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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McDonald’s – Benton Harbor

8 09 2008
  • 2020 Pipestone Rd.
  • Benton Harbor, MI 49022
  • (269) 926-7600
  • Website
  • Menu
McDonalds in Benton Harbor

McDonald's in Benton Harbor

I have now eaten at McDonald’s more this week than in the previous year combined.  I left Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL (review HERE) after the IRL without eating lunch.  After searching for our car for a half hour then getting caught in traffic trying to get back to I-80, I was starving, but really wanted to get back on the road.  I had been gone since Thursday afternoon and hadn’t seen J since then.  It was already 7:30 back in Lansing, so I passed on going to dinner with my family and hit the road.  I decided to drive for a while hoping my options would get better if I could get to a bigger city.  I don’t like stopping in Indiana because there is so much construction on I-94 it’s hard to get on and off, so I just kept moving. 

I got to Benton Harbor around 9:00 EST.  I knew there was a mall just off the Interstate, so I figured there would be some food options around there.  I got off the Interstate and everything was dark.  The only places still lit up were McDonald’s and Steak ‘N Shake.  Neither was an ideal choice, but McDonald’s is more filling, so I drove to the golden arches to grab something to go. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Benton Harbor, Chains, Fast Food, Michigan, Reviews

Finley’s American Restaurant – South Lansing

29 08 2008
  • 6300 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-7530
  • Website
  • Menu
Finleys American Restaurant on S. Cedar St in Lansing.

Finley's American Restaurant on S. Cedar St in Lansing.

I was bad.  I got home from Indianapolis at 4 AM after leaving Lansing at 7 AM the previous today.  I was a little tired.  Phone calls woke me up and I only got about six hours of sleep.  After my girlfriend went to work, I decided to take a nap.  Usually when I take afternoon naps, I sleep for an hour or so.  Not today.  I slept almost three hours.  I woke up about ten minutes before J usually comes home for dinner.  There was no way I could put anything together in that time other than a salad, so I swallowed my pride and sent her a text message letting her know there would be no dinner ready in time.  She called me back and said we could just go out, but she wanted to go to a restaurant where she wouldn’t be tempted to order something greasy. 

Finley’s sits about a mile down the road from us, but since we’ve moved here, we haven’t tried.  It has the appearance of a chain restaurant so we kind of stayed away.  It is a chain, but it’s a small local chain with five Finley’s all located in Michigan.  However, there are more restaurants in the system.  They are owned by a company called River City Food Company which owns six restaurant brands including BD’s Mongolian BBQ which also has locations in Mid-Michigan. Read the rest of this entry »


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Ruby Tuesday States The Obvious

16 08 2008

If you haven’t seen this yet, you should get a kick out of it…

Awesome.  Not only that, a great marketing ploy.  This was not a mistake. It was the idea of an ingenious marketing guy. 

In fact, the Company made it appear as if they had blown up a competitor’s restaurant right next door, because “all casual dining restaurants have come to look alike, and the demo crew mistook theirs for ours.” It’s all a fun way to make the point that there is a better, fresher Ruby Tuesday, and it’s different from the rest.

Now that’s funny!  Ruby Tuesday finally woke up and realized what foodies have been saying for years.  It doesn’t matter if they call it Ruby Tuesday, TGIFriday’s, Applebees, Bennigans or whatever, they’re all the same restaurant.  So, what are they changing?

Gone are the artifacts and memorabilia, the black-and-white checked tablecloths and the dark-stained woods. Now there is a clean and more contemporary look, with soft, earth-tone colors, upholstered seats that make you want to stay a little longer, specially commissioned artwork and photographs, and colorful, light-hearted lighting fixtures. On the outside, Ruby Tuesdays are now painted a uniform, pleasing color, accented with attractive black awnings.

Good riddance.  I’m not saying this is gonna make a difference, but at least they’re getting rid of cheap, tacky decor that was mocked in Office Space

“You know what, Stan, if you want me to wear 37 pieces of flair, like your pretty boy over there, Brian, why don’t you just make the minimum 37 pieces of flair?“

Ha Ha Ha….I loved that movie.


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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

Cheddars coming to Saginaw Hwy?

26 06 2008

I was hanging out near Lansing Cheddar\'sMall today and noticed some work going on at the corner of Saginaw and Mall Dr.  The outside looked familar, but I couldn’t quite figure it out.  I drove up a little closer and saw the signs for Cheddar’s which, according to their website, will be the first is the only Cheddar’s in Michigan.  Cheddar’s is a growing chain founded in 1978 in Arlington, TX.  I’ve eaten at a couple of their other stores.  It’s good food, but it’s still a chain.  There isn’t a whole lot that is different from, say, Applebees.  For those of you that like the chains, this is something to get excited about.  It is a small enough chain that you’re not going to be able to find one in every city, so treat yourself sometime.

Update – Apparently not a new Cheddar’s but a remodel maybe?  Corky pointed out in comments that there had been a Cheddar’s at this location before.  The signs are all covered and there’s a lot of work going on?  Does anyone for sure if they’re remodeling or maybe a new tenant moving in?


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Arby’s – S. Lansing

18 06 2008
  • 6035 S. Cedar St.Arby's
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-1619
  • Website
  • Menu

Arby’s is my guilty pleasure.  I know I give chains a hard time on this blog, but if there’s one fast food place I could eat at everyday, it would be Arby’s.  Growing up, Arby’s was always a treat because it does tend to be a little more expensive than a Wendy’s or McDonald’s, but the food is soooooo much better.  Now, it’s about the only fast food I eat at regularly.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Arby’s on South Cedar is the old sign out front.  There was one store in my last town of Peoria, IL.  I think we did some research and found out there’s only a handful of these old signs left.  The old sign sits in front of a more modern building.  I let my girlfriend talk me into going through the drive-thru.  I HATE drive thru’s.  I can never understand the person talking to me and I feel like they always get something wrong because they can’t hear me.  I did it anyway because neither of us were totally awake yet or dressed very well, but we needed lunch. Read the rest of this entry »


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Big Boy Restaurant – Okemos

11 06 2008
  • 2221 University Park Dr.Big Boy
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-9570
  • Website
  • Menu

Ah, one day sales.  After being woke up by a lawn mower, my girlfriend and I decided to make a trip to the Meridian Mall in Okemos.  Younkers was having a one day sale and as it turns out, so was Macy’s.  We shopped for about an hour and then started back towards home since my girlfriend still had to go to work.  When we got in the car, she asked about lunch and I said, “What about Big Boy?”  Before moving to Michigan, my only knowledge of Big Boy was gained from watching Austin Powers.  Heck, at first I didn’t even know Big Boy was real.  Funny thing.   Big Boy is real and it’s corporate headquarters are here in Michigan in the town of Warren.  Neither of us had ever eaten at a Big Boy Restaurant so we decided it was time.

I’d seen the sign from the road for Big Boy on the way in, but when we actually went to find the store, it was much harder than it should be.  Big Boy actually sits behind a Sunoco near I-96.  The problem is, if you get to the Sonoco, you’ve gone too far.  So, I made myself a traffic hazard and turned into the Sunoco to turn around and go back to University Park Dr and take a right.  After the turn, we came up on a sign that said “Big Boy” and a very plain looking building.  The trademark cartoon character was nowhere to be found and there was no marking on the outside of the building.  Again, we weren’t sure if this was the right place or not.  If you turn into the first driveway, it actually takes you to the backside of the building, so again, we were confused as to where to enter.  After driving around the building, we found the front and again, no markings until you get to the second set of doors. Read the rest of this entry »


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KFC – S. Cedar

9 06 2008
  • 6600 S. Cedar St.KFC
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-9781
  • Website
  • Menu

I was all ready to fire up the grill and cook myself a nice, big T-Bone for dinner when, for the third night in a row, the Lansing area got pounded with heavy storms.  As I’ve mentioned in this blog before, I’m a former news photographer, so my girlfriend and I grabbed a camera and went storm and damage chasing.  Unfortunately for my T-Bone, the storm came during dinner time, so we needed a back-up plan.  We were on our way home, tired and wet when we remembered the KFC on the corner of Cedar and Pennsylvania.  A few days ago, we walked to Meijer to get some stuff and talked about trying the new Smoky Chipotle Crispy Chicken.  Since it was getting late and we were tired, this was as good a time as ever to give it a shot.

I’m not really a fan of Mexican food, but the one thing I use all the time in my own cooking is chile’s, dried chile’s and chile powder’s.  I have bags of Chili De Arbol and Ancho Chile Powder in my spice cabinet and there’s usually a can of chipotle’s in adobo in my fridge, so I was really looking forward to this chicken. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicken, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

Submarina

3 05 2008
  • 438 Edgewood Blvd.Submarina
  • Suite B116
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-7707
  • Website
  • Menu

It’s weird how we come across new places to eat.  My girlfriend needed to make a quick stop at National City.  While inside the lobby, I saw a take out menu for Submarina.  We get back in the car and she says she’s hungry and suggests Steak ‘N Shake.  I happen to have that take out menu in my back pocket and I take it out and show it to her.  Now, I know both places are chains.  Steak ‘N Shake actually got it’s start in Normal, IL which is close to where I used to live, so I’ve eaten at Steak ‘N Shake’s many times.  We decide to give the new place a try.  Usually, I hate anything related to California (Submarina is marketed as California Subs), but Submarina is new to town and it’s the only location in Michigan.  The majority of the chain is located in San Diego County with just a few locations outside of that…again, mostly in California.

The shop is in a strip mall and it’s pretty tiny.  There are only a few booths, but they do have two flat screen TV’s.  It’s like most sub shops where you order at the counter then watch them make your sandwich in front of you.  Nothing out of the ordinary there, but the menu is anything but.

I got a six inch East Coast sub.  Proscuitto, cappocola, ham, salami, and pepperoni are sliced fresh on a deli slicer right in front of you.  It’s not like the sub standard place that has the portions already packaged out between sheets of butcher paper.  They cut the meat right in front of you.  The sandwich starts with a bed of provolone then the fresh sliced meats are piled on top.  After that, you have a choice of a few toppings.  Not as many as the other place, but they do have a couple items that make them “California.”  I passed on all those and went just with lettuce, Italian dressing, and mustard.  The sandwich was good and the meat was really piled on there.  Unforunately, the flavors all kind of ran together.  I love the taste of proscuitto and I couldn’t really taste it.  I do prefer this sandwich over Subway, but let’s face it, it’s a cold meat sandwich.

My girlfriend got the Peppered Garden sandwich on Squaw bread.  Again, the peppered turkey was sliced fresh right in front of us.  The sandwich is supposed to come with Havarati, but they must have been out as they asked if Provolone was alright.  On top of the turkey was a balsamic vinagrette and sprouts.  She really liked the sandwich and actually took some of the turkey off because there was just too much there for her to eat.  Good thing is, I get a little bit extra meat for my sandwich. 🙂

Submarina is a chain and normaly I hate chains.  I don’t hate Submarina.  The service was a little slow, but that’s because they were cutting their own meat (have I mentioned that already).  There are a lot of sub shops popping up and each one needs to do something different to make it.  Submarina offers unique ingredients like avocado, pepperocinni’s, and sprouts.  The combination of meats and fresh ingredients make all the difference.  For a little over $11, we had a quick, delicious and somewhat healthy lunch…..better than the hamburgers I probably would have cooked.


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Categories : Chains, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews, Sandwiches

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