The Peanut Barrel

19 08 2008
  • 521 E. Grand River Ave.
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-0608
  • Website
  • Menu
The Peanut Barrel on Grand River Ave. in East Lansing across the street from Michigan State University

The Peanut Barrel on Grand River Ave. in East Lansing across the street from Michigan State University

The Peanut Barrel is one of the restaurants that have been our list since we moved here.  One of our first weekends in Lansing, we went to check out East Lansing and MSU.  We walked by the Peanut Barrel and the patio area was full with a long wait, so we didn’t stop.  Every other time we’ve been down that way, the situation was the same, so we’ve always passed.  Those times were always weekends which makes sense.  Lots of students with families in town.  We finally made it to East Lansing on a Tuesday morning right before lunch and thought it would be the perfect time to try to get a seat outside. 

My girlfriend needed to go to the Secretary of State’s Office.  I asked her which one and she just said one near a restaurant we haven’t been to.  The Mason branch is the closest, but there’s not a lot of restaurants around there.  I thought I remembered seeing a branch in East Lansing and there are still a ton of restaurants in that area that we haven’t been to, so that’s where I went.  Like all trips to the SOS office, it never goes smoothly.  We had to drive all the way back home to get something and go back.  Same thing happened to me last time I went.  Why do they have to make it so damn hard? Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Downtown, East Lansing, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews

Culver’s of Stevensville

10 08 2008
  • 4537 Red Arrow Highway
  • Stevensville, MI 49127
  • (269) 408-1780
  • Website
  • Menu
Culvers of Stevensville

Culver's of Stevensville

I love Culver’s custard.  There was always a debate at the place I used to work.  I prefered to go to Culver’s for “ice cream” but most of my co-workers wanted to go to Cold Stone Creamery.  I know they’re not the same thing or even close to the same thing, but given the choice, I would always choose Culver’s.  Things got really bad when I moved to an apartment that was within walking distance of one.  My girlfriend and I would walk over every now and then for a post-dinner snack.

We were on our way home from Chicago and were going to stop for a bathroom break anyway.  I noticed a sign for Culver’s along the highway and asked J if she wanted to take our bathroom break there.  Of course, she loved the idea, so we pulled into Stevensville and drove by the Dairy Queen all for some frozen custard. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chains, Fast Food, Ice Cream, Restaurant, Reviews, stevensville

The State Room

7 08 2008
  • 55 S. Harrison Rd.
  • East Lansing, MI 48824
  • (517) 432-4000
  • Website
  • Menu
The State Room located inside the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center near MSU

The State Room located inside the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center near MSU

This week marks the one year of anniversary of the date I finally grew a pair and asked my girlfriend out.  The anniversary is actually Saturday, but we’re going to be in Chicago for a wedding, so there won’t be a chance to have a anniversary dinner out somewhere.  Instead, I decided to ask her out to dinner tonight.  Our first date was also on a Thursday night (last year, the 9th was on Thursday).  That first date was pretty casual at a new spot along the Peoria riverfront.  I wanted to do things a little different tonight, so I chose The State Room.

The State Room is located inside the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on the campus of Michigan State University.  There’s no surface parking around the hotel, but there is a parking deck just off the side of the building.  The restaurant validates, so there is no charge to park as long as you eat dinner.  The parking structure is connected to the hotel by a skywalk which brings you into the conference area.  Down the long hallway and past the reception area, the State Room sits on the left side which would be closest to the corner of Michigan and Harrison. 

We were met at the door by a Maitre’d who asked if we had reservations.  I started sweating a little bit when he asked that.  I didn’t figure we’d need a reservation on a Thursday night.  I said no and he fiddled around a little bit looking at his table list.  He finally showed us to a table near the back of the room sort of near the kitchen and right on the wheelchair ramp that leads to the lower dining room. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, East Lansing, Fine Dining, Restaurant, Reviews

Reno’s West Sports Bar & Pizzeria

3 08 2008
  • 5001 W. Saginaw Hwy.
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 321-0616
  • No Known Website
  • Menu (from East Lansing Location)
Renos West Sports Bar and Pizzeria on W. Saginaw Hwy in Lansing

Reno's West Sports Bar and Pizzeria on W. Saginaw Hwy in Lansing

What a day!  Everything we tried to do just didn’t want to work out.  The day started off with us getting up super early (for us) to get tickets to Barack Obama’s speech on Monday.  We made it to Gone Wired Cafe at about 8:30 and the line was four blocks long.  We jumped in line thinking, “The Lansing Center holds 5,000 people, I bet there’s not more than a couple thousand in line.”  According to the LSJ, they only gave out 1,000 tickets, so by about the time we got within one block of the front door, they ran out of tickets.  Not a big deal to me, being from Illinois, I covered Obama’s Senate run, have interviewed the Senator many times, and worked for the campaign at his Presidential Announcement in Springfield, IL on the steps of the Old Capitol…oh yeah, and I’m a Republican and probably won’t be voting for him.  My girlfriend, on the other hand, was working in a different state during that election and has never seen Obama speak live, so I was hoping to get tickets so she could see him.  Didn’t work out.

After we left Gone Wired, we figured since we just blew two hours, we’d get some breakfast.  I’ve read on Runs With Spatula about Soup to Nuts Bistro more than once.  We headed back to Kalamazoo Street only to find Soup to Nutz closed on Saturdays.  Two strikes against us and it’s not even 11:00.

Since we were at that odd time of not quite breakfast, not quite lunch, we headed out to the Lansing Mall to do some shopping for a wedding next week in Chicago.  We finally caught a break.  My girlfriend found a great dress at 60% off.  After walking around the mall, we’re both starving.  We’ve drove by Reno’s West a few times and since it was close, we headed back down Saginaw.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Lansing, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar

Mike’s Village Restaurant

30 07 2008
  • 115 N. Bridge St.
  • Dimondale, MI 48821
  • (517) 646-6804
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Mikes Village Restaurant in downtown Dimondale

Mike's Village Restaurant in downtown Dimondale

I’m not sure how I first heard about Mike’s.  I’m pretty sure I saw a recommendation posted a couple years ago on Chowhound.  When we were at the farmer’s market at the State Capitol last week, I heard a lady advertising the Dimondale Farmer’s Market.  When someone asked her where it was, she said, “Across from the restaurant.  You know, Mike’s.”  From that comment, it sounded like it’s one of those places that everyone in the area knows about. 

We made our weekly trip to Horrock’s and Wal-Mart.  Like most of the trips, it was around lunchtime.  Dimondale is sort of on the way home so we started heading that way.  I didn’t grab an address, but I told my girlfriend to put the city center of Dimondal in the GPS.  I had a sneaking suspicion that it would get us to the right place.  Once we turned on Bridge St., we actually found quite a few restaurants which was a little surprising for such a small town.

Mike’s Village Restaurant wasn’t quite what I was expecting.  What I was expecting was a fairly good size family restaurant.  What we found was a somewhat small family diner.  The green awning out front let us know we were in the right place.  Mike’s is probably a turn of the century store front.  The entry way is up a couple steps and has an old, heavy, wooden door that pushes in to open. I tried to pull and couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t open.  Once I figured it out, I went in first and went to pass the weight of the door back to my girlfriend.  Instead, it closed in a hurry and almost smashed her.  Neither of us were expecting that and now I feel bad.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Dimondale, Diner, Downtown, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Red Coat Tavern

27 07 2008
  • 31542 Woodward Ave.
  • Royal Oak, MI 48073
  • (248 ) 549-0300
  • No Known Website
  • No Menu Online
The entrance to Red Coat Tavern in Royal Oak near Detroit.

The entrance to Red Coat Tavern in Royal Oak near Detroit.

I know.  I said I didn’t want to go into the suburbs for dinner and honestly, that wasn’t the plan.  We were going to take Corky and Amy’s advice and eat at Union Street Saloon.  We found the place across from the Detroit Medical Center and parked the car.  After dodging the homeless guy sleeping on the sidewalk, we got to the front door and found out they don’t open until 4:00.  It was only 3:00, so we didn’t want to stick around that neighborhood for very long and the only other place I could remember a name for was the Red Coat Tavern, so we put it in the GPS and headed back out of town.

After getting stuck in traffic on I-75, we got back to Woodward Ave. After a 10 minute or so drive downt the busy commercial street, we came up to the Red Coat.  Actually, I missed it the first time.  There is so much commercial along that stretch of Woodward the signs all block each other so by the time you get to the one you want, you’re right on top of it before you realize it.  I turned into the next parking lot which was connected to the Red Coat and backtracked to find a spot just under the huge awning leading to the front door. Read the rest of this entry »


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

Olde Peninsula Brew Pub

20 07 2008
  • 200 E. Michigan Ave.
  • Kalamazoo, MI 49007
  • (269) 343-2739
  • Website
  • Menu
The sign for Olde Peninsula Brew Pub in downtown Kalamazoo

The sign for Olde Peninsula Brew Pub in downtown Kalamazoo

After a weekend in Chicago, I had to drop my girlfriend off in Kalamazoo for work.  Before we parted ways for the afternoon, we thought it’d be nice to check out what Kalamazoo has to offer in terms of restaurants.  I saw a recommendation for Olde Peninsula on chow.com, so that’s what I went looking for.

Olde Peninsula is located on the corner of Michigan and Portage in what used to be known as the Big Corner.  The first brew pub opened on St. Patrick’s day in 1896.  The current incarnation opened after the 1980 tornado that almost destroyed the building.  We walked into the building and found the hostess station near the door as an extension of the bar.  The building is divided into two dining rooms.  The smoking section also has the bar.  The distillers are visible through a glass wall opposite the bar.  The non-smoking section is divided by a wall that serves as the bar’s back wall.  We were seated in a booth which was on a raised platform on this back wall.

The waitress came over for drinks and we stopped her from leaving to place our order right away.  While there were several options that looked good, we were both in the mood for our usual sandwiches.  I went with the Olde Smokey burger.  The 1/2 lb burger was topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and a bbq sauce.  The sandwich is served with a side of beer-battered fries.  The sandwich was big.  I had a hard time getting it in my mouth.  The bacon was nice and crispy and the burger was just slightly pink which lended itself to a good flavor.  I didn’t really notice the bbq sauce until the last couple bites where it had soaked into the bun.  The fries were interesting.  Beer-batterd fries aren’t usually my favorite, but the breading was not overpowering which made these better than normal. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Brew Pub, Burgers, Downtown, Kalamazoo, Local Flavor, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews

Country Market Restaurant and Buffet- LaSalle, IL

20 07 2008
  • 343 N. 30th Rd
  • LaSalle, IL 61301
  • (815) 220-0622
  • Website
  • Menu
Country Market Restaurant and Buffet located inside the Flying J Truckstop in La Salle, IL

Country Market Restaurant and Buffet located inside the Flying J Truckstop in La Salle, IL

Country Market is located at the Flying J Truckstop just off of I-80 near LaSalle.  I was in the area for a concert at the Cedar Point Sportsmen Club where Sugarland was playing a charity concert.  I was with my girlfriend and my parents.  My mom has some friends over in that area and they suggested we all meet at the truck stop before the show.

The Country Market is a staple at Flying J’s around the country.  I’ve passed many times, but never stopped.  We were shown to a table near the back of the restaurant past the buffet by a hostess.  While we were rearranging the tables, a waitress came to get drink orders.  Waitressing 101 tells you that you shouldn’t have to ask people what they ordered when you bring it back, but even with drinks, our waitress couldn’t remember who ordered what and I had to ask.  There were six of us so it took a while.  By the time she got done, we weren’t quite ready to order so she left and came back when we were.

My girlfriend and I had just eaten lunch at Portillo’s (review HERE) a couple hours earlier, so we weren’t really hungry.  I went with a chicken tender appetizer.  The four definately out of a bag chicken tenders came with a side of BBQ dipping sauce.  Like I said, I wasn’t super hungry, so I didn’t want a whole lot.  This was just about the right amount for how I was feeling.  The chicken and the BBQ were canned, so nothing special, but not bad either. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, breakfast, Burgers, Illinois, Restaurant, Reviews, Truck Stop

Buddies Grill – Holt

17 07 2008
  • 2040 Aurelius Rd.
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 699-3670
  • No Known Website
  • Menu (From Okemos Location)
Buddies Grill in Holt

Buddies Grill in the Holt Plaza Shopping Center

Buddies has been on the short list of places to try near our house for some time.  Why we never got there is a mystery, but we finally hit it up for lunch.  Even the day we went, it was second choice.  I had heard about a deli inside a hardware store on Aurelius Road and that’s what we went looking for.  We found Big T’s Extreme Deli inside Brower’s Hardware, but there was a closed sign on the counter, so we were forced to find something else.  We had just drove by Buddies and my girlfriend suggested we turn around and head back there.

Buddies is located in a strip mall at the corner of Holt Rd. and Aurelius Rd.  It’s a huge space with a nice big outdoor patio.  The heat index was up over 90 degrees the day we stopped in, so we passed on the outdoors thing.  The inside is seperated into two rooms.  The main bar area with a variety of pub tables and regular tables scattered around the bar and then there’s another non-smoking room off to the left.  We took a table in the non-smoking section.  Our waitress came over for drink orders as we looked over the menu and it’s a pretty big menu.  By the time she came back with our Pepsi, we still weren’t quite ready, so she gave us a few more minutes.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Holt, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sports Bar

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers

8 07 2008
  • 6524 W. Saginaw Hwy.
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 886-7440
  • Website
  • Menu
Red Robin

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers in Delta Township

Why is the Wii so dang popular?  We spent all morning going from store to store looking for Mario Kart.  We were told a few days ago that because the dollar is so worthless right now, Nintendo is investing most it’s efforts in Japan where the yen is strong.  We went or called almost every store along Saginaw Highway that carries video games. Striking out at every one of them really worked up an appetite.  The original plan was to go to Art’s Pizza & Italian Oven for lunch, but when we got there, there was a sign in the window that said they were closed for the summer due to losing their liquor license and they’re searching for new owners.  What a bummer.  I had been wanting to eat there for a while and now that we had the chance, it was closed.

We didn’t really want to piss around looking for another place and neither of us have ever eaten at a Red Robin, so we headed back down Saginaw.  Red Robin sits in front of Kohls near Kroger.  The building is not hard to spot with a lot of red trim and a huge sign.  We got there just before the lunch rush so there weren’t a whole lot of people in side.  The first thing that jumps out when you walk in is the TV in the floor.  There was caution tape around it the day we were in there, so I’m not sure if it was new or if someone jumped on it and broke, but it was still funny to see a TV in the floor.  We were greated by a host who took us through the dining room to a booth near the back.  The set up of the store is really interesting and not like anything else I’ve ever seen.  When you first come in, to your left is a full bar with a small dining area.  The back wall of the bar is glass that looks into the dining room.  To the right is the kitchen and waitress station.  It has the feel of a lunch counter without the counter.  There’s a big stainless steel counter where the orders come up for the waitress.  There are a lot of booths.  They created half walls throughout the space to make more walspace for them.  Every third booth or so along this half wall is a double wide booth where this is no wall.  If you bring a big group, you won’t be forced to push tables together to get everyone in.  These large booths could easily seat eight.  The walls are covered with movie posters and other art work leaving very little of the faux wood panel showing. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chains, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

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