Kalamazoo Valley Museum
230 N. Rose Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49003
- (269) 373-7990
- Website
Finding things for to do with L has opened up a whole new side of West Michigan for us. Before L was born, we stuck to mainly adult type stuff. Since L’s birth, we’re checking out more places we probably would have never gone if it was just the two of us.
A few months ago, J took L to meet a friend of hers at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. They came home that night and J told me they had a blast and that we needed to go back soon.
Soon turned into several weeks, but when we needed something to do on a warm day, J suggested heading downtown.
The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is on Rose Street between Michigan and Kalamazoo. The three story museum is part of Kalamazoo Valley Community College and admission is free. Yeah…read that again…admission is free.
Since J had been there before, she knew exactly where she wanted to go. We headed up the stairs to the Burton Henry Upjohn Children’s Landscape. This hands on exhibit for the preschool set is full of blocks to stack, puzzles to build, and books to read. L found a lot of things to play with and we spent the majority of our time in this part of the museum.
We spent time building with legos at a table near the door while we danced to music from a jukebox that children can operate with the press of a button. We danced with streamers, we drove a bus, and we ran around with one of those old corn popper push toys.
There was a little bit of a meltdown when it came time to leave, but J and I wanted to check out the rest of the museum. After a few minutes in the Science in Motion section, L forgot all about the toys and just wanted to play with the cars daddy was building. This display was too old for L, but in a few years, she will love this. Read more…
La Guatemalteca Tacos
1204 Bank Street (at the Farmers’ Market)I’ve been eating out of food trucks a lot lately, but by far, there is one kind of food truck I really love. Taco trucks.
J and I were at the Kalamazoo Farmers’ Market this past Saturday just walking around. I really wanted to use the opportunity to pick up lunch. The market has a number of prepared food vendors now, but there’s one I’ve walked by several times and really wanted to try. Since J got something from Smoothie Operator, I didn’t have to worry about her finding something to eat, so I went and got in line for tacos.
La Guatemalteca Tacos has been at the farmers’ market for quite some time. Their food truck is more of a trailer that needs to be pulled than what we have now come to know as food trucks.
The simple menu of authentic Mexican food is posted on two large boards on either side of the order window. Since it’s not a food truck, the window is a little higher than usual, so there’s a wooden step to get you up to a height closer to the order taker.
There was quite a line on this particular Saturday morning and there were only two ladies working inside. One was prepping food while the other was taking orders and putting plates together, so the line moved a little slowly.
When it got to be my turn, I stepped up to the window and ordered four Asada (Steak) tacos with just cilantro. The tacos typical come topped with cilantro, onion, tomato, and lettuce, but all I wanted to taste was the juicy steak and the fresh herbs. Read more…
Smoothie Operator
On The Move (Food Truck)I’m not really sure why, but J wanted to get out of the house Saturday morning and go down to the Farmers’ Market. It has been a while since we’ve been there on a Saturday morning and I was looking for apricot’s for my grandma to make jam anyway, so why not see if they had them at the Market.
Lucky for me, we did actually find a stand with apricot’s, so I took care of that task, but our next task was probably the most important. Lunch.
The last couple weeks at Lunch Time Live, J has been disappointed that the smoothie truck wasn’t there. As we were walking along the inside of the market, J spotted the truck she’s been looking for.
Smoothie Operator is a new truck having been around only since the spring. The only thing on the menu, as the name implies is smoothies. The owners have a family farm in Berrien Springs that specializes in exotic berries, so the next logical step? Smoothies.
The menu changes constantly and consists of five different smoothies each time the truck is out. J was starting to walk by the truck instead preferring to find something to eat, but she stopped in her tracks once she read the chalkboard in front of the truck. Read more…
The Organic Gypsy
2103 S. Burdick Street (Food Truck)- Kalamazoo, MI 49001
- (269) 208-4805
- Website
- Menu
Mayor Hopewell started a really cool thing this summer at Bronson Park in Kalamazoo. For the past several weeks, the park has been home to “Lunch Time Live.” Kalamazoo’s food trucks pull up to the curb on South Street and a few vendors set up in the park. Some weeks, there’s even some live entertainment and they always set up a cornhole game and a badminton net.
Friday’s have been bad for us recently, but last week, we were able to go down for lunch. We were a little disappointed because the one food truck we had yet to try wasn’t there. We still got a great lunch in a great setting from Pig Out Take Out.
We didn’t really have any plans to go this week, but I saw a tweet last night that the elusive truck was going to be there. J and I were both pretty tired when she got home from work due to a baby that wasn’t interested in sleeping, but we decided to head downtown anyway. Good choice.
The Organic Gypsy has been on the streets for about a year and a half. The food, as the name implies, is organic farm to truck fare. It’s a little pricier than you would expect from a food truck, but the food is made with fresh, high quality, organic ingredients.
There was a little bit of a line at all of the trucks when we got to Bronson Park a little afternoon. We headed straight for The Organic Gypsy to find a chalkboard on the sidewalk with today’s menu. Read more…
Beulah’s Restaurant
7400 Division DriveToday was a perfect day for a trip to the zoo. The same friends we went blueberry picking with a few weeks ago asked if we’d be interested in going to Binder Park Zoo for the day. They’ve never taken their daughter there and they’ve seen all the great pictures we’ve taken of L which made them want to check the place out.
We met at the entrance to the zoo at 1:00 then headed straight for someplace to eat. Luckily for us, there are two restaurants inside the zoo. We chose the one closest to the entrance.
Beulah’s Restaurant is a cafeteria style eatery located in the center of the original part of the zoo near the Kangaroos. The space is divided in to three parts. You enter in to an order area where they have samples of all of their food on display. There’s a menu board hanging above the area where an employee asks what you’d like to eat.
Once deciding, the first employee yells back to the kitchen area where pre-cooked meals are put together in paper boats then passed up to the original employee.
The quick service menu doesn’t have any surprises. There are sandwich options, pizza slices (or whole pizzas if you want to feed the family) and chicken strips. Read more…
The Cupcake Zoo – Revisited
110 N. Farmer StreetNow that J and I have been in Kalamazoo almost four years, it wouldn’t be surprising if you start to see some repeats blog posts from places we visited after we first moved here. This one is kind of an exception to that as the last time I blogged about The Cupcake Zoo was only a little over a year ago after we picked up cupcakes at the Kalamazoo Farmers’ Market.
At that time, they were a special occasion bakery. They had a physical address is Otsego but no storefront where you could walk in and get cupcakes.
A few months ago, a couple of co-workers of mine were in Otsego on a Friday and they saw a lady walking down the street with cupcakes. They asked her where she got them from and she pointed to The Cupcake Zoo which now had Walk-In Friday’s. Fast forward a few months and now they have walk-in sales everyday!
This past Thursday, J noticed some delicious looking cupcake creations on The Cupcake Zoo’s Facebook page which would be available for Friday Walk-In. She asked if I would go. I didn’t really give her a solid answer, but once L and I got up, we headed to Otsego to surprise Mommy with cupcakes when she got home from work.
The Cupcake Zoo is on Farmer Street just to the north of M-89 in downtown Otsego. There is parking available on the street and I found a spot right in front of the building.
The walk in window is down a little hallway once you walk in to the building. They have all of the cupcakes and pastries available that day on display on the counter and they menu written on a chalkboard off to the side. Read more…
Four Brothers Party Store
1975 Madison Avenue SE- Grand Rapids, MI 49507
- (616) 245-3386
- No Known Website
- Menu
So…sitting around the office tonight joking about wanting chicken. That joking turns in to, “Damn, I really want chicken.” By this point, I had everyone else in the office in the mood for chicken, so I offer to go pick up chicken. I start getting the inevitable questions…”Where ya’ going?” Of course, I can’t tell where I’m going because then I start getting questions about menus and sides, etc…..so I just leave and show back up with a pan of chicken.
I decided to take my chances on a party store I pass often across from Garfield Park right on the corner of Madison Avenue and Burton Street on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. Whenever I roll by with the windows down, I can smell the sweet byproduct of chicken frying, but it’s a place I can never find any information about online.
Four Brothers Party Store isn’t really much of a party store. It’s more of a carry out restaurant that specializes in chicken and fish. They have a small grocery section mostly of pop and chips. It’s one of those places where the “store” part of it is just to satisfy the requirements for accepting Bridge cards although it is bigger than most of the similar types of “You Buy, We Fry” restaurants in the Grand Rapids area.
There was a little bit of a line when I got in so I had a few minutes to look over the menu. I needed to buy enough to satisfy my colleagues. I didn’t need to feed them, but I needed to make sure everyone who wanted would get a couple wings, so I ordered 30 Whole Wings which also came with a side of fries. Read more…
Press Release – Farm To Fork Dinner Series
From a Promote Michigan press release…..
FIVE TOP CHEFS TEAM UP FOR HARVEST DINNER – BENEFITTING FAIR FOOD MATTERS, KALAMAZOO
(KALAMAZOO, Mich) – Five of the region’s top chefs will team up on Sunday, August 25 (6-8pm) for a Harvest Dinner at Carlson’s Farm in Lawton – a culinary experience benefiting Kalamazoo’s Fair Food Matters. The unique farm-side dinner is being coordinated by Food Dance, West Michigan’s premier locally-focused eatery.
Exectutive Chef Robb Hammond – who has been with Food Dance for five years – has invited four of his colleagues to join him in this one-of-a-kind, on-the-farm five-course dinner, celebrating the best of the season’s offerings. These chefs include the James Beard nominated Chef Matthew Millar from Fennville; Chef Matthew Pietsch of Salt of the Earth in Fennville, Chef Matt Green of Reserve Wine & Food in Grand Rapids; and Chef Chad Miller of Soe Café in Sawyer.
Food Dance has been a long time supporter and promoter of Fair Food Matters and its various initiatives. Dinners such as this support programs that protect the stewardship of our land and strengthen our local economy by educating the next generation about food and where it comes from.
Fair Food Matters exists to improve access to healthy, local food by educating, connecting and empowering the Kalamazoo community. It’s programs include the Can-Do Kitchen (a licensed incubator kitchen facility), Common Ground (a collaborative program supporting community gardens throughout Kalamazoo County), Growing Matters Garden (a children’s educational gardening project), Douglass Farmers’ Market (featuring local producers on the north side of town) and Southwest Michigan Community Harvest Fest (celebrating local food, local farming and sustainable living with speakers, music and more).
The cost for the Harvest Dinner, including entertainment by local musicians Paul Hoffman and Joshua Davis, is $75 per person (plus tax/gratuity). Space is limited to 100 and reservations are required by calling 269-382-1888.
Other upcoming dinners in the 2013 Farm to Fork series include:
KIRKLIN FARMS … HEIRLOOM TOMATO DINNER — Thurs., Sept. 5 • 6-8pm
Celebrate tomato season with a five-course tomato dinner featuring Kirklin Farms. Seem a bit over the top? Not when you consider the flavors and versatility of thousands of varieties of tomatoes. You’ll never think of them as just plain ol’ sliced fruit again. $55 per person
COOKING CLASS – PRESERVING THE HARVEST — Wed., Sept. 18 • 6-8pm
Useful Kitchen Skills, not just recipes! Come learn how to preserve the flavors of the harvest for months to come. In this class you will learn techniques of preserving food with modern flavors. $65 per person
3-DAIRY DINNER — Thurs., Oct. 17 • 6-8pm
October is National Cheese Month. Celebrate with us at this special dinner featuring three local artisan cheese makers. Chef Robb will create four courses with Evergreen Lane Creamery, Zingerman’s Creamery and another creamery, TBA. $55 per person
To make reservations for any of the Food Dance dinners, classes or events, call 269-382-1888.
Food Dance creates opportunities for people to come together and connect through the experience of food. We passionately cook with the freshest locally produced ingredients and believe in giving great, caring service, and providing great experiences for everyone we come in contact with.
Latitude 42 Brewing Company
7842 Portage RoadBuzz is everything. For several months now, J and I have been following the progress of a new brewery as they built their tap room and hyped up their beer. By the time they actually opened for business, J and I couldn’t get there fast enough.
Opening day for Latitude 42 Brewing Company was last Monday. The areas newest brewery is on Portage Road just north of Centre Street in Portage. The restaurant/brewery is a brand new building built from the ground up.
As soon as J got off work, we got L packed up and headed out the door. A couple of J’s co-workers were going to lunch anyway and when J told them where we were going, we all decided to meet.
J’s co-workers beat us to the brewery and tried to get a table. When they told the hostess we had a baby, we were told there was going to be a little bit of a wait. By the time J and I got there, they decided to ask if we would mind one of their big tables. We said it didn’t matter, but on the way back to the table, J pointed out a four top in the corner and asked if we could take that one. It didn’t bother us to squeeze L in between the two of us so that’s what we did.
The dining room is pretty wide open at Latitude 42. There’s a nice, big 360 degree bar in the middle and some pub tables in the empty space around the bar. The rest of the building is set up a little more family style with regular sized tables. The thing i noticed is that they probably could have squeezed at least a half dozen more tables in the space, but I like that they didn’t. You don’t feel like the table next to you is right on top of you.
The really cool feature, for parents anyway, is a little play area for the kids in the back corner of the restaurant. We were actually seated at the table right next to it and L took off when she saw the blocks and the chalkboard to play with. Read more…
Stokes Homestead Farm Market
13988 County Road 215J and I are always looking for new experiences with L and berry picking is one we haven’t tried yet. One of J’s friends has a little one a few months older than L and they had been looking for a play date opportunity for a couple weeks. J and I had already talked about going berry picking this past weekend, so J asked the other family if they’d like to meet us there. They were up to it so we made the play date.
The farm that we picked was Stokes Homestead Farm Market outside of Grand Junction. We chose this farm for a couple of reasons. They have U-Pick, they have a cafe that serves lunch, and J knows one of the owners daughters and has heard good things through the grapevine.
Stokes Homestead is on the corner of 14th Avenue and 54th Street south of Grand Junction proper. The farms has been there since the 70’s, but the new Homestead Farm Market is only a couple years old.
The large building has a large gravel parking lot in front of it. J, L and I got there first and played outside a little bit waiting for our friends. Once they showed up, we went inside the building and were really surprised with what we found.
The Farm Market takes up the front of the building and it’s filled with locally grown and locally made products. The back of the Farm Market is where the cafe is.
Hazel’s Kitchen has the feeling of an old country restaurant although it’s pretty new. They have a small lunch menu of wraps, sandwiches, and salads all made with using farm fresh ingredients. There’s also a breakfast menu and a bakery menu which includes soft serve ice cream and Old Fashioned Fudge. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 
