One Sixty Four North – Kankakee, IL

5 02 2009
  • 164 N. Schuyler Avenue
  • Kankakee, IL 60901
  • (815) 936-0164
  • Website
  • Menu
One Sixty Four North in downtown Kankakee, IL

One Sixty Four North in downtown Kankakee, IL

Whenever I go to my parents house, I run into the problem of “where do we eat today?”    There’s not a lot of options in a town of 750 people.  The closest “big town” is Kankakee a half hour to the north.  J and I tossed around a couple options, but then I decided I was going to make dinner for my brother and dad tonight since my mom and sister-in-law were working.  In order to do that, I had to find a grocery store…again, a half hour to the north.  Since we were going anyway, I told J we’d just eat in Kankakee. 

One Sixty Four North is on North Schuyler Street near the Paramount Theater in downtown Kankakee.  Growing up, there wasn’t much in this area.  The only thing we went downtown for was a movie.  Most of the people I know are not adventurous eaters.  They prefer their Applebees and Arby’s, so asking about a local establishment is sort of like talking in Greek.  I had asked a few people about One Sixty Four North and the answer I always got was “heard it was good, but too expensive for us to try.”  I checked out the menu on-line and it looked pretty reasonably priced to me. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, Fine Dining, Illinois, Kankakee, Restaurant, Reviews

Vito & Nick’s Pizzeria – Chicago, IL

4 02 2009
  • 8433 S. Pulaski Road
  • Chicago, IL 60652
  • (773) 735-2050
  • Website
  • Menu
Vito & Nicks Pizzeria on Chicagos south side.

Vito & Nick's Pizzeria on Chicago's south side.

When we were home for Thanksgiving, one of the places J’s step-dad recommended we eat was Vito & Nick’s on Chicago’s south side.  We passed and went for ribs instead.  Imagine our surprise when we saw the pizzeria on Diner’s, Drive-In’s, and Dives earlier this month.

After that airing, we decided on our next trip home, we would check the place out.  It’s not far from J’s parents, so we hit the place up for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon.  J’s mom was off work so she decided to join us.  Vito and Nick’s was a place her parents used to take her, but she hasn’t been there in a number of years and wanted to see if it was the place she remembered.

The Original Vito & Nick’s is located on 84th Place and Pulaski.  There’s another location in Lemont, but we wanted to go to the one in Chicago.  J’s mom said she remembered the place as having a red, white and green awning and that’s what we looked for.  By the time she saw it, I had missed the parking lot, so we had to circle around the neighborhood to get back. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, Dive Bar, Illinois, Local Flavor, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Hardees – Howe, IN

4 02 2009
  • 7 North – Ernie Pyle Plaza
  • I-90/I-80 MP 126 Westbound
  • Howe, IN 46746
  • (260) 562-9163
  • Website
  • Menu
Hardees at an Indiana Toll Road Travel Plaza near Howe, IN

Hardees at an Indiana Toll Road Travel Plaza near Howe, IN

It never fails.  If we’re planning on going home for a few days, of course, it is going to snow.  Tonight was no different.  J and planned weeks ago to take a short vacation and go see our families in Illinois.  We thought we’d be out of the worst of winter and things would be ok.  Once we started looking at the forecast, we were convinced that someone, somewhere didn’t want us to leave Michigan.  The weather looked terrible.  Over fifteen inches of snow in a line that was hovering over Southwestern Michigan and Northeast Indiana.  We had to go right through it to get home. 

I started looking at the map and saw we could go down to the Indiana Toll Road and skip a lot of the stuff in Southwest Michigan.  It would add about twenty minutes to our trip, but we could be stuck in traffic for a lot longer than that.  This way, we wouldn’t hit the snow until we got about an hour from Chicago.  The problem with this route, is we’ve never taken it before and we didn’t know where the rest stops were.

Usually, we hit the Rest Stop east of Kalamazoo which is a little over an hour into our trip.  By then, I’ve already drank a Pepsi and J’s had a Rockstar.  An hour into our trip this time, all we found was darkness.  We were both getting to the point where we had to pee so bad it hurt, but there was nowhere to get off.  We hit the Indiana Toll Road and not long after getting on in Angola, I saw a sign for a travel plaza ten miles down the road.  Turns out, that was the only place to get off. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chains, Indiana, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

The End of Busboys?

3 02 2009

You always hear so many stories of how famous chef’s got their start as a busboy.  That era may be over according to this story in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot.

The ranks of people whose primary task is to bus tables in restaurants is dwindling — another sign of the times.

Tables are still being set and cleared, of course, but at a number of area restaurants these days employees other than busers are pitching in to keep costs down.

Bob Evans, 1725 N. West Ave., reduced its busing staff two years ago, but manager Dana Lowe said it still has seven employees who bus tables at peak times with hostesses and other employees helping as needed.

“We’re trying to get the crew to work as a team more,” Lowe said.

Steve’s Ranch, 311 Louis Glick Highway, has three busers. Owner

My mom is a waitress at a small bar/restaurant and they bus their own tables.  The idea is that the server pays more attention to the table if they know they have something to do after the food is delivered.  It helps with the overall customer experience.  I’ve noticed the same thing at a lot of places recently.


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Categories : Food News

Super Bowl Commercials

1 02 2009

Great game.  Bad commercials.  I didn’t watch the Super Bowl with the intention of actually getting involved in the game, but that’s what happened.  There were only two commercials that really caught my attention and made me laugh out loud. 

The first one was in one of the first breaks.  It wa the Dorito’s Snow Globe commercial

OK, I’ll admit.  It was the snow globe to the groin that made me fall of the couch.  I know, it’s juvenile. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Food News

Wing Zone

1 02 2009
  • 340 Morgan Lane
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 332-9464
  • Website
  • Menu
Wing Zone in the Frandor Shopping Center in Lansing.

Wing Zone in the Frandor Shopping Center in Lansing.

Wings and the Super Bowl go together.  It’s just a fact of life.  For the last five or six years, I have slaved over a deep fryer for hours making wings for my friends on the day of the game.  Every year, I’d come up with a new sauce or way to cook them.  Last year, I skipped the deep fryer all together and went for baked wings.  This year, I just wasn’t in the mood.  I still wanted wings and have been craving them for days.  My two choices were to make a trip to Kroger for wings and oil or let the professionals do all the work.

My favorite wing place, by far has always been Buffalo Wild Wings.  It’s the one chain I don’t mind telling you that I love.  When the company opened their first store in the Peoria area, I spent three or four nights a week there.  I worked second shift and my buddies and I would hit B-Dubs after work for drinks and wings.  Most Tuesday’s, our orders were waiting for us when we got there. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicken, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Wings

Sir Pizza : Grand Cafe

31 01 2009
  • 210 E. Grand River Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48906
  • (517) 484-9197
  • Website
  • Menu
Sir Pizzas Grand Cafe in Lansings Old Town

Sir Pizza's Grand Cafe in Lansing's Old Town

After a late afternoon lunch, neither J or I were really hungry around “dinner time.”  We sat on the couch watching TV until a little after eight.  It was then, we decided we needed to find something for dinner.  I wasn’t really in the mood for another burger and the only thing I had a taste for was pizza.  I was hesitant to suggest that because I seem to always go to pizza if I don’t want bar food.  To my surprise, when I did suggest it, J said she was thinking the same thing.

Our first choice was the newly opened Izzo’s Pizzeria in REO Town.  Unfortunately, we were too late.  When we drove by, it was open.  By the time we parked and walked back to the pizzeria, it was closed, so I went with Plan B. 

The Sir Pizza Grand Cafe is in Lansing Old Town on Grand River Avenue overlooking the Grand River.  When it came to ordering pizza, we always seemed to avoid the Lansing chain.  The other Sir Pizza stores never really looked all that inviting.  The one we always drive by is the Cedar Street/Mt. Hope location and that one looks like it’s abandoned.  The front is all boarded up and you can’t tell that there’s anything going on inside.  So, and I know this is bad, that’s how my perception of Sir Pizza was built, but I had heard good things about the Grand Cafe.  Since we were still in the mood for pizza and Old Town wasn’t really all that far, that’s where we headed. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Michigan, Old Town, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Gilbert & Blake’s

31 01 2009
  • 3554 Okemos Road
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-1300
  • Website
  • Menu
Gilbert & Blakes on Okemos Road in Okemos

Gilbert & Blake's on Okemos Road in Okemos

I’ve always been afraid of Gilbert and Blake’s.  I had only read one review of the place and it wasn’t exactly glowing, but the thing that really scared me off was the “seafood” part of the branding.  We don’t eat seafood.  I know, they have steaks, but I don’t order steaks at a restaurant.  They’re never as good as I make at home and really expensive.  J and I are sandwich people.  I love a good burger and there were no burgers on Gilbert and Blake’s dinner menu, so I never considered it an option for us.  For some odd reason, I was looking at restaurants last night.  I came back to Gilbert and Blake’s and decided to look at the menu again.  Again, the dinner menu didn’t do much for me.  It’s a little too fancy for a regular night out, but the lunch menu actually looked really good.  J and I were discussing lunch options and I figured…let’s give it a try.  There were enough options that both of us should be happy.

Gilbert & Blake’s is on Okemos Road not far from I-96 in Okemos.  Like I figured, it’s not your average night out kind of place.  I would put it in the fine dining category for this area.  There are couple different dining rooms.  When you walk in, you’re met by a hostess.  We were shown to a table in what looks to be their main dining room just off of the bar.  Gilbert & Blake’s is a white tablecloth, black napkin kind of place.  The decor is subdued and dark.  Most of the light is natural lighting coming in from large windows that run along one wall of the dining room.  What little lighting they have are track spot lights. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Michigan, Okemos, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

New Places To Eat!

31 01 2009
The State Side Deli on Okemos Road

The State Side Deli on Okemos Road

We went out to lunch and planned on doing some shopping in Okemos this afternoon.  Our restaurant of choice was Gilbert and Blake’s.  When we pulled into the parking, we noticed a new deli across the street with a “Grand Opening” banner hanging out front.  It’s called State Side Deli.  They’re on Okemos Road in the strip mall directly across from Gilbert and Blake’s.

After lunch, we headed cross town to Horrocks.  I almost suggested stopping at Ice Cream Joes, so I was looking for it.  Ultimately, we didn’t, but as we drove by, I noticed a new name on the side.  It’s now called The Uddery Creamery.  We didn’t stop, so I don’t know if anything’s changed, but we really liked Ice Cream Joe’s when we stopped in back in the spring.


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Categories : Deli, Ice Cream, Lansing, Okemos

Facebook Correction

31 01 2009

Thanks to everyone that joined the Facebook group this week, but I realized I made a mistake.  I meant to create a fan page…not a group.  The fan pages have better options for networking and promoting.  So, I know it’s a pain, but could everyone who joined the group follow the link below and “become a fan”?  And if you haven’t joined yet, click the link and sign up.  I’m going to delete the group in a couple days…

Mid-Michigan Dining Facebook Fan Page


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Categories : Michigan

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