Four Winds Casino & Resort
11111 Wilson Road- New Buffalo, MI 49117
- (269) 926-4500
- Website
We knew the real reason my parents wanted to meet in New Buffalo. They probably wouldn’t have brought it up if we didn’t, but we all knew they were going to hit a casino on the way home. They hadn’t decided if it was going to be in New Buffalo or Michigan City, but after J and I said we’d tag along for a little bit, they decided to stay in New Buffalo.
Four Winds Casino & Resort is on the edge of New Buffalo right off Exit 1 on I-94. After you get off and turn left on Wilson Road, you’ll find the casino on the left hand side of the road. The actual casino is not visible from anywhere because you have to go down a long, winding private road to find the parking garage connected to the casino.
There’s a valet entrance up front and that’s about the only decoration adorning the building. The property is set up so you go in to the parking garage and you never have to go outside or use a “front door.” We found a pretty empty parking garage which is pretty good news. The great thing is that on each level there is a counter that shows you how many empty spaces there are on each level. You don’t have to drive around on every level looking for an open spot which we’ve done at a couple other casinos which caused a lot of frustration.
The casino entrance is on the ground floor, so you take the elevator down and it spits you out in to a long, long hallway. On the right is the gaming floor. On the left is a series of shops and even a play area for those under the legal gambling age.
As soon as the automatic sliding doors opened from the elevator area to the casino, the smell of smoke rushed into our nostrils. The smell was overpowering, as you would expect at a casino, but J said they must have had better ventilation than some of the casinos in the state. While the smell was awful, you couldn’t actually see the smoke and it didn’t make either of our eyes water so it was a little more bearable than some of the other places we’ve been too. Read more…
The Stray Dog Bar & Grill
245 N. Whittaker StreetJ and I realized today that it’s been two years today since we left our jobs in Peoria, IL and made the move to Michigan. It’s kind of hard to forget because we moved three days before her birthday which means Wednesday she’ll celebrate another one.
Earlier this week, my mom called and asked if we wanted to meet in New Buffalo for lunch. Since it was J’s birthday, she could pick wherever she wanted. J turned to me and said just find something, so I did.
In another case of being tempted by a billboard along I-94, I chose The Stray Dog Bar & Grill in downtown New Buffalo on Whittaker Street just a few blocks from Lake Michigan. The restaurant is in an area of new development and lakeside condos. The building sort of blends in to buildings around it even though it’s painted yellow. The condo development directly behind The Stray Dog is painted very loudly.
New Buffalo is kind of a tourist town. There are a lot of people from the Chicago area that have summer or vacation homes in the area and The Stray Dog really plays up its location near the lake. There are two dining rooms downstairs. One of them is the typical bar room with a nice, large bar with multiple TV’s hanging from the ceiling. The other is an all season patio which during the winter months is heated by free-standing lamp heaters. When it’s nice outside, there’s also a sky deck that has a beautiful view of the lake. It’s still too cold for that, so we chose to sit in the heated patio.
The tables and chairs in this area are just a little better than patio furniture. The tables are solid, but the chairs are just a step above the cheap plastic chairs you get at Walmart. These, however, were sturdy and didn’t have arms. You’d actually be hard pressed to notice if you didn’t grab it when you sit down. Read more…
St. Julian Winery – Paw Paw
716 S. Kalamazoo StreetBillboards. Some may think they’re ugly and they clutter up America’s highways, but as far as advertising tools go, they work with our family.
A couple years ago, my parents noticed a billboards for Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth and we made the trip east when we lived in Lansing. J and I were tempted by a billboard for The Chocolate Garden in Coloma, so we stopped for truffles. This weekend, J’s mom saw a billboard for St. Julian’s Winery and their “Vodka made from grapes,” so after a lunch at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, we headed to Paw Paw.
St. Julian Winery is on Kalamazoo Street a few blocks north of the I-94 interchange. They have tasting rooms spread out around Michigan in Union Pier, Frankenmuth, Dundee, and Parma, but the actual winery is right here in Soutwhest Michigan in Paw Paw.
St. Julian has a beautiful storefront which works as a retail outlet and tasting room. The parking for the facility is along Commercial Avenue. There isn’t really a parking lot, but there are angled spots along the side of the building.
When we entered the building, we were met by two employees with wine lists and both asked us if we were interested in a tour. We eventually decided a tour would be neat. We were led to a small room that was set up with a television and some chairs so we could watch a short video before starting the tour. Read more…
Samuel Mancino’s Italian Eatery- Portage
5363 S. Westnedge AvenueOur Saturday night plan was to watch some basketball, rent a couple movies and do something low-key for dinner. I reserved a couple movies on Redbox.com and remembered we had a coupon for a free sandwich at Mancino’s. We’re both pretty big fans of the grinders, so it sounded like a winner. Cheap dinner, cheap movies, and great basketball.
After running to Walgreens to pick up the movies, we headed south on Westnedge to Mancino’s which is just north of the I-94 interchange in a small strip mall. I’ve eaten in Mancino’s all over the place and never been able to figure out the relationship between them. I’ve talked about it in past blogs, so I won’t go over it again, but just take from this, I like the grinders.
The Samuel Mancino’s in Portage is one of the nicer ones I’ve been to in Michigan. It’s a small restaurant with only a handful of tables, but it’s clean and the furniture is in good condition. I haven’t always been able to say that about some of the other Mancino’s restaurants.
We headed to the back of the restaurant to order. I looked at the menu board above the cash register and couldn’t find my favorite sandwich, the pizza grinder. I know the Samuel Mancino’s chain has undergone some changes recently, so maybe they took it off. Instead, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan Grinder. I went with an 8″ and no drink since we were going to take it go. J also went with an 8″ and got the ham and cheese grinder. She did get a drink and with our coupon for a free 8″ grinder, the total came to just a little over seven bucks. Not a bad price for dinner. Read more…
From a Sandhill Crane Vineyards press release…..
JACKSON, MI, March 1, 2010 – Celebrate Michigan Wine Month at the Southeast Michigan Pioneer Wine Trail’s “Michigan Wine Celebration” on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18!
Tickets are $25 per person for this self-driven tour of the wineries of southeast Michigan.
Each winery along the trail will feature an appetizer or dessert prepared by a local chef and paired with their featured wine. The ticket price also includes a tasting glass. A recipe card with the featured recipe will be given out to ticket holders at each winery.
Planned food and wine pairings:
Burgdorf’s Winery – Pinot Noir juniper berry marinated chicken and brown rice pilaf, paired with Pinot Noir.
Chateau Aeronautique Winery – Smoked salmon canapes with Chardonel cream sauce and cucumber relish, paired with Chardonel
Cherry Creek Old Schoolhouse Winery – Penne rigate with mixed greens and pine nuts, paired with Winedog Boardoe
Lone Oak Vineyard Estate – Dessert crepes with raspberry sauce, paired with Red Raspberry.
Pentamere Winery – Short ribs braised in Cabernet Franc with sauteed vegetables, paired with Monarch of the Glenn
Sandhill Crane Vineyards – Asparagus and goat cheese lasagna, paired with Sassy Rose’
Sleeping Bear Winery – Wild rice and mushroom soup, paired with Dry White
Ticket holders are welcome to visit each location over the two-day event, or they may choose to limit their visits (as time permits). The Wine Trail encourages ticket holders to bring a designated driver.
Hours of the event are Saturday, April 17 from 11 am to 6 pm, and Sunday, April 18 from noon to 6 pm. Tickets are available online at www.pioneerwinetrail.com or from any Pioneer Wine Trail winery. There are a limited number of tickets available. Ticket sales will end on Thursday, April 15 at midnight (or earlier, if sold out). Tickets will NOT be available the day of the event.
For more information call (517)531-3080.
Olde Peninsula Brew Pub
200 E. Michigan AvenueInteresting how things change in a month’s time. A few weeks ago, J and I were at her parents house in Chicago and her mom had just got information about retiring. She has worked for the same Chicago area grocery store chain for 32 years. A few weeks ago, they offered a pretty good retirement deal, but she had to take it by today. Last week, she put in her notice and today was her last day.
As soon as she got off work, she got in the car and headed to Kalamazoo. J and I have been here almost six months and her parents have not been able to make it up here. Even though J’s mom had been with the same company for 32 years, she couldn’t get weekends off. Don’t have to worry about that anymore.
After giving the tour of our apartment, J said we should go to dinner. It was a little after 4:30 and none of us had really eaten. J picked up a few tacos from Taco Bell for us for lunch, but it wasn’t much, so we decided to go back to the very first place we ate at in Kalamazoo.
The restaurant that gets that distinction is Olde Peninsula Brew Pub on the corner of Michigan and Portage in the building once known as “The Big Corner.” The building was originally designed for the Peninsula Restaurant in 1874. Over the years, it was also a clothing store, a stove company, a book binding business, and even a hotel. In 1996, the building opened as Olde Peninsula, Kalamazoo’s first brew pub.
Today’s trip was actually the second time J and I have been to Olde Peninsula. The first time was in the fall of 2008 when we still lived in Lansing. J was working over here after a trip home, so we set it up with J leaving her car at work for the weekend. On the way back, I dropped her off here for her shift, but first we went to dinner before I headed back to Lansing.
We didn’t really know much about Kalamazoo dining, but I was able to find Olde Peninsula doing a simple Google search. We both enjoyed that meal and thought it would be a great place to take her mom. Read more…
Red’s Grill
10445 Shaver RoadIt only took a two-year old article in the Kalamazoo Shopper for me to finally find a good burger in the Kalamazoo area.
J and I decided to go out for lunch today because we had some errands to run anyway. When she asked if there was anyplace I wanted to eat, I didn’t hesitate. There’s a little diner I’ve been wanting to go to since I accidentally found that archived article.
Red’s Grill is on Shaver Road and Osterhaut Avenue just north of Sugarloaf Lake in Portage. I had never been that far south in Portage and it seemed like I drove for quite a while after Westnedge turns into Shaver.
The building is a pretty unassuming restaurant with a large parking lot out front. It looks like the building has been pieced together over the years. There’s a small smoking section right as you walk in. It’s just a long, narrow hallway with booths on one side. If you walk past the cash register and kitchen, you come to the main dining room. Beyond there is a screened in porch area with more tables.
We were a little past the rush lunch when we showed up and took a booth in the main dining room. There was only one other couple in that area at the time and the waitress was starting to wrap silverware. Still, she acknowledged us right away, stopped what she was doing and got us a couple Coke’s while we looked over the menu. Read more…
Martell’s
3501 Greenleaf BoulevardLast week, I found out about Millennium Monday’s in March at the Millennium restaurants. We cut back on eating out this past weekend, so we could take advantage of this fantastic deal. All day, Monday’s in March, with a coupon, you get 40% off at Epic Bistro, Fieldstone Grill, Union Cabaret, and Martell’s. I’m really bummed I found out about this so late. I probably would have taken advantage of it every week!
We decided to go to Martell’s for lunch. There’s still one week left, so maybe we’ll try one of the other two we haven’t been to.
Martell’s is on Greenleaf Boulevard in a really secluded part of Kalamazoo. It sits right on Willow Lake. The restaurant is in the Parkview Hills community. You really would next expect to find a restaurant as you’re driving down Greenleaf Boulevard. If it wasn’t for the signs directing us back towards the lake, I would have assumed I took a wrong turn.
Once you get to the restaurant, you won’t find any flashy signage. From the road, there is a wooden sign that blends in with the trees. On the road, the sign still says Black Swan, so as long as you know the restaurant’s former identity, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding the new place.
Martell’s sort of shares a building the management office for Parkview Hills. It’s a really unassuming building with parking in a large lot nearby. We stopped in for lunch just after 1:00 on a Monday and it seemed like we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the 40% off. Read more…
Press Release – Maple Syrup Day at Hartwick Pines State Park
From an MDNR Press Release…
Savor Maple Syrup Day at Hartwick Pines State Park on March 27
Hartwick Pines State Park, the Michigan Forest Visitor Center and the Logging Museum in Grayling will present Maple Syrup Day on Saturday, March 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn about North America’s oldest agricultural product — maple sugar. Visitors are invited to:
– Walk into the sugarbush to help tap a maple tree
– Observe the boil-down process which converts maple sap to maple syrup
– Learn about the history of maple sugar making in North America
– View videos titled “Maple Sugar Farmer,” “Maple Sugaring” and “The Maple Sugaring Story”
– Ask an expert about how to start making maple syrup and tap trees in your own backyard
– Taste maple sap and the finished maple syrup
– Purchase genuine maple sugar candy and syrupChildren can participate in tapping a maple tree and will learn how to build their own mokuk. A mokuk is a birch bark bucket that native peoples used to transport maple sugar. Making a paper mokuk replica provides a history lesson and discussion about how European settlers learned of the Native Americans’ sugaring culture.
Tree tapping demonstrations take place at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the sugarbush. Some visitors will have a chance to help staff tap the maple trees and all visitors can taste maple syrup and sap, smell the aroma around an outside evaporator pan and welcome spring at this educational and fun event. Maple recipes will be available for those wishing to savor the sweetness of the day.
Along with the annual Maple Syrup Day on March 27, schoolchildren will have a chance to visit the sugarbush and learn about the science and history of maple syrup making during the week of March 22-26. Interested teachers should call (989) 348-2537 to arrange a visit. Each hour-long presentation can accommodate up to three classes.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Friends of Hartwick Pines State Park cosponsor this special event. There is no fee for this event, however a Motor Vehicle Permit is required for park entry. Permits are available at the park’s entrance for $24 for a resident annual permit, $6 for a resident daily permit, $29 for a non-resident annual permit and $8 for a non-resident daily permit.
Hartwick Pines State Park is located at 4216 Ranger Rd. in Grayling.The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the conservation, protection, management and accessible use and enjoyment of the state’s environment, natural resources and related economic interests for current and future generations.
New Holland Brewing Company
66 E. 8th StreetAfter some shopping it was time to head to dinner. J actually got a suggestion for a restaurant and it happened to be the same place I picked out.
The New Holland Brewing Company is in downtown Holland on the corner of 8th Street and College Avenue. It looks like they just expanded to take up about three storefronts along the busy stretch of road.
The new entrance brings you into an area between the original bar/dining room and a new dining room. There is a hostess station right as you enter and right away we were taken to our table. The route to that table just happened to be right through a gift shop-like area even though it didn’t have to be.
The space is deceivingly huge. There are two large ground floor dining rooms, but we were taken to an upstairs dining area that overlooks the bar area. The whole space has an industrial brew pub feel to it. The floors are aged hard wood and the booths in the upstairs dining area are straight plywood. There’s no finish or covering. Right in the middle of the space is a large, non-functioning beer still and there are TV’s all over the place where I could watch UNI whoop top-seeded Kansas.
J and I are both fighting a pretty nasty cold and we both took some cold medicine before we went to eat, so alcohol was out of the question. I’m not a beer lover like some, but when we go to these brewpub’s, I’d at least like to try one. Instead, I got a Coke and J got a Diet. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 