Corey’s Restaurant & Lounge

31 12 2008
  • 1513 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 4891
  • (517) 484-7060
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Coreys Restaurat & Lounge on South Cedar Street in Lansing.

Corey's Restaurat & Lounge on South Cedar Street in Lansing.

Since we found out our bar of choice wasn’t going to be open past 10:00 on New Year’s Eve, we decided to go out for dinner.  We had driven by a very uninviting building on Cedar Street with a old sign hanging off the building that simply said “Corey’s Coktails.”  We never gave the place much thought until a co-worker of J’s recommended it during a discussion of local eateries.   J e-mailed me and asked if I just wanted to go out for dinner and I said, yes and suggested Corey’s, so that’s where we ended up for dinner on New Year’s Eve. 

Corey’s Restaurant & Lounge sits on Cedar Street not too far from downtown.  From the outside, you’d never guess what was inside.  We pulled up to the building around 7:30 to find a packed parking lot.  We entered the lot off of Cedar Street and found a place to park, but we had no idea where the door was.  It definitely wasn’t on the Cedar Street side, so I assumed it was around back.  As we were walking towards the building, we saw someone walk out solving the mystery of the front door.

When you walk in, you take a step down and enter in the lounge part of the space.  There were no signs about seating or a hostess.  I noticed a pub table along the wall not too far from the entrance so that’s where we went.  There are two rooms  to the space.  Had we kept going, we would have found a more traditional dining room separated from the bar.  We climbed up the chairs and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  And waited for a waitress to see us.  After a five to ten minute wait, we were finally noticed and a waitress came over for drink orders and left a couple menus.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

Urbana Garden Family Restaurant – Urbana, IL

22 12 2008
  • 810 W. Killarney St.
  • Urbana, IL 61801
  • (217) 328-1514
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Urbana Garden Family Restaurant in Urbana, IL

Urbana Garden Family Restaurant in Urbana, IL

It’s always fun when you’re in a strange city to go out to eat with the locals. I was working at Assembly Hall for a University of Illinois basketball game with a few other guys who live in the area. I’m somewhat familiar with the Champaign/Urbana area, but not nearly as familiar with the local joints, so I was happy when one of my co-workers took the lead and suggested we go to Urbana Gardens for dinner.

Urbana Gardens sits near Interstate 74 in Urbana a few miles from campus. It’s one of those down home, friendly restaurants where it’s more about having a good time than white table cloths. Five of us left the arena together for lunch. When we showed up at Urbana Gardens, we were relieved to see the holiday shoppers didn’t make it down this far. The place was pretty empty for a Saturday night and we were seated at a table together. I sort of felt sorry for the other patrons. We were loud. The guys I was with all have a sarcastic sense of humor and the waitress was playing along, so things got a little noisy. The table sitting next to us didn’t seem to mind as eventually, they started asking questions about our line of work.

The waitress came with drinks. I ordered a Coke. We also had one coffee, a Sprite, an iced tea and two Arnold Palmers. The waitress looked at the first guy that ordered it and said, “you’re going to be surprised I actually know what that is.” I had no idea, but after a quick Internet search, I now know it’s half iced tea and half lemonade. The waitress had a system when it came to keeping track of orders and she wasn’t about to let anyone mess it up. She started with the first guy to her left. He asked what the specials were and eventually decided on chicken fried steak. He asked if it had mushrooms and if so, to keep it off. The waitress asked if he was alergic and just didn’t like them. He said he didn’t like them. She said she would have to check if it even had mushrooms because the gravy was already made and if he was alergic, she’d pick them off….if he didn’t like them, he’d just have to deal with. That sounds mean, but she was being sarcastic and messing around with him. It was all in good fun and I don’t think she would have actually made him eat them. Read the rest of this entry »


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

Chicken-N-Spice – Joliet, IL

18 12 2008
  • 251 N. Chicago St.
  • Joliet, IL 60432
  • (815) 727-1100
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Chicken-N-Spice in downtown Joliet, IL

Chicken-N-Spice in downtown Joliet, IL

The biggest chicken breasts you’ll ever see.  That’s how I used to describe the chicken from my favorite chicken joint.  I went to school at the University of St. Francis in Joliet.  I wasn’t quite the foodie then that I am now.  When I ordered out, it was usually to Papa Johns or one of the other national chains.  I wish I knew then what I know now about food in the Chicago area.  I’m sure there are hundreds of places I missed out on.

Fortunately, one of the places I didn’t miss out on was a little chicken joint in downtown Joliet.  Chicken-N-Spice sits on Chicago Street near the ballpark, theater, and casino.  There’s not a lot of food options in downtown Joliet but as far as I’m concerned, there only needs to be one.

I was on my way to my parents how from DeKalb when I got the idea to detour to Joliet.  I was tired of paying tolls anyway and I was running out of cash.  I now owe the Illinois Toll Authority some money since they still have the change baskets on I-88.  Seriously, who carries $1.10 in change?   I thought they were doing away with all of those and didn’t bring enough home with me.  Instead of dealing with that, I got off  I-88 and made my way to Route 30 which would eventually take me into Joliet.

Chicken-N-Spice is the kind of place you look at and think twice about before going in.  It’s not a very inviting building.  It’s a small store that needs some work down to it.  The thing I always notice is that it’s constantly surrounded by Joliet PD, Will County Sheriff and a number of prisoner transport vehicles from surrounding counties.  For once, that’s not a bad thing.  Chicken-N-Spice is a gathering spot and if the cops eat there, it must be a good place. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicken, Downtown, Illinois, Joliet, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

Al’s Char-House – LaGrange, IL

29 11 2008
  • 32 S. LaGrange Road
  • LaGrange, IL 60525
  • (708) 354-6255
  • Website
  • Menu
Als Char-House in downtown LaGrange.

Al's Char-House in downtown LaGrange.

Isn’t it funny that J’s favorite restaurant is a steak house?  Here’s a place that celebrates steak yet J can’t stand the site of a medium rare piece of meat.  Funny.  We got back to J’s parents on Friday after a long day of shopping…yes, we got up for Black Friday sales and I got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  J got a new coat that she’s been wanting for a while and my mom saved hundreds of dollars on Christmas presents.  After a nap, we headed back to Chicago where J’s mom said she was craving Al’s Char-House.  J and I were talking about going there the other night but decided on BBQ instead.  Once J’s mom got off work, we loaded up and headed to LaGrange for dinner.

Al’s Char-House is in downtown LaGrange which is beautiful.  The area is a model for new urbanism with a number of restaurants, shops, and condos.  We parked in a surface lot a couple blocks from the restaurant and walked.  It gave us an opportunity to check out some of the other store fronts downtown.  Al’s shares a building with a Mexican restaurant.  When you walk in, your confronted with the choice of going straight ahead to the Mexican place or take a quick left and go down a flight of stairs to Al’s Char-House.  The staircase going down is covered pictures of Western idols and memorabilia.

Al’s Char-House is a mix of Southwest and Old West.  Being in the basement, there are no windows, but it’s not something that’s noticeable.  We showed up on a Friday night around 8:00.  My girlfriends parents were worried that the place was going to be full so we called ahead to get our name on the waiting list.  When we got there, we found that wasn’t necessary.  There were a number of people eating, but the restaurant is huge.  The design is interesting.  You walk to the different dining rooms on what almost feels like a catwalk.  There are a number of dining rooms off the main walkway, but you have to either go up or down a step.  We were shown to a booth in the back of the restaurant.  It wasn’t the typical two people on either side booth.  It was one of those u-shaped booths instead.  J and her mom scooted in to the inside while her step dad and I took a seat on the wings.  One of the most interesting decor features was the seat backs in the booths.  Instead of cheap, plastic backing, they had real throw pillows.  Those pillows could come in handy for an in between course nap. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, Food News, Illinois, LaGrange, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Steak House

Frank’s Press Box – Delta Township

23 11 2008
  • 7216 W. Saginaw Hwy.
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 886-1330
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Franks Press Box on Saginaw Highway in Lansing.

Frank's Press Box on Saginaw Highway in Lansing.

Time for the weekly shopping trip.  We got a little lazy today and slept in pretty late then had a hard time getting going, but we needed to run to Walmart and Horrocks to pick up just a few things before we head home for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Both of us were starving when we left so we decided to eat first. 

Every time we go out that way, we go by Frank’s Press Box on Saginaw Highway.  It always looks deserted, but we always go during the day during the week.  When we pulled into the parking lot today (on a Sunday), the parking lot was the opposite of deserted.  In fact, it was packed.  The inside of the restaurant was no different.  Most of the tables were full and all eyes were pointed at the TV’s.  We figured out later the Lions game was blacked out and the only way to see it was to have the NFL package which Frank’s obviously did. 

The restaurant/sports bar is divided into three rooms.  Near the front is a game room with a number of pool tables.  The bar area also has a large dining room designated as the smoking section then there’s another section separated by a tiny wall and a fireplace designated non-smoking by green paint on a mirror near the back of the space.  The wall did nothing.  My coat smells like cigar smoke which was painfully noticeable during the meal.  Each section has a number of TV’s.  From our table, I could see seven LCD TV’s and each of them had a different football game on, but the audio from the Lions game was pumped in via speakers. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar

Emil’s Restaurant

22 11 2008
  • 2012 E. Michigan Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 482-4430
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Emils Restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

Emil's Restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

I proved tonight that you can wear a white shirt to an Italian restaurant and not make a mess.  I think I surprised J as much as I surprised myself.  After a day of shopping, we were sitting on the couch flipping back and forth between the MSU/PSU game and the Illinois/Northwestern game.  We were both getting hungry and I was craving Italian.  Emil’s is one of the Lansing institutions that had been recomended to us when we first moved here, but we don’t eat out Italian very often.  Since I was craving, we thought, why not?

Emil’s is on Michigan Avenue a few blocks down from Sparrow Hospital.  There’s a little on street parking in the front, but there’s a huge public parking lot behind the row of businesses.  Emil’s has an entrance off the back and since that’s where we parked, that’s where we entered.  The back entrance brings you right into the bar.  We were a little confused at that point. Were we supposed to seat ourselves or is there a host somewhere.  I just figured if we walked to the front door, we’d find out.  As we made our way through the bar, a host noticed us and was waiting near the front for us.  When we got to him, he led us into a dining room seperate from the bar. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Italian, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

Fabiano’s Homemade Candy & Ice Cream

22 11 2008
  • 119 S. Putnam St.
  • Williamston, MI 48895
  • (517) 655-3782
  • Website (dead link)
Fabianos Homemade Candy & Ice Cream in downtown Williamston

Fabiano's Homemade Candy & Ice Cream in downtown Williamston

After a day of shopping, we needed something sweet.  A stop at Meridian Mall was next on our schedule and the GPS always takes us through Williamston to Grand River when we go from the Tanger Outlets back to Okemos.  Somehow, I found Fabiano’s and homemade candy always sounds good.

We found Fabiano’s in downtown Williamston.  When we pulled up, we kind of got a mixed signal on whether the shop was even open.  There were two signs in the window.  One said “open.”  The other said “closed.”  On top of that, there was a building for sale sign in the window.  We could see lights on inside, but no people.  J told me to go check, so I got out and pulled on the door.  It opened so I went in. 

The inside of the shop is very sparse which leads me to believe that “building for sale” is in the window for a reason.  There was just one girl working by herself.  There’s a big case filled with truffles and chocolates.  The clerk asked what I wanted, but J hadn’t made her way in the store yet, so I asked for a few more minutes.  She went back to cleaning up behind the counter.  J came in and we decided on some chocolates.  I was hoping for fudge, but there was none there.  They’re a candy shop, not a chocolate shop.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chocolate, Downtown, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews, Williamston

Bloated Goat Saloon

22 11 2008
  • 141 E. Grand River Ave.
  • Fowlerville, MI 48836
  • (517) 223-8413
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
The sign hanging from the Bloated Goat Saloon in downtown Fowlerville

The sign hanging from the Bloated Goat Saloon in downtown Fowlerville

The Bloated Goat Saloon is my kind of bar.  Not only is the name awesome, but the inside is the typical small town, turn of the century saloon with above average food. 

J and I were heading out to Howell to do some Christmas shopping.  Might as well get it out of the way early.  I hate people and you can’t have a crowd without people and you can’t Christmas shop in December without crowds, so we went to the Tanger Outlets the week before Thanksgiving instead of the week after.   We’re always on the lookout for new places and when I was searching for restaurants in and around Howell, I came upon a place called the Bloated Goat Saloon.  There were a couple reviews that said the place was really neat and the food was good, so we decided to give it a try.

The Bloated Goat Saloon is in downtown Fowlerville.  It’s not hard to find.  There’s a huge sign hangining on the side of the building.  The inside is dark, long, and narrow.  There isn’t much width to the place.  There’s a really neat bar running along one wall in the front of the space and tables along the other.  The back of the room is filled with more tables and the usual pub games.  Back to the bar for a second, it’s a really interesting design.  There’s the bar, but there’s also a boxed in shelf a few feet above the bar.  The whole thing is supported with steel pipe, so it looks like there are a bunch of “windows” when you’re sitting there.  About half of the bar stools are attached to the bar itself and then there’s a couple of the more traditional free standing stools. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Burgers, Fowlerville, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Jersey Giant Subs – South Lansing

20 11 2008
  • 6441 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-2300
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Jersey Giant Subs on South Cedar in Lansing.

Jersey Giant Subs on South Cedar in Lansing.

The market is flooded with sub sandwich shops.  It seems like they all run together and I never know what’s a chain or what’s local.  We’ve passed over Jersey Giant Subs a number of times because we wer just tired of sub shops.  They’re all pretty much the same, right?

J wasn’t able to come home for dinner tonight and I had to go meet someone and pick up some gear for a job I have tomorrow in Grand Rapids.  Since I was out, I figured I’d just grab something for dinner instead of trying to scrounge something up for myself.  As I was driving back down Pennsylvania towards home, I thought of the non-descript sub shop we always pass up.

Jersey Giant Sub sits in a small strip mall on Cedar Street near the Meijer.  There are a lot of food options along this stretch of Cedar St.  The strip mall is mostly other take out places.  There are two Mexican places close by and a number of national chains.  Jersey Giant Sub kind of gets lost in the mix.

I had a hard time finding a parking spot.  There’s something in that strip mall that people love because every time we go there (there’s also a Bigby), the parking lot is packed.  I found a spot on the other side of the complex and walked back to the store.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

Flap Jack Family Restaurant – South Lansing

16 11 2008
  • 6927 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 699-5532
  • Website
  • Menu
Flap Jacks South Lansing location on South Cedar St.

Flap Jack's South Lansing location on South Cedar St.

I’m not going to give you the same ol’ spiel about how J and I aren’t really breakfast people.  Saturday’s we usually sleep in late, do a little shopping and find a couple new restaurants to for lunch and dinner.  This particular Saturday was a little out of the ordinary.  J was getting up early to do some volunteer work and I was shooting a hockey game at Munn Arena.  It just so worked out that by the time she was getting home, I would be leaving to head to East Lansing, so we got up an hour earlier than she needed to be up and went and found breakfast.

Flap Jack Family Restaurant is a small, local chain of family restaurants in the Lansing area.  We picked the store on South Cedar because it was close to our place.  It was a dreary day and by a little after 7:00, the parking lot was starting to fill up.  Since it was raining, I parked as close as I could, but I mistook some spots by the door for handicap spots, so we parked on the opposite side of the parking lot and ran inside.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

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