Fandango Tapas Bistro
247 S. Kalamazoo MallLike I mentioned last night in post about Fletcher’s Pub, May 15 is an anniversary for J and I. It marks the one year anniversary of our engagement. I’m not usually one that gets wrapped up in every little anniversary, but I wanted to do something special for J. So much has changed since last May. We’re married. Obviously, but we’ve moved to yet another new city and started another exciting step in our lives.
I had a few ideas for dinner, but the menu at Fandango Tapas Bistro on the Kalamazoo Mall actually jumped out at me. I had never looked at it before because I never thought I liked tapas. That opinion was based on ignorance. I didn’t really know what tapas was. Being a hamburger and pizza guy, tapas bars always sounded scary to me
We made our way downtown and found a parking spot about two blocks from the corner of Kalamazoo Mall and South Street where Fandango takes up the bottom floor of a corner building. The Mall was hopping. I was really excited to see so many people walking around. There was a show at the State Theater, but every restaurant we walked by had a waiting list. Sucks to wait, but it’s nice to see a healthy restaurant scene.
Fandandgo was no different than any other place on the Mall. There was a wait. The hostess told us 45 minutes which didn’t seem that bad. I was looking past her at the bar to see if there were any seats while J was putting our name in. There wasn’t, so I assumed we were going to be stuck in the doorway since there’s really no room for any sort of a waiting area. Instead, the hostess asked for a phone number and said she would call when out table was ready. I’ve had to wait at a lot of restaurants and I’ve never had a place offer to call me when a table was ready. I thought that was a nice touch. Read more…
Fletcher’s Pub – Oakland/Winchell
3013 Oakland DriveToday was just a lazy day. We made plans to go out to lunch to kick off a weekend of celebration. May 15, 2009 was the day we got engaged. We don’t really have any concrete plans, but we wanted to do something special.
J’s car was in the shop, so I was waiting for a phone call about that when I got a phone call about some work. It’s for a company I’ve been trying to get in with, but so far hadn’t heard anything. I was surprised and really excited when I answered the phone and it was them asking if I was available tonight.
While really excited about the prospect of getting my foot in the door, my stomach knotted up like it always does when I work for new people. That made me not very hungry. J suggested we go out for lunch since we wouldn’t be able to go out for dinner, but neither of us really had a taste for anything.
Since that was the case, I decided to play it safe and go to a place I knew we’d like. Fletcher’s Pub in the Oakland/Winchell neighborhood is part of the Main Street Pub chain. We’ve had nothing but good experience at Main Street and University Roadhouse, so I had no reason to believe Fletcher’s would be any different. The pub is in Oakwood Plaza that sits on Oakland Avenue at Whites Road. I had never been there before but I knew it was there. Most of the store front sort of run together, so you need to look for the signs to find the right place. Read more…
Biggby Coffee – Westnedge & Old Kilgore, Portage
5132 Westnedge AvenueI’ve never been a coffee drinker. J, on the other hand, enjoys a specialty coffee every now and then. She chooses to go to Biggby most of the time just because of it’s ties to Michigan. We got to Lansing after the whole Beaner’s thing so there’s no residual resentment from us for changing the name. Heck, when we were first told about the change that happened right before we moved to Michigan, J had to explain to me why the name was offensive. I’ve never heard it as a slur before, so I couldn’t figure it out.
We had to run J’s car out to the shop tonight and on the way home, she suggested swinging by Biggby. I was actually on board this time because of the advertisements I’ve been seeing around town for Frozen Hot Chocolate.
The Biggby closest to us is on Westnedge Avenue in Portage in front of the Lowe’s. It’s a strip mall that sits really close to the road. There’s not a whole lot of room for two way traffic in front of the building. Most of the time, we hit the drive thru as Biggby sits on the corner, but since we were both getting drinks, I parked in front and we went in.
The decor is pretty typical of a coffee house. There are tables and chairs for people wanting to take advantage of the WiFi and get work done while they’re downing a coffee. There are also some comfy chairs to sit and socialize. The order counter is tucked into the back corner. The wall behind the counter is the outside wall and there are two holes cut in to the side of the building for the drive thru. Read more…
From the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan website.
Dates: Thu May 13, 10
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Type: Kalamazoo Region, Special Event
Location:
The Wine Loft, 161 E. Michigan Ave. Downtown KalamazooTaste four wines paired with complimentary Girl Scout Cookies. Artisan cheese selections also provided.
A portion of the ticket sales will support GSHOM Commu nity Partnership Programs, providing Girl Scout and Leader scholarships to our local Girl Scouts.
Reserve your tickets at (269) 323-1300 ext. 220
Click here for more information.
Kankakee Elks Golf Club & Lodge – St. Anne, IL
2283 Bittersweet DriveMother’s Day brunch. Gotta love it. Last year, J and I met her parents in St. Joseph for brunch at the Pump House Grille. This year, we were going to be in town, so J suggested getting both sets of parents together for brunch. Initially, we planned on some place closer to Chicago, but J’s parents are Harley riders and saw the opportunity for a ride. They asked if there was any place in Kankakee which is close to where my parents live. Only one place I could think of.
The Kankakee Elks Club is on Bittersweet Drive just off Heiland Road not too far from Aroma Park, IL. The address is technically a St. Anne address, but the club is closer to both Aroma Park and Sun River Terrace. It looks like a gated, private club, but it’s actually open to the public.
I have been to the Elks many times in the past but always for weddings. It’s a pretty popular spot to get married in the Kankakee area. To my family, the Elks Club has always been a sign of elegance. It was a place you held your wedding if you have a little extra money. To J and her family, Elks Clubs have always meant something different. When we lived in Peoria, the Elks Lodge was always a place for drug deals and shootings, so when I mentioned the Elks for Mother’s Day brunch, she looked at my kind of skeptically. I assured her, it was not like Elks Clubs where she’s from. Read more…
Wings Around The World – Chicago, IL
510 E. 75th StreetFor as popular as they are, you’d think it wouldn’t be hard to find a great wing carry-out place. Most places that serve wings are bars or restaurants. Finding a great take out place isn’t as easy as I’d expect it to be.
Last September, my brother set up my bachelor party. I didn’t want to do the usual things. I wanted to go to a Sox game and eat. We made plans to go for pizza after the game, but we needed something before the game. I searched for weeks to find something we could pick up and take to the ballpark and do a little tailgating. What I found is the best wings I’ve ever had.
Wings Around the World is on 75th Street a few blocks east of MLK Drive. It’s not one of Chicago’s best neighborhoods, but I had no qualms about going by myself at night to pick up wings. If you’ve ever had them, you would know why.
The building is strictly carry-out. There’s a large public space inside, but there are no tables. There’s a bench to sit on if you have to wait, but that’s it. It’s really just a big open space with a pick up window.
When we ordered in September, we got 100 wings and split them up between five of the thirty possible flavors. The two that stuck with me were the parmesan and the fire jerk. Read more…
Top Notch Beefburgers West – Oak Lawn, IL
4720 W. 95th Street- Oak Lawn, IL 60435
- (708) 422-5544
- No Known Website
- Menu
Let’s talk about burgers again, shall we?
Top Notch Beefburger is one of those places that has been on my list for quite a while now. It’s a place that J grew up going to with her grandma, but we always found some excuse to try some place else.
The Oak Lawn location in a strip mall at the corner of 95th and Hilton Drive near Cicero Avenue is the second of two Chicagoland locations. The other location is a few miles east on 95th Street in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.
The Chicago location has been around since 1942 and they’re using the same recipes and techniques that were used in the original shop on W. 79th Street. The burgers are prepared by de-boning and grinding USDA choice butcher rounds and the fries are fresh-cut daily.
The Oak Lawn Top Notch is tucked in to a corner of a strip mall. It doesn’t look like the store is going to be very big, but once you get inside, you realize your eyes are deceiving you. It’s a rather spacious set up with a pink and turquoise color scheme. The space has the feeling of a fifties family diner. On one hand, it’s comforting. On the other, it’s a little dated. Read more…
Palermo’s 95th Pizza & Restaurant- Oak Lawn, IL
4849 W. 95th StreetI feel like I should explain my idea of the perfect pizza. Not that I feel the need to validate my opinions, but at least give you an idea of why I’m so hard on pizza joints.
We all have a pizza joint we love. Mine is in Oak Lawn, IL. A few years ago, I had never heard of the place. In fact, it was a few months after J and I started dating that she even brought me to her family’s favorite place.
I blogged about Palermo’s 95th on Mid-Michigan Dining, but thought I’d bring the issue up again here so the new set of readers can understand why it seems like I don’t like most pizzas. The thing is, it’s not that I don’t like them. It’s just that they just don’t come close to the pizza that I compare everything to.
Palermo’s 95th is near the intersectino of 95th Street and Cicero Avenue in the southside Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn. It’s not just a pizza joint. It’s actually a pretty fancy Italian restaurant that happens to do an incredible pizza. There is a formal dining room with white table cloth service, but there’s also a carry-out window in the back. Read more…
Ray Ray’s Italian Beef & Sausage
1715 Miller Road- Kalamazoo, MI 49001
- (269) 381-6138
- No Known Website
- Menu
I couldn’t wait. I just couldn’t wait until my next trip home to get an Italian beef. Especially after I heard about a new place in Kalamazoo that specializes in the Chicago specialty.
I was surfing the web the other night and came across a great website that lists some of the best restaurants all over SW Michigan, South Central Michigan, and Northern Indiana by city, cuisine, and specialty. There’s a blog that goes with the website that updates new places. That blog is where I found Ray Ray’s Italian Beef & Sausage.
The very small restaurant is on Miller Road near Fulford Street in the Edison Neighborhood. There are no tables inside the store, but there is something that makes it very Chicago. A counter with stools. That set up is very common at sandwich shops in Chicago. It’s where the “hunch” was made famous. The decor is all Chicago. From a White Sox banner in the window to a huge picture of Michael Jordan to various skyline shots, every piece of art used in the place reminds you where you’re eating.
The menu is all Chicago style food. Chicago dogs (with a big note that there is NO KETCHUP on the dog), Maxwell Street Polish, Italian beef, Italian sausage, BBQ pulled pork, BBQ chicken, Chicago Fire Chili, and burgers made with fresh ground chuck. Read more…
Huarache Kzoo
2838 Portage Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49001
- (269) 382-3351
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
Cinco de Mayo came a day early for us. J came home from work and said she had a taste for Mexican. I had a coupon from the back of a Harding’s receipt for a Mexican place, so I figured why not. I could use some tacos.
Huarache Kzoo is on Portage Street just after the Lover’s Lane/Portage Street split near Cork Street. The building used to house a Chinese buffet and the exterior hasn’t changed much. It still has a green pagoda style roof that makes you do a double take when you see the Mexican food sign.
The parking lot is a little tight. There are angled spaces along either side of the building and that’s about all there’s room for. Wasn’t a big deal because even though we stopped for lunch, there was only one other car in the parking lot.
The inside is decorated with Mexican flags. There is a buffet in the back of the space, but it wasn’t stocked. I don’t know if it’s leftover from the previous business or if they do a buffet at times. I’m sure a buffet would bring us back in. We had one in Lansing near our place that was outstanding!
We were met by a guy I assume to be a manager. He was wearing a white shirt and tie and just sort of hovered around the place. He grabbed a couple menus and handed them to the only waitress who showed us to a booth along the north side windows. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 