Grand Traverse Pie Company – Kentwood
3224 28th Street SE #1I have this thing with cheesecake. I really like it, but West Michigan isn’t exactly teeming with cheesecake restaurants.
I had to run a few errands before heading to work on Saturday that took me down 28th Street near the Woodland Mall in Kentwood. There are a number of dining options in the area including almost any chain your heart desires.
When J and I lived in Lansing, I could always get my cheesecake fix at the Grand Traverse Pie Company. There were two locations in the Lansing area (there are three now). One in East Lansing and one in Okemos. Statewide, there are sixteen Grand Traverse Pie Company locations with the Kentwood location being the most convenient one for me now.
The restaurant is on 28th Street directly across the street from the Woodland Mall Entrance. It shares a building with a couple other businesses, but GTPC is right out front.
The large parking lot was fairly empty, but it was almost 3:00 before I headed in for lunch. You are immediately assaulted with pie as soon as you walk in the door. There’s also a refrigerator case steps inside the door with the cheesecake I was looking for. Read more…
Bellacino’s Pizza & Gridners – Muskegon
1871 Holton Road #BGuess who I worked with tonight? I was with the same co-worker who has had an insatiable appetite for Mancino’s. I wasn’t even planning on eating out tonight. I brought my lunch, but as I was doing something else, my co-worker Google’d “grinder” and found Bellacino’s.
Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders is on Holton Road on the north side of Muskegon not too far from the U.S. 31 interchange. The restaurant is in a small strip mall next to an Eye Care One. While I grew up eating at Mancino’s, I frequented Bellacino’s quite often when I lived in Central Illinois. I never could tell the difference, so I told my co-worker they were the same thing.
She headed straight for the order counter once we got inside. She knew she wanted a pizza grinder, but she is also a fan of the Steak grinders. She got a 4 1/2″ of each plus a cookie and a drink.
I stuck to what I know best. Since I wasn’t super hungry, I got the 9″ pizza grinder. It’s like all the other places that do pizza grinders. Oven baked white bread with pepperoni, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese. As far as I’m concerned, it tastes just like Mancino’s. It was delicious and I loved every bite. Read more…
U.P. North Sandwich & Pasty Co. – Richland
8140 N. 32nd StreetRichland is not quite on the way to Grand Rapids, but it was for me today. I got sent on a little mission just outside of Richland before I made my way to Grand Rapids to start my work day.
After completing my task, I headed north on M-89 to the Circle K to get gas, and , of course, a Polar Pop. I wasn’t really looking for something for lunch, but when I passed U.P. North Sandwich & Pasty Co., I turned around and headed back.
Before eating at the original U.P. North location in Allegan, I had never had a Cudighi sandwich before…..and I liked it. I heard a few months ago that they opened a second location in Richland, which is really almost as inconvenient for me as the Allegan location. Both are places I just don’t go that often.
The Richland U.P. North is right on M-89 just to the north of downtown…or, south of the Circle K. The restaurant takes up a rather large space is a very odd building. They share a parking lot with the business next door, but there is also a pretty large lot behind the business if finding a spot is a little tough.
There are entrances right off the front of the building which butts up to 32nd Street, but the side entrance brings you right to the order counter. Read more…
Greenbush Brewing Company
5885 Sawyer RoadJ and I had been planning a quick weekend trip home for quite some time. L decided to throw a little bit of a wrench in the plans when she started getting really cranky. We had to call in the reinforcements. J’s mom came to stay with us for a couple days last week.
This actually worked out really well. J and her mom headed back to Chicago Friday afternoon while I still had two more days of work.
Sunday morning, I got up just before 11 and started driving south to meet up with my wife and baby.
We were going to a birthday party on Sunday around 1:00 CT. I decided to leave early enough so that I could stop and eat lunch along the way.
There are several places not far off I-94 that I really want to stop at eventually. It was hard to pick, but I decided to go with a brewery. That narrowed it down to two. I then decided to go to the one still in Michigan.
Greenbush Brewing Company is in downtown Sawyer about a mile east of I-94. You can’t miss it. Just past the railroad tracks is an old brick building with the word “Brewery” in large letters on the roof. Read more…
Angelo’s Italian Eatery – Kalamazoo Township
3320 Ravine RoadThe co-worker who has been craving grinders has rubbed off on me. Mancino’s is on the other side of town though and I wanted to pick something up before I went to work.
Last night, I got one of those Good Deals magazines in the mail filled with coupons. One of those coupons was for Angelo’s Italian Eatery.
Angelo’s has two locations in the Kalamazoo area. One is near the airport on Portage Road. The other is inside the BP station on the corner of Ravine and Nichols in Kalamazoo Township.
It wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense for me to drive all the way to Portage when I could sort of make the Ravine Road location on my way to work.
The restaurant takes up a very small space inside the gas station. I wasn’t 100% sure at first if it was even still there. There is minimal signage on the outside. I noticed later that the door on the west side of the building has the Angelo’s logo, but that’s the only marking on the outside.
Inside, you have to make your way through the somewhat cramped gas station to get to the Angelo’s kitchen. There are paper menus available at the counter and there is also one taped down next to the cash register. Read more…
Farmers Daughters’ Country Store
8619 W. ML Avenue- Kalamazoo, MI 49009
- (269) 375-0153
- Website
The first summer after we moved to Kalamazoo, my parents found out what fresh strawberries actually taste like. We stopped at Husted’s Farm Market and they picked up a pint. Before we even left the parking lot, my mom went back and bought a flat for my grandma to use to make jam.
Every year since, I have to pay attention to when farmers start picking their strawberries. I thought it was usually a little farther in to June, but this year, I started noticing signs for fresh Michigan strawberries.
I’m making a quick trip home this weekend, so I called my mom to let her know strawberries were in. She called my grandma who asked for a flat to make that jelly that my nieces love.
Earlier in the week, I went by Husted’s, but they weren’t open yet. It looks like they actually opened June 1, but I didn’t know that. As I was driving back towards home on Main Street, I saw a small sign off the side of the road at 8th Street advertising strawberries at a place on ML Avenue. Since it wasn’t too far out of the way, I took a quick right on to 8th then headed towards ML to see if I could find this market.
What I came across was VerHages Fruit Farm and Cider Mill. The large farm is on ML closer to 4th Street. I pulled in to the property and passed a lot of barns that were closed up on this cold, rainy day. The only one I was really looking for anyway was the Country Store. Read more…
Samuel Mancino’s Italian Eatery – Kalamazoo Township
3833 Gull RoadRemember that co-worker that was craving Mancino’s last week? Yeah, we were in Kalamazoo this afternoon and on our drive from Grand Rapids, I asked if she brought lunch. Her eyes got really big and asked if there was a Mancino’s in Kalamazoo. I think I made her day.
After taking care of business on the east side of town, I pointed the car towards Gull Road.
Samuel Mancino’s Italian Eatery is on Gull to the east of Nazareth Road. It’s in a small shopping center with an H & R Block and a few other businesses.
Like every other Mancino’s I’ve been in, the decor is kind of stereotypical Italian. The color scheme is red, white, and green and, of course, the tables are covered in red and white checkered table cloths.
The order counter is in the back where the kitchen is. We each grabbed a paper menu off the counter to find our sandwich. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered anything from Mancino’s other than a pizza grinder. Hell, I don’t think I’ve even ever looked at a menu. I know what I like, but I thought maybe it was time to go for something else. Read more…
From a Fair Food Matters press release….
The Douglass Farmers’ Market, located at the Douglass Community Center (1000 W. Paterson Street, Kalamazoo), opens for the season on Tuesday, June 5, from 3-6 p.m., and will continue every Tuesday through August 28.
The market, established in 2011 by Fair Food Matters in partnership with the Douglass Community Association, is designed to increase access to local, healthy, affordable and culturally appropriate produce in the Northside Neighborhood of Kalamazoo; and to create an enjoyable, educational, safe community event that brings people together.
Vendors scheduled to take part in opening day are:
- Blue Stone Farm (Otsego): Chemical- and pesticide-free vegetables and herbs
- Campus Beet Community Garden (Kalamazoo): Garden vegetables, flowers, baked goods, handmade T-shirts and postcards
- Cinfully Cinnamons (Kalamazoo): Cakes, cookies, cobblers, pies and yeast breads
- Growing Matters Garden (Kalamazoo): Green onions, rhubarb, fresh herbs and worm compost for home gardens and potted plants
- Hungry Diva Pantry (Portage and Kalamazoo): Homemade fruit jams using local produce, homemade baked goods
- Iboni Rootz (Kalamazoo): Baked goods, seasonal garden vegetables, plus Afrocentric drawings, handmade rag dolls
- Mz Marilyn (Kalamazoo): Seasonal garden vegetables and herbs, plus cookies and pre-made cookie mix
- Tabitha Farm Urban Homestead & Community Garden (Kalamazoo): Seasonal vegetables and herbs, wild-crafted teas, flowers, baked goods, farm-fresh eggs, hand-crafted items, herbal balms, salves and lotions
- The Rib Cage (Kalamazoo): Pulled pork sandwiches, baby back and spare ribs, grilled chicken breasts, veggie skewers
- Think Farm (Galesburg): Annual and perennial vegetables, herbs and flowers, cultivated and wild-harvested fruits, cultivated mushrooms, plant starters
- Village Fresh Pick (Kalamazoo): Arugula, carrots, chard, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, parsnips, peppers, spinach, turnip roots and greens, plus feathers, flowers and crafts
- Walker’s Fresh Veggies (Paw Paw): Greens, basil, onions, and strawberries.
The Douglass Farmers’ Market will also offer kids’ activities, musical performances, cooking demonstrations and nutritional advice throughout the season. On opening day, kids can get their faces painted (beginning at 4:00), the Michigan Hiryu Daiko will demonstrate the ancient art of Japanese Taiko (“great drum”) at 4:30. The first 50 Bridge Card holders will receive a free vegetable peeler, and a free packet of garden seeds will be available to the first 50 Bridge Card holders and anyone who completes a customer survey.
The Douglass Farmers’ Market accepts Bridge Cards, Double Up Food Bucks, and WIC/Senior Project FRESH coupons. More information is available at http://douglassfarmersmarket.wordpress.com/, or by calling Fair Food Matters at (269) 492-1270.
Cascade Sports Grill
6240 28th Street SEA few months ago, I unknowingly turned a co-worker on to Mancino’s Grinders. She’s not from around here and had never heard of Mancino’s. She and I were on our way home from Mt. Pleasant and desperately looking for some place to stop and eat. Somehow we found Mancino’s of Canadian Lakes outside of Stanwood. Ever since that day in late October, she has been craving Mancino’s.
Unfortunately, most of the Mancino’s locations in Grand Rapids have closed. She told me tonight that she will drive to Greenville every now and then just to get a sandwich.
We decided to go hunting tonight for a Grinder and I found an address on 28th Street, but no Mancino’s was to be found when we arrived at the address. We were close to W. G. Grinders which I thought would be close enough, but we got there five minutes after their closing time of 7:30.
While I was checking the door to see if they were open, Co-Worker did a Google search for “Grinder” and found Mama’s Pizza and Grinders which was right down the road. She called to see if they were still and business and found the business had a different name, but still had a similar menu including the apparently elusive grinder Co-Worker was looking for.
Cascade Sports Grill is in a strip mall on 28th Street in Cascade Township. It’s not the take out place we were looking for. It’s more of a sports bar with a large center bar, a spacious dining room and a patio out front. Read more…
Bro’s BBQ and Ice Cream
1757 Plainfield Avenue NEIt’s hard to miss a brightly painted building while driving down Plainfield Avenue on Grand Rapids northeast side. That building is even harder to miss if it has the word “BBQ” painted on it.
That’s the case with Bro’s BBQ and Ice Cream in the old Frosty Boy on the corner of Plainfield and Ann Street. After GRPS gave up on tearing the building down, the mastermind’s behind Bro’s BBQ approached the new owner with their concept. After a lot of renovation and getting a building that sat empty for almost six years.
I was downtown working on something when I realized I hadn’t eaten dinner. There are plenty of great options in downtown Grand Rapdis, but I was in the BBQ mood. I figured it was about time I stopped in at Bro’s.
I wasn’t the only in the BBQ mood. The small parking lot at the walk up restaurant was full. The line gave me some time to look over the menu. I didn’t really need the time because what I wanted was the pulled pork sandwich. When it was my turn to order, I ordered the pulled pork combo. Then, it was disappointment time. They were out of pulled pork…..and macaroni ‘n cheese.
I really wanted BBQ which was the reason I drove to Bro’s, but I didn’t really want to do rib tips. I just gave up on this trip and ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger combo instead with the 1/2 fry option and a Pepsi. They accept credit, but I had cash on me and the bill was only a little over $5 so I paid for it that way. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 