Subway – Holt

20 01 2009
  • 2375 Cedar St. #F
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-4414
  • Website
  • Menu
The Subway on Cedar Street in Holt.

The Subway on Cedar Street in Holt.

Happy Inauguration Day!  I slept right up until the time President Obama took the oath, but J got up “early” so she wouldn’t miss anything.  That’s why I bought a TIVO five years ago.  Obama wasn’t my choice for President, but I do have a little bit of history with the man so it was neat to see.  When I worked and a TV news photographer in Peoria, there was an unknown state senator from Chicago with a funny name who was an underdog for the US Senate seat being vacated by Peter Fitzgerald.  We spent a lot of time covering front runners Blair Hull and Dan Hynes.  Then, something happened.  Blair Hull’s nasty divorce got brought into the race and this unknown made a huge surge.  Barack Obama won his party’s nomination.  Still, he was the underdog against Republican Jack Ryan.  Well, wouldn’t you know it.  Jack Ryan’s messy divorce got drug into the race and he eventually dropped out leaving Barack Obama with no Republican opponent. 

It was during this time I got sent to the small town of Canton, IL in Fulton County.  Barack Obama was stumping at the Fulton County Democratic Headquarters.  The room was packed.  There was probably fifty people jammed into a room that held thirty.  I was jammed into the corner with my big camera near the podium.  After the speech, the future President put his hand on my back, thanked me for coming, and asked if I needed an interview.   At that time, I declined because I had the sound I needed.  I look back now and kick myself.  Then, it was no big deal.  I had interviewed hundreds of politicians at the state and federal level.  It just wasn’t a big deal.  I just wanted to go grab dinner and head back to Peoria…a thirty minute drive.

That wasn’t the first time or the last time I covered a story about Barack Obama, but after his speech at the 2004 DNC, everything changed.  He became a rock star and events now started drawing hunderds and media availability dwindled. 

On February 10, 2007, I stood on a riser between reporters from ABC and CNN in front of the old State Capitol in Springfield, IL when Barack Obama announced his run for the presidency.  I was working for the Obama campaign as a freelance camera operator.  I was hired by a production company (not the actual campaign) to run the main camera for the pool feed that was being fed all over the world.  I think it was then that it hit me what was happening. 

Here it is, five years after that meeting in Canton, and J and I are watching the same man being sworn in as our 44th President.  The swearing in went to just after noon.  As we sit on the couch watching Charlie Gibson, we realized we didn’t have anything to eat.  Not wanting to cook, J said she’d buy lunch if I’d drive.  I had been seeing commercials for Subway’s new flat bread and got curious.  We always forget there’s a Subway just around the corner in Holt, but today, I happened to remember.  J was on board so Subway it was. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Holt, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Houlihan’s Restaurant & Bar- Lansing

18 01 2009
  • 5732 W. Saginaw Highway
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 323-3550
  • Website
  • Menu
Houlihans Restaurant & Bar at the Lansing Mall

Houlihan's Restaurant & Bar at the Lansing Mall

Last time we were in Chicago, J’s step-dad suggested we go to Houlian’s for dinner.  Actually, he gave us the choice between Houlihan’s and Hackney’s in Palos Park.  I lobbied for Hackney’s since I knew we had a Houlihan’s in Lansing.  J and her mom agreed so we went to Hackney’s.

Today, J wanted to make a quick trip to Horrocks to get some apples for the week.  It was a little later in the afternoon and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet.  I was still pretty tired and didn’t feel like thinking or researching so I suggested we go to Houlihan’s at the Lansing Mall.  J didn’t argue, so that’s where we headed.

Houlihan’s is in the Lansing Mall near Macy’s.  There’s an entrance from outside the mall as well as inside.  We used the outside door and entered near the giant clock.  We were met by a hostess who showed us to a booth near the windows in the non-smoking section.  The decor wasn’t all that different from most chains.  It was more of an upscale feel when compared to something like Applebee’s, but again, the design was too clean and too perfect to not be a chain.   I hung my coat on one of the coat hooks attached to the booth and took a seat.  J mentioned she was surprised that she wasn’t cold sitting next to the windows like she had been at other restaurants recently.

The first thing we noticed were the menus.  The outside covers were a piece of tin.  Inside, the pages were inside plastic sheet covers.  The menu started with drinks.  There were quite a few pages.  I flipped through until I got to the food section.  I just wanted a Coke.  J got a pomegranite lemonade which she loved.  She said it was just a little tart and was sparkling.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

7-Eleven – S. Cicero, Oak Lawn, IL

5 01 2009
  • 10441 S. Cicero Ave.
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60453
  • (708) 636-4052
  • Website
7-Eleven on South Cicero Ave in Oak Lawn, IL

7-Eleven on South Cicero Ave in Oak Lawn, IL

I told you I had a new addiction to 7-Eleven.  J and I had to make a quick trip back to Chicago for an unplanned visit that I’m not going to get in to.  We were only there a day and a half, but we still had time to go out to dinner with her parents.  We went to Hackney’s in Palos Park (review HERE) which is a few miles from her parents.  On the way, we noticed a huge range of gas prices.  The stations along Cicero were all at $1.95, but a couple stations along 111th Street were still at $1.75, so after we got home, J and I jumped back in my truck and went to get gas.

I’m not usually one who runs after cheaper gas, but I was shocked that gas was as cheap in the Chicago area as it was in Lansing.  Usually, we’re 30 – 40 cents less than the suburbs which is 30 – 40 cents less than the City, so I didn’t want to miss out on the 20 cent savings. 

So, we filled up at Speedway and started heading home.  Oh sure, I could have just went inside at Speedway and got a frozen Coke, but I knew I was passing a 7-Eleven.  I had been a little grumpy all day and both J and I were exhausted, so I decided to do something nice and offered to stop for slurpees.  At first, she hesitated, but quickly changed her mind.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicago, Illinois, Oak Lawn

Chili’s Grill & Bar- Okemos

1 01 2009
  • 5055 Marsh Road
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 347-7188
  • Website
  • Menu
Chilis Southwestern Bar & Grill on Marsh Road in Okemos

Chili's Grill & Bar on Marsh Road in Okemos

Hey, why not start of the 2009 with a review of a chain restaurant?  J’s mom picked up a gift card for Chili’s for me for Christmas.  Just like Applebees (review HERE), I have never been to a Chili’s.  Growing up in the Kankakee (IL) area, there was no Chili’s and by the time I moved to Peoria, I was already on my “hunt out the local joints” kick, so I never took the time to actually eat at Chili’s.  J said she used to eat there all the time when she lived in Idaho Falls (ID) because they had great drinks and appetizers, so when I opened up the gift from her mom on Christmas and found a Chili’s gift card, J got excited that she was going to get to take me to what could maybe be called her favorite chain.

The Chili’s Grill & Bar in the Lansing metro is in Okemos adjacent to the Meridian Mall.  It sort of shares a parking lot with the Olive Garden. Our plan was to hit up Younkers at Meridian Mall then go to dinner, but we were too late for shopping as the mall must have closed at 6:00 and we arrived closer to 6:30.  Since we couldn’t go shopping, we just headed over to Chili’s for dinner. 

We were met inside by a hostess who I’m pretty sure punished us for picking non-smoking over smoking.  I was hoping to be seated where I could see the Rose Bowl game, but the only TV’s must have been in the smoking section which is basically the bar area.  Instead, she took us into a cramped dining room around the corner and sat us in a booth right next to the Chili’s To Go entrance.  The restaurant was not packed by any means so there was really no reason to put us at this table.  The table was fine, but it was right next to an outside door so every time someone came in or went out, we were also treated to the 20 degree weather outside.   Kind of ruins dinner when you have to eat with a coat on. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Burgers, Chains, Michigan, Okemos, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Southwestern

Culvers of Bourbonnais, IL

29 12 2008
  • 983 Convent St.
  • Bourbonnais, IL 60914
  • (815) 614-3638
  • Website
  • Menu
Culvers of Bourbonnais on Convent Street

Culvers of Bourbonnais on Convent Street

It’s always fun when you take people some place new.  J and I have been eating at Culvers for a few years and love the food..well, love it as far as fast food goes.  My family had only been to Culvers one other time when we lived in Morton, IL and they just got custard, so lunch was something new…and apparently confusing for them.

J and I were in Bradley because my brother wanted to take a family portrait for my mom for Christmas.  J and I couldn’t get back before Christmas so we did it the Saturday after.  The Sears portrait studio made a huge mistake and took a walk-in of 17 just before our scheduled 12:00 appointment.  It was 1:30 before we even got our pictures started and 2:30 before we got out of there.  By that time, everyone was starving.  Even though everyone was hungry, no one wanted to make a decision.  Everyone my mom asked, “What do you want to eat?” would reply “I don’t care.”  I don’t know what restaurants are in the Bradley/Bourbonnais/Kankakee area, so I left it up to them…even though no one wanted to make a decision.

Finally, someone said Culvers which has just opened within the last month.  My brother didn’t think it was a great idea because it has been packed since it opened.  I just got in the car and started driving.  I noticed it was being built when we were home for Thanksgiving so I knew where it was.  J and I were going to Culvers even if it was by ourselves at that point.  I just wanted food. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : bourbonnais, Burgers, Chains, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews

Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe – Chicago Ridge, IL

26 12 2008
  • 444 Chicago Ridge Mall #K11
  • Chicago Ridge, IL 60415
  • (708) 422-1219
  • Website
  • Menu
Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe at Chicago Ridge Mall

Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe at Chicago Ridge Mall

For the first time in pretty much ever, I went shopping both the day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas.  The same is true for J.  We only had a couple things to return, but we had some gift cards and wanted to get a few more Wii games and I needed to go to Carson’s (Younkers) to get a shirt for a family picture we have to take tomorrow.  The closest mall to J’s parents that isn’t the Ford City Mall is Westfield’s Chicago Ridge.

After taking care of things at Carson’s, we headed to the food court.  I needed a Pepsi bad and the vending machines only sold Coke.  I’ve been drinking a lot of Coke Zero lately, but I really needed a Pepsi.  I still have those bad cravings every now and then.  There was a Taco Bell in the food court and I knew they sold Pepsi, so that’s where I headed, but we got sidetracked when J and her mom noticed a new place open where the customer service kiosk used to be. 

Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe is a fairly new chain concept founded in 2006.  They have shops in seven states with the most locations being in California.  This particular location at the Chicago Ridge Mall sits near the entrance at the food court.  It’s a stand alone kiosk sort of in the middle of the of the dining area. 

The big draw is the dozens of gelato flavors in the case right up front.  Sure, they do panini’s and crepes, but I don’t think we even realized that until we were walking away.  All three of us zoned in on the gelato.  I wasn’t going to get anything, so I went on to Taco Bell to get my giant Pepsi and left J and her mom at Melt.  By the time I got back, they were trying to talk me into changing my mind. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicago, Chicago Ridge, Ice Cream, Illinois, Reviews

Fazoli’s – South Lansing

23 12 2008
  • 5705 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 394-0539
  • Website
  • Menu
Fazolis in South Lansing

Fazoli's in South Lansing....sorry about the focus...it was snowing really hard.

Looks like I can squeeze in one more Mid-Michigan review before Christmas.  I made it back to Lansing Monday morning at 3 AM after a 12 hour ride on an Amtrak that is only supposed to take 4 1/2 hours.  I’m not going to bitch as much as I want to, but let me just say, it was awful.  What makes it even more awful, is we’re supposed to hop on another train tomorrow morning to head back to Chicago.  We’re both a little stressed out wondering if we’re gonna make it home by Christmas. 

Since I’m just back in Lansing for a few days, we didn’t do any grocery shopping this week therefore, we have no food in the house.  Let me take that back, we have food, but it’s only to make cookies which I’ve been doing for two straight days now.  So, the only option was to eat out.  Last night, we hit up Steak ‘n Shake to take advantage of their 4 meals under $4 menu.  Tonight, it was Fazoli’s.

Strangely, my family has a history with Fazoli’s.  When I lived in Joliet, the only place, other than Chicken-n-Spice (review HERE), I took my parents to eat when they came to visit was Fazoli’s.  At that time, I had never heard of the chain and didn’t even realize it was a chain until I saw one on one of my “party visits” to the University of Illinois.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Fast Food, Italian, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Jewel-Osco – Kankakee, IL

20 12 2008
  • 446 S. Washington Ave
  • Kankakee, IL 60901
  • (815) 935-2040
  • Website
The Jewel-Osco store on Washington Avenue in Kankakee.

The Jewel-Osco store on Washington Avenue in Kankakee.

When you grow up in a small town, the closest supermarket isn’t always just around the corner.  In our case, the closest supermarket is a half hour away.  My family doesn’t have the luxury of deciding what they want for dinner then running to the store to get it.  I grew up in a time where there were no hypermarkets and supermarkets were a once a month trip.  The only one of those big chains that is still around today is Jewel-Osco.

Jewel-Osco started life and Jewel Food Stores and Osco Drugs.  Somewhere along the line, they merged to become Jewel-Osco.  The weird thing was, they were almost always in the same building and connected.  Osco was more like Walgreens with some items and Jewel did the food thing.  When other supermarkets started doing pharmacy’s along with some merchandise, Jewel and Osco just merged together.  I remember how this store used to be set up and it always seemed dumb.  There were two separate entrances and a hallway connecting the two stores, but you had to pay for each stores merchandise in their store.  Now, pretty much all Jewel-Osco stores are in the same building even though both brands usually have their own management teams and marketing identity. 

Jewel is pretty unique to Illinois although you can find stores in eastern Iowa and Northwest Indiana.  The homebase is in Melrose Park. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Illinois, Kankakee, Reviews

Max & Erma’s

14 12 2008
  • 2515 Lake Lansing Road
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 316-7477
  • Website
  • Menu
Max & Ermas near the Eastwoode Towne Centre in Lansing Township

Max & Erma's near the Eastwoode Towne Centre in Lansing Township

Another lazy Sunday.  J and I were laying on the couch watching a Fox News Channel special about corruption in Illinois.  We didn’t learn anything that we didn’t already, but it’s fun to see the rest of the country coming to the same conclusions we had five years ago about the current political situation in Illinois.  Neither of us were in much of a hurry to do anything, but my tummy was really growling.  I was hungry.  We needed to run a few errands, so we just decided to eat out.  I asked J what she wanted and she said a nice big salad with dried fruit, nuts, and cheese.  That really narrows it down.  Nothing was coming to mind.

I went to Google and typed in “Restaurants in Lansing, MI.”  I do that a lot for out of town meals because it gives you a list of all the restaurants in town.  I started clicking on website links figuring the chain restaurants would have what she was looking for.  I clicked on a couple and got a “yeah, those look ok” response.  When I clicked on Max & Erma’s I got a “YES!  That’s what I want!”  Off to Eastwoode.

Max & Erma’s is one of many chains located around Eastwoode Towne Centre.  Even though they have several locations throughout the country, I had never been to one nor had I ever seen one anywhere else.  J had never heard of it, so I didn’t go in with my preconceived notion that all chains are evil.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

Applebees – South Lansing

14 12 2008
  • 6270 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-8320
  • Website
  • Menu
Applebees on South Cedar Street in Lansing.

Applebee's on South Cedar Street in Lansing.

We got lazy.  After a brutal day in Novi, we crashed on the couch and watched a little TV just killing time until Saturday Night Live came on which we knew had a skit harpooning Rod Blagojevich.  Doing nothing made me hungry.  We didn’t have a lot of food in the house and neither of us wanted to get dressed up again to go out for dinner.  That made carry-out or delivery the top choice.  Neither of us had cash to tip a pizza delivery boy and for some reason we both thought of the same thing.  Applebees Carside-To-Go. 

Yeah, it’s a cookie-cutter chain that I can’t stand, but the prospect of not getting out of the car was what sold me on it.  We got on Applebees.com and I found a burger that sounded good.  J’s done the Carside-to-Go a few times at work and Applebees used to be a hangout for her and her friends when she lived out West, so she knew what she wanted.  I let her do the hard work and call in the order.  I hate talking on the phone.

After fifteen minutes or so, we paused America’s Funniest Videos and went to pick up our order.  The way Carside-to-Go works is you give the person taking your order a description of your car.  You then park in one of the designated spots and they see you on a closed-circuit video system.  An employee comes out with your food and you pay right there at the car.  Usually, they have a Wi-Fi credit card machine, but their system was down tonight, so the employee ran the card in and came back for a signature.  When we pulled in, our order was ready and our food was in our hands almost before I could get the window rolled down.  It went pretty quickly. Read the rest of this entry »


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

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