Junction Pizza & Subs
9170 US Highway 31My job really takes me all over West Michigan. I started my day in Holland, but also made a stop in Grand Haven later in the evening. I didn’t have a lot of time between job sites, but man was I hungry.
As I was heading up US 31, I knew there was a Mobil station with a Subway just off the road. I was heading there until I came to a Marathon station with a pizza joint inside.
Junction Pizza & Subs is inside the Marathon station on US 31 just south of Stanton Street in West Olive. I didn’t really have high expectations for the place. I was just really hoping they had pizza slices or something I could grab real quick.
I needed gas first then I had to find a bathroom. After that, I grabbed a Mt. Dew from the gas station cooler then headed back towards the entrance to the space taken up by the pizza place. While they have a rather large menu with a number of specialty pizzas and toasted subs, I was in a hurry and just hoped for a slice.
Lucky for me, they had just what I was looking for. I opened up the warming case and grabbed two slices of pepperoni pizza. In another warming case right next to the pizza were bags of Bosco Sticks. I had no idea what Bosco sticks were but I assumed they were some sort of bread sticks so I grabbed a bag and headed to the cashier. Read more…
Mr. Kozak’s II
321 E. 8th StreetEnded up with a co-worker in Holland tonight and man, was I hungry. I don’t usually stop and eat when I’m with someone else on the job, but I was hungry.
As we were coming through downtown Holland, I asked if it was ok for me to stop and grab a sandwich. She was hungry too and had no objection.
Mr. Kozak’s II is on 8th Street just to the east of downtown. It’s a really small building with not much more than an order counter and some bar stools lined up around a counter facing the windows. They claim to be a “Chicago style” place and the minimalist decoration is a good start.
Co-worker took a little bit longer to decide than I did, so I stepped up to the counter to order. I stepped up to the counter, but the two workers in the kitchen did not. They kept working on whatever it was they were working on for another couple of minutes before someone finally came up to take my order.
I stuck with what I know best and ordered an Italian beef with hot peppers and a large order of fries. I didn’t ask for it dipped because I didn’t know if we were going to dine in or just take it back to work. We ended up just eating there and luckily, the sandwich came out very wet. The bun was a pretty solid hoagy roll that held up to the wetness. I sat down, ney, stood right next to a napkin dispenser and I used quite a few. The beef itself was tender and juicy, but seemed to come out of a bag and reheated. The hot peppers were spot on. A nice mix of pickled veggies. Read more…
Press Release – German Wine Tasting at Wine Loft Tonight
From a Millennium Restaurant Group email
Friday, July 27, 5pm-7pm
Join us for a casual strolling-style wine tasting with Mr. Paul Mann of 10 different wines
Just $5 per person!
Paul Mann was born in a German speaking wine village in Hungary. In 1965, Paul immigrated to the United States, and in 1975, started his own wine wholesale and import business. He is still active today with Imperial Beverage.
For more than four decades, Paul Mann has been synonymous in Michigan with fine wines. His tasting skills are legendary, having been honed by over 160 buying trips to Europe and South America since 1968. Paul has been honored with memberships in what should be considered among the more prestigious wine consortiums in world: The Chevaliers du Tastevin, The Commanderie de Bordeaux and the Cavaiere del “Ordine de l’Tartufo e di vini di Alba”. By the French government, Paul has been awarded the Order Du MeriteAgricole.
Mr. Mann will be with us on Friday July 27 for a presentation of German White wines in a casual-strolling tasting.
From a Fair Food Matters press release….
Harvest Fest musical fundraiser coming to Old Dog Tavern
Two very different musical ensembles will perform on Saturday, July 28 beginning at 9 p.m. at Old Dog Tavern (402 E. Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo), with proceeds benefiting the Southwest Michigan Community Harvest Fest.
Michigan Hiryu Daiko will demonstrate the ancient art of Japanese Taiko (“great drum”). For six centuries, the beat of these massive drums, ranging from one foot to six feet in diameter, could be heard over great distances and historically was used as a means of communication.
Then, Highway 20 will take the stage. This Kalamazoo-based band plays a blend of country and rock.
Doors open at 8 p.m. If weather permits, the performances will take place in Old Dog Tavern’s new outdoor garden.
The $5 cover will help support the Southwest Michigan Community Harvest Fest, an annual, community-wide celebration of local food, local farming and sustainable living.
The 10th annual Harvest Fest will take place on Sunday, September 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Tillers International, 10515 East OP Avenue, Scotts, Michigan. This year’s event will focus on food justice and food sovereignty, and will feature keynote speaker Malik Yakini, executive director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, as well as music, food, demonstrations and family tent activities.
Press Release – Taste of Grand Rapids
From a Clear Channel Media press release…..
101.3 THE FOX, STAR 105.7 AND B-93 TO HOST A FREE
BATTLE OF THE TASTE BUDS JULY 27 AND 28
Emerging Country Music Singer Kristen Kelly to Perform
Area Restaurants to serve Local Delicacies
(Grand Rapids, MI – July 12, 2012)-– A flavor explosion will hit John Ball Park at the 14th annual Taste of Grand Rapids featuring a state-sanctioned barbecue competition, non-stop entertainment, and a wide variety of food from 26 local restaurants. 101.3 The Fox, Star 105.7 and B-93 will host the event Friday, July 27 from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, July 28 from 11 a.m. to 10p.m.
“There are many reasons to come to the Taste of Grand Rapids,” said Tim Faegan, Event Director. “From the children’s area, to the live entertainment, to the food and wine pairing and the beer, there truly is something for everyone. Not to mention it’s free to attend. Above all, the food is the real star of the show, and the main attraction.”
The Taste of Grand Rapids will include live, family-friendly entertainment and will feature Kristen Kelly, an emerging country singer signed to Arista Nashville, on Saturday night. A new artist on B-93, Kelly released her debut single “Ex-Old Man” earlier this year and recently joined Brad Paisley on his Virtual Reality World Tour. Taste of Grand Rapids proudly welcomes her as one of Nashville’s hottest, up-and-coming artists to wow the audience. Event hosts will include 101.3 The Fox on Friday and Star 105.7 and 93.7 B-93 on Saturday.
Visitors will also enjoy a state-sanctioned barbecue competition in which the best of the Midwest will compete for the State of Michigan Barbecue Champion title. Teams will compete by serving up their best barbecue ribs, chicken, pork, side dishes and more. The winner will advance to Kansas City to compete for a national title against teams from across the country.
The entertainment lineup includes:
Friday, July 22:
3:00p……Tomas Esparza Blues Experience
4:00p……GR Acoustic Song Writers
5:00p……Thirsty Perch Blues Band
6:00p……Karisa Wilson
7:00p……Lee Weemhoff
8:00p……Mark Sala
9:00p……Lucas Wilson
Saturday, July 23:
11:00a……The Old Timers
12:15p……Stand Mroz & Band
1:30p……The Old Timers/Stan Mroz & Band
Jam Session
2:00p……On the Beach Band
3:00p……BBQ Competition Awards
4:00p……Cold Cash Machine
5:00p……Daredevil Circus
6:00p……Viper Road
7:00p……Shelagh Brown
8:00p……Tyler Farr
9:00p……Kristen Kelly
Grand Rapids flavors will be available from the following restaurants:
Families will enjoy free admission, parking and entertainment during the Taste of Grand Rapids. Attendees will be able to use food tickets to purchase popular dishes from each restaurant. Food tickets will be available in packages: four tickets for $5, eight tickets for $10, and 16 tickets for $20.For more information about Taste of Grand Rapids, visithttp://www.b93.com/common/taste-of-grand-rapids.
Gilmore Car Museum
6865 W. Hickory Road- Hickory Corners, MI 49060
- (269) 671-5089
- Website
I really don’t know why it’s taken us so long to take my parents here. From the first time I visited the Gilmore Car Museum last summer, I knew my dad would love it.
My parents came for their monthly visit to see their youngest grand child and I didn’t want to spend the day sitting around the house. I sent an email to my dad Friday night and told him I was planning on taking them to look at classic cars. My dad was on born and my mom would be happy as long as she got to see L and eventually make a stop at Meijer.
After breakfast in Hickory Corners, we made the short drive down the road to the Gilmore Car Museum. The sprawling museum campus sits on the corner of Hickory Road and M-43 in Barry County. The story of the museum itself is pretty incredible. The namesake, Donald Gilmore started his classic car collection with a 1920 Pierce-Arrow restoration project given to him as a present from his wife. From there, he amassed a collection of 30 cars, bought the farmland that currently houses the museum and started moving barns to the property to display the growing collection.
We pulled in to the parking lot right around noon on a Sunday. There were quite a few cars in the new parking area in front of the new entrance building. When I was at the museum last, this building was still under construction. This new building, called the Gilmore Heritage Center is climate controlled and houses the main entrance, a gift shop, a multi-media theater, a research library, and archives in addition to exhibit space. It’s actually connected to the steam barn which houses a collection of cars from the 1890’s-1915. This is also the area where Kalamazoo’s auto history is on display with the Checker Cab Company cars and some early cars from other companies. Read more…
Press Release – Farm To Fork Featuring Eaters’ Guild
From a Food Dance email
CLOSER. FRESHER. BETTER. AND EXTRA SPECIAL.
Land stewards, Lee and Laurie Arboreal of the Eaters’ Guild Farm, have spent 8 seasons on their Bangor, MI certified organic farm with their chickens, ducks and goats. While you may never see the land for yourself, their crisp spinach, spring mix, cooking greens and radishes are featured in a number of our dishes. Discover the true richness of organic growing in this delicious 4-course meal. $50 per person
Just click to make event reservations.
Hickory Timber Inn
14576 Kellogg School Road- Hickory Corners, MI 49060
- (269) 671-4996
- No Known Website
- Menu
This weekend is the one weekend a month my parents come for a day to see their youngest grand child. For the most part, they’d be fine with just sitting around the house doing nothing, but that’s boring. I like to take them around the area and show them a lot of the great things Southwest Michigan has to offer.
Today’s trip was one that was long overdue. Ever since we moved to Kalamazoo, I’ve been telling my parents we needed to go to the Gilmore Car Museum. Today, we finally did just that.
Before the museum though, we needed to get breakfast. I was really hungry and have a list of places in the Plainwell area I would like to go, but instead, I chose to go out closer to Gilmore and check out the Hickory Timber Inn.
The Hickory Timber Inn is on the corner of Kellogg School Road and Hickory in Barry County’s Hickory Corners. Like my dad said later, the building is “nothing fancy.” It’s an old two story wood building with a large porch. Half of the bottom floor is the restaurant while the other half is an antique shop. The upper floor is apartments.
The restaurant is divided in to two areas. When you walk in the door, you’ll find booths and a few larger tables. The room to the right is all tables and was pretty empty when we walked in. Read more…
Taqueria San Jose
1338 S. Division Avenue- Grand Rapids, MI 49507
- (616) 284-2297
- No Known Website
- Menu
All I knew was that I was hungry. I didn’t really know what I wanted. I was actually heading towards a soul food place only to show up in the parking lot to find a completely new, non-restaurant business in it’s place.
That was a little disappointing, but I was also sort of craving tacos. A co-worker had just shown up to work with Chipotle, but I had just eaten there two days prior, so I wanted something else.
For several months (hell, maybe even years), I’ve been driving by a small Taqueria in an old drive-in on South Division Avenue just south of Hall Street in Grand Rapids. I just read a pretty positive review about the place on Eating Our Way Through Grand Rapids. While I’ve always been curious about the place, I never had the courage to stop in.
Taqueria San Jose is in what looks like an old A & W Drive-in. They don’t really use the drive-in part of the property for anything other than parking. There is some outside seating, but you still need to go in to order.
The small building houses about half a dozen tables with a small order window cut out of the wall in the corner opposite the door. The menu is written on a dry erase board. Read more…
Press Release – White Party at Wine Loft Tonight!
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release….
SW Michigan Dining 