Garden Party Cafe
5020 Texas DriveJ came home from work today hungry. I got a 15 minute warning that she was on her way home and I better either have lunch ready or be dressed and have a place picked out to go. She wanted to eat.
Because of the added urgency, I really didn’t want to go to a bar or someplace that was going to take a while. I didn’t have a whole lot of ideas. I did have a long shot place that I read about in the Gazette a few weeks ago. I was a little nervous because I couldn’t find a good menu right away, but I sucked it up and took the chance.
The Garden Party Cafe is actually inside of Wedel’s Nursery, Florist, and Garden Center at the corner of 12th and Texas Road just inside Texas Township. It really is one of the last places you would think of when it comes to picking a place for lunch. When you walk in to the store, the cafe is off to the right. It’s a little hidden from the displays, but I noticed a neon sign hanging high above the merchandise on a wall that looks a little out of place in the wide open garden center.
The cafe area is pretty small and sectioned off with white fencing. The seating area is set up like a patio. The furniture is all stuff you would put on your own patio at home. The small kitchen was manned by a single person who took our orders then grilled up the food on the small flat top stuck in to a corner. Read more…
From a Venture Foods, Inc. press release…..
SMASHBURGER CELEBRATES 1 YEAR OF SIZZLING IN KALAMAZOO BY
HOLDING BENEFIT FOR GREG JENNINGS FOUNDATION
Donation made for every entrée purchased for entire week.
KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN (08/11/11)—Smashburger is happy to be celebrating their 1st year anniversary in the great city of Kalamazoo. The owners and staff of Smashburger are extremely grateful to the many already loyal “Smashfans” who support their business.
To show their appreciation to the Kalamazoo community, Smashburger is partnering with the Greg Jennings Foundation to raise funds for the entire week of their anniversary. Smashburger will donate 25 cents from every entrée sold for the whole week of August 15 to 21 to the Greg Jennings Foundation. Customers will also have the opportunity to make additional donations at the time of purchase.
Since their inception in 2008, The Greg Jennings Foundation has partnered with many organizations within Michigan and Wisconsin in order to assist children and families and promote the importance of youth education. These organizations include:
Kalamazoo Gospel Mission – Boys & Girls Club – Big Brothers Big Sisters – Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity – Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity – Green Bay House of Hope – The Salvation Army – Department of Human Services – Parent to Parent – and many more. More information is available at gj85foundation.com or call 269-343-6990.“We truly admire the way that Mr. Jennings supports his home town through his work with the Greg Jennings Foundation” said local Smashburger franchisee, Terry Henderson. “As fellow Kalamazooans, we proudly support the goals and efforts of the Greg Jennings Foundation. We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our anniversary than to support our community through this great organization.”
Smashburger in Kalamazoo will also celebrate with a CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY on Saturday, August 20. All customers on that day can spin the prize wheel for a chance to win discounts and free Smashburger menu items.
Mar-Jo’s West
325 N. Grand Street- Schoolcraft, MI 49087
- (269) 679-5422
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
It’s been over a week since J and I ate out together. We’ve had a few bad experiences lately that have really turned me off to dining out and trying new places. The last few meals I’ve eaten out have been at places I knew wouldn’t piss me off.
On my first day off in a week, J came home from work and asked if I wanted to go to lunch. I had leftover pizza in the fridge that I really wanted to eat, but I knew she wanted to go out, so I suggested a little diner in Schoolcraft that was recommended to me some time ago.
Mar-Jo’s West is on Grand Street/US 131 in Schoolcraft. It’s just north of downtown in a small building that sits right next to the road. The parking lot was still pretty packed at 1:00 when we made it down there and a sign out front proclaims the best food in the area.
We headed inside to find a sign that told us to seat ourselves. The dining room is pretty typical of a small town family restaurant. The place mats and mugs are adorned with advertisements from local businesses and the decor is just a bit dated. Read more…
Old Hat Brewery & Grill
114 N. Main StreetThis sucks. I’m just gonna say that right up front. I really wanted to like Old Hat Brewery. I still do actually.
J and I decided to head out to Lawton for dinner. I had come across the restaurant a few weeks ago and it actually caught my interest when I saw a Groupon for it last week.
I had a really rough day at work and I had a problem with lunch at a place I was really looking forward to eating at. When J asked what I wanted to do for dinner, I suggested Old Hat because I sort of wanted a beer.
Old Hat Brewery & Grill is in downtown Lawton on a street that has a surprisingly abundant number of restaurants. The brewery is housed in a very cool old brick building. Parking is a little rough. A competing restaurant across the street sees a large number of people for dinner on weekends and parking in the small downtown area is a couple surface lots and what ever you can find on the surrounding streets.
We actually found a lot behind the brewery and parked there. I really don’t know if it was a municipal lot or if it belonged to the business next door, but we weren’t the only ones parking there. Read more…
Bones & Butts
106 N. James StreetI wish I was going to these beach towns and not working. A co-worker and I got sent up to Ludington for an assignment. Even from Grand Rapids, that’s a pretty good drive. The whole drive there, I was really hoping we were going to have time to sit down and eat. I really wanted to try the Jamesport Brewing Company, but alas, we didn’t have time. Probably a good thing because not being able to drink at a brew pub might have killed me.
Instead, we parked along M-10 which is the main drag through town. When I got out of the car, I saw a shop owner standing in the doorway and started chatting him up. I mentioned we were looking for a place to eat and didn’t have a lot of time. Without hesitation, he pointed us around the corner to a BBQ joint.
Bones & Butts is on James Street to the north of Ludington Street. It’s a very small, carry out out restaurant that’s on a closed portion of James Street. The building is brightly painted yellow and red which makes it hard to miss. Missing it really isn’t a problem though as long as you have any sort of sense of smell. Read more…
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen – Battle Creek
91 Columbia Ave. EastOne of the really cool things about traveling along the I-80 corridor are the service plazas that dot the highway through Indiana and Ohio. I know they’re there just because the highway is a toll road, but it would be so nice if all of the Interstate system had these plazas. They make it so easy to get off, get gas, use the restroom and pick up something to eat.
The thing that I really like about the whole system is there are different restaurants at each of the plazas. If you’re traveling for quite a while on the toll road like we were, you would actually have a choice of restaurants instead of having to settle for McDonalds.
We didn’t actually eat at any of our stops between Cleveland and Kalamazoo, but it did give us an idea for dinner. At the Middle Ridge Service Plaza, we noticed a sign for Popeyes Chicken. J said something about it being too early to eat, but she really wanted chicken. Even though it was still almost four hours away, I suggested stopping in Battle Creek and taking chicken home for dinner.
I’m really bummed there are no Popeyes in Kalamazoo. The closest is the Battle Creek location which is on Columbia Avenue about a mile west of I-196. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as the structure goes. Typical Popeyes with the typical fast food set up. Read more…
Lola Bistro
2058 E. 4th StreetWhen it came time to plan our trip to Cleveland, I already had one restaurant picked out that would be a must eat it. The tough decision was lunch or dinner. Since we’re more lunch people, I made early lunch reservations on Monday just before we were about to leave town.
The restaurant? Michael Symon’s Lola Bistro. Symon actually has a couple restaurants in the Cleveland area. In addition to Lola, there’s Lolita, and B-Spot which is a burger joint…something I would be interested in, but J, not so much. We checked out menus at both Lola and Lolita and decided Lola’s lunch menu best suited us.
Our trip to Lola is not our first encounter with a Michael Symon restaurant. We ate at Roast in Detroit a few years back. We both loved the place and would love to make it back sometime for dinner. We already had high hopes for Lola since it’s sort of the flagship restaurant for the celebrity chef.
Lola Bistro is on 4th Street in downtown Cleveland’s Gateway District. 4th Street is a really neat area. At one time, it looks like it was a through street, but now it is closed off and there are a number of restaurants and shops. The restaurants spill out on to what used to be a roadway with their patios. We were about twenty minutes early for our reservation, so we walked around this area wishing we had seen this the night before. The Chocolate Bar is visible from Lola’s patio and had we walked down 4th Street last night, we may not have had to endure the disappointing meal that we did. Read more…
Chocolate Bar
347 Euclid AvenueAfter watching the rest of the White Sox/Indians game in our hotel, we started out on the evening portion of our trip. The idea was to go to dinner then hit up another “bar” for dessert.
I found a place just outside of the city that looked amazing. J and I were both excited. After a couple quick showers, we weaved our way around downtown Cleveland construction and traffic to get back on I-90 and headed towards Lakewood.
The restaurant we were trying to go to is Melt Bar and Grill. It’s a pretty popular place. Too popular. We pulled into the back parking lot just before 5:00 on a Sunday night. We headed inside to find a massive wait. We were told it would be at least an hour and a half. J was ready to go right then, but I really wanted to stay. She begrudgingly agreed. I headed to the bar to get a couple drinks. It took my ten minutes just to grab a Sprite and an Oberon (yup, they had Oberon). To make matters worse, even the benches in the waiting area were full and J’s feet weren’t going to hold up much longer. As much as I wanted to eat there, I finally came to the realization it wasn’t going to happen. I had to find a Plan “B”.
Well, Plan B became Great Lakes Brewing Company. J made me call first to make sure they were open. Good thing. The restaurant isn’t open on Sunday’s. Now, we’re on to Plan C. Read more…
Progressive Field
2401 Ontario Street- Cleveland, OH 44115
- (216) 420-4487
- Website
I think we’ve made it pretty clear. J and I are baseball fans. Being from Chicago, most people assume we’re Cub fans. If you’re one of those people, you just made an ass out of u.
We’re both White Sox fans. J grew up on the south side and I grew up with a dad who is a White Sox fan.
Being a Sox fan in Michigan isn’t always fun. Since they play in the same division as the Tigers, we put up with a lot of grief. Of course, it’s fun when the Sox beat the Tigers, but it sucks when they lose…which happens more often (but not as I’m writing this, ironically.)
I’m fortunate to have a wife that enjoys baseball. We’ve been to several games since we’ve moved to Michigan. Mostly at Comerica Park which we both really like. Earlier this year, we watched the Tigers beat up on our Sox at CoPa.
At the beginning of the season, I looked at the Sox schedule and penciled this weekend in for a road trip. The Sox were playing in Cleveland and I have always wanted to go to The Jake….er….Progressive Field. A few weeks ago, we made the decision to book a hotel and get tickets.
Since it was a day game, we got up just before 7:00 AM. I work until midnight in Grand Rapids so it was a very short night for me. Still, this was something I wanted to do, so I didn’t complain too much. Read more…
Rose’s Express
2224 Wealthy Street SE- East Grand Rapids, MI 49506
- (616) 458-4646
- Website
- Menu
I wasn’t planning on eating out tonight. I had my lunch packed and everything, but my co-worker, who actually knows I write this blog, wanted to eat out. I wasn’t against the idea, but I wasn’t really craving anything either. She knows the Grand Rapids dining scene a little better than I do so I differed to her.
She thought about it for a few minutes as we drove around the southeast side of Grand Rapids then asked if I had ever heard of Rose’s on Reed’s Lake. Of course, I had. It was one of the first recommendations J and I ever got for the Grand Rapids area. We actually ate there one night when we still lived in Lansing and drove to Grand Rapids for a concert at Van Andel Arena.
Rose’s on Reed’s Lake is a little too fancy for us while at work. We didn’t really have time for a sit down menu and I was a sweaty mess in my plain gray t-shirt and jeans. I had to take my hat off last time I ate there so I’m sure they wouldn’t have really liked me there the way I was dressed.
Just down the street from the main restaurant, there’s a little take out place right in downtown East Grand Rapids where you can still get the delicious food from Rose’s. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 