BUNS Burger Shop (Condado)
Avenue Ashford 1214I am not a world traveler. I love getting away with J for a vacation but the thought of traveling somewhere I don’t speak the language and may not eat the food has never really appealed to me.
J wanted to go someplace warm for our 10th Anniversary. We looked at several Caribbean Islands but the price was always much more than we wanted to spend.
I was browsing the Costco Travel website and saw a link to Puerto Rico. Technically, it’s still in the United States, most people speak English even though Spanish is the primary language of the Island so I’d be able to communicate, and it was fairly cheap since we were looking to travel during peak hurricane season.
We were a little nervous about the weather since Tropical Storm Karen decided to pass right over the Island the day before we were scheduled to fly out. It looked like it wasn’t going to be a huge deal so we didn’t cancel the trip and flew out of Kalamazoo Wednesday morning. A quick layover at O’Hare then a five our trip to San Juan and we were on vacation.
We stayed at the San Juan Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino. Our travel package included ground transportation from the airport so we headed straight there and checked in.
We knew Wednesday was going to be a pretty laid back day. We go to Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International AirportKalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport just before 5:00 AM so we were tired. We weren’t super hungry when we got in because J decided to make our anniversary a little extra special and upgraded our seats to First Class.
Neither of us had ever sat in First Class before and now we never want to go back. In addition to wider, more comfortable seats, we actually got breakfast on the plane. It wasn’t anything super special. I selected the Eggs Benedict and J got the Apple Tart. It was a decent breakfast and held us over until we got settled at the hotel.
Garrett Popcorn Shop (O’Hare Terminal 1)
5600 Mannheim RoadBuckle up, friends. We’re going on vacation.
J and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary last week and to celebrate, we took a trip to Puerto Rico. This is the first trip we’ve taken without kids (J was pregnant with B when we went out west four years ago….so technically, we had a kid with us) since our 2nd anniversary when we went to New York.
We picked Puerto Rico because J wanted to go somewhere she could put her toes in the sand and I didn’t want to leave the country. Also, it’s hurricane season so it was somewhat cheap.
We started our journey at the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport with a 6:30 AM flight to Chicago. We had a short layover in Chicago before embarking on the five hour ride to San Juan.
We flew United so we hopped off the plane at the B Concourse. We both had the same thing in mind as soon as we touched down. Popcorn!
There are three Garrett Popcorn stands in O’Hare International Airport. The one in Terminal One is on the B Concourse right by the TSA checkpoints so if you come in there, it’s one of the first things you will see.
Buddy’s Pizza (Grand Rapids)
4061 28th Street SEGood news! Buddy’s Pizza is moving to Kalamazoo…er Portage actually. The Detroit pizza chain made the announcement in August not long after Old Chicago closed. Pretty much everyone assumed another Credit Union would go into that building…but surprise! It’s gonna be a Buddy’s!
That reminded me, I haven’t been to the Grand Rapids Buddy’s Pizza yet.
I spent a couple of days on Mackinac Island for work and had to stop in Grand Rapids on my way home. I asked J if she wanted me to bring home pizza. We hit the 11:00 AM ferry back to Mackinaw City so it was going to be right around dinner time when I got home.
I saw Buddy’s uses DoorDash for their online ordering which made my life easier. When I dropped my colleague off at the office, I put in an order for a four square cheese pizza and a four square Motown Museum.
The drive across town was about twenty minutes and that’s how long my pizza ordered was predicted to take.
The Grand Rapids Buddy’s Pizza location is on 28th Street just east of East Paris Avenue. The stand alone store used to be a Carrabba’s Italian Grill but that closed down abruptly at the beginning of 2017. Buddy’s dropped the Italian countryside decor and went with their own blue, red, and yellow color scheme. Read more…
Broken Picture Links
I’m aware the pictures aren’t working on the blog right now…and that’s kind of a problem. Photobucket changed up their hosting plan and now none of my photos work. I’m trying to figure it out with Photobucket and get the site back to normal soon. The pictures are all still on their site, they just changed their hosting terms while I was on vacation….we just got back from Puerto Rico so I have a lot of cool things to blog about but I would like to get the photos back online before I get going on those.
Sanders Chocolate & Ice Cream Shopped (Mackinac Island)
7330 Main StreetMy family doesn’t even ask anymore. It’s just expected I come home from my work trips to Mackinac Island with fudge.
I went for a walk Saturday night just because I haven’t really spent much time in downtown on any of my trips there. In the past, we’ve always stayed either at Mission Pointe or in Mackinaw City. This time, we stayed downtown at the Lake View Hotel so it gave me some more time to just enjoy downtown Mackinac Island at night.
A few of the fudge shops were already closed and a few were starting the closing process but I found one shop that still had the light on and doors open..plus, it was one of the shops I haven’t bought fudge from before..so they were the ones that got to make my family happy on this trip.
Sanders Chocolate and Ice Cream Shoppe has a pretty rich Michigan history. The Sanders name dates back to the 1870’s in the Detroit area. Over the last 140 years or so, the Sanders chain grew to as many as 57 stores in the Great Lakes area. By 2002, almost all of them had closed and the company name and recipes were bought by a competitor who chose to keep the Sanders name on some of the stores in Detroit. There are nine Sanders stores now. Eight of those in Metro Detroit. The other is on the corner of Main and Astor Streets in downtown Mackinac Island.
Island Slice Pizzeria
7248 Main StreetMy Saturday work day on Mackinac Island was long. I got to the Grand Hotel about 8:30 AM and left a little before 8:30 PM…and I still wasn’t done but I decided to work in my hotel room back at the Lake View Hotel because I could get a bottle of Pepsi from the vending machine there for $2 compared to buying a CAN of Coke for $4 from the Grand.
I was still on a pretty tight deadline but I was hungry. I didn’t eat all day because, again, everything is expensive at the Grand and even though it’s company money, I still feel bad spending that much on lunch.
I decided just to see if there was a pizza place I could pick something up from and eat while I was finishing up my work for the day. I quickly found what appears to be the only pizzeria on the Island and put in my order.
Island Slice Pizzeria is on the north end of downtown across from The Pink Pony. The restaurant is a classic counter service pizzeria tucked in between a fudge shop and a cafe in one of Mackinac Islands classic vintage buildings.
Goodfellow’s Wings and Things
1359 Hoban StreetJ and I have lived in Michigan for a little over ten years now. We’ve been to Mackinac Island for pleasure once. I’ve been there several times over those ten years for work. This past weekend, I took another work trip to the Island and this time, I actually got to stay on the Island.
We go to the Island around noon and Friday and worked until almost 9:00. My colleague headed back to the hotel about a half hour before I did. He said he was going to head to the bar in the hotel and if I wanted to go to dinner, to meet him there and we’d figure it out.
I joined him at Goodfellow’s Wings and Things..which is one of three dining options at the Lake View Hotel on Main Street. The sports bar is around the corner on Hoban Street but you can access it from the hotel lobby by going through Goodfellow’s Italian Chop House.
Market on Michigan Avenue
119 E. Michigan Avenue- Kalamazoo, MI 49007
- (269) 775-1445
- Website
- Menu (Posted on Facebook page weekly)
It wasn’t too long ago downtown Kalamazoo had Irving’s Market and Deli. I would go there a few times a week and either get something off their hot bar or pick up a salad.
Then, Irving’s closed…..and for several months, there was no market downtown.
About the same time Irving’s closed, it was announced that a new market was opening on Michigan Avenue. It took about eight months, but late last month, Market on Michigan Avenue held their Grand Opening.
Market on Michigan Avenue…or MOMA..is on Michigan Avenue right next to the Subway in downtown Kalamazoo. The business takes up two storefronts. One used to be the Biggby Coffee. The other has been empty for quite a while.
Breakfast at Tiffiny’s (Oshtemo Township)
5222 W. Main StreetThere’s nothing better than getting up on Sunday morning and going to breakfast.
We don’t do it nearly enough because we have a hard time getting moving in the morning. Weekends at home are “veg” days.
J was craving breakfast last Sunday when I got up around 9:00 and asked about going out for breakfast. She mentioned the new Breakfast at Tiffiny’s location in Oshtemo….she had me at “breakfast.”
Breakfast at Tiffiny’s recently opened a second location in the Maple Hill Pavillion on West Main Street in Oshtemo Township. The restaurant is sandwiched between Five Below at Cato Fashions. It’s in the storefront that used to be Maurices.
The Dawg House
402 E. Highway StreetThere’s nothing like delicious quick fried chicken. There are so many days I go to the Shell station on the corner of Michigan and Westnedge because they have Chester Chicken. It’s always ready. It’s always hot. It’s cheap and it’s quite tasty.
My colleague and I were driving through Vicksburg last week on our way back to Kalamazoo. We didn’t plan on stopping in Vicksburg but I was thirsty and I got an idea for lunch.
I knew there was an old IGA Store across the street from the high school that has a deli inside. I stopped in there a couple of months ago to check it out but there was a wait on the chicken because it was after the meal rushes. I just grabbed a Pepsi that night and figured I come back on my next stop through Vicksburg.
The Dawg House is on the corner of Highway Street and Davis Avenue on the southeast side of town across the street from Vicksburg High School. The little building is an old IGA store that used to be known as Fink’s Butcher and Deli Shop.
SW Michigan Dining 