Pixie

9 10 2009
  • 302 N. Mission Street
  • Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
  • (989) 772-7494
  • Website
  • Menu
Pixie on North Mission in Mt. Pleasant.

Pixie on North Mission in Mt. Pleasant.

Back before we had any idea we were moving to Kalamazoo, I took a job in Mt. Pleasant for this weekend.  From Lansing, it’s not so bad, but it gets to be a long way from Kalamazoo.  Fortunately, my employer got me a hotel for Friday night, so I was able to travel during the afternoon.

When I got into town, I checked in then went looking for food.  I tried a BBQ place recommended in the hotel book, but they were closed.  I then went to a restaurant downtown I saw a billboard for on the way in.  Luckily they had a menu outside and it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. 

By now, I was hungry and a little annoyed.  I just wanted to eat. 

As I was driving to my first two locations, I drove by an old drive in on Mission Street.  I knew I was close so I went looking for it again. 

Pixie is on North Mission and East Chippewa Street in Mt. Pleasant.  I would say it’s a retro 50’s style diner, but they actually got their start in 1948 when Norman LaBelle decided to open a restaurant.  The Pixie has been in business ever since. 

At one time, the Pixie was a drive in with carhops and a complete menu.  Today, they’re a cross between fast food and casual dining.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : Burgers, Diner, Michigan, Mt. Pleasant, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Triple XXX Family Restaurant – West Lafayette, IN

1 10 2009
  • 2 N. Salisbury Street
  • West Lafayette, IN 47906
  • (765) 743-5373
  • Website
  • Menu
Triple XXX Family Restaurant on Salisbury Street in West Lafayette, IN

Triple XXX Family Restaurant on Salisbury Street in West Lafayette, IN

If you’ve figured out J and I, it should come as no surprise that we chose to take a honeymoon that revolves around food. After the wedding, we loaded up the car and headed to East Tennessee. It was too far to make in one night, so we decided to stop in Louisville for the night. Since we were in no hurry, the first stop on our culinary excursion was in West Lafayette, IN at a place we saw on Diner’s, Drive-In’s, and Dives.

The Triple XXX Family Restaurant is on the hill in West Lafayette just down the street from Purdue University. It’s a 24 hour place that serves good, cheap grub for those late “study breaks.” It’s been so long since I saw the segment on Triple D and the building we found was not what I was expecting for some reason.

Triple XXX (named after the Root Beer brand they serve) is an old drive in on the corner of State & Salisbury. The car stalls have turned into parking and the only business they do is inside. The building itself is not huge, but it’s bigger than you think. There are no tables, only lunch counters. They weave around the building so there are a lot more seats than I thought there would be. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, breakfast, Diner, Indiana, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, West Lafayette

Tony’s I-75 Restaurant

22 08 2009
  • 8781 Main Street
  • Birch Run, MI 48415
  • (989) 624-5860
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Tonys I-75 Restaurant on Main Street in Birch Run.

Tony's I-75 Restaurant on Main Street in Birch Run.

I love bacon.  So much so, my favorite comedy routine is Jim Gaffigan’s King Baby show where he keeps talking about bacon (Is he still talking about bacon?). 

A few weeks ago, I was watching Sandwich Paradise on The Travel Channel and one of the places featured was a diner in Birch Run.  Sure, I’ve had a few people tell me I needed to check out and try their BLT that comes with a pound of bacon.  I thought they were just over hyping the place…..like the fish that gets bigger every time they tell the story.  I was wrong.

Tony’s I-75 Restaurant is on Main Street in Birch Run just a block or so from Interstate 75.  The restaurant has the distinction of being the only local joint in a sea of chains.  This particular area of Birch Run is very highly developed.  They have the Prime Outlets (which we of course checked out) and just about every type of chain cuisine you can imagine. 

We showed up just before noon on a Saturday.  The parking lot was packed.  There is a large lot behind the restaurant and that’s where we eventually found a spot.  When we opened the door to enter the restaurant, we were greeted with a line ten people deep.  The waiting area is actually outside the actual restaurant in a long, narrow hallway that looks like it was added on after the fact so people wouldn’t have to wait outside in the cold.  

Not long after getting in line, an employee stuck her head out and asked how big each of our parties were.  There was a group of seven, two and three in front of us.  Still, we waited in line only about five minutes.  We were asked if we would like a seat at the lunch counter.  Initially, we said no, but after reconsidering it, we took the two seats at the counter which proved to be entertaining.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Birch Run, Diner, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Jackie’s Diner – Dimondale

14 08 2009
  • 7262 Lansing Road
  • Dimondale, MI 48821
  • (517) 646-0974
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Jackies Diner on Lansing Road in Dimondale.

Jackie's Diner on Lansing Road in Dimondale.

When J and I moved here, one of the first restaurant recommendations we got was for Don’s Windmill Truckstop in Dimondale.  We ate there one weekend and enjoyed the classic diner setting.  Don’s hit some hard times and the restaurant closed.  In comes Jackie’s Diner.

We’ve eaten at Jackie’s Diner on Pennsylvania and, again, enjoyed the greasy spoon diner aspect of the place.  J and I were out in Delta Township and decided to check out the new place on the way home.

Jackie’s Diner is on Lansing Road in Dimondale in the old Don’s Windmill building.  Not much, if anything, has changed other than the lack of gasoline sales.  We entered the truck stop through the restaurant where we found a sign that told us to wait to be seated.  A waitress took us to a booth near where the buffet is.  She took drink orders right away as we looked over the huge menu.

When she came back with the Coke’s, we were still wading through the large menu.  They serve breakfast all day and that menu alone is daunting.  There are 50 types of pancakes, 20 kinds of French Toast, and 25 Belgian waffles.  J’s more of a breakfast person than I am, so I went straight to the lunch portion of the menu while she looked over the morning food. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : breakfast, Dimondale, Diner, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

South Side Soda Shop and Diner – Goshen, IN

20 06 2009
  • 1122 S. Main Street
  • Goshen, IN 46526
  • (574) 534-3790
  • Website
  • Menu
The South Side Soda Shop & Diner on South Main in Goshen, IN

The South Side Soda Shop & Diner on South Main in Goshen, IN

A couple years back, J and I were watching Diner’s, Drive-In’s, and Dives and we saw a segment on an old soda shop in Goshen, IN.  When we moved to Lansing, we pulled out a map to see where in Indiana Goshen is.  The map showed it just being outside of Elkhart.  It also showed the town as being pretty close to the Indiana Toll Road.  We figured it would take us about a half hour out of our way to make a stop on our way home from Chicago one weekend. 

So, one weekend, we made the detour and stopped.  Problem was, stupid me forgot to see if they were open on Sunday.  They’re not so we made the trip for nothing.  J wasn’t very happy with me. 

On our most recent trip home, we headed back towards Lansing on Friday.  As we were sitting in traffic on I-94 near Portage, IN, J asked if we missed the exit to get to South Bend.  We had, but I had her turn the GPS on because I knew there was a road from Michigan City to South Bend that we hadn’t missed yet.  As we waited to get through traffic, we made the decision to try again.  This time, J called to make sure they’d be open…and they were.

The South Side Soda Shop and Diner is on South Main Street just south of Downtown Goshen.  It’s sits on the corner an the only parking is in the neighborhood on the streets.  We pulled up near dinner time on Friday night, so there was already quite a crowd of people packing the small diner.  We parked a few blocks down and walked back. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Diner, Goshen, Ice Cream, Indiana, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Jackie’s Diner – Pennyslvania Ave.

27 02 2009
  • 5600 S. Pennsylvania Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-0036
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Jackies Diner on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing.

Jackie's Diner on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing.

I’ve always known J was a little quirky.  When most people aren’t feeling well, they want soup and 7-up.  When J’s not feeling well, she wants something greasy.  About the only time she ever craves burgers is when her tummy hurts.  She’s been a little under the weather the past few days and when she sent me an e-mail from work about dinner, she caught by surprise.  “I want a greasy dinner grilled cheese and fries.”  How can I argue with that. 

We chose Jackie’s Diner on South Pennsylvania because it’s close enough to J’s work and it’s a diner we haven’t been to yet.  We got there a little after seven on a Friday night.  The parking lot was pretty empty but there were a couple cars.  When we got inside, a man told us to find a seat, so we grabbed a booth.  J said she was worried I had picked an Asian diner due to the decor.  The dining room was split level with booths in both levels and tables filling in the remaining space.  To me, it felt like a little country diner. 

While it was comforting, there was one big problem.  The ceiling fans.  Ceiling fans themselves aren’t really a problem.  The problem is when you put them too close to lights.  The entire dinner I felt like there was a strobe light just above my head.  There was a light directly above one of the fan blades.  You can imagine how annoying that can be. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Diner, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Merry Ann’s Diner – Downtown Champaign, IL

29 12 2008
  • 1 E. Main Street
  • Champaign, IL 61820
  • (217) 531-1160
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Merry Anns Diner in downtown Champaign, IL

Merry Ann's Diner in downtown Champaign, IL

5:30 AM is still too early for me.  I was up at this ungodly hour because I had to be in Champaign by 7:00 AM for a basketball game.  My parents live a little over an hour away, so the alarm was set for just before 5:30.  Since the game was at 1:00, it meant lunch was actually going to be breakfast, so on my way in to town, I started scouting out breakfast joints.  I wasn’t having much luck until I had to detour off of Neil Street (the main artery of Champaign and the road that runs through downtown) because of construction.  I turned down Main Street and like a golden beacon, a simple sign that said “diner” jumped out and I found my breakfast spot.

Merry Ann’s Diner is located in the One Main building which is a development companies’ prototype for downtown buildings.  I know they also built a “One Main” in Normal, IL near Illinois State University even though the street is not Main Street.  The “One Main” name comes from the address of this original building. 

I was not aware that there was a second Merry Ann’s in Champaign.  I had eaten at the location farther down on the corner of Neil and Kirby Streets near the University of Illinois (review HERE).  I was surprised when I actually saw the name of the diner on Main was Merry Ann’s.

I got back downtown just before 10:00.  The diner isn’t very big and it’s set up pretty much the same was as the diner on Neil Street.  Most of the booths but up to the “kitchen” with little cutouts for the waitress.  This way, the waitress never has to go out into the dining room….unless you happen to be sitting at the two or three tables near the door which are separated from the counter.  The diner is setup with a row of booths, a lunch counter, and another row of booths.  When I walked in, I wasn’t sure there was any available space.  All of the booths looked full.  I thought maybe there was one down at the end, so I started walking that way.  That’s when I noticed the stools at the counter, so I just sat down there. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Big Ten Tour, breakfast, Champaign, Champaign/Urbana, Diner, Downtown, Restaurant, Reviews

Hometown Diner

22 10 2008
  • 1040 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 372-5535
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Hometown Diner on Pennsylvania near I-474 in Lansing

Hometown Diner on Pennsylvania near I-496 in Lansing

J took one more day off after we got back in Michigan just so we could relax after a long weekend of traveling.  We were woke up fairly early for us by a phone call and neither of us could fall back asleep.  After going to the Potter Park Zoo during the “Be A Tourist In Your Own Hometown Event” we kept saying we needed to walk the River Trail.  We noticed it from the zoo, but we never made an effort to actually go for a walk.  Since we had such a bad weekend eating (I had four pizzas), I suggested we go for a walk.  Since it was about lunch time, J said we should eat first.

I had been reading reviews about a diner on Pennsylvania near the Zoo so that’s where I decided to to go for lunch.

The Hometown Diner sits on Pennsylvania across from the BWL in an old Sparty’s Coney Island.  It shares a building and parking lot with a Mexican grocery store.  We parked near the back of the lot and walked in to find a small diner with seating for just over a hundred.  We showed ourselves to a table in the middle of the room.  The layout is pretty common for small diners.  Booths line the walls with tables in the middle.  There’s a lunch counter near the front of the space and the kitchen is open so you can see the cook preparing your meal.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Diner, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Blue’s Cafe – Kankakee, IL

3 10 2008
  • 1190 W. Station St.
  • Kankakee, IL 60901
  • (815) 933-5315
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Blues Cafe on Station Street in Kankakee, IL

Blue's Cafe on Station Street in Kankakee, IL

If you watch ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson, Blue’s Cafe is a place you may actually heard of.  A few weeks ago (September 18 to be exact) Barbara Pinto showed up in Kankakee to do a Wall Street vs. Main St. story.  Blue’s Cafe was one of the places she visited to get the “regular Joe” insight into the financial crisis.

Blue’s Cafe is a spot that many people in the area automatically suggest when I ask for a local restaurant.  According to my brother, the food is ok, but the pie is to die for.  As I was waiting with my family for my niece to be born, my aunt mentioned she was hungry and hadn’t eaten all day.  Since I’m always hungry, I offered to go to “lupper” (the meal between lunch and supper) with her.  Since everybody always suggests it, I said “How about Blue’s?”

Blue’s Cafe is located on Station Street not far from the hospital.  It’s a very plain building with an old sign out front adorned with an old Pepsi logo and the words “Blue’s Cafe.”  Since we got there at such a wierd time, the dining room was fairly empty.  There are two dining rooms that probably used to be the smoking and non-smoking section before Illinois got smart and banned smoking in public places.  There’s also a lunch counter near the kitchen in the first dining room. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Big Ten Tour, Diner, Illinois, Kankakee, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

Delhi Cafe

8 09 2008
  • 4625 Willoughby Rd.
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-8655
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
The Delhi Cafe on Willoughby Road in Holt.

The Delhi Cafe on Willoughby Road in Holt.

Finally!  Back in Michigan.  I got home late last night and slept in to almost lunch time.  My girlfriend needed to run to the dry cleaner to drop off my suit and she waited for me to get up so we could grab something for lunch.  She suggested hitting a drive thru, but I was tired of fast food.  I suggested we check out that cafe we saw on Willoughby Road while driving home from East Lansing one night.

The Delhi Cafe is part of a strip mall about half a mile of Cedar Street in Holt.  There’s not much else there, but the Cafe takes up a good chunk of the space.  The sign out front claims the cafe has some Greek influence.  We didn’t notice that on the way in, but after looking at the menu, it makes sense.  It’s not a Greek menu, but there is definitely some Greek inspiration. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Holt, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

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