Have a recommendation? We'd LOVE to hear it!
Salutations Readers!

Kalamazoo has good food.
Great food, in fact. We have made it our mission to check out all the local eateries one at a time - and more for our own poor memories than any other reason, we'll be chronicling our adventures in food here. And some places float our boats way more than others, which is why we have developed the very scientific
five golden forks rating scale. Ok. It is not scientific at all. It is actually quite unscientific. But, it is something. And now, you can search all of our reviews by the forks rating. YAY!


But, wait! There's more!
Kalamazoo Foodies no longer just eat at restaurants then review them. There are recipes posted, some easy, some less easy, all delicious. There are, or will be, book reviews, the new
Foodie Movie Review-y which will focus on movies about food or ones that have a lot of beautiful food in them. There are other food musings, and hopefully soon contests and so much more. But, Foodie Friends, it is all about food. Because we love it!
And, we want to hear from you!

We want to hear your comments on our recipes and reviews. We want to know where you love to eat. And, we are looking for GUEST bloggers to broaden our horizons a bit. And, if you haven't found us on Facebook, you should do that too. Like our page for other fun Foodies stuff like photos, polls, and more.


SO KALAMAZOO PATRONS - where do YOU love to eat? Because we'd love to check it out and share our thoughts here. Give us a comment below, and quickly! Our tummies are grumbling in anticipation.

A Note from the Foodies about our typical fair:
So, you may notice as you read our blog that we often order the same thing wherever we go. OK, maybe not quite, but we do often order similar things. Kristin has her caprese salads and mushroom dishes. Kate has her baked goat cheese and things with tofu. Well, readers, we wanted to let you know that this is absolutely intentional. A) We love those things, so why not order what you love? And, B) It is a lot easier to compare apples to apples than it is to compare apples to comquats. So, we like to order similar things to have a good sense of how to compare them. Just wanted to let you in on that little secret. Bon appetit!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Charlie Foster's

Kristin: Blueberry Vinaigrette Walnut Salad (I think that's what it was called...)
Happy Birthday Deanna! Kate and I joined Deanna and a few others to celebrate this Kalamazoo holiday, and we had a great time.
Kate's been there before, but this was my first time into the classy joint otherwise known as Charlie Foster's. I really liked the architecture, very open - lots of different levels and space.
Our server was... well let's describe with a story. I asked for the caprese salad (like you expected something else?) and she quickly said "we're out of that." So I switched to my second option (the salad listed above), and after taking two or three more orders she came back to me and said "well, I can see if he can scrape together one last caprese salad from what we've got left." I dunno, does that seem off to anyone else? I'm not really looking to get the bottom of the barrel scrapings, I'd like a meal. In any case I stuck with what I had.
I liked the parts of the salad, but I believe there may have been too many flavors at play at once. The blueberry vinaigrette with the candied walnuts was good, but the slice green apples that also came in the salad ended up getting picked out - they were just too much extra for me.
All this being said, it certainly wasn't a bad experience, and the waitress was very attentive to us considering we were a full and slightly rowdy table.
three golden forks out of five.

Kate: Jerked chicken panini with a side salad
YES! Happy birthday, Deanna. Thanks for inviting us out. As mentioned above, I have been to Charlie Fosters before, so I had an idea of what to expect. They do bring these mini loaves of break to the table with a bottle of olive oil dipping sauce. YUM! So good.
My wallet kept me from ordering a large plate, so I opted for a sandwich this evening. Th description of this sandwich was very appealing, and I will admit, I was torn between this and a few others. But, the jerked chicken minus the bacon was where I went. With a side of homemade chips (that I knew I wouldn't really eat) and a side salad, this was a good meal. There was a nice blend of spicy from a chipotle sauce that mingled with the jerkedness of the chicken. YUM! A little on the greasy side, but not too bad. Enough to make me know I needed to do a few extra crunches and push-ups the next day. The side salad was also good. I can't recall what dressing I had, but it was a vinaigrette of sorts and was tasty.
There are some other intriguing items on the menu, so I am sure to return. I would order this sandwich again, as well, if in the mood for something a little risque.
The service was a little questionable. Which is what I had heard from others. She was nice, but seemed a little naive to the ways of the server. Maybe she was new. Kristin's exploit with the caprese salad was only the tip of the iceberg on that one!

four golden forks out of five.

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