Just thought I’d throw a quick post up letting you all know I finally got an Italian Beef. After going to see her grandma, I met my girlfriend for lunch at Portillo’s in Crestwood (old review HERE)
Got It!
26 11 2008Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: Crestwood, Food News, Illinois, Portillo's
Categories : Illinois
The Pit Rib House – Hickory Hills, IL
25 11 2008
The Pit Rib House on Roberts in Hickory Hills, IL
How fitting is it that there’s a BBQ place in a town called Hickory Hills? J and I were discussing dinner when her step dad starting throwing out restaurant names that they like in the area. After ten minutes or so, he suggested The Pit Rib House and after a quick scan of the menu, I was sold.
The Pit is located on near the corner of Roberts Road and 95th St. The outside of the building is lit up with neon which is supposed to resemble a 1960’s road house on Route 66. There are parking lots on either side of the building and even on a Tuesday night, they were pretty full. We found a spot to park (not near a light pole) and headed inside. When you walk in, you’re again met with the feel of a stop along The Mother Road. There are antique vending machines (for display only) and the walls are covered with pictures, newspaper articles, and old signs. The first stop inside is the waiting room for carry out. Just past that, a waitress met us and showed us to a table inside the dining room. The theme continued with exposed wood walls and ceilings although the walls were covered with artifacts and pictures. We were seated next to a table overlooking a patio area that was filled with fire wood for the upcoming winter. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: BBQ, Chicago, CHicagoland, Hickory Hills, Illinois, Restaurants, Reviews, Ribs
Categories : BBQ, Hickory Hills, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews
Country House Restaurant – Alsip, IL
25 11 2008
The Country House Restaurant in Alsip, IL
Can you believe that my first meal back in Chicago wasn’t an Italian Beef? J and I went to see her grandma and on the way back to her parents, we decided to stop for lunch. There’s a Portillo’s close, but I suggested we stop at the family restaurant that looked packed. If there’s a lot of cars in the parking lot on a Tuesday afternoon, it must be good.
Country House Restaurant is located in Alsip near the intersection of 127th Street and CalSag Road. There are entrance from both roads with most of the parking being behind the building on the CalSag Road side. We found a parking spot near a light pole (more on that later 😦 ) and headed inside.
Once inside, it looked like a seat yourself deal. I didn’t see a hostess and there were no signs that said wait to be seated, so I found a booth along the wall and sat down. I noticed while we were sitting there that there actually was a hostess seating people, but a waitress noticed us and brought menus over without making a big deal about us sitting down. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Alsip, Chicago, CHicagoland, Family Restaurant, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews
Categories : Alsip, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews
Housekeeping
25 11 2008Checked out for the week. We’re back in Chicago already for the holiday weekend, so no more Mid-Michigan reviews until Sunday at least.
Also, if anyone can tell me why I’m getting hundreds (literally hundreds) of hits for the search terms “september 2008 live-audience food network”? There can’t be 150 people searching that exact same search term from all over the country, so if you found your way to this site by finding the “Guy Fieri to Replace Emeril” post, tell me how you got here and why…please?
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Tags: Food News
Categories : Food News, Michigan
Frank’s Press Box – Delta Township
23 11 2008- 7216 W. Saginaw Hwy.
- Lansing, MI 48917
- (517) 886-1330
- No Known Website
- Menu
Frank's Press Box on Saginaw Highway in Lansing.
Time for the weekly shopping trip. We got a little lazy today and slept in pretty late then had a hard time getting going, but we needed to run to Walmart and Horrocks to pick up just a few things before we head home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Both of us were starving when we left so we decided to eat first.
Every time we go out that way, we go by Frank’s Press Box on Saginaw Highway. It always looks deserted, but we always go during the day during the week. When we pulled into the parking lot today (on a Sunday), the parking lot was the opposite of deserted. In fact, it was packed. The inside of the restaurant was no different. Most of the tables were full and all eyes were pointed at the TV’s. We figured out later the Lions game was blacked out and the only way to see it was to have the NFL package which Frank’s obviously did.
The restaurant/sports bar is divided into three rooms. Near the front is a game room with a number of pool tables. The bar area also has a large dining room designated as the smoking section then there’s another section separated by a tiny wall and a fireplace designated non-smoking by green paint on a mirror near the back of the space. The wall did nothing. My coat smells like cigar smoke which was painfully noticeable during the meal. Each section has a number of TV’s. From our table, I could see seven LCD TV’s and each of them had a different football game on, but the audio from the Lions game was pumped in via speakers. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Burgers, Frank's Press Box, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurants, reviws, Sandwiches, Sports Bar
Categories : Burgers, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar
Emil’s Restaurant
22 11 2008- 2012 E. Michigan Ave.
- Lansing, MI 48912
- (517) 482-4430
- No Known Website
- Menu
Emil's Restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Lansing.
I proved tonight that you can wear a white shirt to an Italian restaurant and not make a mess. I think I surprised J as much as I surprised myself. After a day of shopping, we were sitting on the couch flipping back and forth between the MSU/PSU game and the Illinois/Northwestern game. We were both getting hungry and I was craving Italian. Emil’s is one of the Lansing institutions that had been recomended to us when we first moved here, but we don’t eat out Italian very often. Since I was craving, we thought, why not?
Emil’s is on Michigan Avenue a few blocks down from Sparrow Hospital. There’s a little on street parking in the front, but there’s a huge public parking lot behind the row of businesses. Emil’s has an entrance off the back and since that’s where we parked, that’s where we entered. The back entrance brings you right into the bar. We were a little confused at that point. Were we supposed to seat ourselves or is there a host somewhere. I just figured if we walked to the front door, we’d find out. As we made our way through the bar, a host noticed us and was waiting near the front for us. When we got to him, he led us into a dining room seperate from the bar. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Emil's, Italian, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant
Categories : Italian, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews
Fabiano’s Homemade Candy & Ice Cream
22 11 2008- 119 S. Putnam St.
- Williamston, MI 48895
- (517) 655-3782
- Website (dead link)
Fabiano's Homemade Candy & Ice Cream in downtown Williamston
After a day of shopping, we needed something sweet. A stop at Meridian Mall was next on our schedule and the GPS always takes us through Williamston to Grand River when we go from the Tanger Outlets back to Okemos. Somehow, I found Fabiano’s and homemade candy always sounds good.
We found Fabiano’s in downtown Williamston. When we pulled up, we kind of got a mixed signal on whether the shop was even open. There were two signs in the window. One said “open.” The other said “closed.” On top of that, there was a building for sale sign in the window. We could see lights on inside, but no people. J told me to go check, so I got out and pulled on the door. It opened so I went in.
The inside of the shop is very sparse which leads me to believe that “building for sale” is in the window for a reason. There was just one girl working by herself. There’s a big case filled with truffles and chocolates. The clerk asked what I wanted, but J hadn’t made her way in the store yet, so I asked for a few more minutes. She went back to cleaning up behind the counter. J came in and we decided on some chocolates. I was hoping for fudge, but there was none there. They’re a candy shop, not a chocolate shop. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Candy, Downtown, Michigan, Reviews, truffles, Williamston
Categories : Chocolate, Downtown, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews, Williamston
Bloated Goat Saloon
22 11 2008- 141 E. Grand River Ave.
- Fowlerville, MI 48836
- (517) 223-8413
- No Known Website
- No Online Menu
The sign hanging from the Bloated Goat Saloon in downtown Fowlerville
The Bloated Goat Saloon is my kind of bar. Not only is the name awesome, but the inside is the typical small town, turn of the century saloon with above average food.
J and I were heading out to Howell to do some Christmas shopping. Might as well get it out of the way early. I hate people and you can’t have a crowd without people and you can’t Christmas shop in December without crowds, so we went to the Tanger Outlets the week before Thanksgiving instead of the week after. We’re always on the lookout for new places and when I was searching for restaurants in and around Howell, I came upon a place called the Bloated Goat Saloon. There were a couple reviews that said the place was really neat and the food was good, so we decided to give it a try.
The Bloated Goat Saloon is in downtown Fowlerville. It’s not hard to find. There’s a huge sign hangining on the side of the building. The inside is dark, long, and narrow. There isn’t much width to the place. There’s a really neat bar running along one wall in the front of the space and tables along the other. The back of the room is filled with more tables and the usual pub games. Back to the bar for a second, it’s a really interesting design. There’s the bar, but there’s also a boxed in shelf a few feet above the bar. The whole thing is supported with steel pipe, so it looks like there are a bunch of “windows” when you’re sitting there. About half of the bar stools are attached to the bar itself and then there’s a couple of the more traditional free standing stools. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Bar, Fowlerville, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Saloon
Categories : Bar, Burgers, Fowlerville, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches
Press Release – City Rescue Mission Thanksgiving Dinner
21 11 2008From a City Rescue Mission of Lansing press release…..
City Rescue Mission of Lansing hosts the Great Thanksgiving Banquet
Lansing, MI – November 21, 2008
The City Rescue Mission of Lansing will be providing a free Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day. This Great Thanksgiving Banquet takes place in conjunction with other Rescue Missions around the country. Together, Rescue Missions will provide over half a million meals to anyone in need on this special day.
Those who wish to attend, please come to 613 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing, between 11 a.m. and noon, to sign up for lunch. Dinner sign-up is from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
With the help of volunteers and staff, the City Rescue Mission of Lansing will serve the meal to all who come. We also wish to express thanks to the community for helping provide this meal, as well as the over 70,000 meals we will serve this year. Hundreds will be thankful because you decided to make a difference.
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Tags: City Rescue Mission, Dinner, Lansing, Mission, Thanksgiving
Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan
W. G. Grinders
21 11 2008
W. G. Grinders on 28th St. in Grand Rapids.
Not being familiar with an area and trying to find a quick lunch spot can always be challenging. I was in Grand Rapids this morning for a job. I wasn’t sure what the weather was going to do, so I left early just in case. I got to Grand Rapids about 45 minutes before I was supposed to be there, so I went on a scouting mission to find a lunch spot. I drove up and down 28th St. looking for something. I found some nice sit down type places, but I couldn’t spot a sandwich place that would work for lunch. I was about to give up, but before I did, I thought I’d go past the Interstate a few blocks to see what I could find. As I was turning into a shopping center to turn around, I noticed W. G. Grinders and my almost failure became a success.
W. G. Grinders is located in a small shopping center on 28th St. between Meijer and Walmart. There’s a bar and grill that anchors the area plus a couple other store fronts. W. G. Grinders sits back off the parking lot, but there is a huge sign connected to the facade of the “courtyard” area. I had never heard of this particular grinder shop before. The chain is based in Lewis Center, OH. There are 27 stores in the group, but all but two are in Ohio. One of those two is in Carmel, IN. The other, in Grand Rapids. Read the rest of this entry »
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Categories : Michigan
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