Linens ‘n Things – Frandor

25 10 2008
  • 517 Mall Ct.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 336-5552
  • Website
Linens n Things in the Frandor Shopping Center

Linens 'n Things in the Frandor Shopping Center

Hurry!  There’s not a lot of time.  Linens ‘n Things is going out of business.  Up until a week ago when I found out about the going out of business sale, I didn’t even realize there was a Linens ‘n Things in Lansing.  I had only been to Frandor once or twice since moving here which is where LNT is.

J and I have been using the same Martha Stewart bed set since she moved in over a year ago.  Before that, I had been using the same Bed-in-a-bag I bought at Bed, Bath, and Beyond many, many years ago.  It was time for change, so we decided to take advantage of the sale.  Plus, it would give me a chance to do one of my favorite things….shop for kitchen gadgets.

We found some pretty good “linens” but no deals on “things” yet.  J has been looking at bed sets for a while and hasn’t really found anything she likes.  Right away, she found a Liz Claiborne set that was pretty but not too girly that I wouldn’t sleep on it.  We grabbed the comforter set, sheets, pillow cases and of course, some throw pillows. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Darts in Michigan Bars

23 10 2008

This is just a curiosity thing on my part I’m hoping someone can help me with.  We’ve noticed at every bar we’ve been to in Michigan that they all have real dart boards with metal tip darts and chalkboards to keep score.  I’ve never seen that before.  In Illinois, all the bars have those big machines where you put a couple bucks in and the machine keeps track of your score for you….and you use the bars’ plastic darts.

So here are my questions….

  1. Is there a reason that I never see those soft tipped dart machines in Michigan?
  2. Do you have to bring your own darts to the bar?

Really, I like the metal darts better…it’s just not something I’ve seen before.


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan

Free Pizza for McCain Signs

23 10 2008

I don’t know how else you would think this would end….

A Warren pizzeria owner received threatening phone calls Wednesday after a political pizza deal went awry.

“They’ve been actually calling here and threatening my life,” said Salvatore’s Pizzeria owner Diana Franzoni, who previously offered free, small pizzas to anyone who turned in a McCain-Palin yard sign after the Republican senator closed his Michigan offices. “It’s just ridiculous. People have blown something completely innocent completely out of proportion.”

That’s not the best part of the story. 

“We put out a sign that said ‘McCain gave up on Michigan. Michigan should give up on McCain. Turn in your McCain lawn sign for one free, mini pizza with topping,’ ” she said.

Approximately 300 signs were turned in by young and old customers, but the promotion ended Tuesday when police visited the business after receiving complaints that some of the submitted signs were stolen.

Duh.  If I could get a free pizza for turning in a McCain sign, I would probably wait until it got dark and jack a few too.  Did the owner really think that die-hard Republicans would pull their signs up and give them to a pizzeria for a mini pizza? 

I love election season.  You always get the best (wierdest?) news stories.


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Categories : Food News, Michigan

Rookies

23 10 2008
  • 16460 S. US Highway 27
  • Lansing, MI 48906
  • (517) 487-8686
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Rookies on US 27 in North Lansing

Rookies on US 27 in North Lansing

If you remember from a few months ago, I mentioned how much J liked karaoke.  When she lived in Idaho Falls, she found a karaoke bar.  When we lived in Peoria, we found a karaoke bar.  When we moved to Lansing, we never found a karaoke bar.  When we were in Chicago last weekend, she wanted to go find a bar, but we got watching Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live and never made it out.  That itch never went away, so she got on Google and again started looking for karaoke in Lansing.  She found Rookies and after a phone call to see what time it started, she had her mind set on singing, so we pushed dinner back to 8:30 then went looking for Rookies.

We looked for a long time to try and figure out where exactly Rookies was at.  For most of you that have lived here all your lives, it’s not hard.  For us newbies who rely on Google Maps and a GPS to get around, it was a pain in the ass.  Google Maps puts the bar out near Flint for some reason.  Even though the listing says Lansing, it puts a mark on the map far east of the city.  After striking out on Google, we pulled out the GPS.  Daniel (that’s what we call our Garmin due to the voice file we use being called Daniel) couldn’t find the street in Lansing.  This is a really common problem with both J’s and my GPS.  I have a Nextar and she has a Garmin.  A co-worker of hers has a Garmin also and runs into the same problem.  It’s a problem we never have anywhere outside of Michigan.  Michigan’s prominent use of Townships as addresses screw the computers up.  Finally, we found the correct address in Dewitt Township, but it was incredibly frustrating just trying to find a bar. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, St. Johns

Hometown Diner

22 10 2008
  • 1040 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 372-5535
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Hometown Diner on Pennsylvania near I-474 in Lansing

Hometown Diner on Pennsylvania near I-496 in Lansing

J took one more day off after we got back in Michigan just so we could relax after a long weekend of traveling.  We were woke up fairly early for us by a phone call and neither of us could fall back asleep.  After going to the Potter Park Zoo during the “Be A Tourist In Your Own Hometown Event” we kept saying we needed to walk the River Trail.  We noticed it from the zoo, but we never made an effort to actually go for a walk.  Since we had such a bad weekend eating (I had four pizzas), I suggested we go for a walk.  Since it was about lunch time, J said we should eat first.

I had been reading reviews about a diner on Pennsylvania near the Zoo so that’s where I decided to to go for lunch.

The Hometown Diner sits on Pennsylvania across from the BWL in an old Sparty’s Coney Island.  It shares a building and parking lot with a Mexican grocery store.  We parked near the back of the lot and walked in to find a small diner with seating for just over a hundred.  We showed ourselves to a table in the middle of the room.  The layout is pretty common for small diners.  Booths line the walls with tables in the middle.  There’s a lunch counter near the front of the space and the kitchen is open so you can see the cook preparing your meal.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

Van Andel Arena

22 10 2008
  • 130 W. Fulton
  • Grand Rapids, MI 49503
  • (616) 742-6600
  • Website
Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids

Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids

After a great dinner in East Grand Rapids, it was time to head downtown for the evenings main event.  For my birthday, J bought me tickets to the Taylor Swift concert at Van Andel Arena.  I know it’s a little wierd for an almost 30-year-old to want to go to a concert that attracts the tween crowd, but I love Taylor Swift’s music and so does J.  She was in town headlining a show for B-93.  It was their annual Roof Sit for Kid’s fundraiser.  The show started at 7:00 at Van Andel Arena.

After some problems with construction around Greater Grand Rapids, we made it downtown at about 6:50.  I hate parking garages and the parking near the arena is garages.  Not being familiar with Grand Rapids, I didn’t know where to go.  We ended up finding another garage a few blocks from the arena.  The price was a little bit higher at nine bucks, but at least we didn’t have to deal with horn honking crazy teenagers as we were trying to leave the main lot.  We were in and out with no problem. 

We parked on Pearl Street and walked back to the Arena.  Grand Rapids is lucky to have such a beautiful place for concerts.  The outside glass facade is a nice look.  We made it inside where the usher scanned our tickets.  After a little trouble with the scan on mine, we found the stairs to go up to the concourse level.  I like the way the seating area is set up.  Our seats were in the upper deck directly across from the stage.  What’s neat is the way the concourse serves both the upper and lower decks.  If you’re in the lower deck, you go down stairs to get to your seats.  If you’re in the upper deck, you go up stairs.  Our section was right at the top of the stairs when we first walked in.  Since the opening band was still playing, we both hit the bathrooms and I took a quick look at concession and souvenir stands.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, Entertainment Venues, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Reviews

Meijer – Grand Ledge

16 10 2008
  • 730 E. Saginaw Hwy.
  • Grand Ledge, MI 48837
  • (517) 622-6800
  • Website
The Grand Ledge Meijer store located just on the edge of town on Saginaw Highway

The Grand Ledge Meijer store located just on the edge of town on Saginaw Highway

It’s October and I need charcoal.  Just because it’s fall and quickly becoming winter doesn’t mean I’m going to stop grilling.  According to most mega marts, I should be putting up tacky Christmas ornaments, not grilling a pork loin.  I’m also a charcoal snob, so that makes things a little bit tougher.  No briquettes for me.  The chemicals used to press them together annoy me.  If you don’t let it totally ash over, you’ll pick up the chemicals in your food.  I’m not that patient, so I use natural hardwood lump charcoal.  We looked at Wal-Mart, but all they had was the Kingsford crap.  I was just going to run to the Meijer by our place to see what they had, but since we were in Grand Ledge anyway for lunch, I decided to stop at the Grand Ledge store.

The Meijer in Grand Ledge is just on the edge of town on Saginaw Highway.  It’s a newer store with the newer facade.  It’s not quite the “main street” concept store they’re starting to roll out, but it’s in between that and the old boxy type like the store on Pennsylvania.  The inside of the store is a drastic difference too.  J made the comment that it’s much less overwhelming than the other stores around here we’ve been in.  My complain about Meijer is just that it’s so darn big.  It’s hard to find things and can be frustrating if you have to shop in a couple different departments. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Grand Ledge, Grocery, Michigan, Reviews

The Barn Tavern

16 10 2008
  • 207 S. Bridge St.
  • Grand Ledge, MI 48837
  • (517) 622-8686
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
The Barn Tavern in Downtown Grand Ledge

The Barn Tavern in Downtown Grand Ledge

We do so much shopping on the west side of Lansing that we’re starting to run out of places to eat.  We made our usual trip to Horrocks and Wal-Mart just before lunch time.  I was blanking on a new restaurant to eat at, so I said let’s make the short drive to Grand Ledge to see what they have to offer.  I keep hearing about Cugino’s, but I wasn’t in the mood for Italian.  We drove through the cute little downtown and saw a sign for The Barn.

The Barn Tavern doesn’t really look like it’s open when you drive in front on Bridge Street.  There are no windows and it kind of looks like it’s boarded up.  There was a lunch board outside advertising specials so I assumed that meant they were open for lunch.  We parked across the street then played Frogger to make it to the front.  The front door is in a little alcove and again, it feels like you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing.  It’s a very cramped area, but once you open that door and walk in, you get a totally different impression.  Instead of feeling like you’re walking in to a speakeasy, you feel like you’re walking into a place you’d like to call your home bar.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Burgers, Downtown, Grand Ledge, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Tim Hortons – Holt

15 10 2008
  • 2350 Cedar St.
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-0129
  • Website
  • Menu
Tim Hortons on Cedar Street in Holt

Tim Hortons on Cedar Street in Holt

I never really think of Tim Hortons as a place to get a quick after dinner snack, but Monday night I was watching my favorite CBS show, How I Met Your Mother, and one of the characters actually threw out a Tim Hortons reference.  The character, Robin, is from Canada which is where Tim Hortons was founded.  She said something to the effect of ‘at least I didn’t say let’s go to Tim Hortons.’  Six months ago, I wouldn’t have had the slightest idea what she was talking about becuase there were no Tim Hortons in Illinois.  We found them for the first time when we moved to Lansing.

Around the time we moved here, I reviewed the Tim Hortons on South Cedar (review HERE) in Lansing after we stopped for lunch.  The Tim Hortons in Holt is a new store even since that review.  It sits in front of L & L Food Center on Cedar Street near Aurelius Road.  It’s not a very big building.  It’s about the perfect size for a coffee shop.  This trip was just for an after dinner snack.  I was still hungry, but we didn’t have anything to snack on, so I suggested we go get a cookie or something.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bakery, Coffee, Holt, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Press Release – New Biggby Store

15 10 2008

From a press release….

BIGGBY COFFEE TO OPEN 24th GREATER LANSING LOCATION
Growing Hometown Brand Thriving Despite Economic Downturn

LANSING, Mich., October 15, 2008 – East-Lansing based BIGGBY COFFEE will open a new location in its hometown of Lansing on Tuesday, Oct 21st, across from Eastwood Town Center. The new store, located at 2250 Lake Lansing Road, marks the 24th greater Lansing location for the increasingly popular coffee retailer.

Long-time franchisee, Jane O’Connor, is the catalyst behind the new store, which is her fourth BIGGBY COFFEE location. O’Connor owns successful franchises in Okemos, Marshall and East Lansing.

“I’ve been with the Big ‘B’ a long time now, so I’m an oldie but a goodie,” said O’Connor, in reference to her first store opening in Okemos more than seven years ago, when just a few stores existed in the region. “The truth is, the brand has become a local legend before my very eyes, and that’s extremely fulfilling on a professional level. Of course, I’m a huge fan myself so I can’t wait to bring the experience to the residents of Groesbeck and the shoppers across the street at Eastwood.”

The store is open 6 a.m. – 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Sundays. Soft seating and free wireless access will be paired with a fun, inviting atmosphere—all standard options at BIGGBY COFFEE.

The new location marks the 104th for the rapidly expanding coffee retailer. BIGGBY COFFEE currently operates in eight states, and has another 66 locations under contract to open over the next 24 months.

The new Lansing store will bring nearly 20 new full-and part-time jobs to the area.


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan, Press Releases

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