Riviera Maya
5036 S. Westnedge Avenue- Portage, MI 49002
- (269) 382-6901
- No Known Website
- Menu
When J got home from work yesterday, she asked if I wanted to go out for lunch. I never turn down lunch. The other option was a frozen pizza, so I was all for getting out of the house.
Our initial plan was to check out a new place in Oshtemo Township, but we found upon arriving at this new place that they are not open for lunch yet. That’s fine…we’ll try again soon.
As we were pulling out of the parking lot, I mentioned maybe hitting up Burdick’s. I’m always in the mood for Burdick’s, but J said she was thinking Mexican. I asked if she wanted to try out the new Mexican place in Portage. We looked at the clock and I figured we had enough time before I needed to go to work.
Riviera Maya opened within the past month or so in the building near the Speedway near Old Kilgore Road and Westnedge. A lot of things about Riviera Maya will look familiar to most Kalamazoo area residents who enjoy Mexican food. The restaurant is very similar to the Los Amigos restaurants.
We were met by a host who took us to a table in the large open dining room. The dining room has a really nice feel to it. The tables are surrounded by high back wood chairs and dark wood floors. The centerpiece of the restaurant is a large pyramid right near the center with sand surrounding it for the kids to play with.
The large menu is pretty typical for a Mexican bar and grille. J started out with a Mango Margarita while I, since I had to go to work yet, stuck with a Coke. Read more…
Press Release – Fair Food Matters Kitchen Gadget Collection
From a Fair Food Matters press release….
Spring cleaning? We’ll take your kitchen gadgets!
Kalamazoo, MI – April 1, 2013 – Fair Food Matters’ Can-Do Kitchen is collecting kitchen gadgets for sale at its second annual Kitchen Gadget Garage Sale. They are collecting gadgets until Friday, May 17th at the locations listed below (the sale is on Saturday, May 18, from 9am to 1pm at the Can-Do Kitchen). Proceeds from the Gadget Sale support food business incubation programming, which help local start-up food entrepreneurs take their business ideas to reality.
If you have the itch to clean out your cupboards, look no further. You can donate your kitchen utensils, gadgets, tools, and hoozywhatsits to the Can-Do Kitchen and forget about trying to organize that garage sale that never seems to happen. We are accepting everything from antique to funky to gently used or new utensils, bowls, pots, pans, small appliances, cookbooks, dishes and glasses.
We are collecting kitchen gadgets at these locations in marked bins:
1. Can-Do Kitchen, 511 Harrison
2. People’s Food Co-op, 507 Harrison
3. The Mercantile, 3017 Oakland Drive
Volcano Pizza
148 W. Columbia Avenue- Battle Creek, MI 49015
- (269) 962-6071
- No Known Website
- Menu
What a beautiful afternoon! We were able to spend the day outdoors at the Binder Park Zoo. Of course, after a long day of walking around and feeding giraffe’s, we needed to pick up something to eat on the way home.
As luck would have it, there’s a pizza place in Battle Creek that I have heard really good things about. The unfortunate part is that they are only open Monday through Friday and only from 4-9 PM. When we got back in the car at Binder Park, it was about 3:40. We tried to call anyway, but no one picked up the phone.
I had to get gas which would kill a little more time and it was a little bit of a drive across town. J was up for just stopping to see if they were open and when we pulled in the parking lot at 3:55, the doors were open, so I walked in.
Volcano Pizza is a pretty small, unassuming place on Columbia Avenue just to the west of Capital Avenue. There is a large pole sign, but that’s the only signage anywhere on the property. The building is just a white building with a small “open” sign in the window for those 20 hours a week that they are open.
The guy behind the counter looked a little surprised to see me when I walked in. He asked what I wanted and I asked if I could order a pizza. He looked at his watch and said, “Oh, yeah.” Read more…
Water Steet Coffee Joint – Oakland Drive
3037 Oakland Drive- Kalamazoo, MI 49008
- (269) 488-0018
- Website
- No Online Menu
Fifteen months ago, when L was born, I ate three meals a day for three days at Water Street Coffee Joint inside Borgess Medical Center. That’s been the only time I’ve eaten Water Street even though there are two other locations not inside a hospital.
Our plan for Sunday afternoon was to go to the zoo, but it was raining, so that washed that idea out. For some reason, J started talking about a co-worker who brought back a really good looking sandwich from Water Street a few days ago and I asked if she wanted t0 just go there for lunch.
The original Water Street is in downtown Kalamazoo across from Bell’s, but we chose to go to the one closest to us on Oakland Drive right at the intersection with Whites Road in the Oakland/Winchell Neighborhood.
The little coffee shop is kind of in a weird spot on a triangle plot of land which makes parking a little odd. For some reason, we were both a little surprised to see a totally packed parking lot…not sure why we were surprised..it is a coffee shop and it was a Sunday afternoon. Is there a better way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon?
Neither J nor I are really coffee drinkers. She will drink one every now and then, but I don’t drink coffee at all. Water Street Coffee Joint has so much more than coffee though, so that part shouldn’t be a turn off. Read more…
Camzies Pizza
3664 S. 9th Street (Flesher Field Tu-Sa 11 – 2:30)- 7275 Main Street (Oshtemo Township Park Tu-Sa 4-8)
- Kalamazoo, MI 49009
- (269) 978-8642
- Website
- Menu
It’s O. K. to be lazy, right? For whatever reason, L decided to sleep in. I mean, really sleep in. J finally heard her moving at about 10:45. I would love this during the week, but Saturday’s are swimming lessons day. We didn’t make it. By the time J got L up and would have gotten me up, we wouldn’t have been able to make the 11:30 swimming lesson on the other side of town.
J decided to just let me sleep a little longer then got me up so she could take a shower and get laundry done before I headed to work. Part of the deal was that after laundry was started, we would take L to the park…..and get pizza.
A few weeks ago, J and her mom took L to the Oshtemo Township Park to play for a while. As they pulled up, they noticed a Jeep pulling what appeared to be a large brick oven. When they walked over to see what was going on, they were offered a couple slices of pizza. Apparently, they showed up on the first day of this new mobile pizza wagon. The weather hasn’t been very great since then so we haven’t had a chance to go back when I was around. The thing that really sucks about that is that the Kalamazoo Gazette beat me to the story and I’ve been sitting on it for a couple weeks 😦
Since it was lunch time, we headed to Flesher Field on 9th Street across from the Post Office. We like Flesher Field anyway because there is a play area more L’s size. We like it even more now with pizza.
When we pulled in tot he parking lot, Camzies Pizza had the truck set up right near the entrance. We pulled into a parking space a few spots down then headed over to check out the menu.
The pizzas come in three sizes. There’s a personal pizza, a nine inch, and an eleven inch. We chose the eleven inch. All the pizzas come with two toppings, but we chose just to go with bacon. Read more…
TJ’s Smokehouse
2365 17 Mile Road NELong car rides alone. I do that often for work. My task last night was to drive to Newaygo. Even from Grand Rapids, Newaygo is a pretty good drive, so I decided to leave early and pick up dinner.
Last fall, a couple co-workers showed up back at the office with Styrofoam containers of BBQ. Of course, I can smell BBQ from a mile away and my nose led me in to the break room where I started asking questions. The origination of this delicious smelling BBQ was quite a ways north of Grand Rapids….but as it worked out on this trip, I could make it on my way to Newaygo.
TJ’s Smokehouse is west of Cedar Springs on the corner of 17 Mile Road and Algoma Avenue in the northwest corner of Kent County. The intersection is pretty rural but it is a four way stop and there’s a party store across the road from the restaurant.
The small metal building has a pretty large parking lot and a pavilion type covering out front with picnic tables. During the warm months, this area provides the bulk of the seating. Inside, there is only one large table big enough for a party of six.
For a small, rural BBQ joint, this place was hopping on a Thursday night. There was a family taking up the table and there were three or four people squeezed in to the remaining space waiting on to-go orders.
When I walked in, I glanced up at the menu hanging above the cash register just long enough to figure out what sides I wanted. My eyes went straight to the pork section of the menu although they also do BBQ chicken sandwiches and hamburgers. Read more…
Press Release – Dairy Queen Introduces Five Buck Lunch
From a Pierson Grant PR press release….
The Dairy Queen® System Offers More Bang and Bite with
SW Michigan Launch of New Value Lunch
$5 Buck Lunch features mouthwatering menu options and a signature DQ® sundae
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Dairy Queen® system just launched its new $5 Buck Lunch, available daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at participating locations. Fans have a choice of a ¼ lb. 100-percent beef GrillBurger™ topped with melted cheese, thick-cut tomato, fresh green leaf lettuce, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayonnaise served on a warm toasted bun; 100-percent whole-tenderloin white meat 3-piece chicken strips meal with your choice of dipping sauce; or an all-beef Chili Cheese Dog topped with melted cheese. All options are served with hot, crisp and tasty golden fries, an icy, cold beverage and choice of a sundae with fan favorite toppings ranging from hot fudge, chocolate syrup, caramel, peanut butter and marshmallow to banana, strawberry, cherry and pineapple. For just $1 more, fans also have the option to upgrade their small sundae to a small Blizzard Treat.
The treat category leader and leader in the quick-service restaurant industry has added $5 Buck Lunch to give budget-minded consumers more bang and bite for their buck with savory lunch offerings that include, at no extra cost, a choice of sundae.
Press Release – Reserve Wine & Food Launches Lunch Service
From a Promote Michigan press release…
Reserve Wine & Food Announces New Lunch Service
(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich) – West Michigan’s award-winning Reserve Wine & Food introduced weekday lunch service, beginning April 1. Lunch hours are 11:30am-4:00pm, Monday through Friday – with Happy Hour beverage and charcuterie offerings from 4-6pm and dinner service beginning at 5pm. Saturday hours remain 4pm-1am; the restaurant is closed on Sunday.
Executive Chef Mathew Green is pleased to present a new fresh menu which includes a selection of sandwiches, lunch plates, soups, salads, sides and snacks including a fried perch sandwich, lamb Reuben, French omelet, oxtail tart and chicken Keiser salad with Great Lakes salt-cured smelt dressing. Dinner menu favorites – like pierogis, pork fat fries, heirloom lettuce salad and potato soup – are also available. The lunch menu will change regularly, reflecting the seasonal offerings from the woods, waters and farms of West Michigan and beyond.*
“People have been asking us for years to open for lunch so we are very excited to make those people happy,” says Chef Green. “We took our time developing the menu and translating what we do at dinner into a lunch menu. It’s a great showcase for our housemade charcuterie, we are featuring our own bacon, sausage, mortadella, ham, and corned lamb brisket. We are having a lot of fun with the menu and I think that is evident in the dining room.”
In 2012, Grand Rapids Magazine recognized Reserve for the “Best Restaurant Wine List” and “Best New American Restaurant” in its annual reader’s poll. In 2011, the restaurant was named a winner of OpenTable’s Diner’s Choice Awards for Top Wine Lists in the United States – one of only two restaurants in Michigan to make the list.
Located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids at 201 Monroe Avenue NW, Reserve Wine & Food offers a world-class menu fully embracing the West Michigan farm-to-table philosophy in an elegant yet casual fine dining setting.
Mr. Kozak’s Gyros
38 Washington AvenueCrazy week at work. We’ve all had those, right? Well, somehow, I got the easy assignment on Thursday night. A co-worker and I loaded up and headed to Grand Haven for a couple of hours. I was with a guy I don’t work with very often, but I like when I do. He always makes sure we get dinner…and it’s very rarely anything but a local joint.
We were looking for a deli that he thought he had seen somewhere, but we never could find it. I drove downtown hoping to find a sandwich shop we could hit up real quick either near the lake or on the main drag. We were really close to giving up and going to Culver’s when I noticed a familiar sight.
Mr. Kozak’s Gyros sits in downtown Grand Haven at the corner of Washington and 1st Street. It’s an old ice cream shack that a family from Chicago turned into authentic Chicago-Style food. The building is really small with no tables. There is a counter along the window with some bar stools and a lunch counter type deal next to the cash register that also uses bar stools.
The menu is classic Chicago style. Beef, hot dogs, and gyros among other things. I had actually eaten at a sister restaurant with the same name in Holland quite a while ago, so I knew what I was getting in to. Co-Worker had never been to nor heard of the place, but he saw the Vienna Beef sign hanging in the window and knew it would be good. Read more…
Gino’s East Pizzeria on Superior
162 E. Superior StreetAfter getting everybody settled for the night…my mom in her hospital room at Northwestern Memorial and my dad in our room at the Red Roof Inn, I wanted pizza. Gino’s East was only a three block walk from our hotel so I didn’t even give my dad a choice. I told him what I was ordering for dinner and he could eat it or go hungry (how many times you think he said that to me over the last 30 years?).
Gino’s East is one of the “Big Three” when it comes to Chicago pizza and the only one of the three I have never had. I’ve eaten at Lou Malnati’s and Giordano’s many times over the years, but there has never been a Gino’s East close to me.
The location closest to me on this unexpected trip downtown also happens to be the original. It’s on Superior Street a little over a block of the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue) in one of the busiest parts of downtown Chicago.
As my dad was checking in to the hotel, I found a quiet spot in the lobby and looked up a phone number on my iPhone. I put in my order for a large deep dish sausage patty pizza. I was told it would take 45-50 minutes and it would cost a little over $30. Sounds like a long wait and a lot of money for a pizza, but once you see this pizza, both of those make sense.
I ran a couple errands before heading to the pizza joint to pick up my dinner. I got some popcorn at Garrett’s and picked up our bags from my truck in the parking ramp at the hospital and still had a little time, so I hit up the ice machine and the vending machine back at the hotel then headed out while talking to J for the first time all day to make that three block walk.
I really would have liked to eat in at Gino’s, but I had been up for almost 34 hours at that point and I really wanted to take advantage of being able to watch a White Sox game on TV. My dad couldn’t really get around anyway, so the less walking he had to do the better. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 