Load A Spud Potato Bar (Kalamazoo)
2624 W. Michigan AvenueWe’re slowly venturing out…but still….not really. We still want to try new places…but only if they offer take-out.
We met my family near Three Oaks for a hike at Warren Woods State Park a few weeks ago. We did pizza for lunch and let the kids hang out with their cousins for the first time since February. By the time we got home, it was getting close to dinner time and neither of us really wanted to put much effort into getting everyone fed.
We had both heard about Load A Spud Potato Bar in the Campus Pointe Shopping Mall. They had just done a soft opening but word spread pretty quickly about this new baked potato bar.
Load A Spud is on the south side of the Campus Pointe Mall on the Michigan Avenue side. They didn’t have a sign up yet so it was a little tough to find but it’s in the space that used to be USA Nails.
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The restaurant is set up with an order counter at one end where you order your potato and how you wanted it topped. They have 20 different combinations for toppings plus you get your choice of butter. If you’re not a baked potato person, they also have tacos and salads. The restaurant is still in COVID mode so the little bit of seating they do have inside the restaurant is unavailable but once those things change, you will be able to enjoy your one point potato inside the small restaurant.
We picked Load A Spud for dinner because J likes baked potatoes. I like almost every other kind of potato but I’m not a big baked potato guy so I tried a few of their tacos.
The tacos come in either hard shell or soft shell and you have the choice of ground beef or chicken. There are options to upgrade to either steak or shrimp if you want to spend a little extra. We kept the tacos pretty simple with ground beef in hard shells with lettuce and cheese. L and I were splitting the three tacos we got and she just likes to keep them simple. The ground beef is big balls of beef seasoned really well. The tacos are pretty simple and pretty tasty. I would definitely go back with J if she wanted a potato and order these again.
J ordered the Broccoli, Bacon, Cheese potato. The soft, steamy baked potato is topped with chopped broccoli, cheddar cheese, and bacon. J said the potato was delicious. It was warm. It was soft. It was really steamy. They poured a lot of butter on top before they started with the toppings. She really liked the broccoli and the cheese, but wasn’t as big of a fan of the bacon. It was a little rubbery and she prefers bacon to be a little crispy. She really liked the potato but next time would get it without the bacon.
Our bill for the three tacos and the potato was just under $15.
Load A Spud is another new, unique place in Kalamazoo and has a great location right next to Western Michigan University. They’re only open until 11 PM right now but if they reconsider that when the kids get back in school, this will make great drunk food. As it is, it makes pretty good anytime food and if you love baked potatoes, there’s no better place in Kalamazoo to get a meal sized one.
SW Michigan Dining 