Bucky’s Cafe
8675 Portage Road- Portage, MI 49002
- (269) 329-3255
- No Known Website
- Menu
Last fall, J got L in to a really neat little program for toddlers on Friday’s. Since it’s in the morning, I have to get my butt out of bed to take her. It’s really been great for her since she doesn’t go to daycare. It gives her a chance to interact with other kids her age without J or I there.
Usually I drop her off then go back home and take a two hour nap. This past Friday, I had a couple of errands that I really needed to take care of, including grocery shopping, so, against my better judgement, I decided to just stay out and get done what I needed to get done while L was at “school.”
I dropped L off then started driving towards Westnedge Avenue in Portage. I was going to head to the Shaver Road Meijer, but damn,I was hungry. Since I was forgoing a nap, I might as well get myself some breakfast.
I started heading east on Centre and drove right past Shaver Road. I knew there was a little cafe on Portage Road that I have really never had any reason to go to because I’m not on that side of town very often. This day, I was on that side of town and decided to check out a new breakfast spot.
Bucky’s Cafe is in a small strip mall on Portage Road just north of Austin Lake. It’s a deceivingly large restaurant inside a pretty bland strip mall. Read more…
Louie’s Bar and Rocket Lounge BBQ
608 Bridge StreetAnother rough week at work. The bright spot is always when I get a few minutes to actually go out for dinner.
Earlier this week, I was working with the co-worker who likes to find new restaurants with me. We were sitting in the lounge just sort of looking at each sorta bored and really hungry. She wasn’t offering up anything, so I asked about BBQ. There’s a place on the Northwest Side of Grand Rapids that I’ve been itchin’ to get to.
Louie’s Bar and Rocket Lounge BBQ is just off downtown Grand Rapids on Bridge Street just west of Seward. It’s actually two separate spaces connected on the inside. The bar is where the main entrance is, but on busy nights, it’s easy to walk between the two buildings.
C.W and I actually called in a to-go order instead of going out to eat. While I didn’t have anything to do, she still had some work that needed to be taken care of. She handed me some cash and asked if I’d take care of dinner.
I called in the order for our two meals. She ordered the BBQ Pulled Chicken which comes with two sides and cornbread. She chose the mac & cheese and potato salad. I had asked for the Pulled Pork Sandwich, but the lady taking my order said they had run out of pulled pork and were waiting on another one that was in the smoker. Instead I ordered the Texas Beef Brisket Sandwich. That comes with potato chips and hottie pickles. Read more…
Park Street Market Deli
512 N. Park StreetIt’s been quite a while since I’ve actually blogged about a place in the Kalamazoo area. I’ve been on a drought recently trying to find new places.
It’s not that there aren’t still some places I haven’t been to. There definitely are. They just don’t always fit within my schedule or it’s not convenient to take a two year old.
This past weekend, J and I were sitting on the couch watching Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood with L when J asked if I wanted to grab something for lunch before I went to work. We sat there for twenty minutes shooting down each others ideas before we finally gave up. I went to work while J and L went to take a nap.
I still needed something to eat though. I was really hungry.
My travels were taking me to the north side of Kalamazoo before heading to Grand Rapids and as I was driving down Park Street towards US-131, I got an idea.
Several months ago, I read an article in the Kalamazoo Gazette about the Deli at the Park Street Market. I knew they had tasty ribs after sampling them at RibFest last year, but I was unaware just how great of food they had.
The thing that makes the North Park Market deli so unique is that they have real soul food. This was before my time in Kalamazoo, but there apparently used to be a pretty popular soul food place called Dips Restaurant and the masterminds behind that Read more…
Dorothy & Tony’s Gourmet Popcorn Shop
435 Ionia Avenue SWCupcakes on their own would have been a great Valentine’s Day present for J, but I had one more idea at the Grand Rapids Downtown Market.
J is a really big fan of Garrett’s Chicago Style popcorn. The unique mix of carmel and cheddar cheese popcorn is often imitated, but nothing compares to Garrett’s.
I had actually considered ordering her some from Chicago, but, as I like to do, I decided to give a local place a try and see how their popcorn stacks up to the beloved Garrett’s.
The shop at the Downtown Market is Dorothy and Tony’s Gourmet Popcorn Shop (sometimes also see as Dorothy and Tony’s Gourmet Kettle Corn.) Their stand is actually right around the corner from Sweetie-licious, so after picking up my cupcakes, I headed down the aisle to get some popcorn.
The bags of popcorn are pre-stuffed and you have the option of Kettle Corn, Chicago Style, Cheddar, Carmel, and White Cheddar. All of the flavors come in four sizes from a small personal bag to a large shareable bag.
I ordered a bag of the large Chicago Style for J. The cost was $12 which I again paid cash for so J wouldn’t see the charge show up on our bank account before I got home. Read more…
Sweetie-licious Bake Shoppe
435 Ionia Avenue SWNeeded an idea for Valentine’s Day. No, it was not a last minute idea. I just wasn’t thinking very clearly. Finally, about a week ago, I got an idea. Stupid me..I drive by the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids everyday. Why not take advantage of some of the goodies.
The first opportunity that I got a break on Thursday, I headed down to the Market to pick up some treats for J. I had a couple ideas in mind when I walked in the door
The first stop I made was at the first place you see when you walk in northeast doors. Sweetie-licious Bake Shop takes up some pretty prime real estate in the new indoor market right up front.
The name, while new to Grand Rapids, should be familiar to fans of the Food Network. Sweetie-licious has had a cafe and bakery in DeWitt for many years and they’ve appeared on the Food Network multiple times and won the Amazing Pie Challenge on Food Network Challenge in 2009.
The Grand Rapids bake shop has an incredibly big display case filled with all sorts of baked goodies including pies, muffins, quiches, cookies, cakes, and cupcakes.
I headed straight for the cupcake section. Who doesn’t love an awesome gourmet cupcake? I knew J would love it. Read more…
Boston Market – Holland
638 E. 16th StreetSo, this was a weird one. A co-worker and I were on our way to Holland for an assignment when she got all excited about dinner. I’ve written about this C.W. in the past. She’s the one who loves Mancino’s and we actively seek them out when we work together. Now, there is a Mancino’s in Holland, but that’s not what she was excited about. No. She was excited about a different restaurant we were going to pass.
I was totally unaware that Boston Market even still existed but this co-worker used to go to church fairly close to the corner of 16th Street and U.S. 31 near Holland. She and her family would eat here often because it’s the only one on this side of the state. There are several in the Detroit area and one in the Lansing area, but this Holland location is the only one on the west side.
We were sort of in a hurry when we pulled in the parking lot, so we had to take our dinners to go. C.W. knew what she wanted, but I can’t tell you the last time I was in a Boston Market. I had no idea even what they had.
I assumed when I started looking at the menu I was just going to order a sandwich, but then I kept walking and noticed whole chicken meals and even ribs. Sounded yummy, but a whole chicken was too much, so I ordered the half chicken. I got two sides with the meal so I chose the macaroni and cheese and the garlic dill potatoes. Read more…
Jimmy John’s – Wayland
1170 W. Superior StreetIf you know, you know my disdain for Jimmy John’s. Every single experience I’ve had with the place has been horrible. For the most part, my Jimmy John’s experience have been catering. They send in sandwiches that really shouldn’t be called sandwiches. They’re more mayo than anything….and that is incredibly disgusting. There is nothing worse you can put on a sandwich than mayo (ok, sure that’s just MY opinion).
I was on my way to work last Thursday and running a little behind. I was incredibly hungry, but there’s not a lot of options for quick meals along US-131 between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. The default option in McDonalds and I wasn’t in the mood for that.
I do pass a couple of Subway’s, but even they have turned me off recently. The sandwiches have just been so flat and flavorless and the bread doesn’t seem to hold up
I pulled off of 131 at the Wayland exit like I do so often to get gas. I was just going to run through the McDonalds or KFC drive thru, but as I got out of my car to pump gas, I had a different thought. Why not give Jimmy John’s a try.
The Jimmy John’s in Wayland is on Superior Street right off the US-131 exit inside the Shell gas station. The order counter sort of opens up in to the rest of the gas station and there is a small dining area around the corner. Read more…
Urban Mill Cafe
629 Michigan Street SEAs much as I like burgers, it can get old getting fast food every night. If I’m lucky enough to actually get a proper dinner break at work, I want to do more than just hit up the McDonalds or Wendy’s drive thru.
My usual go-to for sandwiches is Cherry Deli, but that can get expensive and you know how I like to find new places to eat.
A couple of weeks ago, a co-worker and I were heading out to grab dinner. We were planning on just hitting up Cherry Deli, but a different co-worker threw out another place that we drive by almost everyday and neither of us knew about.
Urban Mill Cafe is on Michigan Street a couple blocks to the east of College Avenue. The building is a fairly new structure that comes right up to the sidewalk. The signage for the two businesses that take up the space are pretty high up on the building. There’s really no advertising in the line of sight as a driver and that’s why we’ve driven by it so many times and not really known what it is.
While we tried this place for the first time a couple weeks ago, it didn’t work out…at all. We stood at the counter for at least ten minutes and there was no trace of any employee. We thought we could hear someone banging around in the kitchen, but even looking in there, we didn’t see anyone. There were other patrons in the store, so we didn’t think something was wrong other than poor customer service. Read more…
The Mitten Brewing Company
527 Leonard Street NWWell, I didn’t plan on getting stranded in Grand Rapids, but that’s what happened. The snow has been terrible this past week and I decided it was better just to bite the bullet and stay in Grand Rapids overnight than try and make my way down a treacherous US-131 to get home.
When I woke up on the south side of Grand Rapids, I figured I may as well take advantage of being in town and not on the clock. There’s a number of breweries I need to try at some point so I thought it time to cross one off the list
I made my way back in to town to get to The Mitten Brewing Company on Leonard Street just a few blocks west of 131. The small, vintage baseball themed brewery takes up space in what used to be the Grand Rapids Fire Department’s Engine House #9. The awesome space keeps a lot of the Victorian era charm of this historic building. According to their website, a lot of care was taken to restore a lot of the original features of the building.
The main focus at The Mitten is the beer, but they’re actually pretty well known for their pizzas as well. Other than appetizers, it’s the only thing on the menu. Their pizzas ended up on Mlive’s 7 Pizza’s Not To Miss on their search for Michigan’s Best Pizzas.
The dining room was pretty full when I walked in a little after 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon. I started to head towards the bar, but I noticed a table open in the back. I wasn’t really looking to be social as I was exhausted and hungry, so I took the table over the bar. Read more…
The Tribes Alehouse & Grill – Tinley Park
9501 W. 171st StreetOur baby is turning two! I know all parents say this, but it’s so hard to believe.
This past weekend, we had a party for L with family and friends back in the Chicago area. She got lots of great presents, had a lot of fun playing with her cousins and friends, and ate lots sweet, delicious food.
On Sunday, we hung out at J’s parents house and just kind of lounged around. While J and L were taking a nap, I pulled up a website for a pub that has been recommended to me several times….both by a co-worker in Grand Rapids and a craft beer loving friend in Chicago.
The Tribes Alehouse and Grill has two locations in the south suburbs of Chicago. The craft-beer centered pub has locations in both Tinley Park and Mokena. The one closest to J’s parents..and the one most recommended, is the location on 171st Street and South LaGrange Road in Tinley Park.
The deceivingly large restaurant is in a rather new strip mall on the corner. Tribes has been open since 2009 in Mokena, but only a little over a year in the Tinley Park location.
Around 6:00 on Sunday night, J and I pulled in to the ice covered parking lot and made our way inside to find a pretty full bar watching the NFL play off games on the many TV’s hanging around the bar.
SW Michigan Dining 