Bell’s Brewery Voluntary Recall
I saw this message on Bell’s Brewery Twitter…
http://tinyurl.com/2emgjmp. We stand behind all of our beers in fair weather or otherwise. Contact us @ the brewery if you have questions.
Which led me to the following statement on Bellsbeer.com
Two Hearted Ale Withdrawal – Batches 9663 & 9674
June 01, 2010
Bell’s Brewery, Inc. is announcing the voluntary withdrawal from the market of two specific batches of Two Hearted Ale, 9663 and 9674. Bottled on 4/5/10 and 4/12/10, respectively, these two batches of Two Hearted Ale have become sour and unpalatable. There is no food safety concern: the flaw only affects the flavor of the beer. We have identified & isolated the problem that affected these two bottling runs. No other packaging runs were similarly affected.
Our distribution partners are working closely with our own sales staff to remove all of this beer from the market. Consumers who have purchased Two Hearted Ale from batches 9663 or 9674 are encouraged to return them to the retailer for an exchange or, where legal, a refund. The four digit batch number is printed on the back label of the bottles in a rectangular white box.
Customers who experience difficulty returning beers or have questions should e-mail us at quality@bellsbeer.com. We stand behind all of our beers and will do what we can to resolve the situation on your behalf.
We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused you. We strive to exceed expectations with our beers, and we are deeply sorry that we came up short in this instance and allowed these batches to slip through our quality control measures. New procedures have already been put into effect to prevent repeat incidents.
Sincerely,
Bell’s Brewery, Inc.
You’d never see the large brewers do that for a taste issue. Kudos to Bell’s for putting customers first.
White Velvet Frozen Yogurt
3940 W. Centre AvenueWhen we pulled in to the Woodbridge Shopping Village for lunch, J noticed right away a frozen yogurt place right next to Fieldstone Grill. Frozen yogurt isn’t really my thing, but J was looking forward to it from the time we passed the door and noticed the “Open” sign flashing in the window. She went a little lighter on lunch and decided to take half her sandwich home so she would have room left for Froyo.
White Velvet Frozen Yogurt is on Centre Avenue not far from the US 131 exit. It’s a local company that makes real frozen yogurt from real yogurt using a one of the world’s best French yogurt cultures.
The only store is i nthe Woodbridge Shopping Village. It’s a pretty small space with only a couple places to sit and enjoy your creation.
Since J and I had never been in before, we were a little confused. We didn’t see any yogurt when we made it to the counter. All I could see were toppings. The lady working noticed we were fish out of water and filled us in on the procedure.
The yogurt is self serve and you pay by the ounce. Past the counter with the toppings are two soft serve machines that are built into the wall. We each grabbed a cup and started filling it up with yogurt. I went completely with the tart flavor which is the signature, white yogurt. The tart is always available and there are also three other flavors that vary. J did a mixture of mostly tart but mixed in the other flavors so she could get a sample of all of them. Read more…
Fieldstone Grill
3970 W. Centre AvenueThis weekend, I put a question on Twitter asking for someplace with good outdoor dining. I got a couple replies telling me to go to Fieldstone Grill. I had considered it, but I actually had other plans for that particular restaurant.
Last Friday, I got an e-mail from Millennium Restaurants with a coupon for “Millennium Memorial Day.” It’s a promotion that is similar to the Millennium Monday’s that they did in March. 40% off your purchase.
J got off work around 12:30 and we headed down US-131 to the Centre Avenue exit. Fieldstone Grill is in the Woodbridge Shopping Village not far from the highway. Since it was a Monday and a holiday, not much else in the center was open. Parking is in a huge lot right in front of the entrance and there was no shortage of space.
We were a little after the lunch rush, but not the only people enjoying the space. We were met by a hostess who took us through the dining room to a table near the large picture windows overlooking a field. J said the decor reminded her of the hunting lodges they used to eat at when they took vacations to northern Wisconsin….minus the dead animals on the wall. Fieldstone does have the feel of a lodge with it’s high vaulted ceilings and exposed wood beam frame.
Like all of the Millennium restaurants, Fieldstone is a little more upscale than the typical bar. The furniture is all solid wood. The napkins are actual cloth and drinks aren’t served in pint glasses. The hostess filled our water glasses while we waited on our server. When he got there, we put in our order for Coke’s and continued to look over the menu. Read more…
Homer Stryker Field
251 Mills Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49048
- (269) 388-8326
- Website
No better way to spend a Saturday night than at the ballpark. I was lucky last year. I worked for the Lansing Lugnuts as a game day employee in the marketing department. I had a seat in the first base dugout for 95% of the ‘Nuts home games last year. It was awesome. I thought about buying season tickets before the season started then I got an opportunity to get paid to go to the games. It was a lot of long, hot days for a team that wasn’t very good, but it was fun.
Kalamazoo will be the first time since I’ve moved out on my own that I haven’t lived in a town that had a Midwest League ball club. I really like the MWL. Sure, it’s low-A ball, but the games are a lot of fun. It’s always fun to watch kids trying to make it in the bigs. This spring, I turned on a spring training game between the Tigers and Blue Jays and thought, hey, that short stop looks really familiar. Turns out, it was Tyler Pastornicky. The name probably means nothing to you, but to me, it’s a name I knew well. Tyler had a pregame ritual last season that included giving me a fist bump before every home game.
Still, baseball is baseball and J and I have been excited to check out a game at Homer Stryker Field. The park is home to the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League which is independent baseball. None of the teams are affiliated with Major League teams. Most of the kids finish their career in the Frontier League, not start it although some do make into the MiLB system.
Homer Stryker Field is part of the Mayor’s Riverfront Park on Mills Street and King Highway southeast side of Kalamazoo. We were pretty early to the game and had no problem parking in the large lot near the entrance of the stadium. Read more…
Shakespeare’s Pub
241 E. Kalamazoo AvenueSuch a nice night. It would be a waste to spend it indoors, eh? We decided to go to a Kings game, but before that, wanted to find a restaurant with an outdoor patio. I checked Yelp and came across Shakespeare’s. It’s a place I’ve wanted to go to for a while, but always been somewhat hesitant because I’ve heard it was very, very smokey. Since I don’t have to worry about that anymore, it became our choice for dinner.
Shakespeare’s Pub is on Kalamazoo Avenue and Edwards Street. It’s in the old Shakespeare Rod and Reel building. Not being a Kalamazoo native, I always assumed it was named after the playwright. I actually thought the building was an old theater that had been converted. There’s a good story on the pub’s website about how the owner’s knew most people would think like I did and they incorporated both the fishing reel and the poet into the logo.
Unlike most downtown businesses, parking is not an issue. There’s a huge parking lot on the west side of the building. When you enter underneath the marquee, you’re faced with a choice. Upstairs or downstairs. It’s not a difficult choice. The pub is upstairs. The Globe Theater is downstairs. We headed upstairs into the large, open pub space. Read more…
Jet’s Pizza – Portage
631 Romence RoadOne of my favorite things about Michigan, food wise, is Buddy’s Pizza in Detroit. Buddy’s isn’t just one of my favorite Michigan pizzas, it’s one of my all time favorite pizzas. I took my family there before a Tigers game last summer. While the neighborhood was more than a little scary, the pizza made the trip worth it.
I always wished I could find something like Buddy’s somewhere else. The place that was always mentioned was Jet’s. Well, J and I had tried Jet’s before we knew about Buddy’s and neither of us were impressed, but we didn’t really order the right thing. We were actually in the mood for sandwiches that day, but a late delivery left the store we went to without a lot of ingredients. I still ordered a sandwich, but J got a small round pizza. It was ok, but nothing special. We didn’t give it a second thought after that.
Still, some more prodding got me to reconsider Jet’s. J wasn’t super hungry and I just had a hankering for pizza. They have one of my favorite features, online ordering, so I put in an order at the Jet’s on Romence Road in the shopping center that is anchored by D & W across from the mall. Read more…
Big Moe’s BBQ & Catering
1317 Waverly DriveBBQ from a roadside stand. Nothing gets me more excited.
When I was running a few errands this morning, I noticed a tent going up in the parking lot in front of Big Lots on Kilgore Road near Westnedge. I did a quick U-Turn and doubled back through the parking lot to see what it was. I could see the big grill, so I knew it had to be something good.
Big Moe’s BBQ set up shop in the parking lot with a grill, some warming pans and a couple coolers. I’ve heard good things about Big Moe’s sauce and always wished they had a restaurant somewhere in Kalamazoo. Since they don’t, I haven’t been able to try the sauce everyone raves about.
When J got home from work, we decided to walk to Big Lots and get some BBQ. Well, I decided. I don’t think she was in the mood for it, but she went along anyway.
They have a pretty simple menu at this roadside stand. Ribs, rib tips, sausage, pulled pork and BBQ chicken. J was thinking about the BBQ chicken, but we both ended up with the pulled pork like we always do. For $5, you get a sandwich and a side. I took a bag of chips. J got the potato salad. Read more…
Blog Free Weekend?
So, Food Network/Cooking Channel wants me to make this weekend a “blog free weekend” and just promote their new channel which launches on Memorial Day. I don’t know if I can do that…..I like to eat..and when I eat, I like to write.
Tell ya what, I will plug the new channel because I think it’s a good idea. The Cooking Channel launches Monday. It will replace Fine Living Network which is only available on Digital Cable on Charter and Comcast. I have digital cable, but not the tier which includes FLN/CC. Trying to decided if I want buy that package now….. they’re going to be playing reruns of the Galloping Gourmet…if they add the Frugal Gourmet, I’m there….
The idea is that the network will do what Food Network originally did. It will be mostly if not all instructional cooking shows whereas FN only shows those programs during the day opting for reality television in prime time (I think..even though launch day has a reality prime time lineup). You know, it’s like MTV/MTV2 was for a while.
Anyway, click on the picture for a link to their kick off day cooking show marathon.
New Pizza Joints Coming to Kalamazoo
Saw this story in the Kalamazoo Gazette today….
Farmington Hills-based Happy’s expects to open a Kalamazoo franchise, at the corner of South Westnedge Avenue and Crosstown Parkway, in the next four months, Master said.
[snip]
Meanwhile, a Wisconsin-based pizza franchising company, Toppers Pizza, says it plans to expand throughout Michigan in the coming years.
Both places have locations in Lansing/East Lansing and I ate at both when I lived there. Both were fine, but neither stood out. At the time, I called Happy’s the best chain pizza in Lansing, but not the best pizza. Happy’s does offer sandwiches and ribs…I didn’t try either. I did try the wings and thought they were alright…not great. The thing I remember about Topper’s was their cinnamon pizza.
Here’s my reviews from both places from Mid-Michigan Dining. You can see in the comments section of Happy’s just how mixed opinions were of the Lansing store.
Happy’s Pizza – Cedar Street, Lansing
More options. I’m sure I’ll order from both once they move in.
Fat Tony’s Grill & Sports Bar
5222 Portage Road- Portage, MI 49002
- (269) 342-9200
- No Known Website
- Menu
After a really long day at work, I came home looking for food. I wasn’t in the mood to cook and J said she wanted a wrap or something. I pulled up menus for three or four places and let her choose.
The place she chose was Fat Tony’s Grill & Sports Bar on Portage Road just south of the I-94 interchange in Portage. It’s a place we’ve driven by often, but never remembered when it came time to find dinner. I didn’t know it then, but we were missing out on something.
We were met by a hostess when we walked in and she took us to a pub table in the back of the space. There is a pretty large dining room and a nice big bar. For some reason, she took us to a four top back near the gaming area. It wasn’t a big deal because there was no one playing darts or Golden Tee, but it seemed like an odd choice when there were two top pub tables in the dining room.
The menu is pretty typical pub fare, but with a twist. It took J a little while to decide between a couple different sandwiches, so the waitress got me a Coke and J an Iced Tea while she figured it out. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 