Nicky’s Carry-Out, Crestwood, IL

14 09 2009
  • 14001 Cicero Avenue
  • Crestwood, IL 60445
  • (708) 388-4626
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Nickys Carry-Out in Crestwood, IL

Nicky's Carry-Out in Crestwood, IL

Months before I started dating J, I was sent up to Chicago to shoot a high school basketball game at St. Xavier University on the south side.  I didn’t know then that I’d be spending so much time on the south side of Chicago and when I got off the Interstate on Cicero Avenue, my first order of business was finding some place to get an Italian beef. 

The first place I came across was Nicky’s Carry-Out in Crestwood, so I stopped and got a beef.  I didn’t know it at the time, but there was a Portillo’s right down the street.  If I had known that, I probably would have waited, but I’m sort of glad I didn’t. 

I haven’t been back to Nicky’s since then even though we do drive by it quite a bit on our way to J’s parents’ house.  On my last trip home by myself, I had to make a stop at J’s parents on the way back to Lansing to pick up some things we forgot on our last trip home. 

I left my parents in kind of a rush because I slept much later than I had intended.  After a quick stop at my brother’s, I headed towards Chicago….hungry.  I could have stopped at Portillo’s, but since I was by myself, I decided to stop at Nicky’s to see if it was what I remembered now that I’ve been formally introduced to Chicago cuisine. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : Crestwood, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Dairy Queen – Clifton, IL

14 09 2009
  • 1 Bradie Drive
  • Clifton, IL 60927
  • (815) 694-3202
  • Website
  • Menu
The Dairy Queen in (and only fast food option anywhere near) Clifton, IL

The Dairy Queen in (and only fast food option anywhere near) Clifton, IL

For those of you that didn’t grow up in a small town, you will have no idea what I’m talking about.  Imagine growing up in a town without a McDonald’s, a Walmart, or a Blockbuster.  In fact, imagine that the closest location of any of those three was a half hour away.  That’s how things were when I was growing up.  We only had two options when it came to eating out.  There was the local family run restaurant and a Dairy Queen.

Things haven’t really changed much in the town where I grew up (and my parents still live).  Well, actually they have.  The Dairy Queen is gone.  It moved five miles north.  That actually happened when I was in high school, so it wasn’t a big deal.  I had my driver’s license by then so I could still get the Blizzard’s that I craved.  

While I moved away from home, my brother stayed pretty close.  He moved to that town five miles to the north which is still in the same school district and for all intents and purposes, is still considered part of the same community.  We didn’t really go by towns where I’m from.  We go by school districts.  Yes, my high school was sixteen miles from my house in the middle of a cornfield.  Literally.  It’s in a corn field.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Clifton, Ice Cream, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews

Guy Fieri Road Show Coming to Detroit

14 09 2009

DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! 

The Guy Fieri Road Show is making a stop in Detroit at the Masonic Temple Theater on December 4. 

I’m booked on a football game in Champaign, IL on December 5.  I’m going to be out of town. 

Tickets go on sale September 16 at Ticketmaster.com


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Categories : Michigan

Press Release – Best Homegrown Tomato Contest

14 09 2009

From a press release…

 HOW TASTY ARE YOUR TOMATOES?
More than $6,000 in Prizes to be Awarded in Howell for the Best Tomatoes

NatureSweet® Tomatoes are vine-nurtured and hand-picked for homegrown taste. How do yours measure up? The Seventh Annual NatureSweet Best Homegrown Tomato Challenge is coming back to Michigan this year to find out! The event will be held at the Meijer® Flagship store located at 3883 E. Grand River in Howell on Saturday, September 26. Gardeners are invited to bring in their best tomatoes in both the small and large tomato categories for a chance to be one of two $2500 winners! Two runners-up in each category will each receive Meijer gift cards valued at $250.

Other activities at the event include cooking and sampling of tomato recipes, a Master Gardener Q and A Booth, NatureSweet Prize Wheel, Gardening Trivia with a Weber BBQ as the prize, and a live radio remote by WITL FM.

Howell is one of only a handful of cities across America that were selected for this year’s Homegrown Challenge – the contest will also take place in McLean, VA; Arvada, CO; Clifton Park, NY; Lexington, KY, and Warwick, RI. Entry forms are available at participating retail locations. Log onto http://www.naturesweettomatoes.com for more information.

HOW TO ENTER:

Details are available in the produce department of any participating Meijer store. There are no restrictions on the variety or method of growing tomatoes, except that all entries must be homegrown by the entrant (contest is not open to commercial growers). On September 26, contestants must bring three large OR 10 small tomatoes of the same variety to the Meijer Flagship store at 3883 E. Grand River between 9 and 11 a.m. for judging. ONE ENTRY PER HOUSEHOLD.

HOW TO WIN:

Tomatoes will be judged in two separate categories: small tomato variety and large tomato variety. There will be one $2500 winner for each category. The large or small classification of the tomato will be based on variety and/or weight. Tomatoes in both categories will be judged based on Brix/Sweetness and Taste. A Brix test determines sweetness — the higher the Brix number, the better the flavor. The finalists will then be taste-tested by a panel of local celebrity judges and two Grand Prize Winners and four runners-up will be announced at noon. The two $2500 first prize and four $250 gift cards for runners up will then be awarded.

CELEBRITY JUDGES PANEL:

2009 Celebrity judges will include:

• Candy Spiegel, Livingston County Daily Press and Argus

• Jordan Lee, WITL-FM

• Kevin VonOtten, Meijer

• Meijer Chef

CHEF COOKS UP TASTY TOMATO TREATS:

A professional chef from Meijer will demonstrate savory tomato dishes featuring NatureSweet vine ripened cherry tomatoes. In addition to food sampling and learning new recipes, attendees can learn how to best select, store, prepare and serve their tomatoes. The first 100 entrants will get a special gift from NatureSweet. Tomato entries will be donated to Gleaners Community Food Bank after the event.

Picked at perfection, NatureSweet tomatoes ripen on the vine to maintain their freshness, straight from the farm to your table. We guarantee that we will deliver the best tasting tomatoes, consistently year round. NatureSweet. Vine nurtured and hand picked for homegrown taste.


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Categories : Press Releases

Press Release – Michigan Harvest Gathering Kick Off

14 09 2009

From a Michigan Harvest Gathering press release…..

19th Annual Michigan Harvest Gathering Campaign To Launch at Michigan Capitol
Campaign success is crucial as need for food is at an all-time high

WHAT: The Food Bank Council of Michigan will kick off its annual Michigan Harvest Gathering campaign on the Capitol steps on Thursday. The 2009 Michigan Harvest Gathering will run through November 12.

New to the campaign this year is an online fundraising component, Fill Michigan’s Fridge, that will allow donors to participate in a virtual food drive–which is a convenient alternative to the traditional food drive. The online food drive will be launched at the Capitol to begin this year’s campaign.

WHEN: Thursday Sept. 17, 2009
                   10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Front steps of Capitol

WHO: Bill Schuette, Michigan Harvest Gathering Co-Founder

Former Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture

Dan Mulhern, First Gentleman

Terri Lynn Land, Michigan Secretary of State

Don Koivisto, Director

Michigan Department of Agriculture

Spencer Johnson, President

Michigan Health and Hospital Association

Jane Marshall, Executive Director

Food Bank Council of Michigan

WHY: Need for food in Michigan is at an all-time high in the midst of this difficult economy. The Michigan Harvest Gathering raises food and funds to support the nine regional food banks in Michigan. Regional food banks provide food for agencies such as food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in all of Michigan’s 83 counties. This year’s goal is to raise $650,000 and 300,000 pounds of food, which would help secure 3.4 million meals for hungry people in Michigan.

 


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Categories : Michigan, Press Releases