Zeus’ Coney Island – Lansing

9 01 2009
  • 6525 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-7900
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

Zeus' Coney Island on Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing

On our first day in Lansing when we were apartment hunting, the first restaurant we saw after getting off of I-96 was Zeus’ Coney Island on Pennsylvania Avenue.  At that time, I had no idea what a Coney Island restaurant was and wondered why a Greek restaurant had a name I associated with New York City.

For ten months now, J and I have been saying we need to go to Zeus’.  The parking lot is always packed and a couple of her co-workers are regulars at the Greek diner.  After what seems like several days of snow, we finally decided to give it a shot.  You see, I have the four wheel drive, so when it snows, I usually end up taking J back to work after her dinner break.  When it really snows, I take her at the start of her shift.  Instead of making four trips back and forth, we just end up going out to dinner instead of coming home for dinner.  When I dropped her off, I didn’t know the snow was going to taper off by 7:00, so I said I wanted to stay on this side of town.  J suggested Zeus’ and I didn’t argue.

Zeus’ Coney Island sits on Pennsylvania between Cedar Street and the I-96 ramps.  It’s one of two restaurants owned by the same people.  The other is in Brighton.  There’s no way you can head down Pennsylvania and not see it.  The building looks like an old Wendy’s or some other type of fast food.  There are two huge signs that stick to the simple color palette of the Greek flag.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Coney Island, Diner, greek, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Merry Ann’s Diner – Downtown Champaign, IL

29 12 2008
  • 1 E. Main Street
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 531-1160
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Merry Anns Diner in downtown Champaign, IL

Merry Ann's Diner in downtown Champaign, IL

5:30 AM is still too early for me.  I was up at this ungodly hour because I had to be in Champaign by 7:00 AM for a basketball game.  My parents live a little over an hour away, so the alarm was set for just before 5:30.  Since the game was at 1:00, it meant lunch was actually going to be breakfast, so on my way in to town, I started scouting out breakfast joints.  I wasn’t having much luck until I had to detour off of Neil Street (the main artery of Champaign and the road that runs through downtown) because of construction.  I turned down Main Street and like a golden beacon, a simple sign that said “diner” jumped out and I found my breakfast spot.

Merry Ann’s Diner is located in the One Main building which is a development companies’ prototype for downtown buildings.  I know they also built a “One Main” in Normal, IL near Illinois State University even though the street is not Main Street.  The “One Main” name comes from the address of this original building. 

I was not aware that there was a second Merry Ann’s in Champaign.  I had eaten at the location farther down on the corner of Neil and Kirby Streets near the University of Illinois (review HERE).  I was surprised when I actually saw the name of the diner on Main was Merry Ann’s.

I got back downtown just before 10:00.  The diner isn’t very big and it’s set up pretty much the same was as the diner on Neil Street.  Most of the booths but up to the “kitchen” with little cutouts for the waitress.  This way, the waitress never has to go out into the dining room….unless you happen to be sitting at the two or three tables near the door which are separated from the counter.  The diner is setup with a row of booths, a lunch counter, and another row of booths.  When I walked in, I wasn’t sure there was any available space.  All of the booths looked full.  I thought maybe there was one down at the end, so I started walking that way.  That’s when I noticed the stools at the counter, so I just sat down there. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Big Ten Tour, breakfast, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Diner, Downtown, Restaurant, Reviews

Hometown Diner

22 10 2008
  • 1040 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 372-5535
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Hometown Diner on Pennsylvania near I-474 in Lansing

Hometown Diner on Pennsylvania near I-496 in Lansing

J took one more day off after we got back in Michigan just so we could relax after a long weekend of traveling.  We were woke up fairly early for us by a phone call and neither of us could fall back asleep.  After going to the Potter Park Zoo during the “Be A Tourist In Your Own Hometown Event” we kept saying we needed to walk the River Trail.  We noticed it from the zoo, but we never made an effort to actually go for a walk.  Since we had such a bad weekend eating (I had four pizzas), I suggested we go for a walk.  Since it was about lunch time, J said we should eat first.

I had been reading reviews about a diner on Pennsylvania near the Zoo so that’s where I decided to to go for lunch.

The Hometown Diner sits on Pennsylvania across from the BWL in an old Sparty’s Coney Island.  It shares a building and parking lot with a Mexican grocery store.  We parked near the back of the lot and walked in to find a small diner with seating for just over a hundred.  We showed ourselves to a table in the middle of the room.  The layout is pretty common for small diners.  Booths line the walls with tables in the middle.  There’s a lunch counter near the front of the space and the kitchen is open so you can see the cook preparing your meal.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Diner, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Blue’s Cafe – Kankakee, IL

3 10 2008
  • 1190 W. Station St.
  • Kankakee, IL 60901
  • (815) 933-5315
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Blues Cafe on Station Street in Kankakee, IL

Blue's Cafe on Station Street in Kankakee, IL

If you watch ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson, Blue’s Cafe is a place you may actually heard of.  A few weeks ago (September 18 to be exact) Barbara Pinto showed up in Kankakee to do a Wall Street vs. Main St. story.  Blue’s Cafe was one of the places she visited to get the “regular Joe” insight into the financial crisis.

Blue’s Cafe is a spot that many people in the area automatically suggest when I ask for a local restaurant.  According to my brother, the food is ok, but the pie is to die for.  As I was waiting with my family for my niece to be born, my aunt mentioned she was hungry and hadn’t eaten all day.  Since I’m always hungry, I offered to go to “lupper” (the meal between lunch and supper) with her.  Since everybody always suggests it, I said “How about Blue’s?”

Blue’s Cafe is located on Station Street not far from the hospital.  It’s a very plain building with an old sign out front adorned with an old Pepsi logo and the words “Blue’s Cafe.”  Since we got there at such a wierd time, the dining room was fairly empty.  There are two dining rooms that probably used to be the smoking and non-smoking section before Illinois got smart and banned smoking in public places.  There’s also a lunch counter near the kitchen in the first dining room. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Diner, Illinois, Kankakee, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

Mike’s Village Restaurant

30 07 2008
  • 115 N. Bridge St.
  • Dimondale, MI 48821
  • (517) 646-6804
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Mikes Village Restaurant in downtown Dimondale

Mike's Village Restaurant in downtown Dimondale

I’m not sure how I first heard about Mike’s.  I’m pretty sure I saw a recommendation posted a couple years ago on Chowhound.  When we were at the farmer’s market at the State Capitol last week, I heard a lady advertising the Dimondale Farmer’s Market.  When someone asked her where it was, she said, “Across from the restaurant.  You know, Mike’s.”  From that comment, it sounded like it’s one of those places that everyone in the area knows about. 

We made our weekly trip to Horrock’s and Wal-Mart.  Like most of the trips, it was around lunchtime.  Dimondale is sort of on the way home so we started heading that way.  I didn’t grab an address, but I told my girlfriend to put the city center of Dimondal in the GPS.  I had a sneaking suspicion that it would get us to the right place.  Once we turned on Bridge St., we actually found quite a few restaurants which was a little surprising for such a small town.

Mike’s Village Restaurant wasn’t quite what I was expecting.  What I was expecting was a fairly good size family restaurant.  What we found was a somewhat small family diner.  The green awning out front let us know we were in the right place.  Mike’s is probably a turn of the century store front.  The entry way is up a couple steps and has an old, heavy, wooden door that pushes in to open. I tried to pull and couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t open.  Once I figured it out, I went in first and went to pass the weight of the door back to my girlfriend.  Instead, it closed in a hurry and almost smashed her.  Neither of us were expecting that and now I feel bad.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Dimondale, Diner, Downtown, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Dalmation Firehouse Grill

21 05 2008
  • 1107 S. Washington Ave.Dalmation Firehouse Grill
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 485-7877
  • No Known Website
  • No Menu Online

I got an e-mail from a reader over the weekend that suggested I try the Dalmation Firehouse Grill on my quest for the perfect burger.  Lance, the reader, called Dalmation’s burgers the “best in Lansing” and “amazing.”  With an endoresment like that, how could I pass?

Dalmation Firehouse Grill is located in REO Town next to the Cadillac Club.  It’s a small diner with a lunch counter and only six tables.  We stopped in for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon and the place was about half full.  The waitress came over for drink orders while we looked over the menu.  They’re only open for breakfast and lunch.  They switch over to the lunch menu at 11 am.  The waitress came back with our Pepsi’s and we were ready to order.

My girlfriend went with the BLT.  The sandwich came piled with bacon, lettuce and a few slices of tomato on white toast with a light spreading of mayo.  The lunch baskets came with fries, a pickle spear and a brownie bite.  While her sandwich was filling, her complaint was the same as mine on the burger.  The bacon was really chewey and not very crispy.  A couple hours later, she said her stomach was rumbling.  She really prefers her bacon way overdone and crispy.  The structure of the sandwich was great as you really got a lot for your money and had the bacon been a little crispier, this would have been the perfect BLT.  The bread was buttered when it was toasted and she said that gave the sandwich even more flavor.  The fries were the out of the bag type and they mixed shoestring and crinkle cut fries for some reason.  They were crispy and cooked perfectly.  The brownie bite was a great addition to the meal for desert.  It wasn’t very big, but the flavor was huge.  It was very gooey, fudgy, and even had chocolate chips in it.

Since the burger was the reason we chose Dalmation Firehouse for lunch, that’s what I had to get.  They had a few different kinds of burgers on their menu, but I chose the bacon cheeseburger.  I finally got what I was looking for in flavor of the meat.  It was a classic diner burger.  It was juicy and cooked perfectly on the flattop.  The cheese was melted almost into the burger and it was topped with a ton of bacon.  Like I stated early, the bacon was really chewey.  The flavor of it was good, but it was hard to eat.  After biting into the sandwich, I had to rip the bacon with my teeth.  I really liked that they put an extra effort into the bun.  It wasn’t just the usual seasame seed bun.  This bun was soft and flaky.  They buttered the bottom of it then toasted it on the grill as well.  It makes for an extra layer of flavor that most places skip on.

The Dalmation Firehouse Grill is truly a neighborhood diner.  The small space makes it cozy and the staff seemed to know most of the people in there at the time.  A couple of the waitresses were sitting at the counter talking to a customer and our waitress was carrying on a conversation with two soldiers who were sitting behind us.  The grill is out in the open so you can watch you meal being cooked.  Thank you, Lance, for the recommendation.  I’m not sure I would have found this place on my own.  Is it the best burger in Lansing?  Well, it’s probably the best I had so far.  The individual components of the burger have by far been the best.  The bacon knocks off a lot of points, but the meat, cheese, and bun combo was incredibly tasty. 


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Categories : Burgers, Diner, Downtown, Lansing, Local Flavor, REO Town, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Merry Ann’s Diner (Campus Location)- Champaign, IL

19 05 2008
  • 1510 S. Neil St.Merry Ann's
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 352-5399
  • No Known Website
  • Menu (downtown Location)

So here’s the first of my reviews of dining in Big Ten communities (well, second if you count The Fleetwood Diner in Ann Arbor).  I was in Champaign for the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship.  When I lived in Peoria, I would end up in Champaign quite often for work.  When we had an early call time, I would pretty much always be put up in the Hilton Garden Inn on Neil St.  From the hotel, I always saw this little diner called Merry Ann’s.  For the most part, I needed to get to bed and didn’t have time to grab a bite to eat, so I kept passing this place up.  Not this time.

I spent the weekend in town and I got off work at a fairly early time on Saturday.  I had eaten nothing but cold meat sandwiches supplied by University Dining Services for two days, so I needed something good and greasy.  I walked across Neil to get to Merry Ann’s.  There were only a couple guys sitting in a booth when I got there, so I grabbed a spot at the bar.  The set up is pretty interesting.  There is only one row of booths and the bar.  All the booths have a cut-out area on the kitchen side so the waitress never has to go out to the dining area.  Merry Ann’s is your typical 24-hour diner and the menu is too.  It’s filled with breakfast items, greasy burgers and they even have some after midnight “hangover” specials. 

The waitress brought me a Pepsi and asked if I needed a menu.  I glanced over it and right away, one thing jumped out.  The Horseshoe!  If you don’t know what a horsehoe is, check out my post on unique regional foods.  This is what I really miss about Central Illinois.  The flat top was right in front of me, so I was able to watch the cook grill the burger, fry the fries, toast the bread, and squeeze the cheese on.  I actually got quite a bit more than I expected.  The fries came piled on and the burger was a pretty good size.  The cheese, for being squeezed out of a bottle, was just what I wanted.  I devoured the “sandwich” in just a few minutes.  The waitress was actually a little surprised I finished so quickly, but I was really hungry. 

My bill was a little over $7, so with tip, I got out of there for ten bucks.  Merry Ann’s is a great asset to the University of Illinois’ campus.  Diner’s are getting rarer and Merry Ann’s has been there for 25 years this year.  I’ve drove by there on my way to Memorial Stadium on Saturday mornings and the place is usually pretty busy.  If your in town, hunt this place down…it’s on Neil and Kirby and two blocks from Assembly Hall and Memorial Stadium.


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Big Ten Tour, Burgers, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Diner, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews

Don’s Windmill Truckstop

27 04 2008
  • 7262 Lansing Rd.Don's Windmill Truckstop
  • Dimondale, MI 48821
  • (517) 646-6752
  • Website
  • No Menu Online
  • Don’s Windmill is now closed.  To see the place that replaced it,
    CLICK HERE

Don’s was a suggestion of one of my girlfriend’s co-workers.  We both like greasy spoons anyway and both have fond memories of truckstops from our pasts, so on our way to Horrock’s one Sunday, we took a little detour to Don’s.

The truckstop is exactly what you expect.  It’s kind of run down and not at all fine dining.  There’s a lunch counter with little coin operated TV’s then booths spread throughout the remaining space.  We just missed the breakfast buffet, so we showed ourselves to a booth in the non-smoking section and started looking over the menu while we waited for the waitress.

Don's Windmill TruckstopWe both got pop’s while we looked over the huge menu.  They do breakfast all day and offer some unique items like veal parmigana while making sure not to stray too far from what makes truck stop food great.  I ordered the Pepper Jack Cheeseburger.  The burger is a 1/3 lb frozen patty topped with a slice of pepper jack cheese served with coleslaw on the side and crinkle cut fries.  I don’t expect a whole lot when it comes to these types of places and I got exactly what I expected.  The meal was not great by any standard, but it was comforting and brought back memories of late night drunkeness in college.  There’s just something about a greasy diner burger and salt that’s comforting to me.

My girlfriend ordered the Gigantic Grilled Cheese sandwich.  Here’s a situation where Don’s went a little bit above expectations and served a grilled cheese with Texas Toast.  Like me, the memories of truck stops out west came rushing back.  She said her grilled cheese was delicious and appreciated the Texas Toast over regular bread.  Neither one of us really ate the cole slaw that came with the meal. It’s just one of those things your taught in the restaurant business….you never know when it was made.  She tried one bite just to see if it’d knock her socks off and it didn’t. The fries were a little soggy, but alright.  I salted them up pretty good.  Again, it’s truck stop food.  I wasn’t expecting anything great, but it was filling.

Our bill was just under $20 before tip.  Really, the food was good and exceeded expectations, but not worth that much.  The diner is open 24 hours and that’s what makes it appealing to me.  I love 24 hour places and will most likely be back to settle a late night craving.


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Categories : Dimondale, Diner, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Truck Stop

Penn Ave. Diner

16 04 2008
  • 6031 S. PennsylvaniaPenn Ave. Diner
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-0504
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

When you take the first letter from each word in the name of the Penn Ave. Diner, you get the word PAD.  The Penn Ave. Diner has taken that theme and ran with it.  As you walk into the restaurant, there’s a sign that says “Welcome to the PAD.”  Do you see where I’m going with this yet?  No?  Look at the picture to the right.  See anything there that jumps out at you?  Yeah.  It’s frogs.  Frogs everywhere.  The diner is painted green and adorned with stuffed frogs, ceramic frogs and anything else you can make a frog out of. 

Penn Ave. DinerI picked my girlfriend up at work and we took a quick dinner break at the PAD.  We walked in and waited for a waitress at the front counter.  The waitress came out and asked smoking or non-smoking.  We chose non-smoking which is a pretty small dining room in the front of the restaurant.  There’s a wall that seperates that space from the smoking section, but windows still allow the smoke to sneak through.  The non-smoking side of the dining room is actually pretty big.  I headed back that way to the restrooms and there were quite a few people back there enjoying their meals in the thick, smoky air.  Most of the patrons back there seemed to know each other as converstions extended beyond their own tables.

Dinner was what you expect at little family diners like this.  I chose the Penn Ave. Diner because I was in the mood for a greasy cheeseburger and fries, so that’s what I ordered.  Unfortunately, the sandwich didn’t come with fries.  It came with chips, so I had to order fries and they had to charge me extra.  The burger itself was really good for a diner burger.  They took a little extra time to toast the bun and the meat was a little bit better than a frozen patty.

My girlfriend went with comfort food too and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich.  Like me, she wanted fries instead of chips and added on the extra.  She took her first bite and the look on her face was enough to tell me the PAD passed when it comes to making comfort food.  Both her and my sandwich came with coleslaw as well as the chips.  I don’t really like coleslaw so I passed and my g/f only took a couple bites and didn’t say anything.

Penn Ave. DinerThe Penn Ave. Diner passed the test as a greasy spoon diner.  They didn’t really do anything that made them standout, but most people don’t go to a place like this for something super special.  The bill seemed to be a little high to me coming in at $15 before tip.  I’m sure it was the extra we had to pay for a fry cook to open a bag of fries and drop them in the oil.  It was a quick meal though as we were in and out in about 20 minutes.  The PAD has a unique design and food that satisfies, but doesn’t wow.


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Categories : Diner, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Fleetwood Diner – Ann Arbor

11 04 2008
  • 300 S Ashley St                                                                      Fleetwood Diner
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
    (734) 995-5502
  • Website
  • Menu

I’m gonna start by saying the Fleetwood Dine was a huge surprise. I was at the University of Michigan for work, so when it came time for lunch, I put the Fleetwood in my GPS and went looking for a neighborhood diner. What I found was this great little shack located just off downtown. I actually drove by it twice cussing at my GPS because I couldn’t find it. It was hidden behind a delivery truck.

I had eaten at the sister restaurant in Lansing and was expecting the same thing. The food was the same, but the atmosphere was totally different. The size is ridiculous. In the entire restaurant, there are 6 tables and less than10 stools at the counter.

I was by myself, so took a seat at the counter and the waitress asked if I needed a menu. I did, but I really didn’t. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a coke. It took about 10 minutes for the lone cook working the flattop just on the other side of the counter to send my order up. The waitress got sidetrack with some punks who came in wanting to start trouble, but still was able to not neglect her other customers.

My bill was a little over $7 and in less than a half hour, I had a decent meal. The burger was nothing special and the fries were out of the bag…it was classic diner grub in a truly classic…and unique diner.


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Ann Arbor, Big Ten Tour, Diner, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

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