Geovanti’s Bar & Grill – Champaign, IL

21 03 2009
  • 401 E. Green Street
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 344-4600
  • Website
  • Menu
Geovantis Bar & Grill on Green Street near the campus of the University of Illinois

Geovanti's Bar & Grill on Green Street near the campus of the University of Illinois

It’s no secret that the one food I crave when I go home is the Italian beef.  It just doesn’t exist in Mid-Michigan.  While it’s obvious you can find the sandwich in Chicago, most people don’t realize there are a handful of places downstate that offer the sandwich.  They’re usually a Chicago-style place that specializes in sandwiches and pizza.  Lucky for me, there was not one, but two places right down the street from Huff Hall where I happened to be working.

Geovanti’s Bar and Grill is on the corner of Green and 4th Streets.  Think of Green Street like Grand River Avenue.  It’s right in the middle of a lot of off campus housing and it’s a short walk from campus of the U of I.  There are a number of bars and restaurants on a four block stretch of road.

I walked in to Geovanti’s just as they were opening at 11:00 AM.  There are two entrances.  There’s the entrance on Green, but there’s also an alley entrance.  I was on the phone and not paying attention, so I walked around to the front entrance.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Huff Hall – Champaign, IL

21 03 2009
  • 1206 S. 4th Street
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 244-9755
  • Website
Huff Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois set up for gymnastics

Huff Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois set up for gymnastics

Even if you’ve never been to the University of Illinois and you’ve never heard of Huff Hall, you are quite familiar with a term that was coined during the days when the IHSA boys state basketball championships played in the gym.  It’s actually pretty fitting that I’m writing about this right now.  The term “March Madness” is a term that was trademarked by the IHSA after a court battle that also gave the NCAA a right to trademark the term.  The IHSA still claims to have invented the term and they own the sole trademark to the phrase “America’s Original March Madness” which is how they bill their tournament these days

The phrase “March Madness” was first used in 1939 to describe the state basketball championships that were held at Huff Gymnasium.  The layout and design of the building made it loud and when the place was full, it was deafening.  If you’ve ever watched an IHSA small schools game, you know how loud it can get.

Huff Hall was built in 1925 as a multi-purpose gymnasium named after George Huff who was the school’s athletic director from 1895 to 1935.  It’s a 4,500 seat arena with a permanent upper deck and retractable bleachers in the lower area.  Like Michigan State’s Jenison Fieldhouse, Huff Hall is the home of the U of I’s volleyball, wrestling,  and gymnastics teams. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Entertainment Venues, Illinois, Live Entertainment

Press Release – Lugnuts Stimulus Plan

21 03 2009

From a Lugnuts press release…

Lugnuts Announce Food Stimulus Plan

LANSING, Mich. – The Lansing Lugnuts announced an answer on Friday to the worsening status of the national economy, rolling out the Lugnuts Food Stimulus Plan for the 2009 season.

The Lugnuts Food Stimulus Plan comprises new Dollar Dog Tuesdays, new Kids Eat Free on Sundays, new Oldsmobile Park Value Meals and the popular Labatt Blue Light Thirsty Thursdays.

“These are challenging times for Michiganders,” said Lansing Lugnuts Co-Owner Sherrie Myers.  “Our Lugnuts Food Stimulus Plan will make it easier for our fans to step up to the plate.  We’re especially excited about Dollar Dog Tuesdays and Kids Eat Free on Sundays.” Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan, Press Releases

Pizza Papalis – Southfield

20 03 2009
  • 23703 Greenfield Road
  • Southfield, MI 48705
  • (248) 552-7272
  • Website
  • Menu
The Pizza Papalis in Southfield on Greenfield Road

The Pizza Papalis in Southfield on Greenfield Road

I was sort of waiting for my first Pizza Papalis experience to be with my pizza loving dad before a Tigers game.  The Greektown location was on the many places suggested to us last summer when J and I went to see our White Sox beat up on the Tigers.  We passed, but we shouldn’t have.  We keep saying, next time we’re in Detroit.  I’ve got six tickets to a Tigers game in July and I was expecting to take my family there.   I probably still will…especially after sampling their pie today.
I was working in Southfield and the company I work for always buys lunch and usually buys pizza.  I was really pumped when I walked in to the conference room to see boxes from Pizza Papalis.

If you’re from the Detroit area, you already know all you need to know about the Metro Detroit chain.  Being from Chicago, I hold all pizzas that claim to be “Chicago Style” to a very high standard. 

There are a number of locations in the Detroit area.  The closest one to our job site was the Southfield location on Greenfield Road.  It’s located in a small strip mall with a Kroger and a CVS.  I didn’t go inside, but from the parking lot, it looked to be a pretty large store with plenty of seating.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Local Flavor, Michigan, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews, Southfield

Nuthouse Sports Grill – Revisited

19 03 2009
The Nuthouse Sports Grill on Michigan Avenue in downtown Lansing.

The Nuthouse Sports Grill on Michigan Avenue in downtown Lansing.

Over the last few weeks, you’ve heard me talking about “one year.”  Today is actually an anniversary.  It was one year ago today that J and I were in town for the first time together.  She had flown in for an interview back in February, but it wasn’t until March 17 that she was actually offered a job.  She and I were in Chicago because we had just gotten back from Bristol, TN and decided to take a few more vacation days.  While we were at her parents, she got the phone call offering her the job.  Since we were two hours closer, we thought we’d best take a trip to our new home to find an apartment.

After signing a lease, we needed to find lunch before that long drive back to Peoria.  We had been on the road all weekend.   We actually slept in a different state every night for five straight nights.  Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan.  It was kind of a whirlwind weekend topped off by my brother announcing he and his wife were having my parents first grandchild followed by me announcing I was moving with my girlfriend to Michigan.  We ran the gamut of emotions.  Before I started dating J, I never expected to leave Peoria.  I was happy enough with my job.  I didn’t love it, but it paid the bills and I don’t like moving.  J had an opportunity come up here that we couldn’t pass up.  I didn’t want to be five hours away and my career was going nowhere where I was at, so it was time for a change. 

We drove downtown that first day looking for something to eat.  The first thing that jumped out was a sports bar across the street from Oldsmobile Park.  We both like sports bars so after a few more minutes of exploring, we headed back to the Nuthouse. 

Since I’m going to be working a lot over the next month, I wanted to do something special for J.  I told her I was taking her out for dinner, but I didn’t tell her where until I parked the car.  I think she was surprised as I was that I actually remembered the date. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Downtown, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar

Cereal Festival Cancelled

19 03 2009

Another sign of the times….but at least something good is coming out of it.

The City of Battle Creek has decided that there will be no Cereal Festival in 2009.

 The Battle Creek Festival Advisory Board announced the decision Thursday afternoon, saying that the decision was made so that the signature festival can be fully evaluated to best determine how to re-energize the festival in coming years.

[snip]

Since the Cereal Fest and its signature world’s longest breakfast table on hiatus, Kellogg Company, Post and RalCorp have pledged that they will donate the product that would have gone to the event to the Food Bank of South Central Michigan. The combined donations will provide nearly 115,000 servings to local residents.


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Categories : Food News, Michigan

Press Release – CSA’s Take on Smoking Ban Hearings

18 03 2009

From a Campaign for Smoke Free Air press release….

Advocates make their case about need for smokefree
legislation before House committee
Multiple hearings planned throughout March

Lansing, Mich. – Advocates for smokefree workplaces made their case today before the House
Regulatory Reform Committee when they testified on smokefree legislation and urged its
immediate passage. Multiple bills have been introduced and referred to the house committee,
which began a series of hearings this week.

The Campaign for Smokefree Air (CSA) is continuing to work with lawmakers in the House and
Senate to make Michigan the 36th state to embrace smokefree air and protect all workers from
exposure to the dangerous toxins in secondhand smoke. Thirty-five other states have statewide
smokefree workplace policies and more than half of Americans now live in a city or state with
smokefree workplace protection laws.

“This hearing is a step in the right direction in the fight for smokefree air in Michigan,” said Judy
Stewart, campaign manger for CSA. “Lawmakers need to listen to their constituents’ persistent
demands for smokefree air and pass comprehensive, statewide legislation.”
The House Regulatory Reform Committee today listened as lawmakers, doctors, business
owners and victims of secondhand smoke gave their testimonies on why Michigan should go
smokefree. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Michigan, Politics

Soup to Nutz Bistro & Custom Catering

18 03 2009
  • 123 Kalamazoo Street
  • Lansing, MI 48933
  • (517) 485-0955
  • Website
  • Menu
Soup to Nutz Bistro & Catering on Kalamazoo Street in Lansing.

Soup to Nutz Bistro & Custom Catering on Kalamazoo Street in Lansing.

I guess you could say the third time really is the charm.  J and I have tried to eat at Soup to Nutz a couple times in the past only to run into problems.  The first time was on a Saturday after waiting in line for tickets to see Obama speak.  We didn’t realize they weren’t open on Saturday.  The second was during the week.  We wanted to go for breakfast, but we got there at 9:30 and they don’t open until 10:30.  When we got back, we found they don’t do brunch during the week.  At that point, we gave up.  The only day they do brunch is Sunday and we spend most Sunday’s on the couch watching NASCAR. 

After we went to Golden Harvest this past Sunday, a commentor suggested we try Soup to Nutz.  That got me looking at their website again.  I looked at brunch first, but then I got curious about lunch.  J and I are really lunch people and their menu looked perfect.  J got up early to get her taxes done and when she got home, she suggested heading downtown for lunch.

Soup to Nutz Bistro is located on Kalamazoo Street near Washington Square.  There are actually two entrances which can be a little confusing.  The sign is actually above the catering side of the business.  If you go in there, you’re basically walking in to the kitchen.  The other door is the one that enters the dining room.  There’s no sign marking it as an entrance, but you can see tables and others dining as well as a special board in the window.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Cafe, Downtown, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Press Release – Small Business Testifies Against Smoking Ban

18 03 2009

I got the following press release from the Michigan Licensed Beverage assocation in regards to this morning’s committee hearing regarding the smoking ban.  I don’t agree with it and there’s no proof that this has happened anywhere else, but it’s the case they’re trying to make.  Again, I can give you names of owners that were against a smoking ban in other states only to find out business was BETTER after it was enacted.

Small Business Advocates Testify

to Save Michigan Jobs

 

Bar owners fight to survive Michigan economy

 

LANSING, Mich. — Legislators are putting hundreds of small businesses and thousands of jobs at risk with the threat of a statewide smoking ban, members of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association (MLBA) told the House Regulatory Reform Committee today.  The MLBA urged lawmakers to protect small businesses across the state by voting against a statewide smoking ban.

            “A statewide smoking ban is a ban on thousands of Michigan jobs,” said Lance Binoniemi, executive director of the Michigan Licensed and Beverage Association. “Given Michigan’s dire economy, any unnecessary regulations on small businesses are downright economically irresponsible.”

Binoniemi and MLBA members – Rick Roberson, owner of Angelo’s & Riccardo’s in Hesperia; Rick Swindlehurst, owner of  the Blue Gator Sports Pub and Grill and Cheers Neighborhood Grill & Bar in Mount Pleasant; Dave Munson, owner or the Summer Trail Inn in Standish; and Kassandra Renneberg, owner of the Riverdale Tavern in Riverdale Michigan – made the case that forcing Michigan businesses to compete with American Indian-owned casinos that would be exempt from any state-sanctioned smoking ban, would directly put hundreds of Michigan businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Michigan currently has more than 750 businesses surrounding its American Indian-owned casinos.

 “Enacting a statewide smoking ban will gamble away thousands of Michigan jobs,” said Michael Batterbee, director of government relations for the Small Business Association of Michigan.  

“With the highest unemployment rate in the nation, now is not the time to put a single Michigan job at risk.”

More than 5,500 businesses in Michigan’s hospitality industry have already made the decision to go smoke-free and the number keeps growing. The hospitality industry is Michigan’s second largest employer, providing thousands of food-service careers and millions of dollars in payroll and business taxes to the state.

 “All businesses are not the same. If a business owner has built a clientele that chooses to smoke, they should be able to serve that customer base they have worked so hard to obtain.” said Binoniemi. “Lawmakers have a serious responsibility to struggling business owners all over the state to ensure they are able to keep their business – and Michigan – competitive.”


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Categories : Michigan, Politics

Smoking Ban To Come Up this Week

16 03 2009

I was pointed toward an article in the Grand Rapids Press about the smoking ban.  The article focused on the new faces from West Michigan and what their opinions on a ban are.  The important information from the article is that the ban is expected to be brought up in committee on Wednesday.

This paragraph still bothers me.

Detroit casino operations have said they need the ban to be able to compete with Indian casinos that allow smoking. Specialty tobacco shops and cigar bars say the ban would put them out of business.

I agree with tobacco shops and cigar bars.  If anyone is to be exempted it should be then.  I’m not in favor of a casino exemption.  It’s my understanding Detroit was licensed for casinos AFTER the casino in Windsor was proposed.  By that logic, Windsor would be the competition for the Detroit casinos, not the Indian casinos.  Windsor is smoke free.  If the Detroit casinos, which were built in response to the Windsor casino, not the Indian casinos, ban smoking, all it would do is put them back on a level playing field with Windsor.   I would have to think that a majority of Detroit’s clientele comes from the Detroit metro area…I have no factual basis for that assumption, so I could be totally wrong.

In the comments section of that article, there was actually a somewhat plausible idea.  I still don’t like it, but would be more in favor it.

How about licensing smoking areas?? The exact same thing as a liquor license, except forbidding minors on the premises of a smoking establishment?

That would still take smoking out of most restaurants.  It wouldn’t work for all places because I know there’d still be some places that would willing to give up what little family business they do. 

Anyway, stay tuned.  I’ll try to keep an eye on things this week and see what gets kicked out of committee if anything at all.


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Categories : Michigan, Politics

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