Sweetie-licious Bakery Cafe

20 07 2009
  • 108 N. Bridge Street
  • DeWitt, MI 48820
  • (517) 669-9300
  • Website
  • Menu
Sweetie-licious Bakery Cafe in downtown DeWitt.

Sweetie-licious Bakery Cafe in downtown DeWitt.

Since moving to Lansing, I’ve been looking for an excuse to take a trip to DeWitt so we could check out Sweetie-licious.  Finally, I stopped looking for an excuse and just made my own.  We found a place to eat lunch and then planned on heading to Sweetie-licious for dessert.  After a quick lunch at Relli’s, we made the one block trip to with the hopes of sampling the best pie in the country.

Sweetie-licious Bakery Cafe is on Bridge Street in downtown DeWitt.  It’s a colorful storefront  with a few red tables outside.  The store itself is tiny and pretty popular.  We showed up about 1:00 on a Saturday and we had to weave our way around other people. 

There are two pastry cases that take up a bulk of the public space.  In the remaining space, there are a few tables.  They do have a savory menu that consists of sandwiches and salads, but we were in the market for sweets. 

I’m not a pie person, so I started looking in the cases to see what they had.  There wasn’t a whole lot left, but there were some cookies and brownies that both looked good to me.  I was just going to let J order and then throw in a cookie or two. Read the rest of this entry »

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Europa Pastisserie Cafe

1 03 2009
  • 546 Monroe Street
  • Detroit, MI 48226
  • (313) 237-5370
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Europa Patisserie Cafe in Detroits Greektown

Europa Patisserie Cafe in Detroit's Greektown

After checking out the Eastern Market and snapping some pictures of what’s remaining of Tiger Stadium for my brother, we headed towards Greektown.  We’re still not really familiar with Detroit, but we knew Greektown was a walkable area and probably had a coffee shop or something for us to relax in for a while.  Luck was on our side, we actually found a metered space about a block from where we wanted to be.  After showing off my parallel parking skills, we headed towards the restaurant area. 

We thought about just going to the Astoria Pastry Shop (review HERE) like we did last time we were in Greektown, but the line was out the door.  We kept walking and I noticed a cafe across the street.  We walked down to the stoplight since I was chicken to jaywalk right in front of the Detroit cop that was walking toward us then double backed to the cafe.

Europa Pastisserie Cafe is on Monroe Street on the bottom floor of the Greektown casino.  There is an exterior door, but there’s also an entrance from inside the casino.  There’s a little marketplace area that has a link to a number of restaurants including a Cold Stone Creamery, a steakhouse, and a Greek tavern.  Read the rest of this entry »





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 »





Aunt Millie’s Bakery Outlet

9 09 2008
  • 5085 W. Grand River Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48906
  • (517) 886-4227
  • Website
Aunt Millies Bakery Outlet on Grand River in Lansing.

Aunt Millie's Bakery Outlet on Grand River in Lansing.

Aunt Millie’s Bakery Outlet was not our destination today when we started out.  A few weeks ago, I did a post about Aunt Millie’s bread which I found at Kroger.  In that post, I stated the only thing I didn’t like was the price, but that was before I found the bread at Horrocks. Frequent commentor Ang told me there was a Bakery Outlet on Grand River.  When I did a Google search to find the store, another business popped up just a few blocks away.  There wasn’t much info on it, but there was a place called Aunt Millie’s Deli Diner located at 6086 W. Grand River.  I had J put Aunt Millie’s in her GPS to get there from Horrocks and again, a business called Aunt Millie’s Deli Diner showed up.  When we got to the spot it claimed to be, there was nothing but empty land.  I thought maybe the GPS was a little off and got East or West confused, so we kept driving.  Our drive brought us to Aunt Millie’s Bakery Outlet, so we stopped in to see what it had to offer.

Aunt Millie’s Bakery Outlet isn’t fancy.  It’s a small room attached to the administration offices.  The store is stocked with all of Aunt Millie’s products.  The shelves are nothing more than bread racks.  Since we had just stopped at Horrocks, we didn’t really need any bread, but I wanted to look.  We’ve been buying wheat pitas and making home made pita chips.  We picked up two packages at Horrocks, but if they had them cheap here, I cold always use more.  Read the rest of this entry »





Roma Bakery, Deli, & Fine Foods

9 09 2008
  • 428 N. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 485-9466
  • Website
  • No Online Menu
Roma Bakery, Deli, & Fine Foods on Cedar St. in Lansing

Roma Bakery, Deli, & Fine Foods on Cedar St. in Lansing

Finding Roma today was totally an accident.  We made our weekly trip to Horrocks and wanted to find something for lunch.  I seem to remember someone telling me Aunt Millie’s had a Deli out on Grand River, so that’s what we went looking for.  We put it in the GPS and when the GPS said we had arrived, there was nothing that even remotely looked like a diner.  We found the outlet store, but no deli.  I thought maybe it was farther down Grand River, so we kept driving.  Eventually, we hit I-96 BL and I got on that without even knowing.  Once I figured out we were going through Old Town, I thought of that bakery on Cedar Street that we had passed so many times without even giving a second glance to.  Since it was getting late in the afternoon and J needed to get to work, I suggested stopping since it would probably be something we could grab and go.

Roma is situated just a few blocks from Oldsmobile Park and downtown Lansing.  The building makes it look like nothing more than the corner bakery, but there is a sign out front that says “Join us for lunch.”  The parking lot was pretty empty when we pulled in around 1:00 and we wondered if we were making a mistake. 

The inside is set up like a local grocery store.  The name Roma suggests an Italian bakery, but I would call it more European as they offer food and baked goods from all parts of the continent even though most of their wares are Italian.  The deli case is in the back of the store.  Next to the deli case is a long pastry case filled with home made goodies.  Since lunch was the priority, we hit that up first. Read the rest of this entry »





Castle Bakery

1 09 2008
  • 713 S. Main St.
  • Frankenmuth, MI 48734
  • (989) 652-9941 EXT. 3282
  • Website
  • Menu
The entrance to Castle Shops in downtown Frankenmuth

The entrance to Castle Shops in downtown Frankenmuth

After spending an hour or so at Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, we headed downtown to check out the businesses district of Frankenmuth.  What we found was a shock.  Tourists packed the streets of a vibrant, bustling downtown anchored by the Bavarian Inn and Zehnder’s.  We drove around for a while looking for a place to park.  We finally found one in a parking lot on the other side of the covered bridge.  It was a hot day and no one had had anything to drink since lunch at the Blackforest Brew Haus & Grill (review HERE). One of the first places we ran into was the Castle Shops.  We noticed a bakery and figured they’d have bottled water or soda or something to drink. 

The Castle Bakery is the first thing you come to when you walk down the steps to the Castle Shops.  The whole shopping area is located below the Bavarian Inn Restaurant.  The feel of the whole area is that of an old castle.  The buiding is all stone from floor to ceiling.  The bakery takes up a huge portion of the area when you first walk in.  There is a case displaying their goodies that runs from the door all the way to the other side of the shop.  J found the bottled water and grabbed one of those then went to pay.  On the way, she noticed a chocolate chip cookie with mini pretzels baked into it.  It looked way too good to pass up, so she didn’t.  It didn’t look appetizing to me, but she loved it.  Read the rest of this entry »





Panera Bread – Lansing Mall

21 08 2008
  • 5300 W. Saginaw Hwy
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 703-9340
  • Website
  • Menu
Panera Bread located inside the Lansing Mall on Saginaw Highway in Lansing

Panera Bread located inside the Lansing Mall on Saginaw Highway in Lansing

I used to be scared of Panera Bread.  I always assumed there is nothing there I would like because they didn’t make greasy hamburgers and fries.  My girlfriend finally got me there one day while we were doing some extended work in Decatur, IL.  We had exhausted all of the downtown restaurant options and another lady we were working with had mentioned she was going to Panera Bread.  I decided not to argue and went along for the ride.  To my surprise, I actually found quite a bit there that sounded and looked good.  Panera has always been a standby for J.  She eats there pretty much every time she has to work in Kalamazoo or anytime she has to find someplace to eat and I’m not with her.

Today, we needed to run to Horrocks before heading back to Illinois for the weekend.  J just wanted a salad for lunch and asked if there was a Panera close.  The only one I could think of was the one at the Lansing Mall so after we grabbed what we needed from Horrocks, we headed down Saginaw Highway to the mall.  Read the rest of this entry »





Aunt Millie’s Bakeries

13 08 2008

Lately, I’ve been doing a little label reading to see what I can cut out of my diet.  Most of the calories and sugar I get are from Pepsi which is pretty much like crack to me.  I’ve tried cutting down, but I get irritable when I’m craving one.  Since I started dating my girlfriend, she’s been trying to get me to eat healthier bread.  For the most part, I’d grab the store brand generic white bread that was $.99.  It seemed like such a waste to spend $4 on bread.

I gave in a few times and tried some of the “healthier” bread that she wanted me to try and they all tasted like crap.  They weren’t very dense and went stale pretty fast.  It just wasn’t appetizing.  Last week, I was at Kroger and I started reading labels.  My goal was to find a loaf of bread that didn’t have high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or enriched wheat.  That proved to be a lot harder than I thought.  Even the healthy stuff my girlfriend keeps trying to get me to buy has both.

As I was about to give up and just buy the cheap stuff, I picked up one final loaf.  It was a brand I’ve never heard of, but right on top of the packaging, they were advertising the fact that their bread didn’t have HFCS.  The brand?  Aunt Millie’s

Aunt Millie’s is a regional bakery based in Ft. Wayne, IN that serves five states in the Midwest including Michigan with four bakeries in Michigan (two in Coldwater, Jackson, Kalamazoo, and Plymouth).  I picked up a loaf, but it was over $3.  I figured this one time, I’d give it a try.  I didn’t have high expectations because healthy bread usually didn’t taste good.  Aunt Millie’s is an exception to that rule.  I can’t tell any difference between this bread and the cheap bread I usually prefer.  Still, $3.18 is a little high for bread….good thing I found it at Horrock’s for $1.80. 

I’m sold now.  Last time at Horrock’s, I picked up another loaf of wheat bread and a package of wheat buns…both made with out enriched wheat products or HFCS.  I never thought I’d find a healthier bread that I liked, but I did.  Aunt Millie makes just about every bread that I buy.  Horrock’s also had Texas Toast (which I prefer for pulled pork), hot dog buns, and even potato bread.  Not my thing, but it seems that’s the new craze. 

Aunt Millies Multi-Grain Wheat Bread

Aunt Millie's Multi-Grain Wheat Bread

Aunt Millie’s Multi-Grain Wheat Bread

  • Zero Grams of Saturated Fat Per Serving
  • Zero Grams of Trans Fat Per Serving
  • No High Fructose Corn Syrup
  • Serving Size = 1 Slice
  • Calories – 60
  • Calories from Fat – 0
  • Sodium – 130mg – 5%

 

 

Aunt Millies Hearth 100% Whole Wheat Buns

Aunt Millie's Hearth 100% Whole Wheat Buns

Aunt Millie’s Hearth 100% Whole Weat Hamburger Buns

  • Zero Grams Trans Fat Per Serving
  • No High Fructose Corn Syrup
  • Made With Whole Grain Flour
  • Serving Size = 1 Bun
  • Calories – 140
  • Calories from Fat – 15
  • Sodium 270mg – 11%

 





Astoria Pastry Shop

27 07 2008
  • 541 Monroe St.
  • Detroit, MI 48226
  • (313) 963-9603
  • Website
  • Menu
The Astoria Pastry Shop in Detroits Greektown Neighborhood

The Astoria Pastry Shop in Detroit's Greektown Neighborhood

The Astoria Pastry Shop was another recommendation from fellow blogger Genie28.  Being new to the area, we had no idea that Greektown was pretty much within walking distance from Comerica Park which was our final destination of the night.  We drove down Monroe Street looking for the shop.  After driving around the cramped streets for a few minutes, we realized how close we were to CoPa and ended up pulling into a lot and just parking for the night.  We headed back to Monroe Street to find the Astoria Pastry Company and couldn’t believe what we found.

The Astoria Pastry Company is located across the street from the Greektown Casion along a strip of road that is home to a lot of restaurants.  There was a steady line of people going in an out so we figured it must be one of those “must hit” places.  When you walk through the door, you’re immediately assaulted by a huge case of homemade pastry’s, cookies, and ice cream.  It was very overwhelming.  We didn’t know where to start.  Read the rest of this entry »