Fish Express
620 Riverview Drive- Kalamazoo, MI 49048
- (269) 349-5000
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
I’m kind of doing the bachelor thing this weekend. J had to go back to Chicago and because I’m starting a new job, I had to stay here. The bad thing, I wish I could be there with her. The good thing is I get to eat all sorts of crap and not feel bad about it.
After making the trip from Grand Rapids, I decided to pick dinner up before heading home. My intention was to pick up BBQ at a place I keep driving past, but that place wasn’t open. Instead, I noticed the brightly colored fish place across the street. I don’t like fish, but these places always have something that I really do love.
Fish Express is on Riverview Drive and Hotop Avenue in Kalamazoo’s Eastside neighborhood. The building is brightly painted and hard to miss. I did, however, miss the parking lot. I pulled in to the liquor store next door, turned around and headed back to the large parking lot. There weren’t many cars in the parking lot, but the ones that were didn’t pay any attention to the parking spaces. It was kind of a free for all. Read more…
Wealthy Street Bakery
608 Wealthy Street SEFirst day on a new job. Always a fun, nerve wracking experience. Like I mentioned a few days ago, I started a new part-time job in Grand Rapids. Today was my first day and I haven’t got much sleep since last week when I was offered the job. I’m always nervous about change no matter how excited I am to take on a new challenge.
That nervousness continued through the morning even after I got there. When lunch time rolled around, I still didn’t have much of an appetite, but knew I had to eat. I wanted something fairly light hoping it would help settle my stomach. I don’t know my way around Grand Rapids very well yet, but I knew I was fairly close to Wealthy Street and there are a number of businesses that line this neighborhood that I’ve been wanting to visit for quite a while.
The restaurant I chose was the first one I came along. The Wealthy Street Bakery is near the corner Wealthy Street and Union Avenue on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. There is a small parking lot that wraps around the building, but all those spots were full. Lucky for me, there was a spot on the street right in front of the building. Read more…
Celebrity Grill Challenge
From D & W Fresh Market’s website.
Los Amigos – Portage
633 Romence Road- Portage, MI 49024
- (269) 323-2910
- No Known Website
- Menu
A couple days ago, J and I ran to Stein Mart just to do some browsing. We had never been to the Stein Mart in Portage and J was looking for a couple low cost outfits for this weekend. As we were driving through the parking lot at the Shoppes at Romence Village, we drove right by a Mexican place. We’ve both been in that shopping center many times and I’m sure I’ve seen it before, but whenever we get in the mood for Mexican, we never think of it. J said then we should come back later in the week.
When she got home from work today, she asked if I wanted to go for Mexican. I figured why not and again, thought of someplace else first. As we were walking out the door, J said she’d rather go to Los Amigos.
Los Amigos is a pretty common name for Mexican restaurants. We visited a local chain in Lansing that used several variations of the name. The Los Amigos in Portage is in the Shoppes at Romence Village on Romence Road across from the Crossroads Mall. There is no apparent association with the Lansing stores, but they do have another restaurant in Muskegon. Read more…
GRPS Fundraising at Brann’s Steakhouse
From a Grand Rapids Public School e-mail
Do you have lunch plans today? What about dinner? If not, consider visiting one of several Brann’s restaurants because Brann’s will donate 15% of your bill to support GRPS! You must print and present the attached email certificate.
Brann’s is a proud supporter of GRPS and holds monthly “GRPS Fundraising” days just like the one happening today. Included in the attachment are certificates for the remaining monthly fundraising events. Mark your calendar: July 13, August 17, September 14, October 19, November 16, and December 14.
Special thanks to Brann’s for their continued help and support!
CLICK HERE to get the flyer with coupons. Only good at Grand Rapids locations.
Press Release – Corks for Conservation
From a Binder Park Zoo press release…
Corks for Conservation
Wine Tasting Event at Binder Park Zoo!
BATTLE CREEK MI, June 10, 2010— Did you know that there are more than 10 wineries located in southwest Michigan? Come to Binder Park Zoo’s second annual Corks for Conservation wine tasting event on Friday, July 16th from 6:00pm to 10:00pm and sample some of the best wine Michigan has to offer! Enjoy the Zoo after-hours with live music, delicious hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, live animal presentations, and of course wine from several Michigan based wineries, all while helping conserve endangered wildlife!
The cost of attending this special event is $40 for individuals and $75 for couples. Special VIP tickets are available for a wine tasting class hosted by Mark Reincke of Mega-Bev to be held just prior to the event at 5:30 for an additional $15 per person.
“Although hampered a bit by the weather, last year’s inaugural event was very well-received,” stated Andi Kornak, the Zoo’s Curator of Collection and event chair. “Guests enjoyed an evening stroll through the Zoo while enjoying the atmosphere, entertainment, and of course, fantastic wines from some of Michigan’s best wineries. It really was an elegant evening and everyone had a fantastic time.”
Event guests will receive a commemorative wine glass and be able to sample wine at several different locations throughout the Zoo. Each station will feature a different winery and a delicious hors d’oeuvre provided by participating sponsor, Panera Bread. The participating wineries are St. Julian Winery, Black Star Farms, Hickory Creek Winery, Warner Winery, Lawton Ridge Winery, Sandhill Crane Vineyards, Sleeping Bear Winery and more. New this year is a beer station featuring Arcadia Brewing Company selections.
Proceeds from this event will go to support the many conservation efforts that the Zoo is involved in including 17 different American Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plans, piping plover conservation, Karner blue butterfly conservation, and partnerships with the International Snow Leopard Trust and the Cheetah Conservation Fund.
Participants must be over the age of 21 and able to present a valid ID upon entry. Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance. Tickets are available online at www.binderparkzoo.org and at the zoo office. For more information visit the Zoo’s website or call 269-979-1351.
Founder’s Fest This Weekend
From Founder’s Brewing Company….
Founders Fest is an annual party that takes place directly in front of our Brewery in downtown Grand Rapids. It is our celebration with our community, friends, and fans and features live music, local food vendors, a local artist’s market, and of course plenty of Founders beer!
2010 features music from:
LOTUS (Philly)
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS (Kalamazoo)
FRONTIER RUCKUS (Detroit)
THE WILDFIRE (Grand Rapids)
MICHAEL & BENJAMIN RILEY (Grand Rapids)
FBC ALLSTARS (Grand Rapids)
LARRY AND HIS FLASK (Oregon)
DJ SPYDRE MURPHY (Grand Rapids)as well as other various entertainers! NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted.
Date: June 19, 2010 3:00 PM
Location
Founders Brewing Co.
235 Grandville Ave SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503 [map it!]Price: $12.00
Info Line: 616-776-2182
Website: http://www.foundersbrewing.com
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com
Husted’s Farm Market & Cider Mill
9191 W. Main Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49009
- (269) 372-1237
- Website
Before our bad day began last Wednesday, it actually started out with some pretty good news. I got a job. A part-time job, but a job in my field doing what I love doing. Since it’s part time, I will be working weekends and the job is in Grand Rapids, but it’s a job I’m really excited about and hope I can turn into full time. As a policy, I don’t blog about work and I’m not even going to give you hint as far as where it’s at, but expect to see a few more Grand Rapids and West Michigan reviews in the coming months.
I actually start this coming Thursday and because of that, I had to cancel a visit my parents had planned for next weekend. After I called to cancel, my mom figured it could be a while before I have a free weekend either for them to come here or me to come home. She has to work Saturday night’s so she asked if they could just make a day trip on Sunday. J and I were both up for that, so they quickly changed plans to get up early Sunday morning and drive to Kalamazoo for the day.
When they talked about coming next week, we had actually planned a trip to Fennville to pick strawberries and eat pie. Since they were going to be in the car for six hours, I didn’t want to make them drive an extra hour each way to get to Fennville. I couldn’t find a U-Pick strawberry place in Kalamazoo, but I did find a farm market that sells fresh picked ones. Read more…
T.G.I. Friday’s – Kalamazoo
5650 W. Main StreetA couple weeks ago, I happened to check my credit card points and noticed we were really close to hitting a reward. Once we got there, I decided to go with a restaurant gift certificate. It’s always nice every now and then to get a meal and not have to pay for it. Our credit card company had a few popular choices, but I went with my favorite chain.
T.G.I. Friday’s is in Oshtemo Township just off US-131 on Main Street. It’s a real hard entrance to find if you’re not familiar with it. There were a couple cars in front of me that both went too far and had to do a U-Turn at the gas station next door.
The building sits back off the road. You have to hit what looks like an access road to get to the parking lot. Speaking of parking lot, another weird set up. There are a few spaces in front of the store, but the majority of the parking is behind it. For a pretty popular chain, everything about the location seems odd. It’s a place you can see from the highway, but getting there can be a little rough.
We decided to make Friday night date night and we decided to spend that Friday night date night at T.G.I. Friday’s. I had just opened the mail and found the gift certificate and I figured we could get a pretty cheap meal since we don’t normally go over $25 bucks anyway. Read more…
Gallagher’s Eatery & Pub – Kalamazoo
4210 Stadium DriveIf you remember from Wednesday, I mentioned something about J and I having a pretty bad day. It started out innocent enough. We drove to St. Joseph to meet her parents for lunch. When we got there, they were having problems with their Harley, so we had to drive them back to Chicago. We spent about five minutes there and turned around to come back to Kalamazoo. Just as we were passing the Paw Paw exit, I put my foot on the gas pedal and the pedal went to the floor. The accelerator cable snapped. I got off the road safely, but had to call a tow.
We took the car to Seelye Ford where they had never seen that happen. Because of that, they didn’t have the part in stock so it would be an extra day before we could get the car back.
I got a call from the dealership just before noon that everything was fixed and ready to go. It worked out good because J was just getting off work and since she didn’t have a car, I had to go pick her up. We went to get her car then headed out for lunch.
Just down the road from Seelye Ford is Gallagher’s Eatery & Pub. We’re not out in that part of town much, so I thought we should take advantage of being there and check out this Irish pub that boasts a pretty good size beer menu.
There are two entrances to get inside. One goes to the Eatery side. The other to the pub. We went to the Eatery, but once we got in there, we found a sign that said the dining room doesn’t open until 5:00, so we headed to the pub. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 