Mama’s Kitchen may offer breakfast bacon that could be sold by the gram on street corners and hamburgers loaded enough to require a third jaw hinge, but it just doesn’t feel right to call the little diner that bookends the north side of the Chandler Crossings strip mall a greasy spoon.

A mound rubble ' broken concrete cuboids with tendrils of amputated rebar ' rests on the desolate lot formerly occupied by a General Motors plant on Verlinden Avenue near Harry’s Place, an old-time bar and restaurant, rebuilding its image in a post-industrial neighborhood.

California subs: They’re now in Michigan, — warm fresh buns, avocados on top.If the "California Gurls" beat of Top 40 sugar-pop sex-kitten Katy Perry doesn’t draw you to Submarina in south Lansing, the jalapeno bacon just might.

In late mid-winter, there are more geese squawking in the ice-cold Grand River outside the new City Market than there are shoppers hunting for produce inside.

By late morning, Jones’ crew "gets their game faces on," she says, in preparation for the onslaught of professionals who don’t have the time ' or patience, for that matter, with plenty of other dining options nearby ' for food that is not perfect the first time.

College kids led the way. A rapidly expanding Michigan State University, fuelled by World War II veterans benefitting from the G.I. Bill, brought students from the East Coast, where pizza was already well established. It was those students who sang the gospel according to mozzarella, and devotees soon filled the restaurant.

Despite common parlance, remember that “Champagne,” by definition, must be produced from grapes grown and made into wine in the Champagne region of France. Prosecco from Italy, Cava from Spain or tasty sparkling wines from L. Mawby and other Michigan producers are not Champagne.

Owner Ofilia Diaz took over the taqueria in early October, stepping in on a Tuesday after the previous owner called it quits on the preceding Sunday. Diaz came armed with cookies and cakes, adding sweets to an authentic menu specializing in tacos and burritos.

Perhaps the questions most frequently asked of winemakers and proprietors at wine tastings are “How long will it age?” and “What’s the cellar life of this wine?” Of course, these questions are impossible to answer accurately because of the myriad...

Raised Catholic, I quickly realized I enjoyed two things about Sunday service: sipping wine at Communion and watching the final procession of lector, altar boys and priest march out past the congregation into the vestibule, ending the Mass. The end of Mass meant one thing: coffee and donuts.