Kilwin’s – South Haven
415 Phoenix StreetBefore moving to Michigan, I had never had good fudge. Now I can’t get enough of the stuff.
The first place we had good Mackinac Island Fudge was in Traverse City. We were walking around downtown after lunch and came across a fudge shop. We had never heard of it, but were mesmerized by the candy maker pulling fudge in the window. We went in, promptly bought three wedges of fudge and have made it a point to stop at every Kilwin’s we come across.
As we were looking for a place to park in downtown South Haven, we came across another Kilwin’s. It just so happened there was an open parking space in front of it so we pulled in. I think it crossed both our minds to skip lunch and just eat fudge, but we didn’t go with that instinct. Instead, we went to lunch at Clementine’s then stopped for fudge before heading to the beach.
The Kilwin’s in South Haven must be pretty new. I had a hard time finding any information on the place. There is no mention on the Kilwin’s website and the credit card transaction came up at Polyannas Confection. What I do know about the place is that it is on Phoenix Street in downtown South Haven just east of Kalamazoo Street. When I do a Google search for the address, I get a place called Whimsy and cross checking that with the Google Street view shows I do have the right address and the building did used to house the collectibles place. Read more…
Clementine’s
500 Phoenix RoadI didn’t think she was serious. All weekend, J said she wanted to go to the beach sometime this week. I said sure and sort of blew it off. When she gets home from work at noon, she’s usually exhausted, so I didn’t think it would happen. This morning, I got a text message before I got out of bed saying she wanted to go to South Haven. I got up, ran a couple errands then returned home to find her in her swimsuit ready to go. I guess we’re going to the beach.
Since it was lunchtime, we had to find something to eat first. I found a couple places on my own, but Clementine’s was recommended to her by several people from work. We usually go with a good recommendation over me throw a dart at a map.
Clementine’s has two Southwest Michigan locations. The original location is in downtown South Haven. The other is Clem’s Too in St. Joseph along the St. Joseph river.
Clementine’s takes up a large corner building on the corner of Phoenix Road and Center Street in a very cute downtown area. Clementine’s originally occupied the space next door, but they grew too big and had to expand. The bought the Citizen’s Bank Building which dates back to the late 1800’s and did a great job restoring the tin ceilings and dark wood trim. Read more…
Brann’s Steakhouse & Grille – Leonard St.
401 Leonard Street NWAfter a day at the zoo, we decided to eat in Grand Rapids before heading home to Kalamazoo. I wanted something safe for my family, but didn’t want a chain store.
I had considered taking them to Brann’s back home in Portage. Since Brann’s actually got it’s start in Grand Rapids, I knew there were a couple locations there I could take them.
I’ve seen the Brann’s on Leonard Street just off US-131 in Grand Rapids many times. You can see it from the southbound lanes of the Interstate and it doesn’t look like your typical chain restaurant. It actually looks like a neighborhood place, so that’s the one I chose.
The building is divided up into a bar area, a dining room, and a party room. Brann’s started out as a local steakhouse in the 1960’s. Over the years, they’ve slowly expanded in West Michigan and, recently, to the Eastern part of the state. The stores have all been standardized so they have a chain feel. This restaurant on Leonard Street still has the feeling of a local joint. Read more…
John Ball Zoo
1300 W. Fulton Street- Grand Rapids, MI 49501
- (616) 336-4301
- Website
Last weekend, when J and I went to Binder Park Zoo, we had no idea we’d being going to the zoo two weeks in a row. Our original plan for this weekend was Deer Forest Park in Coloma, but my brother, fortunately, noticed they just put a note on their website this week that they don’t open until Memorial Day. My family had already made plans to come this weekend, so we had to find a Plan B.
We threw a couple things out there, but my brother and his wife were really set on some sort of zoo. They have a 19 month old and another due in a few weeks. They really wanted to take the older kid to the zoo one more time before they’re a family of four.
J and I got up and met my brother, sister-in-law, niece, mom and dad at the John Ball Zoo which is on Fulton Street about a mile from downtown Grand Rapids. The zoo is in a park setting right in the middle of a heavily urban area. There are a couple parking lots and both my brother and I chose different ones. Once we got in the same parking lot, we headed past the pond where Nessi resides to the main entrance.
The cost is $7.50/person so it was $45 for the six of us. My niece is under two so she was free. I grabbed a map from a volunteer right inside the gate and we set out on our way. Read more…
Tim’s Pizza
102 S. Main Street- Olivet, MI 49076
- (269) 749-2311
- No Known Website
- Menu
A surprise phone call yesterday led me to a job in Olivet. I had never been to the small burg before and really didn’t even know we would be eating in town, but the lady I was working for was insistent that we eat before making the drive back to Kalamazoo. You know I can’t argue with that.
A few people at the job site recommended a pizza joint downtown. Neither of us really knew how to even get downtown, but Olivet is not that big of a town so it wasn’t too hard.
Tim’s Pizza is on Main Street at the corner of Washington. It’s an old building that’s part of an old downtown. It wasn’t hard to spot. There was a big sign above the door that we could see from a block away.
Our lunch was a little later than we would have liked. It was after 3:00 before we walked in. The place was empty when we walked in, but business was starting to pick up by the time we left. The employees were all sitting at a table in the front of the small dining room.
At first, we were thinking about grabbing something to go, but ended up deciding on a pizza. The lady I was working with asked if they had thin crust and was told the did. We got a 16″ pizza with pepperoni on one half for me and green olives on the other half for her. I got a Pepsi to drink which they had on fountain. They also did cans and bottle of Coke. My colleague saw the ice cream cooler and got a couple scoops of Mint Chocolate Chip which tided her over until the pizza came. Read more…
Studio Grill
312 W. Michigan AvenueThis past weekend, J and I were walking around the Kalamazoo Mall killing time as we were waiting for a table at Fandango. We came to an empty store front that had a display in the window for the businesses on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Church Street just a few blocks away. The display had a table with a menu on it for a fairly new restaurant next to the Michigan News Agency. The specialty of this new restaurant, stuffed burgers.
The Studio Grill is a small storefront on Michigan Avenue a few doors down from the Church Street intersection. There’s a red and white awning over the front window that lets you know you’re in the right place. The red and white theme is carried inside the restaurant with red and white checkerboard tablecloths on all the tables. The hardwood floors and solid wood chairs add to the down home feeling of this true mom and pop restaurant.
We were a little bit later getting there than we planned on. During the week, the Studio Grill is open until 3:00. We had planned on a true lunch, but J worked late and it was closer to 2:00 by the time we made it in. There was one other table in addition to a few take out orders so we weren’t the only ones eating late. Read more…
Help the Kalamazoo County Fair; Eat at Bennigan’s
The Kalamazoo County Fair is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow at Bennigan’s (5602 Gull Road). Right click the coupon below, save to your computer, print it out and bring it with you.
Horrocks Farm Market – Battle Creek
235 Capital Avenue SW- Battle Creek, MI 49037
- (269) 966-3200
- Website
Back when we lived in Lansing, we did almost all of our summer months shopping at Horrocks. It was easily a once a week and sometimes twice a week trip. It was fresh and it was cheap.
Since we were already in Battle Creek for our visit to Binder Park Zoo, J suggested hitting the Horrocks there before we left town. I didn’t have a reason to argue. There’s a lot I miss about the place and I was hoping to stock up.
Horrocks Farm Market is on the corner of Capital Avenue and Fountain Street. Well, the front of it is anyway. The parking lot and main entrance is actually off Dickman Road not too far from the I-194 exchange. The building, I’m told, used to be a Sears store. It’s a large, two floor building that makes use of every available space.
You have to go through the garden center to get to the main entrance. Picture the garden center at one of the big box stores, then double the size and product. It’s pretty impressive just how much they have. We scouted out a few bulbs for J’s mom, but didn’t end up buying any. We also checked out some planters for my budding herb garden….but again, didn’t buy anything.
The difference between the Lansing Horrocks and the Battle Creek Horrocks is the layout. We’ve been to the BC location a few times now and still haven’t gotten used to the way the store is set up. There is a natural flow at the Lansing Horrocks. You kind of work your way from room to room. At the Battle Creek location, it’s just a wide open floor plan that really doesn’t have a good flow. Read more…
Binder Park Zoo
7400 Division Drive- Battle Creek, MI 49014
- (269) 979-1351
- Website
I got a pretty abrupt wake up call this morning. My wife jumped back into bed and started pushing me out. It was almost a child-like enthusiasm. “Get up! Get up! Let’s go to the Zoo!” I eventually gave in because it was almost 11:30, but hey, it’s still a Sunday.
We’ve been wanting to check out the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek since we lived in Lansing. We always talked about it, but never did it. J finally decided we were going to go. The weather looked great, so why not?
After grabbing lunch in town, we headed out to the Zoo which is on Division Drive southeast of town. It’s a pretty short drive from both the Beadle Lake Road exit if you’re coming from the east or the M-66 exit if you’re coming from the west.
Neither of us really knew what to expect. Most places we have lived in the past have had a zoo in the middle of the city. Binder Park is outside of town and they really take advantage of the space they occupy.
The parking lot is down a long, narrow drive way. It was a pretty busy Sunday afternoon, but there was plenty of parking pretty close to the entry. We found a spot then went to get in line for tickets. There are six ticket lines and they all had a pretty long queue when we go there. It took five minutes or so to get through the line, pay the $25 for two adults, and get on our way. Read more…
OT’s Up-N-Smoke B.B.Q. – Capital Avenue
450 NE Capital AvenueThere’s not much you can’t get me to do if you bribe me with BBQ. J knows that. I was awakened bright and early this morning (well, 11:30, but bright and early for me) by a very cheerful J. She wanted to go to the Binder Park Zoo. We’ve been talking about since we lived in Lansing, but never made the time for it. While I was sleeping, she looked up hours for a BBQ place we knew we liked in BC and found they were opening at noon, so she did her best to convince me to get out of bed.
After a little prodding, she finally got me up and we headed to Battle Creek. There are two locations for OT’s Up-N-Smoke BBQ. We stopped at the cart on Beadle Lake Road on our way to Mt. Pleasant a couple months ago. This time, we decided to check out the storefront on the corner of Capital Avenue and Wabash Avenue just Northeast of downtown Battle Creek.
Like the cart, there is no dining room at OT’s. It’s a strictly carry-out business, but they do have a couple old wooden picnic tables in the parking lot.
Inside, there’s a three foot counter that searates the small waiting area from the kitchen. There are trophies and plaques on display from all the BBQ competitions they have been to and placed in. There are also a few chairs if you have to wait for your food.
Most people that were coming in on this Sunday morning seemed to be regulars. They all knew to call ahead and when they walked in, they were greeted by name. We were the odd balls. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 