KT’s Bar & Grill – Sevierville, TN

2 10 2009
  • 1641 Parkway
  • Sevierville, TN 37862
  • (865) 428-1991
  • Website
  • Menu
KTs Bar & Grill on The Parkway in Sevierville, TN

KT's Bar & Grill on The Parkway in Sevierville, TN

You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find a local place in a tourist town. J and I went on a quest to find something that wasn’t going to be cheesey or touristy, but we didn’t have an Internet connection in our cabin, so it was real hard to research. I can’t tell you the last time we went without Internet for 48 hours, but we made do.

The plan was to head back in to Sevierville because we noticed a county courthouse on the way in. There’s got to be a pub or something near the courthouse, right? I mean, where do employees go for dinner and a beer?

Well, it’s not in downtown Sevierville, that’s for sure. There was nothing. One place but it looked fancy and didn’t have a menu outside so we passed. Instead, J got her GPS out of her purse to see what sounded local.

When she turned it on, our location was back in Sevierrville near our cabin. She found a place with the word “grill” in it, so that’s where we went.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : Burgers, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sevierville, Tennessee

Kuma’s Corner – Chicago, IL

24 09 2009
  • 2900 W. Belmont Avenue
  • Chicago, IL 60618
  • (773) 604-8769
  • Website
  • Menu
Kumas Corner on W. Belmont on Chicagos northside.

Kuma's Corner on W. Belmont on Chicago's northside.

 We finally made plans to make the trip the north side of Chicago.  We had to pick up the first of three out-of-town bridesmaids who flew in early to stay with another friend who lived in Bucktown.  We offered just to pick her up at her friend’s place because it was only a ten minute drive to West Belmont and I’d finally get to chow down on Illinois’ best burger.

Kuma’s Corner is on the corner of West Belmont Avenue and North Francisco Avenue in Chicago’s Avondale Neighborhood.  It’s an old corner building that doesn’t look like it should house such a popular restaurant.  The door was open and there were people spilling out when we drove by.  Like most of these neighborhood places, there is no specific parking.  You’re own your own to find something along the street.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chicago, Illinois, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Roadhouse Grill & Bar

12 08 2009
  • 4112 Lansing Road
  • Jackson, MI 49202
  • (517) 782-7711
  • Website
  • Menu
Roadhouse Grill & Bar on Lansing Road in Blackman Township

Roadhouse Grill & Bar on Lansing Road in Blackman Township

The next week is going to be really busy for me.  It’s a change of pace and actually a welcome change of pace.  I’m starting to get some work now that fall sports are getting under way which means a lot more traveling and a lot less time playing Wii. 

A friend of mine was driving through on his way to Plymouth where he’s spending the weekend.  He’s working for SPEED this week at MIS and Plymouth is where is hotel is.  Since today was a travel day, he asked if I wanted to meet him for lunch somewhere.  The original plan was to meet in Ann Arbor because he was going to take I-80 to Toledo then head north.  For some reason, he changed his mind and took I-94 from Chicago. 

Since he was taking 94, he was open to meeting somewhere closer for me.  Jackson seemed like a good stopping point for both of us, so I started looking for places to eat. 

We don’t get to Jackson very often, so I’m not really familiar with what’s there.  I put a post on Twitter asking for suggestions and I did get a reply from one person.  @ddkronkh pointed me to an article that was in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot about the Top Ten sandwiches in Jackson.  I wanted to eat all of them, but I had to pick one.

What I ended up picking was The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Lansing Road near Parnall Road in Blackman Township.  Coming from Lansing, my GPS took me through the country a little bit and I was starting to wonder where this place was and if my friend from Illinois would be able to find out.  It actually isn’t too far from I-94 and he was able to find it without the help of a GPS. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Jackson, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Sammy’s Lounge – Holt

6 08 2009
  • 1957 Cedar Street
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 268-0820
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Sammys Lounge on Cedar Street in Holt.

Sammy's Lounge on Cedar Street in Holt.

I haven’t felt very well the last few days.  Nothing serious.  Just a summer cold.  Probably had the air conditioning blowing on me too much while I was sleeping.  Because of that, I wasn’t really in the mood to cook dinner.  I looked through the freezer, the cupboards, the fridge…nothing looked good, so I told J I’d pick her up from work and we’d just go out. 

I didn’t want to go to far from home and about the only thing that sounded good to me was a greasy burger.  We seem to always drive by Sammy’s Lounge but we’ve never stopped.  Since it’s fairly close to both J’s work and our home, I thought it would be a good choice. 

Sammy’s Lounge is on Cedar Street in Holt just past the downtown area.  The entrance is actually in the middle of the parking lot.  They have a great outdoor bar and beer garden that you have to walk through in order to get inside.  We headed inside where we ran into a hostess station.  One of the waitresses saw us and showed us to a table in the non-smoking side of the restaurant. 

The dining room is divided into two sections.  It’s a bi-level space with the bar/smoking section on the higher section.  The main dining room sits on the lower area.  The decor is very old school.  It looks like it hasn’t been updated since the place originally opened.  There are green vinyl seat backs on the booths and the furniture is classic 70’s restaurant.  The bar was the most interesting thing to me.  It wasn’t a regular size bar.  Instead of bar stools, they had what looked more like chairs that you would put around your kitchen table.  The height was about half the height of a normal bar.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Holt, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Pink Pony Bar & Grill

27 07 2009
  • P.O. Box 250, Main Street
  • Mackinac Island, MI 49757
  • (906) 847-3341
  • Website
  • Menu
The Pink Pony Bar & Grill in downtown Mackinac Island.

The Pink Pony Bar & Grill in downtown Mackinac Island.

After our carriage tour of Mackinac Island, J and I made our way back to Main Street.  It was now pushing 5:30 and we still hadn’t bought any fudge.  J mentioned we should probably buy some then added she could go for dinner.  I felt the same way. We burned a lot of energy today and lunch seemed so long ago. 

This was going to be our last meal on the Island and there were still so many choices. I picked up a Mackinac Island dining guide from the Visitor’s Center, but there were no address or maps of where any of the places were.  As we toured the Island, we walked by a number of places that would normally catch our attention. I stopped and browsed menus at a few, but when it comes down to it, J and I are really pub food people. 

I thought it might be nice if we could spend the end of the day enjoying dinner overlooking Lake Hudson.  The first place that popped into my head was the Pink Pony.  We walked by earlier in the day and it looked cute plus the back of the building overlooked the harbor.

The Pink Pony Bar & Grill is on Main Street inside the Chippewa Hotel.  The bar/restaurant takes up a large portion of the bottom floor and it’s divided into several sections.  If you walk into the bar, there is no hostess station, but there is a sign pointing you to the lobby of the hotel.  We just stayed outside and walked to the lobby where we found a hostess just in front of the main dining room.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, Mackinac Island, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Yankee Rebel Tavern

26 07 2009
  • 3 Astor Street
  • Mackinac Island, MI 49757
  • (906) 847-6249
  • Website
  • Menu
The Yankee Rebel Tavern on Astor Street on Mackinac Island.

The Yankee Rebel Tavern on Astor Street on Mackinac Island.

As soon as we got off the ferry from the mainland, we started looking for food.  Mackinac Island has a number of restaurants downtown and none of them are chains.  That makes choosing some place to eat when you’re only going to eat two meals on the Island a little difficult. 

Before we took the trip, I did my research online like I always do before out-of-town trips and one of the places that stood out to me was a colonial themed tavern.  We went looking for that on Main Street and just happened to look down one of the side streets to see the sign.

The Yankee Rebel Tavern is on Astor Street between Main and Market on Mackinac Island.  As the name implies, there is a little bit of a colonial theme to the place.  We got to the Island about 12:15 and this was stop #1.  Even though it seemed like there were quite a few people on the Island, I was a little surprised when we got in the door and didn’t see anyone. 

The hostess took  us to a booth along the wall and set down plastic place mats in front of us as well as the menus.  On the way to our table, we saw one other party at a booth near us.  That would change very quickly. 

The decor of the bar isn’t that much different from any other bar we’ve eaten in.  It’s a very comfortable family atmosphere.  It is non-smoking which always gains a place a few more points in my book.  There are a row of booths along one wall and the bar is on the other.  The space in between is filled with tables.  It’s not a huge building by any means, but it’s not tiny either. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Downtown, Mackinac Island, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Eddie’s Bar & Grill – Kankakee, IL

20 06 2009
  • 1875 W. Station Street
  • Kankakee, IL 60901
  • (815) 939-3972
  • Website
  • Menu
Eddies Bar & Grill on Station Street in Kankakee, IL

Eddie's Bar & Grill on Station Street in Kankakee, IL

Here’s the dilemma when J and I go to my parents house.  We either drive twenty minutes to Kankakee for lunch or we eat whatever Lean Cuisine my parents have the in the freezer.  Growing up in a small town, I never noticed that there wasn’t a restaurant on every corner, but since I’ve moved away, it’s become more noticeable.  I like to eat out and I like to eat at different places.  That’s hard to do in a town that only has one restaurant.

So, J and I made the choice to drive to Kankakee.  We had some other things to do anyway, so the trip wasn’t totally pointless.  We waited around until my mom came home for lunch so we could see her and make plans for the evening.  The next part of the battle was finding a restaurant.  I know the Kankakee metro is littered with hidden gems, but no one I know eats at anything other than chains.  I ended up remembering a place my brother told me he heard from friends was pretty good. 

Eddie’s Bar & Grill is on Station Street in Kankakee near West Court Street.  The only directions I could remember from my brother were “in the old Pizza Hut next to the bowling alley.”  J told me to call him and get an address, but I knew that’ the directions I would get.  No one knows street names….they all go by landmarks.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Illinois, Kankakee, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Corner Bar & Grill

1 06 2009
  • 505 E. Shiawassee St.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 374-3565
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
The Corner Bar & Grill on Shiawassee Street in downtown Lansing.

The Corner Bar & Grill on Shiawassee Street in downtown Lansing.

J and I called it quits early on Be A Tourist In Your Own Town.  After the zoo, we tried to go to MSU, but couldn’t find parking and just gave up.  We spent a few hours at the zoo and we were getting hungry and I had to go to work in a few hours, so we decided to find lunch/dinner.  Since we were in East Lansing, J suggested Buffalo Wild Wings which is usually a hit with me, but on our way, J also pointed out that a lot of the blog entries recently have been chains and I hate doing that.  I wanted to get back to something local.  A couple weeks ago, Runs With Spatula reviewed a bar that I haven’t been to yet.  Her blog made my mouth water.  We were saving it for after a Lugnuts game, but bar food sounded good and it would put me back on the local track.

The Corner Bar & Grill is on the corner of Shiawassee and Cedar across the street from the City Market and just a block down from Oldsmobile Park.  Before we moved here, the building housed the Club 505 which I’m told was a lesbian bar.  Now, it’s kind of taken on a biker bar feel.  Maybe that’s because there are scooters from the neighboring business parked on the sidewalk. 

There’s a gravel parking lot across Shiawassee Street that has signs for parking.  When we pulled in, there was only a couple cars in the parking lot, but it was an odd time.  We were eating lunch around 3:00 which isn’t a prime meal time.  We crossed the street and walked into the building which opens up into the bar.  There aren’t really any tables in this area.  It’s got more of a bar feel.  We walked into another room which has a number of tables, booths, and of course, flat panel TV’s.  A third room was set up for live music and there was a guy running around setting up some gear for later in the evening. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Burgers, Lansing, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Pump House Grille

11 05 2009
  • 214 State Street
  • St. Joseph, MI 49085
  • (269) 983-0001
  • Website
  • Menu
The Pump House Grill in downtown St. Joseph

The Pump House Grille in downtown St. Joseph

J really wanted to do something with her mom for Mother’s Day.  Over the past couple months, there’s been a lot of traveling back and forth to Chicago for both us and our families.  Instead of her parents coming to Lansing or us driving to Chicago for the second week in a row, we decided to find a halfway point.  The Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area looked like a good meeting point, so the search was on to find a good place for Mother’s Day brunch.

After a quick Google search, I came up with two options.  Neither would take a reservation for less than six people, so we chose the one that opened first.  That one was the Pump House Grille on State Street in beautiful downtown St. Joseph.  State Street is a one-way cobblestone street that is lined with boutiques and restaurants.  It’s kind of touristy, but would still make a great shopping and dining district for the locals.  We actually drove by the restaurant on our first pass through downtown.  The buildings are all connecte and none of them have eye level signs that stick out from the building.  On the second pass down State Street, we noticed the building on the left side of the road.

Brunch started at 11:30 and we got there about 11:40.  Like I already mentioned, they wouldn’t take reservations and there must have been a line when the door opened.  By the time we got there, all the tables were full.  The host told us there would probably be a half hour wait since everyone just sat down to eat.  We took a buzzer and set up at the bar to wait.  The bartender told us we could eat there if we wanted to, but J and her mom couldn’t really reach the bar comfortably and it would have made eating uncomfortable.  Instead, we ordered drinks….just Pepsi’s since they couldn’t serve liquor until noon.  The half hour wait would give me time to step outside and call my mom to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Brunch, Downtown, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, St. Joseph

The Green Door Blues Bar & Grill

1 05 2009
  • 2005 E. Michigan Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 482-6376
  • Website
  • Menu
The Green Door Blues Bar & Grill on Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

The Green Door Blues Bar & Grill on Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

Have I mentioned that I love when J e-mails me from work and says she’s hungry for greasy bar food?  Man, I love that!  I was not in the cooking mood again as we were packing up for a trip back to Chicago.  For J’s birthday, I got her and her family tickets to see comedian Joel McHale at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN.  We were going to see McHale in Detroit back in January, but I had to work.  Since Hammond is about 15 miles from her parents south suburban home, I made up for missing the January show with four tickets to this show.

I’m starting to run out of ideas for greasy bar food, so I started looking at menus on Allmenus.com.  One of the places that came up that I never really thought about was The Green Door.  I ran it by J and she thought we would have enough time on her dinner break.

The Green Door Blues Bar & Grill is on Michigan Avenue at Clemens Avenue.  If you can find street parking along Michigan Avenue, there is a front door, but there’s also a City of Lansing lot behind the building.  If you park in back, there’s a door that leads right in to the bar on the backside of the building.

We parked in back and trekked through the alley which, like most of the streets in Lansing, has seen better days.  When we got inside, we were faced with a choice.  The Green Door is set up for live music which is really the main draw.  There are some tables in front of the stage, but there are also some higher pub tables on the other side of the room.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Lansing, Live Entertainment, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

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