Rocky Rococo (Racine)
6631 Washington AvenueSorry, ya’ll. I’m about to annoy a bunch of people again.
I’ve explained on this blog many times that this has become more of a journal. I write about my own life through the lens of food. Yes, that means I’m going to blog about places not in Southwest Michigan. I’ve said it a few times. I wish I had named the blog something else, but what’s done is done.
I’ve spent all my money recently on traveling for figure skating competitions so when I am home, I have less money to eat out. That’s why you’re not seeing a ton of Southwest Michigan restaurants. Skating season is slowing down so hopefully I’ll get back on track for those of you that get angry that I’m gonna write about a bunch of restaurants in Wisconsin.
So yeah, we were in Southern Wisconsin for a figure skating competition last week. The event took place in Pleasant Prairie which is right on the Wisconsin/Illinois line. Our hotel was a little further north in the Racine area.
We got to town a little after dinner time on Wednesday night. We actually met my parents at the hotel in Sturtevant. L’s events were really early on Thursday morning and my parents wanted to come and watch but didn’t want to drive before dawn so they came up the night before too.
We didn’t have B this weekend but for a couple of nights, we had another one of the skaters. Her mom was going to meet us in Wisconsin on Friday after she got back from a work trip so the first two nights we had an extra kid with us.
When we got settled in the hotel, we needed to venture out for food. J noticed a sign for a pizza place as we got off the highway. It’s a Wisconsin chain that I was surprised she knew but she and L ate there last year when they went to Wisconsin Rapids for a skating camp. We knew pizza would be quick and easy and we all needed to get some rest.
Rocky Rococo’s is a longtime quick service Wisconsin pizza chain. The store we picked is on Washington Avenue just to the east of Warwick Way in Racine. At one point, there were close to 150 stores in the Midwest but that number is down to 40 now with all but one in Wisconsin.
Read more…Fat Mike’s Barbecue & Ice Cream
301 E. Michigan AvenueTwo days of BBQ in a row? Yeah, that sounds like something I would do.
My colleague was off a couple of weeks ago and I got sent to the west side of Battle Creek for an assignment. I was done early afternoon and didn’t really have anything else I needed to get back to Kalamazoo for. I took my time coming back and took the long way through Augusta.
I was really questioning myself on this one because I had just eaten at Flavor Town BBQ Pit in Kalamazoo the day before.
But there’s no such thing as too much BBQ.
I stopped at Fat Mike’s Barbecue & Ice Cream on Michigan Avenue in Augusta. The small walk-up restaurant is on the corner of Michigan and Water Street on the east side of town. The catering company took over the Lickety Split Ice Cream shop. They kept the ice cream and added BBQ.
Read more…Flavor Town BBQ Pit
1801 S. Westnedge AvenueWe’ve all driven by the sign for quite a while now. Flavor Town BBQ Pit. It’s been there for what seems like a couple of years but there’s never been any indication as to when it was going to open.
I think we all assumed it was a project that was never going to get off the ground.
Guess what? We were all wrong.
I had some time a couple of weeks ago to grab lunch without my colleague. I was driving near that area anyway and I couldn’t wait to stop in and see what they had.
Flavor Town BBQ Pit is on the corner of South Westnedge and Howard Street in Kalamazoo’s Southside Neighborhood. This building, across from Midtown Fresh, has been mostly a chicken joint since we moved in here in 2009. It was The Chicken Coop at that point then became just The Coop for a while before closing down.
Read more…Dark Horse Commons Market
511 S. Kalamazoo StreetI’ve mentioned before I like beer, right?
Dark Horse Brewing and I have a little bit of a history. When I moved to Kalamazoo 14 years ago, I pretty much only drank PBR.
Living in Kalamazoo, it seems like a must that you drink Oberon every spring so I did that one year and realized, hey, this ain’t too bad.
I wanted to try other beers and one of my friends had told me about a beer from Marshall they really loved. It was Dark Horse Brewing’s Crooked Tree IPA.
I tried it. I liked it a lot and from there I became the guy that always asks for the IPA. Dark Horse Brewing did that to me.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually been to Dark Horse’s tap room. Like almost 10 years…..I haven’t been to the taproom since they were bought by Roak Brewing.
A co-worker and I were in Marshall last week and I was hungry. We didn’t have time for a taproom lunch but there is another option that’s just as good.
Dark Horse Commons Market is part of the Dark Horse Brewing complex on Kalamazoo Street just south of the railroad tracks in Marshall. The Commons market is the grab and go part of Dark Horse. There’s a huge variety of food and a lot of beer. The building sits next to main taproom but has it’s own entrance.
Read more…Don’s Drive-In
2030 US-31 The Cherry Classic has quickly become one of our favorite ice skating competitions. L had a pretty successful weekend skating again this year, the Centre Ice Arena is fantastic, and, of course, it’s in Traverse City.
L had one event early Saturday afternoon. We got to sleep in a little bit then headed over to the rink. Once she was done, we were heading home. We needed to get gas and wanted to grab something to eat first.
As we were leaving the arena, J noticed a poster for a drive-in. She had no idea where it was but asked if I had looked it up yet.
I didn’t have to. I had already passed it and it’s right next to the Speedway we were heading back to to get gas.
Don’s Drive-In is on US-31 near Four Mile Road in East Bay Township just to the east of Traverse City proper. The drive-in, which has been there over 60 years, sits just across from Grand Traverse Bay in a bright pink building.
Read more…Milk & Honey
240 E. Front StreetWe didn’t go crazy with dinner at The Little Fleet because we had other plans. We’re in Traverse City….so we need to go for a walk and find some ice cream, right?
Traverse City is just the quintessential Northern Michigan summer tourist destination. It’s a great city any time of the year but summers in Northern Michigan just hit different.
J, L, and I were in Traverse City for a figure skating competition at Centre Ice Arena. L had events on both Friday and Saturday so we stayed the night.
We wanted to walk a little bit after dinner so we headed further in to downtown Traverse City to find ice cream.
We stopped at Milk & Honey on Front Street near Park Street. The small ice cream shop is across the street from the State Theatre. Before becoming the local, organic, GMO free ice cream shop, this space was a Cold Stone Creamery and they do some of the same things Cold Stone did.
Happy’s Taco Shop (Traverse City)
448 E. Front StreetIt was a long weekend for everyone.
I hadn’t slept more than about 5 hours a night all week and the night in a hotel before an ice skating competition is always tough. By the time L got to her final event, the crankiness had set in.
We headed back to the hotel to sleep it off for a little bit. J and L took naps. I went for a walk and sat on the beach watching Tik Tok for a while.
When I got back to the hotel, J asked about dinner. It was getting late and getting a table somewhere at 7:00 on a Friday night in Traverse City didn’t seem like it was worth the hassle.
L and I met some of her teammates for a team dinner last year after this competition at The Little Fleet. J didn’t get to go because she was home sick and she really wanted to see what Little Fleet was about. I figured even if we couldn’t get a table, we could grab something a go.
We got to The Little Fleet, a food truck park, right around 7:30. The place was pretty packed but it’s pretty much all outdoors so you can just kind of walk in and look around. We did a quick scan of the food truck options then J and L both picked Mac and Cheese from Cordwood BBQ. I considered BBQ but there is a taco place that is inside The Little Fleet all year round.
Happy’s Taco Shop, as I’ve mentioned, is inside The Little Fleet on the corner of Front Street and Wellington Street on the east end of downtown in Traverse City. The parking all around is street parking so it took us a few trips around the block to find a spot. Once we did, we grabbed food for J and L then went in search of a table. Happy’s Taco Shop is inside the permanent structure on the property. It’s right next to the bar and this part of The Little Fleet is open all year.
Red Mesa Grill (Traverse City)
1544 US-31 NThere can be so much downtown at figure skating competitions. The days typically start early (before 8 AM) and end well after 3 PM.
There’s no reason to stay at the rink the whole time.
L had two skates before noon then her last one wasn’t until after 3 PM. We had gotten breakfast that morning (which is unusual for us…or me anyway) but it wasn’t much. J suggested lunch.
Typically, I’m the guy that does all the meal planning. There’s always places I want to eat. Traverse City is no exception. There are a ton of places. But J got me off guard. A lot of times she and L want to go out with other families and her friends. I hate picking places for others because there’s a lot of variation in what people in our skating circle will eat.
When I kind of stumbled when J asked me where we were going, she said someone else had recommended a Mexican place near our hotel. That sounded good to me.
Red Mesa Grill is on US-31 just to the east of the Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park in East Bay Township near Traverse City. This stretch of road has a lot of hotels and restaurants as it’s near the beach and right on East Bay. This is one of two locations for Red Mesa Grill. The other is in Boyne City.
Bubbie’s Bagels
1215 E. Front StreetOne of my jobs as a skate dad is to make coffee runs.
The first day of the Cherry Classic at Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City was an early one. L’s practice was at 7:30 AM. She needs to be ready by the time she gets to the rink so that means getting up early, getting dressed, make up and hair down before we head to the rink.
We’re usually cutting it pretty close on time so there’s no stops. We get to the rink, I drop everyone off and once they’re situated, I take coffee orders and make a Starbucks run.
At home, I’ll usually just grab breakfast from Starbucks too but when on the road, I like to look around and see what else is there.
L really likes bagels. Her morning is made if she can find a plain bagel and cream cheese. I wanted a sandwich of some kind and lucky for me, there’s a local bagel shop near the Starbucks on Front Street in Traverse City.
Bubbie’s Bagels is in the Campus Plaza on Front Street near Milliken Drive just to the east of downtown Traverse City. The small bagel shop is one of many food options in the shopping center across the street from the Grand Traverse County Civic Center.
Read more…Centre Ice Arena
1600 Chartwell Drive- Traverse City, MI 49696
- (231) 933-7465
- Website
I left Mackinaw City around 3 PM on Thursday and raced back to Grand Rapids. My plan was to drop my company vehicle off at the Grand Rapids office and J was going to pick me up. L had a figure skating competition in Traverse City and since I had Friday off, I was going to try to go with them.
I got back to the office just before 6:30, unloaded my stuff and loaded up J’s car. We headed towards a cheap hotel in Traverse City for the weekend. All told, I spent about 6 1/2 driving between Mackinaw City and Traverse City instead of the two hour trip it should have been because I didn’t want to take the company car there.
We got up early on Friday morning for L’s first day of competition. She had practice scheduled for 7:30 AM and her first event was right around 9 AM.
The ice rink for this weekend was Centre Ice Arena on the southeast side of Traverse City.
Centre Ice Arena is on Chartwell Drive in East Bay Township. The setting is pretty unique. You turn off of Hammond Road in to what feels like a neighborhood. There are a few other businesses but it’s also a subdivision on a narrow surface street. All of a sudden, you come to this giant arena that also hosts the Detroit Red Wings training camp.
Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 