Press Release – 2010 Taste of Grand Rapids
From a Clear Channel press release…
“Taste of Grand Rapids & Barbecue Competition” Features Two Days of Food, Fun, and Music
(Grand Rapids, MI) The 2010 “Taste of Grand Rapids & BBQ Competition” kicks off Friday, July 23rd and Saturday, July 24th for two days of food tasting, live music, and a sanctioned barbecue tournament, at John Ball Park, 1300 West Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hours for the “Taste of Grand Rapids and BBQ Competition” are 3pm to 10pm on Friday, July 23rd and 11am to10pm on Saturday, July 24th.
Admission and parking to the “Taste of Grand Rapids” is free. Patrons may purchase tastes and samples of food from 25 participating Grand Rapids area restaurants.
Live non-stop entertainment will be featured by 17 different bands including Echoes of Pink Floyd and Zooropa, two nationally renowned tribute bands.
Along with a wide variety of food and entertainment, the “Taste of Grand Rapids” will feature a Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) sanctioned contest during the two days of the “Taste of Grand Rapids”. Approximately 50 teams from half a dozen states are expected to compete to determine the State Barbecue Champion of Michigan.
“The food is the real star every year at the Taste of Grand Rapids,” said Rich Berry, Events Coordinator for the event. “We have a number of new restaurants, so people will be pleasantly surprised. We want to give people the opportunity to try a number of different types of food inexpensively in one setting.
“The Taste of Grand Rapids is also an excellent opportunity for us to showcase a number of terrific local bands.”
A Pink Floyd tribute band Echos of Pink Floyd will be headlining the “Taste of Grand Rapids” on Friday, July 23rd and a U2 tribute band Zooropa will headline on Saturday, July 24th.
“Both of these bands perform nationally and we are honored that they have chosen the Taste of Grand Rapids to showcase their talents. They are extremely talented and you actually think you are hearing the real bands,” said Berry.
Hours for the “Taste of Grand Rapids” at John Ball Park are from 3pm to10pm on Friday, July 23rd and from 11am to10 pm on Saturday, July 24th. Admission and parking are free. John Ball Park is in northwest Grand Rapids, located at 1300 West Fulton Street.
Participating Restaurants Include:25 Kitchen & Bar
Buffalo Wild Wings
Buono Mangiare Catering
Café San Juan
Chinatown
Cold Stone Creamery
Corner Bar
Culver’s
Georgio’s Gourmet Pizza
GoJo Ethiopian Cuisine
Famous Daves
Fred’s Italian Restaurant
Koeze Retail Stores
Mafia Mike’s Pizza
Red Robin
San Chez Bistro
Sandmann’s
Schondelmayer Bar-B-Q
Taquito’s Mexican Grill
The Melting Pot
Wing Heaven
XO Asian Cuisine
Grand Traverse Pie CompanyLive Entertainment Includes: Read more…
From a Berrien County Health Department press release…..
Benton Harbor Farmers Market to Open on Wednesday July 7
The Benton Harbor Farmers Market will be open for the season beginning Wednesday July 7. Hours of operation are 10:00am to 4:00pm each Wednesday, July through October. The market is located in the Dwight P. Mitchell City Center Park on the corner of Pipestone and Main Street in downtown Benton Harbor. The market features local growers and is run by the Berrien County Health Department and Berrien County Michigan State University Extension.
The market will accept Project FRESH coupons through the end of September. There are still Project FRESH coupons available for WIC clients. Beginning later in the summer, the Benton Harbor Farmers Market will also accept the SNAP Bridge card.
The Benton Harbor Farmers Market provides an opportunity to buy fresh foods produced in Berrien County. Fruits and vegetables purchased locally often taste better and have a higher nutritional content than those in grocery stores, because grocery store items have been shipped from all over the world, creating a large gap between the time items are harvested and when they are sold. There is also the added benefit of supporting your community with your food dollars and helping support small family farms.
For more information on the Benton Harbor Farmers Market, please contact Nicki Britten at 269-927-5639. For more information on Project FRESH for WIC clients, please call the WIC Office in Benton Harbor (269-927-5646), Niles (269-684-2800), or Three Oaks at (269-756-2008).
Grand Central Market
57 Monroe Center NWWhat to do for lunch when you don’t want grease. That’s always a problem for me. Sure, I could go to one of the national chain sandwich shops, but that’s so boring. I love getting to explore a new town and that’s what I’m still doing with Grand Rapids. I’ve found there are a lot of neighborhood centers that offer shopping and dining. I’m so lucky to be working so close to Wealthy Street which is full of great restaurants, but today, I wanted to head downtown and see what I could find. Almost every downtown has some sort of deli or sandwich shop and that’s what I went looking for.
It didn’t take me too long to find Grand Central Market on Monroe Center NW near Division Street. It actually took me longer to find parking than it did to find the restaurant. Monroe Center is a very tight one-way street with meters on either side. On my first pass there were no open spots. After going around the block and finding my way back to the storefront, I found two spots right smack in front of the building. Read more…
Upper Crust
1420 M-89- Otsego, MI49078
- (269) 692-6811
- No Known Website
- Menu
My plan for tonight was just to throw in a frozen pizza when I got home from work. I actually figured J would either be in bed or have already eaten. Just as I was getting off work in Grand Rapids, I got a text. Since I wasn’t driving yet, I looked at. She asked when I was getting off. I replied, “Now.” She called me right back and asked if there was anywhere I wanted to pick up dinner from. Like I said, I was planning on frozen pizza, so pizza is what I thought of. I didn’t want to pick up anything in or close to Grand Rapids because it would be pretty cold by the time I got home.
I thought of a restaurant I passed a couple weeks ago when I had a job in Otsego. The Upper Crust is on M-89 northwest of the US-131 interchange.
J offered to call in an order, but couldn’t find a menu anywhere online. There was no website and there’s not one posted on any of the restaurant listing sites. We had not idea what they actually offered. She called and asked for a large half cheese, half pepperoni pizza. The guy on the other end asked if she wanted round or deep dish. She didn’t know what to say so she said round. He told her it would be about twenty minutes which was about perfect since I had just gotten on the road.
About twenty minutes later, I rolled up on the building on Otsego’s southeast side. The parking lot was pretty full for a Tuesday night. I found out later that’s because they have a smorgasboard for $6.95 on Tuesday’s. Read more…
Back to the 50’s Drive-In
8510 M-140- South Haven, MI 49090
- (269) 637-1954
- No Known Website
- Menu
I guess it’s kind of throwback Monday. As we were driving from Ma’s to the beach in South Haven, we came across a drive-in. We obviously couldn’t eat then, but once we left after diving into three foot waves like a couple teenagers, we headed back for drinks.
Back to the 50’s Drive-In is on M-140 near the Blue Star Highway just south of the city of South Haven. It’s actually an old A & W that has been rehabbed in recent years. They do still have carhops, but there is also a walk-up window inside the building.
We pulled in around five o’clock and the carhop noticed us and grabbed a menu. We were going to get out, but since she was already coming, we just stayed in the car. Since we had just eaten a couple hours earlier, we weren’t super hungry, but wanted some sort of drink.
We found the small drink list on the flip side of the menu. There was a large selection of shake flavors and that’s what we both ended up getting. I stuck with a pretty simple vanilla shake, but J, of course, went a little more crazy. She got a banana split shake. Read more…
Ma’s Coffee Pot
13967 M-140- South Haven, MI 49090
- (269) 637-4448
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
Last month, J and I made a trip to check out the beach at South Haven. We had so much fun that day, we decided to do it again. I was off work and when J got home at noon, we headed west towards the lake.
Before swimming and sunburning, we needed to find lunch. There are a lot of great restaurants in South Haven, but the one I found is a little 24-hour truck stop on M-140 at the I-196 Interchange.
Ma’s Coffee Pot is a truck stop diner in every sense of the word. It’s right off the Interstate. It shares a parking lot with a gas station and it’s not very big. In fact, the building is actually a historic Valentine Diner.
Valentine got their start in the 1930’s in Wichita, KS. The diners were originally built as 8-10 seat diners that could be run by just one or two people. Ma’s looks like they’ve added on a little bit over the years. The original part of the building is not much more than a lunch counter and a few booths. Around the corner is another small dining area with only half a dozen or so booths. We chose to sit in this area. Read more…
Sam’s Philly Steaks
655 Eastern Avenue SE- Grand Rapids, MI 49503
- (616) 245-4455
- No Known Website
- Menu
Still not used to having a dinner break where I have to get somewhere and get back in less than an hour. It’s been a long time since I worked a job like that. That’s the case now. As I’m still feeling out Grand Rapids, sometimes, I’m gonna make mistakes on timing or if places even still exist.
J drove by a wing joint last week and told me it looked like a place I would love. I found it online and saw it was near where I work, so I headed there. Well, it used to be near where I worked. In fact, there used to be several locations in the area. Not anymore. At least two address within five miles of where I am were closed. The one she went by was fifteen minutes the other direction. No way I could make.
I started heading back the way I came when I came across what look like a fairly new, brightly painted building that had signs boasting not only the Philly Steaks that are in it’s name, but Chicago Style food, pizza, and chicken wings.
I made a couple awkward u-turns to get back to Sam’s Philly Steak’s on the corner of Eastern Avenue and Dunham in Grand Rapids’ Baxter Neighborhood. Read more…
Kalamazoo Farmer’s Market
1204 Bank Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49001
- (269) 337-8899
- Website
One of the really cool things about living in Michigan is the abundance of fresh produce. Before moving to Lansing two years ago, I had never been to a farmer’s market. They’re not nearly as popular in Central Illinois as they are here. In fact, my mother-in-law, who worked in produce at a supermarket for 30 years went to her FIRST farmer’s market last week. It’s just not something that is promoted or executed as well in Illinois as it is here in Michigan.
J and I decided to get my butt out of bed earlier than I usually do on Saturday’s because my job has me working what is basically a second shift on weekends. If we can’t go out to dinner, we’ll go out to breakfast instead. After breakfast, we’re hoping to make the Kalamazoo Farmer’s Market a weekly trip.
Our first excursion to the market located on Bank Street just west of Portage Street in the Edison neighborhood was this past Saturday and we found a much bigger farmer’s market than we expected.
When we turned on to Bank Street from Stockbridge Avenue, we immediately noticed there were a lot of people. There were cars lining the streets and people walking in the neighborhood with bags full of fresh produce. It was around 11:00 by the time we made it there and our experience at other markets around the state is things start winding down by then. Not at the Kalamazoo market. Read more…
East Egg
6907 Sears DriveSeveral months ago when we ate at the Craftsman Chop Company, there was a new building being constructed in the parking. I noticed a sign inside that the new building was going to be a breakfast joint. Earlier this spring, East Egg opened and we’ve been making plans ever since to stop in for breakfast, but every time we drive by, there’s a line out the door.
J got me out of bed for breakfast on a Saturday morning. We thought maybe Saturday would be better than Sunday. No such luck. We pulled into the parking of the building on Sears Drive between Romence Road and the Crossroads Mall and still found people sitting outside waiting for a table. J didn’t want to give up so easily, so we parked in front of the Chop Company and made our way inside to see how long the wait would be.
There’s a hostess station right inside the door and an L-shaped bench that is not nearly enough room for the crowds we always see there on weekends. J checked in with the hostess who said it would be about twenty minutes. We noticed a lot of tables clearing out as we were standing there, so J put her name in and we stood in a corner to wait for our name to be called. Read more…
Sam’s Joint Restaurant – Plainwell
675 10th StreetMy second week on the job and I’m already picking up extra shifts. I like that. I’m not usually scheduled for Friday nights, but there was a shortage at work, so they asked if I could come in. I rarely turn down extra shifts, but being Friday and our newly crowned date night, J and I still wanted to go out for dinner. Initially, she thought about meeting me in Grand Rapids and finding some place up there, but instead opted for the closest thing for halfway.
I started looking for joints in Plainwell where we could meet. I know have a pretty good list of places we want to check out, but for our first venture into the Island City, I chose Sam’s Joint which is actually north of Plainwell proper.
Sam’s Joint is a little West Michigan chain. There are eight locations with the Caledonia restaurant being the Sam’s that started it all in 1977.
The Plainwell Joint is on 10th Street just north of 106th Avenue. If you’re coming from downtown Plainwell, Main Street becomes 10th Street. If you know the area better than I do, 106th Avenue actually intersects with US 131 so you can avoid the city.
Sam’s is an old red brick building that reminds me of fancy places from the 70’s. Sam’s Joint had a previous life, but the name actually escapes me. It’s still visible under the new sign out near the road. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 