Giordanos Pizza – Gurnee, IL
7105 Grand AvenueAfter an exhausting day at the water park at Key Lime Cove, my brother brought up the idea of ordering a pizza. Now, I know I’m usually the type of guy that will scout out a local place to order from, but when I searched for pizza, one of my Chicago favorites came up.
The Gurnee location of Giordanos Pizza is in a strip mall on Grand Avenue a few miles from the resort we were staying at. My brother had called in the order, but he and I decided to go pick it up instead of having it delivered.
We were told the pizzas would take about a half hour and we pulled in to the parking lot at almost exactly a half hour after the order was placed. Most of the Giordanos I’ve been to have been stand alone buildings. This is actually the first one I’ve been to that has been in a shopping center.
The decor was similar to the others with dark wood furniture and Chicago themed posters on the wall. We walked passed the hostess station to the back of the dining room where the cash register was. The waiter who noticed us there said there was a few more minutes so we headed over to the bar. The bartender saw us there and came over to see if we wanted drinks, but we passed hoping it would only be a few more minutes. Read more…
Key Lime Cove
1700 Nations Drive- Gurnee, IL 60031
- (877) 360-0403
- Website
I think we may have started a new Christmas tradition. My brother and his family took a trip to an indoor water park last winter between Chicago and Wisconsin. This year, he noticed a Groupon type deal in the Lake County Journal. My dad, my brother and all I bought the deal and made plans to meet in Gurnee, IL the first weekend in December.
Our meeting place was Key Lime Cove just off I-94 on Nations Drive in Gurnee. The day started with a trip to Gurnee Mills Mall and lunch at Rain Forest Cafe. Our check-in time at the resort technically wasn’t until 4:00, but we were ready to head over there at about 2:00. My dad and brother went ahead of J and I. We wanted to check out a few more things at the mall. When I called my brother to say we were heading over, he said he wasn’t sure if our room was going to be ready. Theirs was, but the lady at the registration desk must have said something about ours.
It only takes about five minutes to make the short drive from the mall to the resort. We followed the sign to the registration desk after parking in the large circle drive. Just walking through the door, we could feel right away that this was not a typical hotel. Besides the tropical thing that was noticeable right away, the size of the resort was almost overwhelming.
The five minute drive must have been enough. When I walked to the desk to check-in, I gave the lady my name and she made a comment about me being the third and final check-in from my family. Read more…
Rainforest Cafe – Gurnee, IL
6170 W. Grand AvenueThe main reason J and I were in Illinois this weekend was to do Christmas with my family. A few months ago, my brother had gotten a Groupon-like deal for Key Lime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort. He asked me if we wanted to go as well as my parents. We all said yes and since J is going to be just a few weeks from her due date at Christmas, we decided it’d be better to do it now than travel on Christmas.
Before heading to the hotel, my brother wanted to get lunch. Last time his family did this trip, they ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe. His two girls loved it, so they wanted to make that part of the trip this year as well.
Rainforest Cafe is located inside the Gurnee Mills Mall just off I-94 on Grand Avenue. There’s a large outside entrance for Rainforest which doesn’t actually lead directly in to the restaurant. It’s just a mall entrance, but it’s the closest to the restaurant and they have it done up with the same jungle theme that adorns the restaurant.
The rest of my family actually got to the mall about twenty minutes before J and I did. To kill time, they walked down to Bass Pro Shop, so that’s where we met them. Read more…
Stacked
5273 W. 95th Street- Oak Lawn, IL 60453
- (708) 422-5555
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
J and I aren’t the only ones that get excited about new restaurants. Her mom gets that way too. Earlier this week, J’s mom was reading the paper and there was an article about a new breakfast/lunch restaurant opening not too far from their home in Oak Lawn, IL. J’s step-dad worked some overtime on Saturday which means we didn’t get to see him before heading to hang out with some of J’s high school friends. Since we didn’t get to do dinner with her parents, her mom asked if we’d be interested in getting up for breakfast and checking out the newest addition to downtown Oak Lawn.
Stacked is on 95th Street and 53rd Avenue on the very busy stretch of road Oak Lawn calls downtown. The restaurant moved in to space formerly occupied by Baja Fresh. According to the Orland Park Patch, this restaurant has a pretty unique story of their own. The owners operated a diner in Orland Park, IL for several years when the city came in and used eminent domain to tear down the shopping center they were located in. As the owners wife was driving their son to hockey practice in Oak Lawn, she drove by the recently empty Baja Fresh and that’s where the couple decided to relocate their business.
Stacked had only been open four days when J’s parents took us their for breakfast. The area of downtown that this development is located in is somewhat walkable and near the Metra Station. 95th is a five lane road with a 45 mph speed limit so parking for all the businesses is either on side streets or behind in parking lots. Read more…
Mr. Beef on Orleans
666 N. Orleans StreetIf you read this blog only for Kalamazoo posts, you might want to turn away for a couple days. J and I took a vacation with my family to the Chicago area and I have a lot to write about…just because I want to.
Our first day in town started with J and her mom getting up to do some shopping. They let me sleep in and sleep in I did. I got up after lunchtime and the ladies still weren’t home. J called and asked if I wanted something from Panera, but I can get Panera in Kalamazoo. I wanted a beef.
J’s mom had a coupon for Al’s Beef in Oak Lawn which I really love, but I’ve been wanting to try Al’s biggest competition, Mr. Beef.
I’ve lived in the Chicago area…well, close enough, my whole life and I always thought the two big players were Al’s and Portillo’s. I never knew of Mr. Beef because they aren’t in the south suburbs and my parents hated going downtown…in fact, they still do, so I very rarely went downtown growing up. It wasn’t until I saw an episode of Food Wars on the Travel Channel. Mr. Beef won that battle and it baffled my mind. How could anything beat Al’s.
After J and her mom got back from shopping, I jumped in the car and headed downtown. It should have only been a 20 minute drive from my in-laws south suburban home, but traffic at The Circle made it close to forty. I had nothing else to do and J was taking a nap, so I really wasn’t worried how long it was taking me. Read more…
Press Release – Central City Tap House Repeal Day Celebration
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release….
Central City Tap House to Commemorate End of Prohibition with Second Annual Repeal Day Celebration
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—On Dec. 5, 1933 prohibition was repealed with the passing of the 21st Amendment, so we drink to celebrate! Join Central City Tap House on Sunday, Dec. 4 to celebrate the day most refer to as Repeal Day. The event kicks off at noon and lasts all day so you can celebrate as long as you like. Repeal Day will feature half off all 750 mL bottles of beer and $6 prohibition cocktails. Coffee mugs with the phrase “not beer” on them will also be available for purchase, which can be filled up with $1 Pabst Ribbon Blue drafts all day. The staff will be dressed up for the “swingin’” times so come and join the fun.
During the prohibition movement alcohol was considered a poison and virtually the cause of all crimes. Temperance activists went as far as hiring scholars to rewrite the Bible by removing all references to alcoholic beverages and insisted that school books never mention the fact that alcohol was commonly prescribed for medicinal and health purposes.
Prohibition was repealed 78 years ago so Central City Tap House is celebrating your right to celebrate! Prohibition cocktails, available for $6 each, include:
- The Bronx: Gin, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, orange juice
- Old Fashioned: Cherry and orange muddled with sugar, bitters, bourbon, club soda
- Sloe Gin Fizz: Sloe Gin, lemon juice, sugar, club soda
- Tom Collins: Gin, club soda, sour mix
- The Godfather: Scotch, Amaretto, Grenadine, garnished with an orange
Repeal Day comes to Central City Tap House on Sunday, Dec. 4 from noon to 10 p.m. For more information on the event call Central City Tap House at (269) 492.0100 or visit them online at www.CCTapHouse.com
Los Amigos Mexican Restaurant- Westnedge
7375 S. Westnedge Avenue- Portage, MI 49024
- (269) 323-2911
- No Known Website
- Menu
Our three day weekend of relaxing at home has come to an end. We still had a few more errands to run in the Portage area after I got my ass out of bed and Mexican food sounded good to both of us.
Los Amigos just opened a new restaurant in a brand new building on South Westnedge in front of the Wings, Etc. We noticed the building going up a couple months ago and had a feeling it was a Mexican place just by the design of the place. We’re fans of Los Amigos other two locations (Romence Road and Stadium Drive) so we figured giving the new location a shot would be a pretty safe bet.
The two dining rooms have the same feel as the Stadium Drive location. For a new building, the space does feel a little cramped though. The furniture is all heavy, solid wood that has the Los Amigos logo painted on it. The first thing both J and I noticed was that the place was very hot. Both of us were only wearing a zip up hooded sweatshirt for a coat and we both had to take them off when we sat down.
We were seated in the dining room with the bar, which again, felt a little cramped. The booth itself was quite large and even J’s pregnant belly fit comfortably. Read more…
From a Promote Michigan press release…
Reserve Wine & Food is home to one of the country’s largest cruvinet systems, holding 102 wines that are served by the glass. As the focal point of the bar area, the cruvinet system – with its hand-blown glass from local artist Joe Sherry – stretches some 36 feet (3 rows, 12 feet each) and is proudly displayed under the 2009 ArtPrize winning entry, Open Water, by Ran Ortner.
The cruvinet is a custom-build, temperature-controlled wine preservation system that works much like a keg system for beer taps. The cruvinet pumps nitrogen into the bottle of wine as wine is poured through a different set of tubing. This creates a barrier of gas between the wine and potential oxygen, therefore, extending the life of the wine for as long as six weeks.
“This intricate wine preservation system extends the life of wine exponentially, giving Reserve the liberty to offer a wider range of varietals and price points,” says Peter Marantette, General Manager. “We can now pour a bottle that other restaurants wouldn’t dream of opening, for fear that they wouldn’t sell it before the wine turned.”
There are only a handful of restaurants and bars in Michigan that use a cruvinet system, most of those under 25 taps. Even on a national and international scale, few are as impressive as that which Reserve operates – most claim between 25 and 55 taps. The Ristorante Panorama inside Philadelphia’s Penn’s View Hotel has a 120-bottle cruvinet system and is believe to hold the “Guiness Book of World Records” for the largest system of its kind in the nation.
“To the best of my knowledge, the cruvinet in Pennsylvania is the only system out there that is larger than Reserve’s,” Marantette says. “We definitely operate the largest system of this kind in Michigan and the Midwest.”
Located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids at 201 Monroe Avenue NW, Reserve Wine & Food offers a world-class menu fully embracing the West Michigan farm-to-table philosophy, paired with over 100 wines available by the glass and 200 wines by the bottle, in an elegant yet casual fine dining setting. In the fall of 2011, Reserve was named a winner of OpenTable Diner’s Choice Awards for Top Wine Lists in the United States, one of only two restaurants in Michigan to be recognized.
111 E. Prairie StreetTavern on McGillen
23901 City Center Circle- Mattawan, MI 49071
- (269) 668-7515
- Website
- Menu
What’s this? A Saturday night off? Not only a Saturday night off, but a Saturday night off that J and I had nowhere to go. I normally have to take vacation days to get a Saturday off and that usually means we have plans to go somewhere. This time, it worked out on accident that I had the night off, so we did what we do best. Shop and eat.
Since our restaurant of choice didn’t open until 4:00, we did our part to stimulate the economy. A little shopping in Portage worked up quite an appetite and by 4:00, we were hungry.
We made the short trip west on I-94 to Mattawan where the people that have brought us the Craftsman Chop Company, Mission Pointe, and the East Eggs have opened up a tavern in the McGillen Crossing center right next to the East Egg. The address is still not showing up on the mapping websites because it’s so new. The easiest way to explain it is to go to the intersection of McGillen and Main Street. You’ll see the commercial development that is rapidly popping up on the corner. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 
