Press Release – Grand River Connection

23 06 2008

From the GRC Website:

For our 4th Tuesday networking night in June, GRC will be returning back to where it all began. In June of 2005, a small group of 28 people gathered at Harper’s for what would become the first-ever Grand River Connection event! On June 24, 2008, from 6pm to 8pm, GRC will be returning to Harper’s (131 Albert Avenue)for our 3rd Anniversary Event. Bring a friend and come on out and spend time with people you’ve met at previous events, and meet new people! Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Food News, Press Releases

Frankie’s Beef, Pasta & Catering – Oak Lawn, IL

23 06 2008
  • Frankie\'s Beef5721 W. 95th St.
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60435
  • (708 ) 423-4444
  • Website
  • Menu

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 »


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Categories : Chicago, Chicken, Italian, Oak Lawn, Restaurant, Reviews

White Palace Grill – Chicago

23 06 2008
  • White Palace Grill1159 S. Canal St.
  • Chicago, IL 60607
  • (312) 939-7167
  • Website (not working)
  • Menu

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 »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Chicago, Restaurant, Reviews

Weekend Plans

19 06 2008

Posting is going to be light again this weekend.  I’m heading to Chicago Friday to shoot the Barclay’s Churchill Cup rugby at Toyota Park in Bridgeview on Saturday.  My girlfriend took the day off so we can make a long weekend out of it and get to spend some time with our parents.

We’re going to be hitting up a few places in Chicago we’ve been wanting to go.  On the way home, we’re planning on hitting the White Palace Grill on Chicago’s south side.  They were featured on Diner’s Drive-In’s and Dives a few months ago.  We’re also planning on hitting one of my favorite dive bars in a small unicorporated part of Iroquois County called L’Erbale.  They stop serving at nine and it’s an hour drive from Chicago, so who knows.  I know this has nothing to do with Mid-Michigan, but I’m going to lump them in the Big Ten Tour section of the blog because both of these places (and anywhere else we go) could be hit up on the way to Champaign (Univeristy of Illinois) or Evanston (Northwestern).  Plus, I just really like reviewing places 🙂

Don’t expect to see much activity here until Sunday night (doubtful) or Monday afternoon (more likely).  In the mean time, don’t forget to check out the REVIEW section of the site to see where I’ve been in Mid-Michigan already


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House May Give on Smoking Ban

19 06 2008

MIRS News is reporting that Houe Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman (D-Detroit) may call the total ban (HB 4163) that the Senate passed for a vote if the Senate doesn’t act on the bill the House sent back to them. 

Tobocman said he will wait to “see if the Senate goes along with the exemptions,” but if it does not, House Democrats are prepared to adopt the Sen. Ray Basham (D-Taylor) bill that imposes an across-the-board smoking ban on every public place.

There is no timeframe given.  It sounds like they’re hoping the threat of passing the total ban will get the Senate to move on the ban with exemptions.  Sounds to me like he’s calling the Senate’s bluff.


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Categories : Food News, Michigan, Politics

Grand Traverse Pie Company – East Lansing

19 06 2008
  • 1403 E. Grand River Ave.Grand Traverse Pie Company
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 203-3304
  • Website
  • Menu

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 »


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Categories : Bakery, Cafe, East Lansing, Reviews

Harper’s Restaurant & Brewpub

19 06 2008
  • 131 Albert Ave.Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub
  • 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 »


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Categories : Brew Pub, Burgers, Downtown, East Lansing, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar

E. Coli Outbreak in Michigan

18 06 2008

Another food bourne illness precaution.

State health officials suspect contaminated ground beef is the source of a spike in infections by E. coli bacteria.

They’re urging people to thoroughly cook their hamburgers and, if possible, use a digital thermometer to make sure they’ve been heated to at least 160 degrees.

The Michigan Department of Community Health says it’s received 29 reports of E. coli infection so far this month. That compares with just 10 cases for the entire month of June over the past four years.

The story goes on to say that early lab reports suggest a common source, but doesn’t identify it.  When I found what it is, I’ll update this post.

Cook your beef.  Especially if you buy ground beef from a supermarket.  The stuff I get from a butcher I’ll go more medium on, but ground beef from the grocery store needs to be well done.


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Cold Stone on the Decline

18 06 2008

I wasn’t too surprised when I saw this artcile on MSN tonight.

Earlier in this decade, Cold Stone Creamery was one of the hottest franchises around. The super-premium ice-cream stores attracted scores of franchisees hungry for a piece of the “Ultimate Ice Cream Experience.”

Now many franchisees are selling their stores, overwhelmed by soaring bills and shrinking profits. Some have lost their homes, broken their retirement nest eggs or filed for bankruptcy. Read the rest of this entry »


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Kroger – Holt

18 06 2008
  • 2495 S. Cedar St.Kroger
  • 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 »


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Categories : Grocery, Holt, Reviews

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