Emil’s Restaurant

22 11 2008
  • 2012 E. Michigan Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 482-4430
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Emils Restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

Emil's Restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

I proved tonight that you can wear a white shirt to an Italian restaurant and not make a mess.  I think I surprised J as much as I surprised myself.  After a day of shopping, we were sitting on the couch flipping back and forth between the MSU/PSU game and the Illinois/Northwestern game.  We were both getting hungry and I was craving Italian.  Emil’s is one of the Lansing institutions that had been recomended to us when we first moved here, but we don’t eat out Italian very often.  Since I was craving, we thought, why not?

Emil’s is on Michigan Avenue a few blocks down from Sparrow Hospital.  There’s a little on street parking in the front, but there’s a huge public parking lot behind the row of businesses.  Emil’s has an entrance off the back and since that’s where we parked, that’s where we entered.  The back entrance brings you right into the bar.  We were a little confused at that point. Were we supposed to seat ourselves or is there a host somewhere.  I just figured if we walked to the front door, we’d find out.  As we made our way through the bar, a host noticed us and was waiting near the front for us.  When we got to him, he led us into a dining room seperate from the bar. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Italian, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

Fabiano’s Homemade Candy & Ice Cream

22 11 2008
  • 119 S. Putnam St.
  • Williamston, MI 48895
  • (517) 655-3782
  • Website (dead link)
Fabianos Homemade Candy & Ice Cream in downtown Williamston

Fabiano's Homemade Candy & Ice Cream in downtown Williamston

After a day of shopping, we needed something sweet.  A stop at Meridian Mall was next on our schedule and the GPS always takes us through Williamston to Grand River when we go from the Tanger Outlets back to Okemos.  Somehow, I found Fabiano’s and homemade candy always sounds good.

We found Fabiano’s in downtown Williamston.  When we pulled up, we kind of got a mixed signal on whether the shop was even open.  There were two signs in the window.  One said “open.”  The other said “closed.”  On top of that, there was a building for sale sign in the window.  We could see lights on inside, but no people.  J told me to go check, so I got out and pulled on the door.  It opened so I went in. 

The inside of the shop is very sparse which leads me to believe that “building for sale” is in the window for a reason.  There was just one girl working by herself.  There’s a big case filled with truffles and chocolates.  The clerk asked what I wanted, but J hadn’t made her way in the store yet, so I asked for a few more minutes.  She went back to cleaning up behind the counter.  J came in and we decided on some chocolates.  I was hoping for fudge, but there was none there.  They’re a candy shop, not a chocolate shop.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chocolate, Downtown, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews, Williamston

Bloated Goat Saloon

22 11 2008
  • 141 E. Grand River Ave.
  • Fowlerville, MI 48836
  • (517) 223-8413
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
The sign hanging from the Bloated Goat Saloon in downtown Fowlerville

The sign hanging from the Bloated Goat Saloon in downtown Fowlerville

The Bloated Goat Saloon is my kind of bar.  Not only is the name awesome, but the inside is the typical small town, turn of the century saloon with above average food. 

J and I were heading out to Howell to do some Christmas shopping.  Might as well get it out of the way early.  I hate people and you can’t have a crowd without people and you can’t Christmas shop in December without crowds, so we went to the Tanger Outlets the week before Thanksgiving instead of the week after.   We’re always on the lookout for new places and when I was searching for restaurants in and around Howell, I came upon a place called the Bloated Goat Saloon.  There were a couple reviews that said the place was really neat and the food was good, so we decided to give it a try.

The Bloated Goat Saloon is in downtown Fowlerville.  It’s not hard to find.  There’s a huge sign hangining on the side of the building.  The inside is dark, long, and narrow.  There isn’t much width to the place.  There’s a really neat bar running along one wall in the front of the space and tables along the other.  The back of the room is filled with more tables and the usual pub games.  Back to the bar for a second, it’s a really interesting design.  There’s the bar, but there’s also a boxed in shelf a few feet above the bar.  The whole thing is supported with steel pipe, so it looks like there are a bunch of “windows” when you’re sitting there.  About half of the bar stools are attached to the bar itself and then there’s a couple of the more traditional free standing stools. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Burgers, Fowlerville, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Press Release – Grand Rapids International Wine & Food Festival

21 11 2008

From a Van Andel Arena newsletter…


Friday, Nov. 21: 2:00 PM- 9:00 PM
Saturday, Nov. 22: Noon-9:00 PM
Sunday, Nov. 23: Noon- 5:00 PM
DeVos Place®

 Designed to be Michigan’s premier wine and food experience, this festival will bring together wineries from around the world along with culinary experts of West Michigan.

For more information please visit GRWineFestival.com .

 FEATURES!

  • More than 500 wines from as many as 100 wineries around the world
  • Appearance by nationally syndicated PBS chef Eric Villegas
  • More than 100 Michigan-made beers, wines, ciders, and spirits
  • Grand Rapid’s top restaurants like Tre-Cugini, six-one-six, Cygnus, Louis Benton, and The Monkey Bar inside The BOB 

 Click Here to purchase tickets
Tickets are also available at the DeVos Place box office, Ticketmaster ticket centers and charge by phone: 616.456.3333
Sampling tickets will be available at the door and can be redeemed at wine and food booths.
*No one under the age of 21 will be permited.


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Categories : Food News, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Old Town Compassionate Feast

21 11 2008

From an Old Town Commercial Association Press Release….

OLD TOWN PREPARES FOR ANOTHER COMPASSIONATE FEAST
100 local families to receive Thanksgiving baskets

Old Town, Lansing, Mich.- The Old Town Commercial Association (OTCA) is starting the
holiday season with the eighth annual Compassionate Feast, a program dedicated to supplying 100 local families under the federal poverty line with all the ingredients necessary to make a traditional Thanksgiving feast in their own home. Thanksgiving baskets will be distributed to local pre-qualified families on Monday, November 24 at the North Presbyterian Church, located at 108 West Grand River in Lansing’s historic Old Town district. Volunteers will sort, pack and distribute the food to local families between 9a.m. and 6p.m.The OTCA is still raising money to purchase groceries for the baskets. Compassionate Feast is a
community event, and could not be possible without the generous donations given every year from local businesses and community members. Every penny collected goes to purchase food. The costs are anticipated to be approximately $7,000 for this year’s baskets. People interested in donating are asked to contact the OTCA at 517.485.4283 for additional information.

In partnership with Head Start, Cristo Rey and EVE Inc., the OTCA strives to find families who
need the Thanksgiving baskets the most. The families are pre-qualified, contacted and confirmed in the weeks prior to the event. With the help of the West Saginaw Meijer, The OTCA will purchase food based on each individual family and their needs.

“We’ve had some great people step up to help us this year,” said Jamie Schriner-Hooper, executive director of the OTCA. “In addition to monetary donations, we’ve had a few unique donations. Troppo donated 50 turkeys, which would have cost us about $1,000; October Moon donated food and baby blankets. We also received in-kind donations from Great Harvest Bread Company, Grand Traverse Pie Company, TechSmith and Paramount Coffee.”

Now in its eigth year, the program was started by David Such, owner of Such Video, a video
production company in Old Town. Working as a young photographer on a story about a soup
kitchen during the Thanksgiving holiday provided Such with the inspiration for Compassionate
Feast.

 


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan, Old Town

Jersey Giant Subs – South Lansing

20 11 2008
  • 6441 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-2300
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Jersey Giant Subs on South Cedar in Lansing.

Jersey Giant Subs on South Cedar in Lansing.

The market is flooded with sub sandwich shops.  It seems like they all run together and I never know what’s a chain or what’s local.  We’ve passed over Jersey Giant Subs a number of times because we wer just tired of sub shops.  They’re all pretty much the same, right?

J wasn’t able to come home for dinner tonight and I had to go meet someone and pick up some gear for a job I have tomorrow in Grand Rapids.  Since I was out, I figured I’d just grab something for dinner instead of trying to scrounge something up for myself.  As I was driving back down Pennsylvania towards home, I thought of the non-descript sub shop we always pass up.

Jersey Giant Sub sits in a small strip mall on Cedar Street near the Meijer.  There are a lot of food options along this stretch of Cedar St.  The strip mall is mostly other take out places.  There are two Mexican places close by and a number of national chains.  Jersey Giant Sub kind of gets lost in the mix.

I had a hard time finding a parking spot.  There’s something in that strip mall that people love because every time we go there (there’s also a Bigby), the parking lot is packed.  I found a spot on the other side of the complex and walked back to the store.  Read the rest of this entry »


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

Thanksgiving Day in Lansing

17 11 2008

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday.  I love cooking a huge meal.  Last year, I worked from 3 AM until 11:30 AM on Thanksgiving then went home and cooked a meal for my co-workers that included a whole turkey, a turkey breast, garlic mashed potatoes, yams, buttermilk biscuits, stuffing, and pumpkin pie…all homemade and all from scratch.

This year, I’m going to my brothers house and will probably just help my sister-in-law and maybe smoke a turkey.  The whole family doesn’t want to come to Lansing and I can’t go home until late the night before so I can’t do any prep work…plus my sister-in-law likes to cook too.

The reason I bring all this up is because I’ve been getting hits recently from people looking for a restaurant in Lansing that serves Thanksgiving dinner.  I haven’t had much luck, but I want to get a list going for those who prefer eating out next Thursday, so I’ll get it started and if anyone else knows of someplace serving turkey, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the post.  I’ll bump this post back up periodically and hopefully we can get a good list going.

Restaurants Open Thanksgiving Day in the Lansing Area.

  • The Cadillac Club – 1115 South Washington Ave., Lansing, MI 48910 – (517) 853-1921

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Kroger – Frandor

17 11 2008
  • 443 Mall Ct.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 332-2090
  • Website
Kroger in the Frandor Shopping Center.

Kroger in the Frandor Shopping Center.

I have a feeling one day I will visit all the Kroger’s in Lansing.  For some reason, when I need something, I instinctively go to Kroger.  Maybe it’s because I’ve been around Kroger all my life whereas the other supermarket’s in the area or foreign to me.  Maybe it’s because there just always seems to be a Kroger when I need one.

J and I were in Frandor to check out Linens ‘N Things again.  My dad wants some pans for Christmas and he’s very, very picky about what he wants, so we were hoping to find something cheap at LNT. They just lowered their prices again, so we thought it was a good time.  We picked up a few things there, but I needed to pick up a few groceries as well and there was a Kroger not too far down the parking lot.

So, we headed back to the truck to drop of the “Things” we bought from Linens ‘N Things before heading to Kroger.  I’m guessing this store is one of the older ones in Lansing.  They still have an old sign on the building and the layout is a little wierd for a grocery store.  When you walk in, you come in behind the cash registers.  There’s only one door in and out so you come out the way you go in.  If you keep walking past the cash registers, you’ll eventually hit produce and you can start shopping just like you would at any store. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chocolate, Grocery, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Crunchy’s Burgers and Pizza – Revisited

17 11 2008
Crunchys in East Lansing. Picture taken in the spring of 2008

Crunchy's in East Lansing. Picture taken in the spring of 2008

I first reviewed Crunchy’s back in the spring not long after moving to Mid-Michigan.  That was the beginning of my quest for the best burger in Lansing.  I wasn’t overly impressed, but really liked the bar.  There were a few other things on the menu we were wanting to try and figured we’d get back there some day.  Fast forward six months.  I was working at Munn Ice Arena and J and I decided to meet up for dinner after the hockey game.  There’s not a whole lot of options after 10:00 other than pizza so J suggested we meet at Crunchy’s.

Saturday night is probably not the best night to go to a college bar if you’re not in college, but we knew that heading in.  J called ahead to see when the kitchen closed.  I was expecting to get done with work around 11 and the kitchen closed at 11:30, so we knew it was going to be close.  Turns out, I got done before 11 so we made it in plenty of time.  We were carded at the door and a waitress pointed out a table just inside the dining room that we could take.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, East Lansing, Michigan, Reviews, Sports Bar

Munn Ice Arena

16 11 2008
  • 1 Chestnut Rd.
  • East Lansing, MI 48824
  • (517) 353-4698
  • Website
One of the endzones at Munn Ice Arena. The view from my camera position.

One of the endzones at Munn Ice Arena. The view from my camera position.

I like hockey.  I like going to hockey games.  I like watching hockey.  I don’t do enough of either, so when I got a phone call to shoot CCHA hockey at Munn Ice Arena, I was pretty psyched.  I was just in Munn for the first time a week ago when I shot football across the street at Spartan Stadium and I thought then Munn would probably be a pretty good place to watch hockey.  I was right.

Munn Ice Arena is located on the campus of Michigan State University between Spartan Stadium and the Jack Breslin Student Events Center.   It’s a really interesting looking building.  Most of the arena is actually built into the terrain.  All you can see from the street is the roof of the building.  When you walk in, you’re at the concourse level and have to walk down to get to your seats.

Munn is a pretty good sized stadium for a hockey only arena.  The stadium holds almost 6500 people and most of those seats were pretty full the night I was there.  There are also suites on either side elevated above the seating area.  Most of the seating is bench seating, but the closer you get to the ice, there are some individual seats.  The interesting design thing, to me anyway, was the location of the team benches.  I don’t know if it’s unique to Munn or if it’s a college hockey thing (I come from an area where college hockey isn’t big, so I’ve never been to a game before). Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : East Lansing, Entertainment Venues, Michigan, Reviews

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