Nina’s Cafe
1710 W. Main Street #GWe’re trying to get back in the habit of Sunday morning breakfast. I’m just not a morning person. J finally got tired of waiting around 10:45 and came in to wake me up. She didn’t ask if I wanted to go to breakfast. She told me we were.
I’m still slowly marking breakfast joints off my list. Not being a breakfast person, it’s hard for me to pick one that stands out, but I still had one on the list that has gotten pretty high marks from friends.
Nina’s Cafe is on West Main Street between Arlington Street and Prairie Avenue. If you don’t know where those streets are, it’s in the shopping center with Tiffany’s Wine and Spirits, Saffron, and Zooroona.
The first thing you’ll notice about the place is that it’s tiny. They only have 45 seats and that includes a counter in the middle of the space. We pulled into the shared parking lot and didn’t see a lot of cars so I felt pretty good about not waiting. Then, we walked up to the door and found several people already waiting for a table. There’s a sign that tells you to go to the counter to put your name in. They asked if we would take a place at the counter if it opened up. We’re not picky. We just wanted to eat. Read more…
Doster Country Store
10 106th Avenue- Plainewell, MI 49080
- (269) 664-4468
- No Known Website
- Menu
Friday night date night is back…well, for a couple weeks anyway….but J wasn’t feeling great when I suggested dinner and a movie. She opted to put it off until tomorrow night since I also have the next couple Saturday’s off.
The backup plan was a rental from Redbox and a pizza. I was kind of bored from sitting around the house all week so I started looking for a pizza place that we normally wouldn’t go to. My search, again, took me to Urbanspoon. I noticed a pizza place that was just reviewed by a Twitter friend. He didn’t give it a glowing review, but he was the only one on Urbanspoon not too…and Google…and Yelp..and any other place where people can review restaurants.
The Doster Country Store is in rural Plainwell on the corner of 106th Avenue and Doster Road just south of Pine Lake amongst other lakes in area. The store is a throwback to the rural grocery stores that don’t normally have a place in today’s society. The Doster County Store has bucked that trend offering camping staples, gas, and a pizza that many people will drive several hours for.
I had J call in an order as I was getting ready to leave. We couldn’t find a menu online so I told her to just get a large pizza with 1/2 cheese and 1/2 pepperoni. I also saw a couple reviews mention the bread sticks, so I told her to get an order of those as well. Read more…
From a Fair Food Matters press release….
Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) is coming to three Kalamazoo farmers’ markets, beginning on the first market day in June.
DUFB, an initiative of the Fair Food Network (not affiliated with Fair Food Matters), encourages healthier eating and provides greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables for Michigan families eligible for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. Fair Food Matters will implement the program in Kalamazoo
For every $2 spent on fresh food at participating farmers’ markets, Bridge Card holders will receive $2 worth of DUFB bonus tokens (up to $20 in tokens per visit) which can be used to buy fresh Michigan-grown produce.
Double Up Food Bucks in Kalamazoo is funded by grants from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Open Society Foundations. Fair Food Network is seeking funding to continue the program in Kalamazoo through 2013.
Since the program started as a pilot in the fall of 2009 at Detroit’s Eastern Market, it has grown to 42 sites around the state thanks to generous funding from more than 25 local, state and national foundations. DUFB has proven highly successful: from August to October 2010, families used federal food assistance dollars and matching DUFB tokens to purchase $203,451 worth of locally grown produce from 15 farmers’ markets, and those dollars flowed directly to small farmers and their rural communities.
“Our goal is to help Michigan families in need get twice as much food while stretching their grocery budgets in a healthy direction, and by all accounts it appears that we are starting to accomplish this objective,” said Dr. Oran Hesterman, president and CEO of Fair Food Network. “And the strong collaboration of so many supporters has enabled us to grow the program throughout Michigan on a faster timetable than we had anticipated.”
In Kalamazoo, three farmers’ markets will participate in Double Up Food Bucks. Those markets and DUFB dates are:
- Kalamazoo Farmers’ Market (1204 Bank Street): Saturdays beginning June 4; 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
- People’s Food Co-op 100-Mile Market (507 Harrison Street): Wednesdays beginning June 15; 3-7 p.m.
- Douglass Farmers’ Market (1000 West Paterson Street): Tuesday, June 28, July 26, August 23; 3-7 p.m.
For information on getting a Bridge Card, please contact the Michigan Department of Human Services (1-888-MIBRIDG or www.michigan.gov/mibridges), or contact Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes at (269) 366-7236. For more information on Double Up Food Bucks, please visit www.doubleupfoodbucks.org.
From a Fair Food Matters press release…
The Can-Do Kitchen, the region’s only food business incubator, is seeking community donations for a capital campaign that will allow the program to relocate and expand.
A program of Fair Food Matters, the Can-Do Kitchen offers food entrepreneurs a low-risk, low-cost environment to test products, recipes and their own ability to run a small business. A variety of retailers throughout the region carry products made in the kitchen, including Mike’s Famous Michigan Bean Dip, Happy Mouth Vegan Treats, Karabread products, cookies and granola from The Adventures of Barb & Tammy, Ageless Pantry iced tea, Buzzelli’s fresh mozzarella and others.
Program Manager Lucy Bland said the kitchen functions as an economic development tool. “Clients are encouraged to use local ingredients for their products, and local services for their business – such as marketing, accounting and packaging firms – all of which helps keep the local economy strong.”
In addition, the Can-Do Kitchen places a special emphasis on empowering women. Currently, 9 of 10 regular clients are women-owned businesses, as are the two graduates of the program: Kurry Guru and The Cheese Lady.
Because of the increasing demand for this service, the Can-Do Kitchen is moving from its current location in the First Baptist Church in downtown Kalamazoo to 511 Harrison Street (in the new site of the People’s Food Co-op) in June. The new 1,360-square-foot space will include two cooking/baking stations, one packaging station, two dishwashing stations, product storage space and office space.
The new space will also serve as a community asset, a place where adults, teens and children can gather for classes and meetings on cooking, canning, nutrition, and other food-related topics – with a focus on serving the underserved.
Capital campaign funds are being used to purchase and install commercial kitchen equipment and appliances, to fund design for the space, and to cover expenses related to relocating and expanding the program.
The campaign goal is $189,930, of which $117,808 (62 percent) has been raised through foundation grants and individual and corporate donations.
All donations are tax-deductible, and any amount, large or small, will help the Can-Do Kitchen remain a vital part of economic and community development in the region. More information, including a campaign brochure and instructions on how to make online donations, is available at www.fairfoodmatters.org.
Scoops Old Fashioned Ice Cream
121 Lighthouse Place- Michigan City, IN 46360
- (219) 872-6560
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
After lunch at Shoreline Brewery, we headed across the street to do some shopping at the Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets. It was a pretty miserable day. Cold. Rainy. Windy. Not a great day for an outdoor shopping trip, but we walked quickly and stayed under the overhangs to get to where we were going.
Down one of the side aisles, my mom noticed an ice cream shop. She was jonesing for dessert while we were at the restaurant but passed hoping we’d find something while we were shopping.
What we found was Scoops Old Fashioned Ice Cream. My mom didn’t even ask if anyone else wanted some, she just started heading that way hoping we would follow. We did.
Scoops is a small shop inside the outlet mall. They serve Sherman’s Ice Cream, fudge, and a few other menu items. I’m pretty sure my mom was going for ice cream, but after seeing the fudge, we all headed straight to that counter. Read more…
Shoreline Restaurant & Brewery
208 Wabash StreetEvery now and then, my parents like to get together for lunch. The easiest thing for both of us to do is meet halfway. A lot of times, we go to New Buffalo because my parents like the casino there. There’s only a couple restaurants in New Buffalo that we really like so we go to the same ones a lot.
This weekend, my mom wanted to meet because we didn’t get together for Mother’s Day. We actually met J’s parents in New Buffalo last week and my mom wanted to spend time with her mom, so we just made the plan for a week later.
We used to go to Michigan City all the time when my brother and I were younger. The outlet mall was a huge draw because they had a Nike outlet and a Tommy Hilfiger Outlet. In those days, we weren’t really adventurous eating outers, so none of us had ever eaten anywhere in Michigan City other than a fast food or casual dining chain….but billboards make finding interesting places easy.
Since J and I moved to Lansing three years ago, we have passed a billboard for Shoreline Brewery on I-94 every time we go home. My new found interest in craft brews made the selection even easier for me. I checked the menu and the hours to make sure they were open and every one would be able to find something to eat. I got the ok from J and my parents so we made plans to meet at noon central time for our week after Mother’s Day lunch. Read more…
Qdoba Mexican Grill – Main Street
4403 W. Main StreetSaturday was a long day. I only got two hours of sleep and I worked an 11 hour day. When I called home as I was leaving Grand Rapids, J said she wasn’t feeling great either and didn’t want to go out. I was fine with that, but I still wanted to pick up dinner. I wasn’t in the mood for pizza and the first thing that jumped in my head was Taco Bell. I almost settled on that until I remembered Qdoba.
Qdoba Mexican Grill has three locations in the Kalamazoo area. We’ve eaten at the Portage location in the past. The two Kalamazoo locations are on Gull Road and West Main. The Main Street shop was the closest to the highway. After getting of 131, I headed east on Main to find the building on the corner of Main and Picadilly Road.
It’s not very often I’ve come across a stand alone Qdoba. Usually they are in strip malls, but this location has a building all to itself and it was a pretty popular dinner option on this particular Saturday night.
As I was driving home, I was talking to my brother and trying to explain to him what Qdoba was. It’s not quite like the normal “Mexican” fast food places. They have more options and most of the food is actually made fresh on site. A couple of J’s cousins work at a Qdoba in Illinois and we were surprised to learn just how much was made on site. Read more…
Jet’s Pizza – Stadium Drive
3321 Stadium Drive #AJ and I were totally on the same page when it came to Saturday night dinner. Before I left work, she called and asked if I was in the mood for pizza. I’m always in the mood for pizza. I figured she would just order Cottage Inn, but she said she was craving Jet’s. In a strange coincidence, I kind of was too.
The closest Jet’s to us now is the one on Stadium Drive. The other two area locations are in Portage and Gull Road. Like most Jet’s locations, the Stadium shop is in a small strip mall. It’s kind of a weird set up with the cash register around the corner when you walk in. The kitchen takes up the bulk of the space and there’s no sit down area.
I told J to call the order in about a half our after we talked which means I would be about a half hour from home. Since I was already out, I told her I’d just pick it up. Being a Saturday night, I figured that would be quicker than waiting on delivery.
I was actually a little surprised when I got to the counter and gave the guy my name. He only grabbed one box from the warmer and my bill was less than ten bucks. J usually orders some kind of bread sticks or dessert pizza, but she passed this time going just for a square pizza with pepperoni on half. Read more…
The Hickory Pit
322 Culver Street- Saugatuck, MI 49453
- (269) 857-6020
- No Known Website
- Menu
I didn’t really have a reason to go to Saugatuck today. I was in Hartford and South Haven for work and on my way back to Grand Rapids, I thought it would be a good idea to swing through Saugatuck and pick up some BBQ.
I first became aware of The Hickory Pit a couple months ago when I was in town for a different work assignment. I didn’t have time to eat that day but I filed it away for future use. Then, last weekend, J and I checked out downtown Saugatuck and again, walked by the place. I didn’t know when I would have the chance to go back, so I decided since it wasn’t too far out of the way and I could squeeze it in on my lunch break, I would make the detour and pick up some ‘Cue
The Hickory Pit is in Saugatuck’s beautiful downtown area. It’s on Culver Street near the corner of Griffith Street within a stone’s throw of Kalamazoo Lake. The story here is pretty interesting. The Hickory Pit was opened by a couple of Kentucky transplants who used to vacation in Saugatuck in the Mid-80’s, so when they say real Southern BBQ, it actually is real Southern BBQ. Read more…
Gorilla Gourmet
415 Oakland Drive- Kalamazoo, MI 49001
- (805) 636-2928
- Website
- Sample Menu
The food truck craze has hit Kalamazoo. Sure, we don’t have the dozens of trucks driving around letting us know their location for the day via Twitter like some of the big cities, but Kalamazoo now has a food truck serving up the gourmet foods that people expect from this new culinary furor.
I’ve been following Gorilla Gourmet on Facebook for some time. That’s odd because I hate fan pages on Facebook. I can count on one hand how many of them I actually “like,” but I’ve been intrigued with Gorilla Gourmet since last fall.
At that time, they were mostly a catering truck, but they did park at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday’s. That was really the only place to get what they were serving out of the back of this truck.
Within the last month, the truck has found a somewhat permanent home on Oakland Avenue just east of where Oakland meets Stadium. It takes up most of a small parking lot next to a building that looks like it may have been a restaurant at some point. It’s also right next door to the Circle K, so not only did I get great food…I got a Polar Pop…but I digress. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 
