Common Ground Festival

11 07 2008
  • N. Grand Ave. & Saginaw St.
  • Lansing, MI 48933
  • (517) 267-1502
  • Website

When I moved to Lansing three months ago, everyone kept saying, “You have to go to Common Ground.”  The Thursday night line-up offered three artists I really like, so I got my first taste of what Common Ground is all about.  I have to say, I was impressed.  It was a great atmosphere.  There was a lot to do and the music was fantastic.  I spent most of the night over at the West Main Stage where Julianne Hough, James Otto, and Kellie Pickler were performing.

I became a fan of Hough the same way most guys have.  I actually started watching Dancing With The Stars the year Hough became one of the dancers.  My girlfriend, who wasn’t my girlfriend at the time, loved the show and it gave us something to talk about.  That year, she danced with Apollo Anton Ono who I’ve never been a fan of, but I rooted for them all season long.  She was just fun to watch and had such a great Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Entertainment Venues, Lansing, Reviews

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers

8 07 2008
  • 6524 W. Saginaw Hwy.
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 886-7440
  • Website
  • Menu
Red Robin

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers in Delta Township

Why is the Wii so dang popular?  We spent all morning going from store to store looking for Mario Kart.  We were told a few days ago that because the dollar is so worthless right now, Nintendo is investing most it’s efforts in Japan where the yen is strong.  We went or called almost every store along Saginaw Highway that carries video games. Striking out at every one of them really worked up an appetite.  The original plan was to go to Art’s Pizza & Italian Oven for lunch, but when we got there, there was a sign in the window that said they were closed for the summer due to losing their liquor license and they’re searching for new owners.  What a bummer.  I had been wanting to eat there for a while and now that we had the chance, it was closed.

We didn’t really want to piss around looking for another place and neither of us have ever eaten at a Red Robin, so we headed back down Saginaw.  Red Robin sits in front of Kohls near Kroger.  The building is not hard to spot with a lot of red trim and a huge sign.  We got there just before the lunch rush so there weren’t a whole lot of people in side.  The first thing that jumps out when you walk in is the TV in the floor.  There was caution tape around it the day we were in there, so I’m not sure if it was new or if someone jumped on it and broke, but it was still funny to see a TV in the floor.  We were greated by a host who took us through the dining room to a booth near the back.  The set up of the store is really interesting and not like anything else I’ve ever seen.  When you first come in, to your left is a full bar with a small dining area.  The back wall of the bar is glass that looks into the dining room.  To the right is the kitchen and waitress station.  It has the feel of a lunch counter without the counter.  There’s a big stainless steel counter where the orders come up for the waitress.  There are a lot of booths.  They created half walls throughout the space to make more walspace for them.  Every third booth or so along this half wall is a double wide booth where this is no wall.  If you bring a big group, you won’t be forced to push tables together to get everyone in.  These large booths could easily seat eight.  The walls are covered with movie posters and other art work leaving very little of the faux wood panel showing. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chains, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

Mr. B’s Rustic Tavern

5 07 2008
  • 101 W. Grand Ave
  • Howell, MI 48843
  • (517) 548-5500
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Mr. B\'s Rustic Tavern

Mr. B's Rustic Tavern - View from across Grand River Ave.

We came to the corner of Grand River and Michigan Ave. and there was this old building with a neon sign that wrapped around the building that said “Mr. B’s Rustic Tavern.”  There were tables outside that were full which is usually a good sign.  We found street parking about a block away then walked back.  Since the outside tables were full, we had to sit inside which really wasn’t a bad thing.  The inside of the tavern is divided into smoking and non-smoking with the bar in the smoking area.  Of course, the little half wall that divides the two areas does nothing to stop the smoke.  They certaintly didn’t falsely advertise with the name of the place.  The whole inside does have that rustic feel.  The floor is old, creaky hardwood and the walls and support beams look like had seen better days.  It gave a really neat, unique feel to the place.  Along one wall was a row of pictures depicting the history of downtown.  Along the ceiling beams were orange neon tube lights.  There were booths along with walls with tables filling the rest of the space.  Near the back of the space was another room with video games.  Plasma TV’s were hung over the bar and in the smoking section of the dining room. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Downtown, Howell, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Wal-Mart – Delta Township

3 07 2008
  • 409 N. Marketplace Blvd.Walmart Delta Township
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 622-8036
  • Website

Wal-Mart is evil….or so I’m told.  I know the arguments.  My dad’s a union  guy and my girlfriend’s parents are both union workers.  Her mom is a union grocer.  We’ve done really good about not running to Wal-Mart every other day like we did when we lived near Peoria, IL.  The problem there was there were only two grocery stores in town.  Both were chains (the other store being Kroger) and Wal-Mart was within walking distance of our apartment, so we shopped there out of convience more than anything.  We would still make special trips to Schnuck’s (a St. Louis-based chain) for produce, but the majority of our shopping was done at Wal-Mart.

The closest Wal-Mart to us now is in the Delta Township and it’s about a 10 minute (give or take a few) drive.  We made Wal-Mart a weekly stop right before we go to Horrock’s (review HERE), but not for any reason you might suspect.   Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Grocery, Lansing, Reviews

Leo’s Lodge

2 07 2008
  • 2525 E. Jolly Rd.Leo\'s Lodge
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 882- 3850
  • Website
  • Menu

OK, so I’ve spent our day playing our new Wii.  Before I knew it, it was dinner time and I had nothing laid out or any energy to actually cook a meal.  I went and picked my girlfriend up from work and decided we needed a night out.  I had drove by Leo’s Lodge several times and figured it was time to actually stop in. 

The decor of Leo’s should be pretty obvious from the name.  It’s a lodge.  Very cool rustic feel with a faux log cabing design.  When you walk in, you sort of walk into a small dining room connected to the bar.  There are a few tables and a pool table.  We started to head that way, but my girlfriend called an audible at the last minute and we went over to the other dining room which was no smoking.  We took a seat right in front of a big screen TV.  If we played the stock market, we could have gotten caught up during dinner as they had CNBC on that particular TV.  First thing we both noticed was the chairs.  It was a very cool design with a woven rope seat and back on a rustic wood frame.  Very cool addition to the log cabin feel. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Stanton

Quality Dairy – Holt

1 07 2008
  • 2233 Cedar St.Quality Dairy
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-8653
  • Website

I got to admit.  I was shocked when I saw regular commentor Adam say Quality Dairy was on of the things he couldn’t live without.  Since moving here, I’ve drove by QD many times thinking they were just another 7-11.  When I asked why he couldn’t live with Quality Dairy, he replied the premium ice cream and baked goods baked fresh daily were the things he would miss the most. 

I had an ice cream craving and my excursion to L & L Food Center (review HERE) to get Moomer’s Ice Cream was a bust, so I went a little farther down Cedar to Quality Dairy.  My suspicion was correct.  Quality Dairy is a convience store very similar to 7-11.  They have booze.  They have pantry items.  Like 7-11, but different. 

Quality Dairy got it’s start in Lansing in 1936 as a place where people could buy milk.  At that point in time, milk was delivered in glass bottles.  Quality Dairy changed that delivery system by offering milk at small milk stores on a cash and carry basis.  Four years later, they expanded to ice cream which was the purpose of my visit. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Grocery, Holt, Ice Cream, Reviews

L & L Food Center – Holt

1 07 2008
  • 2380 Cedar St.L & L Food Center in Holt
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-5929
  • Website

L & L Food Center is uniquely Lansing.  Founded in 1931 by the Levandowski family, L & L Food Center has grown to eight Lansing area locations.  While I was at the Lansing City Market last week, I saw a booth for Moomers Ice Cream and a sign saying Moomers was sold at L & L.  I was sitting on the couch watching Family Guy (again) and wanted ice cream.  There’s an L & L just down the street so I thought I’d go check it out.

L & L isn’t a huge grocery store.  It’s sort of a hybrid between a local grocer and a chain supermarket.  The layout shares some design elements as the large stores, but I had a hard time finding what I was looking for.  However, that did give me a chance to check out other things in the store.  I sort of blew through the produce section and found my way to the meat section.  Most of their beef is cut by their own butcher department.  Their line of beef is packaged under the name of the founders and sold exclusively at L & L.  Besides a butcher shop, there’s also a line of smoked meats, hams, and sausaged packaged under the brand Levandowski Sausage Company.  They also carry the same line of chicken as the Kroger down the street, but the prices were much cheaper.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Grocery, Holt, Reviews

Steak ‘N Shake – Edgedwood Blvd.

30 06 2008
  • 540 E. Edgewood Blvd.Steak \'N Shake
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-3038
  • Website
  • Menu

I know.  I’m getting bad.  We’ve been going to a lot of fast food chains for lunch recently.  It’s not that there aren’t places we want to go, it’s just that we’ve been lazy.  We’ll be laying on the couch watching The Price Is Right and one of us will say “I’m hungry.”  Since my girlfriend needs to get ready for work, we really can’t drive somewhere and have a sit down meal, so we debate for twenty minutes on which greasy fast food we want.  Today, we were almost decided on Wendy’s when I said “Hey, what about Steak ‘N Shake?” 

Steak ‘N Shake is one of the few places that make me think of home in Eastern/Central Illinois.  Growing up, the 24-hour options were either Denny’s or Steak ‘N Shake.  I didn’t really like Denny’s.  While living in Central Illinois, I grew more found of the place because of it’s history.  The original Steak ‘N Shake was in a gas station in Normal, IL (the home of Illinois State University), so there were Steak ‘N Shake’s all over the place.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Burgers, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

Lansing City Market

29 06 2008
  • 333 N. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 483-7460
  • Website

I really want to like the Lansing City Market.  When we were planning our move to Lansing, both of us were really excited about a year-round farmer’s market that was open a few days a week.  In our present situation, there was a market 15 miles away that was only open Saturday mornings from eight to noon from May through September and since my girlfriend worked Saturday mornings, we could never go to the market together.  Our first weekend here after the move, we got up early and headed downtown.  We had expectations that this was going to be the best thing that ever happened to us.  What a disappointment.  The vendors were rude and pushy and the selection wasn’t that good.  I wasn’t ready to give up though.  It was April, so it was still pretty early in the year.  I said we’d try again come summer.  Well, we tried again at the end of June.  The selection was better and the vendors were a little less pushy, but our view of the market didn’t really change much. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Farmer's Market, Lansing, Reviews

Meijer – Pennsylvania Ave.

29 06 2008
  • 6200 S. Pennsylvania Ave.Meijer Pennsylvania Ave
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 393-5100
  • Website

This is the Meijer I usually shop at.  I don’t go here often, but when I need something besides grocery, this is usually it.  I don’t like going to this store because it’s really hard to get in and out of.  It’s situated between Pennsylvania and Cedar which is a wierd enough tract of land as it is, but add in a mega-mart and the roads just get goofy.  I’ve found it’s almost impossible to enter off Cedar Street because the ramps from the Interstate merge right in front of the entrance.  Your only choice really is to cross traffic on Pennsylvania.  Like most other Meijer stores, this place is HUGE and very hard to navigate.

We went to Meijer on this day for two reasons.  We had a hundred and five cans to return and we needed charcoal.  While I appreciate Michigan’s bottle bill for what it does for the environment, I loathe actually taking the bottles an cans back.  I always feel dirty brining garbage bags into a store, but I do like turning them back in at the store because it makes my shopping bill a little lower.  It sounds like I’m flip-flopping and I guess I sort of am.  There are things I like and things I don’t like, but I am glad Michigan does it.  Anyway, the bottle return is visible from the main entrance just past produce.  So we wheeled our way around the fruits to get back to the machines.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Grocery, Lansing, Reviews

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