Garrett Popcorn Shops – Michigan Avenue
625 N. Michigan AvenueAfter a long day at the hospital, my dad I headed to our hotel to get some sleep. Northwestern Memorial has deals with surrounding hotels for discounted rates for hospital patrons. When my mom went up for a pre op appointment a couple weeks ago, she walked down to the Red Roof Inn to reserve a room for my dad and I.
My dad still has a bum ankle so I didn’t want to make him walk anymore than I had to. It is about a two block walk from the hospital to the hotel and that was pretty tough on him, but he wouldn’t let me take the car out of the parking ramp. It was going to be cheaper just to leave it at the hospital overnight instead of using the valet at the hotel.
We didn’t have our overnight bags with us though, so I offered to go back and get them after we checked in.
Once my dad was in the room, I headed back out to get our bags. As I was walking out of the hotel, I noticed a pink awning across the street. It caught my eye because of the bright color, but it was the words on that awning that made me dodge traffic to get to it.
The word on that awning was “Garrett” as in Garrett Popcorn Shop. As a Chicago native, J will tell you there is no better popcorn in the world. So many places attempt the “Chicago Mix,” but no one does it as well as Garrett’s.
Since it was fairly early on a Thursday evening, there wasn’t a huge line. My mom told me later she stopped in there one day on a weekend and there was a line out the door. Read more…
Au Bon Pain – Feinberg Pavillion
251 E. Huron StreetSooooo, did not plan on going to Chicago this week. I found out a couple weeks ago my mom was going to have surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago. It was a pretty simple procedure, but I still wanted to be there. Fortunately, I have a job that understands and encouraged me to make the trip.
My parents aren’t really Chicago drivers. They go to Northwestern quite a bit, but they always take a train or have one of my cousins drive them. They can do it if they need to, but it’s just not something they like doing.
To add to that, my dad actually has a broken foot right now, so he can’t drive anyway…and my mom wouldn’t be able to drive home after surgery, so there was no way they could take a car. I offered to come all the way home and drive them. That meant leaving my job in Grand Rapids, driving to Kalamazoo to pick up my truck and an overnight bag, driving three hours to my parents house south of Chicago, resting and trying to sleep for two hours then making the hour and fifteen minute drive back in to the city. When it was all said and done, I was up for about 34 hours without getting to sleep.
After my mom was taken in to surgery, my dad and I got comfortable in the waiting room. Once we were told surgery had actually started, my dad asked if I would run down to the second floor and get him something to drink. He is in a walking cast, but he walks incredibly slow and struggles with it, so he really didn’t want to walk anymore than he had to. I wanted to get up anyway and get something for myself so I said yes. Read more…
Panini Express
125 S. Kalamazoo MallFor some reason lately, I’ve been drifting away from greasy burgers and going more for a sandwich. Most nights at work, I hit up the deli at Martha’s Vineyard in Grand Rapids for a pretty simple, but extraordinary Pastrmi sandwich. I’ve just been on more of a sandwich kick lately.
A few weeks ago, I got a press release about a new sandwich place opening up downtown. When J got home from work last Monday, I asked if she wanted to make a quick trip to pick up a few of these new creations.
Panini Express is brought to you buy the same people responsible for some of Kalamazoo’s great restaurants. The Union, Epic Bistro, Central City Tap House, Fieldstone Grill, Martel’s, The Wine Loft, and now Panini Express. They all fall under the Millennium Restaurant umbrella.
The newest addition is a pretty small joint. Heck, it’s really just a window inside the City Centre that is attached to The Union. There’s no seating or anything. You just kind of order from the hallway.
The window cut out is flanked by digital menu boards. The tricky thing is, the menu changes every day. They post it daily on Facebook, Twitter, and their website….so don’t get too attached to one sandwich. Read more…
Turkey Heaven
615 Capital Avenue SWEvery now and then, J has to do some things for work when she’s technically off the clock. Tuesday was one of those days. She actually took the days around her birthday off and Tuesday was still a vacation day for her, but work asked if she would do something in Battle Creek as kind of a goodwill gesture. She had no problem with it and it’s actually something she does for the station every year.
I had to get up and watch L anyway, so I asked if we could just tag along. I could keep L entertained while J did what she needed to do….then…..lunch.
I sort of had an ulterior motive when I asked J if we could tag along. A few weeks ago, I was driving from downtown Battle Creek to I-94 via Capital Avenue when I drove by a little restaurant that caught my eye.
Turkey Heaven sort of snuck up on me on Capital Avenue near the intersection with Territorial Road. It’s just about a mile or so north of the intersection with West Columbia Avenue. The small restaurant is tucked in to a standalone building that shares a parking lot with a party store. The building used to house a restaurant called Chicago Subs Express. From what I gathered on my short visit, Turkey Heaven has been in the spot about a year.
As we walked in the door, we were met by a very excited woman who made a little bit of a fuss of L (and how can you not…she’s so cute 🙂 ). The menu board is written on a large chalkboard that separates the kitchen from the dining room area. The specialty, obviously, is turkey. They have a wide variety of turkey BBQ including Turkey Ribs. If that sounds interesting to you, it should, and they are. They actually gave a little sample of the turkey ribs and they were incredibly tender and juicy. The bones aren’t nearly as big as a pork or beef rib, but the meat is very flavorful. Read more…
Press Release – Cottage Food Law Workshop
From a Fair Food Matters press release…
Fair Food Matters, MSU Extension, and MSU Product Center Offer Cottage Food Law Workshop
Kalamazoo, MI – March 19, 2013 – Fair Food Matters, a Kalamazoo non-profit, along with Michigan State University Extension and Product Center present the workshop, Starting a Cottage Law Food Business in Michigan. The workshop takes place on Saturday, April 27th from 1:30-3:30pm at 1157 Bank Street (Bank Street Bingo Hall), Kalamazoo, Michigan. The workshop fee is $30 per person. In the fall of 2013 a continuation workshop, From Cottage to Commercial, will be offered.
Nearly three years have passed since Michigan’s Cottage Food Law was approved. The law allows the preparation of certain foods in home kitchens for direct sale to the public. Michigan’s Cottage Food Law, alongside an increased demand for locally-made foods, has resulted in a plethora of new handmade Michigan foods available. The law allows those with an entrepreneurial spirit the opportunity to experiment with making and selling certain homemade food products to the public with close to no capital investment. Cottage food production can be a useful transition step in taking a food business to the commercial phase.
The Starting a Cottage Food Law Business in Michigan workshop combines the business and food safety aspects of preparing and selling cottage foods safely and successfully. At this workshop both interested and existing Cottage Food Law producers will find out what foods can be legally produced as well as how to label and sell them. Participants will learn basic food safety practices that ensure that a delicious and food-safe product is being produced. Participants will learn techniques to develop a successful small business and will earn a certificate of completion that can be displayed at sales venues. Participants will also learn about local food business incubator, the Can-Do Kitchen, which offers business support for new food businesses.
Persons with disabilities may request accommodations by calling 269-492-0261 by April 17th, to ensure sufficient time to make arrangements. Requests received after this date will be met when possible.
Pop City Popcorn
346 S. Kalamazoo MallEver wanted to get movie theater popcorn without actually going to a movie theater? Yes? Keep reading. No? Is there something wrong with you?
In the year since L was born, J and I have been out without her a grand total of five times and all five times, J’s mom was our babysitter. We knew eventually we would have to find someone local to watch L so J and I could go out to dinner.
We found that someone and since I had Tuesday night off, we decided to to finally make that leap and leave L with a babysitter.
J had never been to Old Dog Tavern and I’m always up for a good beer, so that was dinner choice for the evening. After a couple beers, J asked if there was anyplace we could go for dessert. My mind went straight to a new popcorn shop, but we had to hurry….it closed in 20 minutes.
After chugging a Will Power Ale that I had just ordered, we raced down the Kalamazoo and somehow managed to find street parking right in front of the shop we were heading to.
This new popcorn shop is Pop City Popcorn. It’s in the Peregrine Tower on the Kalamazoo Mall near West Lovell Street. Read more…
Jaspare’s Pizza and Fine Italian Food – Stadium Drive
3262 Stadium DriveLast week, while driving east on Stadium Drive, I happened to notice something different at the shopping center next to Wayside West on Kalamazoo’s west side. A familiar pizza joint popped up in the place of a so-so one.
This afternoon, Daddy Daycare got extended by a few hours. J had some errands to run that kept her out of the house pretty much all afternoon. On her way home around 4:00, she called and asked if I wanted to do pizza for dinner. She was already pretty close to home, so there was no need for her to delay. I said I’d take care of it.
Our go-to when it comes to pizza is Cottage Inn. The online ordering makes it too easy and we really like the pizza. I think she was expecting me to just order from there, but I never pass up an opportunity to try out something new.
This new pizza place should already be familiar to most in the Kalamazoo area. Jaspare’s Pizza and Fine Italian Food already has four successful stores in the area.
The newest Jaspare’s location is on Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo’s Knollwood Neighborhood. It’s in the same small store front that, until recently, was Gumby’s Pizza (or did they change their name to Goomba’s?).
We have eaten at Jaspare’s in the past. The first time was the old Portage location on the corner of Sprinkle and Kilgore not long after we moved to Kalamazoo from Lansing. The most recent time, we ordered from the Gull Road location. Read more…
Press Release – Rare Beer Dinner at Burdick’s
From an Old Burdick’s tweet…
The five beers are
Dogfish Head – Noble Rot
Rogue – Dead Guy Ale
B.Nektar – Evil Genius
Ommegang – Art of Darkness
Brewery Vivant – Hubris Belgian Quadrupel Anniversary Ale
Press Release – Eat. Drink. Give. Tonight!
From a Volunteer Kalamazoo press release….
Giving back never tasted so good.
Volunteer Kalamazoo’s annual fundraising party in full swing!KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The menu is set, the lights are dimmed and the volunteers are ready! Eat Drink Give, Volunteer Kalamazoo’s annual fundraising party, is happening on Friday, March 22nd at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo.
Formerly known as Grape Expectations, this party brings out more than 350 guests to enjoy a unique and memorable evening of food, drinks, music, fun and giving back. “We’re really excited for this year’s party. There are lots of fun additions for our guests,” says Carrie Vanderbush, executive director of Volunteer Kalamazoo. “This party proves to be a successful fundraising and friend-raiser for Volunteer Kalamazoo and generates about ten percent of our annual operating revenue. It’s incredible to live in a community that values volunteerism and giving back.”Date: Friday, March 22, 2013 Time: 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Location: Radisson Plaza Hotel, Ballroom Tickets: $60 online or at the door (21+)
EAT | Giving back never tasted so good! Participating restaurants will be serving up their tastiest culinary creations at Eat Drink Give. Restaurant sponsors include: BOLD Restaurant & Catering, Bravo!, Central City Tap House, Food Dance, Full City Cafe, Garden Gate Café, Martell’s, Old Dog Tavern, The Organic Gypsy, Pistachios Catering, People’s Food Co-op, Rustica, The Cheese Lady, Tiffany’s Wine and Spirits, The Cupcake Zoo, Water Street Coffee Joint, Webster’s PRIME, Zazios and Zeb’s Trading Co.
DRINK | Guests will find an impressive selection of beverages to sip and taste, including over fifty wines from the portfolio of Imperial Beverage and local wineries Tempo Vino Winery, Cody Kresta Vineyard & Winery and Lawton Ridge Winery; sangria from The Sangria Shop in Portage; and beer from New Holland, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Arcadia Ales and Greenbush Brewing Company. In addition, New Holland Artisan Spirits has been working with local bartenders and mixologists to offer our guests a wide variety of Signature Cocktails, while Old Dog Tavern will be sharing the spotlight with their resident mixologist The Traveling Elixir Fixer.
GIVE | This is Volunteer Kalamazoo’s annual fundraising party. Volunteer Kalamazoo has been successful in raising about ten percent of their total annual revenue from sponsorships, ticket sales, restaurants and beverage sponsors, silent auction and raffle ticket sales. Major sponsors for this year’s party are Fifth Third Bank, Imperial Beverage, New Holland Artisan Spirits, Big Lyle’s Big Events and the Radisson Plaza Hotel at Kalamazoo Center. Supporting sponsors are Armstrong International, Administrative Systems, Inc., Forensic Fluids, Mlive Media Group/Kalamazoo Gazette, ServPro of E. & W. Kalamazoo County and Zhang Financial. A complete list of sponsors is available online.
Back by popular demand, Volunteer Kalamazoo will host an official After Party called Eat Drink Dance sponsored by Alpha Omega Events. Dance the night away with Scott “The Hurricane” Herriman from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am. $15 cover includes: DJ, dancing and cash bar. (21+) Proceeds benefit Volunteer Kalamazoo. New downtown shop Pop City Popcorn will be there serving up samples of their tasty popcorn.
Press Release – Fair Food Matters Blind Pig Dinner….
I got this yesterday, so there may be less than the seven tickets left. From a Fair Food Matters email….
Blind Pig SupperThere are only 7 tickets left…6 courses, only 7 tickets remainThe menu is still a mystery. You’re at the mercy of Chefs Robb Hammond and Matt Millar.Saturday, March 23rd at 7:00pmLocation will be disclosed only to ticket-holders. Learn more and become a ticket-holder.All proceeds benefit Fair Food Matters
SW Michigan Dining 