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

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

Allen Street Farmer’s Market

24 09 2008
  • 1619 E. Kalamazoo St.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 367-2468
  • Website
The Allen Street Farmers Market on the corner of E. Kalamazoo and Allen Sts.

The Allen Street Farmer's Market on the corner of E. Kalamazoo and Allen Sts.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a review at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market (review HERE) and raved about the selection of peppers and fresh herbs.  Jackiecat was quick to point out that a lot of those same ingredients were available at Markets here in town.  She suggested both the Allen Street Farmer’s Market and the Meridian Farmer’s Market. 

I had heard about the Allen Street Farmer’s Market, but haven’t been there yet this summer.  J goes to work at 3:00 and the Market opens at 2:30 so there was really no time for us to go together.  I suppose I could always go by myself, but she eats most of the produce and I’m not very good at picking out what’s good and what’s not.

Since it was recommended I check out, I set down the Wii remote and turned Mario Kart off for a while, jumped in my truck and went shopping.  I found the Allen Street Market on the corner of East Kalamazoo and Allen Streets.  The Farmer’s Market is in a parking lot on the corner.  I saw signs for parking and followed the around the corner to find another parking lot.  It was a pretty tight fit, but I parked then walked over to the tents to see what I could find. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Farmer's Market, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

Weekend Update

21 09 2008

If you haven’t been following along all weekend, there have been a lot of posts over the last three days.  So you don’t miss anything, I’ve broken down the reviews into the three cities we’ve been to.  You can either click on these links or just scroll down.

Traverse City

The Cooks’ House (awesome, awesome, awesome lunch in TC)
The Cherry Stop
Kilwin’s Chocolate Shopped
Gallagher’s Farm Market
Boone’s Long Lake Inn
Moomer’s Homemade Ice Cream

Grand Rapids

Malarky’s
The Fresh Market
The Black Rose Irish Pub
Fulton Street Farmer’s Market

East Lansing

Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe


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Categories : East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Reviews, Traverse City

Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe

21 09 2008
  • 1601 W. Lake Lansing Road
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 337-4680
  • Website
  • Menu
Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe is East Lansing

Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe is East Lansing

After two long days touring Northern and Western Michigan, we got home and just wanted to relax.  We unloaded the car then laid down on the couch and watched Michigan State beat Notre Dame while I blogged about our trip and J took a nap.  Not long after the game got over, J woke up and we started talking about dinner.  Neither one of us felt like cooking, but we neither of us really had a taste for anything either.  We talked about a few places, but one of us wasn’t interested in any of them.  Finally, I said, “What about Hall of Fame Cafe on Lake Lansing?”  We thought that may not be a good move since the game just got over, but we hopped in my truck to go give it a shot.

Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe is part of a small chain of cafes located in college towns.  The other cafes are in Columbus, OH (Buckeye HOF Cafe), Huntington, WV (Marshall HOF Cafe), and Louisville, KY (Cardinal HOF Cafe).  The East Lansing location sits just off US 127 in East Lansing near the Eastwood Towne Centre.  There looked to be quite a few parking spaces left so we pulled in to see if we could get a table.  There were a few people waiting, but they must have been parts of groups.  We were met by a hostess and shown to a booth in the dining room right away. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Cafe, East Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar

Fulton Street Farmer’s Market

21 09 2008
  • 1145 E. Fulton St.
  • Grand Rapids, MI 49503
  • (616) 454-4118
  • Website
The entrance to the Fulton Street Farmers Market in Grand Rapids

The entrance to the Fulton Street Farmer's Market in Grand Rapids

We didn’t plan on going to the Farmer’s Market.  In fact, it wasn’t even on the radar when we got out of bed.  I hadn’t even heard of it.  After enjoying lunch at The Black Rose Irish Pub (review HERE), we headed out to the Frederick Meijer Gardens.  We pulled up and thought, “Wow, this looks really cool.”  We got inside thinking there’d be a little bit of an admission charge, but $12?!  To look at flowers?  No thanks.  We passed and got back in the car not knowing what to do now.  I looked at the local attractions section of J’s Garmin GPS and the words “Farmers Market” came up and it was only three miles away.  I hit go and we headed back the other direction to see what kind of Farmer’s Market we were going to find.

The Fulton Street Farmer’s Market is in a parking lot on Fulton Street.  There’s quite a bit of parking around the vendor location and we found a spot right away since we were arriving near the end.  The Farmer’s Market had a pretty cool set up.  There’s a permanent structure that extends the length of about half of the parking lot.  There’s a metal skelton all the way down to hang things from and wooden display counters that are also permanent fixtures. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Farmer's Market, Grand Rapids, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

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