Carnitas El Tapatio
105 E. Monroe StreetThere seemed to be a lot of travel for work this past week. I don’t think we stayed in Kalamazoo for more than the beginning or end of our shift any day other than Monday.
Thursday brought us over to the South Haven area. We were actually outside of the city and I didn’t feel like going in for lunch. There’s a couple of places in Bangor that I haven’t eaten at yet so I decided to give one of them a chance.
My choice was pretty much between burgers and tacos. This time, I chose tacos.
Carnitas El Tapatio is on Monroe Street near Randolph Street on the east side of Bangor. The building really doesn’t look like a restaurant but it has been for quite a while. It’s just a metal building without very many windows. Without the banners outside, it would be hard to know there was an active business inside. The last time we were there, it was called The Hot Dog Shack.
Read more…The New Daily Bagel
309 S. Washington SqaureThe Lansing State-Journal just had a great opinion piece about the liveliness of downtown Lansing. J and I lived there for a couple of years in the late aughts and I always thought downtown Lansing was….dead. I worked for the Lansing Lugnuts for a season and there wasn’t really much around the game at that time. I’d go to The Nuthouse occasionally with some of the older players on the team after games but there really wasn’t any place to grab a quick bite to eat before or after games and even the bar scene was sparse.
I don’t end up in downtown Lansing a lot anymore but every so often, I am there for work….and I’m always annoyed about how little there is to eat. There are some chain quick service places downtown but local restaurants are still kind of sparse. There are a couple of sit down places but not really any place to grab a quick sandwich.
I had to run to Lansing before I went to work one day last week. I had a couple of things to take care of near the Capitol then I was heading home to take a quick nap before my afternoon shift started.
I did a quick drive down Washington Square to see if there was anything new.
There wasn’t that I could see but there is a place that has been there for a while that I always overlook. It’s a little bit further away from the Capitol complex so you kind of have to be intentional to find it.
The New Daily Bagel is on Washington Square and Washtenaw Street in downtown Lansing. The restaurant takes up the bottom floor of a two story building near the intersection. I had to go back and check my old blog to see if I had ever stopped in this place for lunch and for some reason, it doesn’t look like I ever did.
Prairie Lake Tavern
64641 M-66Last weekend was NaNa’s birthday. She asked if we would meet them for lunch somewhere and of course, the answer was yes.
We were initially going to meet closer to Three Rivers at Happy’s Landing but it was kind of hot and miserable outside and we wanted to do that because they have a cool looking patio.
J and her mom discussed a couple other ideas until her dad and I essentially said, “What about Prairie Lake Tavern” at the same time.
Prairie Lake Tavern is on M-66 and Prairie Lake Road right on Prairie Lake in Burr Oak Township near Sturgis. The small restaurant sits right on the road as you’re coming around the curve on M-66. This is one of my in-laws favorite places and they go there often just to sit and the bar for a meal and a couple drinks.
Read more…Antioch Pizza Shop (Kenosha)
6521 120th AvenueFinding a place to relax and get a good meal after long days at the ice rink is always important when we travel for figure skating.
We spent a long weekend in Southern Wisconsin a few weeks ago when L competed in the Southport Summer Classic at the Pleasant Prairie Rec Plex. Friday was kind of an easier day for L but it went early in to the evening. L was the last of her coach’s skaters to compete so when she was done, the whole team went looking for food.
We ended up at R’Noggin Brewing Company after I stumbled upon it while somewhat lost earlier in the afternoon. It looked good to me, but I like breweries. I wasn’t sure if everyone else would be on board.
The brewery itself doesn’t have a kitchen but there’s a pizza food truck permanently on site. That menu looked good to everyone so that’s where we headed.
Antioch Pizza Shop’s Kenosha location is on 120th Avenue right next to I-94/41 on the property of R’Noggin Brewing. The food truck is a trailer set up near the entrance to the parking lot before you actually get to the brewery building.
Read more…R’Noggin Brewing Company
6521 120th Avenue- Kenosha, WI 53142
- (262) 960-1298
- Website
J’s coach always likes to have at least one team meal when we travel to competitions. It can sometimes be hard to find a place that 15 people agree on and find a place that can accommodate all of us.
J always looks to me to find places to eat when we travel. I love doing that when it’s just the four of us. I know what we like and I know what the kids will tolerate.
I don’t love it when she asks me to do that for a big group. I don’t like big group meals anyway and I know there are some people with dietary restrictions in our skating family.
We were standing at Mars Cheese Castle after a quick shopping trip when J asked again. I said if it were just the three of us, I saw a brewery with a pizza food truck earlier in the afternoon not too far from where we were at. J looked at the menu, consulted with the other adults and that’s where we ended up going.
R’Noggin Brewing Company is a really cool spot on 120th Avenue south of 60th Street right along I-94/41 in Kenosha. There really isn’t much to this brewrey. It’s just a large concrete block garage with a lot of open space. Everyone in our group missed it at first because they thought we were going to Rivals Sports Pub next door. We all got turned around and were able to find parking in the large gravel/grass parking lot alongside the building.
Mars Cheese Castle
2800 W. Frontage RoadSometimes you just have to do the touristy crap, amirite?
How many times have I driven along I-94 in Southern Wisconsin on my way to Milwaukee or Green Bay and seen a giant castle off to the side of the road just across the border in Wisconsin.
I’ve never stopped. I didn’t need cheese while I was driving.
L’s figure skating coach really wanted to hit the Mars Cheese Castle before we went out to dinner on Friday night while we were in Pleasant Prairie for the Southport Summer Classic. L’s only event of the day was at around 5:30 and she was the last event for her coach. The Cheese Castle closed at 7 so we got L changed out of her dress and took pictures quickly so a big group of us could go cheese shopping
Mars Cheese Castle is on Frontage Road just off Burlington Road which is Exit 340 on I-94/41 in Kenosha. It’s not hard to spot. It’s a freakin’ castle. I can remember seeing the sign for Mars Cheese when I was a kid. We went to Wisconsin Dells several times for family vacations. This version of Mars Cheese Castle has only been around since 2011. They had to move the building due to the widening of I-94/41. It’s still at the original site…just a little further back.
Read more…Tenuta’s Italian Grocery & Delicatessen
3203 52nd StreetAt some point, I usually end up leaving J and L at the rink when we go to these figure skating competitions. I like to explore whatever city we’re in. L likes to stay with her friends and teammates so we usually get to the rink way before L needs to be so she can watch.
We had a pretty busy day on Thursday. L had three events then we went to the beach and to dinner. We didn’t have to get up quite as early on Friday. L’s only event of the day wasn’t until 5 PM but she wanted to be at the rink at 11 to watch some of the other skaters.
I sat around for a while but I wanted to go look for some beer. J’s mom was looking for something specific and there was an Italian deli in Kenosha that the brewery’s beer finder said had it.
I left the rink around noon. I had already eaten lunch at Kwik Trip but figured if this deli had anything at all to eat. I was going to get something. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
I found Tenuta’s Delicatessen on the corner of 52nd Street and 32nd Avenue in Kenosha. The humble, but amazing Italian Deli has been a “Kenosha Tradition” since 1950.
Read more…Blue Badger Bar & Grill
717 S. Sylvania AvenueWe got kind of lucky with this last figure skating competition. All of L’s events were pretty close together. Sure, they were spread over three days, but on the first day, she had three events. It’s not at all unusual for those events to be scheduled at 8 AM, 2 PM, and 6 PM meaning we spend the entire day at the rink.
That wasn’t the case at the Southport Summer Classic. First event was just before 9 AM and the last was done by 1:30. We had the whole evening to actually do something other than crash from exhaustion.
L’s coach wanted all of her skaters to hang out in the afternoon. It was a pretty windy day but we decided to go to Simmons Island Park in Kenosha and hang out in the beach. The waves were huge and it was cold so we couldn’t actually get in the water but the girls ran up and down the beach and looked for rocks to skip.
We spent an hour or so there then everyone was heading back to their hotel for the night. We hadn’t had a good meal yet and it was still fairly early.
We didn’t really know where to go. We had an Extra Kid with us for a couple of days and we had to take her dietary restrictions in to account to. She kept asking for Taco Bell or Culvers but we didn’t want to do fast food.
I remembered a place I saw back by our hotel that looked interesting. It was a bar but it was part of a gas station. We looked at the menu and it worked for everyone.
Blue Badger Bar & Grill is an interesting spot. The restaurant is located inside Racine Petro station on Sylvania Avenue and Highway 20 just off I-94. There are a few other dining options at this gas station that’s more of a travel plaza but the bar takes up a pretty big portion of the building.
Read more…Kwik Trip (Pleasant Prairie/72nd Avenue)
10451 72nd AvenueYou pretty much knew there was going to be at least one Kwik Trip stop on this trip…..right?
I was introduced to Kwik Trip last winter on a trip to Green Bay with a co-worker. My wife had told me about this magical place last summer after she and L went to a skating camp in Wisconsin Rapids. I figured they were overselling the place.
They were not.
Thursday was L’s big competition day at the Rec Plex in Pleasant Prairie. She had three events all before 2:00 with a little bit of a break between the second and third around lunch time.
We didn’t really have time to go anywhere for lunch but there was a Kwik Trip close. I suggested we just do that. There’s a lot of options for quick grab and go.
There are actually three Kwik Trip’s really close to the Rec Plex. I picked the one on 72nd Avenue near Green Bay Road. The gas station/convivence store looks like any other gas station you’d stop in to on your travels…until you get inside.
Read more…Pleasant Prairie Rec Plex
9900 Terwall Terrace- Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158
- (262) 947-0437
- Website
L is in her second season competing in figure skating and the first season competing in Solo Dance. The dance portion has brought us to some new places this year. Competing only in free skate last year, we didn’t always go to every competition. There are a lot of competitions our coach only does dance.
Dance is score on the International Judging System (IJS) and has a national component to it. There is a National Solo Dance final held in September and if the skaters can be in the top 6 of their region (ours is the Midwest), you qualify for Nationals.
Needless to say, taking advantage of every opportunity you can to get in front of the judges is necessary.
Most of our club headed to Wisconsin last weekend for the Southport Summer Classic. L’s coach decided to stay the whole weekend so her non-dance skaters could also participate in free skate. Since we were there anyway, we stayed the weekend so L could do her dance, free skate and compulsory.
I’m gonna start by saying, I’ve driven through this area around Kenosha several times and it’s always a “drive through” type of place on our way to Milwaukee or Green Bay. I’ve never spent any time in the area until last weekend and I was shocked.
The competition was held in Pleasant Prairie at the Rec Plex. This massive recreation center is on Terwall Terrace off Lakeview Parkway not too far from I-94/41. The rec center sits on Lake Andrea and is so big, it has it’s own Wikipedia page. It’s hard to get a hold of just how big this place is (302,000 square feet) in a town of only about 22,000 people.
Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 