Hungry Howie’s Pizza – Holt

10 08 2008
  • 2361 Cedar St.
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 699-9000
  • Website
  • Menu
Hungry Howies Pizza in Holt

Hungry Howie's Pizza in Holt

It was a long weekend.  We spent all weekend in Chicago and the drive home always seems to take forever.  We got stuck in traffic right away when we jumped on I-94 and stayed in bumper-to-bumper traffic until we got the 35th Street.  There were a lot of people trying to get to U.S. Cellular Field ten minutes before the game was about to start.  We hit a lot of traffic on the Skyway (I-90) leaving town and no one had I-Pass so the lines to the manned tollbooths were backed up.  Then, we got into Indiana, we came up on an accident on I-94 where traffic was at a standstill.  By the time we finally made it back to Lansing, neither of us were in the mood to cook dinner.

For some reason, J was craving pizza.  I said that sounded good to me.  We were sitting on the couch wathing the Olympics and a pizza sounded like a good solution.  We haven’t had Hungry Howie’s yet and their ads always intrique me with their flavored crusts.

I got on Google and found the Hungry Howie’s in Holt across from L & L Food Center.  We’re still on that quest for the “perfect pizza.”  There’s a front runner, but we want to give all the local delivery places a try.  Hungry Howie is a home grown chain.  Their numbers are in excess of 500 locations nationwide, but their offices are here in Michigan in Madison Heights.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Holt, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

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

Steak ‘N Shake – Edgedwood Blvd.

30 06 2008
  • 540 E. Edgewood Blvd.Steak \'N Shake
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-3038
  • Website
  • Menu

I know.  I’m getting bad.  We’ve been going to a lot of fast food chains for lunch recently.  It’s not that there aren’t places we want to go, it’s just that we’ve been lazy.  We’ll be laying on the couch watching The Price Is Right and one of us will say “I’m hungry.”  Since my girlfriend needs to get ready for work, we really can’t drive somewhere and have a sit down meal, so we debate for twenty minutes on which greasy fast food we want.  Today, we were almost decided on Wendy’s when I said “Hey, what about Steak ‘N Shake?” 

Steak ‘N Shake is one of the few places that make me think of home in Eastern/Central Illinois.  Growing up, the 24-hour options were either Denny’s or Steak ‘N Shake.  I didn’t really like Denny’s.  While living in Central Illinois, I grew more found of the place because of it’s history.  The original Steak ‘N Shake was in a gas station in Normal, IL (the home of Illinois State University), so there were Steak ‘N Shake’s all over the place.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Burgers, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

Insomnia Cookies

26 04 2008
  • 603 E. Grand River Ave.Insomnia Cookies
  • East Lansing, MI 48223
  • 877-63-Cookie
  • Website
  • Menu

I first heard of Insomnia after watching Unwrapped on the Food Network.  Imagine our surprse when we accidently found one near the campus Michigan State University.  We didn’t stop in the first time we saw it, but after a meal one Saturday afternoon at Dublin Square we decided to hit Insomnia up for dessert.

The shop is located right on Grand River which is East Lansing’s main business district just across the street from MSU.  The shop is pretty small.  There are a couple tables against the windows and there’s a counter (made out of Boos Blocks) on the other side.  Behind a small sheet of glass, they have samples of their cookies and brownies.  In probably the rudest, worst example of customer service, we were greeted by a college girl who probably didn’t want to be there talking on her cell phone.  She couldn’t even put the phone down long enough to take our order.  The whole time my girlfriend was ordering, she kept the phone plastered to her ear.

Insomnia CookiesWe got the Sugar Rush deal.  Six cookies and six brownies for $13.  Our ordered included three chocolate chunk cookies, one sugar cookie, and two peanut butter chunk cookies.  We got pretty much one of each of their brownie choices.

After a few minutes in the kitchen, the server brought out our box of the most delicious cookies and brownies we’ve ever had.  We took the box home because there is no way we needed that much sugar right after dinner, but it was so, so hard to put the box away once we got home. 

I grabbed a chocolate chunk cookie right away.  Even after the drive home, it was so gooey and soft.  It was delicious.  My girlfriend grabbed the marshmallow topped brownie and said the same thing.  There was a nice crunchy crust and the inside was so moist and chewey.

Other than the rude, obnoxious server, Insomnia was amazing.  Just sitting here right now I’m having a hard time not getting up and grabbing another cookie.  I don’t think they are going to last very long.  Insomnia Cookie shops can be found exclusively on college campuses.  There are 13 locations nationwide and they all stay up late to feed a late night craving. 


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Categories : Bakery, Chains, East Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

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