Harding’s Friendly Market- Milwood
1000 E. Cork Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49001
- (269) 342-8633
- Website
Everyone needs choices. With me, I need more than one supermarket. Sure, we do most of our shopping at Meijer. It’s always been that way with J and I. I pick a hyper-market where we can get everything we need and do the bulk of our shopping there, but there’s always been a second grocery store that I go to when I just have to pick up one or two things. For several years, that supermarket has been Kroger. There always seems to be both a Meijer or Walmart and a Kroger near my place. Not in Kalamazoo.
Since I have to find a new #2, I figured I’d check out a grocery store that I had never heard of before moving to Southwest Michigan. I’ve seen at least three locations somewhat near my house, but a trip to the Aunt Millie’s Bakery Outlet takes me right by the Harding’s Friendly Market on Cork Street near Lover’s Lane in the Milwood Neighborhood.
The store is in a small strip mall and it looks like it’s been there for quite a while. It’s not the newest store in town and it looks a little bit smaller than the other Harding’s I have driven by.
The layout of the store is a little wierd when you first walk in. Right away to the right they start with coolers and the first thing you see is cheese. The store feels a little cramped. The aisles are probably just barely big enough to let two carts pass each other. The outer walls are lined with the coolers and the organization of products really has no rhyme or reason. Read more…
Subway – Westnedge & Gladys, Portage
6425 S. Westnedge AvenueOh, happy day at SW Michigan Dining World Headquarters. We finally got a new computer! We kept saying, we’d get a new couch and a new computer after the wedding. A monkey wrench was thrown into those plans when J was transferred to Kalamazoo. Now, we had unexpected moving expenses. We got the couch, but I was still holding out on the computer.
This past weekend, our old laptop finally kicked the bucket. We had problems with it turning off on it’s own and it picked a bad time to do so. I was right in the middle of connecting to a new network and McAfee was processing the info. It corrupted the disk and now I can’t get it to start. I don’t have a recovery disk anymore, so until I can borrow one to pull a couple files, that computer is completely dead.
I had been pricing computers on Dell.com, HP.com, etc., and wasn’t happy with the prices. Yesterday, we were at Walmart and found a Dell for $600 that I priced for almost $900. I almost picked it up, but ended up waiting. We went home and J scoured the Sunday ads and found an HP at Best Buy for $430. It had what I wanted, so we put the order in and picked it up today.
After taking care of that, we figured we’d just stop for lunch since we were already out. We really wanted to get home and break open the box with our computer, so fast food it was. I had been eating junk all weekend, so when J noticed a Subway, I was more than happy to oblige.
There are many Subways in Portage, but the first one we saw was on the corner of Westnedge and Gladys. It’s an older building with the older yellow awning out front. Unlike most Subway restaurants, this is a stand-alone store. It doesn’t share space and it’s not part of a strip mall. Read more…
7-Eleven – Knollwood
2627 W. Michigan Avenue- Kalamazoo, MI 49006
- (269) 343-8688
- Website
I love Slurpees. It’s bad. I know. Growing up in Central Illinois, I never saw a 7-Eleven. J, on the other hand, grew up in suburban Chicago where there’s a 7-Eleven on every corner.
When we moved to Lansing, we both got hooked on Speedy Freezes from Speedway. I got a craving one night for a Speedy Freeze so I started towards the Speedway just down the street from our place. When I got close, traffic was ridiculous. Not sure if you remember this one, but it was the day everyone was freaked out that gas was going to jump to $5 or $6 and they crowded gas stations trying to fill up before this event that never happened. It wasn’t worth trying to make my way into the small, overcrowd gas station.
I remembered passing a 7-Eleven in Holt which wasn’t all that far from our South Lansing apartment. I did a U-Turn and went for my first Slurpee. From that point on, I was hooked. Slurpees were soooo much better than Speedy Freezes.
When we moved to Kalamazoo, we started looking for a 7-Eleven. There wasn’t one close to our house, but there was a Speedway, so we fell back in to old habits. Speedway was more convenient, so when the cravings hit, it was down the street to the Speedway.
J and I spent Sunday driving around the Kalamazoo area. We’re still getting used to where everything is, so a lot of times, we don’t plan our routes out very well. We started with lunch at University Roadhouse near WMU. After that, we headed out to Walmart in Portage. As we were finishing up there, J said she wanted a Slurpee. A real Slurpee, not a Speedy Freeze. Turns out, the closest 7-Eleven was back near Western. Read more…
University Roadhouse Bar & Grill
1332 W. Michigan AvenueI never know what to do on Sunday’s. For some reason, it feels like I have to eat breakfast no matter what time I actually decide to eat my first meal on Sunday. This particular Sunday, J and I left the house closer to 1:00 in search of some grub.
We actually struck out at our first stop. Their website said they were open and serving breakfast, but that’s not the case. I didn’t have a back up plan right away. We started to head towards WMU because there was a tavern there I’ve been wanting to try. We pulled up, J thought it looked close, but on the way, we passed a place that was definitely open.
University Roadhouse is on Michigan Avenue just a stones throw from Waldo Stadium on the campus of Western Michigan University. It’s owned by the same group that owns Main Street Pub (among others) so we had a good feeling as we walked through the doors.
We were met by a hostess and shown to a booth near the bar. It’s actually a multi-level building with an open-air outdoor patio upstairs. The bottom floor has the dining room and bar. J called the decor “cute.” It didn’t really scream road house to me, but it was still interesting. There was a room that was sectioned off from the main dining room that was painted English phone booth red. The walls were covered with interesting quotes from famous people. My favorite was “If I’d asked the people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” (Henry Ford) The whole feel of the place was more upscale bar. We’ve only been to one other restaurant in the group, but it had a similar style.
The menu felt a little different to me though. We started with a Pepsi and a Diet Pepsi. I knew right away what I wanted, but J needed a little more time. Even though I was in a breakfast mood when we left the house, I was quickly converted to burger mood. Read more…
Pappy’s Mexican Restaurant
5303 S. Westnedge Avenue- Portage, MI 49002
- (269)382-0540
- Website
- Menu
Like most people, I’m exhausted when I get home from work. What I do can be physically demanding and no matter what, it’s going to be at least a ten-hour day. By the time I made it back to Kalamazoo after my most recent trip to East Lansing, I was exhausted, hungry, and not in the mood to cook.
After a quick shower and some relaxing time on the couch with J, we got moving again and decided if we were going to eat, we were going to have to go out. I wasn’t really sure what I was hungry for, but I knew I didn’t want pizza. J suggested Mexican and there’s a place pretty close to home that seems to have quite a few cars in the parking lot when we drive by.
Pappy’s Place is at the corner of South Westnedge and Andy Avenues right next to Meijer. From the outside, it looks Mexican and they boast the best wet burritos’ in town. We had no reason to suspect that it was anything but a Mexican joint.
Once inside, I was a little lost. When you enter the door, there’s a very bland dining room immediately to your right. If you keep going down the hallway, you come to a cash register. I assumed this was a hostess stand. It was not, but a waitress told us to sit where we’d like. She mentioned the bland dining room behind us was non-smoking, so naturally, that’s where we headed. Had we kept going down the hallway, we’d have hit the bar and right next to that was another dining room. Beyond those two rooms looked to be a game room with some pinball machines and pool tables. I never made it back that far.
We took a booth in the non-smoking dining room. The menus were already on the table in the form of place mats. There was also a card with appetizers they call “Pappetizers.” The menu was not like the menus at most Mexican restaurants. They had some traditional American salads, a handful of Mexican entree’s, pizza, and traditional American sandwiches. I was a little dumbfounded when I looked at the menu. It was not what either of us were expecting. Read more…
Dolly’s Pizza – Lansing
719 Brookside DriveAnother weekend on the road back in East Lansing for work. I was on my own for a hotel, so I was on the look out for the cheapest I could find. That’s not an easy task on a football weekend, but I was able to find one for under $50/night. It was the Motel 6 on Saginaw Highway. Not a five-star hotel by any stretch of the imagination..hell, lucky if it was one, but all I really needed was a bed for a few hours and it did serve that purpose and I’m sure I’ll be staying there a lot this winter.
Before bed though, I needed food. There aren’t many places in Delta Township where J and I didn’t eat. That area of Lansing is one of the major shopping districts and we made trips out that way once a week. We almost never did pizza on that side of town though, so I pretty much had my pick. There was only one chain out there that wasn’t on the south side where we lived. Even though I read a so-so review a year or so ago, I decided to give it a shot.
Dolly’s Pizza is a chain out of White Lake, Michigan and most of their stores are in the Detroit area. They were voted Best Pizza in Michigan at some point by the Michigan Restaurant Association yet they never say what year that was. Read more…
Brewsters Fine Foods & Spirits
5135 Portage RoadThursday’s aren’t traditionally a dining out night for us, but I have some work this weekend that would cut into our normal date nights. After a quick trip to Meijer, I suggested going out for dinner. I didn’t really have a plan when I brought it up, but I figured I could find something.
We live fairly close to the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport and the other day, I decided to drive down Portage Road just to see what was around. I assumed there had to be a couple restaurants and I found more than one.
The first restaurant we ran into after passing I-94 was Brewsters Fine Foods & Spirits. It’s on the corner of Portage and Fairfield Roads. When I did a Google search for the place, an address down the street in Portage comes up, but the address on the receipt is a Kalamazoo address and matches the cross street for the actual location.
We actually went for an early dinner…what some would call the “Blue Haired Special.” It was 4:30. Still, the parking lot was packed. I like to see that. People just getting off work stopping in for a few beers. It’s a good sign.
We were met at the door by a waiter who showed us to a seat in the dining room. We were offered either the dining room or the bar, but J noticed a lot of smoke in the bar area and chose the dining room. We were the only ones who had chosen that option, so we had our choice of seats.
The waiter showed us to a booth just past the door. He set down a couple menus and the specialty menu then left us for a few minutes to get our drinks. I got a Pepsi while J got an Iced Tea. Read more…
Circle K – Milham Rd
1800 W. Milham Road- Portage, MI 49002
- (269) 349-7037
- Website
Another one of my guilty pleasures. This one has roots from my time in Peoria, IL. My job in Peoria had me driving around Central Illinois everyday. Every now and then, I would just need a break and since I have an unhealthy Pepsi addiction, my preferred stop was someplace where I could get cheap Pepsi.
When J and I moved to Lansing, I really missed Circle K. The closest was either here in Kalamazoo or Ann Arbor. Everytime I’d go to U of M for work, I’d hit up the Circle K on Stadium Drive…whether I was going that way or not.
There are four Circle K locations in the Kalamazoo/Portage area. Some of them are just convenience stores. Some are also gas stations. Up until now, I had never seen a Circle K that wasn’t a gas station, but the one we stopped at on Milham Road in Portage is just that.
The store shares a building with a Domino’s Pizza. It’s not much different from any other convenience store except for one major thing. Polar Pops. Man, I love Polar Pops. Not because there’s anything special about them. Hell, it’s just Pepsi in a styrofoam cup. But, it’s Pepsi in a Styrofoam cup for just $.69 Read more…
Ottawa Tavern
151 Ottawa Avenue NWBirthdays have never been a big deal to me. At least my own. This year, my birthday (which happens to be my 30th) fell on a day that I had to work. Of course, I didn’t turn down a job just so I could go out to dinner, but J still wanted to do something nice, so we pushed it back a week.
Over the last few years, J and I have seen a number of country acts in concert. There are a couple that have been a little elusive or playing nearby on days one of us had to work. Dierks Bentley was one of those acts.
This year, Dierks was playing the B93 Roofsit for Kids at Van Andel Arena on a Sunday night and it worked out perfectly for us. J bought me tickets to the show for my birthday and we celebrated a week later.
Before the show, we had to go out for dinner. Now, I know most people use birthday’s as an excuse to eat steak or lobster, but that’s not really me. I didn’t want to go to some dive, but I really just wanted a good burger.
We staked a couple places out on line, but as I was checking out websites Saturday night, I found that most of them were not open on Sunday. In fact, most of the restaurants in downtown Grand Rapids seemed to be closed on Sunday, so that made the search much harder.
Harder, but not impossible. Read more…
Taco Bell – Portage
6314 S. Westnedge AvenueCall it a guilty pleasure. I’m not usually a fast food fan, but Taco Bell is the one place we’ll both think of when we’re in the mood for fast food. We don’t do fast food often, but sometimes, we just want something quick.
The Taco Bell in Portage is on South Westnedge and in front of the Southland Mall. It is a very small store with a tight parking lot. We actually were drawn in with a promotion on this trip. For Halloween, Taco Bell was giving away one free Black Jack taco from six to midnight.
We pulled in a little bit before seven. There wasn’t the rush that I was kind of expecting there to be. The tables inside were pretty full, but like I already mentioned, the place is pretty small for a Taco Bell.
Ordering took forever. There was a family in front of us that had a lot of special requests and just took forever. It really shouldn’t have taken more than five minutes, but that’s the way things go with us. The simplest things take forever. We were really just in the mood to get our food and get out.
The counter is sort of hidden. There are two registers, but if both were being used, it would be really cramped. We couldn’t have even gotten to the register in the corner. I know I keep mentioning this fact, but it was really uncomfortable to have the people behind us standing almost on top of us because there was very little room to the door and the people in front of taking up what was left in the space in front of us. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 