Press Release – City Market Public Meeting

5 12 2008

From a LEPFA press release..

PUBLIC VIEWING OF LANSING CITY MARKET SCHEMATIC DESIGNS DEC. 18

Lansing, MI— Officials will hold a public meeting in order to gain further input on proposed designs of the new Lansing City Market. The meeting will occur on Thursday, December 18, at 6:00p.m. in the Governor’s Room at the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave..

Studio Intrigue Architects, a Lansing-based firm, has been selected to design the new Market. The firm has held two charrettes with the City Market Vendors Association to generate and prioritize concepts for the proposed design. Those ideas, along with suggestions from previous public charrettes, a USDA architect, Michigan State University specialists and LEPFA management have been transformed by Studio Intrigue into design schematics.

“The use of sustainable and ‘green’ technology principles, maintaining the local character, and soliciting input from surrounding businesses and Lansing residents, are all critical to the overall vision of this plan,” said Eric Hart, Lansing Entertainment & Public Facilities Authority (LEPFA) President and CEO. “The meeting will further discussion of the designs proposed for the market,” Hart continued. All members of the community are encouraged to attend the December 18 presentation and participate in the process.

“We want to create a market that is an integral piece of both the downtown landscape and riverfront
re-development. Our hope is that it will fit Lansing’s vision for the future. To do that, we need to rely on public involvement and feedback,” Hart said.

The historic Lansing City Market is managed by LEPFA and was established by the City of Lansing in 1909. It has been located at the corner of Cedar Street and Shiawassee since 1938. It is home to high-quality local farmers, food merchants and artisans that bring their goods to sell to the public in a warm, family-friendly environment. Vendors provide the best-in-quality items at reasonable prices in a unique and inviting atmosphere. Visit the Lansing City Market to experience our personal touch while shopping for the freshest, finest, local products available in the region. http://www.lansingcitymarket.com

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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan, Press Releases

Barley’s American Grill (Revisited)

5 12 2008
Barleys American Grill on Miller Road decorated for Christmas

Barley's American Grill on Miller Road decorated for Christmas

I originally reviewed Barley’s American Grill not long after moving to Lansing.  At that time, I had no idea it would become our regular hangout.  Both J and I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, but we’re not really “go out for a beer” regulars.  Every now and then it’s nice, but we’ve never really had a regular hangout.  A few weeks after the initial review, J got a new co-worker and they decided Thursday night was going to be “Beer Thursday” after they got off work at 11:30.  The closest bar to their place of employment is Barley’s American Grill and it’s on the way home for both of them, so that’s what they picked. 

Barley’s American Grill is behind the Meijer on Miller Road.  It’s a huge building with a good size dining room, a good size bar, and a huge gaming area with multiple pool tables and dart boards.  We have our usual booth along the back wall and our usual waitress who doesn’t even come over to ask what we want anymore.  Since it’s 11:30 at night, we usually don’t go for large food items, but we do get a couple appetizers. 

The usual for us is a Blue Moon for J’s co-worker, a Bud Light draft for me, and a frozen strawberry Daiquiri for J.  As for the appetizers, the girls almost always order the spinach-artichoke dip which comes with toasted bagels.  The bagels are the best part.  Instead of throwing some chips out of a bag with the dip, they thinly slice bagels, butter, and toast them.  They’re delicious on their own.  I’m not a fan of spinach or artichoke so I usually pass.  If they have any bagles left over, I’ll try to steal one just to eat by itself. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Illinois Casino Revenue Down…

4 12 2008

….and they’re blaming it on the smoking ban.  When you look at the numbers, it’s pretty hard to argue with that assumption.  Overall, casino revenue is down 7 percent while Illinois’ numbers are down 20.3 percent.  It’s not that attendance is down.  There’s another reason.

“Although the number of people coming to the casinos is about the same, the time they spend inside is down. They’re outside smoking. And in this business, if you’re not putting money in the machine or on the table—time is money.” (Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association)

Illinois is different from Michigan in that all casino’s are effected.  There are no tribal lands in Illinois.  The problem is there are also no land based casino’s right now.  All the casino’s are old riverboats that are permanently docked, so they’re all on rivers.  The rivers are all close to the border states of Iowa, Indiana, and Missouri so in most cases, you can literally go a mile and a half across a bridge and be in a casino that allows smoking.   What the article doesn’t say is how Peoria is doing.  The Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria is at least an hour and a half to two hours from a smoking casino.  I’d be surprised if they saw a 20 percent drop, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Moline riverboat dropped much higher due to another boat in Davenport, IA less than a mile away.

My opinion is still that Illinois is not the problem.  The problem is the surrounding states being pansy’s and giving into the casino lobby.   They need to create a level playing field.  It’s always tough to be the first to do something.  Illinois is going to take some hits, but in the long run, they are making the right decision.  Delaware did the same thing and while their revenues dropped at first, they have recovered and are now above the pre-ban level.  It can be done.  It just takes lawmakers with some guts to make the right move.


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Categories : Food News, Illinois, Michigan, Politics

Smoking Ban Referendum?

2 12 2008

Could it happen?  According to a story I saw on ABC 3 tonight, if the bill is not passed in the lame duck session, we could soon see it on the ballot.

If the bill doesn’t pass during the lame duck session,  health officials may not be out of luck.

A ballot initiative could be considered, but many feel that option would be too costly.

Well, we COULD see it on the ballot, but my sources say that those health officials don’t think it’s worth the money to put it on the ballot.  They believe in it, but only if they don’t have to pay for it.  Nice.


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Housekeeping

25 11 2008

Checked out for the week.  We’re back in Chicago already for the holiday weekend, so no more Mid-Michigan reviews until Sunday at least.

Also, if anyone can tell me why I’m getting hundreds (literally hundreds) of hits for the search terms “september 2008 live-audience food network”?  There can’t be 150 people searching that exact same search term from all over the country, so if you found your way to this site by finding the “Guy Fieri to Replace Emeril” post, tell me how you got here and why…please?


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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

Press Release – City Rescue Mission Thanksgiving Dinner

21 11 2008

From a City Rescue Mission of Lansing press release…..

City Rescue Mission of Lansing hosts the Great Thanksgiving Banquet

Lansing, MI – November 21, 2008

The City Rescue Mission of Lansing will be providing a free Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day. This Great Thanksgiving Banquet takes place in conjunction with other Rescue Missions around the country. Together, Rescue Missions will provide over half a million meals to anyone in need on this special day.

Those who wish to attend, please come to 613 E. Michigan Avenue, Lansing, between 11 a.m. and noon, to sign up for lunch. Dinner sign-up is from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

With the help of volunteers and staff, the City Rescue Mission of Lansing will serve the meal to all who come. We also wish to express thanks to the community for helping provide this meal, as well as the over 70,000 meals we will serve this year. Hundreds will be thankful because you decided to make a difference.


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan

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