Quality Dairy – Michigan Ave, East Lansing

9 02 2009
  • 808 Michigan Avenue
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 319-4121
  • Website
The Quality Dairy on Michigan and Harrison in East Lansing.

The Quality Dairy on Michigan and Harrison in East Lansing.

I’m having a hard time driving past a QD nowadays.  I left McDonald’s with two sandwiches and nothing to drink.  I knew I could go back the way I came and find a Quality Dairy and get whatever I wanted to drink.
This Quality Dairy is on the corner of Harrison and Michigan Avenue in East Lansing near the Michigan State University athletic facilities.  Getting in to the parking lot is a little weird.  If you’re on Michigan Avenue, you turn into the lot on what looks like a sidewalk.  It’s so close to the corner, you wouldn’t think there would be a driveway there. 
This QD is really no different from any of the other ones in town.  The building is a little smaller than some and the inside is a little cramped, but you still get all the doughnuts, coffee, and ice cream.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : East Lansing, Grocery, Michigan, Reviews

McDonald’s – East Lansing

9 02 2009
  • 1024 E. Grand River Avenue
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 332-6647
  • Website
  • Menu
McDonalds on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.

McDonald's on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.

I took the easy way out.  I was at Jenison Field House for MSU wrestling and I had an hour lunch/breakfast break at about ten AM.  I thought about going out for an actual breakfast, but really wasn’t in the mood.  We didn’t get back to Lansing until midnight the night before and I had to be at the Field House at seven AM.  I was tired.  I was cranky and I just wanted something quick.  I had always been intrigued by the McDonald’s on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing.  I had never seen a two story McD’s before. 

The only McDonald’s in East Lansing is on Grand River Avenue a few blocks from the campus of Michigan State University.  You can’t really tell from the road, but it’s kind of squeezed into a small space.  There’s not much of a parking lot and if there’s someone in the drive thru line behind you, you’re going to have a hard time getting out of a spot.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : breakfast, Chains, East Lansing, Fast Food, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Cold Stone and Tim Hortons To Team Up

7 02 2009

When I read the headline, I was a little shocked, but here it is.

Tim Hortons Inc. and the parent of Cold Stone Creamery said today they will team up to create up to 100 co-branded stores that will offer customers both ice cream and coffee shop fare.

[snip]

The companies said they recently co-branded two existing Tim Hortons locations in Rhode Island with positive results.

Existing Cold Stone and Tim Hortons locations in Michigan, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Maine and Connecticut will be picked and reconfigured to offer both brands, the companies said.

The article mentions existing co-branded stores with Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins which are pretty prevelant in the Chicagoland area.  It could work.  I hope they don’t change stores on South Cedar Street and in Holt.  That’s too close to home…


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Categories : Food News, Michigan

Wing Zone

1 02 2009
  • 340 Morgan Lane
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 332-9464
  • Website
  • Menu
Wing Zone in the Frandor Shopping Center in Lansing.

Wing Zone in the Frandor Shopping Center in Lansing.

Wings and the Super Bowl go together.  It’s just a fact of life.  For the last five or six years, I have slaved over a deep fryer for hours making wings for my friends on the day of the game.  Every year, I’d come up with a new sauce or way to cook them.  Last year, I skipped the deep fryer all together and went for baked wings.  This year, I just wasn’t in the mood.  I still wanted wings and have been craving them for days.  My two choices were to make a trip to Kroger for wings and oil or let the professionals do all the work.

My favorite wing place, by far has always been Buffalo Wild Wings.  It’s the one chain I don’t mind telling you that I love.  When the company opened their first store in the Peoria area, I spent three or four nights a week there.  I worked second shift and my buddies and I would hit B-Dubs after work for drinks and wings.  Most Tuesday’s, our orders were waiting for us when we got there. Read the rest of this entry »


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

Brother’s Grill

29 01 2009
  • 403 E. Grand River Avenue
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 333-6939
  • Website
  • Menu
Brothers Grill in downtown East Lansing

Brother's Grill in downtown East Lansing

A few weeks ago I was watching the 11:00 news and saw a story about the Michigan Business Tax.  The reporter took the angle of what a new business has to deal with when starting up in Michigan.  The business they chose to talk to was Brother’s Grill in East Lansing.  Before that story, I had never heard of Brother’s Grill….and with good reason, they had just opened their doors that week.

The later it gets in the week, the less I feel like cooking dinner.  Before J left for work, I asked what she wanted and she didn’t really come up with anything.  Before walking out the door, she asked if I just wanted to pick her up and we could go out to eat.  I didn’t argue.  I suggested Brother’s Grill in East Lansing.  The menu looked good and there’s not much info on the place on the web yet.  She liked the idea so that’s what we did.

Brother’s Grill is on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing in the old Big Ten Burrito location.  It’s sandwiched between Starbucks and SBS.  I knew it was on Grand River, but I didn’t know where.  As we drove along the stretch of road in the downtown area of East Lansing, I asked J to keep an eye out for it.  Neither one of us saw it, so I turned around and headed back the way we came.  I finally noticed it as we came up to the stoplight at Charles Street.  They don’t have a lighted a sign.  Just a painted window and a small wooden sign above the door.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Downtown, East Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Coming Soon: The Venue

29 01 2009
Coming Soon...The Venue on the corner of Cedar and Long Blvd.

Coming Soon...The Venue on the corner of Cedar and Long Blvd.

Shh.  Don’t tell J she was right.  I went down to the Speedway on the corner of Cedar and Long Boulevard today to get a frozen Coke.  As I was pulling out, I noticed a big , orange coming soon sign in the window of the old Frank’s Press Box South.   The place has been empty for as long we’ve been in Lansing, but this fall, J kept trying to tell me there was a lot of cars parked around the empty building.  I kept telling her it was over flow from the Holiday Inn (now Causeway Bay Hotel), but she kept saying someone was working on the building. 

She was right.  I drove up for a closer look after seeing the sign and there was definitely some movement inside.  I don’t have any other details other than the place is going to be called “The Venue.”  We drive by there pretty much everyday, so when I notice the coming soon sign has been replaced by a grand opening sign, we’ll check it out and see what’s up.


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan

Press Release – Save-A-Lot Opens in Jackson

27 01 2009

From a Save-A-Lot press release….

SAVE-A-LOT CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING OF JACKSON STORE

Edited Assortment Grocery Store Will Save Consumers Up to 40 Percent

St. Louis, Missouri – December 22, 2008 – Save-A-Lot, the nation’s largest edited assortment grocery chain, celebrated the grand opening of its store in Jackson, Michigan, located at 3525 O’Neil Drive on September 17. The company is committed to offering local shoppers high quality groceries at savings of up to 40 percent.

“Save-A-Lot’s edited-assortment retailing model and nationwide buying power allows us to offer the best quality groceries at a significant savings,” said Jaime Powers, company spokesperson. “We’ve had a tremendous success at our other stores in Michigan, and look forward to bringing another Save-A-Lot to the area.”

Save-A-Lot stores deliver savings of up to 40 percent over conventional grocery stores. The new stores will carry about 1,250 of the most frequently purchased grocery items, including fresh meat, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, canned goods and packaged items, frozen foods and more, plus non-food products like health and beauty care items. Save-A-Lot stores are open seven days a week and employ approximately 15 – 20 employees. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Food News, Grocery, Jackson, Michigan, Press Releases

Employees Work for No Pay to Help Restaurant

27 01 2009

Here’s a neat story from Muskegon.

A week ago, 17 restaurant employees — servers, cooks, busboys, dishwashers, cashiers and hostesses — worked exclusively for tips, so owner Dave Barham could trim the payroll.

“Isn’t that something?” he asked.

When the last customer left on what employees dubbed “Donate A Day,” they’d saved the boss about $700 in wages. The restaurant employs 31 people.

Wow.  How many of us would give our bosses a free day of work to help them out?  Honestly, in an office setting, I don’t think I would.  The deal here was everyone worked for tips.  Once patrons got word of what they were doing, they started leaving bigger tips.  By the end of the day, they had made over $800 in tips which was then split evenly between everyone. 

Interesting story.  I’ve never worked at a place where I liked or respected the company I worked for that much that I would consider that.  I think this story not only says a lot about the employees but a lot about the owners as well. 

On the Web: Mr. B’s Pancake House

 


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GM Cuts Could Close Don’s Windmill

27 01 2009

I just noticed this story in my RSS feeds.   The ripple effect of GM cutting employees trickles down to the businesses around the plant.

Don’s Windmill Restaurant is one of those establishments, and manager Alexis Millisor describes business as slowly dying.

“With an additional 1,200 people being laid off that’s another 1,200 that won’t be able to have money to go out to eat,” Millisor said.

Millisor says she’s worried about the future of the restaurant since much of her business comes from GM workers at the Delta plant along with truck drivers who supply parts to the factory.

They’ve been in business 55 years and it may be the end of the line. Don’s Windmill was one of the first restaurant recommendations we got from one of J’s co-workers.  It was good, greasy diner food.  Nothing great, but somehow comforting.   Losing Don’s Windmill would be sad.


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Categories : Dimondale, Food News, Michigan

House Bill 4099 – The New Smoking Ban Bill

26 01 2009

Doesn’t it figure?  I just put a post up this afternoon about the smoking ban bill not being filed.  A few hours later, I get a comment on that post with a link to a Flint Journal story.  The bill was introduced last Thursday and sent to the Commerce Committee.  Today, the bill was filed which is why it just showed up on the Legislature’s website. 

HB 4099 differs from the bill introduced last year because it is a total ban on smoking…including casino’s and cigar bars.  That was a big issue a few months ago.  The Detroit legislators don’t want and probably won’t let the bill pass without an exemption for the casinos. 

To me, a ban with the those two exemptions is acceptable.  I don’t like it.  I think if the casinos are exempted, then bars (not any place that serves any kind food) should be exempted as well and I don’t want to see that.  Exemptions start a slippery slope and everyone thinks they should be an exemption.  It’s not a matter of Big Brother telling you want to do as the tobacco lobby will try to tell you.  I can’t think of any other thing that people are allowed to do that makes others physically uncomfortable.  If smokers had an ounce of respect for people around them, this wouldn’t be an issue, but most smokers feel like it’s their god given right to make everyone around them uncomfortable.

I wouldn’t expect this to move pretty fast.  In the overall scheme of things, this bill isn’t high priority.  Michigan has bigger problems than a smoking ban and I would guess they will drag it out to the next election.  You don’t want people to forget that you voted in favor of the ban.  It’s one of those social issues that get people on both sides fired up.


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Categories : Food News, Michigan, Politics

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