3112 Oakland Drive

So, where to take my daughter for her first meal out?  We had our first pediatrics appointment this morning and it was the first time we had been out of the house since coming home from the hospital.  After our 11:30, we had the debate on whether we wanted to chance sitting down for lunch somewhere or grab something to go.  Since L was crying as we were driving, we opted for the picking something up to go.

We were both in the mood for something lighter and something quick.  For whatever, we have neglected the Deli at Bacchus Wine & Spirits.  I always see the smoker going when I drive by and even though it wasn’t fired up today, I still wanted to try their deli sandwiches.

Bacchus Wine & Spirits is at that weird intersection where Oakland Drive, Whites Road, and Parkview Avenue all sort of intersect.  The building is across the street from the D & W Fresh Market which makes it easy to find.

Bacchus is a specialty food store that specializes in unique cheese, sausages, and meats as well as liquor store with a wide selection of liqour, wine, and beer.  They’ve been in business since 1971 at that same corner.

The deli is sort of off to the right when you walk in.  The menu hangs from the ceiling and there are eight sandwiches that use premium meats, cheese, and breads.

We stood there for a few minutes until a woman in another part of the store noticed.  She came over and asked what we were in the mood for.  I had no problem finding a sandwich.  I ordered the #2 which is the Pastrami Sandwich.  The meat is Sy Ginsburg Pastrami made by United Meat & Deli in Detroit.  It’s served on Zingerman’s Rye with Emmentaler Swiss Cheese it’s finished off with yellow mustard, then wrapped with a pickle in butcher paper.

J ordered the #7 which is the ham sandwich.  The  ham is Usinger’s applewood smoked ham on Zingerman’s Rye with Swiss cheese and mustard.

Both sandwiches took about five minutes to make and the lady who made them took them over to the cash register near the doors to ring them up.  I grabbed a Mt. Dew out of the cooler next to the deli for something to drink.  They also had Boylan Cola’s and a couple of selections of Root Beer, but I was craving a Mt. Dew.

The total for the two sandwiches, a pop, and a couple of caramel’s from next to the cash register was just over $21.  Seems expensive, but you’re getting high quality ingredients. We chose to take our sandwiches home with us even though L was doing really good in her carrier.  If you should choose to stay, there are a couple tables in the deli area where you can eat.

When I unwrapped the butcher paper when I got home, I found exactly what I was looking for.  A juicy, tender pastrami sandwich with just enough mustard to give it a little zing on bread with a crusty crust but soft, chewy middle.  The sandwich was delicious and very filling.

J said pretty much the same about hers.  The only thing different between our two sandwiches was the meats.  Almost as soon as we got home, L got hungry and wanted to eat, so mommy had to eat one handed again…..yet another reason I picked a deli for lunch.

Bacchus has an incredible deli.  It’s so much more than your typical deli sandwich.  They take the time to hunt down high quality ingredients which make all the difference in these sandwiches.

#2 Pastrami Sandwich

#7 Ham Sandwich

5909 Gull Road

After a couple of long days, things were settling down for J, me, and the new addition to our family, L.  Like we were expecting, sleep was rare the first couple nights and eating for me since we got to the hospital on Thursday was something I sort of put on the back burner.

On Monday night, the hunger pangs were setting in and after I got J settled with her meal and Baby L was content, I asked if it was ok if I took off for a little bit to get something to eat for myself.

We’re not out in the Gull Road area very often, so I really didn’t know what my options were.  I had thought about fried chicken but I didn’t want to bring that back to the hospital room.  I remembered there was a Penn Station somewhere on Gull Road so I went looking for that knowing that it’s always a quality meal.

After getting a few honks for driving too slow while I was looking in all the strip malls along Gull Road, I finally found the Penn Station on Gull Road just to the southwest of 26th Street and across the street from Applebees. 

The Gull Road is a little bit smaller than the Portage and West Main locations, but it’s set up exactly the same.  The order area is right inside the door to the right.

There were only two people working the kitchen when I walked in and one of them said he’d be right there.

More than anything, I really wanted an order of fries and so did J.  She was actually eating a really good pasta meal at the hospital, but when I said I was going to Penn Station, she asked for an order of fries as well.  I got myself a large since I hadn’t really eaten in four days and I got her  a small.  I figured if she wanted more, she could have a few of mine.

For the sandwich, I ordered a 10″ pizza and opted for the Italian sausage for a little extra.  When I got down to the cashier station, I added on a Pepsi for a total just over $16.

I had to make a couple more stops on my way back to the hospital.  I wanted to grab some bottles of Sprite from Walgreens so I had to wait a few more minutes before I could dig into the goodness contained in the brown paper bag on the passenger seat.

As I got back on Gull Road, I reached into the bag and started in on fries.  I absolutely love Penn Station’s fries.  They’re fresh cut, they’re flash fried in Peanut Oil, and most of all, they’re golden brown delicious.  The large size is really large.  Really, really large.  They’re actually almost a meal all on their own and even after I got back to J’s room I kept eating them before I even thought about unwrapping my sandwich.

After getting every last fry out of the paper cup, I finally got around to my sandwich.  The sandwich was cut in half and even half was almost too much for me after the fries.  The hoagie type bread was filled with pepperoni, smoked ham, Sweet Italian sauage provolone and Parmesan cheeses and pizza sauce.  My experience in the past has been that the subs were a little light on the fillings, but this sandwich was overflowing with meat.  The sausage, although a little extra, is worth it on this sandwich.  It’s a sweet sausage that is a great compliment to the spicy pepperoni.

I only ate half the sandwich for dinner then wrapped up the other half for later.  It made a great late night snack when we got up to feed a hungry baby.

Another great meal from Penn Station.  I’m really happy someone decided to bring this chain to town.  Yes, I’m happy to eat at a chain.  I’m a bad food blogger, but that’s ok.  Sometimes, quick and delicious is just what I need.

Large Order of Fries

10" Pizza Sub w/Sweet Italian Sausage

1521 Gull Road

Well, the day is finally here.  J and I headed to the hospital to welcome our daughter.  Things didn’t turn out exactly as we planned and we ended up being in the hospital much longer before the birth than we had anticipated.

We checked into Labor & Delivery around 6 AM on Friday morning.  By 6 PM Friday night, there was very little progress.  Neither one of us had eaten since an early morning stop at the McDonalds drive thru and the combos I brought with me just weren’t cutting it.

I didn’t really want to leave J by herself, but I needed something to eat.  She had just ordered something from the cafeteria, but I hadn’t purchased any meal tickets for myself.  Since I would have had to go down to the downstairs to go to the cafeteria, I decided to see what the coffee shop in the atrium had to offer.

If you’ve been in Kalamazoo for any period of time, you already know Water Street Coffee Joint.  They have three locations in town.  The downtown restaurant is right across the street from Bell’s on Water Street.  The second location is on Oakland in the Oakwood Neighborhood.  Not being a coffee drinker, I’ve never really had any reason to go to either location.  We did meet our Doula at the Oakwood location for our initial meeting, but J and I had eaten dinner at Fletcher’s beforehand, so we didn’t even really look at the food options. 

The third location opened up in late 2010 in the Atrium area of Borgess Medical Center on Gull Road.  It’s located right past the reception area near the waiting room on the main floor.  They have a rather large display case full of baked goods, desserts, and gourmet sandwiches as well as their full line of locally roasted coffee.

I really had no idea what kind of food options they would have when I made my way downstairs late in the evening on Friday.  I was really hoping for something savory so I didn’t have to venture out in the snow.

Luckily for me, there were a few people in front of me when I got there so it gave me time to check things out.  They have some pre-packaged sandwiches in an open display up front which also has a display of tea and Boylan Soda.  I had already hit up the vending machine to get a couple Pepsi’s, so I was good there.

I started looking in the closed display cases to see if there was anything in there that sounded good.  Of course, there were no burgers or pizza, but hey, I’m more than just a couple delicious foodstuffs.

When both of the ladies were done with the customers in front of me, I stepped up to the counter and asked for the Classic Cheese Panini and a slice of the Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake.  The cheesecake was boxed up first and handed to me as I got my credit card out to pay the $10 charge.  The sandwich was wrapped in plastic wrap waiting to be heated up, so one of the ladies unwrapped it and threw it on to the griddle for me.  They said it would be a few minutes and they’d call out when ready.  Before I stepped away to take a seat in the waiting area, they asked if I wanted it wrapped to go or if I’d be eating in the atrium.  Had I chose to stay, they serve on real plates, but since I needed to get back upstairs to J, I asked them to wrap it.

When I made it back to our room, I really didn’t even know what kind of sandwich I had.  The description said classic cheese, but that was it.  What exactly is classic cheese?  It’s goat cheese with garlic and herbs and a slice of another hard, white cheese (may have been white cheddar….couldn’t tell.)  It’s served on a deliciously crusty bread with two slices of tomato to finish it off.  As soon as I unwrapped, I had J’s attention.  She loves goat cheese and could smell it from across the room.  She walked over to where I was eating and gave me a little puppy dog look asking if she could have a bite.  Of course I let her.  The goat cheese was very strong and there was a lot of it.  It was oozing out the side of the bread which made for tasty but messy meal.

The cheesecake was divine.  I didn’t go to Water Street with the intention of getting sweets, but I could swear that piece of cake was calling my name from behind the glass display case.  There was a chocolate cookie layer followed by a vanilla cheesecake with a chocolate topping.  This too was shared with J as I know she likes cheesecake as much as I do.

Checking out Water Street before heading to the cafeteria was a good choice….now, I’m not knocking Borgess’ cafeteria.  I’ve never eaten there and I’m sure it’s really good, but Water Street is such an incredible option to have when doing business at the hospital.  I’m sure before our stay is over I’ll be making several trips back for sandwiches and pastries.

Classic Cheese Panini

Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake

Downtown Kalamazoo Restaurant Week is the perfect time to try those restaurants in Downtown Kalamazoo that you have always talked about visiting. For $25, participating restaurants will create signature, 3 course meals.  This course might be dinner for two, it might be an appetizer for four.  But guaranteed, the price is $25 and it will be a unique blend of something you can’t find on their menu.  What makes this week “special” is the featured product and the chance to try something new.

List of Participating Restaurants and Specials

Saugatuck Brewing Company Announces Winter Tasting Series

(Douglas, MI) – SBC will be conducting 4 tasting events at the brewery to be held on the last Thursdays of January, February, March and April at 7pm.

 

The themes will be:

 

• · January 26 – “Different Yeasts/Different Flavors”
• · February 23 – “Different Hops/Different Flavors”
• · March 29 – “Understanding Beer Styles”
• · April 26 – “Specialty Beers”

 

The tastings will be lead by SBC sales manager Scott Farney and brewer Dexter Gauntlett. Admission will be $10 at the door ($8 for Pint Club members).

 

Moscow Festival Ballet Theatre Dinner January 22, 2012
Please join us after the 2:00 performance for a special three course dinner featuring classic Russian fare.
Menu
1st Course Selections
Pirozkhi (fried dough with filling): Savory braised short rib pie

White Fish Caviar with Buckwheat Blinis (small pancakes)
and sour cream

Zakuski: A small taste of cured meat & fish
with house pickled vegetables

2nd Course Selections
Salad Romanoff with poached chicken, peas, potatoes, eggs and
roasted red peppers topped with sour cream dill dressing

Grilled eggplant & tomato salad with feta cheese and fresh mint

Cured Salmon Gravlax (Russian Lox) with vodka dill and cucumbers

3rd Course Selections
Kulebiaka Salmon (a splendid temptation) with slow cooked onions
and vegetables wrapped in pastry

Chicken Kiev: Herb butter stuffed in a breaded chicken breast
served with caramelized wild rice and fig & pear chutney

Veal Pojarski (a favorite of Nicholas): Ground veal and cream
with caramelized onions

A Menu fit for a Czar! $35.00 per person

Moscow Festival Ballet Performing at Miller Auditorium
In 1989 Sergei Radchenko, a principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, realized his dream by combining the classical elements of the Bolshoi and the Kirov ballet companies into a new company of his own. In classic Russian ballet style, this company performs a fantasy fairytale highlighting four ballets: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Giselle.

1122 W. Michigan Avenue

I know it’s Michigan and I know it’s January, but man did we get a lot of snow this weekend.  When I got home from work Friday night I was too tired to attempt to shovel my driveway, so I got up Saturday to do it before work.  I only got about half the drive shoveled before I just threw my shovel and gave up.

Later that night, I decided I needed to break down and buy a snow thrower.  I was hesitant to spend the money, but I just don’t have the time to shovel or the help like I did last winter.

I got on Sears.com and started looking at snow throwers.  I found one I liked and clicked on the option to pick up in store.  The store at Crossroads didn’t have the one I wanted in stock, but the Sears Hometown store in Three Rivers did.

I got the confirmation this morning that my new snow thrower was ready to pick up so I asked J if she wanted to make the drive to Three Rivers with me.  She said if we could get lunch she was in.

The only place that really popped in to my mind when we decided to go to Three Rivers was El Camino Real.  I’ve heard from several people that it may be the best Mexican in the area and a place that many people make a special trip for. 

We had a little trouble finding the place even though it’s on a main road on the west side of Three Rivers.  For whatever reason, neither my GPS or Google maps would accept the address (it wouldn’t find Sears either).  I finally did a POI search on my GPS and found it.  Really, it’s not all that hard to find.  The building is about a block or so off the intersection of US-131 and US-131 BL.

We found several cars in the small parking lot next to the building that almost looks like it was a residence at one point.  As we walked in the door, the man who we found out later was the only server, greeted us and took us to a booth near the back of the space.  When we sat down, there were three other tables.  By the time we left, the man who seated us was flying around the dining room taking care of a dozen tables yet neglecting no one.

The menu is pretty typical and quite large.  Our waiter brought our drinks and chips and salsa while we looked it over.  We both really liked the salsa and scarfed it down like it was our meal.  The chunky, home made salsa was delicious.  So delicious that we both ate way too much before our plates were brought out.

Neither one of us ventured very far from our typical menu selections as I went straight for the a la carte options and J went to the veggie combos.

There were four taco options on the menu and I selected two of them.  I got two beef tacos which came with lettuce and cheese.  I chose the option for soft shell and, in hindsight, I should have went with the hard option.  The tortillas were flour tortillas instead of corn.  The advantage was more meat and a bigger taco, but the huge disadvantage was that it was a flour tortilla.  The meat had a spicy orange tint to it and like I just mentioned, there was a lot of it.  My favorite thing about “americanized” tacos at a Mexican restaurant is the cheese they use.  I don’t know if the cheese was Chihuahua or something else, but it was creamy and delicious.  If they had just been in corn toritllas, they would have been very good.  The flour tortillas took them way down.

The other two tacos I ordered were the Tacos Al Pastor.  These tacos were served in two corn tortillas which made me excited when I pulled the aluminum foil open.  The marinated pork as mixed with large chunks of onions and the cilantro was served on the side.  The pork was very tender and very juicy.  It was so juicy it made the tortillas pretty soggy and hard to pick up.  The flavor was fantastic and I used a fork to get as much of it as I could.

J ordered Vegetarian Combo C which is a chalupa, an enchilada, and a cheese quesadilla.  The enchilada came with a red sauce on it and the chalupa came with guacamole.  Luckily, our server brought more chips, so she was able to have chips and guac in addition to all the other stuff she had on her plate.  I asked her how it was when we left and she said it was good, but no better than some of the Mexican places here in Kalamazoo.

Our bill was just under $20 and our host/server was also manning the cash register.  I saw another couple go to cash out so I rushed to the cash register to pay so he wouldn’t have to run around anymore than he already had to.

El Camino Real was really delicious, but I don’t know if it’s any better than some of our regular Mexican haunts.  We didn’t go out of our way to go there so there’s really no complaints for me other than the flour tortillas.  We wanted to find a good meal in Three Rivers and we did.

Chips and Salsa

Beef Tacos

Chalupa and Enchilada

GOOD VS. EVIL: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert

LIVE AT DeVOS PERFORMANCE HALL ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19^th

Two chefs. Two unlikely friends. Two very different

careers and philosophies sharing one stage.

(GRAND RAPIDS, MI)- Good vs. Evil: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert, live at Grand Rapid’s DeVos Performance Hall on Sunday, February 19th. Join Anthony Bourdain, chef, author of Medium Raw and host of The Travel’s Channel’s No Reservations and Eric Ripert, renowned chef of Le Bernardin, author, host of “Avec Eric” on PBS and regular guest on Bravo’s Top Chef as they share stories and muse on the place of food in our personal, community and global life. It’s an evening of storytelling and observation providing frank and provocative insight into what really goes on behind the kitchen doors.

Anthony Bourdain has been dubbed “the bad boy of cuisine” for his rock star look and blunt observations about the world of restaurants, chefs and cooking. Bourdain, the Chef-at-large at New York’s famed bistro Les Halles, is the author of the bestselling novels, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and most recently Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook. His show on The Travel Channel, Emmy Award winning No Reservations, recently concluded filming its seventh season.

 

Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin continues to receive universal critical acclaim for its food and service and the Zagat Guide has recognized the restaurant as the “Best Food” in New York City for the last seven consecutive years. Ripert has also served as guest judge (and “fan favorite”) on Bravo’s Top Chef for the past four seasons. This past fall, Ripert published his fourth book entitled, Avec Eric: A Culinary Journey with Eric Ripert in addition to his previous titles: On the Line and A Return to Cooking and the Le Bernardin Cookbook.

 

Tickets are on sale to the public and range from $32.50 – $125 for VIP packages and are available online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000 or at the DeVos Place box office.

 

A limited number of VIP tickets will be available, which includes premiere seating within the first six rows, access to an exclusive meet and greet session with Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, a VIP tour laminate and a limited edition poster. Grand Rapid’s acclaimed Bar Divani is pleased to be the Official Restaurant Sponsor of the evening, and will be providing an innovative selection of appetizers for VIP Reception attendees.

 

Copies of Bourdain’s new book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, and Ripert’s Avec Eric: A Culinary Journey with Eric Ripert along with other titles from their back catalogs will be available for purchase on site from Schuler Books and Music, the official bookseller for the event.

Taste beer and cheese with the brewer of the night and our Cheese Gurus. We pick
the cheese, they pick the beer, you taste and vote on your favorite pairing. We’ll tally
the votes from each night and serve the top pairing from each brewery for the
weekend (Jan. 20 & 21). Yes, a 4 cheese and Michigan beer board pairing. This is
your chance to be heard.

Reserve a banquette seat (in the bar area), sit or stand at the bar or have dinner
and a tasting at your table. Reservations not required, but recommended.
Please call to make reservations.

Monday, Jan. 16 ~ Bell’s, Kalamazoo
Tuesday, Jan. 17 ~ Dark Horse, Marshall
Wednesday, Jan. 18 ~ Short’s, Bellaire
Thursday Jan. 19 ~ New Holland, Holland

To see the results, visit our facebook page.