SW Michigan Dining

• 248 S. Huron Street
• Mackinaw City, MI 49701
• (231) 436-7890
• Website

Another year, another work trip to Northern Michigan.

It was time for the annual spring conference we go to every year on Mackinac Island. I decided to make the drive up on Memorial Day to avoid an early morning drive on Tuesday to get to the Grand Hotel when the conference opened at noon.

I checked in to my hotel around 4:30, had dinner at Keyhole Bar & Grill, and picked up fudge for the family at Joann’s Fudge.

It was still early and I knew there was a movie theater in town. When I was here in the fall, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Seven Rings was in theaters and I strongly considered going to see it before taking nap. This time, Bob’s Burgers had just hit theaters and I haven’t seen it yet.

I decided seeing a movie was better than sitting in my hotel room all night. I think I made the right choice.

Courtyard Cinema is in the Mackinaw Crossings shopping complex near downtown Mackinaw City. The address is Huron Street but you’ll never find it if you’re looking for it on Huron. The parking lot is on Mackinaw Crossings Drive. You can also enter the shopping center from Central Avenue and just park along the street.

• 303 E. Central Avenue
• Mackinaw City, MI 49701
• (231) 436-5611
• Website
• Menu

My kids are catching on. They know I can’t actually go to Mackinac Island without bringing home fudge.

For a long time, I would actually buy the fudge on the Island but I’m always rushing to get back to the ferry. The last couple of times, I’ve bought fudge as soon as I’ve gotten to town in Mackinaw City.

The first thing I did when I got to town was pick up dinner at Keyhole Bar & Grill. After that, I walked around downtown Mackinaw City looking in shops until I found a familiar fudge shop.

Joann’s Fudge has two locations actually on Mackinac Island and one in Mackinaw City. I’ve been one of the Mackinac Island locations. They’re both on Main Street not too far away from each other. This is the first time I’ve been to the Mackinaw City location.

The Mackinaw City Joann’s Fudge is on Central Avenue right in downtown Mackinaw City. The shop is part of a long row of buildings on the very busy main drag through the heart of the city.

• 323 E. Central Avenue
• Mackinaw City, MI 49701
• (231) 436-7911
• Website
• Menu

Back to Mackinaw City for work. It feels like I was just here. I come up most years in the spring for a conference on Mackinac Island. Last year’s conference was in September due to COVID in the spring. We’re back on regular schedule this year with a spring conference.

I drove up to Mackinaw City on Memorial Day. I didn’t really want to get up at 4 AM on Tuesday if I didn’t have to.

I got in to Mackinaw City around 4:30 and got checked in to my hotel. I purposely didn’t eat on the way up because I had plans once I got to town.

I headed straight downtown to the Keyhole Bar & Grill on Central Avenue. The bar is kind of a dive bar. It’s been a year round staple in downtown Mackinaw City for over 45 years. It’s been suggested to me for years but I always seem to be in Mackinaw City during busy times. I’ve tried stopping in a few times over the years but there’s always a wait for a table.

• 57620 Murray Street
• Mattawan, MI 49071
• (269) 668-6005
• Website
• Menu

I had what I thought was a pretty great idea. Order food from Nonla Burger in Mattawan then head down the street to the brewery for a few beers. J thought it was a good idea too. The kids? They never like my ideas but they don’t really get a choice.

We had plans to go ice skating at Wings West Saturday night. L likes to take advantage of the open skate times because it’s cheaper than club ice. The further we get away from winter, the fewer people show up to Open Skates. That gives L quite a bit of ice to work with.

I asked J if she wanted to grab dinner before we headed to Wings West. I had an idea for burgers and beers. She was on board.

We headed towards Mattawan. I put in an order for Nonla Burger online. We made a quick stop there to pick up food then we headed down the street to Murray Street Brewing Company.

Murray Street Brewing Company isn’t hard to find in downtown Mattawan. The large red barn is located on Murray Street just to the north of front street. Before becoming a brewery, the building was used for an antiques shop called The Livery. I have a hunch this building actually was a livery many years ago.

• 24050 Front Street
• Mattawan, MI 49071
• (269) 668-7938
• Website
• Menu

It’s actually a pretty normal long weekend for me. I sort of get the whole weekend off…I have to drive to Mackinaw City on Monday but I can do that at my own pace.

The thing that’s different about this weekend compared to previous years is L. She’s gotten really in to figure skating and is preparing for a competition next weekend in Traverse City.

Instead of going to J’s parents house on the lake this weekend, we spent most of it at the ice rink. L skated Friday on club ice, Saturday at open skate and she had her coach and more club time on Sunday.

I spent a lot of the weekend unmotivated and laying on the couch. J usually takes L to the rink because she volunteers with the club so I stay home with B who locks himself in the basement playing Fortnite on weekends.

Open skate at Wings West is at 6:00 on Saturday nights. At about 4:30, I asked J if she wanted to go grab some dinner and a couple of drinks before we all headed to the rink.

My idea was to pick up burgers from Nonla Burger in Mattawan then have a drink or two at Murray Street Brewing. We were going to Wings West anyway so it wasn’t that far out of the way.

We started our quick dinner and a beer with carry-out from Nonla Burger in Mattawan. This is the third Nonla Burger in the area with the other two being in Oshtemo and Kalamazoo. The Nonla Burger in Mattawan replaces Nonla Vietnamese Street food on Front Street in the very small downtown area of Mattawan.

• 8440 S. Stony Island Avenue
• Chicago, IL 60617
• (773) 978-4000
• No Known Website
• Menu

J’s parents moved from the Chicago suburbs to a lake in St. Joseph County a few years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I love that they’re much closer and the kids can enjoy the lake all summer but I really do miss our trips to their house which would inevitably involve me finding a late night sandwich shop after everyone went to bed.

I was in Chicago this past weekend for a White Sox game. It was just me as I met up with my dad, brother, and a childhood friend. We do it every year and it’s typically a day trip for me now. My dad always wants me to drive back to his house after the game but it’s another hour south of Guaranteed Rate Field and with gas prices the way they are, I chose to just come home after the game.

I will take any excuse I can get to go to Chicago and when I’m by myself, I like to find food, especially on the southside, that my family really wouldn’t be interested in.

Pre-game, I hit up Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicastessen near the Loop for an amazing pastrami sandwich. Post-game, it was time to find that 24 hour sandwich shop.

I hopped on the Dan Ryan going south after leaving the game but instead of getting on the Skyway to head home, I stayed on I-94. My destination? Stony Sub.

Stony Sub is on Stony Island Avenue near 84th Place in Chicago’s Marynook Neighbrohood on the southeast side of the city. The small, 24 hour building has been a southside staple for decades for it’s sandwiches but their claim to fame is a sandwich that is so ridiculous looking that it shouldn’t taste as amazing as it does.

• 1141 S. Jefferson Street
• Chicago, IL 60607
• (312) 939-2855
• Website
• Menu

We started a tradition with my bachelor party in 2009. I didn’t want to do any of the traditional bachelor party crap. I just wanted to go to a baseball game.

We got all of my groomsmen and my dad, ordered wings for a tailgate, and watched the Boston Red Sox beat the White Sox at US Cellular Field.

Every year since 2009, my dad, my brother, and my best friend from grade school have continued to get together for a game at what is now Guaranteed Rate Field. My buddy has access to a season ticket plan with seats right behind home plate, we continue to get wings every year, and we ended up drinking a little bit of beer while waiting to see what is almost always a loss.

Finding a weekend we’re all available is getting harder and harder. We all have kids in sports and now that my friend and my brother are getting towards the high school aged kids, even early in the season is getting tough.

We had to pick between a weekend in April and a weekend in May. We chose the weekend in May because my brother doesn’t do cold very well.

My kids are starting to get old enough I’m getting into sports as well. My son had a T-Ball game Saturday morning and J had a work event so I needed to stay home until everything was done. The Sox game was at 6:10 Central so that wasn’t really an issue.

I left Kalamazoo around noon. It was still way to early to leave but I did have plans to stop for lunch before heading over to the park.

I pulled in to Chicago around 1:30 Central. I headed straight to Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen for lunch.

Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen is in Chicago’s Near West Side on Jefferson Street near Roosevelt Road just a few blocks off the Dan Ryan Expressway. The family owned classic Jewish deli has been a Chicago staple since the 1940’s. It really came in to the national conversation when former President Barak Obama shared that it was one of his favorite Chicago lunch spots.

• 806 Riverview Drive, Suite B
• Kalamazoo, MI 49048
• (269) 888-2084
• Website
• Menu

Man, do I have a love affair with burgers.

I’ve blogged extensively over the years about burgers…always on the look out for “the best.”

Burgers can be super simple frozen patties on white bread or they can be amazing creations starting with freshly ground meat. It’s one of the rare foods that you never really know what you’re getting when you sit down in a restaurant and order one.

Burger Bros had been one of my go-to burger places in the Kalamazoo area. It was quick, simple, and delicious. Unfortunately, they closed a few months ago leaving hole in the quick service burger landscape.

Fortunately, someone saw that opening and quickly filled it.

Burger Boss opened not quite a month ago on the corner of Riverview Drive and Bridge Street in Kalamazoo’s Eastside Neighborhood. The small shop takes over the former Burger Bros/Lil’ Brothers BBQ space in the strip mall next to the 13 1/2 Party Store.

• 220 W. Chicago Road
• Sturgis, MI 49091
• (269) 319-6065
• Website
• Menu

I’ve spent a lot of time in Sturgis the past couple years but really haven’t knocked as many restaurants off my list as I had hoped I would have by now.

We cook out a lot when we’re at my in-laws. The whole point of a lake house is to spend the weekend on the lake, not in a restaurant somewhere.

I’ve gotten sent to Sturgis a few times recently for work which isn’t typical. We rarely get assignments that far south but we’ve had a couple recently.

Tuesday was one of those days. We really just had to run for Sturgis for about a half hour of actual work.

We did what we needed to do and my co-worker mentioned to me that he didn’t really have breakfast and was hungry. I told him to hang on….I was planning on stopping for lunch.

We headed towards downtown Sturgis to find Bread and Butter Kitchen.

Bread & Butter Kitchen is on Chicago Road in downtown Sturgis just to the east of Clay Street. There is street parking out front but there is also a municipal parking lot behind the row of buildings. The breakfast and lunch spot opened up last fall in the space previously use by Boundary Waters Kitchen which closed before the pandemic in August of 2019.

• 392 Cross Oaks Drive
• Plainwell, MI 49080
• (269) 637-1662
• Website

Things didn’t really work out the way they were supposed to so J and L went to Dearborn without me for L’s ice skating competition last weekend.

Those long days sitting in an ice arena are no fun for B so J left him home with me. J’s mom and dad came up from Sturgis to watch him until I could get home from work.

Saturday was pretty much just us boys for the better part of the day. B got up at 6 AM (yeah, I don’t get up that early) and went straight to the basement to play Fortnite. We’ve had some attitude issues so he only gets Friday evenings and Saturday to play Fortnite and he was going to take advantage of mom not being home.

Around 11:30 I asked him if he wanted to go see a movie. I thought it’d be good to get out of the house even if we were just going to go someplace else to sit.

I have never read any of The Bad Guys books but my daughter loves them. B’s just really learning how to read and he’s gotten in to them a little bit as well. The Bad Guys movie opened this past weekend and I asked if he’d be interested in seeing it.

I typically go to Kalamazoo 10 for movies just because it’s close. On this day, I felt like doing something different.

I drove up to Plainwell to go to the M-89 Cinema.

M-89 Cinema is, as the name implies, on M-89/Allegan Street. More technically, it’s on Cross Oaks Drive which is the access road in to the Oaks Crossing Shopping Center right off M-89 to the west of US-131 in Otsego Township. The movie theater takes up a pretty large chunk of the strip mall on the east side of the complex.