Ruggers Up & Under
711 W. Michigan AvenueI realized this past week there are still a lot of long time restaurants in Kalamazoo I’ve never been to. Theo & Stacy’s on Portage Road closing this week made me realize that. There are hundreds of blog posts on this blog from all over Southwest and West Michigan but there are a few long time businesses that I haven’t been to for some reason or another.
Wednesday night J had an event to go to with the kids. It was scheduled to begin before I got off work so she didn’t RSVP me. I ended up getting off work early and could have met them there but J told me to just take the night for myself and go get dinner. I’ve been putting together a list of bars I still haven’t been to that I likely wouldn’t take the family so it was just a matter of picking one.
I picked Ruggers Up & Under because I know their days are numbered. The sports bar has been kind of right on the edge of downtown Kalamazoo on Michigan Avenue right where Michigan Avenue meets West Main Street for about 25 years.
Gino’s East (South Haven)
248 S. Broadway StreetIf there’s one hill that I will die on it, it’s the hill that Chicago food beats all other regional food. Don’t @ me. As a couple of my co-workers have found out, there’s nothing you can say that will change my mind about Italian beef, hot dogs, and both kinds…yes, both kinds of Chicago-style pizza.
In Chicago, the hill both J and I would die on is the south side thin cracker thin crust pizza is far superior to the more popular north side deep dish pizza that more people associate with the city…hmmm….seems like baseball works the same way…south side better than north side….
Yes, I prefer places like our all time favorite pizza place Palermo’s 95th and the very close second Vito & Nick’s…but I still really like the deep dish pizza that Chicago is famous for.
Chicago pizza really made it’s West Michigan debut when Giordano’s moved in to Holland a few years ago. I haven’t eaten there yet. Giordano’s is my least favorite of the Chicago Big 3….also, I just don’t get to Holland much anymore.
The place I really got excited about opened this past summer in South Haven.
Gino’s East is on South Broadway Street right on the edge of downtown South Haven. The Chicago pizzeria moved in to the former Joe’s Bar & Grill. The restaurant underwent a pretty extensive renovation to give it the downtown Chicago feel that you get from the original shop on Superior Street.
American Legion 118 Vet’s Cafe
701 Riverview Drive- Kalamazoo, MI 49048
- (269) 365-0779
- No Known Website
- Menu
There can never be enough BBQ. Have I said that enough yet?
It seems like there are two pretty distinct styles of BBQ here in Kalamazoo. There’s the big commercial stuff that always has brisket, pulled pork, and baby back ribs…then there’s the more neighborhood stuff with the spare ribs, rib tips, and BBQ chicken. Both of them have things that I really enjoy and if I can find a place with good rib tips, my shirts better get ready to be stained with BBQ sauce.
As I was looking through planning commission meeting minutes as one does, I came across something interesting. A cafe was being planned by what was to become an American Legion post. There wasn’t much info then. They were trying to get a liquor license if I remember right but it’s something I kept looking for over the summer.
I don’t get down Riverview Drive very often but a few months ago, I was heading out towards Richland and I noticed a new sign on an old building. The American Legion 118 Vet’s Cafe was open.
The Vet’s Cafe is in a building on the corner of Riverview and Hotop Avenue. It has been so many things over the years. The most recent was Jaddin’s Precious Soul Food Cafe. Before that, it was a couple of different short lived soul food places and Beale Street BBQ. This corner has a history of this kind of BBQ but it also has a history of businesses not lasting very long.
Distant Whistle Brewhouse
118 S. Main Street- Vicksburg, MI 49097
- (269) 475-5447
- Website
Billboards, man. I get sucked in by so many billboards. In my non-professional opinion, billboards have to be the number one way for a restaurant to spend their ad budget because they get me every time.
We’ve been driving down to the Centreville area a lot more recently to see my in-laws who just moved to Southwest Michigan. I knew that there was a brewery in downtown Vicksburg but I didn’t know much about it. I knew they didn’t have food so it was never really an option to take the family too, but every time we passed the billboard on US-131 near Schoolcraft, I would start trying to figure out when I could get down there by myself.
It worked out that I needed to go do a job in Vicksburg a couple of Saturday’s ago. I actually took the family down to J’s parents house then came back to Vicksburg for the job and just used my personal car instead of the company car. We had plans to go to The Local for a really cool Bell’s event called Black Note Deconstructed for dinner. I didn’t really need the company car for this quick job so I just stuck to my personal vehicle so we could do what we wanted to do afterwards.
My job in Vicksburg took a couple of hours and since I was by myself, I wanted to quickly hit up this brewery that I keep seeing signs for before heading to Centreville to meet everyone else for dinner.
The Distant Whistle Brewhouse is in downtown Vicksburg on South Main Street almost right across the street from Jaspare’s Pizza. The brewery was opened in 2016 by a couple of friends who began experimenting in a garage. The taproom is located in an old brick row building downtown. The previous tenants include a flower shop and Boundry Waters Cafe.
Nonla Taqueria
321 N. Grand StreetMan, I love tacos. Like…tacos are right up there with pizza, burgers, and wings. It’s one of the few foods that I truly crave and it’s one of those foods that, while simple, can also be easy to screw up.
My favorite taco place is Taqueria San Jose in Grand Rapids. A co-worker and I used to each order five tacos on Friday nights and wash it down with some root beer. They are just such simple tacos. Steak, onions, cilantro and corn tortillas but the steak they use is so flavorful and so tender.
Getting that tasty tender combo seems to be the hardest thing with steak tacos. I’ve had so many from so many different places over the years and very few even come close to San Jose.
Withing the last few weeks, one of my new favorite burger places just opened up a a new taco place. I figured if they do tacos half as well as they do burgers, this place was going to be a hit.
Nonla Taqueria is the newest addition to the Nonla stable that includes Nonla Burger and Nonla Vietnamese Street Food. The taqueria is on US-131, or North Grand Street as it’s known as it goes through Schoolcraft. The building sits a little way off the road and there’s a big parking lot that wraps around the building.
Piper’s Grinders Galore (Constantine)
156 S. Washington StreetAnother trip to St. Joseph County and another new restaurant blog. This time I wasn’t going to see my in-laws though. I got sent to Constantine for work so it was me and a co-worker make the trip down 131.
Our task in Constantine was quick. We were done in about twenty minutes then it was time to head back to Kalamazoo. I was pretty hungry though and while there aren’t a lot of options in Constantine for a quick lunch, one popped in my head pretty quickly.
Piper’s Grinders Galore is in downtown Constantine on Washington Street across the street from Constantine Brewing Company. Downtown Constantine looks like a lot of small town downtowns. The block is lined with 100 year old brick buildings that host a hodge podge of businesses and apartments. This is one of two locations for the business with the other being in Sturgis. [UPDATE:11/16/18 9:24 PM – It was pointed out to me by the business that the Piper’s in Sturgis and the Piper’s in Constantine only share a name. They are no longer part of the same business and have no connection to each other]
The Wine Loft
161 E. Michigan AvenueIt is harder than I thought to find a place to grab drinks after a show that isn’t a crowded bar in Kalamazoo.
We had tickets to see Spamalot at Miller Auditorium on Saturday night. J’s parents offered to watch their kids at their place in St. Joseph County so we had the night to ourselves.
When the show was over, we started looking at places to go for a couple drinks. It was just before 10:00 and to our surprise, a lot of places downtown close at 10:00 or 11:00.
Our first stop was Grand Traverse Distilling downtow, but I read the hours wrong and they actually closed at 10:00. Not wanting to get back in the car, I looked across the street and saw a place we haven’t been in over eight years.
The Wine Loft is right on the curve on Michigan Avenue in downtown Michigan Avenue at Portage Street. The restaurant is on the bottom floor of the Haymarket Building which has been a part of downtown Kalamazoo since the early 20th Century. Read more…
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit (Kalamazoo)
4214 Stadium DrivePeople love their chain restaurants. I’m never surprised when a new chain restaurant opens in Kalamazoo and the lines are out the door for the first few weeks.
I’m not gonna be one of those people that turns my nose up at those people though. I’m usually itching to try the new place myself.
The newest chain restaurant to set up shop in Kalamazoo is Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. It’s the first business to open in the new The Shops at Stadium Village where Gallagher’s Pub used to be.
Grand River Deli & Burgers
2901 Grand River AvenueAnother night on the road means trying to find another place to eat.
I was meeting a bunch of co-workers at the Motor City Casino in Detroit for a job early last week. Once we got started around 4:00, there wouldn’t be a time to take a break and eat until after midnight so I knew I had to eat beforehand.
I met my co-workers from Grand Rapids at the Casino instead of driving to Grand Rapids and caravanning with them. I could see their cars there when I arrived but I couldn’t find them right away. Sure, I could have just texted or called one of them but I wasn’t feeling well and just wanted to get something to eat first so I headed inside.
Motor City Casino has a few different food options in their food court. There’s the usual buffet, a Little Caesars, a coffee shop, a full service sit down restaurant and a somewhat fast food place. I chose the somewhat fast food place.
Creston Brewery
1504 Plainfield Avenue NEQuick trips to Grand Rapids become family affairs just so we can find a new place to eat. I needed to run to Founders Brewing to pick up my two bottles of Canadian Breakfast Stout. I figured I would just go by myself and come right back home but J wanted to go too. We didn’t have plans, we just wanted to go out to lunch.
We got to Founders just before 11:00 when they started bottle distribution for the day. The family waited in the car while I went to pick it up. It was a quick stop and we were back in the car by 11:15. I had scouted out a few different breweries for lunch but several didn’t open until noon.
The one that I found open at 11:00 was Creston Brewing on Plainfield Avenue NE in the Creston Neighborhood. The brewery opened in early 2016 taking over an old furniture building dating back to the 1920’s. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 