Pizza Perfect (Plainwell)
582 10th StreetI wasn’t planning on going to Grand Rapids last week but that’s what ended up happening.
I had an assignment in Kalamazoo Wednesday morning but my afternoon was pretty open. A colleague called and asked if I could help him with a project. All of the material was in Grand Rapids and while I can access some things from my office in Kalamazoo, the lack of a fiber line makes it very slow going some days.
I decided it was just easier if I went to the Grand Rapids office to help him out.
I left Grand Rapid around 5:00 once I was sure my colleague was good with what he needed to get done for the day.
My plan was to stop in Plainwell and pick up a pizza from Papa Murphy’s. It’s been years since I’ve done that and we don’t have Papa Murphy’s in Kalamazoo anymore.
Good plan…except there was a power outage that was effecting all of M-89 in the business district to the west of US-131. I had to come up with another plan.
I should have just went downtown and ate at one of the pub’s I’ve never been to but I was kind of in a pizza mood.
A few weeks ago, I drove by a gas station on the north side of town and saw a familiar pizza place inside. It was a little out of the way but that was going to be my dinner.
Pizza Perfect in Plainwell is on 10th Street just south of 106th Avenue in Gun Plain Township just north of Plainwell. This is the third location for Pizza Perfect joining D Avenue and Sprinkle Road. All three are inside Ridderman Oil gas stations.
The GIRT – Gull Road Tavern
5031 Gull RoadI didn’t get to go to Lake Placid.
There’s a big ice dance competition every year at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY. We were planning on this being a trip we made next year but L was getting nervous about her scores and begged to go.
J is off of work the whole month of July and they drove so it wasn’t a huge expense. The unfortunate thing was I couldn’t take that much time off on short notice.
B didn’t go either. He’s not really in the running for a spot at nationals this year and J and L kind of wanted one more girls trip before B starts joining them on all their travels.
So, B had to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s for the week. I dropped him off Sunday. They still brought him back to Kalamazoo a couple of days for figure skating practice but he’d go back to the lake near Sturgis with them afterwards.
Tuesday night, B skates pretty late in to the evening. I got off work a little early and headed over to Wings Event Center to watch him for a little bit. He got done around 6:00 and headed home with Grandma and Grandpa.
I was hungry and decided I was just going to eat the bowling alley next door….except their closed on Tuesday’s in the summer. I was still hungry and, of course, I had a backup.
I headed up Sprinkle Road to a Tavern that just recently reopened after being closed for over a decade.
The GIRT – Gull Road Tavern reopened recently on Gull Road and Rockingham Avenue across the street from Kazoopy’s. The pub had a long life dating back to the 1930’s but closed in 2013. A new family bought the property in 2014 and have slowly been renovating the place. They opened up an updated Gull Road Tavern or, as it’s known now, The GIRT (how you would pronounce the GRT initials).
Read more…Chester’s Chicken (Albion)
101 E. Michigan AvenueYou know me and gas station chicken. But this time, for the first time in a while, it’s not Krispy Krunchy Chicken.
A co-worker and I were in Albion for the night on a job assignment. We don’t get to Albion very often so I’m not super familiar with the restaurant situation. I’ve stopped at a couple of really good places (Albion Malleable and The Foundry Bakehouse & Deli) so I know there are some good options in Albion. I’m just always looking for something different.
We got to town about 5:30 PM for our 6:30 PM assignment. We had some things to do before hand so I took care of those then decided to get gas knowing we were going to be coming home late.
I pulled in to the PS Food Mart on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Superior Street just north of downtown Albion. There are two gas stations on this corner. I usually go to the Johnny’s across the street but something else caught my eye at the PS Food Mart. Signs for Chester’s Chicken.
Read more…Pig-N-Pizza
60010 Corey Lake RoadOne of my favorite weekends of the year is when my whole family comes up to Michigan for a weekend. My dad’s cousin (so, my second cousin) has a house on Pleasant Lake and all the cool toys. Her whole family comes up to so it’s a pretty big group of people.
Having that large of a group makes it really hard to find a weekend where every one is free. My brother’s kids both play softball so they’re busy a lot of the summer. My kids skate so we’re busy. The other families have their own things going on as well.
Unfortunately, the last three years, the only weekend every one is available is the weekend of our figure skating competition in Kalamazoo. We’ve made it work. I take Friday off so we have all day at the lake, we skate on Saturday then go back for another day on Sunday.
This year, J and L didn’t do Sunday. They were leaving for Lake Placid, NY for, you guessed it, a figure skating competition. B wasn’t going to to this one and since I work during the week, he was staying at grandma and grandpa’s near Sturgis.
The day at the lake ended on kind of a sour note. My (third-cousin?) told B he’d take him out on the tube after lunch. Everyone was tired and it was hot. Our hosts started cleaning up and preparing to get ready to go home. B didn’t get to tube and he was kind of bummed about it. I wasn’t going to make him stay any longer and try to put on a happy face because I knew he was disappointed. Disappointed about not getting to go to Lake Placid and disappointed about not getting to tube. I felt for him.
We left Three Rivers around 3:00 and headed east towards Centreville where my in-laws live. I dropped him off and hung out for a little bit. I think he was ready to get rid of me to (I think he was blaming me for not getting to tube), so I said good-bye and started back towards Kalamazoo.
My plan was to pick a pizza up along the way. There’s a place in Centreville I’ve been wanting to stop at but they’re closed on Sunday’s. I actually headed back to Three Rivers because there’s a place over there as well.
Pig-N-Pizza is on Corey Lake Road and Born Street between Corey Lake and Harwood Lake in Newberg Township west of Three Rivers. The shop is kind of an island in a very rural part of the landscape right on the Cass and St. Joseph County Line. The shop has been around for a while as a pizza place. It was Appoloni’s Ristorante e Pizzeria for several years, but they closed a few years back and Pig-N-Pizza, a hybrid BBQ joint / pizzeria opened in it’s place.
Wing Snob (Delta Township)
645 Menard DriveIt’s not unusual for me to meet up with a colleague to head to Detroit for a job assignment. They usually don’t want to drive all the way by themselves and I don’t want to go to Grand Rapids to pick them up.
We have a meeting spot in Lansing. It’s a little out of my way but it’s still better than going all the way to Grand Rapids.
I typically tell whoever I meeting to meet me at the MDOT Carpool lot on Grand River Avenue right off I-96/I-69 in Grand Ledge. It’s a spot they have to pass anyway, it’s easy to get on and off, and there are two trucks stops right there open 24 hours for those nights I’m dropping them off at 3 AM.
A colleague and I had a morning job in Detroit last Thursday. I told him to meet me at the carpool lot at 8 AM knowing he’s always late. We needed to be in Detroit by 11 so that gave us plenty of time.
We did what we were assigned to do then headed back to Lansing around 1:30 PM putting us back at the carpool lot around 3 PM. We had breakfast at the job site when we got there but we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. I was kind of in a rush to get home so I didn’t ask about stopping in Detroit or along the way. I instead decided to grab something on my way home.
Once we went our separate ways, I sat in the car pool lot and put in an order for wings from a nearby Wing Snob. I needed gas and to grab a Pepsi so I figured the timing would work out that I would get there about the time they were ready to go.
Wing Snob has a couple of locations in the Lansing area but I was closest to the Delta Township location on Menard Drive and Saginaw Highway. The restaurant is easily visible from Saginaw Highway/M-43 as it takes up a large part of the Sunoco gas station. The restaurant has it’s own entrance and is rather large for a wing shop that shares space with a gas station. That’s because this actually used to be a McDonalds.
Read more…Pine Knob Music Theatre
33 Bob Seger Drive- Clarkston, MI 48348
- (313) 471-7000
- Website
Growing up in the ’80’s, my dad and I didn’t listen to the same music. The stuff he listened to from the 50’s and 60’s seemed ancient to me even though it was only 20 or so years old. Music changed so much over three decades that it was just inconceivable that I could listen to the same thing my parents listened to now.
Maybe it’s just because things are reversed now and I’m the ancient one but it seems like music lasts a little longer now. I still listen to a lot of pop music and I actually listen to a lot of music my kids listen to.
It’s true, they’re not the biggest Bon Jovi fans like they’re old man, but there is enough music out there that we do agree on. I have no problem going to a concert with my kids because chances are, I like the music too.
One of the artists that has surprised me is Kesha. My daughter chose a Kesha song (Praying) for her figure skating free dance this year and along the way, has become a pretty big fan.
I used to listen to Kesha all the time…15 years ago when Animal came out. Haven’t really listened to anything since Warrior but I’d always sing along when those early songs popped in to my playlist.
We knew Kesha was going to be on tour this summer but it’s been a busy and expensive summer with travel for figure skating. We didn’t make any promises that we’d go see her and we didn’t buy tickets in advance.
Friday afternoon, J hopped on StubHub and found seats below face value for the Saturday night show at Pine Knob. I got a couple sad puppy dog Snapchats asking if we could go. I hate being the bad guy and I’ve never seen a show at Pine Knob so I told her to go ahead and get them.
Pine Knob Music Theatre is about forty miles northwest of Detroit in the Village of Clarkston. The massive outdoor amphitheater is off Sashabaw Road north of the I-75 Interchange. The address for the theater is actually 33 Bob Seger Way which is in honor of the 33 sold out shows the Detroit native played there. There a couple of ways to get in to the property by the main entrance is at the marquee on the corner of Sashabaw and Seger Way. There are massive parking lots right on the property that are included with the price of the ticket so you’re not paying any more once you get in to the venue. There are grass lots off to the left when you pull in and paved lots off to the right. We got there around 5:45 for a 7:00 and ran in to no traffic on the way in. We were pointed towards the paved lot towards the west entrance and we just kind of found an empty spot on our own.
Read more…Browndog at the Shuffle
325 Riverfront DriveWhen J and I moved to Lansing in 2008, we were really excited for the Lansing City Market. We didn’t have anything like that where we were living at the time so a year round market sounded really exciting.
It turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. It wasn’t the bustling market we had hoped it would be. In fact, it was kind of on it’s last legs. The building that had been there for about 70 years closed and the market moved in to a new building across the parking lot in 2010. The site of the original market was redeveloped into an apartment complex.
That new building last about nine years and closed in 2019.
It sat empty for a few years until it was developed in to Lansing Shuffle, a shuffleboard social club and food hall. That business opened in January of 2023 and that’s what occupies the space still today.
I was in Lansing for work one day last week. I had only one quick job assignment then needed to run back to Grand Rapids to finish a project with a co-worker. I wrapped up in Lansing just before noon. I told my co-worker I was going to grab lunch then I’d meet him back in Grand Rapids.
I headed towards the old Lansing City Market because I saw there was some tasty looking food options in the new Shuffleboard club. I don’t think I ever went in to the Market once the new building was built so this was a totally new experience for me.
Lansing Shuffle is right near the riverfront and across from Jackson Field on Riverfront Drive right off North Cedar Street. Riverfront Drive leads you in to the parking garage for the Lansing Center but off to the right is a small parking lot for the Lansing River Trail with a few two hour parking spaces. The building is a giant metal building. It doesn’t have the character of the old market but it has the utility needed for this modern day space.
Read more…Subway (Martin)
1190 M-222Sometimes things just work out.
J and the kids were in Dallas for a figure skating competition last weekend. I stayed home because I am running out of PTO and the flights to Dallas were just really expensive.
They left early enough Thursday morning that I could take them to the airport before work and were coming home late enough Monday night that I could pick them up.
My plan was to work my normal evening shift, get off at 11:00 then head up to Grand Rapids to pick them up.
Without even realizing it, I took an evening shift working out of the Grand Rapids office that night. One of my co-workers was off and they needed someone to fill in up there. I took the shift then realized later that it was actually going to work out really well for me. I would already be in Grand Rapids at midnight when they got home so I wouldn’t have to rush up there from Kalamazoo after work. I could just hang around.
I slept in pretty later on Monday morning just because I could. I got up and moving around noon. I took a shower, watched some TV then started heading towards Grand Rapids a little after 1:00.
I had planned on grabbing something to eat on my way to the office. As I was putting my shoes on, I noticed some coupons laying on the counter for Subway. I don’t normally eat Subway but if I could get lunch for under $10, I figured I could eat Subway this time.
I put in an order for a footlong sub for the Subway in Martin. I needed gas too so this would kill two birds with one stone.
The Martin Subway is right off the highway on M-222 right at the interchange with US-131. It’s inside the Marathon gas station. There isn’t a lot of great signage for it on the outside. The sign near the road is broken on the south side and there isn’t a sign on the building. You just kind of have to know it’s there.
Blazin’ Coop’s Nashville Hot Chicken
47182 Michigan AvenueEvery time I go watch my nieces play softball, I’m a little bit grateful that my kids chose an indoor sport.
It was a hot day at the Canton Sports Center for the USSSA Great Lakes National Championship. My niece’s game was supposed to start at 1:00 but rain moved through right before that and set them back a couple of hours.
The second game started around 4:45 and after a couple of comebacks, the won their game and advanced to Sunday.
It wasn’t the end of the season so as soon as the game was over, the team kind of all split up and went their own way. My brother asked if I wanted to join them for dinner and asked if I had anything in mind.
I noticed a hot chicken place right across the street. I figured that would be easy if they liked hot chicken. My brother said he was up for it as long as there was something that wasn’t spicy for my niece.
We headed across Michigan Avenue to Blazin’ Coop’s Nashville Hot Chicken. The restaurant is in the Crossroads Village Shopping plaza on Michigan Avenue east of Beck Road. The restaurant got it’s start a few years ago as a food truck in the area. They opened this brick and mortar building last year in what used to be a diner.
Read more…Angie’s Hamburger Stand
47417 Michigan AvenueI didn’t get to go to Dallas last week for my kids’ figure skating competition but that doesn’t mean I totally missed out on youth sports.
My niece, who lives about an hour south of Chicago, was in Canton this past weekend for the USSSA Great Lakes National Championship at the Canton Sports Center.
They got to town Wednesday night and played games on Thursday but were rained on Friday. That ended pool play and they were seeded number one in their bracket so they didn’t play until Saturday afternoon.
I don’t see my nieces very often. Usually just once or twice a year. Last year, my other niece played in this same tournament at a different level but she switched teams and played her Championships July 4th weekend near Indianapolis.
I had nothing else I needed to do Saturday and since I was home alone, I decided to head over to the East Side for some softball.
I ran through a pretty heavy rain shower between Jackson and Ann Arbor. I knew it would eventually catch up to me and the games would get delayed so I stopped and grab lunch on my way to meet my brother and niece at the complex.
I stopped at Angie’s Hamburger Stand on Michigan Avenue near Beck Road in Canton Township just west of where the sports complex I was headed to is located. The building is an old style 50’s shiny metal diner with simple signage that just says “Hamburgers.” While it *looks* like it could actually be a 50’s diner. That’s not the case. The building was actually buillt in the early 2010’s. There was some kind of commercial building on the property but it had been vacant for a while. This restaurant cleaned up the area, added the parking, and built the retro diner as it looks today.
Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 