Rusted Spoke Brewing Company
810 S. Huron StreetI spent most of last week on Mackinac Island for work but I didn’t stay on the Island. My hotel was in Mackinaw City so when my job was done for the day, I had to hop a ferry back to the mainland and try to get a few hours of sleep before the day started over again with the first ferry back to the Island.
My first day in town, I wasn’t planning on going out to the Island. I had planned on getting settled in the hotel and enjoying dinner but at the last minute, my employer decided I needed to run out to the Island to complete a quick task. I grabbed a 4:00 ferry from Star Line, did what I needed to do, then took the 6:00 ferry back to Mackinaw Island.
I was planning on heading to my hotel then figuring out dinner but as I was pulling out of Star Line’s parking lot, I realized I was facing a brewery. I had no idea there was second brewery in Mackinaw City. Instead of turning right, I went straight through and pulled in to the lot.
Rusted Spoke Brewing is on Huron Street south of the main business district in Mackinaw City. The brewery started out as Paddle Hard North but changed the name about a month ago to differentiate itself from the original Paddle Hard Brewing in Grayling. The building had been Embers Restaurant several years before it was gutted and turned into a brewery late last year.
Clam Lake Beer Company
106 S. Mitchell StreetIt’s rare but every so often J will give me a recommendation on a place.
A few weeks ago she spent a couple of days in Cadillac for work. About a week later, I was driving through on my way to Mackinac Island. I never really know where to stop on that drive but I always want it to be away from Grand Rapids.
J told me about a brewery in Cadillac that she had picked up a pizza from one of the days she was in town. She had me sold on the word “brewery” although she did say she really enjoyed her pizza.
Clam Lake Beer Company is in downtown Cadillac on Mitchell Street just south of Harris Street. Mitchell is BR-US131 so it’s easy to get to downtown off the highway but it is about a two mile drive to the historic two story Shay Station building which has been around since the 1800’s on the main drag.
Appoloni’s Ristorante e Pizzeria
60010 Corey Lake RoadWe spent two and a half days over Memorial Day weekend at my in-laws and didn’t go out to eat or order in something in after picking up chicken at the Sand Lake Party Store on our way to their house on Saturday. We grilled one night and we smoked some stuff on a new smoker I bought for their house on Sunday. We did leftovers for the meals we didn’t cook.
We packed up to head back to Kalamazoo around 1:00 on Monday. The kids swam for a little bit in the morning and we once again ate leftovers for lunch after J’s mom cooked breakfast.
I wasn’t super hungry but I knew I would be by the time we got home. J suggested pizza once we got home but I wanted to pick up one of the way. It gave me an excuse to seek out a pizza place one of my cousins, who has a lake house west of Three Rivers, told me about several years ago.
Appoloni’s Ristorante e Pizzeria is near Corey Lake and Harwood Lake in western St. Joseph County. It’s on Corey Lake Road at the intersection with Born Street. J was a little surprised as we pulled up on the small building kind of in the middle of nowhere with a log cabin siding exterior.
Yoder’s Country Market
375 Eleanor DriveIt’s funny that now that my in-laws have moved to St. Joseph County, I’ve been going there a lot more for work too. I could count on one hand the number of times I had been to Sturgis before last fall. That number has gone up significantly since about November.
I was in Sturgis again late last week with a co-worker. We weren’t in a really big hurry to get back to Kalamazoo so we sort of took our time and took the long way. Along the way, we passed some Amish bakeries and my co-worker kept making comments about wanting cookies. We were heading towards Centreville and I knew exactly where he could get some delicious cookies.
Yoder’s Country Market is someplace everyone in St. Joseph county knows about. It’s right on the edge of Centreville on the east side. The address is on Eleanor Drive but you’ll see it on M-86…it’s hard to miss. The parking lot is ALWAYS packed.
Firekeepers Casino & Hotel Event Center
11177 E. Michigan AvenueA couple of months ago, J surprised me when she said she’d like to see Dennis Miller. I didn’t really think their political views lined up which can usually be a a reason not to see a comedian, but she said she always loved his unique view and commentary on every day life.
I was never a big fan of him but I figured if J wanted to go, I like stand-up enough that it would be something we could both enjoy. I got a couple of tickets for the show at Firekeepers which would also mark the first time we had been to a show at the Event Center inside Firekeepers Hotel and Casino.
I’ve been to a few different casino’s to see shows and they’re all pretty much the same. The room is a multi-purpose room with a stage. Firekeepers is no different. They had signs on the casino floor pointing us towards the Event Center which is down a hallway on the northeast side of the building. For a conference or something similar, you could easily make your way between the casino floor and the Event Center but because this was a ticketed event, they brought us through the long way which made forming a line a little easier.
Dacey’s Taphouse
11177 E. Michigan AvenueIt’s been quite a while since we’ve been to Firekeeper’s Casino in Battle Creek. I can actually tell you exactly when it was..because it’s the only time I’ve ever been there and I blogged about it. October of 2009.
J and I aren’t gamblers. It’s fun to play every so often but the thing that will always keep us away from casinos is the smoke. There’s really no reason this should be an issue in 2019.
A few months ago, I saw an ad for Dennis Miller performing at Firekeeper’s. I was a little surprised J said she’d like to see him so I decided to get tickets. We’ve never been to a show there, it was a Friday night, and it would get us out of the house for a few hours.
We decided just to eat at the casino. J had been back to the casino a few times for various work events and when I brought up Dacey’s Taphouse, she thought that was a fabulous idea.
Dacey’s Taphouse is the sports bar located inside the casino. There’s a parking lot and outside entrance but we decided to park in the ramp just in case it was raining. That means we had to walk through most of the gaming floor to find the bar tucked in to a corner surrounded by slot machines.
Lake Burger
4404 W. Main StreetSometimes a sign noticeable from a busy road is the best advertisement.
Earlier this week I was driving to downtown Kalamazoo from US-131 via Main Street. As I got to the Big Apple Bagel near Piccadilly Road in Kalamazoo’s Westwood Neighborhood and noticed a new sign on a building next door. It had the word burger in it so you know I was heading back after work.
Lake Burger just opened up this week. In fact, when I stopped in on Wednesday, that happened to be their first day of business. It’s in a small storefront in the same building between Big Apple Bagel and Subway that I’m not really sure has ever housed a business as long as I’ve been here.
Burgerhaus (Valparaiso)
3304 Calumet AvenueSo, we had these big plans for Mother’s Day. J and I took the kids to a hotel in Portage, IN. They had a splash pad for the kids so I knew they’d have fun. J got her own room so she could sleep a night with no one touching her or yelling at her in their sleep. Then on Sunday, we were going to meet my parents for lunch so I could see my mom on Mother’s Day.
I started looking for restaurants in the area of Portage, IN and didn’t come up with much but Valparaiso isn’t too far away. I found several there that looked fantastic but most of them were doing brunch. We’re not brunch people…especially for the price. Eventually, as I expanded the search, I started finding other options.
I picked Burgerhaus on the northeast side of Valparaiso. The burger restaurant is tucked into a strip mall on the corner of Calumet and Bullseye Lake Road just barely within the city limits. Read more…
Aurelio’s Pizza (Portage, IN)
6500 West US Highway 6Mother’s Day. It’s always fun to try to come up with something fun to do on this special Sunday in May. Most moms just want to be left alone for a day. I get that. My kids are very clingy at times and not wanting to be touched is something we all can relate too.
We didn’t get to spend Easter with my parents so I asked if they’d like to meet for Mother’s Day. My plan was to get a hotel in Portage, IN, get J her own room so she could have one night of sleep with no interruptions, then meet my parents for lunch on Sunday.
We picked Portage, IN because there’s a Best Western Plus there that has a pool with a splash pad. Rooms were pretty cheap and it’s a little more than halfway to where my parents live.
We spent most of the evening Saturday in the pool area once we got there. We had stopped for lunch at Taco John’s on the way so the only meal we needed was dinner. The kids were exhausted so we weren’t going to go out. Pizza is always a good hotel meal and I found a place somewhat familiar to me not far from our hotel.
Aurelio’s Pizza is a Chicago area chain that has been around since the late 1950’s. They have 40 stores in six states. There is one near where I grew up in Bourbonnais, IL but we rarely ate there. We were more Monical’s Pizza people.
The Portage, IN Aurelio’s Pizza is on a busy corner at US Highway 6 and North 500 West. It’s on the corner of a strip mall with several other businesses and most easily accessible from the N. 500 West side. Read more…
Jersey Giant Subs (Stadium Drive)
3621 Stadium DriveI have professed my love for Jersey Giant Subs many, many times on this blog over the years. They’re such simple, delicious sandwiches that are far superior to the big chains that do almost the same thing.
Several years ago now, we had a JGS on the west side of town. It was on Drake Road near the Kohls and I ate there often. I didn’t eat out much over the winter that year and one day I stopped to get a sandwich and the store was closed. We lost our West Side JGS.
Last week, we got a west side location back.
Jersey Giant Subs opened up on Stadium Drive near Meadowview Lane. It shares a building with the Hertz Rent-A-Car location near the car dealerships. This spot had been a Subway for several years before it closed a few months ago.
SW Michigan Dining 