Mannie’s Pizza (Byron Center)
530 76th Street SW #500I don’t get called to Grand Rapids much anymore. For seven years, I went there every day but since we opened an office in Kalamazoo, I tend to get to stay closer to home.
Last Thursday, there wasn’t much for me to do in Kalamazoo and they were short in Grand Rapids. My boss asked if I could work up there for the day. I was given an assignment that took me right up to and past my quitting time of 6:30. I told J it was going to be closer to 8:00 before I got home. She had already made plans to go to dinner at one of her friends with the kids anyway so it wasn’t that big of a deal.
I was on my own for dinner. That’s fine. I like stopping to pick up a pizza for myself. There are a few places I usually stop between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, but you know me. I wanted something different. So I did a Google search for a place near Byron Center.
This is where the story gets hilarious. I found a place called Joe’s Way Too on 76th Street. It was close to the highway so I called in an order. I couldn’t understand what the person answering the phone said but I thought I heard “pizzeria.” I put in an order for a 16″ pepperoni pizza. He told me it’d be about 20 minutes.
I went to the address listed for Joe’s Way Too and found Mannie’s Pizza. No big deal. Pizza places change all the time. As long as I could get a pizza, I wasn’t too worried about the name. It was going to be a new experience either way.
So, Mannie’s Pizza is on 76th Street just west of the US-131 interchange. There’s a small strip mall there with a fitness studio next door blasting music so loud it was shaking the walls of the pizza shop. The Google street view shows Joe’s Way was still there as of August of last year so Mannie’s must be fairly new to the area.
Valentina’s Mexican Grill
351 River StreetIt should be illegal how much I love tacos. There are only a couple foods that I could eat every day and be really happy. Burgers, pizza, wings, and tacos.
I found a place that I loved when I worked in Grand Rapids regularly. I’ve never been able to find a place that I truly loved and was easy to get in and get out of it. There are some really good taco places in town that I visit semi-regularly (Los Brothers comes to mind right away), but I’m always on the look out for more.
I don’t spend a lot of time in Comstock Township but I stop at the Speedway on the corner of River and King Highway every time I do.
One of those trips was on my way to Battle Creek and I decided at the last minute to take the highway instead of M-96. I still made my Speedway stop and as I crossed the river heading back towards I-94, I noticed a Mexican place tucked in to a little building right across from Merrill Park.
Valentina’s Mexican Grill has been in this spot on River Street for almost two years now. The small orange building used to be Riverview Cafe. Surprisingly, I never made it in to that restaurant so I don’t know how much it has changed. Read more…
Oasis Family Restaurant
656 S. US Highway 131I have been craving cheap, greasy breakfast food for quite a while. About a month ago, we got up on a Sunday morning to drive to St. Joseph County to check on my in-laws house while they’re away. I assumed we’d stop for breakfast along the way but J really wanted to try Latitude 42‘s new weekend breakfast menu so we did that before getting on the road.
It’s been over a month now and we haven’t made the trip south. Last weekend, we finally decided we should go check on the house again. J suggested just grabbing McDonalds after swimming lessons but I kind of cringed at that idea. She asked what I was thinking and I said I wanted to eat actual breakfast. She was hesitant because the kids can be awful cranky after swimming lessons but agreed.
We stopped in Three Rivers at Oasis Family Restaurant on the west side of town. The restaurant is on US-131 as it wraps around town near the Meijer. The restaurant looks like a typical breakfast joint and even looks like it may have been a Big Boy or similar restaurant in a past life…but Google Street View goes back to 2007 and it’s been Oasis since at least that time.
Bowkers
179 E. Battle Creek StreetI don’t know how many times it’s happened to me. I’m just driving through town and I’ll spot a little restaurant well off the highway. I may not always stop on my first trip through but if it’s someplace I drive through somewhat regularly, I’ll make a mental note to get back.
I’ve been taking M-96 to and from Battle Creek quite a bit lately. There’s a few places to eat along the way but I’m usually in a hurry so I keep going. I’ve noticed a place pop up on the edge of Galesburg recently. It doesn’t look like much but they’ve done an advertising blitz that really caught my attention.
Bowkers is on the East side of Galesburg on Battle Creek Street (also M-96) not too far from that weird intersection at the railroad tracks with Burgess Drive. The building is a pretty plain looking long white wood building that I believe was a couple of apartments at one time. Bowkers is on the west end of the building with the entrance marked with a bright red door. Read more…
BC Subs
638 Capital Avenue SWThere are a lot of restaurants on this blog that I just drive by and go, “Oh. I should eat there.” Sometimes I find hidden gems. Sometimes I find places that are only open for a couple months. Sometimes, I find places that have been around forever and am shocked I have never heard of them.
I was driving down Capital Avenue in Battle Creek a few weeks ago and came across one of those place. I just happened to look to my right as I was passing Territorial Road and saw a sign for BC Subs. I had never heard of it but I didn’t have time to stop. About a week later, I had the time and went out of my way to get out of town to stop in to this long time sub shop.
BC Subs is a little difficult to get to if you’re not familiar with it. It’s right on Capital Avenue and it’s easy to see but you have to turn either on Territorial or Fairfield Avenue before you get to the shop to get in to the parking area that runs parallel to Capital but has no access to the major thoroughfare.
Pine Lake Grocery
942 Doster RoadAnother Friday night working away from Kalamazoo means another Friday night of ordering pizzas from two different places for us. J was actually going to stop at Little Caesars and pick up dinner but the kids decided on pizza Lunchables instead.
I was running a little late getting back to town and we told the kids we’d take them to the dance at L’s school. I was hungry though having not eaten lunch (again) and wanted something for the car ride home.
We were out in eastern Allegan County right on the Barry County line near Pine Lake. On our way to the job site, I noticed a grocery store that advertised pizza. Luckily, they had a Facebook page with a menu so I could call in an order when I started heading back to Kalamazoo.
Pine Lake Grocery is one of those places near a lake that kind of comes out of nowhere. It’s on Doster Road on the west side of Pine Lake just north of 109th Avenue right inside the Allegan County limits. Read more…
Burger Bros
806 Riverview Drive, Suite BI will never get over burger places. I love places that only do burgers because….well, I love burgers. And if they’re confident enough in their burgers to only serve burgers, that’s a burger I want.
This one kind of popped out of nowhere. I saw something on Twitter about a new burger place on the Eastside and had to go check it out.
Burger Bros is a new concept from the people that brought you Kelvin & Co. The restaurant is a quick service shop on Riverview Drive at the intersection with Bridge Street. The last time I was in this strip mall, this space was a BBQ joint. I think it was a chicken place in between but when I stopped to check that place out, it was already closed. Read more…
Jac’s (Oshtemo)
3112 S. 9th StreetWe have been getting a lot of new restaurant openings on the west side of town recently but most of those have been national chain restaurants. I’m not complaining. We’re getting stuff out here that is unique to the Kalamazoo Metro and despite being chains, have actually been quite tasty.
It is refreshing to see a new restaurant opening that involves a local name. We’ve always liked Jac’s (Cekola’s Pizza) in Portage but it’s so far away from home, we never made a lot of time to go there. They took care of that problem for us.
Jac’s (branded without the Cekola’s Pizza) did a big remodel of a longtime restaurant space near the corner of 9th and Stadium in Oshtemo. The building was a Mexican place known as Mi Ranchito when we moved here ten years ago. Most recently, it was an Italian and Pizza extension of the popular downtown Italian place Mangia Mangia known as Mangia Pizza and Pasta Company. Read more…
Pizza Perfect
5118 West D AvenueMan, this weather has been brutal. I don’t get snow days in my line of work and when the weather’s bad, it usually means I’m on the road more.
Last Friday was one of those days. I met my co-worker at the Gun Lake Casino exit on US-131. We had planned to stay in Allegan County all day but plans change and we ended up back in Kalamazoo with his car still at the park and ride near Wayland. That means, after work, I had to drive him back to his car before going home.
Friday night is typically pizza night in our house. J had ordered Dominos for herself and the kids. I don’t usually mind Dominos but I really don’t love their thin crust. The kids like it though so that’s what J gets. I figured since I was going to have cold pizza and it was one I didn’t really like, I might as well just bring one home for myself.
I noticed a new business on those blue highway signs near the exits as we were heading north on US-131 near D Avenue. I caught just enough of it to see that it said pizza. I did some Googling once we got to the park and ride and found what I was looking for.
Pizza Perfect is inside the BP gas station on D Avenue just east of the US-131 exit ramp. The small space used to be a BBQ place called Smoke ‘n Buns. They went out of that location quite a while ago and it appears this pizza place has been around since last summer.
Green Top Tavern
250 E. Michigan AvenueI really wanted to take advantage of being on my own for dinner and go to a couple of places I wouldn’t necessarily take my family. It was only four nights on my own but I made sure to go some place new or revisit someplace I hadn’t been in quite a while.
Wednesday night of my week alone was going to be a short one. I had to pick the family up at the airport on Thursday so I needed to adjust my work schedule. Instead of going in at 9:30 AM, I went in at 3:30 AM. That meant I needed to get dinner and get to bed Wednesday if I was going to get any sleep at all.
I left work right around 6:30 on Wednesday and headed down Michigan Avenue for dinner. There’s a bar that’s been in Kalamazoo for almost 100 years yet I still haven’t stopped in for a beer let alone something to eat.
Green Top Tavern is on Michigan Avenue just to the west of Edwards and it’s been there since the late 1920’s. The tavern is an old brick building connected to the the buildings on either side. There is street parking out front but I chose to park in the paid lot behind the building near Bates Alley.
SW Michigan Dining 