….and Grand Rapids Recs. as Well

18 09 2008

Looks like I’m gonna need some restaurant recommendations for Grand Rapids as well.  We couldn’t find a hotel for under $100 in Traverse City, so instead of spending two days in the Cherry Capitol, we’ll just spend one then head back and spend Saturday in Grand Rapids.  Any good places for lunch and dinner….or any places between Grand Rapids and Lansing that we have to hit for dinner?

Any shops or markets we should check out in Grand Rapids as well…or just in anything in general you would suggest to first time visitors?


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Categories : Grand Rapids, Michigan

Olive Garden, Red Lobster to Raise Prices.

17 09 2008

Shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.  The Olive Garden and Red Lobster are having to raise prices to stay profitable.

The company said its menu prices at Olive Garden and Red Lobster have typically gone up between 2 percent and 3 percent each year, with price increases usually falling in the middle of that range. But for 2009, Darden said it will have to raise prices by a percentage closer to the high end of that range.

“It’s not a dramatic increase,” said Chief Operating Officer Drew Madsen. “But it’s a little more pricing than we have taken in the past.”

Darden said the economy — specifically higher costs for food, energy and labor — is to blame. Most restaurants have been pressed by significantly higher costs in the past year with prices for grain and meat rising to record levels and state and federal governments boosting the minimum wage for workers.

 I don’t eat at either.  My mom looooooves Olive Garden though.  It just one of those unfortunate trends.  Not even the chains are immune from the higher prices that cause the mom ‘n pop shops to struggle.


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Categories : Chains, Food News

Traverse City Eats

17 09 2008

J and I are making up for not having weekends off together this summer.  After spending the afternoon in Ann Arbor last weekend, we’re going to take a mini vacation to Traverse City this weekend, so once again, I’m looking for food suggestions.  I’ve got a pretty good list going of places that look good. 

Cook’s House
North Peak Brewing (which I believe is the same as Grizzly Peak Brewing in Ann Arbor)
Don’s Drive In
Hanna’s Bistro
Trattoria Stella
Moomer’s
Folgarelli’s Market

Any opinions on any of those or anything else that we have to try?


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Categories : Michigan, Traverse City

Press Release – Harvest Gathering Kick Off

16 09 2008

From a Press Release……

18th Annual Michigan Harvest Gathering Campaign To Launch at Michigan Capitol

WHAT: The Food Bank Council of Michigan will kick-off its annual Michigan Harvest Gathering campaign on the Capitol steps on Thursday. The 2008 Michigan Harvest Gathering will run through November 12.

WHEN: Thursday Sept. 18, 2008 – 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Front Steps of Capitol

WHO: Judge Bill Schuette, Court of Appeals,  Michigan Harvest Gathering Founder

Brian Peters, Senior Corporate Vice President Michigan Health and Hospital Association

Gordon Wenk, Deputy Director Michigan Department of Agriculture

Erica Karfonta, Manager, Gleaners Community Food Bank of Livingston County; Personal Testimony as someone who has utilized the generosities of a food pantry

State Representative John Moolenaar- Midland

Jane Marshall, Executive Director

Food Bank Council of Michigan

WHY: To raise food and funds to support the nine regional food banks in Michigan. Regional food banks provide food for agencies such as food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in all of Michigan’s 83 counties. This year’s goal is to raise $430,000 and 300,000 pounds of food.

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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan

Lost Lansing

15 09 2008

Corky pointd out this gret site to me this afternoon called Lost Lansing.  It’s a trip down memory lane for those of you who have been in the area longer than six months.  I’m a big history buff and I love this kind stuff.  Not only does it have restaurants that have gone by the wayside, but it’s got a section on the old Civic Center, gas stations, theaters, and more. 

On the web: Lost Lansing


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Buy Fresh Buy Local – Select Michigan Day

15 09 2008

I noticed a post about this last week on Good Food Hunting and today I got a comment about it from Ang, so I thought I’d make a post reminding people.  Select Michigan Day on the lawn of the Capitol is this Thursday, September 18. 

We went to this event back in July and walked away with a lot of great stuff.  I’m sure we’ll make another trip downtown now that some of the fall vegetables are starting to come in.

Celebrate the 4th annual “Buy Fresh, Buy Local – Select Michigan Day” on September 18, 2008!

Celebrate the fourth annual “Buy Fresh, Buy Local – Select Michigan Day” on Thursday, September 18, 2008!

Michigan Food & Farming Systems (MIFFS) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) Select Michigan program, with support from the Michigan Farmers’ Market Association (MIFMA) and the Food Bank Council of Michigan (FBCM), have already partnered together to keep momentum going in Michigan for local food!

“Select Michigan Day” has gained tremendous momentum over the past three years as more consumers are realizing the taste, health and economic benefits of buying local products.

Here, you can find out about events going on around the state, how you can host your own event and other ways that you can get involved. You can also read about past years’ successes.

For more information about the Select Michigan program, visit http://www.selectmichigan.org.


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Categories : Farmer's Market, Food News, Lansing, Michigan

Press Release – Van Atta’s Fall Family Fun Fest

15 09 2008

From a Press Release……

CELEBRATE MICHIGAN AT VAN ATTA’S FALL FAMILY FUN FEST

Haslett, Mich. – Van Atta’s Greenhouse & Flower Shop will hold a family festival with a
Celebrate Michigan theme on Saturday & Sunday September 27 & 28 from noon to 5:00
p.m. Free Michigan food will be served while local musicians provide a wide variety of
live entertainment. Many Michigan artists will be displaying their unique creations for
sale. Preserve Lake Lansing Trails will hold a fund raiser featuring a midway of games
and an obstacle course for children. There will be a Michigan 4-H petting zoo, the
Animal Resource Center, the Nature Discovery reptile & amphibian display, henna
tattooing, face painting, and much more. A clown and a juggler will perform at selected
times. Van Atta’s is located 1 ½ mile east of Marsh Road on Old M-78 in Haslett.
For more information including a schedule of musical performances and a list of
Michigan artists visit http://www.vanattas.com or call 517-339-1142.

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Happy’s Pizza – Lansing

14 09 2008
  • 6045 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-7777
  • Website
  • Menu
Happys Pizza on the corner of Cedar and Miller in Lansing.

Happy's Pizza on the corner of Cedar and Miller in Lansing.

What a miserable day.  It hasn’t stopped raining since Friday and that’s made it hard to work up the ambition to do anything but lay on the couch and watch TV.   Good thing there’s a NASCAR race on today.  We had talked about going to Okemos to pick something up, but ultimately, we both decided neither of us wanted to do much of anything except lay around and be lazy.

We had been watching the progress at the old BP station on the corner of Miller and Cedar that was being turned into a Happy’s Pizza.  Not being from Michigan, I had never seen a Happy’s Pizza before.  They got their start in 1994 in the Detroit area.  Since then, they have expanded a lot in Southeast Michigan.  Currently, they’re heading west and even starting to look at expansion in Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana.

Lunch was becoming a problem.  We were both hungry but too lazy to actually do anything about it.  Earlier this week,  Runs With Spatula put up a post about Happy’s opening.  J and I talked about it all week.  She finally suggested if I could reach my cell phone on the coffee table, we should order pizza.  Grudingly, I got up and checked out the Happy’s Pizza website where I found a coupon for 12 wings,a  2-liter of Pepsi and a large pizza for about $16.  Since I was already up, I grabbed my cell phone and called in an order. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Lansing, Michigan, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company

14 09 2008
  • 120 W. Washington
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 741-7325
  • Website
  • Menu
Grizzly Peak Brewing Company in downtown Ann Arbor.

Grizzly Peak Brewing Company in downtown Ann Arbor.

Our day in Ann Arbor was coming to an end and I was starting to get really hungry again.  Earlier in the week, I asked for suggestions on where to eat dinner and there was no shortage of recommendations.  Since we had spent a pretty good chunk of money on lunch and shopping, I didn’t want to hit up one of fancier restaurants on Main Street even though they were quit tempting.

What we settled on was the Grizzly Peak Brewing Company which was a suggestion from Amy.  Grizzly Peak is located just off of Main Street in a big corner building.  We parked across the street in a public lot and walked over to the brewery.  When we walked in, we found the hostess station.  There was a lady bent over the stand and I just assumed she was the hostess.  Nope.  She was waiting for her husband or something.  A waiter saw us standing there and came over to seat us.  Here was my big complaint about the meal.  I probably should have asked to be seated in the bar so I could watch the football game, but I didn’t.  Outside of the bar, there was one other couple eating and one large group.  The dining rooms at Grizzly Peak are huge and there are several options.  They seated both us and the other couple right next to the large group in a cramped dining room near the back of the space.  Come on now.  Why would you seat a couple next to a group in an empty restaurant.  We just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner, but the group wanted to catch up and you know how people get when they haven’t seen each other in a while.  Grandpa at one end of the table is yelling to his grandson at the other end of the table.  Doesn’t make a good dining experience for anyone around them and we were right next to the table.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Big Ten Tour, Brew Pub, Burgers, Downtown, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Whole Foods Market – Ann Arbor (Washtenaw Ave.)

14 09 2008
  • 3135 Washtenaw Ave.
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48104
  • (734) 975-4500
  • Website
Whole Foods Market on Washtenaw in Ann Arbor

Whole Foods Market on Washtenaw in Ann Arbor

Can you believe that I have never been in a Whole Foods before?  Where I’ve lived the last six years, the closest Whole Foods was in Chicago and until J and I started dating, I didn’t spend a lot of time that far north.  Same thing when we moved to Lansing.  The closest Whole Foods in Ann Arbor.  We were driving around checking out the city when for some reason I said, “I think there’s a Trader Joe’s in town somewhere.”  I was wrong, it wasn’t Trader Joe’s It was Whole Foods.  J put it into her GPS and even though we were driving aimlessly, we were just a few blocks away, so why not check it out?

I’m gonna say right now, it’s a good thing there is not a Whole Foods in Lansing.  On the other hand, you’d always know where to find me.  The thing I’ve always heard about Whole Foods is that it’s expensive.  As we walked through produce, I could see that.  We can get produce at Horrocks (review HERE) much cheaper.  It’s probably not “organic” at Horrocks, but it tastes the same.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Ann Arbor, Bakery, Cafe, Grocery, Michigan, Reviews

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