Firekeepers Casino
11177 Michigan avenue E- Battle Creek, MI 49014
- (269) 660-5722
- Website
OK, so I’m doing this a little out-of-order. I’m kind of a stickler about at least having one or two exterior pictures with my posts and I forgot my camera on Sunday, so I held off until my next trip back to East Lansing when I could hop off the highway real quick and snap a few shots.
Anyway, a few years ago, my brother and I created a monster. As a Christmas present, we decided to get my parents tickets to Las Vegas. They had never really gone on a vacation other than the family trips we took in my youth. We thought it’d be nice if they could get a way for a few days. The Vegas trip has now become a twice a year thing for my mom and aunt and whenever my dad wants to do something special with my mom, he takes her to a casino.
Let me preface by saying they’re not problem gamblers. My mom comes with her money and she doesn’t care if she wins or loses. It’s not about making money. She just has fun gambling. She has no ATM card or credit card to get more cash so when she’s out, she’s out, but she’s pretty good about stretching her money out for several hours. It doesn’t bother her at all to play penny slots. Like I said, it’s not about winning big. She just enjoys the slots for some reason.
As a treat to my mom, we decided to head out to Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek after we finished unloading the U-Haul. I’m not a huge fan of casino’s and really, neither are my brother or dad, but we know it makes mom happy and she’s been itching to go to Firekeepers since she saw the sign erected and lit up last summer on her way to see us in Lansing. Read more…
Miller Auditorium
2200 Auditorium Drive- Kalamazoo, MI 49008
- (269) 387-2300
- Website
I know this doesn’t fit into the “dining” category, but when J and I go out for a night on the town, I like to write about some of the entertainment venues we visit.
Both J and I have always been theater fans. It actually started in 8th grade with me. My class took a trip to the Chicago Theater to see Cats. To this day, I still love the show. A few years ago, I took J to see Cats at the Center for the Performing Arts in Bloomington, IL. She didn’t like it nearly as much as I did.
J’s been around theater her whole life. She was involved with her high school theater group and went to many shows in Chicago with her family. One of our first dates was a night out in Chicago where we saw Wicked at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, so seeing a show together is nothing new for us.
Unfortunately, Broadway Series shows are only a once in a while thing for us. Ticket prices are usually pretty high and it’s not something we can do every couple months.
Right after moving here, I found Miller Auditorium on Twitter. Last week, I noticed a tweet about a contest to win free tickets to see The Wedding Singer. I liked the movie with Adam Sandler and just about I’ve enjoyed just about every movie turned musical. I entered the contest and what do you know, I got a DM last night telling me I had won!
The James W. Miller Auditorium is on the campus of Western Michigan University. It’s a large brown building that really has no distinguishing features. It took me a little while to find because the address I initially found was a Michigan Avenue address. I noticed on their website after I got home that if you’re using a GPS, the physical address is actually on Auditorium Drive. Read more…
The Grotto at Capone’s
Where to go before a show? That’s always a tricky question for us. Do we do the formal thing and go have an expensive meal before a theater show or do we hit up a bar and order a pizza? Well, if you know us, more often than not, it’s going to be the bar.
We’re still not really familiar with Kalamazoo or Western Michigan yet and we haven’t really checked out campus. Just doing a quick Internet search brought me to a pub just down the street from Miller Auditorium. They had some good looking sandwiches and of course, pizza. Sounded good to both of us.
The Grotto at Capone’s is on Michigan Avenue near Howard Street in the Campus Point Mall. There is an entrance on Michigan Avenue, but the parking is around back. There’s also an entrance from the parking lot. Either will work…just depends if you’re walking from campus or driving. Since we were driving, we needed a place to park.
I got a little worried when we walked in. The Grotto at Capone’s is a pretty typical college bar. There’s a huge bar with a number of LCD TV’s hanging. There’s also a few pool tables near the door next to the road. The rest of the space is sparcely populated with tables and booths. There is a lot of empty space which is probably great on a big drinking night, but scary on a dining out night. There’s also a downtairs with a sign that says “The Grotto.” It was roped off, so I really have no idea what is downstairs.
The bartender greeted us as we walked in. We grabbed a pub table and waited a few minutes. I didn’t see a waitress and I was only going to give it ten minutes or so before coming up with a plan b. My fears were for naught. A waitress came out of the kitchen with menus and silverware. She took our drink order, Coke and a Diet Coke, told us about a pizza special then went to another table that just sat down while we made up our minds. Read more…
Old Burdick’s Bar & Grill – Michigan Avenue
100 W. Michigan AvenueWe learned something about Kalamazoo this morning. Actually, we learned a really good thing. Even on a Sunday morning, there’s life downtown.
J and I had needed to start the daunting task of unpacking and organizing our new living space. When we both got up, neither of us were interested in starting right away. We only ate one meal yesterday and we were both hungry. Since my parents bought lunch yesterday, we didn’t feel bad about checking out another new place.
The restaurant we chose was Old Burdick’s Bar & Grill. After I told J where we were going, she said someone she worked with had recommended the place. Old Burdick’s has three locations in Kalamazoo. We went to the downtown location on Michigan Avenue inside the Radisson Hotel.
When we got downtown, we started looking for parking near the hotel. This is where we realized that people actually went downtown…even on a Sunday. That’s an encouraging sign. When we first moved to Lansing, we headed downtown on a Saturday afternoon to see what Lansing had to offer. It was dead. There wasn’t a single person walking around and the restaurant we went in to looked like it was closing time instead of the middle of what should have been the lunch rush. Read more…
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers- Portage
5710 S. Westnedge AvenueMmmmmm…..burgers. I freakin love hamburgers. I could live on them. Most chain restaurants serve up an ok burger, but it’s usually a safe bet.
My parents and brother came to town this morning to help J and I finish moving in. Last night, the two of us loaded up a U-Haul in Lansing. We were able to do this on our own because we lived on the first floor and it was a pretty easy shot right out the door to the truck. At our place in Kalamazoo, we’re up seven stairs and the doorway is uphill from the parking lot. We were going to need a little more manpower to get some of our bigger pieces of furniture in.
It took about an hour and a half to unload the 14′ U-Haul. After a few minutes of rest, my brother asked about lunch. We had to return the truck to Portage anyway, so the rest of my family loaded up in my parents mini-van and followed us.
When we lived in Lansing, my dad had made a comment once about Red Robin when we drove by the store in Delta Townhip. We never stopped there, but I saw one in Portage that was fairly close to our new place and knew burgers would be an easy lunch for us. Read more…
Dark Horse Brewery
511 S. Kalamazoo Street- Marshall, MI
- (269) 781-9940
- Website
- No Online Menu
This summer, a guy I went to high school with chronicled his trip through Michigan on Facebook and his blog. Most of the places he stopped were not much of a surprise to me. I had already been there or they were on my list of places to go. The one that really stuck out was a small brewery in Marshall that, at the time, I had never heard of. I figured if it was something that someone from Illinois would make a point to stop at, I should make it a point to make a stopover in Marshall.
J and I were on our way back to Lansing one final time to load up the U-Haul and get the rest of our stuff to Kalamazoo. When she got off work at 1:00, we piled in the car and started driving. The plan all along was to stop and eat on the way. I figured now was as good of time as any to take the small detour into Marshall.
The Dark Horse Brewery is just off the main square in downtown Marshall on Kalamazoo Street. It’s less than a half of a mile from the roundabout if you’re coming from I-94. The building is pretty small. In fact, there was a delivery truck parked in front of that totally hid the business from view. I happened to see the Dark Horse Brewery logo on the side of the convenience store that actually fronts the road. The taproom is a small building off the road in the parking lot.
After a quick U-Turn, we headed back into said parking lot which was being cleaned. There were cones everywhere blocking parking spaces and the previously mentioned delivery truck was blocking almost all access to the remaining spots. I finally just swerved around the truck and pulled in to a spot. Read more…
Main Street Pub – Portage
7509 S. Westnedge AvenueYay! Our first recommendation. J was talking to one of her coworkers about eating out and right away, he mentioned a place in Portage for good, cheap pub food. That’s right up our alley. We love good, cheap pub food.
J’s on kind of a weird schedule, so she got home from work right around lunch time. She had e-mailed me to see if I wanted to go out for lunch. I wasn’t in the mood to cook, so of course I agreed.
The Main Street Pub in Portage is on South Westnedge just south of Schuring Road in the Main Street Plaza. The guy who recommended the place told us that it was a great local place, but when I drove by the other night, it didn’t look like a local place. It had a chain feel to it which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just not what I was expecting. Come to find out, it’s a local chain. There are eight Main Street Pub locations, but the family that owns the restaurant also owns the University Roadhouse near WMU, Main Street Grill on Q Avenue, and Fletcher’s Pub which has two locations in Kalamazoo.
It was just after noon when we hit the parking lot. There were quite a few cars in the lot which is always a good sign. We parked near the back of the lot and headed inside where we waited for a hostess. I’m not really sure that’s the procedure, but a waitress did notice us standing there. She asked smoking or non-smoking which is still something I hate hearing…(really makes me miss dining out in Illinois). We chose non-smoking. She pointed us to a dining room just to the right of the entrance and told us to pick a table. We took a booth near the windows. Read more…
Aunt Millie’s Bakery Thrift Store
500 E. Clark Street- Kalamazoo, MI 49001
- (269) 342-2954
- Website
I love Aunt Millie’s bread. I first found it by accident at Kroger. I was looking for bread that didn’t have HFCS in it and Aunt Millie’s was the only brand of what seemed like a thousand that didn’t have it. I picked up that loaf of bread, went home, and made a peanut butter sandwich. Ever since that day, I’ve been buying Aunt Millie’s.
If you buy Aunt Millie’s in most stores, it’s pretty expensive. Up until J and I moved in together, I had always bought store brand for $.99. I never really cared about nutrition information until J was kind enough to point out to me what it all meant. I hated the “healthier” bread. It had no taste and it was full of holes. Aunt Millie’s has a couple different breads that are 1 point on the Weight Watchers scale and they taste great.
Again, price can be an issue. When we shopped at Meijer the other night, I picked up a loaf for almost three bucks. We needed bread, so I bought it, but I was really hoping I could find some place else that sold it cheaper.
Yesterday, I found the post office on Miller Street to mail off the “thank you cards” from our wedding. I went a different way on my way home just to see a little more of Kalamazoo and try to figure out where things are. As I was making my way back towards Westnedge, I accidently found what I was looking for. Read more…
Meijer – Westnedge, Portage
5121 S. Westnedge Avenue- Portage, MI 49002
- (269) 381-3465
- Website
The hyper-market. Almost a necessary evil anymore. While J and I like farmer’s markets and doing our part to help the local economy, you just can’t beat the prices at a major grocery chain and right now, food is more of a necessity than a luxury.
The closest mega-mart to our south Kalamazoo home is the Meijer on South Westnedge. When looking for a new place to live, finding a place close to a grocery store is mandatory. I don’t plan meals out very well. About 5:00, I decided what I get hungry for then look to see if I have what I need to make it. Most nights, I don’t. My credit card is littered with $5.00 grocery trips for one or two items.
I have a love-hate relationship with Meijer. I love the selection, the fresh produce, and the prices. I hate the size. When we lived in Lansing, our place was equal distance from a Meijer and a Kroger. When I went shopping alone, I went to Kroger. J always preferred Meijer and, quite honestly, there were some things we could get several dollars cheaper at Meijer, but I HATED the layout of the store. It made no sense and the aisles weren’t even straight. You ran in to so many dead ends. They were also way understaffed. I never saw more than three cash registers open and they always had lines five or six people deep. You couldn’t even walk down the aisle in front of the cash registers because the lines were so long they went all the way back into the clothing department behind it. It literally took twenty minutes to check out every time we went there. Read more…
Ritter’s Frozen Custard
217 Romence RoadWell, we thought we were going local. J and I made a trip to Crossroads Mall to find a jewelry repair place to resize my wedding band. I bought it a half a size too big and instead of gaining weight to fit in it, I finally decided to get it resized.
We had about an hour to kill and we had just walked around the mall the day before, so I suggested we go for ice cream. I had noticed a few places farther down Westnedge in our travels the previous few days including a Culver’s which we both love. I thought Culver’s is great, but let’s try a local place instead. The place I picked looked local and neither of us had heard of it, so imagine my surprise when I found out what we found was another chain.
Ritter’s Frozen Custard is on Romence Road just west of Westnedge. They have a really neat building which does only a carry-out business. There are some cement tables on a small patio, but there’s no indoor seating anywhere on site.
The building front is sort of a half moon shape. There are several windows, but since it wasn’t a peak time, only the middle one was open. The menu is on boards nailed above the windows on the outside of the building. It was a little hard to read because you had to walk all the way around the front to see all of their selections. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 