I love Italian Beef and there’s really only one place in the world to get it. Italian Beef is a Chicago specialty. Other places will try it, but the only places that get it right have roots in the Windy City. My girlfriend and I did some grocery shopping for a cook-out we were going to later that night and needed to find something quick for lunch. Her family eats at Frankie’s quite often and she knew it would be something that would be right up my alley. Read the rest of this entry »
Frankie’s Beef, Pasta & Catering – Oak Lawn, IL
23 06 2008Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Chicago, Food, Italian Beef, Reviews, Travel
Categories : Chicago, Chicken, Italian, Oak Lawn, Restaurant, Reviews
White Palace Grill – Chicago
23 06 2008
Guy Fieri let me down. That’s painful to say out loud. My girlfriend and I first heard of the White Palace Grill in downtown Chicago on an episode of Diner’s Drive-In’s and Dives about 24 hour diners. I was working in Chicago this past weekend and since my girlfriend’s parents live in a Chicago suburb, she decided to come with me and take a long weekend. We left Lansing around midnight on a Thursday night and got to Chicago a little after two a.m. We took a detour into the city instead of just heading to her parents. We’ve been to a handful of places featured on Triple D including two others in Chicago and figured if Guy went there, it must be good. We were wrong. Really, really wrong.
White Palace Grill is located just south of the Loop on Roosevelt and Canal Streets. According to a friend of my girlfriend’s, venturing into this neighborhood at this time of night five years ago would have been scary. It wasn’t quite a walk in the park now, but it wasn’t really bad. We parked about a half a block from the diner and walked back. There’s a huge mall with a lot of high end stores right next door. The scary thing was all the people just loitering in the street and around the restaurant. We made our way to the front door and someone behind the counter acknowledged us and told us to sit where we want. There are two dining rooms. When you first walk in, there’s the traditional diner setting with a counter and a row of booths along the wall. Keep going back and there’s more of a dining room with tables and booths. We sat in the front dining room in a booth along the wall. The menus were already on the table, so we grabbed a couple and started looking over them. A bus boy came by with water and wiped the table down. After that, it was quite a while before a waitress noticed us. This was just the start of possibly the worst service we’ve ever gotten at a diner. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: 24-Hour Diner, Chicago, Diner's Drive Ins and Dives, Guy Fieri, Loop
Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Chicago, Restaurant, Reviews
Grand Traverse Pie Company – East Lansing
19 06 2008
I think we screwed ourselves. Last time my girlfriend went home to Chicago, she brought a couple pies for her family and some friends. I have to go to Chicago this weekend to shoot a rugby tournament for Sky TV Sports, so my girlfriend took Friday off and we’re making a weekend out of it. We going to some of her friends’ house for a cook-out and it was suggested she bring home a pie for dessert. So, before work and after lunch, we hit up the Grand Traverse Pie Company in East Lansing for a couple pies.
Grand Traverse is in a little strip mall between MSU and the Meridian Mall. If I would have gotten the GPS out and followed it like I should have, it would have been about a ten minute drive. Instead, I tried to do it from memory and went the wrong way. Once we finally got there, we found parking spot up close and went to get our pies. When you walk in, your overcome with pie. To the right is a little freezer which was just calling my name. You see, in this little freezer, they put their cheesecake and the Oreo Cheesecake was yelling at me to buy it. My girlfriend looked at me and said “Just get it this time!” How can I argue with her, so I got my Oreo cheesecake. I’m sitting here eating it as I type this. It is freaking delicious. Very few things in life compare to Eli’s Cheesecake, but this was really good. I like cheesecake, but I love Oreo Cheesecake. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 10 Comments »
Tags: Cherry, East Lansing, Grand Traverse, Michigan, Pie
Categories : Bakery, Cafe, East Lansing, Reviews
Harper’s Restaurant & Brewpub
19 06 2008- 131 Albert Ave.
- East Lansing, MI 48823
- (517) 333-4040
- No Known Website
- Menu
I noticed Harper’s one night while driving around East Lansing pretty late looking for a pizza-by-the-slice place. We didn’t stop because we weren’t looking for a bar and especially not a college bar, but I put that info in the back of my head for future use. Today, my girlfriend and I were making a run to the Grand Traverse Pie Company to get pie’s for the weekend, but weren’t in the mood to eat there. After driving around with my head cut off, my girlfriend mentioned that brew pub I was telling her about, so we headed down Grand River to downtown East Lansing.
The building for Harper’s is massive. When we drove by, we weren’t sure if it was even open. It looked dark, so we drove around the block again. The parking is across the street in the public pay lot, so we went through the gate and found a place to park. It was just starting to rain as we got out of the car, so we hustled across the street hoping they were open. I got to the top of the steps and pulled on the big wood double doors and they opened up right into the bar. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: Brew Pub, Burgers, East Lansing, MSU
Categories : Brew Pub, Burgers, Downtown, East Lansing, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar
Kroger – Holt
18 06 2008- 2495 S. Cedar St.
- Holt, MI 48842
- (517) 694-4119
- Website
I figured since I seem to be at the grocery store everyday, I’d write up a few blog posts about why I go to which grocery store. There isn’t one store where I do all my shopping because there is something that I think each store does better than others.
I’m going to start with Kroger because I had to run there tonight to get some baking supplies to make cookies for my girlfriend. No, I’m not in trouble. I just like to do nice things every now and then…and she asked me to because every Thursday is treat day (or something like that) at her job and it’s her to bring treats. For quick pantry trips, I usually run to Kroger because it’s the easiest to get to from our place. Meijer may be closer, but it’s harder to get to. We’ve walked to both stores so you know they’re not too far away. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: Grocery, Holt, Kroger
Categories : Grocery, Holt, Reviews
Arby’s – S. Lansing
18 06 2008
Arby’s is my guilty pleasure. I know I give chains a hard time on this blog, but if there’s one fast food place I could eat at everyday, it would be Arby’s. Growing up, Arby’s was always a treat because it does tend to be a little more expensive than a Wendy’s or McDonald’s, but the food is soooooo much better. Now, it’s about the only fast food I eat at regularly.
The first thing you’ll notice about the Arby’s on South Cedar is the old sign out front. There was one store in my last town of Peoria, IL. I think we did some research and found out there’s only a handful of these old signs left. The old sign sits in front of a more modern building. I let my girlfriend talk me into going through the drive-thru. I HATE drive thru’s. I can never understand the person talking to me and I feel like they always get something wrong because they can’t hear me. I did it anyway because neither of us were totally awake yet or dressed very well, but we needed lunch. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Arby's, Chains, Food, Roast Beef
Categories : Chains, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches
Fat Boys Pizza & Subs
16 06 2008
After a long day at Michigan International Speedway for the Nascar Sprint Cup race, my girlfriend and I were exhausted and just needed food. As I’ve mentioned many times before in this blog, I’m looking for that “gotta have it” local pizza. Fat Boys may just be it.
The store is located in a shopping center on Aurelius Road in Holt. They do delivery, but I drove by the store one other time and it looked like there were tables, so we deiced to go to the shop with plans on eating there. I was wrong about that. There’s a counter with some bar stools that we probably could have eaten at, but I’m assuming those are used more for lunch. My girlfriend isn’t much of a meat eater, so we pretty much always get a cheese pizza, so there’s not too much of a reason to look at the menu. We ordered a large cheese then sat down and read a copy of the LSJ that was sitting on the counter while we waited. The guy that took our order said it would be about ten minutes, but I don’t even think it took that long. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 4 Comments »
Tags: Holt, Pizza, Pizzeria, Subs
Categories : Holt, Local Flavor, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews
The Beach Bar
16 06 2008
The Beach Bar is one of those places that is really off the beaten path. We left Michigan International Speedway after the Craftsman Truck Series race hungry and needing a place to eat. The Beach Bar is one of the suggested places on MISpeedway.com, so I found a website and was impressed (again, I reiterate, restaurant owners, YOU NEED A WEBSITE if you want to be found). We left the track and the GPS took us back into Brooklyn to Clarklake Road. After winding through the Irish Hills and down what seemed like some country roads, we came upon Clark Lake. My companions in the truck with me were starting to wonder if we were going the wrong way until we hit the lake which is a beautfiful site. All of a sudden, I looked to the right and there was this big building right across from the docks. I was almost expecting a little hole in the wall, but this was a big, nice looking building. I was also somewhat expecting it to be packed since we were still fairly close to MIS.
When you walk in, there’s a little area for carry-outs. I think it’s pretty safe to assume they do a pretty good carry-out business with the lake across the street. People come in for food, but want to sit on their boats. You go through that room and enter the bar. The hostess station is almost in the middle of the room and it took us a while to notice it. I almost suggested just grabbing a station when my buddy saw the hostess. We were shown to a table in the non-smoking section near the back of the restaurant. the space is divided by a game room area with the smoking section in the front of the space near the bar. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 19 Comments »
Tags: Bar, Clarklake, Nascar, Racing, Sandwiches
Categories : Bar, Clarklake, Local Flavor, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar
Theio’s Restaurant
16 06 2008- 2650 E. Michigan Ave.
- Lansing, MI 48912
- (517) 487-3955
- No Known Website
- Menu
I love 24-hour restaurants. My dad and a buddy of mine came to town for the NASCAR races at Michigan International Speedway. My buddy had to work until 5:00 (CST) back home in Illinois, so they got a pretty late start to the three and half hour drive. After getting a little lost getting to my place, they were both pretty hungry. It was after 10:00 (EST now) and neither had eaten dinner. I figured the choices were either fast food or a diner. So, of course, I chose the diner.
I had drove by Theio’s a few times, but never stopped. I knew at some point it would make a great late night stop. We drove through downtown East Lansing first to see if there was a pizza-by-the slice place, but when we couldn’t find one, we headed back down Michigan. It looked like there were a lot of cars in the parking lot, but most of them must have been at the bar next door. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: 24-Hour, breakfast, Diner, Lansing
Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Burgers, Lansing, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches
Big Boy Restaurant – Okemos
11 06 2008
Ah, one day sales. After being woke up by a lawn mower, my girlfriend and I decided to make a trip to the Meridian Mall in Okemos. Younkers was having a one day sale and as it turns out, so was Macy’s. We shopped for about an hour and then started back towards home since my girlfriend still had to go to work. When we got in the car, she asked about lunch and I said, “What about Big Boy?” Before moving to Michigan, my only knowledge of Big Boy was gained from watching Austin Powers. Heck, at first I didn’t even know Big Boy was real. Funny thing. Big Boy is real and it’s corporate headquarters are here in Michigan in the town of Warren. Neither of us had ever eaten at a Big Boy Restaurant so we decided it was time.
I’d seen the sign from the road for Big Boy on the way in, but when we actually went to find the store, it was much harder than it should be. Big Boy actually sits behind a Sunoco near I-96. The problem is, if you get to the Sonoco, you’ve gone too far. So, I made myself a traffic hazard and turned into the Sunoco to turn around and go back to University Park Dr and take a right. After the turn, we came up on a sign that said “Big Boy” and a very plain looking building. The trademark cartoon character was nowhere to be found and there was no marking on the outside of the building. Again, we weren’t sure if this was the right place or not. If you turn into the first driveway, it actually takes you to the backside of the building, so again, we were confused as to where to enter. After driving around the building, we found the front and again, no markings until you get to the second set of doors. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 6 Comments »
Tags: Austin Powers, Big Boy, Burgers, Chains, Cheese, Restaurant
Categories : Burgers, Chains, Okemos, Restaurant, Reviews
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