Press Release – Biggby Bob to Speak at LCC Commencement

14 04 2009

From a Lansing Community College press release –

LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE ANNOUNCES 2009 COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
Biggby Coffee CEO Bob Fish to Speak May 1

LANSING, MICH. (April 13, 2009) – Lansing Community College has announced that Biggby Coffee CEO and Co-Founder Bob Fish will give the commencement address at its May 1 graduation ceremony. “Biggby Bob,” as he is known by many coffee aficionados, co-founded the company in 1995 with his partner, Mary Roszel, and opened the first café on Grand River in East Lansing. The first Biggby Coffee franchise was sold in 1999, and the company has virtually doubled in size every two years since then. It now has more than 100 cafes located in nine states. Bob earned his degree from MSU’s Hospitality Business School. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board of the Michigan Restaurant Association, Bob is a Board member of the Small Business Association of Michigan and Junior Achievement of Mid-Michigan. Lansing Community College selected Bob because of his significant entrepreneurial success, his innovative spirit, and his charismatic and inspiring personality. LCC’s commencement will take place at 7 p.m. at Breslin Student Event Center.


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Carrabba’s Italian Grill – Lansing

13 04 2009
  • 6540 W. Saginaw Highway
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 323-8055
  • Website
  • Menu
Carrabbas Italian Grill on Saginaw Highway in Delta Township

Carrabba's Italian Grill on Saginaw Highway in Delta Township

It had been a long weekend.  I had worked four days in a row (unusual for my line of work) and J had made a quick trip home to see a friend of hers who just had a baby.  We timed it out where she got home about an hour after I did on Sunday.  That gave me enough time to shower and have a little snack.  By 5:00, we were both pretty hungry.  She did brunch with her parents in Chicago, but that was at 10:00 AM.  We wanted to go out for dinner, but since it was Easter Sunday, we weren’t really sure what would be open.  I knew the chain restaurants would be serving, so we headed out to Delta Township.

We had our choice as far as chains go on that side of town.  I narrowed it down to Outback Steakhouse, Cheddar’s, and Carrabba’s.  J said she didn’t have a preference and since Carrabba’s is the one out of those three that I had never eaten at, it’s what we chose.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill is on Saginaw Highway in front of the Kohl’s in Delta Township.  Usually when we’re in this part of town, Carrabba’s isn’t open. They’re not the typical chain and they’re not open for lunch during the week.  They open their doors at 4:00 Monday thru Friday.  On Saturday and Sunday, they do open at noon, but they serve the same dinner menu.

We were met at the door by a waitress who welcomed us to the store as she stood holding the door for us.  We were then met by a hostess who showed us to a table near the kitchen.  The restaurant was surprisingly packed for a holiday.  The table we were seated at had a good view of the kitchen which was open and on display.  In fact, there was even a bar where you could enjoy your meal while watching the cooks prepare the evening’s meals.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Italian, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

El Oasis Antojitos Mexicanos – Michigan Avenue

13 04 2009
  • 2501 E. Michigan Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • No Known Phone Number
  • No Known Website
  • Menu (sorta)
El Oasis Mexican stand on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

El Oasis Mexican stand on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

After a long day at work and only a few hours of sleep, I was on the hunt for something to eat quickly so I could get to bed as soon as possible.  The first thing that popped in my head was Mexican.  I’ve been wanting to try a new place in Holt located in Brower’s Hardware.  When I got there, there was a sign on the cash register that the owner had to make an emergency run to the hospital for a family member and they were not open.  I then drove back out to Jolly Road to try Julie Joe’s for a second time.  Note on the door that they were closed for Easter (this was Saturday, not Easter Sunday).  The last place I could think of where I could get Mexican food quickly was El Oasis on Michigan Avenue.  The thing that really sucks is that if I had just picked that first, I wouldn’t have had to drive all the way back out there.

El Oasis is a cart that set up shop in a parking lot on the corner of East Michigan and North Francis Avenues.  They have another location inside Tony’s Party Store on Cedar Street (review HERE)which we tried last summer and had some problems with.  They got our order totally wrong and J ended up with ground beef, which she doesn’t eat, on her tacquitos and I ended up with her chicken on my tacos.  We had to trade dishes and I’m not a fan of avocado, sour cream, or raw tomatoes, so, needless to say, we weren’t very impressed. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Local Flavor, Mexican, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Quality Dairy – Michigan Avenue

12 04 2009
  • 2400 E. Michigan Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 319-4125
  • Website
Quality Dairy on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

Quality Dairy on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

After less than four hours of sleep, I needed more Pepsi.  I don’t do coffee, so another 44 oz Pepsi is the next best thing.  I had just picked up a breakfast sandwich from GrandRiver Coffee Cafe and they didn’t have any regular cola, so I had to make other arrangement.  Sure, I could have went to the QD on Michigan Avenue in East Lansing, but how would the QD tour roll on if I did that?

The next closest Quality Dairy is on East Michigan Avenue at North Foster Avenue.  It’s another corner location, but it’s also a mini-strip mall.  It shares a building with another business. 

It was a hopping Saturday morning at the Quality Dairy.  The store was packed with people picking up coffee, doughnuts, and their morning paper.  I actually missed the fountain soda machine at first.  I was expecting it to be in the middle of the room, but it was all the way on the far wall.  Conveniently enough, right next to the doughnut case. 

The funny thing about this Quality Dairy is the logo’s on the machine.  The Pepsi logo is from the 80’s.  It was probably five logos ago.  I had a little chuckle.  The rest of the logos were also from days long gone.  I filled up my cup and then glanced at the doughnuts.  As good as they looked, I had already ate and was trying to get by on the cheap.  I already spent more money than I would have liked to in two days of working, so I kept walking and paid for my pop which was actually cheaper than the one I bought at Speedway earlier in the day.


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Categories : Grocery, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Lansing Taco Bell to Donate to Boys & Grils Club

9 04 2009

Who would have thought Twitter was a good place to find stories.  This was posted quite a while ago on the Lansing Taco Bell Twitter page.

On April 23rd, ALL Lansing, Michigan Taco Bell will be giving 15% of their sales to Boys and Girls Club. Give for Graduation!


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Lugnuts Opener and a Coffee Coupon

8 04 2009

I saw the following on Paramount Coffee’s Twitter Page.

Lansing Lugnuts season opener tomorrow! Come park at Paramount (right across the street!) and get an online coupon ^_^

If you’re going anyway, why not get something out of the deal?


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A Change At Pizza Hut..

8 04 2009

..at the south Lansing location anyway.  I was driving by yesterday and saw a crane taking signs down.  I thought the worst and figured they were going out of business.  When I drove by tonight, I found out that I was wrong.  They didn’t close.  They just changed the branding.

They’ve dropped the “Italian Bistro” concept and turned it into a WingStreet. 

J’s been saying for a while we needed to stop in one day.  Growing up, I was the only one in my family that preferred Pizza Hut.  Really, I just loved the breadsticks.  It’s been so long since I’ve actually had a pizza from there that I don’t really remember if I liked it or not. 

The Italian Bistro concept was a little more upscale than a typical Pizza Hut.  They had more of a “bistro” menu and offered a lot of dishes that are now common due to the “Pasta Hut” campaign.

WingStret is the Yum! Brand’s wing store.  Pairing Pizza Hut and WingStreet is pretty common, but not in a location like the south Lansing spot.  Usually, they’re paired together in take out restaurants.

I’ve never had WingStreet wings, so maybe we’ll give them a shot one night.  We’re running out of new places to eat on the southside anyway.


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Categories : Chains, Food News, Lansing, Michigan, Pizza

Hooters of Lansing

8 04 2009
  • 172 E. Edgewood Blvd.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 393-7997
  • Website
  • Menu
Hooters of Lansing on E. Edgewood Blvd.

Hooters of Lansing on E. Edgewood Blvd.

I’m going to be honest.  I’ve never been a fan of Hooters.  Even as a horny teenager, I thought their gimmick was ridiculous.  The only Hooters close to where I grew was over an hour away and every time my friends and I were close to it, we’d have to stop.  They would all cover by saying, “but the food is so good.”  I disagreed.  I always thought it was overpriced for what it was.  It was fine, but it seemed like you were paying for something other than the food.  The only redeeming quality to Hooters for me was the hot wings.  At the time, Hooters was about the only place serving up chicken like that.  This was long before Buffalo Wild Wings and long before chicken wings became staples on sports bar menus. 

So, even though there’s a Hooters just around the corner from where we live now, it’s one place we haven’t really been itching to get to.  That is, until I saw a commercial for 10 boneless wings and fries for $5.99 on Wednesday’s.  I figured if nothing else, it was a cheap meal and it would give us an excuse to check out the Lansing store.

Hooters of Lansing is on Edgewood Boulevard in South Lansing.  It’s got the same design as every other store and the same decor and layout as every other Hooters.  They use wood paneling and bright orange colors to accent their waitress uniforms.  J called it an outdoorsy field.  It is a very vibrant atmosphere and one of the original sports bars.  The unique thing that I’ve always liked about Hooters is how they send orders to the kitchen.  Sure, they may use POS systems now, but they still put a piece of paper on a clip and send it along a zip wire to the kitchen.  When something is ready, the kitchen sends it back. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicken, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Wings

Quality Dairy – Pennsylvania & Kalamazoo

7 04 2009
  • 400 S. Pennsylvania Avenue
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 319-4102
  • Website
The Quality Dairy on Pennsylvania and Kalamazoo

The Quality Dairy on Pennsylvania and Kalamazoo

The QD tour continued today.  I was on my way downtown to pick something up when I drove by a Quality Dairy I hadn’t stopped at yet.  I was thirsty and was already contemplating a Speedway stop for a Pepsi.  Yeah, I could have got the Speedy Rewards points had I went to Speedway, but I would have had to go out of my way a little bit. 

This Quality Dairy is on the corner of Pennsylvania and Kalamazoo Street.  The address is Pennsylvania, but the front of the store faces Kalamazoo.  It’s a small corner lot that is made even smaller with the gas pumps.  There are a couple pumps which today, actually had gas almost 20 cents cheaper than any place else I passed.  I should have topped off my tank, but that’s not me.

The inside of the store is small and kind of crowded.  It’s not one of the bigger, nicer stores. I found the fountain soda machine and grabbed a cup to get my Pepsi.  Right behind me wa the roller grill items.  How come those never look good to me?  Anyway, I topped off my Pepsi and went to pay.  The price wa $1.05.  Not as good as a Circle K Polar Pop, but on par with everyone else.

This shop is pretty typical of the Quality Dairy’s in the older neighborhoods.  It has all the QD favorites, but the store is small and not nearly as nice as some of the newer ones.  Who cares though?  You can still get donuts, ice cream and an Arctic Freeze.


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Categories : Grocery, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

City Pulse’s Top of the Town Winners

1 04 2009

The Lansing City Pulse announced their Top of the Town winners in this week’s edition.  I found a lot of the winner’s surprising.  Here are the dining winners with my thoughts.  Make sure you check out City Pulse for winners in all categories. 

Bar Food – Art’s Bar and The Peanut Barrel – I’ll totally agree on Art’s Bar.  Peanut Barrel was good, but nothing outstanding.  I’m still a big fan of Leo’s Lodge and Barley’s has some of the best wings in town.  The Nuthouse is also up there.

Bread/bakery – Great Harvest Bread Company – I haven’t bought bread from anywhere other than Horrocks and Kroger so I don’t have an opinion either way on this one.  I have eaten at Great Harvest before and they do have good stuff, so that one’s probably not too far off although I’d rather see a local place win.

Breakfast – Golden Havest – In total agreement on this one

Casual Dining – Applebees – Again, hate to see a chain win.  I would probably put The Soup Spoon in this category and I would definitely rate it above Applebees

Diner – Fleetwood Diner – It’s hard to argue with Fleetwood’s atmosphere, but I think Jackie’s Diner has better food.  Hell, even Golden Harvest could win this category

Gourmet – Troppo – I really liked Troppo.  We had a great lunch there.  Also had a really good meal at the State Room.  This category is a toss up for me.

Asian Food – Lamai Thai Kitchen – I don’t eat Asian food, so I have no opinion on this category

Italian Food – Emil’s – There’s not a ton of Italian options in Lansing, but Emil’s is a good one.  Read the rest of this entry »


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