Melting Moments

12 10 2008
  • 313 E. Grand River Ave.
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 332-0110
  • Website
  • Menu
Melting Moments in downtown East Lansing.

Melting Moments in downtown East Lansing.

Ice cream is always a guaranteed way to make everything better.  After a not so great meal at The Small Planet (review HERE), I needed something to make J feel better.  As we were leaving Small Planet, she asked how far Melting Moments was from where we were.  An intern at J’s work told her about Melting Moments months ago, but we never thought of it until a few weeks ago when we tried to go to the MSU Dairy Store on my lunch break.  The line at the Dairy Store was too long and I was starting to run out of time when J said something about Melting Moments.

Melting Moments is situated right on Grand River Avenue and it shares space with a Backyard BBQ store.  We found a parking space on MAC Avenue and walked a block to the store.  The inside is the typical ice cream shop set up.  We found a case with a variety of delicious flavors.  They also had fresh gelato and other handmade goodies. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : East Lansing, Ice Cream, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

The Small Planet Food & Spirit

11 10 2008
  • 16800 S. Chandler Rd.
  • Suite 109
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-6230
  • Website
  • Menu
The Small Planet at Chandler Crossings in East Lansing.

The Small Planet at Chandler Crossings in East Lansing.

I was never around for the original incarnation of The Small Planet.  Apparently, it was pretty popular and people are excited about this new version.  I get hundreds and hundreds of hits every week from people looking for information on The Small Planet so we figured one of these days, we need to go check it out for ourselves.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting old or what, but I hate paying cover charges.  There are very few places that I will pay a cover and not bitch and they’re all in Chicago.  They’re not in Lansing.  Plus, the bands that play at The Small Planet really aren’t my kind of music.  I’m a country music fan.  I’m going to see Taylor Swift in two weeks and I’m excited about it, so it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for me to go to a bar that gets a lot of rock bands.

So, instead, we decided to check out their dinner menu.  We went on a Saturday night, but early enough the nighttime crowd hadn’t started coming in yet.  It was about 6:00 and the place was pretty empty.  From the beginning, J had a bad vibe about the place.  Small Planet is not a good place if you’re just looking for a meal.  The place is huge and very open.  There’s no comfort to it at all.  When you walk in, there are short tables leading all the way to the bar.  In the back, there are higher pub tables back by the video games and pool tables.  We chose one of the pub tables all the way in the back corner.  We did this very intentionally. 

I know Michigan hasn’t passed a smoking ban yet and I know it’s up to the owners to decide how much smoke they want.  The Small Planet management must not care at all.  There was no one seated anywhere near us.  There were people at the bar smoking and on the other side of the restaurant smoking, but it felt like someone was sitting at the table next to us blowing smoke in our face.  Like I said earlier, The Small Planet is not a good place if your just looking for a meal. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, East Lansing, Entertainment Venues, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Holt Farmers’ Market

9 10 2008
  • 2150 Cedar St.
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 930-2655
  • Website
The Holt Farmers Market in the old Delhi Twp. Fire Station on Cedar St. in Holt

The Holt Farmers' Market in the old Delhi Twp. Fire Station on Cedar St. in Holt

I’m not sure why, but J has been wanting some squash soup lately.  I needed to make a run to Kroger so I was going to pick up a squash, but for some reason, I remembered that the Holt Farmers’ Market has hours on Thursday so I decided to make two stops and pick up a few things fresh from the farm.

I first visited the Holt Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago.  It’s housed in the old Delhi Township fire house right along Cedar Street.  There’s a nice big parking lot next to it and all of the vendors are inside and out of the elements.  During peak season, there is room to move outside should move vendors sign on.  During the summer, the Market is open Thursday’s from 4-7:30, but today was the last Thursday they are going to be open this year.  From now until December, they are only open on Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm.  Since it was the last Thursday of the year, pickens were slim. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Farmer's Market, Holt, Local Flavor, Michigan

Brickstone Brewery – Bourbonnais, IL

5 10 2008
  • 557 William Latham Dr.
  • Bourbonnais, IL 60914
  • (815) 936-9277
  • Website
  • Menu
Brickstone Brewery on William Lathan Dr. in Bourbonnais, IL

Brickstone Brewery on William Lathan Dr. in Bourbonnais, IL

After a couple long days at the hospital, I needed some real food.  I grabbed my mom and we headed to Bourbonnais (home of the Chicago Bears training camp) for some grub.  Brickstone Brewery is still one of the hottest places in the Kankakee area.  We went to dinner on a Friday night knowing we could be heading into a wait.  You see, if you get there after 5:00 on a weekend, you will probably have a wait.  We got there about ten minutes before 5:00 and were lucky enough to get a table without a wait.

Brickstone is located where the former Greenbriar Restaurant used to be.  Brickstone is a total overhaul.  Having lived in a couple different cities over the last decade, I’ve gotten used to finding restaurants like this, but Kankakee has never seen any place like this.  Brickstone is a brew pub.  They brew their own brews, but they’re smart enough to have the domestic staples on hand.  In a place like Lansing, you could get away with just having your beers.  Not in Kankakee.  They’d be out of business if they tried that.

That night was also Game 2 of the ALDS featuring the Chicago White Sox.  When we were seated in the dining room, I made sure I sat where I could see one of the LCD TV’s in the corner.  Yes, they had TV’s in the dining room.  The interior design is, again, nothing like anything else in Kankakee.  It’s got the same feel as most brew pubs which is the exposed, dark woods.  We were seated at a booth along the wall.  We were pretty close to the bar, so there was a lot of noise from the game that carried over which was ok with me.  That way, I knew when to look up at the TV. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : bourbonnais, Burgers, Illinois, Kankakee, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

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

Luconi’s Pizza – Bradley, IL

3 10 2008
  • 496 S. Kennedy Dr
  • Bradley, IL 60915
  • (815) 935-5235
  • Website
  • Menu
Luconis Pizza on Kennedy Dr. in Bradley, IL

Luconi's Pizza on Kennedy Dr. in Bradley, IL

Finding places to eat in the Kankakee area has always been tough for me.  Growing up, my parents always hit the chains.  We didn’t really go out of our way looking for local restaurants.  I’m back in the Kankakee area this week because my brother and his wife are having a baby.  Their first and my parents first grandchild.  Because it was everyone’s first, my parents and my sister-in-laws parents were at the hospital bright and early this morning.  I didn’t get up and get going until lunch time.  The hospital is a half hour away so once I was in Kankakee, I wasn’t going home until I had a niece. 

I got to the hospital around 11 and started trying to convince everyone to go to lunch with me.   I got no takers, but did get some good suggestions.  My sister-in-law’s parents suggested a few places including Luconi’s.  They raved about the pizza, but also couldn’t stop talking about the hamburger.  Sounds good to me.  I do love me some burgers.

I found Luconi’s Pizza on Kennedy drive next to the Taco John’s we always went to when I was kid.  The last time I lived in the area, the building where the pizza joint now is was a cyber cafe.  It’s a really small building with a really small parking lot.  I found a space along the side and parked there.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Bradley, Burgers, Illinois, Local Flavor, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

O’Neil’s

29 09 2008
  • 1017 E. Grand River Avenue
  • East Lansing, MI 48823-4526
  • (517) 507-3002
  • Website (Jukebox Grill Website)
  • Menu
ONeils on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.

O'Neil's on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.

I’m not a morning person.  The fact that I’m even up for breakfast means there was something else going on that caused me to get up.  I was at DeMartin Stadium for a soccer game on a Sunday morning.  J told me to call her when I got my lunch (breakfast) break and she would meet me somewhere in East Lansing for breakfast.  I was released for lunch at 9:00 and I called J and told her to meet me at the Jukebox Grill for breakfast.

I know you’re confused by now because I just called it The Jukebox Grill, but the title is O’Neil’s.  I’m guessing they just changed the name to O’Neil’s very recently.  The menus now say O’Neil’s and we were given a coupon that says they are now called O’Neil’s (formerly Jukebox Grill).  The outside of the building still says The Jukebox Grill, but there’s also a sign in the window that says O’Neil’s.  So, since everything said O’Neil’s, that’s what I’m going with.

O’Neil’s sits right on Grand Avenue with no parking in front.  We found parking behind the restaurant.  When we walked in, we didn’t realize there was an entrance around the side for those parking in the back.  We walked all the way around the front.  We walked in and found a booth near the front.  There are a handful of booths, a couple tables and a lunch counter.  It’s not a very big place.  The booths are all big enough you could probably fit six people in them.  The walls are painted a light yellow color and there’s a big, old fashioned jukebox in the middle of the dining room.  The place has a real homey feel to it. Read the rest of this entry »


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

Dagwood’s Tavern and Grill

28 09 2008
  • 2803 E. Kalamazoo St.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 374-0390
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Dagwoods Tavern and Grill on Kalamazoo St. in Lansing.

Dagwood's Tavern and Grill on Kalamazoo St. in Lansing.

There are so many places we drive by that I put on a mental checklist of places.  My memory isn’t always so good though.  Dagwood’s Tavern and Grill is one of those places I always think about when we’re driving on 127, but I never think of it when we’re debating where we should eat lunch at.

I was working at the Breslin Center Saturday afternoon.  J was had planned on meeting me for lunch at 3:30.  We got released for lunch break earlier, so I told her to meet me at The Roadhouse Pub.  I walked down there before she was able to get through town, but I found a dark, empty bar.  I had to come up with a plan b.  On my way to Breslin earlier that morning, I got off of 127 at Kalamazoo and again thought to myself, we should eat at Dagwood’s.  As I was walking back towards the arena, I finally remembered that little bar we’ve been wanting to try.

Dagwood’s is located on Kalamazoo St at the US 127 interchange.  It doesn’t look like much from the outside….just you’re neighborhood bar.  I’m much more comfortable in a place like that than I am in a bar where I’m trying to impress someone…..luckily, I don’t have to do that anymore…..good thing cause I was never good at it anyway.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

Allen Street Farmer’s Market

24 09 2008
  • 1619 E. Kalamazoo St.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 367-2468
  • Website
The Allen Street Farmers Market on the corner of E. Kalamazoo and Allen Sts.

The Allen Street Farmer's Market on the corner of E. Kalamazoo and Allen Sts.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a review at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market (review HERE) and raved about the selection of peppers and fresh herbs.  Jackiecat was quick to point out that a lot of those same ingredients were available at Markets here in town.  She suggested both the Allen Street Farmer’s Market and the Meridian Farmer’s Market. 

I had heard about the Allen Street Farmer’s Market, but haven’t been there yet this summer.  J goes to work at 3:00 and the Market opens at 2:30 so there was really no time for us to go together.  I suppose I could always go by myself, but she eats most of the produce and I’m not very good at picking out what’s good and what’s not.

Since it was recommended I check out, I set down the Wii remote and turned Mario Kart off for a while, jumped in my truck and went shopping.  I found the Allen Street Market on the corner of East Kalamazoo and Allen Streets.  The Farmer’s Market is in a parking lot on the corner.  I saw signs for parking and followed the around the corner to find another parking lot.  It was a pretty tight fit, but I parked then walked over to the tents to see what I could find. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Farmer's Market, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

Fulton Street Farmer’s Market

21 09 2008
  • 1145 E. Fulton St.
  • Grand Rapids, MI 49503
  • (616) 454-4118
  • Website
The entrance to the Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids

The entrance to the Fulton Street Farmer's Market in Grand Rapids

We didn’t plan on going to the Farmer’s Market.  In fact, it wasn’t even on the radar when we got out of bed.  I hadn’t even heard of it.  After enjoying lunch at The Black Rose Irish Pub (review HERE), we headed out to the Frederick Meijer Gardens.  We pulled up and thought, “Wow, this looks really cool.”  We got inside thinking there’d be a little bit of an admission charge, but $12?!  To look at flowers?  No thanks.  We passed and got back in the car not knowing what to do now.  I looked at the local attractions section of J’s Garmin GPS and the words “Farmers Market” came up and it was only three miles away.  I hit go and we headed back the other direction to see what kind of Farmer’s Market we were going to find.

The Fulton Street Farmer’s Market is in a parking lot on Fulton Street.  There’s quite a bit of parking around the vendor location and we found a spot right away since we were arriving near the end.  The Farmer’s Market had a pretty cool set up.  There’s a permanent structure that extends the length of about half of the parking lot.  There’s a metal skelton all the way down to hang things from and wooden display counters that are also permanent fixtures. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Farmer's Market, Grand Rapids, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

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