The Strutt Cafe & Bar
773 W. Michigan AvenueI never thought of turning to the Western Herald for restaurant reviews, but a few weeks ago, I saw a tweet for a review of The Strutt. I had heard of the place before, but I always thought it was just a dive bar that was big on live music. Boy, was I wrong.
J and I headed to The Strutt for a Saturday night dinner well before the live music began for the night. The building is on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Academy Street. Those two streets create a triangle shape of land at the corner and The Strutt makes use of that design.
Parking is mostly in the neighborhoods. There’s a hotel right next door with a surface lot, but I didn’t dare park there. I assume they don’t like that and I didn’t want to take chances. After 9:00, Frayed offers their parking lot for overflow parking. It’s a block or so to the southwest on Michigan Avenue.
Our first dilemma was figuring out how to get in the place. We walked around to what appears to be the front, but that door is locked because it would open right on to the stage. We eventually noticed a door on the side on Academy Avenue. When I pulled on that door, it opened and brings you into the back of the space.
We walked in and sat down at a table. The space is kind of what you would expect at a dive bar. The floors are unfinished hardwood and the tables and chairs are all mismatched. At a table of four, there are four different chairs. I don’t think one piece of furniture matched in the whole place.
At this point, we weren’t really sure what to do. A lot of the other people had food and drinks so I knew they were serving, but I wasn’t so sure of the process. We sat there for a few minutes then I went up to the bar/counter and asked if they did dinner. The girl behind the counter handed me a couple menus that I took back to the table to look over. Read more…
Geno’s Golden Pizza
2937 Howard StreetRemember that cold I talked about in yesterday’s post? Yeah? I think I gave it to J. Well, that is, if it really is a cold. If it’s allergies, it’s not my fault. Either way, her throat was sore and she wanted a Slurpee. I wanted pizza. I found a way to get both and not drive all over the place.
Geno’s Golden Pizza is on Howard Street in the strip mall behind the Campus Pointe Mall. It sits right next to another one of my favorite guy food joints, Pop’s Italian Beef. This store in Kalamazoo is the newer of the two Geno’s locations. The original is in Pachment. Picking up pizza from Geno’s worked well with our foray out 0f the house. J really wanted a Slurpee and there was a 7-Eleven just across the street on the corner of Michigan and Howard.
I looked up Geno’s menu online and called in my order. The pizza is pretty reasonably priced, so I ordered a large with bacon on the whole thing and pepperoni on half. I wasn’t aware of this when I ordered but in the window, they have a sign for buy one pizza get one free everyday. Had I know that, I could have gotten two pizzas for twelve bucks. I don’t see it advertised anywhere else including on their website. The sign is kind of hidden near the top of the window, so I’m guessing it’s not something they actively promote, but if you notice it, good for you. Read more…
Wings Etc. Restaurant & Pub – Portage
7337 S. Westnedge AvenueI have felt like crap all week. J thinks it allergies. I have no idea, but I’ve been coughing a lot. I slept most of the day on Monday, felt better Tuesday and Wednesday then kind of relapsed a little today. It’s not as bad as it was a couple of days ago, but it was enough to make me feel really run down.
J asked two or three times about dinner and I kept saying, “I don’t know.” She had to run an errand and as she was walking out mentioned just going out. I wasn’t about to argue.
At first, she picked one of the major casual dining chains. I was totally fine with that because she picked the one I really liked, but after thinking about it, she decided she didn’t want to eat something that heavy and she was really in the mood for a margarita. I wasn’t in the mood for Mexican, so on a whim, I just went looking at websites.
One of the first places I came to was Wings Etc. They had a good food special for me and a drink special for her. Wings Etc. is the winner tonight.
There are two locations in the Kalamazoo area. One is out in Oshtemo Township across from the Walmart. The one we chose is in Portage on South Westnedge and Garden Lane. I always thought it was kind of an odd location for a chain. It’s just far enough past the main shopping district that if you don’t know it’s there, you may not find it. Read more…
Dining To Donate
Saw this on the Comstock Fire and Rescue’s Twitter feed.
Only valid at the Applebees Gull Road location. Right click on the image and save to your desktop. Then open the file and print it.
Fifth Third Ballpark
4500 West River River Drive NE- Comstock Park, MI 49321
- (616) 784-4131
- Website
To finish up our trip through Michigan, we decided to head out to a ballgame. I love minor league baseball and have been lucky to live in cities that have a Midwest League team. I lived in Peoria for five years then Lansing. In addition to that, I’ve done some work in Davenport for the Quad Cities teams, so I’ve been around the MWL for the better part of the last eight years.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a MWL team in Kalamazoo, but there is one just north of Grand Rapids in Comstock Park. The West Michigan Whitecaps are the Class A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers which is a huge advantage for them. I worked for the Lansing Lugnuts last summer. The ‘Nuts are a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate, so there’s no built-in fan base like there is Grand Rapids.
The Whitecaps play their home games in Fifth Third Ballpark which is just off US-131 at West River Drive in Comstock Park. The trend with newer stadiums is to build downtown. I’m more of a fan of that type of ballpark, but the setup for the Whitecaps provides one thing a downtown ballpark can’t have. Parking.
The stadium is surrounded by huge surface lots. In a way, it’s great because you can park close to the stadium without having to drive around searching for a parking spot. On the other hand, you’re going to have to pay for parking. In Peoria and Lansing, I never paid to park at a game because there are always spots somewhere within walking distance that you can park on a street or in a lot that isn’t watched somewhere. You don’t have that option at Fifth Third Ballpark. Read more…
Bentham’s Riverfront Restaurant
187 Monroe Avenue NWOur third and final day of our mini-Michigan vacation started with breakfast. It wasn’t bright and early, but it was still breakfast.
As part of the Bed & Breakfast Package at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, we got a $25 credit which is good at one of three places. You can choose from Cornucopia, Starbucks, or the only sit down option, Bentham’s.
We chose the sit down option and went with Bentham’s Riverfront Restaurant which is in the lobby level of the Glass Tower. Once again, we found out we were in over our head when the host asked me to remove my ball cap before being seated. I was a little surprised because Bentham’s is the casual option as far as dining at the Amway Grand. Not a big deal. I just took it off and set it on my knee during the meal.
The dining room has a couple different levels with the most desirable seating being along the large windows that overlook the Grand River. All but one of those tables were taken by the time we walked in at 10:30. We were taken to the last available one.
While Bentham’s may be the Amway Grand’s casual choice when it comes to dining, it’s still an upscale bistro setting. The furniture is all solid wood with stainless steel accents. The menus were hardbound in a leather sleeve and even the napkins were folded a little fancier than the usual wrap around the silverware. Read more…
Bull’s Head Tavern
188 Monroe Avenue NWAfter settling in to our hotel in Grand Rapids, we headed out for a walk. I knew there was a tavern across the street from the Amway Grand that had a pretty good-looking dinner menu, so that’s where we headed.
The Bull’s Head Tavern is on Monroe Avenue north of Pearl Street in downtown Grand Rapids. Right outside, there is a small outdoor patio area, but it was still a little too cold and no one was taking advantage of it.
The inside space is divided into two distinct areas. Downstairs is the bar and smoking area (for a few more weeks anyway). There are a few rows of tables squeezed in this narrow space that is dimly lit with hanging fixtures. On the walls are several animal heads and skulls.
There’s a stairway in the back corner that leads up to the non-smoking area. This area is somewhat secluded from the downstairs dining room but not totally. In this area, there are booths and freestanding tables that fill the area.
We were taken to a booth along the wall farthest from the stairs. Already on the table were a couple of wine glasses, cloth napkin wrapped silverware and another napkin laid out in a diamond shape in the middle of the table serving as a table-cloth. Read more…
Amway Grand Plaza Hotel
187 Monroe Avenue NW- Grand Rapids, MI 49503
- (616) 774-2000
- Website
After striking out at The North Face yet still finding some values at other outlets, we left Birch Run to drive across the state back to Grand Rapids. The reason for the Grand Rapids leg of our tour actually came about a few weeks ago.
Sometime earlier this year, I had entered a contest to win tickets to Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles and an overnight stay at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel from Broadway GR. I got an e-mail the week of the show saying I had won. J’s a pretty big Beatles fan so she was excited about that, but I was excited about the hotel.
The night of the show, we couldn’t stay in Grand Rapids because J was a little under the weather and she had to be up early the next morning, so we saved the gift certificate until we could enjoy it. Since we were looking for a getaway, we decided to use our stay and see what all the fuss was about.
The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is in downtown Grand Rapids on the corner of Monroe and Pearl Street. The building takes up the whole block between Monroe and the river. There are two parts to the hotel. The building closest to Monroe Street is the old Pantlind Hotel which was built in 1913. The other part is the 29 story tower which was built in 1983 when the Amway Grand underwent extensive renovations. The two towers are connected by a gorgeous reception area that also has a number of ballrooms, shops, and restaurants.
The parking garage for the Amway Grand is across Pearl Street from the hotel. The Grand River Promenade connects the parking structure to the hotel (as well as other hotels, DeVos Place, and Van Andel among others.) Of course, there’s also a valet option if you’d rather do that. The valet entrance is on Pearl Street right in the middle of the structure underneath the flags. Read more…
Harvey’s Grill & Bar – Bay City
4000 Wilder RoadDay two of our tour of Michigan had us heading towards Birch Run. Sure, it was out-of-the-way since our next stop was Grand Rapids, but we had the time and J really wanted to check out The North Face outlet. There’s also an UnderArmour outlet that I wanted to go to plus the usual stores we hit up outlet malls for.
We figured we’d just eat on the way. If we waited until Birch Run, I would be too tempted to go to Tony’s and no one needs that much bacon. Instead, I started looking in the Bay City area and found a place that would suit us both.
Harvey’s Bar & Grill is right across from the Bay City Mall on Wilder Road and State Street. The building looks like a chain because, according to their website, they are trying to franchise the business under the name Hayden’s Grill & Bar. Add that to the fact it was a Fazoli’s in it’s former life. The building was remodeled into what the owner hopes to have a Applebee’s like feel. As it stands, there are two Harvey’s locations. This one in Bay City and another in Saginaw.
We got to Bay City right at 11:00 so we were the first ones in for the day. They have a pretty nice dining room centered around a bar, but there’s also an all seasons patio which is where we chose to sit. The patio has garage style door windows that open in the summer and heaters on the ceiling for the winter months. It was still a little chilly when we were there so the heaters were turned on. Read more…
Entertainment Hall at Soaring Eagle
2395 S. Leaton Road- Mount Pleasant, MI 48858
- (989) 775-7777
- Website
Right after J and I started dating, we found a weekend to get away. We found Rascal Flatts performing in St. Louis and since Peoria is only about three hours from there, we made our first get away together a weekend in downtown St. Louis.
The Rascal Flatts performance totally changed our mind about the band that night. Going in, we were both fans. Since then, I change the radio every time they come on. It was awful.
There was a silver lining though. Opening act Jason Aldean.
When we started looking for something to do this past weekend, I started checking casino websites to see if anyone was playing nearby. I found Jason Aldean at Soaring Eagle. We liked him last time, so an opportunity to see him again sounded like a good idea.
The performance was at the Entertainment Hall at Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort. Most casino’s come up with a good name for a concert venue. Not Soaring Eagle. They just keep it simple. Entertainment Hall.
The auditorium-like room is on the south side of the Soaring Eagle complex. It’s right next to the gaming floor and there’s even exits that dump you right out to the slots.
We ordered out tickets online a few weeks ago. When I got on the Soaring Eagle website to look for them, I ran in to several pages that said “Sold Out.” I went to the Star Ticket Plus website to see what would happen and there were still several seats left. I clicked on two in the middle price range and had the held at will call. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 