Five Guys Burgers and Fries – Detroit
508 Monroe StreetWhen I found out work was sending me to Detroit for a day or two, I got incredibly excited. Yes, I was excited about being trusted enough to be given such a big assignment, but I also knew I was going to be just a few blocks from a Five Guys.
In the four years J and I have been in Michigan, our Detroit experiences have been pretty much limited to the area surrounding Comerica Park, Ford Field and Greektown. There’s so much more in Detroit I would like to experience, but our trips usually involve sporting events.
My job this weekend took me to Ford Field. It was a long day beginning at 9 AM in Grand Rapids. I made the trip over alone to meet up with my co-workers. After an afternoon of busting my butt, my dinner break finally came about 6:30. I told my co-workers that I was going for a walk and I’d be back within the hour. Read more…
Press Release – Wine Loft to Host Toys For Tots Fundraiser
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release…
The Wine Loft to Host Toys For Tastes Fundraiser This Holiday Season
KALAMAZOO, MI- This holiday season, let’s give back! Join The Wine Loft as they host a fun night of dancing, wine, and donating to Toys for Tots on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. In the spirit of the holidays, Toys for Tastes will feature an array of holiday wines available for just $1 per taste and a live DJ to set the mood all night. The price of entry for the event will be one unwrapped toy to donate.
The holiday season is all about giving back and spreading holiday cheer to the community. With every $1 collected for each wine taste, The Wine Loft will match dollar for dollar and donate the collections towards gifts for Toys for Tots. The primary goal for the Toys for Tots program is to collect new, unwrapped toys and distribute them to children in need in the community, and what better way to give back to the community than to donate toys and enjoy great wine.
Toys for Tastes will be held Thursday, Dec. 1 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information regarding the event be sure to contact (269)343.9227 or visit the web site at www.kalamazoowineloft.com. For more information regarding the Toys for Tots program visit www.toysfortots.org.
Uncle Cheetah’s Soup Shop
1133 Wealthy Street SEToday was an odd day at work. I was stuck at a desk all day. That’s not how my days typically go. On the plus side, I actually got a true lunch break. No eating out of a vending machine or a $.99 heart attack while trying to drive.
Since I could go pretty much anywhere I wanted to, I headed down Wealthy Street to a place that a co-worker recommended to me a couple weeks ago.
Uncle Cheetahs’ Soup Shop is owned by the same people who own the Electric Cheetah. J and I ate there early this year and loved it. I had heard of the sister restaurant down the street, but I’m not much of a soup eater. My co-worker really hyped the place up so I decided to give it a try.
The Soup Shop is on Wealthy just west of Fuller Avenue. I really love the Wealthy Street corridor and Uncle Cheetah’s fits in with the ecclecticness of the area. The building is tiny. There are two rows of tables that are really packed in to the small dining room. The order window is in front of you when you walk in. At first, I didn’t even see the menu as it is actually above the kitchen area which is to the right. It’s kind of an open concept kitchen. There are trays of soup up front and panini presses to the back. Read more…
Thanksgiving at Old Burdick’s
Press Release – Martell’s to Host Teddy Bear Tea
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release…
Martell’s to Host Teddy Bear Tea for Children and Families
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—On Sunday, November 27, Martell’s will host their third annual Teddy Bear Tea as they welcome children and families in their doors for an afternoon of crafts, cookies, Santa, and more. Coinciding with the event is a holiday tree lighting ceremony put on by the surrounding Parkview Hills community at dusk.
“What better fun and relaxing way to celebrate the holidays with your family than the Teddy Bear Tea,” says Assistant General Manager of Martell’s Matt Ames. “The kids love it because there is so much to do, and parents love it because they get to join in the fun of the activities, without any cleanup afterward.”
Families can expect Santa reading stories by the fireplace, hot cocoa, cider, tea, crafts, holiday decorations, cookies and more. Each child will receive a stuffed teddy bear with purchase of reservation.
Teddy Bear Tea will be held on Sunday, November 27 from 2pm-4pm at Martell’s. The cost is $15 per child, and $10 per adult. Reservations with multiple children will receive discounts. For reservations, or more information, call Martell’s at (269) 375.2105.
Press Release – Zazio’s Wins 2nd Annual Golden Ladle
From a Fair Food Matters press release…
There were sweet potato cupcakes and pumpkin mousse; there were caramel apple macarons, West African stew, and “Thanksgiving dinner in one bite” (cranberries wrapped in turkey meatballs with a shot of squash soup).
But just one chef could win the Golden Ladle Award, presented annually as part of the Fair Food Food Fair, and this year’s winner (chosen by the people who attended the event) was Zazios.
Chef John Korycki and his staff prepared a goat’s-cheese-and-pear-stuffed tortelli with butternut squash sauce and sage. The local ingredients included cheese from Mattawan Creamery, pears from Dick’s Orchards (Lawrence), and squash from Visser Farms (Zeeland). Marshall Nabors, Zazios’ master pasta maker, reported began making the pasta at 6 a.m. that day, a full 12 hours before the event began.
The Golden Ladle Award will be on display at Zazios until next year’s event.
Other chefs who took part in the competition represented Bravo!, Bronson Food Service, the Crow’s Nest, Events by Design, Food Dance, Gorilla Gourmet (Noel Corwin), Kalamazoo Cooks!, Kurry Guru, Henderson Castle, People’s Food Co-op, The Union Cabaret & Grill and Water Street Coffee Joint.
About 250 people attended the Fair Food Food Fair, which is the annual fundraiser for Fair Food Matters.
Godfather’s Pizza
3815 E. Cork StreetWell, if there’s one thing Herman Cain’s run for President is doing, it’s bringing awareness to a pizza chain most people have never heard of.
I’m not one of those people. I have actually heard of Godfather’s. I’ve just never had it. I knew there was near the Cork and Sprinkle intersection, but it’s so far from home, I’ve never actually considered it.
While J and I were watching the conclusion of the NASCAR season and cheering on Tony Stewart, I got hungry for pizza. Maybe it was because I just read something about Herman Cain…I really don’t know, but I looked up the Godfather’s website and Google and found online ordering. That was good enough for me. I asked J if she wanted a couple pieces of pizza. She said yes…but it really didn’t matter. I was going to order anyway.
The menu is very typical of a chain pizza joint. They do three different kinds of crusts and offer a few specialty pizzas as well as the make your own. I stuck with what we like best. I went for a large thin crust with bacon on the whole thing and pepperoni on half. I wanted a little more than just the pizza so I added bread sticks to my order. Read more…
Olive Garden
6700 S. Westnedge AvenueA couple months ago, someone asked me why I’ve never done a review at Olive Garden. The answer was simple. I’ve never eaten at Olive Garden. Ever.
When it came time to get a reward from my credit card, I started looking over the different options and noticed a gift card for Darden Restaurants. I clicked on the link and got a $50 card shipped to me.
J and I had some errands to run on Saturday morning and we got done right around 11:00. We needed to make a run to Babies ‘R Us, so I immediately thought that we could take advantage of a free lunch.
The Olive Garden’s Kalamazoo area location is on South Westnedge in Portage in front of the Crossroads Mall. The restaurant opens at 11:00 and by 11:30, the place was packed. It’s always amazed me how much people really love the place. Until Texas Roadhouse moved in, The Olive Garden was always the big date night place back where I grew up. For the longest time, it was my mom’s favorite restaurant, yet I had always found a way of avoiding being sucked in to the hype. Read more…
Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken – Eastside
820 Riverview DriveThe day that J and I get to meet our little girl is getting closer and closer. As one of those steps along the way, we signed up for a tour of the Birthing Center at Borgess Hospital. The tour was at night on a day I have off. With J’s sleep schedule, a nighttime commitment can be tough. She slept pretty much up until the time we needed to leave and I didn’t really feel like cooking for myself, so after the tour, I decided to pick up chicken.
There are two Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken locations in Kalamazoo. We have eaten a few times at the Westnedge location because we used to live pretty close to it. We almost never have business on the east side of town, so neither of us have ever paid much attention on our way to Gull Road to the Lee’s that sits on Riverview Drive just south of the Gull Road intersection.
The building is on a pretty small lot right next to the McDonalds. The building is pretty standard for the chicken chain, but the inside is awfully small. There are only three tables in the small dining room.
We walked in about a half hour before closing and the nighttime crew was already working on clean up. The lady working the counter was very friendly and made small talk while we decided what to order. Read more…
Mulligan’s Steakhouse & Grill
9136 Shaver RoadAs J’s pregnancy winds down, we will be heading to Portage quite a bit over the next several weeks. After our most recent doctor’s appointment, J said she was in the mood for some pub food.
The first thing that popped in to my mind was a bar down Shaver Road just south of the Meijer.
Mulligan’s Steakhouse & Grill (or Mulligan’s Grille & Sports Bar as the sign says) sits on it’s own piece of land with a large parking lot just north of Vanderbilt Avenue in Portage. The front door is not easily noticeable from the parking lot and we figured out later, there may actually be two entrances.
The entrance I noticed was down a long sidewalk along the north side. You enter the building right next to the beer garden and it takes you in to a small bar area.
We were a little after lunch, but there was still a pretty rowdy group of guys downing a couple pitchers and flirting with the waitress. At the time, we didn’t realize there was another dining room that may or may not have been open. Since the only door I could see was the bar, that’s where we went in.
The waitress/bartender saw us sit down and asked if we wanted menus. We ordered drinks then took a few more minutes to look over the offerings. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 