Press Release – Cider and Donuts Back at Sweetwater’s
From a Sweetwater’s Donut Mill email
We are featuring our ever-popular fall favorites including cinnamon-sugared, spicy pumpkin, powdered sugar and the traditional plain, cake donuts. To truly enjoy the taste of fall, have your favorite Sweetwater’s donuts with a glass of hot or cold tree-ripened fresh apple cider.
Enjoy your favorite fall donuts to share the season with family and fiends with a glass of delicious, apple cider!Click here for more information about Sweeetwater’s
Hurry in today, the season won’t last long!
Three store locations in Kalamazooand Battle Creek.
We’re open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
Our donuts are made freshthroughout the day.
Marta’s Fine Foods
6541 Stadium DriveI still have a list of places that have recently opened that I just haven’t had time to get to. This afternoon, J had a hair cut appointment which left me with some more Daddy-Daughter time.
By the time J left, L was almost ready for a nap. I hadn’t eaten lunch yet and just wanted a sandwich. There are a few places that have opened recently that have limited sandwich options on their menu that I haven’t been brave enough to drag J to. Since I was by myself, I figured it was time to knock one of my list.
The one I chose is a place that has been recommended to me many times since it opened last spring.
Marta’s Fine Foods is near the corner of Stadium Drive and 9th Street in Oshtemo Township. It actually took over the space that used to be Cool Beans Cafe. Marta’s is more than just a little restaurant situated in a small strip mall. It’s actually a really unique shop that happens to offer a limited lunch menu.
Marta’s specialty is European Deli meats and cheeses. They have a display pure of high end meats, cheeses, and sausages on one side of the building which they will give you small taste of to entice you to buy. The other side of the building is a small dining area with a few tables. Read more…
Uccello’s Ristorante – Wayland
700 W. Superior Street- Wayland, MI 49348
- (269) 792-8000 (Restaurant)
- (269) 792-6211 (Take-Out)
- Website
- Menu
Most nights, I’m driving past Wayland after midnight. I stop in the little town quite often to either hit up the drive thru at McDonalds or pick up some Tornados from Speedway.
On this night, I worked a somewhat normal afternoon shift. I was leaving Grand Rapids around 6:30 and I wanted a pizza. I knew there’s a pizza place in Wayland that we haven’t tried yet, so I looked them up and put in an order.
Uccello’s in Wayland is on Superior Street just to the east of the railroad tracks. To Grand Rapids readers, the Uccello’s name may sound familiar. There are four restaurants with that name, but the relationship to the Wayland restaurant is unclear. The four Grand Rapids area restaurants share a website and make no mention of the Wayland restaurant. The Wayland store has it’s own site and makes no mention of the other four.
I called in my order around 6:20. While they have a full menu of pizza, sandwiches, pastas and more, it was the pizza that I was after. I ordered a 14″ Chicago Style BBQ Pizza.
It took me about 40 minutes to make it to the restaurant after leaving a little later than I was expecting, but the pizza was going to take at least 30 minutes. The restaurant has two entrances off their large parking lot on the east side of the building. The entrance closest to Superior Street takes you in to the dining room. The back entrance is a take out counter. I love when pizza restaurants do this. You know they do a pretty good carry-out business and it’s so much easier than going in and having to deal with several people to get you to the right place.
The pizza was being boxed up as I walked in the door. I settled the $19 bill then grabbed my pizza and headed home. Read more…
Kitchen 67
1977 East Beltline Avenue NESo, I got stuck working a Sunday and it wasn’t much different than my Saturday. Not a whole lot to do. Around noon, I decided it was lunch time. Since I had some time, I decided to, for the second day in a row, do carry-out from a place I’ve been wanting to get to.
My choice today was the new concept restaurant from Brann’s. Kitchen 67 is a really unique, interesting concept they’re calling Flex Casual. It’s located on the Beltline just to the Knapp Street.
What is Flex Casual? Well, the restaurant starts out the day at 7:00 AM as a drive thru coffee place. At 10:00 AM, the restaurant opens as a fast-food style counter service (with MUCH better food than the Wendy’s right behind them). At 4:00 PM, the restaurant again changes, this time become a full service, sit-down restaurant.
Another really unique part of Kitchen 67 is all the technology. Some of the booths have iPads connected to the walls. There’s a really cool iTunes DJ that you can link to your Apple device which allows you to pick the songs that are playing in the restaurant. There are wireless charging spots that work with Verizon Qi-enabled devices. There’s a virtual Pepsi machine (which I didn’t know about and didn’t check out…now I’m kicking myself on this one). They also have a video conference center for the business man on the go as well as free high speed Internet.
I chose to hit up Kitchen 67 for lunch because the counter service is really more my kind of thing. When you walk in to the restaurant, the counter is right in front and there are large flat panel displays with the menu. While the set up may look like fast food, the food is anything but. If dining in, the meals are served on real plates and they’re plated just as the would be if you were eating during the full service dining times. Read more…
Crooked Goose Pub & Grub
355 Wilson Avenue NW Suite 600Saturday was a pretty slow night at work. It’s not often that my supervisor looks at me and says “Go enjoy dinner.” Most nights, I’m lucky if I have time to hit a drive thru.
Since I had a little extra time, I decided to do take out from a place I’ve been wanting to get to for some time.
The Crooked Goose Pub & Grub is a sister restaurant to the Twisted Rooster. The concepts are pretty similar. High quality pub food.
The Crooked Goose calls Standale home. The restaurant is at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Lake Michigan Drive in a small strip mall in front of the Meijer.
I called my order in around 5:15 and was told it would take 15-20. That’s about how long of a drive I was going to have from downtown Grand Rapids if I took surface streets, so that’s what I did.
I was met by a host as I walked in the door and he pointed me to the bar to pick up my order. The place was already right in the middle of the dinner rush as there was a line out the door and only a seat or two open at the bar.
I found one of the open bar stools and the waitress noticed me sit down right away. I told her I had called in an order and she checked a brown paper bag sitting on the counter to see if it was mine. Read more…
Press Release – Can Do Kitchen Distribution Workshop
From a Fair Food Matters Press Release…
Can-Do Kitchen offers distribution workshop for food entrepreneurs
The Fair Food Matters’ Can-Do Kitchen, the region’s only food business incubator, will present “Distribution for the Small Food Producer.” The workshop will take place Tuesday, October 16, from 4:30-6:00 p.m. at Ignertia (518 E. North St., Kalamazoo).
A strong distribution plan is critical for success in food businesses, especially as entrepreneurs “scale up” from local to regional to national distribution. Participants in this roundtable discussion will meet with distribution company representatives, small food company owners, grocery store buyers, and other experts in the field to find creative solutions to distribution strategies for food businesses.
The cost is $5-$20 at the door (sliding scale). Please register no later than October 12 by contacting Lucy Bland at lucy@fairfoodmatters.org or (269) 492-0261.
“Distribution for the Small Food Producer” is the latest in a series of workshops for food entrepreneurs, designed to build successful local food businesses and a stronger local food system.
Press Release – Millennium Dinner Theater Packages
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release……
Millennium Restaurant Group To Partner With Farmers Alley Theatre and Miller Auditorium For Dinner Theatre Package
KALAMAZOO, Mich.— Starting October 2012, Kalamazoo-based Millennium Restaurant Group will partner with Miller
Auditorium and Farmers Alley Theatre to offer theatre lovers and foodies alike Dinner & A Show, a special program for
the 2012-2013 season that allows guests to make a dinner reservation at a specific Millennium Group restaurant along
with the purchase of their ticket to a desired show. Reservations include a multi-course meal that is designed to get
guests to their show on time, it also includes tax and gratuity. Beverages will be billed separately.“Millennium Restaurant Group has been a long time supporter of arts and theatre in Kalamazoo and we are excited to
add depth to the experience of theatre enjoyment,” says Millennium Restaurant Group Partner, Shelly Pastor. “We are
also happy to partner with and support these two wonderful organizations.”To book with Miller Auditorium visit millerauditorium.com/millennium, pick your show or shows, and select a
restaurant. To book with Farmers Alley Theatre call their box office at (269) 343-2727. Due to theatre policy there are no
refunds once a Dinner & A Show package is purchased.Spitfire Grill at Farmers Alley Theatre, a show sponsored by Millennium Restaurant Group, will be the first to offer the
Dinner & A Show program on Friday, October 19 at 8 p.m. and Saturday October 20 at 8 p.m. Two and three course
dinner options will be available. An example of the Dinner & A Show menu offered by The Wine Loft:— Soup or Salad selection:
o Soup De Jour
o Poached Pair Salad
— Entree selection
o Braised Pork Medallion with wild rice pilaf and vegetable
o Seared Sea Scallops with potato cauliflower puree, caramelized leeks, chives, and salmon caviar
o Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese with brown butter, sage mornay, gruyere cheese and topped with
toasted brioche crumbs
— Dessert selection only included in three course dinner package
o Flourless Chocolate Torte
o Tiramisu“As a local, independent operator, we feel it is important to support organizations such as Farmer’s Alley Theatre and
Miller Auditorium because they too are independent, locally owned operations and they bring energy and life to
Downtown Kalamazoo,” says Millennium Restaurant Group Partner, Matthew Burian. “When we support local business,
we support a healthy downtown which benefits us both the organization and the community.”Notable features of the ‘Dinner & A Show’ program include:
Five restaurants to choose from: Martell’s, Epic Bistro, The Union Cabaret & Grille, Fieldstone Grill, and The
Wine Loft— Two course $25 menus and three course $30 menus offered at each location with varied offerings (limited
reservations available at each location, per show)–Convenient one-stop-shopping for booking theatre ticket and restaurant reservation
The detailed show schedule is as follows:Show Date/Time Theatre
Spitfire Grill Oct. 19 – Oct. 20, 2012 (times vary) Farmers Alley Theatre
West Side Story Nov. 13- Nov. 14, 2012 (7:30 p.m.) Miller Auditorium
My Way Nov. 30 – Dec. 23, 2012 (times vary) Farmers Alley Theatre
Bill Cosby Jan. 12, 2013 (8 p.m.) Miller Auditorium
Les Miserables Jan. 29 – Jan. 30, 2013 (8 p.m.) Miller Auditorium
Gold Company Feb. 9, 2013 (8 p.m.) Miller Auditorium
The Whipping Man Feb. 8 – Feb. 24, 2013 (times vary) Farmers Alley Theatre
Rain Feb. 22, 2013 (8 p.m.) Miller Auditorium
Hair Feb. 26 – Feb. 27, 2013 (7:30 p.m.) Miller Auditorium
American Idiot March 26, 2013 (7:30pm) Miller Auditorium
The 39 Steps Apr. 12 – Apr. 28, 2013 (times vary) Farmers Alley Theatre
Next to Normal June 7 – June 23 (times vary) Farmers Alley Theatre
Life Could Be a Dream July 19 – Aug. 11 (times vary) Farmers Alley TheatreThis unique program for the 2012-2013 season has never been offered like this in Kalamazoo. Reservations that are
booked along with show tickets include a multi-course meal that are designed to get guests to their show on time.
You’re invited out for Dinner & A show in Kalamazoo all “season” long. For more information please call Millennium
Restaurant Group at (269) 375-1193. To purchase tickets and make a reservation, visit millerauditorium.com/millennium
or call Farmer’s Alley Theatre Box Office at (269) 343-2727.
The Green Well Gastro Pub
924 Cherry Street SEI know…Grand Rapids really isn’t on the way to Kalamazoo from Frankenmuth, but let me explain. About the time we got to Lansing, J asked how far out of the way Grand Rapids would be. We were just talking about needing to make a trip that way one Monday afternoon when I was off, but since we were already out and on the road…and L was sleeping, J suggested we just keep going West on I-96 instead of cutting back south to go home.
The reason we needed to go to Grand Rapids was to make a quick stop at Hop Scotch Children’s Store. We cloth diaper L and Hop Scotch had the brand of diapers that we use on sale.
After buying six new Flip diaper covers, J asked about lunch. We had talked about going to Brewery Vivant, but J wasn’t really wild about the dinner menu. My next suggestion was The Green Well, but again, J was worried about L. From the outside, it doesn’t look like a really kid friendly place, but I pushed her to try it. If they didn’t have high chairs, we’d find someplace else.
The Green Well is in Grand Rapids’ Eastown on Cherry Street just to the west of Diamond Avenue. The restaurant is a perfect fit in the Eastown area. It’s a LEED certified building whose focus is on local sourcing food. Read more…
T. Dub’s
565 S. Main StreetBefore heading back to Kalamazoo after our quick weekend trip to Frankenmuth, we wanted to hit up the Birch Run Premium Outlets. J was hungry and wanted to do breakfast first. Of course, my first thought was Tony’s I-75 Restaurant right across the street from the Outlets…but seriously, who needs that much bacon…and I would be way too tempted.
The next idea was Oma’s Restaurant inside the Bavarian Inn Lodge where we were staying. Had we not seen a little restaurant downtown the day before, we probably would have went to Oma’s.
Instead, we went to T. Dub’s which is on South Main Street in downtown Frankenmuth where Main meets Rosstal Street. There’s a small alleyway that leads to a large, shared parking lot behind the businesses which had ample parking on a Monday morning.
We entered the restaurant from the back. We walked down a long hallway to the dining room and waited to see if we were going to be seated or if we should just find a table.
The kitchen is an open concept and the cook saw us standing there. He told us to take a seat and a waitress would be right behind us. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 