Redwood Lodge

9 11 2008
  • 5305 Gateway Center Dr.
  • Flint, MI 48507
  • (810) 233-8000
  • Website
  • Menu
The Redwood Lodge just off of I-75 in Flint

The Redwood Lodge just off of US-23 in Flint

I don’t usually expect Brew Pubs to be considered “upscale dining”, but when I looked on the Flint Visitors Bureau website that’s what it said.  I just figured it was a mistake or Flint has a pretty low standard.  I was wrong.

Redwood Lodge is located in a business/hotel park called Gateway Center.  It’s right off of US-23 and visibile from the freeway.  There’s a huge parking lot out front and the building makes you think of a lodge in the Rocky Mountains.  As we were making our way to the entrance, we passed stacks of mesquite wood which would be used in the wood burning oven.

The inside carried on the Rocky Mountain Lodge theme.  We were met by a host at the front who showed us to a booth near the bar area.  The booths didn’t butt up to the walls like they usually do.  They were freestanding and you could enter on either side.  A waitress came over and got our order for the usual Diet Pepsi and Pepsi.  We passed up the “World’s Largest Bloody Mary Bar.”  A great deal at $6 for all you can drink Bloody Mary’s, but neither of us drink Bloody Mary’s so we passed. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Brew Pub, Flint, Michigan, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Lansing Fish Market

6 11 2008
  • 815 Edgewood Blvd.
  • Lansing MI 48911
  • (517) 882-2676
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Lansing Fish Market on Edgewood and Washington in Lansing.

Lansing Fish Market on Edgewood and Washington in Lansing.

I’ve seen a couple of these “You Buy, We Fry” places around town and I’ve been curious.  I don’t like fish, so that’s kept me out, but for some reason, I was cutting across Edgewood Blvd. a few weeks ago and noticed the Lansing Fish Market.  It said they also did chicken, so I made a plan to go back.  J wasn’t able to come home for dinner tonight, so I was free to explore a little bit and not drag her to a place she might not like. 

The Lansing Fish Market is on the corner of Edgewood and Washington right next to a liquor store in a little strip mall.  There’s not much to the place.  There is a small dining room on the right side of the room with less than six tables.  On the other side of the room, there’s a fresh fish case with different fishies on ice.  There was no menu posted, but they did have paper menus in a couple different locations.  I grabbed one on my way in and flipped back to the chicken section.  They have a number of different options mostly consisting of whole chicken wings.  There’s also options for half a chicken and a “specials” board had buffalo wings and chicken strips.  I settled on the 6 wing dinner since it was pretty cheap and came with coleslaw, fries, and bread.  The clerk was on his cell phone when I walked in and didn’t even set it down when I ordered.  He was kind enough to the person he was talking to to move the phone away from his face so when he asked me what I wanted they didn’t have to hear it.  He never did tell me how much my food was.  He just kept going with his conversation.  I handed him a ten knowing it would be around five bucks. Turns out, it was just under five bucks.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicken, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Tony’s Party Store

4 11 2008
  • 6100 S. Cedar St.
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-2311
  • No Known Website
Tonys Party Store on Cedar and Miller Roads in South Lansing

Tony's Party Store on Cedar and Miller Roads in South Lansing

I’m really not a fan of liquor stores…or party stores as they’re called here.  I had stopped at a few places, including Meijer, looking for just a small bottle of Tequila.  J picked up this margarita mixers at Linens ‘N Things store closing sale a few weeks ago and we keep forgetting to get some tequila to finish them off.  Since election day is stressful in her line of work, I thought I’d be nice and have a margarita waiting when she got home.  I only needed three shots and we don’t drink a lot of liquor so I didn’t want to spend $25 on a big bottle that would never get drank.  I thought a liquor store would be my best bet.

Tony’s Party Store is on the corner of Cedar and Miller Roads.  I’ve been in there a few times in the past.  El Oasis has a counter there and we stopped for lunch one day (review HERE).  While getting food that day, I also noticed they have Pepsi in a glass bottle, so I’ve stopped a few times for that. 

Like the other places I had been to today, all the hard liquor is behind the counter.  I hate that.  I want to be able to find what I want without pressure.  I was tired of looking so I finally gave in.  I went to the pop cooler and grabbed a Sprite Zero (another recent 0 calorie find that tastes exactly like the full calorie version) then headed to the counter.  I didn’t see any tequila so I asked the clerk and he pointed it out.  I just told him to give me a bottle of Cuervo.   Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Hobie’s Cafe & Pub

3 11 2008
  • 930 Trowbridge Rd.
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-3800
  • Website
  • Menu

Hobie's Cafe and Pub in the Trowbridge Plaza in East Lansing.

I do love me a good sandwich. After reviewing Menna’s Joint (review HERE), frequent commenter Corky suggested we check out Hobie’s in the Trowbridge Plaza in East Lansing.  I got lazy and uninspired when dinner time rolled around.  I e-mailed J to see what she wanted to do and she said we should just go out.  Since it was recommended, looked cheap, and looked good, we decided to check Hobie’s out for ourselves.

Hobie’s is in a pretty interesting location.  It’s sandwiched between Goodrich’s Shop-Rite and a Subway.  We made our way inside and found a huge menu chalkboard right away.  After deciding on sandwiches, we walked up to the “Place Orders Here” sign.  It didnt’ really look right, but we did what the sign said anyway.  After a few minutes, a very hesitant employee came over to take our orders.  My guess is he is pretty new.  He didn’t seem to sure of himself taking our orders. 

J ordered the Chicken Breast which came with their special “South of the Border” sauce, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomato on wheat bread.  She asked to keep the tomato off, but they put it on anyway.  She loved the sandwich.  Neither of us could really pinpoint what was in the sauce, but she said it was delicious.  Getting the tomato on the sandwich is a little disappointing, but not that big of a deal.  They were small enough that they didn’t leave a lot of residue on the sandwich. Read the rest of this entry »


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

Big Ten Holt Party Store

3 11 2008
  • 2005 Eifert Rd.
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-8632
  • Website
The Big Ten Holt Party Store on Eifert Road in Holt.

The Big Ten Holt Party Store on Eifert Road in Holt.

Why are they called “party stores” in this town?  Again, just curious.  I guess it sounds better than liquor store, but why not call a spade a spade?  After leaving Brower with just my Pepsi, I headed down to the Big Ten Holt Party Store.  I’ve seen a couple of these around town, but never been into one of the Big Ten locations.  I was a little bit curious because they all say “deli” along with the usual suspects.

The Big Ten Holt store is on the corner of Holt and Eifert Roads.  Just like the other stores in the small, local chain, they are painted in the colors of the hometown Spartans.  The building isn’t that big, but there are two parking lots.  One of the Eifert Rd side and one on the Holt Rd side.  I parked on the Holt Road side and made my way in.  I was still looking for a small bottle of tequila.  I thought a party store would put them out on display.   I was wrong.

The inside of the store was really cramped.  There were a couple aisles of items and the back wall was all coolers of beer.  The wine was out on display, but the hard liquor was once again behind the counter.  I gave it a quick look, but didn’t really see what I was looking for.

As for the deli, there was some pizza and a deli case of something.  I didn’t really look.  I do like that they had pizza by the slice that looked to be homemade.  Other than that, I wasn’t really impressed.  There wasn’t much I couldn’t find at a grocery store…maybe a few more selections of micro brews, but nothing great.

I don’t frequent liquor stores often, so I’m not really an expert, but I do know when I pick a liquor or “party store” over a supermarket, I’m looking for a better selection.  I didn’t really get that at the Big Ten Holt Party Store.


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Categories : Grocery, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

Mark’s Watershed

1 11 2008
  • 5965 Marsh Rd.
  • Haslett, MI 48840
  • (517) 339-4877
  • Website
  • Menu
Marks Watershed on the corner of Lake Lansing and Marsh Roads in Haslett.

Mark's Watershed on the corner of Lake Lansing and Marsh Roads in Haslett.

This was our second attempt at Mark’s Watershed.  A few months ago, we tried to stop in for lunch on a Saturday afternoon only to find the building locked up.  We were laying around watching college football (yes, J likes to watch football and we got a double header today with MSU playing early and U of Illinois playing late) and kind of lost track of time.  A little after 7:00, I asked what she wanted to do for dinner.  We had a late lunch at Menna’s Joint downtown (review HERE), so a dinner after 8:00 didn’t seem that bad.

Mark’s Watershed sits on the corner of Marsh and Lake Lansing Road.  Lake Lansing is just over a block away.  We came from Lake Lansing road which is where the parking lot actually is.  There was no doubt that they were open this time.  The parking lot was packed.  We made our way inside to the waiting area.  There was a sign on the hostess station to seat yourself, so we stepped into the dining room to find a table.  It’s not a huge space.  There are less than 20 tables.  There are booths along each wall.  The booths are made out of wood planks and they are really high backed.  There’s no worry about not having enough privacy.

After a few minutes, a waitress notices us and brings over menus.  The menu isn’t quite as big as the one I could find on-line (and linked to at the top of this review), but most of the items are there.  We started with an order of Shed Chips.  The menu describes them as “sliced russet potatoes, seasoned, fried and served with chunky bleu cheese dressing.”  I assumed they would be more like fries, but really, they were homemade potato chips and they were delicious.  The bleu cheese was served on the side, wasn’t really chunky, and there wasn’t a whole lot there.  The chips stood on their own.  Good starter. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Burgers, Haslett, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

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 »


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Categories : Bar, Burgers, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Sports Bar

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 »


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Categories : Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, St. Johns

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 »


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

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 »


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Categories : breakfast, Illinois, Local Flavor, Palos Heights, Restaurant, Reviews

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