Buona (Frankfort)
20950 S. LaGrange Road- Frankfort, IL 60423
- (815) 534-5700
- Website
Sometimes, things work out. We were planning on heading back to the Chicagoland area for one of J’s high school friend’s 40th birthday party. The kids were invited but we figured we’d have more fun without them so I asked my mom if she wanted the grand kids for the night. She jumped at the chance but my niece was supposed to play softball in Pontaic, IL that weekend. I said that was fine..we’d take the kids down to Pontiac and pick them up from there on Sunday if we needed to.
About a week or so before we were scheduled to go, my nieces softball tournament got moved to Mokena, IL. This was soooooo much better because our hotel for the weekend was actually in Mokena. The party was in New Lenox which is nearby so things worked out perfectly.
The softball game wasn’t until 3:00 and we couldn’t get in to our hotel until about then too so we took care of some chores at home before heading to Chicago in the afternoon.
We pulled off the highway about 2:30 and started heading towards the park. J was hungry though and kinda wanted a Chicago Dog. She searched for a Portillo’s nearby and we started heading there. Along the way, we passed another Chicago chain that would satisfy both her desire for a Chicago Dog and my always burning lust for a good Italian beef.
Buona is a rapidly expanding chain of Chicago-style food. The locations popping up all over the place is new but the restaurant that started it all claims to be the inventor of what we now know as the Italian beef sandwich. There’s a connection to the downtown location of Mr. Beef which then gets you back to the street corners during the early 1900’s but Buona was the place that took it to the suburbs by opening a shop in Berwyn.
The Frankfort location is on the very busy LaGrange Road just south of the I-80 interchange. It is in a fairly new strip mall with access from access road just north of the building.
City Centre Market & Deli
125 S. Kalamazoo Mall- Kalamazoo, MI 49007
- (269)
- Website
- Menu Changes Daily
This is blog is really going to resonate with downtown workers. The rest of you will think I’m crazy, but not having a deli downtown has been torture for the last six months.
You see, I used to walk to Irving’s Market & Deli almost daily. If not for lunch then definitely to pick up a couple of Pepsi’s and maybe a bag of chips. My office doesn’t have a vending machine so if I forget to bring something with me, Irving’s was my go to.
Then, Irving’s closed. They claimed they were relocating but if that’s still happening, it hasn’t yet..and it’s been over six months.
A new market was announced to be moving into the Irving’s space a month after they closed….and that market FINALLY opened a few weeks ago.
City Centre Market & Deli is in the City Centre building in downtown Kalamazoo. The building is on the first open section of the Kalamazoo Mall south of the Exchange Place alley.
Plainwell Ice Cream Company
621 E. Bridge StreetIs there a better way to get the kids to leave a splash pad than to bribe them with ice cream? That was rhetorical. We all no the answer is no.
We were looking for something to do a few Sunday’s ago and I suggested we go to breakfast then check out the new splash pad in Allegan. We did breakfast at The Village Inn then played for about an hour on the Perrigo Splash Pad behind downtown Allegan.
There was a gift shop open right behind the splash pad that was selling ice cream bars but we told the kids they could wait fifteen minutes and we’d drive back to Plainwell.
We stopped at Plainwell Ice Cream Company because at some point, we realized we had never been there. I checked my blog and couldn’t find an entry and I never pass up blogging about new places.
Plainwell Ice Cream Company is on the east side of town as you’re heading out of the city on M-89 which is known as Bridge Street in town. The corner of Bridge and Broad Streets used to house Newman’s Ice Cream which was opened by a former employee of cross-town rival Dean’s Ice Cream in the 1950’s. In 1978, the business was sold and became Plainwell Ice Cream Company.
Village Inn
1520 Lincoln Road- Allegan, MI 49010
- (269) 673-2317
- No Known Website
- Menu
Did you Allegan had a splash pad? It’s new this year right on the riverfront near the Allegan Event zipline downtown.
We were looking for something to do on a Sunday morning when B said he wanted to go get breakfast. It doesn’t happen very often that one of our kids asks to go out to eat somewhere that isn’t a McDonalds with a PlayPlace.
There’s actually a brewery in Allegan I had been wanting to try but it turns out, that was closed. My plan was to go there then use the, “if you’re good we’ll go to the Splash Pad.” I did that anyway, but I replaced brewery with breakfast.
The Village Inn is just outside the Allegan city limits on Lincoln Street (or M-40) in Allegan Township east of the city. The small restaurant has been around for many years and while it shares it’s name with a chain of family breakfast restaurants, it doesn’t seem to have any affiliation with pancake houses headquartered in Nashville, TN.
DaVinci’s Smoked Meats & Pasta
1616 E. Chicago RoadWe went for the low key Father’s Day. We spent it at Jessica’s parents. I smoked some ribs and a pork butt. The kids took a boat ride. I took a nap or two. Nothing fancy which is fine with me.
We decided to stay the night at her parents since I was going to smoke a pork butt. I had to get up early to get it started so it was better that we were just there. I could get up and everyone else could sleep in.
J’s parents offered to watch the kids when we got there so J and I could go to dinner. I was kinda hoping we could go to Bill’s Steakhouse but neither of us brought steakhouse clothes. J’s dad had a suggestion he thought we’d like though so we did that.
DaVinci’s Smoked Meats & Pasta has had a few different names but this seems to be the newest iteration. The restaurant is on Chicago Drive on the east side of town at the intersection with Franks Avenue just before you leave town. The building sits kind of awkwardly on a corner lot and goes for a cabin theme with faux rocks and logs covering the exterior walls.
Saugatuck Brewing Company – Kalamazoo
140 S. Westnedge AvenueI was just as confused as everyone else when Gonzo’s Bigg Dogg Brewing announced in March they were merging with Saugatuck Brewing. I’ve always been a fan of both breweries so I wasn’t worried other than I was sorry to hear Gonzo’s would be going away.
It’s been about a month or so since I noticed the Saugatuck signs go up on the building right on the edge of downtown Kalamazoo. Last Friday, a beer sounded good, so I texted J before leaving work to see if she wanted to meet me there with the kids for dinner.
Not much has changed other than the signs on the outside of the building at the corner of Westnedge and Academy Street in the Central Business District. About six years, Gonzo’s transformed an old car dealership into a brewery and now Saugatuck continuing what Gonzo’s started.
Rustic Hog Barbecue
104 Main StreetI thought for sure I wasn’t going to stop for lunch on my way home from Mackinaw City. I really just wanted to get home. I had eaten the free craptastic hotel breakfast before leaving town so I figured that’d be enough to tide me over until everyone got home from school and work.
That was the plan anyway.
I took a different route than what I took there. Stopping in Cadillac for lunch seemed to throw my route off. I have driven to Mackinaw City several times and I was thinking something looked different. The drive home was a little more familiar.
Something clicked when I pulled in to Lake City. The last time I drove to Mackinac Island for work was two years ago in September. I had passed a little seasonal BBQ stand and since it was after Labor Day, it was closed for the season. On this trip, I was driving through after Memorial Day….so it had just opened.
Rustic Hog Barbecue is actually a food truck that they built an enclosed patio around to turn it into a little restaurant with seating. The small BBQ joint is right on on M-66 or Main Street in the small county seat of Missaukee County. I parked along the busy highway and kind of played Frogger trying to get across the street…the whole time the smell of smoker fired up somewhere behind the building was taunting me.
304 E. Central AvenueI couldn’t leave Mackinac Island without getting some fudge. I was rushing to get back to the ferry every night after work and I had a lot of stuff with me that I didn’t feel like dragging in to a store on the Island. I decided early on that I’d just get up on Friday morning and hit up one of the Mackinaw City fudge shops before I left town.
I worked well in to the night on Thursday to get all my work done. I still dragged my butt out of bed a little after 8:00 on Friday morning so I could get on the road. The fudge shops didn’t open until 9:00 so I had a little time to load up the car and grab a Pepsi to wake myself up before heading downtown.
I picked Devon’s Mackinac Island Fudge Company to stop at because it’s a candy shop I’ve never been to. There’s a Murdick’s and a Kilwin’s in Mackinaw City but I’ve gotten fudge from them on the Island so why not try someplace new.
There are two Devon’s Mackinac Island Fudge Company locations in Mackinaw City. One is in the Mackinaw Crossings shopping development. The other is on Central Avenue in downtown Mackinaw City.
I stopped at the downtown location almost right as they opened at 9:00. Devon’s is on the south side of the street at what would be the intersection with Henry if that street went all the way through. The small candy store is snuggled in between the Post Office and gift shop.
Duncan City Pizza
630 S. Main StreetIf you know me. You know I love wings and I don’t like talking to people. The story of how I found tasty wings in Cheboygan, MI is very out of character for me.
I was on the ferry after day two of work on Mackinac Island. It was another long, exhausting day and I didn’t really feel like going out for dinner. I tried to sit away from people on the ferry that night but it was pretty crowded and I ended up sitting next to a couple people who vacation every year in Northern Michigan. We got talking about dinner and I mentioned wings and his eyes lit up.
He pointed me towards a pizza place about twenty minutes up the road. I was hesitant because I was tired and just wanted to get to bed so I could get up early on Friday to head home but I decided to take his advice.
Duncan City Pizza is a small pizza shop on Main Street on the southside of Cheboygan. It shares a building with a State Farm office near the corner of South Main Street (also M-27) and Lincoln Avenue. Read more…
Wienerlicious
102 E. Central AvenueThe days I get sent to Mackinac Island for work are always long, hard days. It’s fun work. I love being out on the Island in the spring. When the sun is shining and there’s a cool breeze blowing in off the lake, nothing beats it.
I wasn’t staying on the Island so when my job was finished a little after 6:00 each night, I headed straight for the ferry docks to catch that 7:00 ferry back to town. I chose not to eat on the Island just because I didn’t want to wait for the 8:00.
When I got back to Mackinaw City on my first full day in town, I headed for the giant hot dog. I wanted something quick and easy.
Wienerlicious is hard to miss. There’s a giant hot dog on top of the building at the corner of Central and Nicolet just off I-75 near the Bridge. If you’re heading north on I-75, you have one more chance to pull off before committing to the U.P. if giant foods on buildings speak to you like they do me.
SW Michigan Dining 