restaurant – Barnwood and Baked Goods

Bone Island Grill

@tour_the_town visited local favorite Bone Island Grill recently for a quick lunch.

Bone Island Grill is right around the corner from us and is a favorite fun local hangout. It’s a surprisingly big place seating as many as 170 guests! This is a family friendly warm tropical themed restaurant and bar. They serve breakfast lunch and dinner. They host many special events throughout the year. And offer an outdoor patio as well as conference hall space for private parties.

It was a quiet lunch hour when we visited but the staff was friendly and lunch was delicious!

I enjoyed the pecan chicken salad, the sweet pecans with the perfectly cooked warm chicken on fresh greens with vinaigrette was delicious!

Owned by Karen Drushal and Frank Slaby, Bone Island has played an important role in our community often contributing to various charity events and organizations in the area. They even offer a loyalty program and loyalty fundraising program! We highly recommend that you visit during one of their themed events like retro weekend, slaby-fest, or just a week night of DJ Bingo! Stop in for a visit and try the fish tacos! They’re fabulous too! Enjoy!!

If you’d like to know more or see they’re specials visit them on Facebook! Or instagram! @boneislandgrille

Jackson Coney Island

@Tour_the_Town has had a busy day! After a quick downtown photo shoot in the freezing cold we made our way to local favorite, Jackson Coney Island!

Jackson Coney Island first opened it’s doors in 1914 under the ownership of George Todoroff. It’s original name was Todoroff’s eatery and the name later changed to Jackson Coney Island in 1931. It’s convenient location next to train depot meant lots of visitors and train depot employees would frequent the small establishment.

George sold the restaurant to the Andy and Don Lazaroff twin brothers with a knack for the restaurant business.

In 1965, Jackson Coney Island itself moved on to bigger things when the original building was torn down along with the McCain Block building next door to make way for the current restaurant and its parking lot.

In 1970, Andy Lazaroff sold out to his brother and Christoff to focus on Andy’s Pizza restaurants. They kept Jackson Coney Island until selling it to Dave White in 1972.

Now more than 100 years later the restaurant continues to call the community together with the diner concept that specializes in a Jackson Coney Dog. A humble hot dog on a steamed bun topped with a perfectly seasoned meat sauce, onions, and mustard. The Jackson Coney is so much more than it’s sloppy southern counterpart. The Jackson Coney has a characteristic meat sauce that isn’t runny sloppy overly greasy or difficult to eat. It’s iconic flavor is something you’ll never forget!

The restaurant also sells a variety of lunch and dinner options as well as some very tasty desserts and classic malts!

The restaurant today keeps with traditon. It has a small dining room with booth spaces and a long bar where you can enjoy your dessert and cup of coffee while visiting with the very friendly staff! There is definitely a taste of Nostalgia when you walk in!

Jackson Coney Island was voted one of the top 5 coney island restaurants in State of MI in 2018, and is a must see when you tour our town!

We want to thank the wonderful staff for allowing to take photos and ask questions! You guys rock! You can find out more by visiting their website, see their menu, and like them on facebook! http://www.jacksonconey.com @JacksonConeyIsland

Hope you enjoyed this weeks tour! Find more behind the scenes photos this week on our instagram page @tour_the_town. Thanks for following along!

Klavon’s Pizzeria and Pub

Amber and I are kicking off the 2019 tour with a visit to Klavon’s! The Vandercook Lake location opened it’s doors in 2014, and has become a “go-to” location for locals and visitors alike!

Justin Klavon started his career in pizza as a teenager and quickly found that he had an aptitude in business as well as in the culinary space. His first venture Justin Tyme Pizza opened in Clark Lake MI, and quickly spread to three locations before he conceptualized Klavon’s. Klavon’s began as a small sports bar concept in Rives Junction MI, and has since brought Chicago style stuffed pizza to the forefront in Jackson County. But Justin wasn’t done yet! His concept took on a new look and feel when he developed the Vandercook Lake location. The restaurant is much more high end sports bar than pub and pizzeria. Justin credits his staff for the success of his restaurants, and would eventually like to create an available franchise model for loyal employees looking to be part of the companies growth. Klavon’s looks forward to opening it’s Mason MI location later in 2019, and to be honest I can’t wait to see how Justin’s vision grows and changes with each addition!

@Tour_the_Town got permission from store manager Marissa, to take some photos and share our experience with you. We want to thank her and the Klavon’s staff for being so lovely to us and allowing us to share your story! Because it was an incredibly busy Saturday night we made our visit quick, snapped a few pics, and got our pizza to go. One of the many perks of this location is the drive up window, however anytime we can we visit and stay to watch a game on the tv chandelier, or hangout with friends we do. The vibe and atmosphere are outstanding.

Spring and summer bring new opportunities to enjoy Klavon’s as they open the patio for additional outdoor seating. Large groups are welcome, and reservations making seating availability a breeze. Need space for an event? No problem! Klavon’s “K-Lounge” seats up to 25 guests with private servers for your convenience. They have literally thought of everything!!

Now let’s talk about what’s really important here… THE FOOD! Klavon’s offers a full menu from appetizers, soup and salads… to burgers, wraps and of course their famous pizza! They haven’t forgotten the most important details offering dessert menus, and specialty drink menus all presented on I-pads when you’re seated for a convenient way to browse and choose your favorites.

We selected the hand- made tortilla chips with their specialty peach salsa, pepperoni pinwheels, a small “Detroiter” pizza, and a specialty barbecue chicken stuffed pizza, a personal favorite of mine! We were feeding 5 adults and two teenage girls and there was more than enough to go around, we even had some leftovers.

The tortilla chips were restaurant made, thin, crispy, lightly salted, and totally addictive. Couple with the handmade peach salsa it was a perfect starter. The peach salsa is just what you would expect, very fresh, lightly sweet, with a little heat. A nice light way to start a meal.

The pepperoni pinwheels will get your mind turning about that delicious pizza that’s one it’s way! Pepperoni, and Mozzarella wrapped in a yeasty handmade dough the bottom of the pinwheel is coated in a delicious crust of parmesan, and romano cheese. So Yummy!

And on to the main event! The pizza!!! The Detroiter is a new menu addition and I my husband couldn’t eat it fast enough lol. This authentic Detroit-style pizza is topped with pepperoni, Italian sausage, peppadew peppers and a blend cheeses. It’s finished with a signature tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, oregano and pecorino. It has some spicy notes, but is a deeply satisfying pizza unlike anything I’ve tried before.

My all time favorite pizza from Klavon’s though is the barbecue chicken Chicago style stuffed pizza. This monstrously sized pizza starts two layers of crust filled with chicken, bacon, mozzarella, red onion, and topped with a sweet barbecue sauce and parmesan cheese. One slice fills me up and it’s so delicious!

If you’re interested in a fun night out with some delicious, and uniquely creative dishes. Visit Klavon’s pizzeria and pub. You can peruse their menu by visiting their website http://www.klavons.com or follow them on twitter @klavons or find them on facebook! Thanks for following along! Behind the scenes pics will be shared all week on instagram @Tour_the_Town

Guy Fieri’s Las Vegas Bar and Grill- Review

Each visit to Las Vegas is like a little mini food vacation too. We always seem to find that one place that was just the highlight from a food standpoint. On this trip it was celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s Las Vegas Bar and Grill. You probably know of Guy Fieri from the popular Food Network Program; Diner’s, Drive-in’s, and Dives. Guy has traveled all over the world sampling the best of every region he visits!

The restaurant itself is located in the Linq Hotel and Casino, and features a large outdoor patio dining area that faces Carnival Court Bar, and Harrah’s Hotel and Casino. We have walked passed this place a thousand times, usually right after eating somewhere else and each time had said..” Ah, we should have eaten here!” It always appeared to have a fun, and relaxing atmosphere.

We found our way there right at lunch time, it was busy and there was an estimated 20min wait. We were patient and waited, they seated us within the estimated time. The staff was friendly and professional. The restaurant itself although busy didn’t feel cramped or chaotic. We requested patio seating, and enjoyed some people watching while we ate.

The menu was great, lots of options, they had gluten free, and vegetarian options marked. They had a full bar, and we enjoyed some beer with our lunch. My husband ordered the Bacon Mac N Cheese Burger, and I ordered the Vegan Burrito.

My husband talked about this burger for the rest of our trip lol. He loved it! He compared all other foods to it for the rest of our trip! I’m not even joking we ate at another burger place and he said it was good but not Guy Fieri good. So apparently the Mac N Cheese Burger is sure winner! The Vegan burrito was a little on the dry side some pico de gallo would have gone a long way, but it was filling and still flavorful.

All in all this is a great place to stop for a bite while in Vegas, I highly recommend it and my husband would definitely say order the Mac N Cheese Burger. The bill was reasonable for Vegas, and we left quite satisfied with our experience there. Enjoy!

Restaurant Review- Michael Mina Pub 1842, Las Vegas

On our recent vacation we decided we wanted to have a casual night out for dinner so we set off in pursuit of a tasty place to sit and enjoy a good burger.

On our last Vegas adventure we ate at Gordon Ramsey’s Burgr you can read my early post about that restaurant. This was a totally different experience. No posh restaurant vibe surrounded by fire features this was a truly casual Pub vibe with really good food, and best yet great service!

We were promptly seated in a comfy booth, there were TV’s playing basketball games, and the waiter greeted us and got our drinks right away. Although we had a waiter, we were consistently being taken care of by at least three staff members at any given time. Making sure glasses stayed full and everything was to our satisfaction. I have to say though it never seemed intrusive or over the top. Just polite, excellent service.

Andy ordered the pub burger and I ordered a Bourbon BBQ chicken Sandwhich, we shared and I have to say both were amazing!

The burger was thick juicy, well cooked with lots of flavor, and not over dressed and sloppy. It really was burger perfection.

The chicken Sandwhich followed suit. Coated with a tangy bbq sauce, and pickled cabbage it was really delicious and full of flavor!

Out side of excellent food and service costs were well aligned not too expensive but worth every penny, and the pub offered a little table side fun with drinking games, and fun info printed on the placemats.

I would highly recommend Michael Mina’s Pub 1842, it is located in the MGM Grand Casino Hotel, in Las Vegas! Enjoy!

Gordon Ramsey’s BurGR Restaurant Las Vegas

I don’t often attempt reviews but this place is great, and so I thought I would share. While on vacation recently in Las Vegas Andy and I had dinner at Gordon Ramsey’s BurGR restaurant located inside the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino. The outside of the restaurant has a gorgeous fire feature within the wall signage you can’t miss it!

There is a hostess at the door ready to seat you and although it seemed like a lengthy line we were seated quickly, in a comfortable table for two on the main floor. I will say this though…it’s very very noisy in here. The music and crowd noise from the casino floor coupled with the open kitchen format and busy wait staff. It was audibly a bit of an over load.

The waitress was prompt took our drink orders and allowed us to peruse the menu for a few. The menu has a nice selection of starters, and honestly the most delicious assortment of burgers you could ever ask for. Everything from the Hell’s Kitchen burger to the Patriot burger, they all sounded wonderful to me! If burgers aren’t your thing then he offers hot dogs and an assortment of other options but…you did come to a restaurant called BurGR lol!

We started with an appetizer, the mushroom poutine sounded good. A poutine is a dish of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. Something a little different than we would normally get because hey we’re on vacation, right!! The mushroom poutine was awesome! It was flavorful the fries were crispy, the mushrooms were delicious, and it had these Devine pickled shallots on top that were seriously so good!! A++ appetizer you should definitely give it a try!

For our main course I order the house special “hog burger”, and Andy ordered the “blue cheeseburger”. We also ordered a side of truffle Parmesan fries.

The Hog burger consists of a literal “ham” burger patty wrapped in bacon, and topped with pickles, pulled pork, cheese, fried onions, and slaw. Although awkward to eat because this thing is huge! Every bite was perfect, hands down the best burger I’ve had in a long time!

Andy thoroughly enjoyed his burger as well, and the truffle Parmesan fries were so good but we were so full!!! We couldn’t even finish everything.

Bottom line here great restaurant for a moderate price point. Hope you all get the chance to visit it sometime! Gordon Ramsey gets a big thumbs up (he’s probably been dying for my approval lol 😂) Enjoy!!