Press Release – Great Pumpkin Carving Party at Fieldstone Grill
From a Millennium Restaurant press release….
Fieldstone Grill To Host Fourth Annual Great Pumpkin Carving Party on October 22
PORTAGE, Mich.—Gearing up for Halloween, Fieldstone Grill will be hosting their annual Great Pumpkin Carving Party for its fourth year on Saturday, October 22, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To provide stress free, mess free fun, the restaurant will be offering pre‐gutted carving pumpkins to eliminate the messiest part of Halloween: preparing and cleaning out pumpkins. The pre‐gutted carving pumpkins will be available for $12, and smaller painting pumpkins will be available for $6. Each pumpkin purchase will include carving/painting supplies, a caramel apple bar, hot cider, treats, and more.
“We look forward to this event every year” says General Manager Lisa Hojnacki. “The Kids love being able to wear their costumes, and it gets them excited for Halloween.” All children are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to this fun family event.
“Let us take care of the mess” says Hojnacki, as staff of the restaurant will be in attendance to monitor the event. Parents will be able to relax and unwind as they watch their children participate in the Halloween fun.The Great Pumpkin Carving Party will be on Saturday, October 22, at Fieldstone Grill from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring their families and make a reservation, as pumpkins are limited. For reservations be sure to call (269)‐321‐8480.
Luciano’s Ristoranti
103 W. Ludington AvenueI’m pretty sure I mentioned this when I wrote a review for Bones & Butts BBQ, but Kalamazoo to Ludington is a long way. I’m sure it’s great for a getaway, but doing it round trip in one day is a long day.
Work took me north again. A co-worker and I loaded up into the truck and made the drive up US-31 to Mason County. After completing our task, we actually had time to take a lunch break, so we started looking around downtown Ludington for some place to eat. I was sort of looking for the brewery, but my C.W. saw an Italian place. That sounded good to me, so we swung back around to find a parking street along the busy M-10 that runs right down town.
Luciano’s Ristoranti sits on the corner of Ludington Avenue (M-10) and James Street. The business takes up two storefronts and it looks like they expanded in to one after the first space proved to be successful.
There’s a sign right on the door that tells you to wait to be seated. We walked in the door, which opens right in to the first dining room, and were met by a waitress who instructed us to head to the back of the space and into the second dining room. This space is a little bit weird as it has an unfinished feel to it. The floors have a faux finish that is supposed to mimic cobblestone, but at first glance, it looks like unfinished concrete. There isn’t a whole lot of decoration on the walls which kind of give this room an empty feeling. The front dining room has the typical trattoria feel which is lacking from the second dining room. Read more…
Wings Etc – Oshtemo Township
6740 Seeco DriveI think we’re running out of new places to eat. Sunday was another lazy Sunday, but we still needed to go grocery shopping. J wanted to eat before going to Meijer, but I really couldn’t come up with any place new. My picks were either Gallagher’s or Burdick’s West, but as we were getting ready to leave, J said, “What about Wings Etc?” I always forget about that place even though we pass it almost daily. I said sure, so that’s were we headed.
There are two Wings Etc locations in the Kalamazoo area. We’ve eaten at the Portage location on South Westnedge in the past, but have never been to the Oshtemo location on 9th Street across from the Walmart.
The Oshtemo is pretty similar to the Portage location. Same layout. Same decor. Lots of TV’s. The menu is pub food with a focus on wings. Being a wing fan, I should love the place. It’s cheaper than Buffalo Wild Wings and the wings are bigger, but the way they sauce them sucks. I’ve gone over this in past reviews, but they don’t sauce the whole wing. It’s like they put the wings on the plate then drizzle the sauce over them.
Knowing that, I decided to skip the wings this time and try something else. We first started with a Pepsi and an Iced Tea while we looked over the menu. We asked the waitress for a couple more minutes when she came back with drinks because neither of us were quite ready to order. Read more…
Hopcat
25 Ionia Avenue SWLast year, my wife took her mom to check out Artprize after the Top Ten was announced. At that time, it was kind of a time killer for them because they had tickets to a concert at the Deltaplex and wanted to eat at San Chez. Since they were downtown, they checked it out. This year, J’s mom made the trip up from Chicago just to see Artprize.
We parked in the Public Museum ramp then made a methodical journey around the City Center in order to see all of the Top Ten. It worked out well that we were leaving The B.O.B. parking lot about twenty minutes to noon. After a quick stop at Van Andel, we headed down Ionia Street for lunch.
The plan was to eat at the Hopcat, but they didn’t open until noon. It was about ten minutes to so we decided to wait. As we waited, more and more people started congregating on the sidewalk outside the business of the corner of Ionia Avenue and Weston Street SW just to the east of Van Andel Arena.
When the doors opened one minute before noon, we headed inside. There was a sign that said to wait for a hostess, but we were told to just find a seat. The hostess came around later and started filling in her seating chart because the bar was filling up quickly. Less than twenty minutes after we sat down, the place was full and a new line starting forming out on the sidewalk waiting for a table. Read more…
Old Chicago
5314 S. Westnedge AvenueI’m taking advantage of sleeping in as much as I can before January. I know you can’t really bank sleep, but I just want to enjoy it while I can. Sleeping in so much means J wakes me up most days when she comes home from work.
We needed to drop her car off at Seelye Ford for some repairs and she wanted to do it before I left for work. When she got home, I rolled out of bed and followed her to the dealership. Since we still had a little over an hour before I needed to head to work, we thought it would be a good idea to go out for lunch.
We decided to head to Portage to check out the new Old Chicago on South Westnedge near the I-94 interchange. It’s in the building that used to be Bennigan’s right in front of the Hooters.
I was never in the Bennigan’s before it shut down, but I do know there was an extensive renovation before Old Chicago moved in.
Contrary to it’s name, Old Chicago is not a Chicago chain. It’s actually based in Chattanooga, TN and the first store opened in Boulder, CO in 1976. It really doesn’t have anything to do with Chicago other than they serve pizza. Their pizza really isn’t a true Chicago style pizza…they just call their Deep Dish “Chicago Style” although they do use a little more butter in the crust than the average deep dish which does give it a Chicago flare. Read more…
Vitale’s Burton Heights Pizza
315 Burton Street SW- Grand Rapids, MI 495007
- (616) 241-3368
- No Known Website
- Menu
Another bachelor weekend for me. J headed home to Chicago for a night out with her girlfriends. I, again, had to work. Now, I’m not one of those guys that depends on my wife to pack my lunch everyday. I did it for years when I lived alone, but I get kind of tired of eating the same cold meat sandwich everyday, so on days when J doesn’t pack my lunch, I just don’t do it anymore. Since she wasn’t home when I left for work, the lunch bag stayed in the freezer and I went looking for pizza.
I’ve driven by Vitale’s on Burton Street several times and kept wanting to get back someday when I had time for lunch. I have no idea what the relationship is between all the Vitale’s restaurants in West Michigan but I’ve always liked their pizza no matter which one I ate it.
Around 6:15, I called in an order for a large pepperoni pizza. Since they don’t have a website or a menu online anywhere that I could find, I really didn’t know what my options were and I just went with my default order.
I was told the pizza wold take around 15 minutes and that’s about how long it would take me to drive their from work. Before I hung up the phone, the person taking the order wanted to make sure I knew that I was calling the Vitale’s on the corner of Burton and Palace on the southwest side of town. Read more…
Kelly’s Cafe & Catering
7630 S. Westnedge Avenue- Portage, MI 49002
- (269) 903-2332
- No Known Website
- Menu
My extended weekend had one more day that J and I would be able to eat out together. We actually had a doctor’s appointment in Portage at 2:00 and decided to pick up lunch and run a few errands before that.
J said she was up for anything and I had been holding on to a new(er) restaurant on South Westnedge until we had a reason to go to that side of town.
Kelly’s Cafe & Catering takes up the space that used to be Curry Corner in the Portage Plaza. The space has a little bit of a weird vibe to it. When you walk, you’re actually greeted with the salad and taco bar. Behind that is the dining area and J said it kind of had the feeling of a VFW hall. The tables are more like something you would see in a hall type setting. There are regular four tops in the front and back of the space but in between are large round tables. The wall opposite the kitchen has two long tables with folding chairs. All of the tables are covered with cloth tablecloths that are then topped with a sheet of plastic.
J saying the place sort of felt like a VFW Hall is re-enforced by the military posters and flags on the wall. Kelly’s also offers 10% to all veteran’s, all day, every day. Read more…
Cider and Donuts at Sweetwater’s
From a Sweetwater’s Donut Mill email…..
Cider & Donuts!are now available at Sweetwater’s Donut Mill!Sweetwater’s has once again partnered with Schultz Fruitridge Farms, an award-winning-Michigan orchard from Mattawan, to bring you the best cider and donuts you will find anywhere on the planet.We are featuring our ever-popular fall favorites including cinnamon-sugared, spicy pumpkin, powdered sugar and the traditional plain, cake donuts. To truly enjoy the taste of fall, have your favorite Sweetwater’s donuts with a glass of hot or cold tree-ripened Schultz Fruitridge Farms apple cider.
And while you’re at it, take home a dozen of your favorite fall donuts to share the season with family and fiends with a glass of delicious, Schultz Fruitridge Farms’ apple cider.
Jimmy’s Bar & Grill
18529 LaPorte RoadJ has been really good about not going crazy and buying baby clothes, but those days are quickly coming to an end. For a couple weeks now, she’s been wanting to go to Lighthouse Place in Michigan City to see what we can find….not only for the baby she’s carrying, but also for ourselves.
The Michigan City/New Buffalo area has always been a good halfway point to meet my family. Every few months, we’ll meet for lunch then either go shopping or go our separate ways. My parents will go to one of the two casino’s and J and I will head back to Kalamazoo.
Since J and I were going to Michigan City anyway, I called my mom and see if she wanted to meet us. My mom and my aunt decided to come, but my dad already had plans. As an added bonus, my brother made a last minute decision to tag along with his family, so we also got to hang with my two nieces for the day.
I told my mom to meet us in New Buffalo for lunch then we’d head back to Michigan City to shop. We always pass Jimmy’s Bar & Grill on the way to The Stray Dog which is where we usually meet at. I finally looked Jimmy’s up and it looked good to me so that’s where we met.
Jimmy’s Bar & Grill is on LaPorte Road just south of the New Buffalo city limits. It’s in a small strip mall, but as the menu says, “It’s not what you’d expect in a strip mall.” Read more…
Press Release – Fair Farm Bill Kickoff in Kalamazoo
From a press release….
Care about small farmers? How about healthy, sustainable food? Then
please join us for…Fair Farm Bill Campaign Kickoff Meeting!
Tuesday, September 20th
7:00 – 8:00pm
Kalamazoo Downtown Library, 315 Rose St.
The Van Deusen Room
**Refreshments provided**Right now, our country’s food system is broken. A few large companies,
like Cargill, control every part of our food system, squeezing consumers
and driving out small and mid-sized farmers.We all have the right to safe, healthy food. This year, we have a
chance to make sure the USDA implements the 2008 Fair Farm Rules, which
level the playing field for small and mid-sized farmers, giving
consumers access to safer, more sustainable food.Right now, Senator Stabenow is on the fence on this issue. We need your
help to make sure she stands up for small farmers, consumers and the
environment.Come to the Fair Farm Bill Campaign Kickoff Meeting to learn how you
can help! All are welcome so please bring your friends.Tuesday, September 20th
7:00 – 8:00pm
Kalamazoo Downtown Library, 315 Rose St.
The Van Deusen RoomTo learn more about how you can get involved before the meeting, please
contact Charlotte Bartter at cbartter@fwwlocal.org or 269-290-1448.
Thanks, and looking forward to seeing you on the 20th!
SW Michigan Dining 