Panera Bread – Okemos

26 10 2009
  • 4738 Central Park Drive
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-4425
  • Website
  • Menu

You’ll hear me say this a lot.  I’m not a breakfast person.  I don’t normally get out of bed earlier enough to eat breakfast.  It’s one of the nice things about being a freelancer.  I don’t work everyday.  That’s also one of the bad things about it. 

Anyway, in East Lansing.  This time, very early in the morning.  Work started at 6 AM on Sunday.  Fortunately, I still had keys to my Lansing apartment, so I was not making the drive at four in the morning.  That will happen a few times this fall/winter. 

Our lunch break came around nine o’clock.  Typically, I just go to McDonald’s for breakfast.  I like the bacon, egg, and sausage biscuit.  Add that to the fact that it’s cheap and quick.  When J could meet me, we’d actually go to a good, sit down place, but now that J’s in Kalamazoo, I’m on my own and there’s not a lot of quick breakfast choices.  There just aren’t many places that do a good breakfast sandwich. 

So, I’m heading down Grand River towards my usual McDonald’s stop when I hear a commercial for Panera Bread’s breakfast.  It sounds really good plus it will be something a little different.  Since I’m already on Grand River I keep going to the Panera in Okemos.

The Okemos Panera Bread is on Central Park Drive in a small strip mall on the corner with Grand River Avenue.  On a Sunday morning, it was the only place open, yet there were a lot of cars in the parking lot.  Seems like I wasn’t the only one that had this idea. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : breakfast, Chains, Michigan, Okemos, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Menna’s Joint – East Lansing

24 10 2009
  • 115 Albert Avenue
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-3827
  • Website
  • Menu

Another weekend, another trip back to East Lansing for work.  Fortunately, we still have control of the apartment in Lansing, so I could bring an air mattress, the laptop, and a little TV and be comfortable for a couple days. 

My weekend started early Saturday morning amongst the gloomy, rainy conditions.  By the time lunch rolled around, I needed to get someplace warm. 

I was working near the IM West Building at MSU which means there isn’t many options within walking distance.  That’s my only complaint about the MSU campus.  I work mainly at the athletic facilities and I can’t walk anywhere to get a sandwich, so I hopped in my truck and headed to Grand River Avenue where I found lunch.

Menna’s Joint in East Lansing is on Albert Avenue near Abbot Road just a block of Grand River Avenue.  It took a long time to find parking.  There isn’t much street parking in this part of downtown and the public lot across the street was full.  I finally doubled back to the public lot near Dublin Square Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, East Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Lou & Harry’s Greek Grill – Downtown East Lansing

22 10 2009
  • 245 Ann Street
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-0066
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

Sorry it’s been a few weeks since my last update.  We’re getting settled into our new place in Kalamazoo, but that’s not going to keep me from updating when I do make it back to the Lansing area. 

I was back in East Lansing for a volleyball game at Michigan State.  When lunch time rolled around, I headed downtown to find a sandwich.  I was actually looking for Menna’s Joint, but I couldn’t find parking close.  By the time I got up to someplace I could park, I was a couple blocks away and there was another joint right around the corner.

Lou & Harry’s Greek Grill is on the corner of Ann & MAC in downtown East Lansing just a block from Grand River Avenue and MSU’s campus.  There’s a little mall area with a couple restaurants and shops.  Lou & Harry’s takes up what could probably be a couple storefronts. 

I had eaten at the Lou & Harry’s near Frandor in East Lansing, so I was somewhat familiar with the menu.  When you enter the store, the order counter is right in front of you.  To the right is a bar as well as some seating.  There is more seating to the left and if you head down a hallway along the left side, you can find a game room with a couple pool tables.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Deli, Downtown, East Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Kelly/Shorts Stadium

12 10 2009
  • W. Campus Drive & University Park Drive
  • Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
  • (517) 774-3277
  • Website
Kelly/Shorts Stadium on the campus of Central Michigan University

Kelly/Shorts Stadium on the campus of Central Michigan University

Fall sports have been good to me so far this year.  I’ve been busy pretty much every weekend.  My recent trip was up to Mt. Pleasant for a CMU Chippewas football game.  It was my first time at CMU and only the third time I had even been to Mt. Pleasant, so I was excited to see more of the town and of course, the CMU football stadium. 

Kelly/Shorts Stadium is the home of the Central Michigan University football team.  It sits just off BR 127 at University Park Drive and W. Campus Drive on the southeast corner of the CMU campus.  The stadium opened in 1972 with a loss to win over Illinois State.  At that time, the stadium was simply called Perry Shorts Stadium.  In 1983, the name was changed to Kelly/Shorts Stadium to honor former football coach Bill Kelly. 

The thing that surprised me initially was the size.  I know CMU is a FBS school, but I sometimes forget that the MAC is actually on the same level as the Big Ten….at least when it comes to NCAA status.  The main grandstand behind CMU’s bench is huge.  When you enter the seating level from the main concourse, you have to go down to your seats.  At some points in the stadium, you have to walk up stairs to get to the concourse area.  In other parts there are gradual ramps. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Entertainment Venues, Live Entertainment, Michigan, Mt. Pleasant, Reviews

Pixie

9 10 2009
  • 302 N. Mission Street
  • Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
  • (989) 772-7494
  • Website
  • Menu
Pixie on North Mission in Mt. Pleasant.

Pixie on North Mission in Mt. Pleasant.

Back before we had any idea we were moving to Kalamazoo, I took a job in Mt. Pleasant for this weekend.  From Lansing, it’s not so bad, but it gets to be a long way from Kalamazoo.  Fortunately, my employer got me a hotel for Friday night, so I was able to travel during the afternoon.

When I got into town, I checked in then went looking for food.  I tried a BBQ place recommended in the hotel book, but they were closed.  I then went to a restaurant downtown I saw a billboard for on the way in.  Luckily they had a menu outside and it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. 

By now, I was hungry and a little annoyed.  I just wanted to eat. 

As I was driving to my first two locations, I drove by an old drive in on Mission Street.  I knew I was close so I went looking for it again. 

Pixie is on North Mission and East Chippewa Street in Mt. Pleasant.  I would say it’s a retro 50’s style diner, but they actually got their start in 1948 when Norman LaBelle decided to open a restaurant.  The Pixie has been in business ever since. 

At one time, the Pixie was a drive in with carhops and a complete menu.  Today, they’re a cross between fast food and casual dining.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Diner, Michigan, Mt. Pleasant, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Celia’s Corner Cafe

8 10 2009
  • 437 W. Stewart Street
  • Owosso, MI 48867
  • (989) 725-7051
  • Website
  • Menu
Celias Corner Cafe on Stewart Street in Owosso

Celia's Corner Cafe on Stewart Street in Owosso

About a month ago, J decided she wanted a new car. We did the usual Internet research and found a couple cars she liked. The first car we test drove was at the Ford dealership in Okemos. We were kind of turned off by the salesman and didn’t feel like we were getting a fair price, so we left. She was mad at me for a few hours until she found something better in Owosso.

The next morning, we make the trip, test drove the car and bought it. We were really looking for something comfortable for the honeymoon since we were going to be in the car for two week straight. We put pretty close to 2500 miles on it in a week and a half, so when we got home, it was time for an oil change.

The dealer we bought it from gave us the first oil change free and any service it needed after the trip, so we really wanted to take it back there before we moved to Kalamazoo.

After the service was done, J and I started to drive back towards Lansing to do some packing. Before we dove into that, we decided to get some breakfast/lunch.

On the way into town, we saw a billboard for a cafe. We passed the building on the way into town and decided that was going to be our place. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : breakfast, Michigan, Owosso, Restaurant, Reviews

Sonic Drive-In – Portage, MI

8 10 2009
  • 349 Romence Road
  • Portage, MI 49024
  • (269) 324-7777
  • Website
  • Menu
The Sonic Drive-In in Portage, MI

The Sonic Drive-In in Portage, MI

J and I have been in Kalamazoo all of a few hours and where do you think our first stop to eat was? We’re kind of moving in trips. My brother has helped me everytime I’ve had to move (and it’s been quite a few times) and he can’t get up here until Oct. 17. It’s not a huge deal because our apartment has a ridiculous break penalty (if there’s any legislators reading this, after you solve the budget, you should look into this…besides the two months rent, they’re charging us $20 A DAY for 60 days because we didn’t give them 60 days notice…re-f^%king-diculous..and not spelled out in the lease, so it comes out to 4 months rent) so we’ve got the Lansing apartment until the end of October.

We made the first of two trips with our cars loaded down. After unloading and doing some organizing, we realized it was after 3:00 and we hadn’t had a thing to eat all day.

It was no surprise to me where J wanted to go. I’m surprised I even asked. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chains, Fast Food, Michigan, portage, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Chick-fil-A – South Bend, IN

7 10 2009
  • 4555 S. Michigan Avenue
  • South Bend, IN 46614
  • (574) 968-0351
  • Website
  • Menu
Chick-fil-A on Michigan Street in South Bend, IN

Chick-fil-A on Michigan Avenue in South Bend, IN

Getting closer.  The final day of our honeymoon started awfully early in the morning.  We got up and got going because we wanted to go apartment hunting in Kalamazoo.  Since it was still a four hour drive from Indianapolis to Kalamazoo, we got on the road early. 

 

Around South Bend, we started getting hungry.  All week we had been saying we needed to top at a Chick-fil-A for lunch.   We hadn’t up until this point and South Bend was probably going to be our last chance.  J took out the GPS to see if there was one close and there just so happened to be one right near our next turn

Let me backtrack a little bit with the whole Chick-fil-A thing.  For whatever reason, a couple guys I used to work with loved the place.  There was one location in Bloomington, IL on the campus of Illinois State University in one of the resident hall dining rooms.  We had a recent college grad working with us who lived in Bloomington and periodically, she would treat the guys to Chick-fil-A.  I never got it.  It’s like Sonic to me.  It looked, smelled, and tasted like fast food. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicken, Fast Food, Indiana, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, South Bend

Skyline Chili – W. 86th St., Indianapolis

7 10 2009
  • 3524 W. W. 86th Street
  • Indianapolis, IN 46268
  • (317) 872-2266
  • Website
  • Menu
Skyline Chili on W. 86th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Skyline Chili on W. 86th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Our trip was winding down and we needed one more hotel before making our way back to Mid-Michigan.  We initially planned on driving the whole way back to Lansing because I was supposed to work on Friday.  That got cancelled so we decided to break the nine-hour trip into two parts with a stop over in Indianapolis.

 

I really didn’t want to spend a lot on a hotel, so I did Priceline.  I said I wanted a hotel for $30 and someone took the offer.  It wasn’t a four star in downtown, but all we really needed was a place to sleep. 

As we were driving to our hotel, we passed a Skyline Chili.  Neither of us had ever eaten at one and the only reason I had ever heard of it is because of the Big ‘n Rich song Coming To Your City which has the lyric…

Well we blew through Cincinatti
And we all got really happy
Grabbed a bowl of that Skyline Chili along the way

Since our trip was essentially a country music/BBQ experience, it makes sense that we headed back for some chili.

Skyline Chili has six locations in the Greater Indianapolis area.  The one we chose was the location on West 86th Street on the northwest side of town.  It’s in a little strip mall just off Michigan Road with a number of other fast food and chain restaurants.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Fast Food, Indiana, Indianapolis, Restaurant, Reviews

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint – Nolensville, TN

6 10 2009
  • 7215 Nolensville Road
  • Nolensville, TN 37135
  • (615) 776-1856
  • Website
  • Menu
Martins Bar-B-Que in Nolensville, TN

Martin's Bar-B-Que in Nolensville, TN

One more chance for BBQ before leaving Tennessee.  J and I got up just before lunch time in Nashville.  Our next stop was four hours away in Indianapolis where we were going to spend the night before going apartment hunting in Kalamazoo.  It seemed like a good stopping point. 

One of my “must see” stops was a BBQ joint in Nolensville, TN.  I thought it was north of Nashville but it actually ended up being a half hour south.  I was ready to just skip it, but J talked me into it.  We were in no hurry to get to Indy, so why not get one more good meal before heading home.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint is one of Nashville’s best.  It’s on Nolensville Road just outside of Nolensville, TN.  I actually heard about this place from the same Bon Apetit article that raved about Slow’s and Zingerman’s Roadhouse. 

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but what I found was not it.  For some odd reason, I was under the impression this was going to be more of a sit down restaurant.  What we found was a small, neighborhood BBQ joint. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : BBQ, Nolensville, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Tennessee

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