Press Release – Holiday’s at the Cadillac Club

10 11 2008

From an e-mail….

Open for THANKSGIVING 12:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Cadillac Club’s Sumptuous Pink Cadillac Turkey Day Buffet! . Our 5th Annual Thanksgiving FEAST Only $19.95 plus Gratuity

December 11th or 18th THURSDAYS – Book your Office Group or Family CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
One Price Includes Dinner & Entertainment Live Dinner Entertainment 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Dancing from 9:00 – 11:00 p.m. Space Limited – Book Soon! or Simply Join us for Dinner – $22 per person, plus Gratuity Includes Salad, Entrée, Soft Drink and Live Music

NEW YEARS EVE EXTRAVAGANZA – 2 Bands & ELVIS! Yellow Submarines playing in the Main Dining Room (Oldies & Beatles) & Old Town Blues Band playing in the DeVille Room ELVIS will Perform 2 Sets (a.k.a. Steve Hunt) Includes Party Favors & Sumptuous Vegas Style Buffet 8:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. $50 before December 10th or $60 after Purchase Tickets Early for Best Seating

NEW YEARS EVE EARLY BIRDS – Vegas Style Buffet 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. $18.95 plus gratuity ELVIS performing 2 sets for your Enjoyment CLICK to WEBSITE





Little Caesars – Holt

7 11 2008
  • 2221 Cedar St.
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-8099
  • Website
  • Menu
Little Caesars on Cedar St in Holt.

Little Caesars on Cedar St in Holt.

It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten at Little Caesars.  The last time, I actually had to order a pizza.  They didn’t have the $5 Hot-N-Ready.  I needed to run to the post office this morning and the closest post office is in Holt.  I told J I was running and she decided to tag along.  It was about lunch time so why not just stop somewhere.  I asked what she wanted and two weird things happened.  1.) She didn’t say “I don’t know.”  2.) She said she was hungry for pizza and suggested Little Caesars.  I made my run to the post office and fought some pretty heavy traffic for Holt to get back to Little Caesars.

Little Caesars is in a tiny little building on Cedar St near Aurelius.  The surprising thing is that there is a drive thru window.  There were five or six cars in the drive thru line so we parked and I headed into the building.  The shop is strictly carry out.  The building is pretty much just the kitchen.   There is a small counter near the front of the building and a couple chairs if you have to wait.  There was a family there waiting for a pizza, so I was wondering if I’d even be able to get a “Hot-N-Ready” pizza.  There were two people working and both were in the back frantically making pies.  The phones were ringing, there was a line in the drive thru and then, there was me waiting at the counter.  One of the girls stopped making pizzas and came to the front to ask what I wanted.  Fortunately, I just wanted a cheese pizza and there were two of them sitting there waiting to go.  She turned around, grabbed a pizza, and handed it to me.  With tax, the pie cost me $5.20.  Read the rest of this entry »





Tripper’s Sports Bar & Grill

30 10 2008
  • 350 Frandor Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 336-0717
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Trippers Sports Bar and Grill in the Frandor Shopping Center

Tripper's Sports Bar and Grill in the Frandor Shopping Center

I’m a little surprised I had never heard of Tripper’s before this past weekend.  On Saturday, we were at Frandor to check out the Linens ‘n Things going out of business sale and I noticed a sports bar on the other side of Frandor.  This afternoon, J and I realized we haven’t eaten out since Saturday, so we decided to go for lunch.  I had a hard time getting out of bed and by the time J pushed me out, it was afternoon.  I was a little worried we’d be pushing it to get her back in time to get ready for work, but it turned out not to be an issue.

Tripper’s is located in the Frandor Shopping Center right next to Olga’s kitchen.  For a Thursday afternoon, Frandor was packed.  I was surprised at just how many people there were.  The traffic was bad and it was hard to find a parking spot.  I finally found one somewhat near where we were going.  We walked back to Tripper’s.  When we entered the building, we were met with a long hallway back to the bar.  The host met us about halfway and asked if we wanted smoking or non-smoking.  We, of course, didn’t want to sit in a smokey bar.  The host took us the rest of the way down this long hallway, past the pool room and poker room to the non-smoking dining room.  Once you get to the back of the bar, there are two rooms.  One is the actual bar area which is set up and lit like a normal bar.  To the right of the hallway is the non-smoking dining room which is more like a typical restaurant with regular tables and more lighting. 

A waitress came over for drinks.  We ordered our Cokes and I actually got a regular Coke this time.  That hasn’t happened in a while even though I keep ordering it.  When it came time for lunch orders, I spotted my sandwich right away.  Even though Tripper’s has a really big menu that would satisfy any palette, I barely looked it because I found a Black and Bleu burger on the menu.  My burger came with bleu cheese piled on top.  There was no missing it and I got a good chunk of cheese in every bite.  The sandwich also came with lettuce and tomato which I pulled off.  The bleu cheese is the only flavor I want on this particular burger.  A mound of steak fries were served on the side.  Not usually a fan because steak fries get really potato-y tasting.  However, Tripper’s seasoned these fries really well with what I believe was just salt and pepper, but it added a really great taste to the fries. Read the rest of this entry »





Rookies

23 10 2008
  • 16460 S. US Highway 27
  • Lansing, MI 48906
  • (517) 487-8686
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Rookies on US 27 in North Lansing

Rookies on US 27 in North Lansing

If you remember from a few months ago, I mentioned how much J liked karaoke.  When she lived in Idaho Falls, she found a karaoke bar.  When we lived in Peoria, we found a karaoke bar.  When we moved to Lansing, we never found a karaoke bar.  When we were in Chicago last weekend, she wanted to go find a bar, but we got watching Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live and never made it out.  That itch never went away, so she got on Google and again started looking for karaoke in Lansing.  She found Rookies and after a phone call to see what time it started, she had her mind set on singing, so we pushed dinner back to 8:30 then went looking for Rookies.

We looked for a long time to try and figure out where exactly Rookies was at.  For most of you that have lived here all your lives, it’s not hard.  For us newbies who rely on Google Maps and a GPS to get around, it was a pain in the ass.  Google Maps puts the bar out near Flint for some reason.  Even though the listing says Lansing, it puts a mark on the map far east of the city.  After striking out on Google, we pulled out the GPS.  Daniel (that’s what we call our Garmin due to the voice file we use being called Daniel) couldn’t find the street in Lansing.  This is a really common problem with both J’s and my GPS.  I have a Nextar and she has a Garmin.  A co-worker of hers has a Garmin also and runs into the same problem.  It’s a problem we never have anywhere outside of Michigan.  Michigan’s prominent use of Townships as addresses screw the computers up.  Finally, we found the correct address in Dewitt Township, but it was incredibly frustrating just trying to find a bar. Read the rest of this entry »





Hometown Diner

22 10 2008
  • 1040 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 372-5535
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu
Hometown Diner on Pennsylvania near I-474 in Lansing

Hometown Diner on Pennsylvania near I-496 in Lansing

J took one more day off after we got back in Michigan just so we could relax after a long weekend of traveling.  We were woke up fairly early for us by a phone call and neither of us could fall back asleep.  After going to the Potter Park Zoo during the “Be A Tourist In Your Own Hometown Event” we kept saying we needed to walk the River Trail.  We noticed it from the zoo, but we never made an effort to actually go for a walk.  Since we had such a bad weekend eating (I had four pizzas), I suggested we go for a walk.  Since it was about lunch time, J said we should eat first.

I had been reading reviews about a diner on Pennsylvania near the Zoo so that’s where I decided to to go for lunch.

The Hometown Diner sits on Pennsylvania across from the BWL in an old Sparty’s Coney Island.  It shares a building and parking lot with a Mexican grocery store.  We parked near the back of the lot and walked in to find a small diner with seating for just over a hundred.  We showed ourselves to a table in the middle of the room.  The layout is pretty common for small diners.  Booths line the walls with tables in the middle.  There’s a lunch counter near the front of the space and the kitchen is open so you can see the cook preparing your meal.  Read the rest of this entry »





Rose’s on Reed’s Lake

22 10 2008
  • 550 Lakeside Dr. SE
  • East Grand Rapids, MI 49506
  • (616) 458-1122
  • Website
  • Menu
Roses on Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids

Rose's on Reed's Lake in East Grand Rapids

Rose’s on Reed’s Lake was an incredible find.  The restaurant had been suggested last time we were in Grand Rapids by two of J’s co-workers.  We passed wanting to check out downtown.  We should have took their advice.  The last trip was kind of a bust because we couldn’t find any walkable areas.  Rose’s on Reed’s Lake is close enough to what I’m guessing was downtown East Grand Rapids which is easily walkable and really cute.

We had a really hard time getting to Rose’s.  We were in Grand Rapids for a concert at Van Andel Arena.  The idea was to have a nice leisurely meal.  We left my parents in Illinois six hours before the concert.  It was a three and a half hour drive and we wanted to make a stop in Michigan City, IN at the outlet mall.  I thought we’d have plenty of time.  That was, until we hit construction.  I couldn’t hold it anymore and had to get off a heavily torn up portion of I-196 to find a restroom.  It took us 15 minutes to find our way back to the Interstate due to ramps being closed.  After that, we finally make it to Lakeside Drive only to find it closed due to construction.  Luckily, we had a GPS that brought us to the next road which was also closed due to construction.  Finally, we made it to a road that was open and weaved our way back to where we needed to be. 

I saw the sign for Rose’s out near the road and wondered if it was the right spot.  The parking lot is almost non-existent.  There are probably only a half dozen spots, but there is plenty of street parking.  We were facing the wrong way, so I went up to the next intersection to turn around and find a spot to park.  It was brisk autumn night so we kind of hustled the half a block to the restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »





Lumes Pancake House – Palos Heights, IL

19 10 2008
  • 12401 S. Harlem Ave.
  • Palos Heights, IL 60463
  • (708) 361-7744
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Lumes Pancake House in Palos Heights, IL

Lumes Pancake House in Palos Heights, IL

I know I say this every time I do a breakfast review, but I am not a breakfast person.  My girlfriend’s parents, however, are.  Day two of J’s vacation started bright and early (for me anyway) with breakfast at a popular destination in downtown Palos Heights. 

Lumes Pancake House is situated on Harlem Avenue just past downtown Palos Heights.  When we pulled up around 10:30, the parking lot was packed.  We debated not stopping, but J jumped out of the car to go put our names on the list and see what the wait was.  I went with her and when she got to the doors, I started to wonder if this was a good idea.  There were a lot of people inside.  J got a number and came back out and said the wait was around twenty minutes.  We decided to stay.  Turns out the wait wasn’t all that long and by the time we were seated, things started to calm down a little bit. Read the rest of this entry »





Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum

13 10 2008
  • 2138 Hamilton Rd.
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-1701
  • Website
  • Menu
The Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum in Okemos

The Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum in Okemos

I had no idea what to expect dining at a tuba museum.  The Travelers Club is one of the first places that jumped out at us when we moved to Mid-Michigan.  It just sounded and looked like an interesting place.  We kept putting off dining there because we don’t make it to Okemos very often.  Now that Younkers is done remodeling, that may change. 

The Travelers Club is at the intersection of Hamilton Road and Okemos Road.  It’s hard to miss on your way to Meridan Mall.  The little corner building doesn’t look like a very big restaurant from the outside.  We found parking along Hamilton Road and walked to the red doors that open into quaint dining room with a row of booths and an number or tables crammed into the space.  When we walked in, we heard a voice from somewhere in the back tell us to find a seat wherever we liked.  We made our way to the back of the dining room where we took a table along the back wall.  For being a Sunday afternoon at three o’clock, the Travelers Club was doing pretty good business.  All the booths were full and there were quite a few tables being used as well. Read the rest of this entry »





The Draft House Neighborhood Bar & Grill

11 10 2008
  • 12449 S. US Highway 27
  • DeWitt, MI 48820
  • (517) 669-5206
  • Website
  • Menu
The Draft House Neighboorhood Bar & Grill on Old US 27 outside of Dewitt

The Draft House Neighboorhood Bar & Grill on Old US 27 outside of Dewitt

How many times have I said all restaurants need a website?  I know I keep harping on it, but again, we picked The Draft House for lunch just becuase I found a website and it looked cool.  We were out in Clinton Country because we wanted to go check out Uncle John’s Cider Mill, but first, we needed lunch.  I looked for places in St. John’s and didn’t find a whole lot.  My Google search then led me to Dewitt.  I found a few places there, but The Draft House looked cool and looked like our kind of place so that’s where we went.

We had a hard time finding the place at first because the GPS wouldn’t recognize the address they way it was written on Google.  We instead hit “City Center” and started driving hoping we’d find it.  There’s no way we would have had we continued on that path, but when we got to an intersection marked “Old US 27” we tried putting that in the GPS and we finally got the address right.

The Draft House is on Old US 27 outside of DeWitt.  There’s a huge sign out front, but the building itself is pretty non-descript.  There were a few cars in the parking lot, but we were pretty early.  The football games had just started so the bar wasn’t completely empty.  Things started looking good when we opened the door to go in.  Hanging next to the door is a sign proclaiming The Draft House is smoke free!  YAY!  Read the rest of this entry »





Press Release – Sonic open in Flint

10 10 2008

From a press release….I guess it’s a little closer to Lansing.

SONIC® Drive-In Opens Location in Flint

(Oklahoma City) – Flint residents now have a reason to stay in – stay in their cars that is. SONIC®, America’s Drive-In® today announced the opening of Flint’s first SONIC Drive-In, a restaurant where you order your meal and eat right from the comfort of your own vehicle.

“We are very excited to open a SONIC in Flint,” said Bill Wentworth, Jr., franchisee of the SONIC Drive-In. “We are looking forward to serving the community and delivering the fun Carhop service SONIC Drive-Ins are known for across the country.”

The Wentworth Group is the principal owner of the new SONIC located at 3140 Miller Road in Flint. The restaurant features 27 drive-in stalls, two walk-up ordering stations and a drive-thru.

The drive-in will open at 7 a.m. on Oct. 13 to serve customers a delicious breakfast. With the full menu available all day, customers can enjoy a Breakfast Burrito to start their morning or as a late night snack.

SONIC, which specializes in made-to-order fast food, is known for its specialty menu items and personal Carhop service. Unique drink combinations make SONIC Your Ultimate Drink Stop!® SONIC’s slow-melting ice, helps drinks stay cool and keeps them cooled longer while maintaining flavor. SONIC’s full menu is available all day, giving guests the option of eating breakfast for dinner or ordering a SONIC Blast in the morning. Favorites include TOASTER® Sandwiches (sandwiches served on thick Texas Toast), Extra-Long Cheese Coneys (hot dogs with chili and cheese), fresh hamburgers, handfresh-made Onion Rings, Tater Tots and a variety of Ffrozen Favorites® treats and Fountain Favorites® drinks. SONIC’s ever-growing menu is full of options to satisfy every taste, such as Fresh Fruit Smoothies.

SONIC, America’s Drive-In (NASDAQ/NM: SONC) started as a hamburger and root beer stand in 1953 in Shawnee, Okla., called Top Hat Drive-In, and then changed its name to SONIC in 1959. The first drive-in to adopt the SONIC name is still serving customers in Stillwater, Okla. As the nation’s largest chain of drive-in restaurants, SONIC has more than 3,400 drive-ins coast to coast. More than a million customers eat at SONIC every day; and with more drink combinations than any other quick-service restaurant – more than 168,000 to be exact – SONIC is Your Ultimate Drink Stop®. For more information about Sonic Corp. and its subsidiaries, visit SONIC at http://www.sonicdrivein.com.

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