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…
Big Boy – Plainwell
618 Allegan StreetLast summer, my parents and I took what has become an annual trip to Earl’s Farm Market near Fennville to pick blackberries. After getting more than my mom could eat, we decided to head to South Haven to eat. They had never been to the beach there and I thought we could grab a bite to eat then walk out on the pier.
As we were getting off I-196, my dad saw a sign for Big Boy. He asked what that was. I told him it was somewhere between Applebees and Denny’s. I didn’t know how else to describe. It wasn’t my first choice, but I offered to take them there if that’s what they wanted to do.
They opted to do something local instead and we ended up at Venezia Pizza Restaurant. With the way that lunch went, we probably should have just went to Big Boy.
Since L was born, my parents try to make it to Kalamazoo once a month to see her. Since I work Saturday night, we only end up with Sunday’s to spend together. We usually start with breakfast then some sort of project that I need help with around the house.
I got up around 9:30 so we could get a somewhat early start to the day. I had some landscaping that I needed help with and I wanted to get going on that before it got too hot. Read more…
Press Release – Dine and Donate at Pastrami Joe’s
From a Pastrami Joe’s email….
Support Marshall Junior Baseball
just by ordering a meal.
Wednesday May 23
30% of revenue from 3-6pm tomorrow goes to support Marshall Junior Baseball.
Marshall location only.
Hit a karmic home run by supporting Dine to Donate. Funds raised will go
towards new equipment, improved facilities
and Hall of Fame dreams.
Being a philanthropist has never
been so easy. Or so tasty.
HOURS:
Marshall Hours: Mon-Fri 11am – 7pm • Sat 11am – 3pm
Battle Creek Hours: Mon-Fri 11am – 3pm • Sat Hours Vary
Newk’s Express Cafe
2650 East Beltline Avenue SESocial media is a powerful advertiser when it comes to reaching me. Last week, I noticed a follow from a restaurant in Grand Rapids. I had never heard of it, so I clipped on the website to see what it was all about.
Turns out, Newk’s Express Cafe on the East Beltline is right up my alley. The restaurant shares a building with Smashburger in front of Centerpointe Mall.
Newk’s is a fairly new concept chain from the people that brought you McAlister’s Deli. Headquartered in Jackson, MI, Grand Rapids is the only city in Michigan to have a Newk’s.
The concept is quick sandwiches and pizzas. They kind of walk a line between fast and casual…or fast casual 🙂 If you have time, they have a menu of hot sandwiches, salads, and pizzas available for dine in or take out. If you really just want to get on your way, there are some ready made cold sandwiches and salads to grab-n-g0. Read more…
Qdoba Mexican Grill – South Westnedge
3150 S. Westnedge AvenueAfter a trip to the Farmers’ Market on Saturday, J wanted to get something to eat before heading back home. Neither of us really had a strong taste for anything until J said she kind of wanted Qdoba. She then said Chipotle would work too, but we were closer to a Qdoba and I didn’t want to have to go all the way back to Main Street.
Since we were already south of downtown, I started driving towards the new Qdoba location in the developing shopping center at the corner of Whites Road and South Westnedge. J was confused. She had no idea where I was going assuming I was going to the West Main location.
This newest location really isn’t much different than any of the other Qdoba restaurants you may have been to. There’s an order area similar to a sandwich shop where you order your entree then top if off with salsas, cheeses, and other toppings.
I stuck to my usual order of three pulled pork tacos with cheese and hot salsa. The juicy pulled pork was stuffed in to a corn tortilla hard shell taco, topped with a white cheese and a spicy Salsa Roja. The tacos at Qdoba are so much better than the fast food competition, but so much more expensive. The pulled pork option totally beats out the typical ground beef and makes for a very tasty dining experience. Read more…
The Cupcake Zoo
110 N. Farmer StreetWhen J and I were in Chicago for my birthday last fall, we did something the hip, trendy people do. We went out for cupcakes. After a fantastic meal at Goose Island, we went to the uber-trendy Molly’s Cupcakes to pick up dessert.
The last couple years have really seen a boom in the popularity of the gourmet cupcakes. Cupcake Wars on The Food Network have shown the masses that cupcakes are more than just bland, individual cakes made from a box that you take for treats on your birthday to school (is that even still allowed?)
Not sure how well it would go over, but man, would I love to see a cupcake store in Kalamazoo somewhere. Either near Western or downtown, but it’s so nice to have the option of moist, sweet cake in an individual serving size.
Alas, we don’t really have that. There are a couple bakery’s that serve cupcakes, but don’t specialize in them.
This past Saturday, J and I decided to check out the Kalamazoo Farmers’ Market for the first time this year. We were pretty late getting there, but we were still able to find the goodies we were looking for including an unexpected treat. Read more…
Press Release – Common Ground Plant/Seed Giveaway
From a Fair Food Matters press release…..
Common Ground, a collaborative project supporting community gardens throughout Kalamazoo County, will host its first plant and seed giveaway of the season.
It will take place on Wednesday, May 16 from 4-6 p.m. at the Garden Resource Shed, 1519 E. Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo.
Plant starts, donated by Elzinga and Hoeksma Greenhouses, include tomatoes of many varieties, peppers, zucchini, green beans, herbs and more. Seeds, provided through the America the Beautiful Fund, include an array of many common and unique vegetables, as well as herbs.
Both plants and seeds are available in limited quantities while supplies last. To qualify, participants must represent a community garden in Kalamazoo County, and must pre-register no later than Monday, May 14 by contacting Catie Boring at catie.boring@kalamazoolandbank.org or 269-216-9681. Please mention the name of your community garden (if it has one), its address and the number of gardeners involved.
In addition to plants and seeds, Common Ground offers free use of garden tools and equipment ranging from hoes, shovels and rakes to rototillers and lawn mowers, throughout the growing season. For more information, visit http://commongroundkalamazoo.com/index.php.
SW Michigan Dining 