Great Food In A Jiffy! - Smokehouse 52, Chelsea, Michigan

Chelsea, Michigan. This little town is the home of Jiffy Mixes, The Purple Rose Theater,and one of the tastiest barbecue places I have been to in Michigan, Smokehouse 52.  We first heard about this restaurant from my wife's friend from work.  It took us a couple of weeks to get there, but once we tried it, we were happy that we did!
  The restaurant is located on the main drag of downtown Chelsea, which happens tobe M52.  Look for the cow hanging on the corner of the building.  We went on a Saturday afternoon and there was no wait.  The hostesses and wait staff .were superb. The building the restaurant is in, is an older building complete with brick walls,metal ceiling,and large beams.
  I ordered the half rack of ribs, pit beans and cole slaw. A choice of two sides came with our meal. Rebbel chose the fried chicken and house made chips.  She also got the macaroni and cheese, which was a signature side and well worth the little extra it cost.
  My ribs were outstanding.  The baby backs had a nice, smokey taste with a little pull coming off the bone. They are smoked on site for 18 hours.  There is a choice of sauces on the table to add to the meat, but after tasting these ribs, you may opt for no added sauce! My sides were hearty and delicious. There was also a slice of Jiffy cornbread to go along with it!
  Rebbel's chicken was outstanding too. Buttermilk dipped chicken breasts that were drizzled with honey.  We usually don't go for chicken breast meat because we prefer the juicier dark meat.   This chicken was so tender and juicy,and fried to golden perfection,  that we would order them again. The house made chips were fried crispy and crunchy and were a perfect side dish.They really ought to bag these and sell them, the are that good. Rebbel knows her mac and cheese.  It is rare for her to like anybody;s macaroni and cheese,  but she loved theirs. It was cheesy and was a good sized portion.  In fact the portions of all the food was big enough for left overs later on
  The food we had was all made with lots of care. It is a rare to find a restaurant like this.  I would trust them ith just about anything on their menu, and will be back to try other dishes.  You can find them on the web at: https://www.sh52bbq.com/

Stack 'Em Up! - Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger, Ann Arbor, Micchigan

We have had a burger at Krazy Jim's before, but that was the old location.  We had gone there after watching them on a t.v. show.  Then they closed because the Uof M had bought their building.  They later re-opened again in downtown Ann Arbor so we decided to try them again. We found parking on a side street next to Ashley street where the restaurant is now located.  After walking up the mountain tht they placed the side street on, we entered the door.  The waitress was giving people menus.  Right away, I told my wife we were in the wrong place.  Sure enough we had gone to the Fleetwood Diner and not Blimpy Burger.We quickly exited and wen next door to Blimpy.
  At Blimpy there are rules.  First you go to the counter and order what you want from the fryer. They offer fries, onion rings and other vegetables fried in canola oil. Don't forget to grab a tray if you are eating there, and no cell phones in line. Next you tell them how many patties you like. They also have a veggie burger and chicken ,  The hamburger patties are small and squished on the grill. The meat is ground from western chuck..We ordered three which the chart said brought us to a quarter pound, Would you like any grilled items?  You are then asked what bun you would like. They have several to choose from.  You are then asked if you would like cheese and what kind of cheese. Lastly you are asked what condiments you would like,,  They claim there are over 2 billion combinations.  I chose 3 patties on a kaiser bun with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, mayo and mustard.  Eebbel had an onion bum with American cheese, but other than that, same as me. I tried the rings.
  While I liked all the choices, we found themeat to be on the bland tasteless side. The rings were looking home made,meaning no batter at all, just what flour managed to stay on during the frying process.  The kind of rings that make you not to do rings at home, they serve,  I would go there once to try but now thatwe went twice, we had our fill.  If ypu would like to try them for yourself,  you can find them at 304 Ashley Street in Ann Arbor or on the web at:http://www.blimpyburger.com/index.html

Choice Rules! -The Dog House Restaurant - Tecumseh, Michigan

One of my favorite hot dog places is located very close to us.  At this place you can visit hot dog styles from all over the country in just one restaurant.  The Dog House is located in downtown Tecumseh and offer beef hot dogs, turkey or pork dogs.  Your choice. You can go large if you want with quarter or half pound dogs.  Many choices of dogs such as the Rueben, Monte Cristo Dog, Classic Chicago Dog and really so many other choices too numerous to mention.   They also have Polish Sausage and Brats. Not feeling like a dog?? They have Paninis and other sandwiches and salads.  Dessert is also offered. You can get a pan of monkey muffins for heaven's sake!!  We had the Chicago Dog when we were last there, and itwas made to perfection. About the only thing I see they lack is a snappy dog (natural casing), or a Jackson style Coney.   Maybe I'll mke a suggestion on their website at :

. http://www.thedoghouserestaurant.com/

Lunch Fail - Tecumseh Brewing Company, Tecumseh Mchigan

Rebbel firs heard about this place on Facebook.  She noticed a Monte Cristo Sandwich that she thought looked scrumptious and worth a try.  We normally don't eat close to home because we usually travel on the weekend and then work schedules hinder it during the week.  The sandwich would not stop calling er name so..off we went for lunch in the nearby city.


  As we walked into the place, we were greeted not ny a host or a wait person, but a sign that said seat yourself, and order at the bar.  To us, it was not a very welcoming entrance.  We found a menu andlooked through it.  Rebbel's sandwich was not on the menu.  It was a special snadwich theat was onlymade on that week.  I talked her in to  staying and weordered a Cuban and ahe ordered a Hot Italian.  Both sandwiches were dropped off at our table and were nice and hot when delivered.  The sandwiches were good but really unremarkable in our opinion.  We ended up getting our bill at the bar and leaving.  I guess thta during other times theymay have otjer choices and full service.  To be fair, they are a brewery and probab;y concentrate on the beer endof things.  My feelings are that if I wanted service like this, I would stick to Subway or Jimmy Lohns and pay lower prices.You can find them on the web at :http://www.tecumsehbrewingco.com

More Than Just Soup! - Soup Spoon Cafe, Lansing Michigan

After trying Trip Advisor's number two breakfast place in Lansing a couple of weeks back, Rebbel asked why we had not tried the number one place.  It seemed like a good question. Maybe the name wasa little misleading. The Soup Spoon Cafe did not sound like a breakfast place. One look at the breakfast/brunch menu proved me wrong!  The menu is filled with so much tasty foods, Ihad a hard time choosing.  Everything from egg Benedict's,  to hotcakes with real maple syrup,deli sandwiches, and omelets.  We decided to choose the omelets.  Rebbel chose the Black Forest omlet. This omlelet is made wi three eggs, koudemade Canadien bacon, mushrooms,onions, tomatoes, and gruywew cheese.  It was drizzled with hollandaise. I gave it highmarks,  I chose the Northeastern omelet. It has crab, green onions, tomatoes.  It was topped off by  a basil cream sauce. It was also athree egg omelet and was huge and the crab made me feel like I was indeed out east. Ialso took the choice of a brunch sald for a side dish, which actually went very well with my order.

The service the day we went was a little slow, but the waitress kept the coffee coming, You can tell just by the menu offerrings that this is not your typical restaurant.  They go a step or two further.  If you would like to go try the Soup Spoon Cafe, you can find them at 1419 E Michigan in Lansing.  They are on the web at https://soupspooncafe.com .

Golden Harvest Restaurant, Lansing,Michigan - Just Don't Be In A Hurry!

• As we drove up to the restaurant, I immediately thought that this is not going to be your typical Denny's type breakfast joint, Everything but the kitchen sink adorns the roof.  That might be up there too, for all I know!  If you decide to try this place.you might be able to find the sink because you will be standing in line for awhile.  We stood in line for over an hour waiting for a table for two. The people in front of us were saying they had waited in the winter for up to two hours but felt the food was worth it,  As the door opened to let another party in,. I could hear the customers belting out Sweet Caroline with the stereo. Not your typical place. Once inside it took another half hour or so to place our order and get our food.  We started to inderstand the reason for line outside.  There is room inside for only about 30 customers or so and that is utilizing the front counter space. The orders are cooked as they are taken moving down the line at the grill.It seems like a very slow process for people that have already stood in line,  I decided on the Polish Scrambled Omelette . Advertised on the menu to be,"As big as my head", it was made from 4 eggs, Kowalski Kiebasa slices,peppers, onions, homefries and onions.  The top was garnished with cheddar cheese,scallions,and tomatoes. Served with toast and a slice of watermelon that turned out to be the sweetest I've had all year,  I found it to be very good! Rebbel on the other hand, was not pleased with her order, She ordered the Meatmen, which was supposed to be,meat,meat,neat,cheese, cheese, cheese andw gravy.The neat had been overcooked ruining the whole thing. Was it a place I was happy trying out? I say yes, but I would not want to invest that much time again, You might feel otherwis, just like the countless others that are real fans of this one of a kind Lansing Michigan, breakfast joint. Just don't be in a hurry! They take only cash.  Open at 7 am weekdays and 8 on weekenfds. Located at 1625 Turner St.