celebrations. Lily Kay DeLong wrote, in a conversation about Toledo's iconic foods on The Toledo Blade Facebook Page, that they had "an amazing sauce." Very simply, she said, "They were the best."

The Press Club of Toledo first served the Broadcaster Sandwich — a mash-up, to use today's terminology, of a grilled cheese sandwich and a cheeseburger, with chopped olives and onions on rye bread — in 1972, says Larry Boyer, a longtime member.

It was brought to Toledo by John Shepard, who had an interest in a restaurant in Grand Rapids, Mich., which served the sandwich. Mr. Boyer says that Mr. Shepard "visited the club one time ... and he showed the chef" how to prepare it. "It was an immediate success," he says.

The sandwich is served at Timbers Bowling in Maumee, but goes by the name of Timburger on that menu. It has also been updated by executive chef Michael Rosendaul and is now being served at The Toledo Club.

Gul, or Gulish, Burgers were the famous attraction at the Gulish Villa on State Rt. 2 in Jerusalem Township, a long-standing tavern originally owned by William and Geraldine Gulish that opened in the 1930s and didn't close until the mid-1990s. Spiced with paprika and garlic, the beef patties are simmered in chicken broth then served with onions and mushrooms on kaiser rolls.

Meinke Marina in Curtice will host its 12th Annual Gul-Burg Day on July 25. The event pays tribute to the famous, and immensely popular, burgers and to the Gulish family who brought that favorite indulgence to Toledo.

The late Betty Timko's famous Betty's Salad — a combination of spinach, hard-boiled eggs, bean sprouts, and lots of bacon — is, as former Blade food editor Kathie Smith once wrote, an "authentically Toledo salad." It used to be served at Mrs. Timko's Soup ‘N Such restaurant at Douglas Road and Sylvania Avenue, and is sometimes included in the lunchtime offerings available on the Penta Career Center's student-prepared menu.

Betty's Salad has been a featured item at J. Patrick's Pub and Restaurant at the Holiday Inn Perrysburg-French Quarter since 1967. Mary Lou Cardona, the former pantry supervisor at the facility, says it's one of the best selling items.

It has remained so popular for so long that Mrs. Timko's Asian-inspired dressing — a simple mix of oil, sugar, salt, "catsup," vinegar, Worcester sauce, and onion — was bottled and made available for sale in area markets starting in 1982.

419 Day is the perfect occasion to indulge in some of the Toledo's most beloved foods. It's an ideal way to remember our past, celebrate the present, and make sure the area's culinary history remains strong in the future.

RECIPES

Tally Ho Tomato Pudding

In 2004, former Blade food editor Mary Alice Powell wrote: "Claimed to be a Toledo original, the overly sweet casserole that defies all millennium dietary rules holds steady to longtime popularity."

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup tomato puree

1/​2 cup water

6 cups day-old sliced white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1-inch squares (see note)

1/​2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish.

Combine brown sugar, tomato puree, and water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium-high and cook for five minutes until liquid is dark red and the volume is reduced a bit. While tomato mixture is cooking, put the bread cubes into the prepared baking dish and drizzle the butter over them. Pour tomato mixture over the bread and press down lightly on the bread to help it absorb some of the liquid.

Bake uncovered for 50 minutes until pudding is golden and puffs up a bit. Let the pudding rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Note: Use inexpensive white bread. For recipe testing, the bread squares were left to sit out overnight, uncovered, to dry out a bit before preparing the pudding.

Yield: 9 servings

Source: Adapted from toledohistorybox.com.

Northwood Inn Hot Bread

Roseann Croop says that these appetizers are "pretty easy to make" and that they're "delicious."

3/​4 cup mayonnaise

1/​2 cup finely chopped onion

1/​3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

Few drops of Tabasco sauce

16 1/​2-inch slices from a baguette

Mix together the mayonnaise, onion, cheese, pepper, and Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces. Spread generously on the French bread slices. Place onto a baking sheet and broil about 1 to 2 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned.

Yield: 16 toasts.

Source: Adapted from a recipe sent in by Roseann Croop.

The Press Club of Toledo's Broadcaster Sandwich

In an article dated Jan. 15, 1974, Mary Alice Powell declared this "one of the best — if not the best - sandwiches in the city." Larry Boyle, a longtime Press Club member, says that other versions involve cooking the onions, but that in "the one that is the absolute original, the onions were never grilled."

1 pound ground chuck

Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Butter, at room temperature

4 slices light rye bread

4 slices American cheese

4 tablespoons chopped green olives

4 tablespoons chopped onion

Place the ground chuck into a mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper; divide in half and shape into 2 rectangular patties. Cook the patties to desired doneness in a skillet, under the broiler, or on a grill.

Lightly butter one side of each slice of bread; place buttered side down on a griddle or in a skillet placed over medium heat. Place one slice of American cheese onto each piece of bread. Divide the olives among two of the bread slices, and divide the onion among the other two bread slices.

When the cheese has melted, place a burger patty onto each of the olive-topped bread slices. Flip the other bread slices over and use them to top the burger patties. Toast sandwiches to a golden brown. Slice sandwiches in half and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Source: Adapted from The Blade.

Gul (Gulish) Burgers

Jacquelyn "Susie" Gulish-Busch, whose family owned the Gulish Villa that was famous for this dish, says that, "The Gulish burgers are still great as ever."

Broth:

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon (powder or paste, not canned broth)

4 cups water

Generous sprinkle of paprika

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1 large onion, halved, sliced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

Burgers:

2 pounds ground round

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 kaiser rolls

Toppings as desired

In a large, deep-sided skillet (preferably a cast iron pan), combine the broth ingredients; bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium-high. Meanwhile, form the burgers: Combine ground round, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, mixing gently. Form into 4 patties 6 inches in diameter.

Carefully place the burger patties into the broth; patties should be three-fourths covered by the broth. Allow the patties to boil for several minutes; they should look cooked around the edges before turning. Cook for 10 minutes total, or until patties reach desired doneness.

Serve patties on the kaiser rolls, topped with onions and mushrooms from the broth. Add other toppings as desired.

Yield: 4 burgers.

Source: Adapted from a recipe sent in by Teri Tomase.

First Published April 14, 2015, 4:00 a.m.