Press Release – Community Garden Grant Recipients
From a Fair Food Matters press release.
Fair Food Matters has announced recipients of its 2011 Community Garden Grants, funded by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and Irving S. Gilmore Foundation.
To qualify, projects must be community (not private) gardens located within Kalamazoo County. The focus of the program is to provide healthy, fresh food to neighbors and friends; to encourage physical activity; and to strengthen neighborhoods by sharing work, food and fellowship.
The following 16 projects will receive grants ranging from $350 to $850 to purchase raised beds, plants and seeds, garden tools, fencing and other supplies:
- Beauty from Ashes Community Garden, West G Avenue at Waldorf Street, Kalamazoo
- Come-Union Garden, 532 Autumns Way, Kalamazoo
- Comstock Community Center, 6330 King Highway, Kalamazoo
- Downtown Kalamazoo Inc. Community Garden, corner of Rose and Lovell Streets, Kalamazoo
- Douglass Community Garden, 1000 West Paterson, Kalamazoo
- Edible Edison, 1607 Egleston Boulevard, Kalamazoo
- Historic Stuart Neighborhood Garden, 703 West Willard, Kalamazoo
- Ka’desh Community Garden, 1339 North Krom Street, Kalamazoo
- Kalamazoo Central High School Community Garden, 2432 North Drake Road, Kalamazoo
- Mt. Zion Community Garden, 120 Roberson Street, Kalamazoo
- Oakwood Community Garden, 2529 Springmont Avenue, Kalamazoo
- Parkwood-Upjohn Elementary School Garden, 2321 South Park Street, Kalamazoo
- Salvation Army Community Garden, 1700 Burdick Street, Kalamazoo
- Schoolcraft UMC Community Garden, US 131 at Clay Street, Schoolcraft (formerly Hoppy’s Garden store)
- Tree of Life Urban Garden, 111 Dixie Avenue, Kalamazoo
- Vine Neighborhood Community Garden, east side of Westnedge (between Dutton and Walnut).
Press Release – Millennium “Good Form Dining” Menus
From a Millennium Restaurant Group press release….
Millennium Restaurant Group Locations to Feature “Good Form Dining” Menus
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Helping Kalamazoo gear up for the first ever Kalamazoo Marathon on May 8, 2011, the Chefs at Kalamazoo-based Millennium Restaurant Group have created special featured menus focused on the special nutrition runner’s need for endurance and strength. The special menus are available at the restaurants from April 13-May 7.
Each restaurant has a full featured menu with four-seven items, including:
Seared Salmon served on a bed of coconut rice with cucumber mango salsa and a carrot ginger puree, topped with chili dusted wontons
Iron is important to distance runners, with a daily goal of 8mg-18mg intake (the salmon alone can account for up for 20% of your Daily Value). The coconut also serves as a great source of fiber (many runners use coconut water was an alternative to a sports drink).
Banana Wrapped Sea Bass fresh sea bass steamed in a banana leaf with fresh Italian vegetables, and served on a bed of steamed rice
Sea Bass is a great lean source of protein and iron (which delivers oxygen to cells, keeping runners from feeling fatigued). Rice is also a GREAT sourse of those highly sought-after carbs.
Bison Burger char-grilled Bison burger on a cracked wheat bun topped with provolone, sautéed mushrooms, and red onions, served with sweet potato fries
Each serving of Bison contains more than 50% of your vitamin B12 needs & 30% of your needs for iron & zinc, necessary for muscle function and recovery. Mushrooms contain a rare antioxidant (L-ergothioneine) which fights off free-radical damage (great for post-run potassium)
Epic Bistro/Central City Tap House: menu starting Tuesday April 19
Otto’s Chicken served with black beans and wood-grilled vegetables
A 1-cup serving of black beans supplies over 25% of your Daily Value for protein, almost 60% of your fiber, and 20% for iron (which delivers oxygen to the cells, keeping runners from feeling fatigued). There’s also a great dose of carbs.
In addition to the featured “Good Form Dining” menus, each restaurant will offer runners of the Kalamazoo Marathon, Borgess Half Marathon, and Borgess 5K a special treat. The week following the race—May 9 through May 14—runners who bring in their race bib will receive 1% off their food for each mile they ran.
- 26% off for full Marathoners
- 13% off for half Marathoners
- 5% off for 5k runners (the restaurants will count kilometers rather than miles for this specific race)
Good Form Dining will be offered from April 13 through May 7 for runners to fuel up leading up to the Kalamazoo Marathon weekend. For more information about “Good Form Dining” or Millennium Restaurant Group, please visit us online at www.MillenniumRestaurants.com.
Chicken Coop – Plainwell
1175 M-89- Plainwell, MI 49080
- (269) 685-6213
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
Man, have I been craving fried chicken. It’s been several weeks now and I haven’t been able to fill that craving. As far as I’ve been able to find, there really isn’t a lot of great chicken places in the area. Usually, I just go to the Chicken Coop, but there really isn’t one close anymore and when I would come home from work on Sunday nights, I didn’t pass anything that was open other than KFC.
I tried a few times to stop at the Chicken Coop in Plainwell, but they are closed on Sunday’s which left me craving chicken, but not wanting to drive any farther in to Kalamazoo than I had to.
Now that I’ve changed jobs, I actually get off at a decent time on Saturday nights. Instead of making the trip from GR to Kalmazoo at midnight, I leave Grand Rapids around 7:00 so J and I can actually do things on Saturday’s instead of just rewinding SNL to the beginning and lay on the couch.
Neither of us slept very well Friday night, so we decided to spend this first free Saturday night on the couch catching up on shows we DVR’d this week. Normally, we’d order a pizza, but I still had that chicken craving and told J I’d take a shot at actually finding the Plainwell Chicken Coop open. Read more…
Barista Blues West
402 S. Burdick StreetI’ve already mentioned that I started a new job last week. What that means, from an eating out perspective, is that Friday night is no longer date night. I’ll be working Friday nights, but I’ll have Saturday nights, Sunday, and Monday off which is much better than my old schedule.
Since we were out of town this weekend, our eating out in Kalamazoo day became Monday for lunch. When J got home from work, we needed to go grocery shopping, but both of our tummy’s were rumbling. J gave me the option to choose where I wanted to go which means I could have eaten any greasy thing I wanted, but instead, I decided to go somewhere I thought J would like.
Last week, when we went to Lenny’s Sub Shop, J said she wanted to go somewhere that offered something lighter than greasy bar food. It wasn’t until we already ordered and were sitting down at Lenny’s that I remembered a new place that opened in downtown Kalamazoo.
Barista Blues West takes up the corner space at Lovell and Burdick. The awnings still have the Good’wich logo, but there’s a sign board out front that advertises the day’s special and let’s you know there’s a new business in that location. If you’re wondering where the “West” part of the name comes from, J figured it out when she thought the name sounded familiar. The original store is in downtown Battle Creek. Read more…
Cottage Inn – Oshtemo Township
5038 W. KL AvenueEver have one of those nights you just want a pizza? Yeah, I get those often, but most of the time, I resist the urge to pick up the phone and take the easy way out. If I gave in every time I wanted a pizza, I’d be much fatter than I already am.
I do give in every now and then though and when I do give in, and I just want something quick from a delivery place, I go straight to Cottage Inn.
Cottage Inn became our go-to place when we lived in Lansing. I’m know I’ve explained this before, but the first couple times we ordered from Cottage Inn, we didn’t really like it. That’s because, we didn’t realize they had thin crust. Once J stumbled on the thin crust by accident, we went back time and time again.
When we lived off of Kilgore, we always used the Portage Road location. Now that we live on the west side of town, the closest Cottage Inn location is on KL Avenue in a shopping center on the corner of KL and Drake Road in Oshtemo Township. The store takes up the corner of the shopping center that also has the Big Burrito and 7-Eleven. Read more…
Lenny’s Sub Shop – Kalamazoo
3290 Stadium DriveSo, this is my last full day off before I go back to work full time. It’s been three years since I’ve known I was going to get 40 hours a week and get a paycheck every week. The time off has been nice, but stressing over work hasn’t been all that fun. I’ve done alright picking up freelance and part time work, but that can be really stressful.
I actually start my new job on Thursday but I have one more freelance gig tomorrow so J suggested going out for lunch today. We had to do some grocery shopping anyway, so I figured why not.
I was planning on driving to a bar and doing the pub food thing like we usually do, but J said she wanted something “lighter.” There’s really not much in Kalamazoo that is “lighter.” I really wish there were more deli’s and sandwich shops that aren’t chains so we can have some variety instead of going to the same place whenever we’re in the mood for sandwiches.
While there are chain sub shops on almost every corner in town, there is one chain that we’ve never been to. They actually have two locations in the Kalamazoo Metro. One is on Westnedge and Romence in Portage, but we chose the one on Stadium in Kalamazoo. Read more…
The Birdcage
2702 E. Main Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49048
- (269) 414-6441
- No Known Website
- Menu
It’s a quick bachelor weekend for me. J and her mom took a trip to Michigan City for a little shopping and a spa day at Blue Chip Casino. The unfortunate thing, for me, is that the night they were gone, I was at work, so I didn’t get to take advantage and eat all the crap I don’t like to eat when J is here.
I did get at least one meal by myself and I decided to run across town to pick up some BBQ from a place I just recently learned about after seeing a couple reviews on Urbanspoon.
The Birdcage is a small BBQ joint located inside the Eastwood Market on Main Street in Kalamazoo Township. A few weeks ago when I drove by, the only telltale sign was a neon sign in the window that said BBQ and the smoker out in the parking lot. Today when I pulled in to the parking lot, I noticed a big white van with the company logo on the sign and a large sign hanging above the entrance advertising the restaurant.
When I opened the door to the market, I was immediately hit by the smell of that sweet, sweet smoke. It would be hell if I had to work in the market and smell that all day. No one way I would be able to resist. Read more…
U.P. North Sandwich & Pasty Co.
1256 Lincoln Road- Allegan, MI 49010
- (269) 355-1344
- No Known Website
- Menu
Since moving to Michigan, J and I have wanted to take a trip to the U.P. I was up there once…for about two hours for work and she drove through the U.P. when her family did the circle tour when she was growing up, but neither of us have really spent any time exploring the U.P. and their unique food options.
Luckily for me, I don’t have to go all the way up across the Mackinaw Bridge. I just have to go to Allegan.
I got sent to Allegan for work tonight and as I was leaving the shop, I planned my route so it would take me in to Allegan via M-89 from the east. The U.P. North Sandwich & Pasty Co. is on Lincoln Road (also known as M-89) on the southeast side of town. It’s a small white building with red trim and a yellow sign out front. J and I have driven through Allegan a few times on our way to Fennville…including last night when we went to dinner at Salt of the Earth, but we’ve never really stopped anywhere to eat. I had seen this building before and it did pique my interest. I was just looking for an excuse to go to Allegan to try it out.
I stopped in during dinner time on a Thursday night. There were a few people already in line in front of me looking over the paper menus that are available on the counter. Not sure what this place was before, but it has kind of a 50’s dinner feel. The counter is a mixture of tile and glass block and there’s not a whole lot of space. There are less than a dozen tables in the small area and the order counter and display case take up a good chunk of the room. Read more…
Al’s Beef – Oak Lawn, IL
5128 W. 95th StreetIt’s been way too long since we’ve been to Chicago. Way too long. Not only do I miss seeing our families, but man, do I miss the food.
We really needed to make a trip back to Chicago to pick up a lawmower from J’s parents. On top of that, J’s mom is spending the week with us and her step-dad is planning on coming up for the weekend, so we also picked her up so they wouldn’t have two cars in Kalamazoo. It worked out for everyone.
After getting back to J’s parents house a little after 3:00 Eastern, we loaded up everything that was making the trip back to Kalamazoo then headed to lunch. I really, really wanted to go to our favorite pizza place, but it’s closed on Tuesday’s. Yeah, that’s not odd at all. Closed on Tuesday?
Since pizza was out, I wanted Italian Beef. Most people run to Portillo’s which is a fine option, but it’s nowhere near as good as as Al’s Beef.
Al’s Beef is a Chicago legend. They have multiple stores throughout the region, but the closest to J’s parents is on 95th Street in Oak Lawn. It’s only been open a couple years and it’s in a newer development downtown. They share a building with Nancy’s Pizza which I’ve never had…mostly because if I’m going in the door, I want beef. Read more…
This came from the Millennium Restaurant Group email newsletter….
Millennium Restaurant Group is excited to announce their pending acquisition of The Wine Loft, and is eager to receive them into their family of restaurants. The Wine Loft has serviced the Kalamazoo area for over two years with the same commitment to quality and service as all other Millennium locations. As of March 1, 2011, Millennium Restaurant Group has taken over operation and management of the restaurant, located in the Haymarket building of downtown Kalamazoo, pending final approval of the liquor license transfer by the MLCC.
“We have always admired and enjoyed watching The Wine Loft grow into the Kalamazoo community,” says CFO and Partner of Millennium Restaurant Group Shelly Pastor. “When we were given the opportunity to welcome them into our group of restaurants, we were more than thrilled.”
While Millennium Restaurant Group plans to keep the esthetic and overall feel of The Wine Loft intact, they do have plans for a few small changes in the upcoming months, including expansion of menu and seating options. The current Wine Loft staff will remain intact and will also join the Millennium family.
Venture Foods and West Michigan Wine Loft Inc., the owner of The Wine Loft, have decided to go in a different direction with their business endeavors. Through the years they have brought the Kalamazoo community such restaurants as Qdoba, Big Apple Bagel, and most recently SmashBurger.
For additional questions about the operation change at The Wine Loft, please contact Millennium Restaurant Group at their main corporate office at (269) 375.1193
SW Michigan Dining 
