Gapi Coffee & Sweets (Hotel)
11177 E. Michigan AvenueI’m not a gambler. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to Firekeepers Casino since it opened in 2009.
I took my parents there once to gamble. J and I went to see Dennis Miller there once in 2019. I think those might be the only two times I’ve been there.
I had a work event at the hotel side of the property last week before we headed to Wisconsin for another figure skating competition. I knew it was going to be a long, expensive weekend of eating out so I didn’t want to spend too much on Tuesday before I left.
I was hungry though and I needed something.
I stopped at Gapi Coffee & Sweets inside Firekeepers Hotel. The hotel side is newer than the casino opening in 2012. To get to the hotel, you go in the main entrance then take a left to take you around to the other side of the property. There are large parking lots in front of the hotel which is connected to the casino. If you go in the casino entrance, you can still get to the hotel, you’ll just have a bit of a walk.
Hi-Lite
1005 E. Michigan AvenueWhile it wasn’t an weekend affair, it was pretty much an all day affair for B to participate in the Bobbie Stoermer Skills and Showcase figure skating competition at the Biggby Coffee Ice Cube – Ann Arbor.
I had gotten him lunch pretty early when I made a run to Jimmy John’s. Throughout the rest of the day, he had pretty much only eaten vending machine crap. J and I hadn’t really eaten since we ate lunch at 10:30 AM.
B’s last event finished up around 3 PM. We got his medal, got him changed, then packed up and headed back towards Kalamazoo.
I had asked J on the way over if we could off on eating until we got back to Marshall. Of course…I had an idea.
I end up in Marshall for work fairly often. I usually stick to downtown or right off exit ramps on I-69 or I-94. At the Partello Road exit, it is unusual for me to go any farther than the Love’s truck stop. If I’m downtown, I usually don’t go past downtown so there’s a gap in there between downtown and the Love’s that I almost never drive on.
Last week, I intentionally went on that stretch of road because I saw some Facebook posts for a deli inside a liquor store. Not only did I find a tasty grinder, but I was reminded there is a drive in on that side of town and we have never stopped at it.
Hi-Lite has been in Marshall on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Centennial Road since 1947. The restaurant is everything you think of when you think of an iconic American drive-in.
Read more…Jimmy John’s (Packard Street)
600 Packard StreetAfter a couple of days in Jackson for work, it was back to Ann Arbor on Saturday for, you guessed it, a figure skating competition.
This one we only brought B too. It was a Michigan Basic Skills competition so there wasn’t much L could do since she stopped doing free style.
The Bobbie Stoermer Skills and Showcase was held at the Biggby Coffee Ice Cube – Ann Arbor…a place we’re very familiar with. We were just there for the Margaret Faulkner Springtime Invitational last month.
B had four events starting at about 9 AM and ending around 3 PM. We had gotten Dunkin’ before we left Kalamazoo but as soon as he got done with that 9 AM event, he said he was hungry. That was our longest gap in the day so it made sense that I run out and get something at that point.
It was a little after 10:00 so I kind of assumed our options were limited. He was insistent that he wanted Jimmy John’s. I knew there wasn’t one really close to the rink so it would take me a little while to get to one. I assumed they opened at 10:30 but they actually open at 10:00. I left the rink to go get him a sandwich.
The Jimmy John’s I usually go to from the Ice Cube is the one on the corner of Packard and Hill Street just south of the University of Michigan campus. The building is very small and in a very, very hard corner to navigate. There are very few parking spaces and the ones that are there, are hard to get out of once you get in to them.
Read more…The Dirty Bird
140 W. Michigan AvenueJackson isn’t a place I’ve spent a lot of time. I drive by it a lot but rarely get off the highway.
I’ve picked up a job assignment in the area the last couple of years so I’ve gotten to explore a little bit more. A co-worker and I had a couple of great meals last year at Grand River Brewery and Rocky Top Beer BBQ & Grill. On my own, I’ve found Schlenker’s Sandwich Shop and Kibby Cobb Deli.
We finished up a long work day in Lenawee County then headed back to our hotel in Jackson. Along the way, I asked my co-worker if he wanted to go to dinner or go back to the hotel. It didn’t matter to me. I was going out to eat with or without him. I was just being nice and offering dinner so he wouldn’t have to find something on his own.
I already had a place picked out so that wasn’t up for discussion.
The Dirty Bird is in downtown Jackson on Michigan Avenue to the west of Mechanic Street. It was a Thursday evening so parking wasn’t really an issue. We found a pull in street space just to the west of the restaurant which sits right next to a pedestrian alley between the row of buildings.
Read more…Kibby Cobb Liquor & Deli
2628 Kibby RoadI warned you. Back on the road for a couple of days.
This short trip was for work again. I’m still not done traveling for skating this month but this is the last work trip I have planned for a while.
I was meeting a colleague at the hotel we’d be staying at in Jackson around 11:00 AM. I got to town early because I wanted to grab something to eat. We were going to be stuck out kind of in the middle of nowhere Lenawee County for the day and wouldn’t really be able to eat until we got back to Jackson in the evening.
I did my usual thing and searched for “bagels” in Jackson. I assumed I’d get hits in Ann Arbor but I was shocked to find something that looked amazing to me off the beaten path near Jackson.
Kibby Cobb Liquor & Deli really is off the beaten path on the corner of Kibby and Cobb Roads in Summit Township just to the south and west of Jackson city limits. The party store with a deli hidden inside is part of a small shopping plaza called Kibby Cobb Plaza. The store shares the center with a few other businesses including Ironbark Brewing…which I probably should have went back to for dinner. The owner of the deli is also part owner of the brewery and you can get the deli sandwiches to go with your beers.
McMillan’s Deli
908 E. Michigan AvenueAlright. Trying to sneak in a blog from Southwest Michigan. I’m not even close to done traveling this month. Jackson and Ann Arbor this weekend. Kenosha, WI next.
Since we’re traveling so much, I don’t have a lot of extra cash to eat out for lunch during the week when I am here so that’s why we’ve been pretty light on actual Southwest Michigan blogs the last month or so.
Work sent me to East Lansing earlier this week. We used to be able to expense meals when we went to Lansing but I don’t usually do that on day trips. Besides, I had a place in Marshall I wanted to stop at.
McMillan’s Deli is on the east side of Marshall on Michigan Avenue at the intersection with Green Street. The small deli is inside Marshall Liquor. It’s not really obvious when you drive by the solid red building that there is food inside other than a few banner’s with the deli’s name hanging on the siding.
That’sa Pizza (Hammond Road)
1110 E. Hammond RoadFriday was a really long day at the rink.
We were in Traverse City for the annual Cherry Classic at Centre Ice Arena. It’s one of our favorite competitions of the year just for the fact that it gives us a reason to go to Traverse City for a couple of nights.
L had five skates at this competition. Four of them were on Friday. B had three and two of his were on Friday as well. We were at the rink from about 7:30 AM until almost 9 PM.
I had performed my Dad Dash duties a couple of time making Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A runs and a taco run for myself.
J suggested we order a pizza or something and have it waiting in the car for when L got done with her last skate. We were going to be walking out of the arena after 8:30 and a lot of places were going to start closing around 9:00.
I had to get out of the arena for a while because the WiFi f’n sucks. I was trying to watch scores for events come in but my phone wouldn’t connect to the WiFi and there was no cell service. Instead of getting mad, I just went outside to the car.
About 45 minutes before L was scheduled to skate, I decided to put in the order for a pizza. There was a place pretty close so I could go get it and hoped it would still be fairly warm when we got to it a half hour or so later.
That’sa Pizza is a small chain of three shops in the Traverse City area. The closest one to Centre Ice Arena is actually right down the street on Hammond Road and Three Mile Road in East Bay Township. The small pizzeria is part of a shopping center that also includes an Oleson Food Store. That was clutch because I forgot to ask for plates. I just went next door and grabbed a cheap package of paper plates and a cheap roll of paper towels.
Read more…Taqueria TC Latino Dos
2101 N. Three Mile RoadI’ve mentioned it several times in the past. When we travel for skating competitions, the kids turn me in to Dad Dash.
Friday was a busy day for us at the Cherry Classic being held at Centre Ice Arena near Traverse City. L skated four times and B skated twice. It seemed like the longest break we had between skates was two hours so it definitely wasn’t long enough to leave the rink and go get lunch.
That’s where I come in.
When both kids got done with their first event (2 skates each) I had to run back to the hotel. I was trying to do some work while sitting at the rink but the WiFi was laughable at best. I was trying to upload some stuff to our server and it wouldn’t go through. I needed the hotel WiFi.
The kids were also hungry and they chose Chick-Fil-A….which is fine, but it’s on the other side of town. I told them it was going to take me at least an hour to get out there and back with food.
On an earlier Starbucks run, I stopped at a gas station on the corner of Three Mile and Hammond Road. I noticed a taco place just past the intersection. Chick-Fil-A sounded fine but tacos sounded better.
Taqueria TC Latino Dos is on Three Mile Road just to the north of the intersection with Hammond Road. The small building looks more like a house than a restaurant. There are a few parking spots to the south of the building in the parking lot for the gas station. I saw someone else park there and walk in so I did the same.
Read more…GJ’s Pizza and Market
2700 Holiday RoadBusy week.
I spent three days in Mackinac Island for work then I headed straight from Mackinaw City Thursday night to Traverse City. My kids had a figure skating competition so I just used a vacation day, drove my own car to Mackinaw, then headed straight from the Ferry Docks to my hotel in Traverse.
I got to town just before 8:00 and I was really hungry. I actually still had some work to do but my plan was to sit on the balcony of our hotel and watch the sunset, eat dinner, and finish my work.
J and the kids drove up after school so they were already in Traverse City a few hours before I got there. They stopped at a Culvers along the way for dinner so no one else was hungry.
That meant I could order a pizza.
I found GJ’s Pizza and Market not too far from my hotel on Holiday Road and Five Mile Road on the east side of Travers City in Acme Township. The small store is on the corner by itself and serves the area as a party/convenience store as well as a pizza joint.
O’Reilly’s Irish Pub
106 Langlade StreetI wasn’t really hungry when I got back to Mackinaw City Wednesday night. My original plan was just to go right from Shepler’s Ferry Docks to get dinner some place in downtown Mackinaw City but I wasn’t really feeling it so I headed back to my hotel for a little bit. Mostly, I wanted to shower and lay down for a few minutes so I did that.
My dining options got more limited the longer I waited.
I still wasn’t super hungry around 8:30 but I knew if I was going to eat, I had to go. There’s not much open late in Mackinaw City and I assumed I’d get hungry around 10:00 when almost everything is closed.
I decided just to hit up a bar for something to eat and there’s still one bar left in Mackinaw City I’ve never been to.
O’Reilly’s Irish Pub is on Langlade Street just north of Central Avenue. I actually parked on the backside of the restaurant which is where Central Avenue because Huron Street as it winds past the ferry docks. There’s an entrance from that side as well and some street parking. Just watch the signs because there is permit only parking on one side of the street and lots in that area belong to Shepler’s. Now that Shepler’s is charging for ALL parking…including day parking, people are trying to find free spots in the city and the city is cracking down as well. So really pay attention to where you’re parking in Mackinaw City.
Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 