Original Murdick’s Fudge
7363 Main StreetThere’s no such thing as a trip to Mackinac Island without a stop for fudge. I mean, seriously, there are more fudge shops on the Island than there are Starbucks in the hipster portion of any major American city.
We spent the majority of our first day on the Island at the Grand Hotel. When it came time to head back down to Main Street to catch the ferry, we had some time to kill. We missed the 7:00 and had to wait for the 8:00. I didn’t know what the next day was going to be like, so I wanted to do a little shopping before heading back to Mackinaw City.
The first stop I made was at a fudge shop. There are so many to choose from, so I chose the one that I haven’t been to before…either on or off the Island.
Original Murdick’s Fudge has two sh0ps on Main Street right across the street from each other. I guess on busy days this is probably a smart idea, but it just seems weird even though most of the fudge shops do this.
The shop was getting ready to close up for the night when I walked in, so there was no more fudge being made in the window. The lone employee was working with a couple of ladies who were tasting several different flavors while deciding what to buy.
The quaint little shop looks like most fudge shops. There is a large display case with all of the different flavors on one side and there’s a big kitchen area on the other where, during the day, you can watch a candy maker making the delicious Mackinac Island fudge. Read more…
Dixie Saloon
401 E. Central AvenueThere is no way I’m going to turn down a job assignment on Mackinac Island. A free trip to the Island….even if it does involve 14 hours of work a day, seems like a no-brainer to me.
Last Tuesday, I met a co-worker in Mackinaw City for the first part of our assignment. We had something to do in the City before heading out to the Island Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, our work decided it was cheaper to just pay the ferry fees each day, so we were staying in Mackinaw City and commuting each morning. Still can’t complain though.
Once we finished our short assignment for Tuesday, we dropped our stuff off at the hotel then went looking for dinner. My co-worker in this case has been to the area several times over the years so I deferred to him when it came to picking a restaurant.
We headed to downtown Mackinaw City and he gave me a couple choices. I picked the one that looked the best from the outside.
Our first night in Mackinaw City we hit up the Dixie Saloon for dinner. The restaurant is right in front of the Shepler’s Ferry dock at the corner of Central and Huron Avenues. The large building has more of a log cabin style lodge feel to it both inside and out.
A waiter showed us to a booth along the backside windows that overlook the ferry dock. We were of the clock for the night, so we both started with drinks. C.W. took a bottle of Budweiser while I asked for the taplist and found a Diabolical IPA from nearby North Peak Brewing Company in Traverse City. Read more…
Arcadia Ales – Kalamazoo
701 E. Michigan Avenue- Kalamazoo, MI 49007
- (269) 343-1925
- Website
- Sample Menu
When I was in fifth grade, my teacher was very excited about the new shopping mall being built near her house. She used to tell us all the time how she would drive by on her way home from work and yell out the car window at the workers telling them to hurry up. She couldn’t wait for the mall to open.
I always thought that was a little weird. That is, until Arcadia Ales broke ground for a new brewery in downtown Kalamazoo.
It’s been a long year or so driving by the site anxious for the new brewery and pub to open. We love Arcadia in Battle Creek, but we don’t go over there nearly enough to eat. We’ve had really great snacks from the Twisted Tail food truck at the Kalamazoo Farmer’s Market, but it’s the BBQ we really love from Arcadia.
Finally, in early April, we saw the announcement that Arcadia was opening their doors in Kalamazoo at the beginning of May. Unfortunately, they’re not open on Sunday or Monday…which are my days off, but I did notice they are open Saturday for lunch and the lunch is served inside and not at the food truck that is parked outside for lunch during the week.
Arcadia Ales in Kalamazoo is on Michigan Avenue just to the west of the Kalamazoo River near downtown. The building is huge because it’s also their new production facility. The restaurant takes up the side of the building that is closest to the river.
The pub is large. It’s divided in to three distinct spaces with the bar area being the first thing you walk in to. There is a huge bar with all of Arcadia’s delicious beers on tap and a number of pub tables in the space. There’s also a wall that opens up that leads to the outdoor seating area which overlooks the river. The third space is in the back of the restaurant and that’s where you pick up food. There’s sort of a deli counter with the day’s offerings. There are also some communal tables which are much lower. These work great for the families that come in to eat like us. Read more…
Tilly’s Pizzeria & Deli
1730 142nd AvenueIt’s not often I end up in Dorr, but a couple times this past week, I found my self in the tiny burg off US-131 in northern Allegan County. Not having much experience dining in the area, I relied on Yelp to find me someplace to eat.
I was sort of in a hurry, so a sit down meal was not an option. I found a couple pizzeria’s, but pizza seemed like a little too much because I wasn’t going to get a break during my shift and a pizza is too heavy for me to be working. However, one of the pizzeria’s offers up some delicious looking sandwiches, so that’s what I went with.
Tilly’s Pizzeria and Deli is a small, mostly carry-out place inside the Dorr Pharmacy. I found a menu online and called in my order so after a quick stop to fill up my truck, I could hit the restaurant on my way out of town to pick up dinner.
I was kind of craving a pizza, but I kinda wasn’t. I found out when I got there I could have just picked up a couple slices as they have them in a rotating oven on the counter when you walk in.
I ended up calling Tilly’s because I was looking for a sandwich, so I looked over their sandwich menu until something jumped out at me. The one that did was the French Dip. As far as I could tell, sandwiches didn’t come with any sort of side, so I also ordered a large fry.
As I walked in to the place, the sandwich was just in the process of being boxed up. I paid the $10 bill then was handed two Styrofoam boxes with my food. They probably could have just put it in one box, but they didn’t and I was in a hurry so I didn’t say anything. Read more…
Air Zoo
6151 Portage Road- Portage, MI 49002
- (269) 382-6555
- Website
I’ve always liked museums for some reason. In high school, my favorite class was history. I’ve never really pushed people to go to museums with me because I know they can be boring to a lot of people.
When we lived in Lansing, I got to see a lot of the cool places I wanted to check out once a year when their tourism bureau did the pretty amazing Be A Tourist In Your Own Town. This great day gets you in to a number of different Lansing area attractions for just a dollar per person when you buy a “Passport” in advance.
During the month of may, a number of Kalamazoo area locations are doing an equally cool promotion. If you have a membership to Binder Park Zoo, The Air Zoo, Gilmore Car Museum, the Kalamazoo Nature Center or the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, you can get in to any of the other attractions for free.
J and I have been members at Binder Park Zoo for a couple years now and we love our membership. We get to go to the zoo several times each year plus we get discounts on programs for L during the winter and summer seasons.
In the four years since we moved to Kalamazoo, we have actually never been to The Air Zoo. We have talked it about it so many times and for a couple years, they even had free admission, but we never went through with it. We didn’t want to make the mistake of not taking advantage of free admission again. Read more…
Cafe Meli Pancake House
5200 Portage RoadThere’s really not a whole lot that surprises me when it comes to restaurants in this town anymore. Somehow, I was surprised at breakfast Sunday morning.
J and I are members at Binder Park Zoo and an agreement this month between the Zoo, The Air Zoo, Gilmore Car Museum and Kalamazoo Nature Center gives free admission to any of the attractions if you’re a member at one of them. We’ve never been to the Air Zoo, so we thought we’d give it a try.
The Air Zoo opened at noon on Sunday, so a little after 11, J suggested getting breakfast/lunch then checking out the Air Zoo.
I figured since we were heading down Portage Road, we should check out the restaurant that used to be Callahan’s Family Restaurant.
Last summer, Callahan’s shut down and a major remodel got underway with the new restaurant being opened as a Greek diner called Cafe Meli. Callahan’s had spent a couple decades as a typical greasy spoon and nothing really changed with the decor. That decor sucked up over 20 years of smoke in the caveman days before the smoking ban so a remodel was desperately needed.
We walked in to a fairly packed restaurant about quarter to noon. The hostess was cashing out a few customers and asked us to wait just a second while she took care of the bills. While we were waiting, another woman came up and grabbed the menus set aside for us and showed us to a booth along the wall that separates the dining room from the kitchen. Read more…
The Cupcake Zoo – Kalamazoo
117 E. South StreetFinally! A dedicated cupcake place in Kalamazoo. Every time I have blogged about The Cupcake Zoo in the past, I’ve wished they would open a place in downtown Kalamazoo and a few weeks ago, that became a reality.
The Cupcake Zoo opened a new shop on South Street in downtown Kalamazoo just east of the Kalamazoo Mall in a space I believe used to be occupied by Loved Consignment Shop just around the corner from Fandango.
J has been bringing home cupcakes since the place opened. On Thursday, J and L go to a class at The Epic Center and they have been making The Cupcake Zoo a post class stop, so I have been enjoying cupcakes for weeks although I hadn’t been to the shop yet.
This past Saturday, we got up and moving to make a trip to the Kalamazoo Farmer’s Market for lunch. We had a delicious lunch from the Twisted Tail and walked around the market for a little bit before deciding to head downtown for a little dessert.
We had to park a couple blocks away but the walk was good for us. We planned on hitting up Pop City Popcorn as well, so parking closer to that store really wasn’t much of a problem.
I’ve been to the Otsego bakery of The Cupcake Zoo a few times to pick up sweets for my girls. That shop is just a window that opens up in to the bakery. It’s nothing fancy, but it works for them. The Kalamazoo location is quite the opposite of that. Read more…
Washington Park Zoo
115 Lake Shore Drive- Michigan City, IN 46360
- (219) 873-1510
- Website
I know it seems like we just did this a few weeks ago, but once again, we met our families in New Buffalo for a holiday. Again, we met at the Stray Dog for lunch. This time, my brother’s family didn’t come, so it was just the eight of us.
At first, we had thought about going back to the City Beach, but out of nowhere I had an idea.
On one of our many trips to the Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets in Michigan City, I noticed a sign on US-12 for a zoo. I don’t know why I randomly thought of it, but I decided to look it up and see what exactly Michigan City was hiding away from the outlet mall.
The Washington Park Zoo, as it’s name implies, is in Washington Park. It takes up about 15 acres on a pretty hilly sand dune near Lake Michigan. The zoo has been around since the late 1920’s and for a small zoo, has a surprisingly large number of animals.
It took us a little while to figure out how to get in to the parking lot nearest the zoo. You can see it across the street from the main entrance on Lake Shore Drive, but it’s gated, so there’s no way in. You actually have to enter the park before you get to the zoo and travel the access roads to get to the zoo parking near the Oasis Splash Pad. Once beach season hits (I’m assuming Memorial Day), there is a charge to park in the park, but since we were early the year yet, there was no attendant at the entrance gate.
After getting L loaded up on the sunscreen, we headed across the street to the zoo entrance. Since it was Mother’s Day, and our parents paid for lunch, I rushed up to the window to pay for every’s admission. There were 7 adults and a 2-year-old. As I was pulling my credit card out, the lady working the window asked how many mom’s. There were three and it turns out their admission was free, so it cost me $26 for the 8 of us to get in. Read more…
Wing Kingz – Wayland
165 W. Superior StreetHaving to drive from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids every day does get a little old at times and there are many days I just don’t have time to eat before I leave. Most of the time, I will stop in Wayland and pick up something either at the McDonalds or from the Speedway just off the highway. It’s not the best of choices, but it works when I’m hungry.
Last week, I was driving through town and a sign caught my attention. I rubbernecked a little to much to see that a Wing Kingz opened up in downtown.
As I’ve mentioned many, many times, I don’t understand all the wing places in the Grand Rapids area. They all serve pretty much the same thing and the names keep changing. The restaurants I knew as Wing Heaven are now Wing Kingz and new restaurants are popping up as Wing Heaven’s….again, all serving the same thing right down to the Kool-Aid that was kind of kitschy at Wing Heaven when they first opened.
Anyway, Wing Kingz has expanded outside of the Grand Rapids metro to Wayland. The restaurant is in a small strip mall just to the west of downtown proper. The restaurant shares a building with a party store and an ice cream shop. It used to be the home of Freda’s Fish Fry & More which has moved just down the road a little ways to North Main Street. Read more…
Oscar’s Bistro @ Celebration Cinema Crossroads
6600 Ring RoadDo you remember the first movie your parents took you to? For me, it was The Land Before Time. I was 8 when the movie came, so I have a pretty good recollection of my first theater trip.
Earlier this week, we decided to see how L would react to a movie. She’s pretty good at home and gets really involved in what every she is watching.
Last time we were at NaNa’s house, they had Rio on their DVR. Since then, L has been asking for “The Birdie Movie.”
It just happens that Rio 2 just came out in theaters a few weeks ago. J wanted to take L but we wanted to go at a time when there wouldn’t be a lot of people there. We decided on a 4 PM show on Monday…and for a while, we thought we were going to be the only ones in the theater.
We chose to go to Celebration Cinemas Crossroads. We were going to see the movie at Alamo Drafthouse, but they don’t allow children under the age of 3…and L is only 2.
We wanted to go to Alamo for the food, but what I what I had forgotten about was that Celebration now has a food menu that is more than popcorn and candy.
The restaurant part of Celebration Cinema Crossroads is Oscar’s Bistro. You don’t need a show ticket to enjoy their food or a drink from the bar, but if you are going to a show, they make it so you can order, go to your theater then come get your food when a restaurant buzzer goes off. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 