Stop in at Tony's I-75 Restaurant

I was up in Frankenmuth last week for a few days and on the way back we stopped to eat at Tony's I-75 Restaurant in Birch Run (yeah, where the huge outlet mall is) on the recommendation from my in-laws. Tony's serves typical American fare with a diner-style atmosphere. The prices weren't too bad either so if you spent most of your money at the outlet mall you'll still have enough for a meal that will not leave you hungry. Did I mention the portions?

This is what Tony's is known for - big huge amounts of food. You can get an extra plate for only $.55. I strongly suggest doing so.

We split an order of Belgian pancakes, three eggs, hashbrowns (must have been at least three potatoes worth), and a pound of bacon (I kid you not - it was really a pound) three ways and still left with a take home container full of bacon.

The quantity was good, but how was the quality?

I thought it was right up there with any similar diner-style restaurant. Shoot, I figure you can't go wrong with a place that serves breakfast all day.

Good food, great portions, and fast & friendly service. We had our orders in about 5-7 minutes. They deep fry the bacon which explains how we received our order so quickly.

On an average day they go through 700 pounds of bacon. The typical weekend sees them sell about 1,000 pounds of hashbrowns.

Do yourself a favor and stop in at Tony's the next time you are passing through - it's definitely a unique place to eat.

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We are closed March 5th - 7th

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are closed Wednesday, March 5th, through Friday, March 7th. Any gift baskets ordered after 5 p.m. tomorrow, March 4th, and Monday, March 10th will ship March 11th. We've already sent this information out to our past customers and wanted to offer another venue for this announcement.

Also, don't forget that Daylight Saving Time takes place this weekend. You'll have to set your clocks forward (Spring forward) an hour so theoretically you will be "losing" an hour of sleep. It evens out come the fall when you set your clocks back an hour. It's going to be tough getting up in the early morning again since it will be black as night instead of the ever increasing daylight we've been enjoying in the morning.

The real reason Michigan's economy is in the tank?

I just read this article at the Detroit Free Press stating that Michigan is one of only 4 states to spend more on our prison system than higher education. For every $1 spent on higher education, Michigan spends $1.19 on its prison system. Contrast this with Minnesota (happy owner of the lowest ratio) who spends only $.17 on prisons for each $1 it spends on higher education. There are numerous rhymes and reasons for Michigan's poor economy, but perhaps this ratio is the most telling of all. How can you move forward and increase technology jobs and other brainy economic activity within the state when you are spending more money locking folks up than educating them for these new job sectors?

This article really struck me as I also read today that 1 out of every 100 Americans are in prison. Anyone else think that having 1% of your population locked away is a frightening statistic?

I hate bringing up bad news, but it was sad for me to see that Michigan is one of only four states that spend more on prisons than college.

Scary.

Biggby Coffee Blog is a fun read

Biggby Coffee (the coffee shop formerly known as Beaners) has a neat blog that I just found out about today via an email. The blog's title is "Where is Bob?" with "Bob" referring to Biggby CEO and co-founder, Bob Fish. It's basically a collection of Biggby Coffee news as well as stories about the franchise owners and possible upcoming locations (Owosso looks like a winner). This is a great example of what a big company blog should look like. It provides business information, but at the same time helps spread their message and shows you that they aren't a faceless corporation - the stores are owned by people living in the same community as the coffee shop.

I fell in love with Beaners Biggby Coffee when I used to live and work in Lansing (their first location was on Grand River in East Lansing). My Biggby Coffee standard order (unless I try one of their limited time special flavors) is the Caramel Marvel. Man, that is THE best cup of coffee I have bought each and every time.

Contrast that with a well known national chain that sells music, food, books, and then coffee as an afterthought. Biggby Coffee sticks to what they do best - make a great cup of coffee with excellent service and a comfy atmosphere.

While that faceless corporate coffee shop closed their locations yesterday for three hours of training at least one Biggby Coffee location in Grand Rapids (located just across the street from said faceless corporate coffee shop) was offering all of their coffee drink items for f-r-e-e during the three hour time frame.

Even if there isn't a Biggby Coffee near you I have seen a select number of their whole bean coffee variations for sale at Meijer. It looks like their expansion plan will lower the number of folks that don't have a location nearby.

This quote from their website Biggby.com says it all about what they stand for -

Every BIGGBY café is locally owned and operated; there are no corporate stores. The people behind the counter are people from your communities, and the dollars generated stay in your communities.

Was Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan behind Michigan Is Amazing?

Yesterday, after posting about MichiganIsAmazing.com shutting down on January 31, 2008 I did some quick searching to find out just who was behind this blog/website. A WhoIs Lookup didn't tell me a thing as any private data was hidden. I then remembered seeing BCBS (Blue Cross Blue Shield) of Michigan ads prominently displayed at MichiganIsAmazing.com. So, I googled "bcbs michigan+michigan is amazing" and the first search result took me to this blog post.

It looks like she figures that BCBS was behind the site, but like me, couldn't figure out why things were not made more obvious as to who was backing MichiganIsAmazing.com. I also remember they had ads online at the Detroit Free Press and other Michigan newspapers pointing you to the site. Maybe BCBS of Michigan were just trying to build some goodwill for themselves by showcasing our wonderful state.

Anyone else have any ideas?

I still think that Michigan is Amazing

MichiganIsAmazing.com shuttered their virtual doors on January 31, 2008. While not one of my daily visits (I caught up with the site once a week or so) it was an interesting site that tried to get Michigan residents to use stories, photos, and comments to tell their version of why Michigan is amazing. It's too bad that they are no longer around. I am not sure why they have closed the site or if this was all a planned publicity effort by Michigan's tourism promotion folks.

Now, the main page points you to a handful of sites with one of them being Pure Michigan Experiences which is run by the state through Michigan.org. This looks to be similar to what MichiganIsAmazing.com offered as far as user submitted content.

There is something about personal recommendations that I just can't resist. I love reading what other people think of different places in Michigan that I, too, have been able to visit.

Anyway, I still think that Michigan Is Amazing and I'll keep plugging along trying to convince others the same thing via this blog and our Michigan gift baskets.

Have a Great Day!