Mancino’s Pizza & Grinders (Battle Creek)
2171 W. Columbia AvenueI’ve been working a lot of extra hours recently. I don’t mind to much because I do like the paycheck but I hate the time spent away from the family and making J do the sports practices all by herself.
A couple of weeks ago, I had to pick up some extra hours after my shift was over in Battle Creek. It was an easy assignment. It was just going to take a little while and I would miss dinner by doing so.
I got done around 7:30 on the west side of Battle Creek. I was hungry and I thought ahead. I knew I had to go back to Columbia Avenue to get to the highway so I quickly looked at what was in the area.
I saw Mancino’s Pizza & Grinders was open, but only until 8:00. Good thing I started looking for dinner while I was still working. I was able to put in an order about 7:10 that would be ready when I could get there by 7:45.
The Battle Creek location of Mancino’s Pizza & Grinders is near the corner of Helmer Road and Columbia Avenue right in front of the Meijer. The building is a standalone restaurant alongside a few other quick service restaurants near this very busy intersection.
I’ve talked many times about my love affair with Mancino’s. Growing up in East/Central Illinois, we did a lot of chain restaurants. There were a lot of Ponderosa’s, Wendy’s (when they had the salad bar), Old Country Buffett, Rax (you see the common theme here). Mancino’s, while kind of a chain, showed up in Bradley, IL when I was in high school and that became out new go-to spot. It was new. It was different. And the bread was soooo good.
Back to Battle Creek, this Mancino’s may be one of the nicest I’ve ever been in. There is a large order area right in front of the kitchen. I went there to ask for my sandwich but because I had ordered online, it was sitting on a table next to the dining room.
That dining room is by far one of the biggest and one of the nicest dining rooms I’ve seen in a Mancino’s. These places are usually tucked in to a strip mall somewhere so there’s not a lot of space. Not the case here. It’s actually a place you could order a big pizza meal with a group and have plenty of room.
The meal I ordered was a 16″ Pizza Grinder with sausage added and a half order of garlic cheese bread. The cost was about $18 before tip.
I opened up the garlic cheese bread right away when I got to the car. I ordered this because I knew I could eat it while driving. No way I was going to be able to tackle the sandwich.
The Garlic Cheese bread is simple. It’s pizza crust with mozzarella cheese and garlic on top. It comes with a cup of marinara to dip in but since I was driving, and because it doesn’t really need it, I didn’t use it. The thing I love so much about Mancino’s is the bread and this is such a good way to showcase the buttery, crumbly bread they’re known for.
I pretty much dropped everything else when I got in the house so I could sit down and eat. The Pizza Grinder is the one I always order. In fact, I’m not sure in 25 years I’ve ever ordered any other sandwich.
The grinder is simple. Pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. I added sausage this time because I guess I was feeling adventerous. The sandwich is so simple. It’s like eating pizza in a delicious sandwich. It’s always the bread that keeps me coming back. It’s just got this little crunchy edge while the middle is so soft. The sandwich photographs horribly…as you’ll see below, but I’ve been getting these sandwiches for over 25 years and I don’t plan to stop.
SW Michigan Dining 
This is my go to place. My normal order is their Roast Beef grinder minus lettuce and tomato substitute with mushrooms and onions. I go here at least 3 times a week. I love everything about this place! I would recommend this over every other place. Only downfall is they are closed on Sundays. But the staff is amazing and I love the atmosphere.
I agree and this Mancino’s in particular has all the great things mentioned in the above article but add to that a really hard-working staff who try very very hard to get your food to you on time and with a very pleasant manner. It’s one of our families favorite spots.