Joe Boston’s Italian Beef
2932 W. Chicago AvenueAnyone that follows this blog closely knows my love affair with the Chicago sandwich staple, the Italian beef. I try to make it to one of my favorite Italian beef places every time we go home. There’s an Al’s Beef just down the street from my in-laws and that happens to be my favorite place, so I get there often, but with any good food, it’s good to branch out and try what others think is the best in town.
I really had a pretty short list of places I wanted to try. There was the original Al’s downtown, Mr. Beef, Maxwell Street and Boston’s.
My plan for tonight was to head down to Revolution Brewing, but when I got down there are 6:00, the place was already packed. There were no seats at the bar and there was already a 45 minute wait for a table. I didn’t want to tie up a table and I wasn’t really in to waiting in a packed restaurant by myself, so I went to my back up. I can always use a good Italian beef.
I actually first heard about Boston’s on the Food Network program The Best Thing I Ever Ate. The topic was “Meat Fest” and celebrity chef and Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef Art Smith picked an Italian beef place in Humbolt Park that I had never heard of. Read more…
Taco John’s – Bourbonnais, IL
562 William R. Latham Senior DriveJ and I had some vacation days we had to burn before the end of the year, so we set it up so we would both have a long weekend. I took Friday and Saturday off, while she took Monday and Tuesday. For the first time in a really long time, we didn’t leave Kalamazoo at midnight to make the trip back to the Chicago area. Instead, we left around noon after J got off of work.
Last time we went home, the car ride was pretty awful. L didn’t really sleep at all and she was either teething or had an ear ache because she cried most of the way. We were really hoping that didn’t happen again….and it didn’t. In fact, she was the exact opposite. She watched The Wiggles for the longest time then fell asleep about an hour and a half from my parents.
Unfortunately, I missed my exit on I-294 and had to get off on surface streets to get back to I-57. When I did that, L woke up. She still didn’t fuss and it actually worked out better for us. We wanted to stop in Bourbonnais at a fast food taco place that we can’t find in Michigan. Had she stayed asleep, we wouldn’t have stopped, but since she was awake, we took the short detour.
I don’t believe I’ve ever written about Taco John’s on this blog, but on my old one, I did get one entry. You see, Taco John’s really isn’t all that different from any other fast food taco place. They have food that is sort of Mexican, but not really. In fact, they don’t even try to hide that referring to their food as “West-Mex” instead of Mexican. Read more…
Yogi’s Restaurant
2070 E. VW AvenueBefore J and I moved to Kalamazoo, we never really had a Christmas tree. For the first couple years we were together, her mom would send us a small tree from Jackson & Perkins. After we moved to Kalamazoo, we decided to get a real tree for the first time.
Growing up, my family always had a fake tree. My mom hated the idea of vacuuming needles out of the carpet for months. When J and I first moved to Kalamazoo, we lived in an apartment and didn’t have room to store an artificial tree, so we decided to go for the real thing.
The first couple years, we picked up our tree at Badger Country Farms on Sprinkle Road. We always got good trees from that place, but last year, we decided to go somewhere else just to see what else was out there. That’s when we fell in love with Mott Farms in Vicksburg.
Like most families, we usually pick up our tree on Thanksgiving weekend. Since today was the first day that both J and I had off together, today was the day we took a drive to Vicksburg for our tree.
As we do with any trip, we found a place in Vicksburg to eat. Sure, it was a little past breakfast time (it was actually after noon), but it’s Sunday and on Sunday’s, you can eat breakfast all day. A couple friends told me about one of their favorite breakfast joints just outside of Vicksburg a few years ago and we’re just now finding an excuse to go there. Read more…
Tiffany’s Wine & Spirits
1714 W. Main StreetMy goal today was the find Bolt Cutter. I didn’t have any luck even though Founders told me several times the distribution release was today. While they could officially start distributing, it doesn’t look like many places in Kalamazoo actually got. I went to Mega Bev first….but they told me Friday.
My next stop was Tiffany’s Wine & Spirits farther down on Main. By this point, I knew Drake Party Center had gotten their shipment….they tweeted so…but they pre-sold all of theirs so there was none left. I assumed that since DPC got their delivery, Tiffany’s might have as well.
I walked around the store looking for it with no luck, but when I made my way back to the craft beer singles section, I noticed a lot of boxes stacked up like they had just been delivered. I quickly picked out the Founders boxes to see what was in them, but didn’t see one box that said Bolt Cutter on it.
I couldn’t find any employees back on the floor anywhere and I decided before heading to the cash register, I should pick up something to eat. Read more…
Happy’s Pizza – Portage
6225 S. Westnedge AvenueJ and I don’t spend as much time in Portage as we used to. When we first moved to Kalamazoo, we lived right off Kilgore, so the shopping district in Portage was a frequent stop for us. Now that we live on the West side of town, trips to Portage are only for stores that we can’t hit on West Main.
A couple weeks ago, we were driving down Westnedge and I noticed signage for a new Happy’s Pizza. Last week, I met a friend at Five Guys for lunch and saw that the place was open.
The new Happy’s Pizza is on South Westnedge just south of Milham. I’m fairly certain this building used to be a MacKenzie’s Bakery. I don’t actually think there has been anything there since J and I moved here, but for some reason, I remember seeing MacKenzie signs there and a Google search sort of backs that up.
The Portage location is the Kalamazoo area’s second Happy’s Pizza. The first is just a few miles north, also on South Westnedge just south of downtown.
Sunday dinner recently has defaulted to pizza night. I was in the mood for pizza Saturday night, but wasn’t able to get out at work to pick anything up. Since I was still in that pizza mood, I asked J if that was ok. She said it was fine as long as I ordered soon. Read more…
Beale St. BBQ
701 Riverview DriveI really don’t know what we would do if Oshtemo Township didn’t have a leaf drop off day every fall. In the past, J and I have bagged upwards of 90 bags of leaves from our backyard. For whatever reason, this year, we only did about 45. Still, I had 45 bags of leaves to get rid of.
Yesterday was the drop off day at the Oshtemo Township Park. It took me three trips in my truck to get all the bags there and afterwards, I offered to go pick up lunch.
Through our jobs, J and I both saw copies of the Western Michigan University Directory which has a plethora of coupons in the back. Since I work in Grand Rapids, no one else was really interested in any of the coupons, so I went through and clipped out what I thought we would use.
The one I’ve been the most excited about using was for a new BBQ joint on the east side of town.
Beale Street BBQ is on Riverview Drive just south of Gull Road. The building has housed many things since J and I have been in town. Most recently, I think, it went by the name The Shack. I tried several times to stop and check that place out, but I could never figure out when it was open. The hours were so sporadic and the business closed before I could get a chance to actually find it open.
Not too long ago, new signs popped up on the side of the building, but I never could tell if the place was actually open. It seems like I always drive in that area late at night, so I’ve never actually seen it open. Once I saw the coupon, I assumed they were open and really had no reason not to believe they would be open on a Saturday afternoon. Read more…
What To Do For Thanksgiving….
Here’s what I know for Thanksgiving options…..if you know of any other places doing something, let me know in the comments section…
| FIELDSTONE GRILL AND MARTELL’s
Just a few reservations left! Martell’s and Fieldstone Grill are still taking reservations for Thanksgiving Day. Fieldstone Grill has limited availability, with the majority of reservations available after 6 pm. Martell’s has limited reservations for parties of five or more and has scattered availability throughout the day. Call each restaurant directly to make your reservation. Please note that the restaurants will offer a special holiday menu this day. Running out of time but still want to have Thanksgiving at home. Both Martell’s and Fieldstone Grill offer a complete Thanksgiving meal to go. Orders must be placed by Tuesday, November 20. |
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FULL CITY CAFE
$3.99 per pound.
No need for a reservation.
First come first serve basis.
Family Style Dining at Turkeyville
Available November 22, 2012
12:00-5:00 (Reservations Required)
$17.99 per person (children 10 and under $1.00 per year)
(An 18% gratuity will be added to parties of 8 or more)
Menu: Tossed Salad, Turkey, Dressing, Potatoes, Amish Noodles, Green Beans, Cranberry Relish, Dinner Rolls, and your choice of Pumpkin Pie or Cobbler
Famous Dave’s BBQ – Grandville
4505 Canal Avenue SWOne more nice Sunday. We got lucky this past weekend and had one more nice weekend before the reality of winter sets in. J really wanted to take advantage of it and take some family pictures. We thousands (literally) pictures of L, but we don’t have any good ones of the three of us.
I called a buddy of mine from Grand Rapids and asked if he had any availability on Sunday to take some pictures for us. He had some time in the late morning, so we met at Spring Grove Park in Jamestown Township around 11 AM.
Pictures took about an hour then J and I wanted to get something to eat. I know there are still hundreds (probably literally) of restaurants I want to eat at in the Grand Rapids area, but I chose to play it safe and go to a chain.
In my defense, we were pretty close to Grandville and we do like BBQ. Those things take in consideration, we headed to Famous Dave’s BBQ.
It’s been several years since either of us have eaten at a Famous Dave’s. My family used to eat there often when there was a restaurant at the Shoppes at Grande Prairie in Peoria, IL. J has never actually eaten at one of the chain Famous Dave’s, but her family used to vacation in Hayward, WI where the original Famous Dave’s BBQ Shack is located. Read more…
Mr. T’s Party Store and Deli
1122 W. Washington StreetMore traveling for work. This time, I ended up in Greenville for a few hours. On my way in to town, I passed a gas station where I could see what looked like a kitchen from the road. The place was billed as a party store and deli so when we got done with our task in Greenville, we headed back for gas, a restroom, and a little something to eat.
Mr. T’s Party Store and Deli is on Washington Street (or M-57) to the west of downtown. For the most part, it’s a pretty typical gas station with the pretty typical gas station types of food. What makes Mr. T’s different is the large kitchen and army of pizza makers that take up one side of the building.
My co-worker and I were kind of in a hurry, so we were both pretty happy to see a number of already prepared options. I would have preferred to try a pizza, but that wasn’t in the cards this time. There were several pizzas going in and out of the oven while we were standing there and it actually took a few minutes for anyone to notice me standing there. Read more…
Press Release – Mayor Hopewell to Celebrity Bartend at The Wine Loft
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release…
CELEBRITY BARTENDER
KALAMAZOO MAYOR, BOBBY HOPEWELLIn honor of Prematurity Awareness Month, The March of Dimes andBronson Children’s Hospital bring you the 2nd Annual Celebrity Bartender Night featuring Kalamazoo Mayor, Bobby Hopewell at The Wine Loft in downtown Kalamazoo from 5:00 to 7:30 pm. Bring your friends and support the mission of March of Dimes as Mayor Hopewell mixes and pours your favorite drinks. Proceeds to benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Bronson Children’s Hospital. Light hors d’ oeuvres and cash bar available ($1 donated for each specialty drink purchased). We’ll see you here!
5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
SW Michigan Dining 