Kazoopy’s
24050 Front AvenueOne of the people most excited about J and I moving to Kalamazoo was my brother. He has in-laws that live in Mattawan, so he was happy that he would be able to visit both of us in the same weekend.
This weekend, his in-laws were hosting Christmas at their house, so he loaded up the van and headed north. The plan was to spend Saturday with them, drive to Kalamazoo on Sunday and stay with us until Monday night.
Even though he’s from Illinois, a state that still gets its fair share of snow, he was really excited about the amount of snow we still had on the ground. He wanted to go sledding. He packed his snow pants and all his cold weather gear…..except his snow boots. I got a call at 11:00 (early for me) asking if I had a pair of boots and if I’d mind meeting him somewhere.
We decided just to drive to Mattawan and meet him at the Speedway right off the Interstate. A month ago, J was in Mattawan for work and ate at a pizza place that she thought I would like. Since we were heading that way anyway, we headed to lunch.
Kazoopy’s Pizza & Grinders is one of the few businesses left in what looks like a downtown that used to have a lot of cute storefronts. The store is on Front Avenue just to the west of Main Street. The store really sticks out. It’s not very big, but it’s got a bright, vibrant sign on a well-maintained red brick building. It’s not a huge store, but there is enough room for a few tables. During the summer, they also have an outdoor patio that will hold a few more.
We made it to the order counter where a guy was waiting for us. J talked to the owner last time she was in there. For the most part, it’s just him and his son. They do a pretty good business because they’re the only place in Mattawan that will deliver a pizza. The son took our order then he passed it off to the dad who made our sandwiches.
J ordered the Ham & Cheddar which is #34 on the menu. She got a six-inch sandwich which is served on a homemade Sourdough Italian Bread. The rest of the sandwich is sliced ham, lettuce, tomato and Kazoopy sauce which is a mayo based sauce with Italian herbs. She was a big fan of the sandwich last time she ate there which is why we decided to go back. This time was no different. She loved her sandwich…especially the bread and to make it even better, the owner offered up a taste of their homemade Cheesy Potato soup. Had she known there was soup ahead of time, she probably would have went with the 4 inch sandwich and soup combo. She was a real big fan of everything she had there today.
I ordered a six-inch Chicken Parmesan grinder. Again, served on the homemade Sourdough Italian bread with chicken, red sauce, provolone and parmesan cheese. They didn’t skimp on the toppings and the grated parmesan was actually falling off the sides because there was so much. I have to say that I have always been a huge fan of Mancino’s grinders and have very rarely found any that would compare. The grinders at Kazoopy’s beat Mancino’s in a key area. The bread. The bread is amazingly good. They toast it so the edges are nice and crispy.
The total for the two sandwiches and two bottles of Coke Zero was just over thirteen bucks. It was a delicious, cheap, quick lunch. J was right on this one. Kazoopy’s is a great alternative to the usual lunch suspects.
Ham & Cheddar Grinder
Chicken Parmesan Grinder
SW Michigan Dining 