Samuel Mancino’s – Frandor

7 01 2010
  • 401B N. Clippert Street
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 351-7492
  • Website
  • Menu

I’ve blogged a few times in the past about how much I love grinder’s.  I’ve also gone over the whole spiel about my Mancino’s memories.  For those of you joining me at SWM-Dining, here’s the short story. 

Growing up, a new pizza joint moved in to Bourbonnais, Illinois near where I grew up.  My family, not being very adventurous, almost always ate at  fast food and chains…actually, this is something they still do.  Anyway, a shop called Mancino’s Pizza & Grinders opened up.  We ate there often.  All four of us were fans of these new toasted sandwiches.  When I moved to Peoria, there was a store called Bellacino’s…..that served the same menu.  Again, I ate there a few times and loved every minute of it.  When we moved to Lansing, we found more stores with the Mancino’s name on them.

Now, I’m going to be honest.  I’ve never been able to figure out if all them are connected or, if they are, how.  They all have the same name, the same food, and the same menu, but I cannot find one stinking website that lists all three cities.  Hell, all three stores have a different name.

Now, enter a fourth store under the Mancino’s name.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Michigan, Sandwiches

Taco Bell – Dunkel Road

1 01 2010
  • 3000 Dunkel Road
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 393-2800
  • Website
  • Menu

So, I must be on a quest to eat at every Taco Bell in Lansing or something.  I got out of work around 9:00 and headed to my hotel.  When I stay in Lansing, I almost always stay at the Red Roof Inn on Dunkel Road.  The closest restaurant is either Taco Bell or Subway.  Both are right down the street as part of the Sunoco gas station just off I-494.  I wanted something warm, so I chose Taco Bell.

Even though it was only 9:00, the counter was already closed.  If I wanted tacos, I would have to go through the drive thru.  In order to do that, you have to go all the way around the building.  I’ve documented many times why I hate drive thrus and this expereience was no difference. 

I pulled up to the speaker and waited.  The girl working started talking before she clicked the button, so I only heard half of what she said.  I just wanted tacos, so I clearly belted out my order of five crunchy tacos.  What I heard back was, “Nachos supreme?”  No, five crunchy tacos.  The second time, she got it and told me to pull around.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Fast Food, Lansing, Mexican, Restaurant, Reviews

Scalawags White Fish & Chips – S. Cedar

1 01 2010
  • 6260 S. Cedar Street
  • Suite A
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 394-7700
  • Website
  • Menu

I had a real hard time finding lunch.  It seems like everywhere I wanted to go decided to close.  My first attempt was Conrad’s College Town Grill.  Since the kids are on break, they weren’t opening until 7 PM.  My next attempt was Ramon’s, but they too were closed.  I was frustrated at this point and just started driving.  Somehow, I ended up in South Lansing near where we used to live.  I was just going to hop back on the Interstate and go find fast food or something back near MSU.  As I was making my way down Cedar, I noticed a new restaurant behind the Pizza Hut.  Yay!  New restaurant.

Scalawags White Fish & Chips is a small Northern Michigan chain.  They have three stores now in the Lansing area.  The newest location is on Cedar Street in the strip mall at the corner of Edgewood Boulevard.  It has to be a fairly new joint.  It wasn’t there when we moved from Lansing three months ago and there was no indication that anything was moving in to the space.

All of the other Scalawags locations have a pretty nice looking storefront.  The South Lansing location is in kind of a rundown strip mall.  They really stand out with the blue banner that boasts their logo and name that wraps around their corner of the building.  The inside of the store is actually pretty nice.  I don’t remember what was in the location before, but everything inside is new for Scalawags.  The feeling I got was sort of like dining on an old wooden fishing boat.  It was a pretty typical quick service restaurant set up.  There were booths and tables in the front of the store.  The small order counter was in the back. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicken, Fast Food, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Julie Joe’s

11 12 2009
  • 2515 E. Jolly Road
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 977-9415
  • Website
  • Menu

Well, I made it to Lansing.  It only took me about 45 minutes longer than it normally does.  I left quite a bit earlier than I needed to….just in case.  I got to Lansing about an hour before I needed to be there, so I went looking for lunch.

For quite some time, I’ve tried to stopping at Julie Joe’s on Jolly Road near the Dunkel Road intersection.  It seems like every time I try, it’s closed.  They close for three and a half hours between lunch and dinner during the week, they don’t open until five on Saturday, and they’re not open on Sunday.  It seems like every time I’ve pulled into the small strip mall, it’s been one of those times. 

This time, I made it in time for lunch, so I knew they would be open.  The previous business in this location was 2Fer’s.  I never made it there before it was closed, so I have no idea how much has changed.  Both on their website and on an insert in their carry-out menu, they make note of the fact that they used to be 2Fer’s.  I have no idea what that means or why, but since they make a point to mention, I thought I should to. 

The menu at Julie Joe’s is much larger than I expected.  As expected, they have tacos and pizza, but they also do deli sandwiches, salads, and soups.  The shop is not very big.  There are a couple tables, but I have a feeling not many people dine in.  There was a counter area that I assumed would be filled with pizza, but when I walked it up to it, there was no pizza.  They do have ads for pizza-by-the-slice at lunch time.  Not sure if they have it keeping warm somewhere else or how that works.  I wasn’t in to pizza, so I didn’t ask. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Mexican, Michigan, Pizza

Meijer – Charlotte

11 12 2009
  • 1167 E. Clinton Trail
  • Charlotte, MI 48813
  • (517) 541-9201
  • Website

Like everyone else, I seem to wait until it snows to get my truck ready for winter.  The timing was impeccable.  We’re under a blizzard warning and I had to drive to East Lansing for work.  I have four-wheel drive, so I wasn’t super worried, but like most people, I’m more worried about the way other people drive than I am about the roads or conditions. 

I made it to Battle Creek doing 45 MPH the whole way.  I got off to get a Pepsi, text J to let her know how far I had made it, and use the bathroom.  I didn’t need gas, but I pulled up to a pump to clean off my windows.  This exact same thing happened to me last December.  I had a long drive and I was out of windshield washer fluid.  I should have bought some at the gas station, but it never occurred to me, so I got back on the road.

By the time I made it to Olivet, the road was clear, but still a little wet.  By the time I got to Charlotte, the road was actually dry, but passing semi’s had done a number on my windshield.  It was getting to the point it was hard to see, so I had to pull off.  Lucky for me, I knew there was a Meijer at the next exit. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Charlotte, Grocery, Michigan, Reviews

Bell’s Greek Pizza – M.A.C. Avenue

5 12 2009
  • 225 M.A.C. Avenue
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 332-2355
  • Website
  • Menu

After spending the afternoon killing time before work, I was now faced with a longer than usual lunch break.  Now, I had another couple hours to kill.  Since I had just eaten an hour or so ago, a big lunch was out of the question.  I wasn’t even really sure I wanted anything at all. 

I went to Barnes & Noble first to look for a couple things then I just started walking around downtown East Lansing.  Didn’t really know where I was going, but when I ended up on M.A.C Avenue, I figured I could use a slice of pizza..

Bell’s Greek Pizza has two locations in East Lansing and they’re  not very far apart.  I’ve eaten at the Grand River Avenue location before, but never the location on M.A.C. Avenue near Albert Avenue. 

The downtown location is a small street front building.  There are a handful of tables in the front of the space.  The order area and kitchen is in the back. 

I’m a huge fan of pizza-by-the-slice locations.  It’s one of my favorite things about college campuses.  You can get just a couple slices for under five bucks.  I love it. 

Of course, Bell’s has other options, but pizza slices was all I wanted.  I ordered two pepperoni slices.  The lady working pulled them right out of the display case and put them on a paper plate.  Now, usually, those slices would go back into the oven before being handed over, but these didn’t for some reason.  I thought it was a little wierd but I didn’t say anything.  The pizza was still pretty warm.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : East Lansing, Michigan, Pizza

Taco Bell – Grand River, Okemos

5 12 2009
  • 2030 W. Grand River Avenue
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-6451
  • Website
  • Menu

Time to kill and no place to go.  It can be a dangerous thing.  I had to check out of my hotel at noon, but I didn’t have to be to work until noon.  I decided to hit up the Meridian Mall in Okemos.  I thought maybe I could kill some time, but I was wrong.  Mall’s don’t do anything for me. 

After I left the mall, I headed to Best Buy.  Since it was the middle of the afternoon, I thought maybe I could actually play their display DJ Hero.  I hung out with a pretty popular Chicago club DJ while I was in college and he taught me a little bit about mixing.  I don’t want to buy DJ Hero, but I wanted to see how the game worked. 

 It wasn’t all that fun, so I only played a couple songs then checked out some other Wii games.  Scoped out some titles for myself and for my in-laws for Christmas. 

 After I left Best Buy, I still had over an hour.  I was a little hungry and not in the mood to go hunt something out.  In the Best Buy parking lot was a Taco Bell and a Burger King.  I picked the less of two evils.

 Okemos has two Taco Bell locations.  I was closest to the location on Grand River Avenue just in front of Best Buy near the Meridian Mall.  Nothing unusual about this location.  Typical cookie cutter building.  Typical cookie cutter menu.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Michigan, Okemos

The Original Big John Steak & Onion

5 12 2009
  • 3490 Okemos Road
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 381-2465
  • Website
  • Menu

Back in East Lansing and there’s a little bit of nostalgia this weekend.  I had to be in town a couple days, so I went looking for the cheapest hotel I could find.  Usually, the two Red Roof Inn’s are the cheapest and recently, I’ve been staying out in Delta Township because it’s five bucks cheaper.  This weekend, however, I decided to stay at the East Lansing Red Roof Inn. 

I say there’s a little bit of nostalgia because two years ago, J and I made a frantic, last-minute trip to Lansing to find a place to live.  We had been in Bristol, TN for the Nextel Cup Race the weekend before.  She got the phone call on Tuesday that she had been hired in Lansing.  We were at her parents in Chicago because we didn’t have to be back to work in Peoria until Thursday.  We packed up the car again on Tuesday and drove to Lansing to find a place to live.  We only had a week and a half to make the move. 

We had stayed in a Red Roof Inn in Johnson City, TN and were happy with it, so we found one in Lansing and we spent our first night in what would become our new home at the Red Roof Inn on Dunkel Road.  This recent trip was the first time I had stayed at that hotel since that first night.

We were given a pretty long lunch break, so I decided to go check in and drop my stuff off.  Before that, I wanted to grab a sandwich or something somewhere so I could eat while watching ESPN in my room.  I couldn’t really think of much other than fast food chains along Jolly Road so I started driving towards Okemos.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Michigan, Okemos, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Quality Dairy – St. Joseph Highway

23 11 2009
  • 6400 W. St. Joseph Highway
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 319-4124
  • Website

If you would have told me two years ago one of the things I would miss most about Lansing was Quality Dairy, I would have called you crazy.  From the outside, these stores look like the typical convenience store.  Inside?  Not much different…at least until you dive into their unique goodies. 

For me, most Quality Dairy stops were Pepsi stops.  The thing I really loved about QD is that there’s almost always one near where you are.  I could actually plan a trip somewhere and know that I could stop for a 32 oz. pop on my way and not have to deal with the gas station hassle of everyone in front of you buying cigarettes and the clerk not knowing which package is which.  It was almost always a quick in and out.

My second day of work in East Lansing ended pretty late.  It was after 10:00 by the time I started heading back to my hotel.  I thought about grabbing a pizza in East Lansing, but I was tired and not really wanting to deal with Friday night crowds in a college town, so I just drove.  I didn’t want fast food again, but I really wanted a Pepsi.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

Arby’s – Frandor

23 11 2009
  • 622 N. Homer Street
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 351-6340
  • Website
  • Menu

Call me lazy.  I’m not completely proud of the fact that I’ve now eaten two fast food meals in a row, but once again, I’m trying to make as much money as possible, so going cheap on the lunch is a necessary evil.  I would much rather eat like this alone and be able to spend a little more when I go out with J.

Work day number two in Lansing started around 1:30.  I didn’t eat before going to work because I knew our lunch break was going to be pretty soon after we got to the job site.  Once we were released around 2:45, I headed to Frandor because I wanted to look at Staples for something.  After that was complete, it was on to lunch.  Sure, I had a bunch of options in Frandor, but since I was going to eat fast food anyway, I decided to go to a place I really like.

The Arby’s near the Frandor Shopping Center is located on Homer Street.  Because Homer is a one way street, there is also a back entrance from Clippert Street which is where I was coming from.  The building sits pretty close to Homer.  There is a huge parking lot in back and a few slots on the sides.  I took one of the side spots

Eating alone at Arby’s must have been the thing to do.  There were a number of solo diners in the restaurant when I got there.  Like almost every other fast food chain, I have a predictable order.  I get the sandwich they used to call “The Big Montana.”  Now, it’s just a large roast beef.  I got the combo and made it a large.  That’s not something I usually do, but I didn’t know if or when I would get to eat again, so I needed to load up.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Fast Food, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

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