Beans & Barley Brews
852 East Illinois 116Going home was not in the plans for this past weekend.
My aunt has been sick for a while and she passed last Monday. She already had her services planned out so all my mom had to do was pick a date and time. The funeral home was available Friday evening so we packed up the kids up and headed to Illinois for a couple of days.
The wake and funeral were all Friday night. We got back to my parents place around 11:00 and we just decided to stay there instead of getting a hotel just to sleep. I told my mom the kids would probably want to go to breakfast when we got up on Saturday.
I, of course, was the last one up. By the time I made my way downstairs, everyone else was ready to go eat. I put my jeans on and we headed out the door.
The town I grew up in is very small. There is only one breakfast option in town (other than donuts at the gas station) so that’s where we went for breakfast.
Beans & Barley Brews is just outside of Ashkum on Illinois 116 right at the interchange with I-57. The building has been there forever. For most of my childhood, it was a restaurant called The Loft and it was owned by my aunt and uncle (which is why I never blogged about it). It’s a pretty classic highway pit stop restaurant. I know it was part of a chain when it was first built but that was way before my time. The building still has the old “Restaurant” sign on top that I’m assuming was original to the building.
Read more…Ted & Marie’s Colonial Inn
>6416 Stadium Drive- Kalamazoo, MI 49077
- (269) 375-1057
- No Known Website
- Menu
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?
Yeah….well, I skip it most mornings. I grab a bottle of Pepsi for a pick me up then head in to work. Maybe I’ll grab a Little Debbie Double Fudge Round, but that’s usually the extent of my breakfast on a weekday.
There are a few restaurants that I haven’t been to in a really long time that I’ve been wanting to get back to and write an updated blog about.
I had some time one day last week before work so I did just that.
Ted & Marie’s Colonial Inn is on Stadium Drive in Oshtemo Township at that weird intersection where Stadium meets Parkview. The small restaurant is right up against the road in the Harding’s parking lot. The blue building with the black roof is hard not to see when you’re sitting at that stoplight.
Read more…Frankie’s
56951 N. Main StreetIt feels like fall again. I’m picking up some overtime during the week doing similar work to what I do Friday nights in the fall. It’ll only last a couple of weeks but I’ll take the OT while I can get it.
I’ve been pretty much staying in the Kalamazoo area for this overtime but earlier this week, I got sent to Three Rivers for an assignment that was going to last about three hours.
I left Kalamazoo just before 5:00 and I was hungry. All I had to eat so far that day was a bag of microwave popcorn.
I was kind of in the mood for a pizza and I knew I’d be passing a great pizza place on my way.
As I was leaving Kalamazoo, I put in an order for a pizza at Frankie’s on the northside of Three Rivers.
Frankie’s is on North Main Street just inside the city limits. If you’re coming from Kalamazoo, you have to do the whole Michigan left thing on US-131 to get to Main Street. Frankie’s is just past that intersection and just north of Lovers Lane. The building is kind of a hodgepodge that looks like it’s been added on to over the years. There’s a parking lot to the northside and a few spots sort of the area between Main Street and the building.
Read more…4×4 Grill
2901 Howard StreetThe late night meal options around Western Michigan University are definitely getting better.
I’ve complained for years about late night food. I’ve always really wanted a late night pizza place…and there was one for a while.…but having options other than fast food late at night is something I really love about college campuses.
The late night scene used to be pretty bad, but now with Two Fellas, Que Buenos, Middle Eastern Appetite, The Wing Hut, DP Dough, and B-Side Social House, there are pretty great options.
I’ve had some really long work days recently as I’ve been picking up some overtime after my normal shift. Tuesday night I ended around 10:00 and I was near WMU. I hadn’t eaten much all day and I was pretty hungry.
I passed on all those other great options and picked a place that just recently opened up.
4×4 Grill is in the Campus Pointe Mall on the corner of Howard and Michigan across the street from Western Michigan University. The restaurant is in the large corner spot next to Insomnia Cookies. This spot has been a lot of things over the years. It was a Real Deal: Classic Burgers and Shakes, then it was a Sliders Burgers and Belgian Fries. After that it became Coexist Cafe. Now, it’s back to being somewhat of a burger joint.
Read more…Schultz Sweets
6857 W. Main Street, Suite 6Saturday is typically errand day if we’re home. I usually do it by myself though. We spend a lot of hours not at home during the week and on Saturday’s, everyone kind of wants to veg out.
Sometimes, that vegging out just goes to far and we get nothing done. I typically grocery shop and do whatever else needs to be done along the way but then I get home and hit the couch.
We had a list of errands that needed to be done this past Saturday. J and I decided it would be family errand day and it would end with a sweet treat.
We got the kids in the car…amidst a lot of whining and complaining….and did what we needed to do before the grocery shopping trip. We promised the kids waffles and ice cream if they would stop with the whining and just go along with it.
We had a plan, of course. That plan was Schultz Sweets.
Schultz Sweets is on West Main Street just to the west of 9th Street in the Kasten Center shopping plaza across the street from Menards. Schultz Sweets took the large end spot closest to the road. Prior to becoming a sweet shop, this space was Locey Swim & Spa so you know they had to do a ton of work to turn this in to a confectionary.
Read more…Caffe Casa
128 S. Kalamazoo MallThere are a lot of great coffee places in downtown Kalamazoo.
But I’m not a coffee drinker so I miss out on a lot of them.
The thing I always fail to realize is a lot of these coffee houses also have some great food selections. I’ll figure it out from time to time and stop in to a coffee shop to see what they have.
There’s one shop downtown I walk by all the time…usually on my way to City Centre Market to grab a Pepsi. I’ve worked downtown for close to seven years and I’ve never thought to look it up and see what they do for lunch.
I finally changed that last Friday.
Caffe Casa is on the Kalamazoo Mall just south of Exchange Place. The small coffee shop is right next to Lana’s Boutique and in the same Peregrine owned building as Climb Kalamazoo. Caffe Casa has been a staple on the mall since the early 1990’s.
Torti Taco (Marshall)
301 E. Michigan AvenueI ended up in Marshall two days in a row in the middle of last week. The second day, I was by myself. It was just a quick trip to pick something up for a co-worker in Grand Rapids. I literally had to drive to Marshall, spent about 15 minutes doing something for him, then it was back to Kalamazoo.
I was on my own though so I could take some time and seek out a place for lunch. I was kind of in the mood for tacos and there are a couple of taco options in Marshall…including one that’s somewhat familiar.
I ordered my lunch from Torti Taco on East Michigan Avenue in downtown Marshall. The small Mexican joint is one of three in the area. The original location is on Beckley Road in Battle Creek. The other Battle Creek location is in downtown Battle Creek in the old Pastrami Joe’s.
The Marshall location is on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Hamilton Street. The thee story brick building in front of the Oaklawn Hospital parking ramp was previously the Mediterranean cafe Zarzuela which closed in January of 2020. Torti Taco opened almost exactly three year later in January of 2023.
Read more…Free Range Pancake House
15421 US Highway 27 NorthI realize I treat my body poorly. I don’t get nearly enough sleep. I don’t eat right. I rarely exercise. Because of that, it’s not unusual for me to be able to function normally if I don’t get a lot of sleep or enough to eat.
Tuesday was one of those days. It was a wild day at work. I got called in for an emergency assignment overnight. Got home at 4:30 AM. Got up at 7:30 AM to get my kid to school then headed in to work for my normal dayshift at 8:30 AM. I had gotten about an hour and a half of sleep and had to function for a day that didn’t see me clocking out until 9:30 PM.
A co-worker and I were in Marshall. We were working out of our car that day and not driving back to the office to finish up the work. We needed to find a gas station for a bathroom, gas, and some drinks and we ended up at the Johnny’s right off the Interstate.
We decided to park there for a couple of hours for the work we needed to do on our computers.
It was about 1:30 and I hadn’t eaten anything other than some candy and snacks from the gas station. I have to wait for my colleague to do what he needs to do before I can do what I need to do so I was just kind of sitting in the car scrolling through Tik Tok.
Right next to us was a diner. I was kind of hungry so I looked them up to put a to-go order in.
Free Range Pancake House is right off the I-94 interchange at US Highway 27 in Marshall. The free standing building is on the north side of the highway heading away from town. The building shares a parking lot and the big highway sign with the large gas station next door so it’s easy to spot even before you get off the Interstate.
Langel’s Pizza (Highland)
2833 Highway AvenueSunday morning was rough. B and I were at my parents house in Illinois. J and L were at a figure skating camp in Dallas. I had planned on leaving Illinois fairly early. My mom was at work and our plan was to go say goodbye to her on her lunch break then head back to Michigan.
I woke up around 9:00 and the first thing I noticed was that it was quiet. I had assumed B would get up and go right to playing his VR. He doesn’t stop talking when he’s playing and he’s really loud.
I thought maybe he and my dad went to get breakfast but when I got downstairs, my dad was sitting at the kitchen table watching TV. He told me to go check on B.
B was passed out on the air mattress in the living room with his tablet laying beside him. I had a feeling on Saturday he wasn’t feeling well but as I got close to him Sunday morning, I could feel the heat coming off him. I ran to the Dollar General to get some Motrin then we started packing up. We still waited until my mom’s lunch break to say good bye but we got on the road right after that.
The Motrin kicked in about a half hour up the road. B asked for Taco Bell and I needed gas. My plan was to stop at the exit we were coming up to anyway. I didn’t want Taco Bell though. I wanted pizza. I asked B if he was feeling ok and he said yes. I decided to put in an order for a pizza about another half hour up the road and we’d pick it up along the way.
I picked Langel’s Pizza in Highland, Indiana for a couple of reasons. 1.) They were open on a Sunday. 2.) They had Italian beef and giardiniera as topping choices. 3.) They had online ordering.
Lagnel’s Pizza has three locations in Northwest Indiana. The original is on Highway Avenue just west of Kennedy Avenue in what I assume is downtown Highland. The building serves a dual purpose as a sports bar and a pizza joint. I found a parallel parking spot right across the street when I got there. My pizza was done so I told B to sit tight and ran across the street to pick it up.
Read more…Wally’s (Pontiac)
1 Holiday Road- Pontiac, IL 61764
- (815) 844-8690
- Website
It’s been a long time since I’ve taken a weekend and gone to my parents. Life is busy and while I love that we’re involved in so many things, I hate that getting home has taken a back burner.
We still see my parents a lot. But they make the effort to come to us. They come for the kid’s events and will spend a day or two in Michigan as long as the weather is nice.
J and L flew to Dallas this past weekend for a figure skating camp. I can’t work and pick B up from daycare on time so I usually have to take the days off when J is out of town.
Our plan for Friday was to pick B up directly from school, drop J and L off at AZO (they had a late flight so they wouldn’t miss work/school that day) then B and I were going to Illinois for the weekend.
My parents live in a really small town. There’s not much to do there. We usually just end up at my brother’s house in the next town over so the kids can play. My nieces are quite a bit older than him but they still enjoy hanging out and playing video games with him.
Saturday my mom wanted to go see my aunt. She’s in a nursing home in Pontiac. She was diagnosed with ALS a year or so ago. We used to Facetime with her but she can’t talk anymore so that’s gotten difficult. Since I was home, we went over there to see her. We all get more out of face to face interactions.
We spent about an hour with her then we headed back home. We had plans to meet at my brother’s again for dinner later that evening.
I hadn’t eaten lunch though. Again, not a lot of options where my parents live and they didn’t really have anything ready to eat in the house.
My mom suggested we stop in Pontaic. I didn’t want a big meal but she said there was a gas station that we could grab sandwiches from….and you know how much I love a gas station sandwich.
Wally’s is quite the gas station. It’s located on Holiday Road just off I-55 on the west side of Pontiac. To say the place is huge is an understatement. Opened in 2020, the property is 30,000 square feet and has 76 pumps and 4 electric vehicle charging stations. There’s no comparison to Wally’s in the Midwest but I hear this place has a similar concept to a chain of gas stations with a beaver for a mascot in the south.
Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 