The Peanut Barrel

19 08 2008
  • 521 E. Grand River Ave.
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-0608
  • Website
  • Menu
The Peanut Barrel on Grand River Ave. in East Lansing across the street from Michigan State University

The Peanut Barrel on Grand River Ave. in East Lansing across the street from Michigan State University

The Peanut Barrel is one of the restaurants that have been our list since we moved here.  One of our first weekends in Lansing, we went to check out East Lansing and MSU.  We walked by the Peanut Barrel and the patio area was full with a long wait, so we didn’t stop.  Every other time we’ve been down that way, the situation was the same, so we’ve always passed.  Those times were always weekends which makes sense.  Lots of students with families in town.  We finally made it to East Lansing on a Tuesday morning right before lunch and thought it would be the perfect time to try to get a seat outside. 

My girlfriend needed to go to the Secretary of State’s Office.  I asked her which one and she just said one near a restaurant we haven’t been to.  The Mason branch is the closest, but there’s not a lot of restaurants around there.  I thought I remembered seeing a branch in East Lansing and there are still a ton of restaurants in that area that we haven’t been to, so that’s where I went.  Like all trips to the SOS office, it never goes smoothly.  We had to drive all the way back home to get something and go back.  Same thing happened to me last time I went.  Why do they have to make it so damn hard? Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Downtown, East Lansing, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews

Bell’s Greek Pizza

3 08 2008
  • 1135 E. Grand River Ave.
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 332-0858
  • Website
  • Menu
Bells Greek Pizza on E. Grand River near the campus of Michigan State

Bell's Greek Pizza on E. Grand River near the campus of Michigan State

Bell’s Greek Pizza is what I missed by going to a small private school instead of a state school.  When it got late, the only thing we had was vending machines.  There was no late night pizza place.  Whenever I visited friends at the University of Illinois or Southern Illinois University, I made sure to push for pizza at 3 am after the bars closed. 

I went looking for this place a while ago when my dad and a friend were in town, but I didn’t go far enough down Grand River to find it.  My girlfriend came home from work one Friday night and said she was hungry.  I suggested pizza so we drove across town to campus just for pizza.  I had a few people suggest Bell’s on this blog before so I was kind of looking forward to it. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, East Lansing, Pizza, 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

The Vault Delicatessen

29 07 2008
  • 368 S. Jefferson St.
  • Mason, MI 48854
  • (517) 676-2696
  • Website
  • Menu
The Vault Delicatessen in downtown Mason across from the Ingham County Courthose

The Vault Delicatessen in downtown Mason across from the Ingham County Courthose

I don’t remember where I first heard about The Vault, but I always have a thing for old bank buildings turned into restaurants.  The Vault sits on the corner of Jefferson and Ash in downtown Mason just across from the Ingham County Courthouse.  My actual purpose for a trip to Mason was to go to Merindorf Meats (review HERE), but since I was going that way, I thought it was a good excuse to check out The Vault.

The Vault is much more than a place to pick up a sandwich for lunch.  Besides the deli case, they offer a wide variety of gourmet ingredients from Olive Oil to salts.  They also sell the La Brea bread they use to make their sandwiches.  Inside the old vault (the actual bank vault) is their wine room.  I’m not a huge wine person so nothing in there meant anything to me, but I did step in to check out.  When I turned to walk out, some stickers plastered along the frame caught my eye.  They were the lock cleaning stickers dating back to the early 1900’s. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Deli, Downtown, Mason, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

New Coffeehouse Coming to Downtown Lansing

27 07 2008
The Great Lakes Coffee and Chocolate Company building in Ann Arbor.

The Great Lakes Coffee and Chocolate Company building in Ann Arbor.

I noticed this a while ago while walking in front of the Stadium District building on Michigan Ave., but it didn’t click until I saw a job posting on craigslist this afternoon.  Next month, the Great Lakes Chocolate and Coffee Company will open their third store in downtown Lansing.  The shop got it’s start in Sturgis, MI and they’ve expanded to Ann Arbor and now Lansing.

They do three things.  Coffee, Chocolate, and Teas.  It’s nice to see some businesses starting to move into the Stadium District.  Even better that it’s a small, Michigan-based company…and it’s not a Starbucks.


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Categories : Coffee, Downtown, Food News, Lansing

Comerica Park

27 07 2008
  • 2100 Woodward Ave.
  • Detroit, MI 48201
  • (313) 962-4000
  • Website
The view from our seats at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.

The view from our seats at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.

I don’t even know what to say.  WOW!  I cannot tell you how impressed I was with Comerica Park.  I don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to Major League ballparks.  Comiskey Park, US Cellular Field, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, and Busch Stadium are the only ballparks I’ve been to.  Comerica makes The Cell look like that sh*thole where the Cubs play. 

When my girlfriend and I first moved to Lansing, one of the first thing we did was check the Tigers schedule to see when our White Sox were in town.  Luck has it, they were here the first weekend we were.  Since we were still working out moving expenses, going to Detroit our first weekend here probably wouldn’t have been a good idea.  A few weeks ago, I noticed the Sox were in town again.  I got on StubHub to see what I could get for tickets and picked up two right field bleacher seats.  Since I bought the tickets two weeks ago, we’ve both been jacked about going to the game.

We parked near Greektown and walked to the park.  We ended up between Comerica and Ford Field which was a good spot since our seats were in the outfield.  We handed over our tickets and walked in and immediately both of us were in awe.  What a beautiful park.  I snapped a few pictures from left field then we went to make a lap around and see what else CoPa had to offer. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Detroit, Downtown, Entertainment Venues, Michigan, Reviews

Buy Fresh, Buy Local – Select Michigan Farmer’s Market

24 07 2008
Shoppers looking for deals at the farmers market at the State Capitol

Shoppers looking for deals at the farmer's market at the State Capitol

I know it’s hard to believe but I actually got my butt out of bed this morning so we could make our way to the State Capitol for the farmer’s market.  We parked along Michigan near the roundabout and headed towards the Capitol.  I was really surprised at just how many people had already started checking out the booths at just a little after ten o’clock.

The sidewalks on the east lawn were lined with pop-up tents full of flowers, produce, fish, herbs, cookies, and much more.  One of the first place we stopped had zucchini and squash 3 for $1.  I just picked up a pasta recipe that uses both of those, so my girlfriend snuck through the crowd and grabbed a few.  As she was paying, she also noticed pints of Traverse City Cherries.  After handing me the bag of zucchini, she went back for cherries. 

The next stop was for me.  The thing I love about farmer’s markets is fresh herbs.  I’ve tried growing my own, but I get impatient and I usually end up killing the plants.  I’d rather just spend a couple bucks and buy small bunches as I need them.  I picked up a bunch of basil and oregano for a couple meals next week.  I love the smell of fresh basil and it made the car smell good the rest of the day. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, Farmer's Market, Food News, Lansing

Spotted Dog Cafe

24 07 2008
  • 221 S. Washington Sq.
  • Lansing, MI 48933
  • (517) 485-7574
  • Website
  • Menu
The Spotted Dog Cafe on Washington Sq. in Downtown Lansing

The Spotted Dog Cafe on Washington Sq. in Downtown Lansing

As my girlfriend said, the Spotted Dog Cafe is more her kind of place than mine.  We made our way downtown to check out the Farmer’s Market at the State Capitol and decided to stay downtown for lunch.  We were parked on Michigan Ave. just past the roundabout so we left the car and went for a walk.  We’ve walked by Spotted Dog before, but usually on a Saturday when they’re not open.  I wasn’t in the mood for a burger or anything heavy and I figured a deli sandwich would be much better.

We walked in right about opening time so the place was pretty empty.  There were a couple people behind the counter.  The first asked what my girlfriend wanted.  She went with the summer salad which she said reminded her of the two years she spent in Idaho.  The mixed greens were topped with dried cherries, blueberries, shredded cheese, walnuts, and apples with a peppercorn dressing.  She it was refreshing and tasted like it came right out of the garden.  The large salad was more than enough for her. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Cafe, Downtown, Lansing, Reviews, Sandwiches

Olde Peninsula Brew Pub

20 07 2008
  • 200 E. Michigan Ave.
  • Kalamazoo, MI 49007
  • (269) 343-2739
  • Website
  • Menu
The sign for Olde Peninsula Brew Pub in downtown Kalamazoo

The sign for Olde Peninsula Brew Pub in downtown Kalamazoo

After a weekend in Chicago, I had to drop my girlfriend off in Kalamazoo for work.  Before we parted ways for the afternoon, we thought it’d be nice to check out what Kalamazoo has to offer in terms of restaurants.  I saw a recommendation for Olde Peninsula on chow.com, so that’s what I went looking for.

Olde Peninsula is located on the corner of Michigan and Portage in what used to be known as the Big Corner.  The first brew pub opened on St. Patrick’s day in 1896.  The current incarnation opened after the 1980 tornado that almost destroyed the building.  We walked into the building and found the hostess station near the door as an extension of the bar.  The building is divided into two dining rooms.  The smoking section also has the bar.  The distillers are visible through a glass wall opposite the bar.  The non-smoking section is divided by a wall that serves as the bar’s back wall.  We were seated in a booth which was on a raised platform on this back wall.

The waitress came over for drinks and we stopped her from leaving to place our order right away.  While there were several options that looked good, we were both in the mood for our usual sandwiches.  I went with the Olde Smokey burger.  The 1/2 lb burger was topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and a bbq sauce.  The sandwich is served with a side of beer-battered fries.  The sandwich was big.  I had a hard time getting it in my mouth.  The bacon was nice and crispy and the burger was just slightly pink which lended itself to a good flavor.  I didn’t really notice the bbq sauce until the last couple bites where it had soaked into the bun.  The fries were interesting.  Beer-batterd fries aren’t usually my favorite, but the breading was not overpowering which made these better than normal. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Brew Pub, Burgers, Downtown, Kalamazoo, Local Flavor, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews

Press Release – Jimmy Johns to Celebrate Grand Opening Downtown

17 07 2008

Got a press release from the Mayor’s office announcing the grand opening of a new Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches on Washington Square in downtown Lansing.  It’ll be the first in Lansing proper, but the fourth in the metro area. 

Jimmy John’s is another chain that got it’s start in Illinois near the University of Illinois in Champaign.  The expansion took place in central Illinois where I lived so I’ve been around them from almost the beginning.  Never been much of fan.  In my opinion, they don’t do anything that Subway doesn’t do better.  Some people love Jimmy John’s, but I’m not one of them.

 

(LANSING) – Representatives of Mayor Virg Bernero’s office and the Lansing Economic Development Corporation will be on hand tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. for the grand opening of the new Jimmy Johns Sandwich Shop located at 134 South Washington Square in downtown Lansing. The grand opening event will include special $1 sandwiches and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

WHO: Lansing City Officials and Jimmy Johns Sandwich Shop Representatives

WHAT: Jimmy Johns Sandwich Shop Grand Opening

WHERE: 134 S. Washington Square

WHEN: Friday, July 18 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.


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Categories : Chains, Downtown, Food News, Lansing

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