Turbo Chicken
5234 Portage RoadChicken sandwiches really became all the rage over the last year. Popeyes did the world a favor with it’s somewhat overhyped crispy chicken sandwich. Their take was fine but it also seems to have launched a new trend in quick service restaurants.
It’s never hard to find a local burger joint. We have several in Kalamazoo. Nonla Burger, Lake Burger, Burger Bros. just to name a few. Most of those places have a chicken option too but now places are popping that put those chicken sandwiches front and center.
We’ve driven out to Gull Lake a couple of times just for The Chicken House. The food is really tasty but it’s a pretty good drive from where we live in Oshtemo Township. A few weeks ago, we got a chicken sandwich option a little closer to home.
Turbo Chicken opened on Portage Road near the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport. The restaurant is sandwiched by Pizza King and On The Wings on the corner of Portage Road and Byrd Drive not too far south of I-94.
Read more…McGonigle’s Deli
1571 Capital Avenue NE Suite HIt’s been a while since I’ve been to Battle Creek but it seems like I’ve spent quite abit of time there the last few weeks.
My first trip back there in some time took me to a job near Bailey Park. It was a quick thing in the morning and I was done right around lunch time. I really don’t get out to that area in Pennfield Township very much so I pulled up Google to see if I could find someplace to grab something to eat real quick.
I was a little bit surprised to find a deli not too far from where I was. I had no idea if it was even open so I drove down the street to a small strip mall behind the Shell gas station on Capital to see what I could find.
McGonigles Deli can’t really be seen from the street. I (thought I) knew it was there so I turned in to the parking lot off of J Barlett Drive and found an open sign in the window of the corner restaurant.
Read more…Cherri’s Chocol’art
101 S. Kalaamazoo MallI know you’re tired of hearing this but man, what a year.
A year ago, J and I were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We flew first class from Chicago, ate so much amazing food, drank cocktails out of pineapples at our resort’s swim up bar, and toured the historic forts of old San Juan.
This year, we took our kids, masked up, to downtown Kalamazoo for milkshakes and Taco Bob’s after a hike in Portage.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. It doesn’t matter where or how we celebrate as long as we celebrate another year together.
Our day started at AYSO soccer in the morning. Both kids are playing this year so we spent a couple of hours at the Drake Road AYSO fields. We picked up lunch from Kelvin and Company….and Jimmy Johns because the boy doesn’t like BBQ or Mac ‘n Cheese (yeah, I feel like I failed him). We then chilled at home before going for a hike at Bishop’s Bog Preserve in Portage.
We promised the kids if they were good on the hike, we’d go get the fancy milkshakes we’ve been seeing on Facebook.
The kids really wanted those milkshakes and the hike was short so we headed downtown.
Those fancy milkshakes we keep seeing are at Cherri’s Chocol’art right on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Kalamazoo Mall in downtown Kalamazoo. The super fancy chocolate shop is on the bottom floor of the Peregrine 100 building building right on the corner.
Read more…Big Tony’s Pizzeria
290 S. Centre StreetMy Labor Day weekend got short by work. I had to be in the office at midnight Monday morning. I didn’t want everyone to have to cut their weekend short too, so I drove myself separately to J’s parents near Sturgis. The plan was for me to come home Sunday afternoon while J and the kids would stay for another day.
We spent the day park hopping in Sturgis after a treat from Kukui’s Shaved Ice downtown. It was too cold to get in the water and J’s parents lost power so for everyone’s sanity, we let the kids run around for a couple of hours.
I packed up my stuff to head back to Kalamazoo around 5:00. I needed to make a stop in Centreville for gas and while there, I decided to call in a pizza order.
I picked Big Tony’s Pizzeria in Marcellus. It really wasn’t on the way home but it wasn’t too far away. I was also doing some research for my cousins who have a place on Pleasant Lake. They’re not wild about the pizza options in Three Rivers and Marcellus wouldn’t be too far away from them if the pizza is any good.
Big Tony’s Pizzeria is on Centre Street which is also M-40 through the small town. The building is a pretty large metal building just south of where M-40 turns east in downtown Marcellus.
Read more…Kukui’s Shaved Ice
Is shaved ice a think in Michigan? Growing up near Chicago, it was every where. There were shops all through out the suburbs and every Little League concession stand had a sno-cone machine. I guess I just assumed it was a thing.
We spent Labor Day weekend in St. Joseph County going between my in-laws near Sturgis and my cousin’s place near Three Rivers.
I actually had to come back a day early. I had to be at work at midnight on the holiday. I didn’t want to make the kids and J come back if they weren’t ready so I drove separately to the lake so I could make an early exit Sunday and try to get a few hours of sleep.
It wasn’t as warm as we were hoping for that weekend and it was pretty windy. We didn’t take the boat out or do a whole lot of swimming.
Sunday afternoon, J asked if we wanted to go in to Sturgis to get the kids a treat. She had seen a Facebook page for a shaved ice place that she wanted to try.
Kukui’s Shaved Ice is just east of downtown Sturgis on Chicago Road. The restaurant is right on the corner of Chicago Maple in a building that used to be El Taco Loco. There’s a small, oddly shaped parking lot right in front of the building accessible from either street.
David’s New York Deli
15215 Farmington RoadWe have just been on the road so much lately.
Late last week, my co-worker and I were assigned to a task near Detroit. It was pretty simple and most of our day would be spent driving. And, of course, I had to find someplace to eat while we were on the east side of the state.
Our task took us to Livonia. As we were wrapping up, I started looking for someplace to eat. The co-worker is a big fast food guy and asked if we could find a Wendy’s or something along the way. I told him I found a deli not too far from where we were and I was going to eat there. If he still wanted fast food, we could do that as well.
David’s New York Deli is on Farmington Road just South of Five Mile Road in the City of Livonia. The small red building is on a very busy stretch of road kind of tucked in between some bigger places. The building is right on the street so fortunately, there is a small parking lot in between the buildings.
Julia’s at the Pavilion
We spend a lot of time in South Haven for work. I always find it funny that my superiors in Grand Rapids think that South Haven is close to Kalamazoo….like, they don’t realize Grand Rapids is closer to Kalamazoo than South Haven is. I don’t mind it though….I like going to South Haven.
My colleague and I had a rather easy assignment that wrapped up a little after 1:00. I was parked at the pavilion behind the Phoenix Street businesses. As we walked to the car, my co-worker said he was going to run over to the coffeehouse nearby to grab a sandwich. I hadn’t eaten yet so I joined him.
Julia’s at the Pavilion is a really large coffeehouse on Huron Street….right next to the pavilion. The restaurant actually looks like a large two story house that fits right in to the summer tourist town. Read more…
Baguette de Francis (St. Joseph)
We have been all over Southwest Michigan lately for work. It seems like we’ll go on stretch where we never leave Kalamazoo then we’ll go on a stretch where we’re never in Kalmazoo.
Late last week, we got sent to St. Joseph for the afternoon. We had an assignment in the very southern part of St. Joseph Township not too far off I-94. It took us longer to drive there than it did to complete what we needed to complete.
It was about lunch time when we got done. I wasn’t really familiar with the area of town we were in so I pulled out the phone and Googled places to eat nearby. I was looking for a counter service place that was going to be quick and I found it rather quickly.
Baguette de France is in a strip mall on Hilltop Road near the intersection with Washington Avenue just barely in St. Joseph Township on the northwest side. The small restaurant specializing in sandwiches made with baguettes takes up a long, narrow corner slot right next to a Chinese place.
Krispy Krunchy Chicken (Mendon)
633 W. Main StreetMy schedule has been so whack lately. Working weekends. Going to work at midnight. It’s just been weird and exhausting.
I had to do a midnight to 10 AM shift last Saturday. J figured she’d just take the kids to her parents house on Friday. That way I’d be able to go to sleep and they could have some fun without worrying about keeping me awake.
I finished my shift a little before 10 AM on Saturday then headed for St. Joe County. I was just going to meet them down there…take a quick nap, then swim the rest of the weekend.
I worked all night but I hadn’t eaten anything other than some chips and salsa from the vending machine. There isn’t a lot of options along the backroads we typically take so I waited until I got to Mendon. My options were either gas station food there or cut down to Centreville and go to McDonalds.
I pulled in to the Mendon Quick Stop on Main Street not too far past the city limits on the west side of town. I knew they have a pretty decent hot food counter and I’ve stopped there several times in the past but this time, there was something new.
Teresa’s Kitchen
821 Fulton Street (Food Truck)Food trucks have been really great this summer…moreso than usual. I’m still pretty hesitant when it comes to going in to restaurants so walking up to a food truck takes a lot of that anxiety away.
Lunchtime Live is one of the few things that are somewhat normal about this summer. The food trucks roll on to South Street every Friday for lunch and while there’s not as many people, there’s still a lot of different options to choose from.
I have been itching to try the Mexican truck that showed up this year. It’s a really small truck with a really big menu and the line is always the longest by far.
Teresa’s Kitchen has been making waves on the food truck scene the last few months. I first heard about this taco truck when they started setting up in front of their house on Fulton Street in the Edison Neighborhood. They quickly got a following and a lot of word of mouth advertising before starting to show a presence as some of the local food truck events.
SW Michigan Dining 