Roadhouse Grill & Bar

12 08 2009
  • 4112 Lansing Road
  • Jackson, MI 49202
  • (517) 782-7711
  • Website
  • Menu
Roadhouse Grill & Bar on Lansing Road in Blackman Township

Roadhouse Grill & Bar on Lansing Road in Blackman Township

The next week is going to be really busy for me.  It’s a change of pace and actually a welcome change of pace.  I’m starting to get some work now that fall sports are getting under way which means a lot more traveling and a lot less time playing Wii. 

A friend of mine was driving through on his way to Plymouth where he’s spending the weekend.  He’s working for SPEED this week at MIS and Plymouth is where is hotel is.  Since today was a travel day, he asked if I wanted to meet him for lunch somewhere.  The original plan was to meet in Ann Arbor because he was going to take I-80 to Toledo then head north.  For some reason, he changed his mind and took I-94 from Chicago. 

Since he was taking 94, he was open to meeting somewhere closer for me.  Jackson seemed like a good stopping point for both of us, so I started looking for places to eat. 

We don’t get to Jackson very often, so I’m not really familiar with what’s there.  I put a post on Twitter asking for suggestions and I did get a reply from one person.  @ddkronkh pointed me to an article that was in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot about the Top Ten sandwiches in Jackson.  I wanted to eat all of them, but I had to pick one.

What I ended up picking was The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Lansing Road near Parnall Road in Blackman Township.  Coming from Lansing, my GPS took me through the country a little bit and I was starting to wonder where this place was and if my friend from Illinois would be able to find out.  It actually isn’t too far from I-94 and he was able to find it without the help of a GPS. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Jackson, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill

10 08 2009
  • 2401 Lake Lansing Road
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 316-9973
  • Website
  • Menu
Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill on Lake Lansing Road in Lansing.

Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill on Lake Lansing Road in Lansing.

My curiosity finally won out.  Is it possible for a large chain restaurant to make good BBQ?  I’ve tried in the past.  I’ve eaten at a Corky’s franchise hoping for the best, but leaving feeling disappointed.  In my experience, the best BBQ joints are always locally owned, they smoke on site, and they serve Memphis style BBQ. 

Saturday was a pretty crappy day.  J and I both overslept due to the rain.  Our bedroom looked dark all morning and neither of us were motivated enough to actually look at a clock to see what time it was.  When we did finally roll out of bed, we started our Saturday ritual of debating eateries and activities to fill our afternoon before I had to go to work.  I had the BBQ craving and J had a GAP Rewards card, so Eastwood Towne Center seemed like the best option.

Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill is just off of Lake Lansing Road in front of the Eastwood Towne Centre near the other chain restaurants that dominate the area.  It was a miserable rainy day when we pulled into the parking lot and fortunately, we found a parking spot near the door.  The main entrance does not face Lake Lansing Road like you’d expect it to.  It actually faces the access road for the mall.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : BBQ, Chains, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Sammy’s Lounge – Holt

6 08 2009
  • 1957 Cedar Street
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 268-0820
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Sammys Lounge on Cedar Street in Holt.

Sammy's Lounge on Cedar Street in Holt.

I haven’t felt very well the last few days.  Nothing serious.  Just a summer cold.  Probably had the air conditioning blowing on me too much while I was sleeping.  Because of that, I wasn’t really in the mood to cook dinner.  I looked through the freezer, the cupboards, the fridge…nothing looked good, so I told J I’d pick her up from work and we’d just go out. 

I didn’t want to go to far from home and about the only thing that sounded good to me was a greasy burger.  We seem to always drive by Sammy’s Lounge but we’ve never stopped.  Since it’s fairly close to both J’s work and our home, I thought it would be a good choice. 

Sammy’s Lounge is on Cedar Street in Holt just past the downtown area.  The entrance is actually in the middle of the parking lot.  They have a great outdoor bar and beer garden that you have to walk through in order to get inside.  We headed inside where we ran into a hostess station.  One of the waitresses saw us and showed us to a table in the non-smoking side of the restaurant. 

The dining room is divided into two sections.  It’s a bi-level space with the bar/smoking section on the higher section.  The main dining room sits on the lower area.  The decor is very old school.  It looks like it hasn’t been updated since the place originally opened.  There are green vinyl seat backs on the booths and the furniture is classic 70’s restaurant.  The bar was the most interesting thing to me.  It wasn’t a regular size bar.  Instead of bar stools, they had what looked more like chairs that you would put around your kitchen table.  The height was about half the height of a normal bar.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Holt, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Sonic Drive In – Oregon, OH

3 08 2009
  • 2925 Navarre Avenue
  • Oregon, OH 43616
  • (419) 691-6600
  • Website
  • Menu
The Sonic Drive In in Oregon, OH

The Sonic Drive In in Oregon, OH

So, I’m sure many of you were expecting a review of one of Michael Symon’s restaurants in this spot.  I mean, if I’m going to Cleveland, you’d think I’d check out one of my favorite chef’s places, right?  Normally, you would be right, but this time, I was tired and already promised J we’d find a Sonic on the way home.  In addition to that, neither of us were really dressed for dinner at a fancy restaurant.  We would have been ok for lunch, but would have felt out of place at dinner.

We left Cleveland at about 5:30.  Had we used the GPS to look, we could have found a Sonic in Cleveland, but I already wrote down an address for one near Toledo.  Our original plan was just to go to Sandusky and Toledo was the closest one that was on the way home.  I had been planning that stop for days.

There are two Sonic’s in the Toledo area and both are in suburbs.  We chose the one in Oregon because it wasn’t that far off the Interstate and on the northwest side of the city.  On the way from Cleveland, I missed my turn to stay on I-90, so we ended up taking OH-2 until it turned into a two lane road.  We had about a half hour drive through the Ohio countryside which was fine with me.  When we got into town, OH-2 turned into Navarre Avenue.  A few blocks later, it ran into the Interstate we needed to head home. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chains, Fast Food, Ohio, Oregon, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Danny Boys Italian Eatery – Sandusky, OH

3 08 2009
  • 6207 Milan Road
  • Sandusky, OH 44870
  • (419) 621-1000
  • Website
  • Menu
Danny Boys Italian Eatery near Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH

Danny Boys Italian Eatery near Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH

Road trip!  I got a phone call from my buddy (I’ll call him Ja from here on) a few weeks ago wanting to know if we were busy on August 2.  He was going to be in Sandusky for work and wondered if we wanted to meet up.  Ja and his wife (Je from now on) were friends of both J and I when we lived in Peoria.  All four of us worked at the same place.  Ja is from Ohio and went back to school.  His girlfriend, who later became his wife, eventually followed him to Athens and the only time the four of us would see each other was at weddings. 

Ja and Je now live in Columbus, OH which would still be a pretty good haul for either of us to make a social visit.  Sandusky seemed a little more doable since it would be just a short three hour drive from Lansing. 

After the trip was planned, I started scouring foodie boards for places to eat.  There’s got to be some little hidden gem in a tourist town.  Alas, all anyone would tell me is that Sandusky is over run by chains.  To that I say, what city isn’t?  I hate when I get that answer because there is an abundance of chains in every town, every city, and every tourist destination in the country.  I’m not looking for those.  I want to know where the locals eat. 

Finally, I got a few suggetions.  Out of the top three I got, two were bars and Ja said a bar probably wasn’t a good idea, so I picked the Italian eatery. 

Danny Boys Italian Eatery is on the edge of town fairly close to Cedar Point.  When you get off OH-2, you go left for the amusement park and right to find this restaurant.  It’s less than a mile down Milan Road on the right side.  The building shares space with a few smaller businesses, but there’s a huge parking lot and overflow parking on the side. 

We got there right at 11:30 on Sunday which is when they open.  After the hugs and handshakes in the parking lot…and a little ribbing for my friends driving a Kia…we went inside.  I was a little surprised by the decor.  I was almost expecting a cheesy Italian decor which would fit the tourist town, but we we found was more of a Tuscan pub.  The floors were faux stones.  The first walls and ceilings were dark wood paneling.  The first area we came into was actually a bar with a window to the kitchen.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Italian, Ohio, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandusky, Sandwiches

Wild Wing Cafe

1 08 2009
  • 2085 W. Grand River Avenue
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-2321
  • Website
  • Menu
Wild Wing Cafe on Grand River Avenue in Okemos.

Wild Wing Cafe on Grand River Avenue in Okemos.

When I rolled out of bed this morning…er, afternoon, J started asking about lunch.  She was hungry.  I was hungry, so we started getting ready to leave the house.  Last night, I gave her the option of Mexican or wings.  Today, I wasn’t really in the mood for Mexican so I made the call to head to Okemos to try out the new chain in town. 

Wild Wing Cafe is on the corner of Grand River Avenue and Okemos Road in the building that used to be Bennigan’s.  The chain is an east coast franchise based in South Carolina.  The Okemos location is both the farthest north and west. 

I never went into the Bennigan’s, so I have no idea if anything has changed inside.  The dining room is anchored by a large bar in the middle that is covered with LCD TV’s.  In fact, that’s pretty much the whole design theme.  LCD TV’s everywhere.  Everywhere!  The place really has a sports bar theme.  The TV’s are accented with MSU pictures that have been blown up and hung on the walls. 

There are tables and booths that fill in the space around the bar.  We were shown to a table near the stage that hosts local bands on weekends.  A waitress came over and took drink orders while we looked over the rather large menu.  I knew I wanted wings, but there were a lot of options.  J isn’t in to the traditional wing as much as I am, so she needed a little more time to work her way through the choices.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

RG’s Ballpark Dogs & More

29 07 2009
  • 625 E. Michigan Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 977-9079
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
RGs Ballpark Dogs & More on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

RG's Ballpark Dogs & More on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

I go to a lot of Lugnuts games and almost every game I go to, I walk right by a little Mexican/hot dog place on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Pere Marquette Street.  Sometimes, the restaurant is open, but most of the time, it’s not.  It seems like every time I walk by, I’m low on cash so I’ve never been able to stop in for a quick meal. 

I was downtown this afternoon for the Lugnuts Summer Family Fun day game.  When I walked by before the game, the store was open.  I didn’t eat at the park figuring I would take my chance and see if they were open when the game was over. 

After a dramatic ninth inning, two out comeback that fell just short, I started walking back towards my truck.  The door to the restaurant was open and there was one other person in.  The special board caught my eye, so I made a quick turn to see what this little corner shop was hiding.

RG’s Ballpark Dogs & More is about a block from Oldsmobile Park on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Pere Marquette right across the street from Clara’s.  I have no idea what the hours are or even if they have regular hours.  I’ve tried to see if they were posted somewhere on the window or door, but there’s nothing. 

The shop is very tiny.  When they are open, the front door is usually propped open.  When you enter the store, you have to take a step up to get to the order counter.  There is enough room for two small tables in the space next to the counter, but that’s about it.  On nice days, they pull at least one of these tables outside to the sidewalk which makes more sense.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, Lansing, Mexican, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

A & W Restaurant – E. Oakland Ave.

28 07 2009
  • 427 E. Oakland Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48906
  • (517) 485-3950
  • Website
  • Menu
The A & W Restaurant on East Oakland Avenue in Lansing.

The A & W Restaurant on East Oakland Avenue in Lansing.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I still haven’t figured out the fascination with Sonic Drive-In’s.  J, on the other hand, loves the place.  Mostly because of their Limeade.  While watching TV the other night, we saw a commercial for A & W and they were promoting their new Fruit Flavored Limeades.  The commercial caught her attention and the next chance we got, we headed to A & W.

There are two A & W Restaurant in Lansing.  One is on West Saginaw Highway.  The other is on East Oakland.  We chose the Oakland store because it was the one I knew.  The A & W is at the corner of East Oakland Avenue and North Cedar Street.  Like many businesses in the area right now, their parking lot is only accessible from one street because of the CSO project. 

As we were pulling up to the stoplight at Cedar Street, I had serious doubts that they were open.  It was lunch time, but there was only one car in the parking lot.  It looked desserted.  As I pulled into the parking, there was a car that drove around to the drive thru window so we knew they were open. 

We were wanting to eat in the store because our next stop was grocery shopping.  It wouldn’t make sense to take our meals with it.  The inside of the store is tiny.  Very, very tiny.  There’s an order counter that only has one register and almost no counter space.  There are less than ten tables jammed into the small space…most of which are two tops.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

Ryba’s Fudge Shops

27 07 2009
  • PO Box 1410, Main Street
  • Mackinac Island, MI 4974
  • (906) 847-4065
  • Website
  • Menu
Rybas Fudge Shops on Mackinac Island.

Ryba's Fudge Shops on Mackinac Island.

There’s really no other place on Earth where the main purpose of a trip could be to buy fudge.  It wasn’t the main purpose of our trip, but it was a perk that we were looking forward to. 

We put off the actual fudge buying until we were ready to leave.  Had we given in and bought fudge when we got there, we would have been eating fudge all day.  Not a bad thing from a taste perspective, but you know what chocolate and sugar can do to you. 

After eating dinner at The Pink Pony, we started to make our way back to the Arnold Transit Company docks.  We had been debating all day which fudge shop we would try.  It was hard to make a decision because every store had a sign proclaiming “Best Fudge on Mackinac according to the Detroit News.”  Like I mentioned in my post about the Island, they must just rotate every year. 

The store we ended up choosing was Ryba’s.  There are a number of Ryba’s on Main Street.  There was at least three just downtown and I noticed one on the way to the Grand Hotel as well.  The store we actually went into was the one next door to the Chippewa Hotel.  It was the first one we came across and there weren’t many people inside. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Candy, Mackinac Island, Michigan, Reviews

Pink Pony Bar & Grill

27 07 2009
  • P.O. Box 250, Main Street
  • Mackinac Island, MI 49757
  • (906) 847-3341
  • Website
  • Menu
The Pink Pony Bar & Grill in downtown Mackinac Island.

The Pink Pony Bar & Grill in downtown Mackinac Island.

After our carriage tour of Mackinac Island, J and I made our way back to Main Street.  It was now pushing 5:30 and we still hadn’t bought any fudge.  J mentioned we should probably buy some then added she could go for dinner.  I felt the same way. We burned a lot of energy today and lunch seemed so long ago. 

This was going to be our last meal on the Island and there were still so many choices. I picked up a Mackinac Island dining guide from the Visitor’s Center, but there were no address or maps of where any of the places were.  As we toured the Island, we walked by a number of places that would normally catch our attention. I stopped and browsed menus at a few, but when it comes down to it, J and I are really pub food people. 

I thought it might be nice if we could spend the end of the day enjoying dinner overlooking Lake Hudson.  The first place that popped into my head was the Pink Pony.  We walked by earlier in the day and it looked cute plus the back of the building overlooked the harbor.

The Pink Pony Bar & Grill is on Main Street inside the Chippewa Hotel.  The bar/restaurant takes up a large portion of the bottom floor and it’s divided into several sections.  If you walk into the bar, there is no hostess station, but there is a sign pointing you to the lobby of the hotel.  We just stayed outside and walked to the lobby where we found a hostess just in front of the main dining room.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, Mackinac Island, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

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