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

Poor Boy Restaurant – Kankakee, IL

5 10 2008
  • 1514 E. Court St.
  • Kankakee, IL 60901
  • (815) 939-1880
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Poor Boy Restaurant on Court Street in Kankakee, IL

Poor Boy Restaurant on Court Street in Kankakee, IL

After twelve hours, I finally got to welcome my niece into this world.  Needless to say, after twelve hours, my sister-in-law was exhausted and hungry.  Her first meal post delivery was Wendy’s, but the next day, she wanted something deep fried.  I went back to the hospital hoping I could hold her again, but she was put under the blue lights due to the jaundice, so instead, I just got to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law. 

About 3:00, the new mom decided she was hungry, but the hospital kitchen stopped serving.  No bid deal.  LIke I said, she was really in the mood for deep fried anyway.  When she worked at a flower shop on Kankakee’s southside, Poor Boy Restaurant was a frequent stop for lunch. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicken, Illinois, Kankakee, 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

Gold Coast Dogs – Downtown Chicago

1 10 2008
  • 159 N. Wabash Ave.
  • Chicago, IL 60601
  • (312) 917-1677
  • Website
  • Menu
Gold Coast Dogs in Downtown Chicago

Gold Coast Dogs in Downtown Chicago

It’s just not possible for me to go to Chicago without getting an Italian Beef.  Let me back up for a second and tell you why I was in Chicago.   You see, my brother and sister-in-law are having a baby!  They’re set up to make Thursday morning the latest possible day the doctor would let the pregnancy go, so I hoped on an Amtrak and headed home.  The Amtrak doesn’t quite make it home though.  In fact, I’m still an hour and a half short.  So, once I got to Union Station (an hour late.  Thanks, Amtrak!) I had a thirteen block to Millennium Station to catch a METRA train to get a little bit closer to home.  From there, my dad would have to pick me up and drive me the rest of the way. 

So, like I mentioned, Amtrak screwed up my plans and I missed the 12:30 Metra out of town.  I had to wait for the 1:30 and I was starving.  Now, there are a ton of places to eat in the theater district where Millenium Station is.  In fact, J and I had a great date one night just down the road at a place called Petterino’s (review HERE) before seeing Wicked at the Ford Theater.  I didn’t have time for anything like that.  I needed a sandwich shop.  I walked a few blocks from the train station then turned around to head back and eat at one of the 6,546 Subways in the three block area.  As I was crossing the street, I noticed a sign for a hot dog shop a block off of Randolph on Wabash Ave. 

Gold Coast Dogs is a small Chicago chain with locations at the airports, train stations and a few stand alone shops all in Chicago.  This particular Gold Coast Dogs shares a building with Popeyes Chicken.  It’s a very bland, strip mall looking store front.  Not very inviting.  I could see the menu from the sidewalk and I saw they served Italian Beef so I went in.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, Downtown, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

YaYa’s Flame Broiled Chicken – Saginaw Hwy.

30 09 2008
  • 5415 W. Saginaw Hwy
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 886-0995
  • Website
  • Menu
YaYas Flame Broiled Chicken on Saginaw Highway near the Lansing Mall.

YaYa's Flame Broiled Chicken on Saginaw Highway near the Lansing Mall.

What a great idea for a chicken restaurant.  Just the other night, I was craving chicken and considered going to Popeye’s.  Knowing I was kind of bad on my diet over the weekend, I didn’t want to splurge on fried chicken.  This afternoon, J asked me to run out to Horrocks to get some more of them delicious honey crisp apples.  She went to work a little early, so I just waited to eat lunch until after she was gone.  I made my stops at Wal-Mart and Horrocks then got thinking about lunch.  When I was working this weekend, one of the guys I worked with had said something about YaYa’s near Frandor.  For some reason, I remembered there was one near the Lansing Mall, so that’s where I went for lunch.

YaYa’s is a chain of 17 restaurants with locations in Michigan and Florida.  The first restaurant was opened in Seminole, FL in 1985, but the first franchise location was opened in Flint, MI in 1988.  There are two locations here in Lansing and both are on Saginaw Highway.  There’s this one by the mall and the other is farther down Saginaw near US 127.  This particular YaYa’s is located in a shopping plaza in a very commercialized area of Saginaw Highway. 

It was a little after two when I went looking for lunch.  There were no cars parked in front and the inside was empty.  The store is not very big.  It’s longer than it is wide and there are a handful of tables in the space to sit and eat.  The counter is located at the far end of the space.  The menu board is behind the counter above the grills where the whole chickens are butterflied and grilled.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicken, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Press Release – $1 Butterburgers!!

30 09 2008

Just got this press release.  I’m pretty sure I know where I’ll be next Tuesday….

Prairie du Sac, WI (Grassroots Newswire) — Yes, the rumors are true, the juicy, mouth-watering Butterburger™, made famous by Culver’s® Restaurants, is available on Tuesday, Oct. 7, for just $1.

The $1 ButterBurger celebration will take place at more than 380 participating Culver’s restaurants in 18 states. Every order can include up to five single ButterBurgers, with the guest’s choice of condiments, for the special one-day only price.

As part of Culver’s 2008 Custard Election (Sept. 29 – Oct. 19), an in-store and online voting campaign to select your favorite Democrat or Republican sundae candidate, Culver’s Restaurants are attempting to “buy votes” by driving voter traffic in-store with the second annual $1 ButterBurger guest appreciation day.

Culver’s signature sandwich, the ButterBurger, is made from fresh, never frozen 100 percent U.S. beef raised predominantly in the heartland of America, seared on a hot grill and served on a buttered, lightly toasted bun.

Please join us Oct. 7 at participating Culver’s Restaurants. Interviews with local franchise partners are available.

WHO: Culver’s Restaurant

WHAT: $1 ButterBurger Customer Appreciation Day

WHEN: Tuesday, October 7, 2008

WHERE: Participating Culver’s locations


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Categories : Chains, Food News, Michigan, Press Releases, Restaurant

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

Georgio’s Gourmet Pizza

28 09 2008
  • 1010 E. Grand Ave.
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-1000
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Georgios Gourmet Pizza on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.

Georgio's Gourmet Pizza on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.

Georgio’s Gourmet Pizza is the elusive pizza-by-the-slice I’ve been hoping to find.  I’ve spent a lot of time on the campus of the University of Illinois and there is more than one place to get a late night slice of pie.  I’ve checked out the other place along Grand River and wasn’t all that impressed.  Georgio’s was a totally different story.

I was in East Lansing fairly late on a Saturday night after working a volleyball game at the Breslin Center.  I was exhausted and really hungry.  J had sent me a text message asking if I wanted her to go get me something, but since I was out, I thought it’d be easier if I just took care of it myself.

I pulled into the parking lot off Grand River Avenue where Georgio’s sits.  I was a little worried they had just closed or something.  I could see lights on and people inside, but the “open” sign in the window was turned off.  I drove around so I could see the hours of operation on the door.   It said they were open until 3 AM on Friday and Saturday, so I parked the truck and gave the door a tug.  Yay!  It opened.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : East Lansing, Michigan, Pizza, 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

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