First we go out, we get some pizza at Bimbo’s or Bilbo’s, then, depending on which day it is, we go to Olde Peninsula, Shakespeare’s, or Green Top Tavern.  Now we’re hungover.  Now we need coffee.

Since most of the Kosmopolitan’s readership are students at Kalamazoo College, let’s talk about why you feel comfortable/need to get out of Biggby’s in the library.  I sit with egregiously caffeinated beverage in hand and think about how, if my heart wasn’t so much a-racin’, I would go upstairs and get that homework done.  Instead, I sit around in the Biggby’s lounge and talk to my employee friends.  Fine.  You come to the library every day to read, learn, and get coffee, but doesn’t that wear out its purpose pretty quickly?  Isn’t going to the library to do homework going to get old fast?

If you go downtown, ah ha!  Now you’ve got the off-campus energy, vigor, and CAFFEINE CAFFEINE CAFFEINE to get over that interminable homework hump!  So let’s start with the most likely coffee joint you’ll visit: The Strutt at 773 W. Michigan.  I go to The Strutt pretty often.  The coffee isn’t any better than anywhere else, the ambiance isn’t any less pretentious than other coffee joints, but I’m bound to see one or two friends and hear one or two good songs over the speakers.  If anything else, The Strutt has some nice eye-candy on the interior: t-shirts hanging in the corner, an interesting ordering area, and a new polished, wooden bar that looks like it came right out of the forest.  Coffee prices are a little high and the menu doesn’t include many more flavorful drinks that you’d expect, but the place is also a restaurant, bar, and concert space.  If you’re not in the mood for coffee, grab a beer and a delicious pizza, which sport some ingredients you won’t be able to find anywhere else in town.

Okay, read on if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, because we’re going downtown.  Near the Kalamazoo Public Library is a nice nook called Something’s Brewing (120 W. South).  This skinny coffee bar has only a few tables but is rarely busy, so head down to it if you need a book from the KPL and a quiet place to work.  Coffee is cheap at SB, but the service is slow; sometimes I wait up to five minutes for a simple espresso drink.  The two or three different bariste who have waited on me have been exceptionally nice, though, and I don’t mind waiting an extra minute to support a local business rather than the interminable Biggby’s or Starbucks.

Now onto my favorite downtown coffee bar, Caffe Casa at 128 S. Kalamazoo Mall.  Like The Strutt, Caffe Casa doesn’t have the best coffee in town (that distinction belongs to the next coffee joint), and it certainly doesn’t have the best ambiance.  Instead, you walk in and wonder why there are so many plants in the corner and why the loud techno music is trying to push you back out the door.  The bariste are…strange.  I’ve had some interesting experiences at Caffe Casa, including one during which I was being stung by an insect trapped on the inside of my shirt.  Another was on New Year’s Eve, when I was questioned ad infinitum by one of the bariste for wearing a tie.  Caffe Casa is a great place with a large bar at which to sit (I’ve sat at the tables – it’s just not as good) and a decently large coffee menu; the pastries are very good too, especially the molasses cookies with lemon frosting.

Inside Water Street Coffee Joint

Last but certainly not least is Water Street Coffee Joint, located at 315 E. Water.  This one’s a little off the beaten path, but the coffee is definitely worth it.  Upon entering, you realize that this a big stop on the morning commute: it has a relatively small interior which facilitates fast entry, fast exit, and a bunch of little Water Street knick-knacks lining the wall.  The food cooler in the front of the store, which you’ll inevitably stare at as you wait for your coffee, has some delicious looking (and tasting) food inside, including various breads, dips, sandwiches, and salads.  The staff is constantly friendly and always willing not only to take your order and apologize if they’ve kept you waiting, but also to make small talk.  With reasonable prices, Water Street definitely has the best coffee in town, especially they’re whole-bean stuff (assuming you’ve got a grinder); just make sure you’re up to the walk from the W. Main neck-of-the-woods.

That’s it ladies and gentlemen.  I appreciate everyone reading the Kalamazoo Comparisons and hope that they’ll at least get you off campus once or twice.  It may be cold, but it won’t be for long, so keep good ole Basel in mind the next time you feel like pizza, beer, or coffee.

Ah, to be over twenty-one and allowed to indulge on the social lubricant in a most superfluous way!  Drink up, boys and girls, because this is the only time in your lives when this much alcohol will be acceptable.  Let’s make the most of it, shall we?  Downtown Kalamazoo has some excellent drink specials on the weeknights, and the establishments are within walking distances of each other, even stumbling walking distance!  So take off your money-belt and relax a little as the cheap alcohol comes flowing your way.

Monday and Tuesday

Inside Shakespeare's Pub

Who knows if the bard himself was a heavy drinker?  Shakespeare’s Pub at 241 E. Kalamazoo Avenue seems to think he was.  This bar’s extensive beer selection is probably the best in town, offering a wide variety of local micros (especially Bell’s, Short’s, and Dark Horse Brewing Company) and some eclectic brews that you’d be hard pressed to find on tap anywhere else.  This is the only bar I’ve ever been to in Michigan that serves Dogfishhead 90 Minute IPA (supposedly the “best IPA in America”) on tap.  Go to Shakespeare’s on Monday for $2.50 pints; if you order 90 Minute IPA and consider that a single bottle at Tiffany’s Wine and Spirit Shoppe is $4.50,  you’re saving an average of 20¢ per ounce. And everyone knows that beer is better on tap.  Tuesday night boasts $1.50 half-pints, erroneously considered by Thomas Fink to be the worst drink a man can order at a bar.  This special’s not quite as good as Monday’s, but the huge seating area is almost always empty, so you can enjoy your free (unlimited!) popcorn, trivia, and good conversation without the impediment of your normal college bar.  The food’s not bad either.

Wednesday

Some Dude Outside Olde Peninsula Brewpub

Wednesday is all about Olde Peninsula, 200 E. Michigan Avenue.  I enjoyed the $2.00 pint special for the first time at the end of Summer 2009 and am very happy that it’s continued into the new year.  While Shakespeare’s may have the extensive beer selection, Olde Peninsula makes a number of home brews, including the only fruit beer I drink regularly (raspberry!).  The food is of course excellent and reasonably priced, which makes this brewpub the Wednesday spot between 8 pm and last call at midnight.  My only complaint: get rid of the live music (or at least turn it down)!

Thursday

Thursday…this one’s a tough call.  It’s a toss-up between Green Top Tavern (250 E. Michigan Avenue) and Harvey’s On the Mall (416 S. Burdick Street).  Green Top definitely has my vote on atmosphere: you’re not going to find the college frills at this restaurant and bar, but some surly blue-collars and probably no one under the age of 35.  I don’t know about you, but that’s my kind of place, especially when you’ve got between 3 and 4 companions.  Green Top’s Thursday special is more beer, with $7.00 pitchers of Old Style and $2.50 tall drafts.  Nothing fancy in the beer department, just some local micros and domestics.  Harvey’s On the Mall sports a lot of Thursday specials: $3.00 call liquors, $3.00 import bottles, and $3.00 Miller Lite 20 ounce drafts.  Plus the bottled beer of the month is Sierra Nevada Torpedo at $3.75, which is a little pricey but still a good find in Kalamazoo; I remember being complimented on my choice of Torpedo at Tiffany’s last year because of its rarity in the city.  Harvey’s is a huge place with decent food, worth going every night of the week for some other excellent drink specials and sports.

Friday

See What I Mean?

I hate to say it, but Monaco Bay (300 E. Michigan Avenue) is the place to be on Friday nights.  Where Green Top Tavern avoids the college look, Monaco Bay, which is just down the street, sports it with gusto.  The huge neon sign and loud entrance dwarfs the surrounding storefronts.  Once inside, take a seat and order a couple $2.50 well drinks, listen to the pianos, and don’t order any food; it’s overpriced and unsatisfying.  After that, find a party!

For more information on Kalamazoo Drink Deals, check out http://www.kzoobardeals.com/.  They’ve got the lowdown on places downtown and nearer to the college campuses if you don’t feel particularly adventurous.

If you’re like me, you love pizza.  If you’re like me, you love local pizza.  So I thought a good way to start off this three part series would be a comparison of two great pizza places in Kalamazoo: Bimbo’s and Bilbo’s.  The purpose of this series is not to determine the superiority of one aspect of Kalamazoo to another, but rather to give our readers the kind of help they need in varying their morning, afternoon, or evening experiences in the city.  Kalamazoo has a lot to offer; let’s check it out.

Bimbo's Modest Storefront

Bimbo’s Pizza is downtown at 338 East Michigan.  If you’ve ever walked past Olde Peninsula, you’ll see that Kalamazoo has plenty of restaurants the further east you go, including Coney Island, Ouzos’, and Monaco Bay.  Bimbo’s menu sports very little other than pizza; under “sandwiches” are listings like “ham” and “turkey,” so I imagine that the non-pizza foodstuffs aren’t their strong suit.  Despite that, the pizza, if a little pricey, is excellent.  The soft, thin crust and fresh toppings are good, but don’t really compare to the sauce, which is clearly homemade and deserving of some kind of reward (if only the Kosmo gave out awards…).  The aesthetic of the restaurant’s interior is great too.  There are some old fashioned high-booths with large tables in the middle, always crowded on Friday and Saturday nights.  Bimbo’s also boasts their superiority in a storefront preparation area, where employees toss dough back and forth and make their sauce by the gallon.  The whole establishment is understated.  My only complaints are that Bimbo’s is cash-only (there’s an ATM inside) and that they don’t deliver.

Bilbo’s, unlike its downtown counterpart, is a little bit out of the way at 3307 Stadium Drive.  While this may deter the unadventurous college student, worry not, Bilbo’s will deliver your pizza to you at no charge (other than the expectation of a tip for the driver).  Also unlike Bimbo’s, Bilbo’s doesn’t pretend to be anything but a pizza joint: if there’s something other than pizza on their menu, they supplement it with pizza (pizza sandwiches, stuffed pizza, etc.).  Bilbo’s sports some very thick crust, fluffy and filled with air, rather than the thin, concise crust at Bimbo’s.  Here, you can choose between white and whole wheat crust; I chose wheat because I’ve never had such an option before; truly delicious!  Bilbo’s is also a little pricier than some of the mainstream joints and you get a little less (quantity, not quality) than you do for a comparable Bimbo’s price.  Despite that, there’s certainly a reason why Bilbo’s had the money to expand to a second location at 6202 South Westnedge in Portage.

Me, I’m a thin crust guy, and I’d rather walk to get my pizza than have it delivered to me.  So for my buck I’d choose Bimbo’s, but the whole wheat crust and free delivery charge from Bilbo’s makes it a difficult decision.  In the end I feel good supporting either establishment, since both are locally owned and operated.  It all boils down to how you’re feeling the next time you’ve got some extra cash and a rumbling stomach.

Check out Kalamazoo Comparisons, Part 2: Downtown Drink Deals next week.