Bimbo’s Pizza
338 E. Michigan AvenueJ comes home from work today and says to me, “I want pizza.” Kind of a wierd thing to say for her, but I never turn down pizza.
We’ve hit most of the well-known joints in town, but there was still at least one left that I wanted to get to. Since they were actually open for lunch, we headed downtown.
Bimbo’s Pizza has been in business in downtown Kalamazoo for fifty years. It’s on Michigan Avenue between Edwards and Pitcher Streets. The building is a magnificent old structure. There’s an alley right next to Bimbo’s, so there’s an opportunity for more windows and they take advantage of it. The kitchen area is right in the corner and you can watch the pizza makers from the streets.
Inside Bimbo’s is just as interesting. When you enter, you come right in by the kitchen. It’s completely open and you can watch the pizza makers roll out the dough on the old rollers. The machine makes a helluva noise, but I would bet it’s either original or very close to original.
The dining room is surrounded by exposed brick walls and covered with a tin ceiling. There are a number of dark wood booths along the walls and the rest of the space is filled in with tables. Read more…
Z’s Grille & Bar
168 Louis Campau Promenade NWIt seems like every concert we go to see in Grand Rapids is on a Sunday night. Well, this time it was one J wanted to see. I would have rather went to Tim McGraw on Saturday night, but she really wanted to see John Mayer. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t want to pay for two concerts back-to-back. It was tempting, but I thought better of it.
The last couple times we’ve gone to Grand Rapids, it’s been a Sunday and we always have a hard time finding someplace to eat. A few weeks ago, Van Andel Arena made things a lot easier. They actually sent out a tweet pointing to a Facebook posting which listed places that were open on Sunday before the Mayer concert. They listed five or six places and we narrowed it down to a couple. Ironically, one of the places was a bar that J saw while at work one day and thought it would be a good place for us to go. Since they were open, that’s where we went.
Z’s Grille and Bar is on Louis Campau Promenade NW just south of Pearle Street and east of the JW Marriott. There was a lot going on downtown so street parking was at a premium. We went around the block once and decided paying for a lot was going to be our best option. There were two garages right across the street. We chose the cheaper of the two.
The entrance is around the corner from the street side in a little courtyard. Like I mentioned, there was a lot going on. Besides the concert, Rail Jam was going on at the B.O.B., so there was a lot of reason to be downtown.
We walked in to a pretty hopping bar. There was no hostess per se, but as we started walking down the aisle between the bar and a row of booths, someone stopped and asked if we were looking for a table. When we said yes, she went to work cleaning a booth. Read more…
Taco Bob’s – Centre Avenue
126 E. Centre AvenueIt’s the time of week where we really need to go grocery shopping. J started looking through the cabinets trying to find something for lunch, but came up empty-handed. She laid back down on the couch defeated and hungry. I, again, brought up tacos. I was just going to go to a Taco Bell, but J asked about Taco Bob’s. I have eaten at the Milwood location, but she’s didn’t eat lunch with me that day. We walked right by the Vine location last night on our way to Martini’s, so it was fresh in her mind.
Initially, I drove down Westnedge to go to the location in the Vine Neighborhood, but it was closed, so I backtracked all the way to Centre Street in Portage. The Taco Bob’s there is a small building just to the east of Westnedge. Parking is a little wierd. There’s an entrance on the west side of the building, but there’s no parking there. There are some spots in the back and if you go all the way around the building near the drive through, there are spots on the east side as well.
The building itself doesn’t look like much. It really doesn’t even look like a restaurant. It’s a bland, boxy building with a large Taco Bob’s sign out front. Inside, there is a very small order counter and maybe a half-dozen tables. There were two other couples dining in while I was there, but J didn’t come with me, so I was in line for a to go order. Read more…
Martini’s Pizza
832 S. Westnedge AvenueJust like with burgers, I can be real hard to please with pizza. Being from the Chicago area, I have a mental image of what pizza should be. It can be hard to go somewhere and not compare their pizza with our favorite pizza from back home. Still, we try to put all that aside and seek out the best pizza joint wherever it is we’re living.
Our quest took us to Martini’s Pizza on Westnedge and Village Street in Kalamazoo’s Vine Neighborhood. It was one of the first pizza joints other than Bilbo’s that was recommended to us, but it was recommended with a warning. The service sucks, but the pizza is delicious.
I knew Martini’s was on Westnedge but I just couldn’t picture the place. When I looked it up on Google Maps, I was even more confused. We drive that stretch of Westnedge all the time. How could I miss a restaurant?
We headed down Westnedge just past Vine and I started looking. There was no sign anywhere to be found. There is a really nice looking building on the corner with an Italian mural painted on one side, so that must be it.
I went around the block and found a parking spot along Westnedge. Martini’s is pretty heavily entrenched in a neighborhood so there really aren’t any surface parking lots. You’re going to have to find street parking and I’m fine with that. Parking lots don’t belong in neighborhoods. You can walk a couple blocks. It’s good for you.
We walked up to the building and still no signs. I looked all over the building thinking there must be something, but nope. Not even on the entry door. They have the hours of operation, but no logo or any indication that we were walking in to the right place.
The “front” of the building actually faces Village Street. There’s a small patio area right in the corner. The entrance is more towards the back of the building.
We went in and figured out we were in the right place when we could see the pizza ovens working in the kitchen. There’s a hostess station right up front and a dining room directly to the right. The front part of the dining room is the main area. The back part near the kitchen has the bar and a handful of pub tables. That’s where we were seated. Read more…
Required Tipping?
Interesting article on WZZM13.com tonight out of Winston-Salem, NC. It brings up the question about what exactly the tip is.
A North Carolina woman has started a petition against her favorite Japanese restaurant.
She’s upset because the restaurant put a tip on her bill without her consent. The restaurant says they’re just trying to deal with a habitually-bad tipper.
Of course, there’s a lot more to this story. The restaurant says they told her they were going to do it and she said it was ok with it, but my question is, is it really ok to require a tip? Isn’t a tip supposed to be a reflection on service?
Now, before you lay into me, my mom is a waitress and makes more money waitressing three nights a week than she does from her 9 to 5 job. I would never dream of walking away from a table without tipping. While I think people that do are pretty awful people, I don’t feel a restaurant should add a tip on to the bill….even for big parties. At that point, you’re not tipping based on your experience, you’re just being charged more for the food.
Opinions?
Press Release – 5th Annual Charity Gumbo Cook-Off
Found a flyer for this. Info is from http://www.gotokra.com
Fifth Annual Charity Gumbo Cook-Off
Our annual fundraising extravaganza to help support Ministry With CommunityFeaturing Kalamazoo’s best chefs in a heated competition!
March 7th, 2010
3pm-7pmLouie’s Trophy House Grill
440 E North St
Kalamazoo, MI 49007Admission: $15 in advance | $20 at door
Featuring chefs from: A Food Affair Café Bennucci’s Chicago Oven & Grill BOLD Restaurant & Catering Bravo! Café 237 Fandango Food Dance Hangar Bar & Grill Louie’s Trophy House Grill Mangia Mangia Martell’s Old Burdick’s Pasche’s Seafood Kitchen Radisson Zazios Zeb’s
Just Good Foods
303 N. Rose Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49007
- (269) 383-1033
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
A few weeks ago, J and I drove by the Rose Street Market. We both thought it was actually a market and we should check it out sometime. When I got home, I searched Google only to find it wasn’t actually a market but a reception hall. An interesting find though was that there is a deli inside the building.
Just Good Foods is on the bottom floor of the Rose Street Market on Rose Street south of Kalamazoo Avenue. When you come in to the building at street level, there are signs pointing you downstairs. There’s an elevator and a set of stairs before you get to the banquet hall which lead right down to where you need to go.
The basement level is just that. It’s a wide open space that has been filled with tables on one side and a full service deli and catering operation that takes up the back area. When you walk through the doors, there is a deli case in front of you with a number of salads and other sides. The menu is on little cards on top of the deli case. Each card has a different sandwich or salad selection with an ingredient list. There are no paper menus or one big menu board anywhere in the place. It can be kind of daunting to walk down the whole row reading every card to find what you’re looking for.
You place your order at the counter then you are handed a ticket to take to the cash register. On the way to pay, we picked up a couple bottles of pop out of a cooler on the way. After paying, you find a seat and wait for your food to be brought out. Lucky for us, Just Good Food has a free WiFi connection, so, once again, we were that couple who sat on our iPod and iPhone checking e-mail and twitter while we were talking. Read more…
Niskers Char-Broiled Foods – Portage
6384 S. Westnedge AvenueToday was an exciting day for me. I finally bought new socks. Sounds stupid, I know, but I was really getting tired of the holes and stretched out elastic on my old ones. When J got off work at noon, we headed to Target.
When we left, J said she was hungry and asked if there was any place quick to eat. I thought of Niskers Char-Broiled Foods. Not long ago, Kalamazoo Cheap Eats asked a question on Twitter about Kalamazoo’s best burger. I like to think of myself as a burger guru and I didn’t have an answer for her. I’ve eaten a lot of burgers since moving to Kalamazoo and not one of them stands out as Kalamazoo’s best burger. One of J’s co-workers chimed in with Niskers, so I thought we’d give it a shot to see how it stacks up.
Niskers Char-Broiled Foods has two Kalamazoo locations. One is on Riverview Drive. The other is in Portage. Since we were in Portage we hit that one. The address is South Westnedge, but the store front is actually on Milham. It’s part of the Crossroads Galleria.
The store is set up sort of like a fast food joint. There is an order counter in the front of the store with the menu board above it. You order your sandwich, sides, drinks, etc at this point, but you don’t customize the burger until after you pay. Right next to the cash register is an area that sort of resembles a sub shop. They have condiments spread out in to little trays. While the meat is cooking, an employee pulls out a bun, puts it on wax paper then they load up bun with condiments, cheese, and veggies. After taking care of that step, you sit down and wait for your name to be called. Read more…
Chili’s Grill & Bar – Portage
6195 S. Westnedge AvenueIt’s not very often that we get visitors here in Kalamazoo other than family. Today, one of my friends from Peoria was driving through on his way to Ann Arbor for work tomorrow. Since we didn’t get hit by as much snow as we thought we were going to, he decided to tak I-94 instead of the long route (I-80). He was coming through about dinner time, so we decided to get together for dinner.
My buddy is not the adventurous eater than I am, so when we meet up, it’s better if we just go to a chain. I threw a couple suggestions out there near I-94 and Westnedge, but J thought Chili’s would be the best option.
The Portage Chili’s is on Westnedge just south of Milham Road in front of Toys R Us. Somehow, it’s almost hidden. We drive by there all the time and when I brought up Chili’s to J, she had no idea where it was at and couldn’t picture it. It’s a typical Chili’s building, but parking is pretty tight. There’s one row in front of the building then a row along the south side. Between Chili’s and Dashworks is another couple rows, but it’s not a huge parking lot. If it was full, you could always go behind the building.
My buddy was already sitting down when we got there. He was shown to a booth back near the kitchen. When J and I showed up, there were already menus on the table waiting for us. We squeezed into the booth which felt really tight.
The waitress came back to the table when she saw J and I sit down. We put in drinks orderes. I got a Coke. J got a Strawberry Lemonade. We also ready to order, so we put that in right away too. Read more…
Free Pancakes At IHOP Tomorrow
Saturday it was free pretzels…..Tuesday it’s free pancakes.
IHOP is giving away a free short stack of pancakes from 7 AM to 10 PM tomorrow morning (Feb. 23). All they ask in return is that you consider giving a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network or other local charities.
SW Michigan Locations
Portage – 5325 S. Westnedge
Benton Harbor – 1981 Pipestone Road
West Michigan Locations
Grandville – 4767 Wilson Avenue SW
Holland – 3110 Beeline Road
Grand Rapids – 5039 28th Street SE
2071 E. Beltline Avenue NE
Comstock Park – 3769 Alpine Avenue NW
SW Michigan Dining 