Mr. Pizza
553 Michigan Street NESlow Saturday nights. Love ’em at work. When there’s not much going on, there’s an opportunity for dinner. It’s the one night a week I MAY get an actual dinner break like normal folk.
For a couple years now, I’ve been driving by a pizza place on Michigan Street just to the east of College Avenue. I really can’t give you a good reason why I’ve never ordered from there, but I haven’t.
Last week, I noticed an ad on Urbanspoon for a pizza place with online ordering. I thought the name looked familiar so I clicked on.
The link took me to Mr. Pizza’s webpage. Sure enough, it was that pizza place I have passed hundreds of times and never ordered from….and since they have online ordering, you know I’m going to fit it in my rotation.
The first thing I noticed when I clicked on to the webpage was the specials. I usually just order a large pepperoni pizza to play it safe when I’ve never been to a place before. I didn’t stray far, but the special was a 12″ two topping with an order of cheesy bread. I chose pepperoni and bacon as my two toppings and got a thin crust with a garlic butter Parmesan crust.
I paid online with my credit card and received a confirmation that the pizza would be ready in about 25 minutes. The restaurant is only about five minutes away so I got there a little early. I was told my pizza was just about out so I took a seat in the small dining room filled with patio furniture. The tables and chairs are all those metal deals that you put outside because they won’t rust. Kind of an odd choice for an indoor dining room, but fairly comfortable if you’re dining in. Read more…
Taco Bob’s – Downtown
300 S. Kalamazoo MallJ had the idea to get up on Saturday morning and head to Bronson Park for The BIg Latch On. I’ve made it no secret that I like my sleep on Saturday morning, but I also love spending time with my family, so I got up to go with them.
After the event was over, L wanted to play in the park for a little while and run around with the other kids. In the almost four years I’ve been in Kalamazoo, I don’t think I’ve spent any significant time at Bronson Park and I was just kinda noticing some of the beautiful buildings surrounding the green space that make it a pretty neat feature in downtown.
Once we had enough running around, J wanted to make a quick stop at Gazelle Sports to pick up some new running shoes. Turns out, I did most of the running as L didn’t get all of her energy out at the park and wanted to run around the store while Mommy was trying on shoes.
J found a pair she liked and we started to head back towards the car which was parked near Farmers Alley Theatre. On the way, J asked if I wanted to stop at Taco Bob’s for lunch. It was on the way and quick which worked out great because we had one more event we wanted to stop at.
The Taco Bob’s downtown location is on the Kalamazoo Mall in what I’m told is the old Blimpy’s building right next to the ??? right near the corner with South Street. The two story building is surprising big once you get inside. We weren’t really sure if we’d be able to eat there or not, but seeing two surprisingly big dining rooms was a pleasant surprise. Read more…
The Crew Family Restaurant and Bakery
3810 E. Cork StreetIt’s been quite a while since J and I have went out for breakfast on a Sunday morning. She’s been letting me sleep in a little longer since L has been a better sleeper recently, so by the time I crawl out of bed, it’s closer to lunch time than breakfast.
That was the case again this past Sunday, but J wanted to go for a family walk. We debated between the Kal-Haven Trail and and Celery Flats. We ended up deciding on Portage because the trail is paved and would be easier to push a stroller.
I sort of bargained a little bit with J before going for a walk. It was a little rainy anyway, so I suggested going out to eat first. I’ve been wanting to go to the old Perkins restaurant since they reopened a month or so ago and it was sort of on the way to Celery Flats.
After the Perkins Family Restaurant closed down a few years ago, the employees went their separate ways, but they stayed in touch and eventually, a group of them decided to, to steal a phrase from my favorite movie, “get the band back together.” They reopened the old Perkins as The Crew Family Restaurant and Bakery.
The Crew sits on the corner of Cork and Sprinkle in Kalamazoo’s Milwood Neighborhood. J and I only went to Perkins once…on Christmas Day in 2010. We were really happy to find the restaurant open that day and from what I can remember about our only previous trip, The Crew isn’t a whole lot different.
The restaurant is pretty large and the parking lot was pretty full just before noon on a Sunday. The entrance leads to a counter with a hostess stand and a display case of pies. We did our best to ignore the sweets and let the hostess take us to a booth in the back of the restaurant near the private party room. Read more…
241 W. Fulton StreetSaturday’s are usually my night to actually get a full dinner break. Not always, but more often than not, Saturday night is the one night a week I get an actual dinner break. Not a eating a sandwich while driving dinner break, but one that would actually qualify as a dinner break in any other industry.
One of my co-workers asked if I would cover the last half hour of his shift. I didn’t have a problem with it, but I wanted to pick up something to eat first, so at about 5:30, I started looking for something to order that I could pick up quickly and get back to the shop.
My selection was Bagger Dave’s Legendary Burger Tavern. The small Michigan chain has opened a few stores in West Michigan in the last year including one in downtown Grand Rapids not far from where I work.
The downtown location of Bagger Dave’s is on Fulton Street just before the Grand River bridge in the Plaza Towers. There is a small surface lot with a gate between the building and the river, but on Saturday night, the arm was up and there was no charge for parking while I stopped to pick up my meal.
I really like Bagger Dave’s because they do online ordering. I was able to put my order in while I was working and set the pick up time and when I got to the restaurant, my bag of deliciousness was waiting for me.
My order consisted of a Create-Your-Own burger and a single order of fries. Last time I got the double order and that was way too much for me. The cost was a little over $12, so not cheap, but I wasn’t expecting cheap. Read more…
Panera Bread – Oshtemo Twp.
5119 W. Main StreetWell, this is embarrassing. I just realized that I’ve never blogged about a restaurant that I eat at often close to home.
J and I took L downtown again this morning to the Epic Theater for another installment of the Fontana Chamber Arts Crybaby Concert series. Afterwards, we wanted to pick something up for lunch and I started driving down West Main back towards Oshtemo. J asked if Panera would work. Of course it would work.
The Panera Bread in Oshtemo Township is right near the intersection of West Main and Drake in front of the Kohls. I really, really hate the parking lot at this particular cluster of shopping centers. The easiest way to get in to the Panera is to stay on West Main and go in through the Shell gas station. That stupid freaking corner shopping center that isn’t quite connected to the rest of parking lot complicates things.
Surprisingly, the parking lot was not packed even though it was right around noon. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Panera Bread anywhere that didn’t have a line almost out the door. There was only two people in front of us when we got in line.
J and I pretty much always stick to the same thing whenever we go to Panera, but I still took time to look over the menu. They keep adding interesting items to the menu and I always consider trying something different, but I really like my go-to sandwich. Read more…
The Coop
1801 S. Westnedge AvenueSo, this was odd. I actually got to work two days this week in Kalamazoo. Not go to Grand Rapids, back to Kalamazoo, back to Grand Rapids, back to Kalamazoo, but actually starting and ending my shift in Kalamazoo.
The second night, I was hungry. I didn’t really get a lunch break. Late night options are pretty much limited to fast food burgers, but a few weeks ago, I was driving down South Westnedge and noticed a sign that would save me from another midnight greasy burger.
The Coop should be pretty familiar to Kalamazoo residents. It used to be known as The Chicken Coop, but they seem to have dropped that franchise and are going at it on their own with the streamlined name. Even as the Chicken Coop, I always thought this location was far and away better than any of the other locations. Their chicken tasted nothing like the other locations and that was a good thing.
The Coop is on South Westnedge right across the street from the Hardings on Howard Street. Other than the name, it didn’t look like a whole lot had changed.
I pulled up to the drive up window just before midnight on Thursday. They’re now open until 3 AM Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I’ve been complaining since I got here that Kalamazoo needs more late night options, so I was happy to see The Coop staying open late for the second shifters…even if it is only a couple nights a week. Read more…
DuPage Children’s Museum
301 N. Washington Street- Naperville, IL 60540
- (630) 637-8000
- Website
One more day in the Chicago area. J had Tuesday off, so we decided to just make the trip back to Michigan Tuesday morning since I didn’t have to be to work until second shift.
Since we were spending an extra day in Chicagoland, we needed to find something to do. We have been wanting to check out the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn, but they’re closed on Monday, so that was out.
J needed to make a run to Oak Brook to pick up some makeup at Mac Cosmetics inside the Oakbrook Center. At that point, we were already half way to Naperville, so decided to hit up the children’s museum there.
The DuPage Children’s Museum is on Washington Street just to the north of Downtown Naperville. The parking lot is actually shared with the Amtrak/Metra station across the street. Part of the parking lot is numbered for pay parking while the majority of it is not an intended for the use of museum patrons.
Even from the outside, you can see the museum is huge. We were really surprised at just how many cars there were in the parking lot on a Monday afternoon, but once inside, it didn’t seem nearly as crowded as we thought it was going to be.
Admission to the museum is $9.50 per person over the age of one with those over 60 getting a $1 discount. The four of us cost $37 for a day of fun. Read more…
White Castle – Joliet
1803 W. Jefferson Street- Joliet, IL 60435
- (815) 725-1310
- Website
- Menu
I just wasn’t ready for the night to be over. J and I headed back to the hotel pretty early after the wedding reception at The Grand Ballroom at Joliet Union Station. She was exhausted and ready for bed. L was actually with my parents in a room down the hall, unbeknownst to us, fast asleep. J wanted me to go get her and bring her back to our room, but I was hungry. I decided to go grab something to eat before getting L from Grandma and Papa.
I spent my college years in Joliet, so I kind of wanted to look around a little while we were there. It’s been eleven years since I graduated from college and there’s not much in Joliet that looks familiar to me. The one thing that did look familiar was the corner of Larkin and Jefferson Streets.
I know there are a lot of you shaking your heads right now knowing about my hatred of onions. I have to admit, I’m a little surprised myself. I was starting to get tired and I didn’t want to go to a bar by myself, so I gave in and went with the slider.
The Joliet location of the Ohio based fast food franchise. Growing up, and even when I lived in Peoria, this location in Joliet was the furthest south in Chicagoland. A lot of my friends used to make road trips (a la Harold and Kumar minus the weed) just to pick up a huge pack of sliders.
To be completely honest, I’m not sure I’ve actually ever been inside a White Castle before. The few times I have been, I usually went through the drive through. I don’t know if all White Castle’s are like this, but the set up seemed somewhat odd. Read more…
The Grand Ballroom At Joliet Union Station
50 E. Jefferson StreetIt’s been a long time since I’ve been to Joliet. I actually spent four years there in college. I chose to attend the University of St. Francis due to the prospect of getting to play college baseball. I played a year and a half before finding out I wasn’t good enough then, just being lazy, decided to finish my degree there instead of transferring to a larger university.
This past weekend, J, L, and I returned to Joliet for a wedding. I was looking forward to it because it was at a really neat venue downtown and I was hoping to take a little time to snap some pictures of L at this gorgeous backdrop.
The Grand Ballroom at Joliet Union Station is part of the 100 year old train hub that serves Will County. The two story building leads up to two train platforms. One platform is for Amtrak. The other is for the Rock Island Line of the Metra. Sounds like an odd place to have a wedding, but they actually have an enclosed ballroom on the second floor just a few steps from the platforms.
The ballroom was designed as part of the original structure in 1912. The classic architecture building was designed by Jarvis Hunt and features huge, 24′ palladium windows, a large balcony overlooking downtown Joliet, and crystal chandeliers. While the rest of the train station is not air conditioned, the ballroom is. Still, the room can get pretty warm because those huge windows face the west and the sun shines right in to the ballroom as it’s setting.
Technically, they claim the ballroom has enough room for 350 people. That may be the fire code number, but I would argue that’s way too many. The wedding we were at had approximately 300 and that was way too many. It was a little hard to move around freely with that many people in the space along with the tables and come dance time, there was just no room. The small dance floor was nowhere near enough space and people started spilling over into the tables. The unfortunate thing is there’s really no space outside of the ballroom to congregate. The balcony was used for smoking plus the sun was beating right down on it so it could be a little uncomfortable until the sun set and the space outside of the ballroom is not air conditioned. Read more…
Ranch House Ribs
23090 M-140- South Haven, MI 49090
- (269) 637-3589
- No Known Website
- Menu
How unfortunate is this? My brother and his family are in Covert this weekend camping at the KOA Campground just south of town. J and I have a wedding in Chicago. There just isn’t a way for all of us to get together for an afternoon and hang out while they’re in our neck of the woods.
Not wanting to pass up this opportunity, I decided to get my butt out of bed Friday morning and take L over to Covert to see her cousins. J was at work and couldn’t join us, but I’d at least to get to hang with my nieces for a little bit and L loves running after the older girls.
We hung out at the campground for a while then went in to South Haven to spend the rest of the morning at the beach before I had to head back to Kalamazoo and eventually Grand Rapids for work.
On our way in to town, we passed a little BBQ joint that I have been wanting to get to for a long time. I saw on their sign that they opened at noon, so I intentionally timed it so L and I could pull back in just as they were open….and my plan actually worked.
Ranch House Ribs is a very tiny, sort of run down looking shack on M-140 between South Haven and Covert in South Haven Charter Township. My brothers in-laws said they had actually drove by it last time they were in town and didn’t realize the place was even still open until I suggested they pick up BBQ the next time they were in town and tell me how it is.
On Thursday, before my brother and his family made it, his in-laws went to pick up dinner so it’d be there waiting for them. They told me by four o’clock, there was already short supply of some of the favorites, but they were still able to get samples of almost everything on the menu before deciding on picking up a big pan of spare ribs, rib tips, and BBQ chicken for dinner at the campground. As I soon as I got tot he campground Friday morning, they couldn’t wait to tell me how great it was and how grateful they were I pointed the place out to them. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 