Chick’n & Fix’ns
6333 S. Cedar StreetI’ve spent a lot of time on the road for work the past couple of weeks. I really don’t mind. Sometimes it’s fun to go news places.
Earlier this week, I didn’t really go to a “new” place. I went to Lansing for the day. I call it not a “new” place because I lived there for about a year and a half. In fact, the predecessor to this blog was all about the Lansing area dining scene.
I’ve only been back to Lansing a handful of times since moving to Kalamazoo….and the dining scene has changed quite a bit. I sort of took the long way downtown and got off I-96 at Cedar Street instead of taking I-496. We used to live off Cedar Street and I wanted to see what has changed in the three years since we moved.
There were quite a few new places and quite a few places that have changed names and/or locations. I was just arriving in town around 2:30 and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. I remembered quite a while back one of the readers from the old blog, who still reads this blog, suggested a chicken place on Cedar Street. I’m not sure if I found the one he was talking about or not, but I did find a chicken place that wasn’t there when I lived there.
Chick’n & Fix’ns is on South Cedar Street just south of Edgewood Boulevard. I’m pretty sure, and I’m working from memory here, the building used to be a Long John Silver’s. I’m not a fan of good seafood let alone fast food seafood, so I never ate there…hell, I think it was closed most of the time we were there. Read more…
Press Release – Brew and View at Greenbush Brewing Co.
From Greenbush Brewing Company’s Facebook page…. (I love Spaceballs, btw)
We’re holding our very first brew & view movie screening in the taproom next Tuesday, November 13 starring SPACEBALLS, a favorite of, well, everyone.
We’re starting the show at 8 p.m. sharp and working on getting a popcorn popper in here for everyone’s enjoyment. Either way, come hang out with us, Captain Lone Starr, Barf, Princess Vespa, Lord Helmut, Pizza the Hutt and many more next Tuesday night!
Oh yeah, and it’s FREE!
Board game night will still run from 5-8 p.m. that evening.
Press Release – 3rd Annual Fair Food Food Fair
From a Fair Food Matters press release…
Food, glorious food! 3rd Annual Fair Food Food Fair takes place November 15
The 3rd Annual Fair Food Food Fair will take place on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 6-9 p.m. at the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan Program & Training Center (601 W. Maple St., Kalamazoo).
Proceeds benefit Fair Food Matters, which works to improve the physical, economic and social health of the community through local food.
Once again, the Fair Food Food Fair will be a celebration of local food, with more than a dozen chefs competing for the coveted “Golden Ladle Award” for the best appetizer made with local ingredients. Michigan-made beer, wine and cider will be available, along with several surprise local food products.
The event will also feature a silent auction, live music from Red Tail Ring, plus the presentation of the William R. Wood Locavore of the Year Award.
Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Admission for students (high school or university) is $20 in advance and $30 at the door. Advance tickets and more information are available by visiting www.fairfoodmatters.org.
Press Release – Thanksgiving at Martell’s and Fieldstone Grill
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release…
| WHY COOK THIS THANKSGIVING? VISIT US AND WE’LL DO ALL THE WORK!
Martell’s and Fieldstone Grill will be open on Thanksgiving Day and are currently taking reservations. Each restaurant will offer a special holiday menu. Want to spend the holiday at home but don’t feel like cooking? …Both Martell’s and Fieldstone Grill also offer a complete Thanksgiving meal to go. Orders must be placed by Tuesday, November 20. |
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Qdoba Mexican Grill – 25 Michigan
25 Michigan Street NE #1100Sometimes, I just feel like tacos. Not real tacos or anything, but just the tacos that the Mexican chain restaurants offer. I kind of go back and forth between Chipotle and Qdoba and since there’s a hidden Qdoba close to where I work, Qdoba won out for dinner.
I say “Hidden Qdoba” because the Qdoba in downtown Grand Rapids is one you could drive right by and not even realize it. Unless you know it’s there, you’ll never find it.
The address is 25 Michigan which is a pretty prominent building on the Medical Mile. The Qdoba is part of the food court at 25 Michigan. There’s no signage or any indication from the street that the Qdoba is actually there. In fact, it’s not just Qdoba. There’s also a Smashburger and a Zoup!
The downside to this location is you pretty much have to park in the parking garage attached to 25 and 35 Michigan. If you dine in, you’ll end up paying a few bucks to park. I got lucky on this trip due to the fact I was in and out in less than ten minutes. When I stuck my ticket in the machine to pay, it kicked it back out at me and said I didn’t owe anything.
The Qdoba is the first of the three restaurants you’ll see when you come down the hall from the elevators. All three restaurants share a cafeteria style dining area. It’s kind of set up like a mall food court. Each restaurant has their own space, but after getting your food, you go to a common area to eat. Read more…
Old Burdick’s at Wings West
5076 Sports DriveJ and I haven’t spent a lot of time together recently. Our work schedules seem to be overlapping quite a bit and it’s not uncommon for her to be walking in the house as I’m walking out and vice versa.
I got home really late again last night. It was almost 3:00 AM by the time my head hit the pillow. Needless to say, I slept pretty late. When I stumbled up stairs to see what J and L were doing, I found an empty living room. They had gone back to bed for a nap.
J heard me and we started a Facebook chat conversation (really common for us) so we wouldn’t wake L up who was still napping. She said when L woke up, she’d like to go out to lunch. Sounded good to me.
L woke up about fifteen minutes later, so I picked her up, changed her diaper, and got her dressed. J and I got ready as well. When we got in the car, we still didn’t know where we were going…but we knew we were going somewhere for lunch.
As I was pulling out of the driveway, I asked J if she wanted to go to the “other Burdick’s.” The one we hadn’t been to yet. She didn’t really know what I was talking about. She actually thought I was talking about the one that used to be at Wings Stadium. We had tried to eat at that one when the Curling Nationals were in town, but we couldn’t find it and didn’t know when it was actually open.
That wasn’t the one I was talking about. I was actually talking about Old Burdick’s at Wings West. Read more…
Papa Murphy’s – Kalamazoo Township
4315 W. Main StreetAfter picking up lunch at Blackeye Espresso Cafe, I headed a little farther north (and east) to pick up dinner. J and I had an evening planned at home…passing out candy…and I wanted to do something simple for dinner. My first thought was just to order in pizza, but after thinking about it, I had a better idea.
We haven’t done Papa Murphy’s very often in the past, but I’ve always been happy with it when we have. There’s a store on West Main Street right next to Smashburger that we’ve never been to, so I headed there to pick up a couple dinner pizzas.
I don’t think I really need to explain the Take ‘n Bake concept so I’ll just skip over that. It makes sense to know that the shop is set up like a sandwich shop moreso than a pizza joint. There is no seating because they don’t actually cook the pizzas. You take then home and bake them yourself (hey, I just explained Take ‘n Bake). Read more…
Press Release – Pie Class at Food Dance
From a Food Dance email blast….
Just click to make event reservations
Press Release – Can Do Kitchen at Art Hop
From a Fair Food Matters press release…
Please join us at the Can-Do Kitchen (511 Harrison) on Friday, November 2nd from 5-8pm as you hop around downtown and beyond.The River’s Edge district is becoming an Art Hop destination and we don’t want you to miss out. See us all on Facebook, River’s Edge Art Hop.What will be be cookin’ at this Art Hop?You’ll get a chance to meet Brazilian Oven, Fizzy Bread & Dips, Cutie’s Sweet Creations, The Adventures of Barb & Tammy, Unique Eats, DoughChicks, and TCB Food Processing.Get your taste buds ready for gluten-free cheese bread, sweet potato tart, granolas, nut mixes, bread and dips, vegetarian meatballs and meatloaf, energy cookies, raw treats, asparagus salsa and more!Can you handle more? We are unveiling the very first Can-Do Kitchen Gift Boxes! Pre-order the Halftime Box, Good Morning Sunshine Box, and Sweet Tooth Box as great gifts for friends and family this season.We’re excited to have the MRC Artists’ Co-op create food-themed artwork to liven up our walls. Their artists are prolific and talented; their creations will bring a smile to your face.
Please spread this far and wide!
Blackeye Espresso Cafe
7000 Stadium Drive #201It seems like there have been a lot of little shops open up lately that specialize in something other than lunch, but offer a few sandwiches. Most of these are coffee shops and since I’m not a coffee person, it always takes me a while to go.
Earlier this summer, a new coffee shop opened on Stadium Drive in the Village Place Plaza. I believe it’s in the same spot that used to be the Coffee Bar as there are still some of the old signs on the awnings.
The cafe is run by a brother/sister duo. Their focus is espresso, smoothies, frappes, cold brewed-iced coffee and pour overs. Unfortunately, none of that really sounds good to me, but coffee drinking friends have told me the drinks are amazing.
The Blackeye Espresso Cafe is quite huge for a coffee house. There a large open floor plan with the coffee counter sort of in the middle. When I popped in around 1:30 on a Wednesday afternoon, there were quite a few people doing the typical coffee house thing…working on the laptops (Mac’s, of course), doing crossword puzzles, or just having a conversation in front of the fire place.
Since my only reason for stopping in was to grab a bite to eat, my eyes went right to the panini section of the menu. It’s not very big. There’s only three sandwiches on the menu. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 