Niko’s Breakfast Club – Oak Lawn, IL
4002 W. 111th StreetMan, I’m a week behind on getting this blog posts up. I’ve learned in the last few months that babies make you tired.
Last weekend, J and I both took a few days off to spend with our families. We prefer to drive overnight when we go home, so when I got off work Thursday night, we loaded up the Ford and headed towards J’s parents in Oak Lawn, IL.
Our plan was to spend Friday and Saturday at my parents a little farther south, but J’s parents makes a good stopping point in the middle of the night.
Before heading to my parents, I told J we should go out to breakfast with her mom. Everyone seemed to like that idea.
Just recently, J’s mom found out that one of their neighbors owned a breakfast joints just a few blocks down the road. They had never been there, so we decided to go check the place out.
Niko’s Breakfast Club is in a strip mall on the corner of 111th and Pulaski in Oak Lawn (there’s also a location on Weber Road in Romeoville). With a name like Niko’s, we were expecting a little Greek diner. While the food was typical of a Greek joint, the decor was not. Read more…
From an Experience Grand Rapids press release….
ON TAP FOR JULY: GRAND RAPIDS AREA BREWERIES CREATE “BEER CITY PALE ALE”
Brew produced in celebration of city’s new Beer City USA title and Craft Beer Month (GRAND RAPIDS, MI – June 25, 2012) – Grand Rapids has yet another reason to toast the town. Ten area breweries have teamed to create Beer City Pale Ale, a new craft beer produced in celebration of both the city’s newest title and Craft Beer Month beginning July 1.“The breweries came together in a fun and fitting way to honor Grand Rapids’ newest claim to fame as ‘Beer City USA’ and July’s month-long celebration of craft beer. Cheers to each of them for such a creative and collaborative approach to making the most of these well-deserved accolades,” said Experience Grand Rapids President Doug Small.
The breweries collaborated on a recipe that resulted in a red pale ale, amply hopped with all Michigan grown cascade and nugget hops. Each brewery produced their own version of the beer, which they will offer on tap throughout July.
Participating breweries include Harmony Brewing Company, The Hideout Brewing Company, White Flame Brewing Company, Jaden James Brewing Company, Michigan Beer Cellar, Pike 51, The BOB, HopCat, Founders, and Schmohz.
According to Barry VanDyke of Harmony Brewing Company, a “few other bars lucky enough to get their hands on a keg will sell the beer as well.”
Last month, Grand Rapids was named “Beer City USA 2012” in a nationwide poll. The city shares the crown with Ashville, N.C. following a dead heat tie. In recognition of the burgeoning industry across the state, the Michigan State Legislature designated July as Craft Beer Month.
Experience Grand Rapids has paid tribute to the area’s craft beer community with its newly created Beer City USA logo and the addition of a Cool City. Great Beer. page to its website, where visitors can easily find area breweries as well as navigate a craft beer tour throughout West Michigan.
Press Release – Goose Island Beer Dinner at Burdick’s
From an Old Burdick’s email…I wish I didn’t have to work…I’m a fan of Goose Island…..
Press Release – Pharm-Phresh Philanthropy
From a Food Dance email…..
RAISE A GLASS AND CASH AT THE SAME TIME.
The Social Charity Circle of Kalamazoo and Food Dance are hosting an evening
to support Fair Food Matters, a non-profit organization that supports programs and
education around local food. Enjoy an evening of socializing for a $10 donation which
gets you a cocktail and entry into a raffle full of great prizes, including gift cards, fun
tchotchkes and a ticket to Food Dance’s annual Harvest Dinner. Oh yeah,
and you’re supporting a great cause right here in your community.
No reservations necessary, just show up.
Outpouring Coffee House
34020 W. M-43It’s been a while since J and I actually ate together. We’ve been on a couple weekend trips and her mom had been in town for a while, so eating out has kind of been on the back burner.
On our first Monday home together in a couple weeks, J asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch while she was feeding L. I already had a website pulled up. I was hoping she would ask that.
For quite a while now, I’ve been wanting to go to the Outpouring Coffee House in Paw Paw. The tiny coffee shop and cafe sits on the corner of M-43 and M-40 outside of Paw Paw. From Kalamazoo, it’s straight out on Main Street about halfway to Bangor.
We were shocked when we pulled in to the parking lot a little after 1:00 and found it packed. J asked if there was a used car lot next to the restaurant. There were that many cars in the lot.
After making a parking spot behind the building, we walked in to find a packed dining room. There was one table in the middle of the room that was open. J was already heading towards the lunch counter but quickly saw that I had found a table and followed me through the maze of tables. Read more…
Silver Beach Pizza
410 Vine StreetAs soon as I found out we were going to Silver Beach, I told J we were getting pizza. We ended up trying to go for lunch, but there was quite a wait. We didn’t want to sit around with three kids so we went somewhere else.
Still, I was determined. I wanted Silver Beach Pizza. I’ve heard so many good things about the place, I had to judge for myself.
After playing in the Whirlpool Compass Fountain for a while, the time came for us to say goodbye to J’s parents and J’s friends. I asked J if could order a couple pizzas to take home. She was on board, so I looked up the menu on the phone and placed the call.
Silver Beach Pizza has a pretty amazing location right at the base of the bluff at the corner of Broad and Vine Street in St. Joseph. The restaurant is in the old depot and shares some space with the still active part of the depot which serves the Amtrak route that runs through St. Joseph.
I never actually made it inside which is actually pretty disappointing. I love restaurants in old train depots. In addition to seating in a large bar area, there is an outside patio that overlooks the train tracks and gives you a pretty good view of the lake just down the road.
I’m not usually the person who orders specialty pizza, but damn near everything on their specialty menu sounded amazing. Instead of my typical half cheese, half pepperoni order, I ordered a medium Palladium pizza for J and a large Fiery Chicken for myself. Read more…
Mimi’s Cupcakes
Broad Street between State Street & Lake Blvd.Yes, we ate lunch at an ice cream shop. But, on the way to that ice cream shop, we passed a cupcake food truck….and as we sat looking out the window of that ice cream shop, we saw a cupcake food truck. Yeah…..we didn’t get ice cream for dessert…we headed outside to said food truck.
Mimi’s Cupcakes was parked in a lot on Broad Street between State Street and Lake Street in downtown St. Joseph. The brightly colored truck taunts passerby’s with the tasty cupcake creations you just know are waiting for you behind that hunk of metal. For J and I, the temptation was too much. I was the last one done eating lunch yet I was the first one to get up and walk out the door. I wanted that cupcake!
I almost went super simple and ordered the Plain Jain, but just as J was walking up to place the order, I saw the Chips Ahoy. I didn’t really know what it was, but I had a feeling it involved tiny chocolate chip cookies. Yay, for me! I was right. The super most chocolate cupcake was topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting, mini chocolate chips, and a tiny Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookie. The buttercream frosting just melted in my mouth on this hot June afternoon. The bad news is the cupcakes were mini cupcakes, so I downed the treat in two bites. The good news is, it was incredibly delicious. Read more…
Cabana’s
512 Broad StreetAfter a couple of hours of playing at the Discovery Zone and riding the Carousel, we started getting hungry. Our first idea was to just go to Silver Beach Pizza, but there was quite a wait. There’s also a burger place downtown I really wanted to try, but I knew with three kids, we’d probably run into someone being bored.
Our next idea was a little hot dog stand right at the top of the stairs, but not everyone wanted to sit outside and eat. It was then that J’s friend noticed an ice cream place just down the street that had signs for burgers and pizza in the window.
Cabana’s is a little ice cream place on Broad Street just to the northwest of State Street in downtown St. Joseph. Their main business is an ice cream joint but they also have a small selection of sandwiches to go along with it.
J went in to order for me and her while I took a seat at a picnic table out front. After she ordered, J came out and said there were two tables available inside, so I pushed the stroller with a sleeping baby inside to the air conditioning. Read more…
Curious Kids’ Discovery Zone
333 Broad Street- St. Joseph, MI 49085
- (269) 982-8500
- Website
After a ride on the Silver Beach Carousel, we headed out to use the restrooms. Upon exiting, we noticed the Curious’ Kids Discovery Zone was right there. There were a couple older boys with us whom we thought might enjoy the hands on museum. Just like the Carousel, L was still too young, but we figured we could splash in the water with her or something so all eight of us went inside to explore.
The Curious Kids’ Discovery Zone is part of the Curious Kids’ Museum although they are in different locations. The museum is actually up on the bluff at 415 Lake Boulevard. On a nice day, it’s just a short walk up a flight of stairs.
We chose just to go to the Discovery Zone. Admission is $6. If you’re interested in doing both museums, you can get the combo for $10. The thing I liked is that once you pay, you can come and go as long as you keep your sticker on. You can play in the museum for a while, go the beach, then come back and chill in the air conditioning once the kids get tired.
I haven’t been to a lot of childrens’ museums, but Curious Kids’ Discovery Zone is pretty similar to the once I have been to. There’s a lot of hands on activities that all have a lesson to teach your child. Since I had L, I went straight to the water table. I’ll admit, I’m kind of a bad dad because I don’t even know what we were supposed to be learning. I just got down on a knee so I could hold L right on the edge. She reached over and started grabbing for one of the toys. When she couldn’t reach it, she resorted to just splashing in the water and screeching. Read more…
Silver Beach Carousel
333 Broad Street- St. Joseph, MI 49085
- (269) 982-8500
- Website
Last week, J got a call from a friend who was going to be in St. Joseph today. Knowing it’s my day off, she asked if J and I would bring L and meet her and her family. You don’t have to ask me twice to go to the beach.
I did some work for Whirlpool a couple years ago and spent a little time at Silver Beach so I knew there was more than just sand and water. The other adults had no idea what we were walking in to and boy, were they surprised when we got there.
Our first stop was at the Silver Beach Carousel…well, our first stop was finding parking on a 90 degree Sunday in June. The parking lot behind the carousel was closed and I didn’t know how to get to the lot for the Whirlpool Compass Fountain so we ended up going back up the bluff and parking next to Schu’s.
After getting down the stairs with a stroller (we didn’t see the ramp) we met up with our friends in front of the carousel.
The history of a carousel at Silver Beach dates back to 1910. Unfortunately, this is not the same carousel. That carousel is in Washington state undergoing a restoration and will be installed there.
This carousel was built by hand and opened in 2010. There are 48 animals including recreations of six horses from the original carousel, twenty unique horses, and twenty three other creatures. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 