Papa’s Italian Sausage (Battle Creek)
145 W. Columbia AvenueI like Friday’s. I always feel better about eating out when it appears there is extra money in our checking account. I mean, it’s never actually stopped me from eating out but I feel less guilty about it.
My co-worker and I were in Battle Creek last Friday working downtown. I very easily could have grabbed something there but I remembered a long time Kalamazoo business opened a second location and we weren’t too far away.
Papa’s Italian Sausage is near the corner of Capital and Columbia Avenues in a small strip mall alongside some automotive businesses. This small spot has been several carry-out businesses over the year including a Domino’s and, most recently, a soul food place called Pop’s Kitchen & Pasta Bar.
The restaurant’s public space is longer than it is wide. There is a large order window right as you walk in the door with menus posted at waist level on both sides so you look down instead of looking up.
The only seating in the place is one wire table and a stand-up lunch rail that has a few chairs but for the most part, this is a take-out place.
I ordered The Bella Supreme and an order of Papa Fries. The cost was around $10 which I put on my card.
I started with the fries as soon as I got back to a place where I could sit and eat. The fries are simple crinkle cut french fries with a garlic salt and pepper seasoning. They’re served with a side of marinara sauce. The seasoning on the salt was quite delicious. They took a pretty simple french fry and actually made it really tasty.
The Bella Supreme is one of Papa’s signature sandwiches. It’s a sausage topped with Italian beef, Provolone cheese, peppers and onions. I picked the hot sausage and a white bread bun. The sausage does not look like the Italian sausages you get in the grocery store. It’s a little bit thinner, it looks much more like ground pork than the somewhat red sausages you typically get in stores. The “Italian beef” is kind of a joke. It’s just sliced roast beef. It looks and feels like the stuff you buy from the deli counter in the store. It still added a good flavor to the sandwich but it really can’t be called Italian beef. The onions and peppers were piled on pretty high to round out this sandwich and make it a delicious, satisfying meal.
The last time I blogged about Papa’s in Kalamazoo I enjoyed it but it didn’t really wow me. I’ve only been back a couple times since. I know so many people that swear Papa’s is one of the best sandwiches in the region and this stop at the new Battle Creek location definitely changed my mind about the place because I finally ordered the item they advertise on the sign….you’d think that would have been the first thing I tried. The Italian sausage was delicious and the fries were pretty tasty also. I’m pretty close to the Kalamazoo Papa’s and this sandwich has given me a new outlook on this Southwest Michigan staple.
SW Michigan Dining 