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…
From a Promote Michigan press release..
Secchia Institute for Culinary Education Team Wins 2011 Chefs Challenge
(BOYNE CITY, Mich) – The team from Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at Grand Rapids Community College was named winner of the 2011 Chefs Challenge during an “Iron Chef” inspired competition – edging out a team from The Art Institute of Michigan of Novi. The competition was held at Boyne Mountain Resort on Saturday, April 30, with Emmy Award winning chef and award-winning cookbook author Eric Villegas serving as master of ceremonies.
Earlier in the day, 11 teams from around Michigan cooked up mini plates which were evaluated by an esteemed group of culinary judges to determine the top two teams. Those teams provided the entertainment for diners that evening by cooking up detailed menu incorporating a variety of Michigan products which were then judged in front of the crowd to pick the top team.
“People’s Choice” awards were presented earlier in the day in several categories:
Beverage Division
Artisan Brew: Short’s Brewery
Wine: (TIE) Bowers Harbor Winery & Good Harbor Vineyards
Spirits: Grand Traverse Distillery
Culinary Division
Southwest Michigan: St. Mary’s Healthcare (Also named “Overall People’s Choice Winner”)
Northwest Michigan: Odawa Casino & Resort
The Chefs Challenge competition, inspired by the cult sensation Iron Chef America and the famous “Secret Ingredient,” is the culinary must-attend event of the year in Northern Michigan. The food competitions are designed to showcase Michigan food and drink products and their creative applications in a meal. It is an opportunity for Michigan establishments to showcase their talents and gain exposure for their establishment, while raising funds for Challenge Mountain.
The entire weekend benefits nearby Challenge Mountain – a non-profit 501(c)3 organization which provides adaptive outdoor recreational opportunities to people with special needs and their families, free of charge. For more than 25 years, Challenge Mountain has been dedicated to providing a venue for sports, outdoor recreation and leisure skills to those with physical disabilities or mental challenges, and to create happy, healthy and longer lives.
For more information on Chefs Challenge, including the list of teams, judges, seminars and more, log onto www.Chefs-challenge.com. For more on Challenge Mountain, visit www.cmski.org
American Spoon Foods – Saugatuck
308 Butler StreetAfter a great lunch at Saugatuck Brewing Company, we decided to head to downtown Saugatuck for a walk. Neither of us had really been to the downtown area before and since it was such a nice day, we figured we could use a short walk after such a great lunch.
Like most resort towns along Lake Michigan, downtown Saugatuck has a lot of options if you’re looking for something sweet. We actually passed both Kilwin’s, yes BOTH Kilwin’s this time which is highly unusual. I love Kilwin’s fudge. Instead, after walking around for twenty minutes or so, we headed into a small shop to get Gelato.
American Spoon Foods is on Butler Street just north of Hoffman Street in Saugatuck’s downtown business area. American Spoon Foods is actually a small, Michigan chain of shops that are set up in resort towns up and down the west coast. The original store is in Petoskey. That store actually includes a small cafe. The Saugatuck store is mainly a retail outlet for their jams, jellies, salsa, and condiments. While retail is the main part of their business, they also offer up home made gelato. Read more…
Saugatuck Brewing Company
2948 Blue Star HighwayAh, sleep. Lots of it. J and I played the old married couple part last night and hit the hay well before we normally would on a Saturday night. SNL was a rerun and the NASCAR race wasn’t exciting enough to keep us up.
When we both work up much later than I thought we would, we started thinking about lunch right away. We decided to go on a road trip just because we could. I had places in Marshall and Allegan that I wanted to try, but just as I was getting ready to close the laptop and put some jeans on so we could leave, I suddenly remembered one of the few brew pubs in West Michigan we haven’t been to yet.
The Saugatuck Brewing Company is on Blue Star Highway in Douglas just south of the Saugatuck city line. I have been by the building a couple times, so I didn’t bother putting it in to a GPS. I started looking as we got closer to town, but I still drove right by it. From the road, it’s not a super fancy place. There’s a large green sign out near the road, but the building is a large industrial looking building next to an antique shop. The building is home to not only the Lucky Stone Pub where we were heading, but the production line and Bier Hall also take up space in the 25,000 square foot facility.
We passed right by the outdoor patio which was a pretty popular option on this sunny spring day, but it was still a little to chilly for us. We headed into the pub and took a table near the “Brew Your Own Beer” kettles. Yes, you can actually brew your own beer at SBC. Something I will have to look in to and see if I can get some friends on board. Read more…
Comensoli’s Italian Bar & Bistro
762 W. Main StreetI got a craving for Italian. Not sure where it came from, but after last weekend’s epic fail when it came to picking something J would like, I wanted to make up for it and try to find something that would interest her more than greasy bar food.
We don’t do Italian very often because it can be pretty pricey. When we do splurge, I always feel great about the meal until I pay the bill. I love Italian food, I love home made pasta, and I love the large portions, but all of the things I love usually come at a price.
I narrowed the choices down to two restaurants…neither of which we have been to. I left it up to J who, in turn, left it up to me. I decided to go with the one with the larger menu just because I wanted to make sure J had a couple options.
Comensoli’s Italian Bar & Bistro is on that weird corner where Main Street and Michigan Avenue meet. That weird corner makes it a little hard to get to the parking lot because Main Street is one way at that point so if you’re coming from the west like we were, it involves during a U-Turn and turning around in the old Burger King Parking lot.
Since I had to work until 6:00, our dinner excursion started around 8:00. We pulled into the parking lot and got a little worried because we were the only car there. On our drive in, I noticed three waiters standing out in front. We were both wondering while a place like this was empty at 8:00 on a Saturday night. Read more…
Juanito’s Mexican Restaurant
1801 S. Burdick StreetOne more day that J and I get to spend together. She got home a little late from work and my tummy was already rumbling so I was pretty happy when she sat down on the couch and said, “I want Mexican.” Fine by me.
Even though I had a pretty rough weekend picking restaurants, I decided to take a chance and try a place I’ve read good things about, but I knew was going to be either really great or really bad.
Juanito’s Mexican Restaurant is on the corner of Burdick and Reed Avenue just south of downtown Kalamazoo. The restaurant used to be Las Juanito’s, but it has since changed ownership so the name changed to reflect the new owner. The owner, who is also the cook, came out and chatted for a while as we were finishing up our meal. He said he bought the place last year and opened it back up in December after the previous owners had to bow out of the restaurant business due to health issues in the family. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 
