Smoking Ban Getting Close?

11 09 2008

I mentioned this in a comment earlier in the week, but since WLAJ did a story on it last night, I thought I’d give the topic it’s own post.  Word on the street is the House is going to vote on the “clean” version of the smoking bill sometime before the November elections.

House democrats tell us while negotiations are ongoing right now, they hope to have the reconciled version of the smoking ban signed into law by the November election.

I really would like to see a smoking ban pass, but I’m not in favor of a 100% clean bill.  The ONLY exception should be for cigar/tobacco shops.  Employees know what they’re getting in to there.  Casino’s should not be exempted and there needs to be a way to make sure Indian Casino’s aren’t exempted as well.  There’s a lawsuit working it’s way through the courts that would require Indian Casino’s to purchase liquor license.  HB 4163 should include language mandating that establishments purchasing a liquor license must be smoke free.  That way, should the courts ever decide, it would force Indian casino’s to go smoke free as well.  That will take away the so-called advantage.

On the web. HB 4163


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Categories : Food News, Michigan, Politics

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 »


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Categories : Bakery, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

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 »


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Categories : Bakery, Cafe, Deli, Downtown, Grocery, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Specialty Shop

Press Release – Garden Project’s 25th Anniversary

4 09 2008

From a press release….

The Garden Project’s 25th Anniversary “Harvest Dinner” Potluck

The Garden Project welcomes you to join us at our annual Harvest Dinner potluck! This year we are celebrating our 25th anniversary of helping folks in the greater Lansing area to grow their own healthy food and cultivate connections with their neighbors. Many of our gardeners will be cooking up delicious dishes with food right from their own gardens. Anyone is welcome to come with a dish to pass; ingredients from gardens are encouraged. The Harvest Dinner will be held on Wednesday, September 10th at the Peregrine Pavilion in Hawk Island Park. Come share a fun outdoor meal and get to know some new friends!

ABOUT THE GARDEN PROJECT-As a program of the Greater Lansing Food Bank, The Garden Project is dedicated to growing healthy food and cultivating connections. The Garden Project supports over 30 community gardens throughout the Greater Lansing area, including many operated by schools, churches, service agencies, housing groups and others working together to strengthen community and community food systems. Other services include home garden assistance and gleaning/distribution of seasonal farm crops.

On the web – Lansing Food Bank


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Munchies

30 08 2008
  • 4100 S. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 887-2500
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Munchies on MLK in Lansing. Serving up the Cheapest Wings in Town....Period!

Munchies on MLK in Lansing. Serving up the "Cheapest Wings in Town....Period!"

A few weeks ago I had to run to the Walgreens on MLK instead of the one I usually go to on Cedar.  As I’m driving down MLK, a small restaurant with a big banner out front catches my eye.  A lot of times, you’ll see stuff like “Best Wings in Town” or something similar boasting about the taste.  Not this banner.  It read “Cheapest Wings in Town.”  There’s something to be proud of….I guess.  When I got home, I told J about it.  She looked at me a little funny and said I was on my own for that one.  If all they can advertise is the cheapest wings in town, she wanted no part of it.

J had to work in Kalamazoo today so I waited until she left to get a late lunch.  I pulled into the parking lot and parked up front.  There was only one other guy there and he was leaving.  I went inside looking for a menu and didn’t see anything about wings.  When I got to the register, I noticed a piece of paper taped to the counter.  That’s where the wing prices were.  There were serveral options, but I went with six wings and wedges.  They weren’t kidding.  These probably ARE the cheapest wings in town.  The whole deal cost me about $4.50.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicken, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, 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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Great Lakes Chocolate & Coffee Co. – Lansing

26 08 2008
  • 500 E. Michigan Ave.
  • Suite 190
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 999-3405
  • Website
  • Menu
Great Lakes Chocolate & Coffee Company in the Stadium District near Downtown Lansing

Great Lakes Chocolate & Coffee Company in the Stadium District near Downtown Lansing

If you’ve ever looked at my sidebar, you’ve noticed I have RSS feeds from the local media outlets here in town.  This story on WLAJ.com really jumped out at me today.

About a dozen mid-Michigan workers are employed today with the help of the Great Lakes Chocolate and Coffee Company.

YAY!  Chocolate!  When my girlfriend came home for dinner tonight, I suggested making a run downtown to get a couple pieces of gourmet chocolate for dessert before I took she had to go back. 

The Great Lakes Chocolate & Coffee Co. opened up shop on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Larch St. on the first floor of the Stadium District building across from Oldsmobile Park.  Parking is limited out front to a few meters, but behind the building is a massive parking lot for the businesses and the residents of the Stadium District.  We were going the wrong way down Michigan to get a spot at a meter, so we went around to the back parking lot.  For those coffee lovers in a hurry, there’s also a drive-thru behind the building.  The main entrance is off Michigan Ave, but there is a back entrance from the back lot and an entrance on the Larch St. side.  Since we parked in back, we entered from the back.  There an open sign and there are hours on the door, but when we walked in, we second guessed ourselves.  The only two doors you see are for the men’s room and an employee entrance to the kitchen.  There is a hallway that leads back into the shop, but it took us a second to get our bearings and realize that. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Cafe, Chocolate, Coffee, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

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 »


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Categories : Bakery, Cafe, Chains, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Welcome Enlightened Spartan Viewers

21 08 2008

I’ve noticed the last couple days that a lot of hits are coming from the Enlightened Spartan website.  For those of you finding this blog for the first time, thanks for checking it out and I hope you find something you like.  For those of you regular readers, make sure to check out Enlightened Spartan for some incredible Spartan sports coverage.


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Categories : Food News

City Market Vote – Liveblogging – Market Approved!

18 08 2008

The City Council is taking up the issue of the City Market at tonight’s City Council Meeting…I got the TIVO going on this one, but it’s going to be a long, long night.  There are almost 70 people signed up for public comment on legislative matters and general matters.  The Council did vote to limit public comment to 2 minutes instead of 3, but if everyone speaks, that’s still 2 hours and 20 minutes of public comment.

Before that though, Mayor Bernero made a few comments about the project.

He said it will create jobs for 100’s of skilled trades people and opportunities for citizens.  It will grow the city’s taxbase and help pay for essential services.  It will also clean up historic environmental contamination along the riverfront. The new building will be a $1.6 million new facility that is energy efficient and more spacious. 

“This is the plan that will catapult the Lansing City Market to new heights of success”

Update 7:51 PM – There were some updates to the final development agreement over the weekend. 

  1. Added definition to not include strip malls.  No single story commercial structure
  2. Defined expected economic tools from city.  Struck Dept. of Environ. Quality loan.
  3. Developer may make application for incentives that will require approval from City.
  4. Developer has agreed to make good faith efforts to hire diverse Mid-Michigan workforce.  Developer agree to put in contract with construction manager language that reads “All contractors must adhere to the City of Lansing’s taxing regulations which include reporting income tax and wage detail information.”
  5. Some dates have been tweaked a little bit to bring in to unity time to complete the project. 
  6. Closing date was moved up by a month from May1 to April 1 to fit new payment schedule.  Full payment for property due April 1 so construction cannot be started before property is sold
  7. Prepayments will not returned if developer decides not to build before closing
  8. In a scenario in the future, if he were to sell the building or piece of property to any non tax paying entity, he would agree to pay the full millage rate on the property 63.63 mills for 15 years starting with the date of the occupancy permit being issued on whatever that project is.

Update 8:00 PM – Public comment starts and one of the first guys up come out yelling about historical buildings and bashing the mayor and threatens that everyone up there can be replaced. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Food News, Lansing

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