Happy’s Pizza – Lansing

14 09 2008
  • 6045 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-7777
  • Website
  • Menu
Happys Pizza on the corner of Cedar and Miller in Lansing.

Happy's Pizza on the corner of Cedar and Miller in Lansing.

What a miserable day.  It hasn’t stopped raining since Friday and that’s made it hard to work up the ambition to do anything but lay on the couch and watch TV.   Good thing there’s a NASCAR race on today.  We had talked about going to Okemos to pick something up, but ultimately, we both decided neither of us wanted to do much of anything except lay around and be lazy.

We had been watching the progress at the old BP station on the corner of Miller and Cedar that was being turned into a Happy’s Pizza.  Not being from Michigan, I had never seen a Happy’s Pizza before.  They got their start in 1994 in the Detroit area.  Since then, they have expanded a lot in Southeast Michigan.  Currently, they’re heading west and even starting to look at expansion in Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana.

Lunch was becoming a problem.  We were both hungry but too lazy to actually do anything about it.  Earlier this week,  Runs With Spatula put up a post about Happy’s opening.  J and I talked about it all week.  She finally suggested if I could reach my cell phone on the coffee table, we should order pizza.  Grudingly, I got up and checked out the Happy’s Pizza website where I found a coupon for 12 wings,a  2-liter of Pepsi and a large pizza for about $16.  Since I was already up, I grabbed my cell phone and called in an order. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : Chains, Lansing, Michigan, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company

14 09 2008
  • 120 W. Washington
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 741-7325
  • Website
  • Menu
Grizzly Peak Brewing Company in downtown Ann Arbor.

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company in downtown Ann Arbor.

Our day in Ann Arbor was coming to an end and I was starting to get really hungry again.  Earlier in the week, I asked for suggestions on where to eat dinner and there was no shortage of recommendations.  Since we had spent a pretty good chunk of money on lunch and shopping, I didn’t want to hit up one of fancier restaurants on Main Street even though they were quit tempting.

What we settled on was the Grizzly Peak Brewing Company which was a suggestion from Amy.  Grizzly Peak is located just off of Main Street in a big corner building.  We parked across the street in a public lot and walked over to the brewery.  When we walked in, we found the hostess station.  There was a lady bent over the stand and I just assumed she was the hostess.  Nope.  She was waiting for her husband or something.  A waiter saw us standing there and came over to seat us.  Here was my big complaint about the meal.  I probably should have asked to be seated in the bar so I could watch the football game, but I didn’t.  Outside of the bar, there was one other couple eating and one large group.  The dining rooms at Grizzly Peak are huge and there are several options.  They seated both us and the other couple right next to the large group in a cramped dining room near the back of the space.  Come on now.  Why would you seat a couple next to a group in an empty restaurant.  We just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner, but the group wanted to catch up and you know how people get when they haven’t seen each other in a while.  Grandpa at one end of the table is yelling to his grandson at the other end of the table.  Doesn’t make a good dining experience for anyone around them and we were right next to the table.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Big Ten Tour, Brew Pub, Burgers, Downtown, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Whole Foods Market – Ann Arbor (Washtenaw Ave.)

14 09 2008
  • 3135 Washtenaw Ave.
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 975-4500
  • Website
Whole Foods Market on Washtenaw in Ann Arbor

Whole Foods Market on Washtenaw in Ann Arbor

Can you believe that I have never been in a Whole Foods before?  Where I’ve lived the last six years, the closest Whole Foods was in Chicago and until J and I started dating, I didn’t spend a lot of time that far north.  Same thing when we moved to Lansing.  The closest Whole Foods in Ann Arbor.  We were driving around checking out the city when for some reason I said, “I think there’s a Trader Joe’s in town somewhere.”  I was wrong, it wasn’t Trader Joe’s It was Whole Foods.  J put it into her GPS and even though we were driving aimlessly, we were just a few blocks away, so why not check it out?

I’m gonna say right now, it’s a good thing there is not a Whole Foods in Lansing.  On the other hand, you’d always know where to find me.  The thing I’ve always heard about Whole Foods is that it’s expensive.  As we walked through produce, I could see that.  We can get produce at Horrocks (review HERE) much cheaper.  It’s probably not “organic” at Horrocks, but it tastes the same.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Bakery, Cafe, Grocery, Michigan, Reviews

Spice Merchants

14 09 2008
  • 401 N. 5th Ave #2C
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • Website
  • (734) 332-5500

(I’ve updated this review after Kelly pointed out I had the wrong name..It’s right now and I’ve found more info on the web.)

The Ann Arbor Spice House in the Kerrytown Shops

The Spice Merchants in the Kerrytown Shops

The Spice Merchants was another incredible find in Ann Arbor.  After walking around the Farmer’s Market (review HERE), we headed inside the Kerrytown Shops to see what that was all about.  We didn’t find much on the list of businesses next to the elevator, but there was one shop on the second floor that I wanted to check out.

I’m assuming this is a fairly new store because there’s no information about it anywhere on the web.  Even the Kerrytown Shops website lists the store as being vacant.  It’s definitely not vacant. It’s filled floor to ceiling with spices and not your run of the mill, everyday spices.  There were things in that store I’ve only seen mail order.

Along the walls, the spices are stored in bulk in glass jars.  You’re asked not to handle the jars, but for the more popular spices, there are bags of prepackaged spices hanging near the bulk.  If you want something that’s not already packaged or want more, an employee will package it for you.   In the middle of the store there are racks of spice rubs.  Same deal as the bulk spices except this time they add shakers of the rub to the display. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Michigan, Reviews, Specialty Shop