Gumby’s Pizza and Wings – Kalamazoo
3262 Stadium DriveGoing in to work early means I get off work early. J needed to go grocery shopping, but I told her to just wait until I got home and I would go with her. Before we left for Meijer though, I decided to put in an order for pizza. We’re running out of new pizza joints in Kalamazoo, but there is one that I’ve had good experiences with in the past at other universities.
Gumby’s Pizza is on Stadium Drive in the shopping center near Adios Drive. Gumby’s mainly has locations on or near college campus’s which is how I’ve had past experiences with them. I had friends that went to the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL. Gumby’s was the delivery place of choice. I also ordered from a Gumby’s once when we lived in Lansing. There is a location near Michigan State on Grand River Avenue.
I decided to use the online ordering feature on Gumby’s website. I would always prefer to order online than to call in an order. It’s just easier. Pizza places are always swamped with calls and they try to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. I don’t blame them for that, but by ordering online, I can take my time when it comes to decision making. Read more…
Schnitz Deli
1315 Fulton Street E.I meant to take my lunch to work. It was all packed. Sitting on the counter. All ready for me to take with me. Then, as I’m getting my stuff together, work calls and asked me to hurry up. I wasn’t late. In fact, I was ahead of schedule. I was going to get there fifteen minutes early…but they needed me there quicker. I got sidetracked, forgot my lunch and ended up having to eat out. Not in the original plan, but not a bad thing either.
I usually don’t get to take lunch earlier enough on Saturday’s to eat at the deli I’ve really been wanting to try. I usually start at noon and take lunch after 6:00…about halfway through my twelve hour day. This Saturday, I started at nine which meant lunch time was around noon. Perfect.
Schnitz Deli is on Fulton Street in Grand Rapids just eats of Fuller Avenue. The tricky part is they also have a bakery just a few doors down and when you come from the west, that’s the first thing you see. I pulled in to the bakery first, realized it wasn’t a deli and got back in the car to find the deli. Read more…
Tempo Vino Winery
260 E. Michigan AvenuePart two of our Valentine’s Day excursion was something I knew J would like. Tuesday night, not long after making reservations at Bold, I saw a tweet from Tempo Vino Winery for their Valentine’s Night of Sweetness Wine & Dessert Tasting. I showed it to J and she picked up the phone and called right away to get a reservation.
After our fantastic dinner in Texas Township, we headed back to downtown Kalamazoo. We were pretty early so we drove around looking for a new restaurant J saw a few weeks ago. We never did find it, but it did kill enough time.
Tempo Vino Winery is on busy Michigan Avenue in Kalamazoo’s Central Business District. There is street parking in front of the buildings, but your best bet is to find a parking lot or ramp. We went to the lot on Bates Alley behind the building. There is an entrance to the business from the back, but we didn’t know that or even if it was open because they were using the area by the door for the event. We walked all the way back around to the front just because it looks like the proper entrance.
We really weren’t sure how this whole evening was going to work. The event ran from 8:00 to 9:00 PM. I think we both thought it was going to be a sit down type event where they served each wine and dessert to the whole group at one time. That’s not how it worked. Instead, there were two stations set up with three wines and desserts each. You went at your own pace and kind of mingled throughout the space. Read more…
Bold
6915 W. Q AvenueValentine’s Day came early. Really? Who’s going to go out on a Monday night? Like I’m sure most people did, J and I went out on Friday night instead of waiting for the actual Valentine’s Day.
I’ve been holding Bold for a while now. I needed a special occasion since we’re not really fancy eating out type people. On Monday, I called to see about reservations.
I was hoping for a table around 6:00. The man who answered the phone told me they had a table for 5:45. Sounded good to me so I took it. Before I hung up, the man on the other end made sure to tell me that they needed the table at 7:30 for another reservation. That was nice of him, huh? Keep the meal moving and an hour and forty five minutes is more than enough time.
As the day got closer, J got really excited. We had both been looking at the menu all week coordinating our plan of attack. Read more…
Press Release – Grants for Kalamazoo Gardeners
From a Fair Food Matters press release
Fair Food Matters offers grants for Kalamazoo-area community gardeners
Fair Food Matters is seeking applications for its 2011 Community Garden Grants, made possible using funds provided by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.
Qualifying 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 by maintaining a community garden; and to strengthen neighborhoods by sharing work, food and fellowship.
Grant applications are due to Fair Food Matters no later than Monday, March 21, 2011. A grant review panel will select 5-10 projects to fund (each receiving $500-$1,000). All applicants will be notified no later than April 1, 2011.
For complete details and an application form, please visit the Fair Food Matters’ website (www.fairfoodmatters.org).
Brewsters at the Dyckman
201 E. Michigan Avenue- Paw Paw, MI 49079
- (269) 655-2222
- No Known Website
- Menu
Picking up a little extra work on my day off. Can’t complain about that. The best thing about the freelance work I do is that I almost always get lunch.
At first, I was told we were only going to take about a half hour for lunch and we’d just order in. I was fine with that. Lunch is lunch when I’m not paying, but as lunch time rolled around, my employer said we were just going to go out. Fabulous.
Her first choice was Bistro 120 but we were told they were closed on Monday and Tuesday. Instead, it was recommended that we go to The Dyckman for lunch.
The Dyckman House has roots in Paw Paw dating back to the late 1800’s. The original purpose of the building was as a hotel, but the present day configuration is a restaurant/bar and apartment building.
Brewsters at the Dyckman sits right on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue in downtown Paw Paw. It’s impossible to miss as you’re making your way through town. There is street parking in front and on the side of the building, but there’s also a municipal parking lot around back which serves all the businesses along this busy stretch of road. There is also a back entrance which brings you to a small waiting area between the bar and the dining room. Read more…
Ramona’s Table
2232 Wealthy Street SESome days I just have to give in and go out to dinner. Sure, I pack a lunch, but I work a 12 hour day on Saturday. I usually eat my lunch not long after getting to work which means come dinner time, I either eat out of a vending machine or I go out.
This time, I chose to go out.
I sort of left the office wandering aimlessly knowing I didn’t want fast food. As I headed down Wealthy Street, I remembered a place in East Grand Rapids that I’ve been wanting to try. I had no idea if they were still open or not, but I figured it was worth a chance.
Ramona’s Table is in downtown East Grand Rapids on Wealthy Street near Bagley Avenue in the Gaslight Village Area. Downtown East Grand Rapids is filled with cute little buildings and Ramona’s Table is no different. Read more…
Bruno’s Pizza & Restaurant
1528 W. Michigan Avenue- Kalamazoo, MI 49006
- (269) 349-3229
- No Known Website
- Menu
With J in Chicago, I was on my own for dinner. My plan for the evening was to pick up a movie from Redbox and grab a pizza then just relax in my basement all night.
So the question is, where to get a pizza from. There are still a few places in the Kalamazoo area that I haven’t tried yet and I wanted to try one of those.
The place I chose was Bruno’s Pizza & Restaurant on West Michigan Avenue right across the street from Western Michigan University. I’ve been wanting to go there for a while, but I never know when they’re open. They don’t have a website and any information I can find online always seems to contradict information I’ve found on different websites. I figured being a Friday night, they would be open.
I went to Meijer to pick up my movie from the Redbox there. When I pulled in to the parking, I looked up the phone number and placed the call. It started to ring which was promising. I at least knew they were still open. I was really relieved when I heard a woman’s voice on the other end say, “Bruno’s.” Read more…
Round Barn Winery Tasting Room – Union Pier
9185 Union Pier Road- Union Pier, MI 49129
- (269) 469-6885
- Website
If you read my last post about Taco Bob’s, you already know that we had some issues getting J to Chicago. She was supposed to take an Amtrak, but being on time is a problem for Amtrak. They were not just late. They were over four hours late which would have made J miss her dinner plans and her connecting Metra to the suburbs where her parents live.
Since I didn’t want her weekend home to get off to a bad start, I offered to just drive her to Chicago. Her mom then offered to meet us halfway, so we headed towards New Buffalo.
As we got close, I realized we hadn’t heard from J’s mom yet which means she probably wasn’t in New Buffalo yet. As we were coming up on Exit 6, I asked J if she wanted to pull off and get her mom a bottle of wine as a “thank you” for coming to get her.
Now, I was thinking St. Julian because I knew her mom really likes their wine, but J said she still had a couple bottles from her last trip to Michigan. J suggested we try Round Barn. Read more…
Taco Bob’s – Oshtemo Township
6890 Stadium DriveI know that Friday’s have been a day of extravagance recently, but this Friday was supposed to be different. J was heading home to Chicago for the weekend and because we’re down to one 4WD car due to my accident a couple weeks ago, she was planning on taking an Amtrak. In typical Amtrak fashion, they were running late. Way late. So late that we decided it was faster just to drive to New Buffalo and meet J’s mom halfway instead of waiting on such a worthless transportation system which showed up to Kalamazoo four hours late.
While we were trying to figure out travel arrangements, I told J that I needed to run somewhere for lunch. I threw out about a dozen suggestions, but nothing sounded good to her. At one point, I said something about Taco Bell which reminded her of Taco Bob’s.
When we were coming home from Paw Paw last week via Red Arrow Highway, we drove by a Taco Bob’s location we didn’t even know existed. Not to far before you get to 9th Street, if you’re coming from the west, you come across a newer strip development with a lot of empty stores. One of the few stores that is occupied is a Taco Bob’s. It’s still pretty hard to find. Even when I was looking for it and knew it was there, I had a hard time finding it. Since I was coming from the East, I had to turn in to the development before I got to the building. The “front” of the store is actually on the side opposite of the street, so there’s really not a very good street presence. There is a really small sign near the road, but it’s easy to miss. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 