Samuel Mancino’s – Frandor

7 01 2010
  • 401B N. Clippert Street
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 351-7492
  • Website
  • Menu

I’ve blogged a few times in the past about how much I love grinder’s.  I’ve also gone over the whole spiel about my Mancino’s memories.  For those of you joining me at SWM-Dining, here’s the short story. 

Growing up, a new pizza joint moved in to Bourbonnais, Illinois near where I grew up.  My family, not being very adventurous, almost always ate at  fast food and chains…actually, this is something they still do.  Anyway, a shop called Mancino’s Pizza & Grinders opened up.  We ate there often.  All four of us were fans of these new toasted sandwiches.  When I moved to Peoria, there was a store called Bellacino’s…..that served the same menu.  Again, I ate there a few times and loved every minute of it.  When we moved to Lansing, we found more stores with the Mancino’s name on them.

Now, I’m going to be honest.  I’ve never been able to figure out if all them are connected or, if they are, how.  They all have the same name, the same food, and the same menu, but I cannot find one stinking website that lists all three cities.  Hell, all three stores have a different name.

Now, enter a fourth store under the Mancino’s name.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Michigan, Sandwiches

Taco Bell – Dunkel Road

1 01 2010
  • 3000 Dunkel Road
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 393-2800
  • Website
  • Menu

So, I must be on a quest to eat at every Taco Bell in Lansing or something.  I got out of work around 9:00 and headed to my hotel.  When I stay in Lansing, I almost always stay at the Red Roof Inn on Dunkel Road.  The closest restaurant is either Taco Bell or Subway.  Both are right down the street as part of the Sunoco gas station just off I-494.  I wanted something warm, so I chose Taco Bell.

Even though it was only 9:00, the counter was already closed.  If I wanted tacos, I would have to go through the drive thru.  In order to do that, you have to go all the way around the building.  I’ve documented many times why I hate drive thrus and this expereience was no difference. 

I pulled up to the speaker and waited.  The girl working started talking before she clicked the button, so I only heard half of what she said.  I just wanted tacos, so I clearly belted out my order of five crunchy tacos.  What I heard back was, “Nachos supreme?”  No, five crunchy tacos.  The second time, she got it and told me to pull around.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Fast Food, Lansing, Mexican, Restaurant, Reviews

Scalawags White Fish & Chips – S. Cedar

1 01 2010
  • 6260 S. Cedar Street
  • Suite A
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 394-7700
  • Website
  • Menu

I had a real hard time finding lunch.  It seems like everywhere I wanted to go decided to close.  My first attempt was Conrad’s College Town Grill.  Since the kids are on break, they weren’t opening until 7 PM.  My next attempt was Ramon’s, but they too were closed.  I was frustrated at this point and just started driving.  Somehow, I ended up in South Lansing near where we used to live.  I was just going to hop back on the Interstate and go find fast food or something back near MSU.  As I was making my way down Cedar, I noticed a new restaurant behind the Pizza Hut.  Yay!  New restaurant.

Scalawags White Fish & Chips is a small Northern Michigan chain.  They have three stores now in the Lansing area.  The newest location is on Cedar Street in the strip mall at the corner of Edgewood Boulevard.  It has to be a fairly new joint.  It wasn’t there when we moved from Lansing three months ago and there was no indication that anything was moving in to the space.

All of the other Scalawags locations have a pretty nice looking storefront.  The South Lansing location is in kind of a rundown strip mall.  They really stand out with the blue banner that boasts their logo and name that wraps around their corner of the building.  The inside of the store is actually pretty nice.  I don’t remember what was in the location before, but everything inside is new for Scalawags.  The feeling I got was sort of like dining on an old wooden fishing boat.  It was a pretty typical quick service restaurant set up.  There were booths and tables in the front of the store.  The small order counter was in the back. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicken, Fast Food, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Julie Joe’s

11 12 2009
  • 2515 E. Jolly Road
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 977-9415
  • Website
  • Menu

Well, I made it to Lansing.  It only took me about 45 minutes longer than it normally does.  I left quite a bit earlier than I needed to….just in case.  I got to Lansing about an hour before I needed to be there, so I went looking for lunch.

For quite some time, I’ve tried to stopping at Julie Joe’s on Jolly Road near the Dunkel Road intersection.  It seems like every time I try, it’s closed.  They close for three and a half hours between lunch and dinner during the week, they don’t open until five on Saturday, and they’re not open on Sunday.  It seems like every time I’ve pulled into the small strip mall, it’s been one of those times. 

This time, I made it in time for lunch, so I knew they would be open.  The previous business in this location was 2Fer’s.  I never made it there before it was closed, so I have no idea how much has changed.  Both on their website and on an insert in their carry-out menu, they make note of the fact that they used to be 2Fer’s.  I have no idea what that means or why, but since they make a point to mention, I thought I should to. 

The menu at Julie Joe’s is much larger than I expected.  As expected, they have tacos and pizza, but they also do deli sandwiches, salads, and soups.  The shop is not very big.  There are a couple tables, but I have a feeling not many people dine in.  There was a counter area that I assumed would be filled with pizza, but when I walked it up to it, there was no pizza.  They do have ads for pizza-by-the-slice at lunch time.  Not sure if they have it keeping warm somewhere else or how that works.  I wasn’t in to pizza, so I didn’t ask. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Mexican, Michigan, Pizza

Quality Dairy – St. Joseph Highway

23 11 2009
  • 6400 W. St. Joseph Highway
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 319-4124
  • Website

If you would have told me two years ago one of the things I would miss most about Lansing was Quality Dairy, I would have called you crazy.  From the outside, these stores look like the typical convenience store.  Inside?  Not much different…at least until you dive into their unique goodies. 

For me, most Quality Dairy stops were Pepsi stops.  The thing I really loved about QD is that there’s almost always one near where you are.  I could actually plan a trip somewhere and know that I could stop for a 32 oz. pop on my way and not have to deal with the gas station hassle of everyone in front of you buying cigarettes and the clerk not knowing which package is which.  It was almost always a quick in and out.

My second day of work in East Lansing ended pretty late.  It was after 10:00 by the time I started heading back to my hotel.  I thought about grabbing a pizza in East Lansing, but I was tired and not really wanting to deal with Friday night crowds in a college town, so I just drove.  I didn’t want fast food again, but I really wanted a Pepsi.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Grocery, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Arby’s – Frandor

23 11 2009
  • 622 N. Homer Street
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 351-6340
  • Website
  • Menu

Call me lazy.  I’m not completely proud of the fact that I’ve now eaten two fast food meals in a row, but once again, I’m trying to make as much money as possible, so going cheap on the lunch is a necessary evil.  I would much rather eat like this alone and be able to spend a little more when I go out with J.

Work day number two in Lansing started around 1:30.  I didn’t eat before going to work because I knew our lunch break was going to be pretty soon after we got to the job site.  Once we were released around 2:45, I headed to Frandor because I wanted to look at Staples for something.  After that was complete, it was on to lunch.  Sure, I had a bunch of options in Frandor, but since I was going to eat fast food anyway, I decided to go to a place I really like.

The Arby’s near the Frandor Shopping Center is located on Homer Street.  Because Homer is a one way street, there is also a back entrance from Clippert Street which is where I was coming from.  The building sits pretty close to Homer.  There is a huge parking lot in back and a few slots on the sides.  I took one of the side spots

Eating alone at Arby’s must have been the thing to do.  There were a number of solo diners in the restaurant when I got there.  Like almost every other fast food chain, I have a predictable order.  I get the sandwich they used to call “The Big Montana.”  Now, it’s just a large roast beef.  I got the combo and made it a large.  That’s not something I usually do, but I didn’t know if or when I would get to eat again, so I needed to load up.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

McDonald’s – W. Saginaw & Vermillion

23 11 2009
  • 7240 W. Saginaw Highway
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 323-2228
  • Website
  • Menu

My quest for cheap meals went on with one of the most obvious choices when it comes to dining on the cheap. 

My first day of work in East Lansing ended around 8:30.  I was exhausted and headed straight for my hotel.  As I was driving across town on I-496, I was trying to picture what I could grab quickly and eat in my  hotel room.  I was drawing blank, but I knew there were a couple options right there near the Red Roof Inn.

Like most cities, Lansing is littered with McDonald’s.  I chose the location on West Saginaw Highway and Vermillion Road in Delta Township for one reason.  It was close to where I was going. 

Being 9:00 at night on a Thursday meant I should be able to get in and get out in a hurry.  I’m not a drive thru fan.  In fact, I despise them.  Unless I absolutely have to, I never use them.  If J forces me to, she leans across the seat and yells into the speaker.  I guess I don’t speak clearly or something because I never have good luck.  I’d rather just take the extra few minutes and walk inside.  No one has ever died from getting out of their car for a hamburger. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chains, Fast Food, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Fish & Chips

22 11 2009
  • 2418 E. Michigan Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 487-5774
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

Back when we lived in Lansing (a whole two months ago), I accepted a lot of work at MSU thinking I was only going to have a five-minute commute.  Things changed suddenly and I really didn’t want to give up the work, but now, my commute was going to be over an hour.  When I work multiple days in a row, it’s not really worth driving back to Kalamazoo.  By the time I get home, it’s bed time then I have to turn around and drive back. 

I tried Pricelining hotels, but that’s impossible on a football weekend, so I just went to Hotels.com and took the cheapest room I could find.  I was staying two nights, so that was a good chunk out of my pay for the weekend.  When it came to meals, I did my best to get by as cheap as I could, but still leave satisfied. 

When lunch rolled around on Thursday, I immediately thought of a desolate shack on Michigan Avenue that I was always interested in trying but afraid to drag J to.  I didn’t really know what I was going to find, but I assumed it would be cheap, quick, and it put off one of the fast food chains for one more meal.

Fish & Chips is on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing right at the corner of Foster Avenue.  It looks like the building was a fast food chain in a previous life, but I really couldn’t tell you which one.  It’s a pretty cookie cutter building with a sun room that was a popular feature in the 80’s.  I read somewhere that it may have been an Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips from the 70’s. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicken, Fast Food, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Dolly’s Pizza

9 11 2009
  • 719 Brookside Drive
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 327-0077
  • Website
  • Menu

Another weekend on the road back in East Lansing for work.  I was on my own for a hotel, so I was on the look out for the cheapest I could find.  That’s not an easy task on a football weekend, but I was able to find one for under $50/night.  It was the Motel 6 on Saginaw Highway.  Not a five-star hotel by any stretch of the imagination..hell, lucky if it was one, but all I really needed was a bed for a few hours and it did serve that purpose and I’m sure I’ll be staying there a lot this winter.

Before bed though, I needed food.  There aren’t many places in Delta Township where J and I didn’t eat.  That area of Lansing is one of the major shopping districts and we made trips out that way once a week.  We almost never did pizza on that side of town though, so I pretty much had my pick.  There was only one chain out there that wasn’t on the south side where we lived.  Even though I read a so-so review a year or so ago, I decided to give it a shot. 

Dolly’s Pizza is a chain out of White Lake, Michigan and most of their stores are in the Detroit area.  They were voted Best Pizza in Michigan at some point by the Michigan Restaurant Association yet they never say what year that was. 

The only Lansing location is in Delta Township on Brookside Drive.  It’s in a strip mall anchored by an Outback Steakhouse on Saginaw Highway.  Like most chains, Dolly’s is a strictly carry-out/delivery business.  The store front is mostly kitchen with a small waiting area that included a couple chairs and some old Sports Illustrated magazines.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Michigan, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Sonic Coming to Lansing

30 10 2009

Of course it is.  Via WLNS (can’t believe they did a package on this? Watercooler fluff is easier than hard news I guess…a testament to Sonic’s marketing strategy)

A south Lansing motel closed its doors earlier this year, and ever since then the Governor’s Inn has been falling apart. Now it’s set to come down for good.

[snip]

For the past 9 months, windows have been boarded up, but now they’re coming down and a new burger is coming to town. Sonic is finally in Lansing.

What really sucks for us is this would have been within walking distance for us.  We walked to the Meijer that will is right across the street a couple times…we would have been able to walk off the Limeades we were about to get. 

Still, good for Lansing.  I’m fairly certain I’ll stop when I’m back in town.  They’re shooting for a Spring 2009 Grand Opening.


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Categories : Lansing, Michigan

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