Clara’s on the River
44 McCamly Street NJ’s first Mother’s Day was a lot of pressure for me. I wanted to do whatever she wanted to do, but I didn’t know what she wanted to do. Usually we meet our parents somewhere for brunch but her mom was in town last week and my parents are coming next week so we decided just to make this Mother’s Day about J.
I had come up with a few options for brunch, but still, wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Saturday morning, I presented her with a few options and she chose the one I would have chose myself.
So, at about 10 AM on Saturday, I called Clara’s on the River in Battle Creek to see if they had any reservations left for Mother’s Day brunch….nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?
The lady that answered the phone must have been laughing at me for waiting until the last minute. When she asked how many and I said two, she said they could probably make that work. She put me on hold for a second then came back and said 1:45 was the earliest they had left. I took it.
Clara’s on the River isn’t entirely new for J and I. Our first year in Lansing, we took J’s parents to Mother’s Day brunch at Clara’s Lansing Station. I remembered really liking the place. It had a great atmosphere and a really good brunch. Read more…
Vito’s Pizza
685 Fulton Street WestI suppose the best advertising you could get for your business is having it featured in a movie. Vito’s Pizza on Grand Rapids’ west side was a big part of the movie 30 Minutes or Less which starred Jesse Eisenberg, Nick Swardson, Danny McBride, and Aziz Ansari. The production company came in to Grand Rapids and turned Vito’s Pizza to Hollywood set. When they were finished, they offered to restore everything back to the way it was when they came in, but the owners decided to ride the publicity and keep the look designed for the movie.
Without the movie, I probably wouldn’t have given Vito’s a chance. It’s on Fulton Street a few blocks east of the John Ball Zoo. They have a very small parking lot right in front of the building and options for street parking just a short distance away.
I assumed I was going to have to call in my order, but when I went to their website, I found online ordering. My favorite.
I was just in the mood for a pizza and they were running a special on a two topping 16″ and it was something I could easily order online. I really like how they put their specials right up front on the online ordering section. Read more…
Fat Man’s Fish Fry
4162 S. Division AvenueIt’s hard to pass up a restaurant that has the word’s “Fat Man’s” in it. Then throw in the word “Fry,” man, this place already sounds like my kind of joint.
Fat Man’s Fish Fry is on South Division Avenue a few blocks north of 44th Avenue Street on Grand Rapids southeast side. It’s hard to miss as your driving by. A bright yellow building with a blue awning and the magical word (fry) in big letters.
I’ve driven by this place many times without time to stop. When my dinner break came around Friday night, I decided it was finally time to check this place out.
I was a little surprised to pull in just before 7:00 on a Saturday night and not see anyone else in the parking lot. Even more of a surprise, there was no one inside. I was actually wondering if the place was open, if they forgot to lock up, or if there was something really, really wrong.
I stuck around for about ten minutes wondering if I should venture back in the kitchen to make sure there was nothing going on. I finally saw someone walk in front of the building. He looked in the window and saw me and came in apologizing. I’m not really sure where he was, but he was very apologetic about making me wait. I was just relieved that they were open. Read more…
Press Release – “From the Wild” Dinner at Food Dance
From a Promote Michigan press release…..
FOOD DANCE WELCOMES LOCAL FORAGER ANDY DAVIS FOR SPRING “FROM THE WILD” DINNER, MAY 17
(KALAMAZOO, Mich) – Join Saveur magazine’s “Local Forager of the Year” Andy Davis for an exclusive spring-themed dinner at Food Dance in downtown Kalamazoo, on Thursday, May 17. Foodies are invited to savor the bounty of Davis’ ways during the “From the Wild” Dinner. The dinner runs from 6-8pm and cost $49 per person, plus tax/gratuity.
Among the items that Chef Robb Hammond will be crafting into the four-course dinner are ramps, morels and fiddleheads. The exact menu will be a surprise, based on the harvest in the days leading up to the dinner.
Andy and his family – wife, Michelle and their three children – collectively love the outdoors and have found foraging a joyous recreational activity that they can all take part in.
“Foraging gives us powerful tools for teaching our kids about the world and helps to satisfy our need to be in the wild,” Andy says. “ Foraging encourages the kids’ curiousity and interest in nature, while providing a template for introducing them to economics and planning, as well as the importance of good stewardship and respect for others.”
Andy – a builder, geologist and field naturalist, and Michelle – a geographer and experiential/environmental educator – share a passion for living close to the earth and have a small piece of land outside of Kalamazoo where they keep a large organic garden, raise heritage meat chickens, make maple syrup and landscape for biodiversity.
“We both have a lifelong interest in all things edible and collectively have years of experience finding, tasting, testing and tracking down wild edibles to set on our table,” says Andy. “In doing so, we have developed an intimate relationship with the habits, habitats and haunts of our local flora and fauna.”
To make reservations for the Food Dance “From the Wild” dinner with Andy Davis, call 269-382-1888.
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release…
Show Mom How Important She is for Mother’s Day This Year
Greetings! Mother’s Day is just around the corner on Sunday, May 13! We have limited space available (see below for each restaurant’s suggested reservation times), don’t wait any longer to make your reservations!
Join us from 11am-6pm for our dinner menu with Chef Jason’s special dinner features.Reservation space available: after 4pm
For Reservations – (269) 375.2105 – 3501 Greenleaf Blvd, Parkview Hills
Join us from 4pm-9pm for our Dinner menu with Chef McKinney’s special features.Reservation space available: after 7:00pm
For Reservations – (269) 342.1300 – 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Downtown Kalamazoo
Join us from 11am-4pm for a special Mother’s Day brunch buffet for $18.95/person, $8.95/children (kids under 6 eat free).
Reservation space available: 2pm-4pm
For Reservations – (269) 384.6756 – 125 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Downtown Kalamazoo
Join us from 11am-8pm for Chef Jeff’s featured 3-course Mother’s Day meal for $23.99/person.
Reservation space available: 3pm and after 5pm
For Reservations – (269) 321.8480 – 3970 W. Centre Ave, Portage
Dougherty’s Corners Market
8441 W. Main Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49009
- (269) 375-4760
- No Known Website
- Menu
You never know where you’re going to find pizza. Last week, I was driving around trying to get L to sleep. My favorite route is down M-43 towards Bangor because there’s a long stretch with only one stop light. I don’t know how I never noticed it before, but not far outside Kalamazoo, there’s a little market advertising pizza. I filed it away in the ol’ short term memory for the weekend.
A couple days ago, I was hopping around from party store to party store on a futile search for a friend to find Founders Brewing KBS. I figured I was wasting my time, but I wanted to go out to that little corner market outside of town, if for nothing else, just to see if they have carry out menus.
Turns out, they didn’t have the beer, but I did wander back to the kitchen area where there was a stack of paper menus. I picked one up to take home because I wasn’t in the mood for pizza at that time, but it would only be about 24 hours before I was.
Dougherty’s Corners Market is just to the east of Almena Drive on Main Street in Oshtemo Township. The small building leans towards the typical party store with a few more general grocery items. In the back of the space, is a pretty large kitchen serving up a pretty large menu of pizza and grinders. Read more…
From a Meritage Hospitality Group press release…
The Crooked Goose Squawks into Standale
GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Meritage Hospitality Group, the locally owned restaurateur who brought Grand Rapids Twisted Rooster pioneered a new dining concept, Crooked Goose, due to open June 11. Its plaid exterior, hand-crafted fare and modern atmosphere make it a must-see in Walker, MI.
Like its affiliate eatery, Twisted Rooster, Crooked Goose holds strong to local values, through the support of resident vendors & suppliers through their “Commit to the Mitt” campaign. “We are a company based in Michigan, who looks to lead the charge in building a culture in our great state that focuses solely on locally made products,” says Tom Brady, Director of Operations for Crooked Goose and Twisted Rooster. “Keep it in the family!”
Not only is the food local, it is original. Executive Chef Mark Noseda II, who has a long list of culinary credentials from across the United States, designed nearly 50 options for the exclusive menu. “We really don’t do traditional, we take traditional and Twist it or make it Crooked,” says Noseda. “Anyone can make a traditional dish but making it your own is what being a Chef is all about.”
The food is inventive and so is the atmosphere. The plaid exterior, modern décor, 15 foot bar and 16 51-inch flat-screen TVs are sure to gain local attention. Meritage Hospitality Group’s architect, Mark McDowell, came up with the eccentric exterior. “We are really excited,” says Lindsay Stone, Marketing Specialist for Meritage Hospitality Group. “Nothing draws the public in better than painting plaid on the side of our building; it’s going to look really great.”Although Crooked Goose is not open to the public until mid-June, there will be a pre-opening, VIP party and private taste-testing to get Noseda and the staff warmed up before the big opening. “As we build relationships with our schools, churches and other businesses, the Crooked Goose will be there to support and help achieve community goals,” says Brady. “We are very excited to become a valued member of the community.”
Yo Go Delites
6412 S. Westnedge Avenue- Portage, MI 49002
- (269) 329-2883
- Website
- No Online Menu
After lunch at Garden Gate Cafe, J wanted to drive down Westnedge to a new froyo place that opened in the Crossroads Galleria in Portage. I’m not really a frozen yogurt fan, but I decided to drive her down that way so she could get the froyo she’s been craving.
I used to go out of our way to take her to White Velvet, but the last few times we’ve gone out there, they’ve been closed. No idea if it was permanent or not, but we haven’t found them open in several months. When we made a trip to the mall a few weeks ago, she noticed a sign for Yo Go Delites. It wasn’t open at that time, but she has been waiting patiently since then for the grand open.
We had a sleeping baby when I pulled in to the parking lot, so I opted to stay in the car. I wasn’t planning on getting anything anyway, but from the sounds of it, I should have least went in a took a look around. Read more…
Garden Gate Cafe
230 S. Kalamazoo MallMy “weekend” has kind of been a wash. Yesterday I was more in the mood to be lazy and just watch baseball on TV. Today, it’s raining so I can’t get any of the chores done I was hoping to do this weekend. Oh well….I suppose there’s nothing wrong with being lazy.
I asked J if she wanted to meet me downtown for lunch, but she said she’d rather come home and feed L before venturing out. Didn’t really matter to me. I just wanted to eat.
There are a couple new places downtown that we have yet to get to. One of those places is Garden Gate Cafe which took over the space that was Confection on the Kalamazoo Mall between Gazelle Sports and Rustica.
While Garden Gate is new to Kalamazoo, they are not new to the cafe/bakery business. The original Garden Gate is in Shipshewana, IN where the owners have been in business for several years. Read more…
From a Food Dance email….
FOUR COURSES OF BURIED TREASURE
Nature’s volunteers are out there if you know how to find them. And cook them. And we know how to do both. Join us for a celebration of Spring. A four course menu of foraged delights — fiddlehead ferns, ramps, mushrooms and more. Grab your friends and open your mind for what’s sure to be a culinary adventure. The season is short and special, so don’t miss this one.
$49 per personJust click to make event reservations.
SW Michigan Dining 