• 3490 Okemos Road
• Okemos, MI 48864
• (517) 381-2465
• Website
• Menu

Back in East Lansing and there’s a little bit of nostalgia this weekend.  I had to be in town a couple days, so I went looking for the cheapest hotel I could find.  Usually, the two Red Roof Inn’s are the cheapest and recently, I’ve been staying out in Delta Township because it’s five bucks cheaper.  This weekend, however, I decided to stay at the East Lansing Red Roof Inn. 

I say there’s a little bit of nostalgia because two years ago, J and I made a frantic, last-minute trip to Lansing to find a place to live.  We had been in Bristol, TN for the Nextel Cup Race the weekend before.  She got the phone call on Tuesday that she had been hired in Lansing.  We were at her parents in Chicago because we didn’t have to be back to work in Peoria until Thursday.  We packed up the car again on Tuesday and drove to Lansing to find a place to live.  We only had a week and a half to make the move. 

We had stayed in a Red Roof Inn in Johnson City, TN and were happy with it, so we found one in Lansing and we spent our first night in what would become our new home at the Red Roof Inn on Dunkel Road.  This recent trip was the first time I had stayed at that hotel since that first night.

We were given a pretty long lunch break, so I decided to go check in and drop my stuff off.  Before that, I wanted to grab a sandwich or something somewhere so I could eat while watching ESPN in my room.  I couldn’t really think of much other than fast food chains along Jolly Road so I started driving towards Okemos. 

For a long time now, I’ve wanted to see what Big John Steak & Onion was all about.  I would never take J there because she’s not a big steak fan.  When we lived in Lansing, I didn’t do much dining out on my own, so I never really had a chance. 

Big John Steak & Onion is a small regional chain with most of its stores in the Flint area.  There are three in the Lansing area.  I chose the one in Okemos on Okemos Road near the I-96 interchange.  The store is in a building connected to a BP gas station, but it’s a separate space.  You can’t walk between the two businesses. 

The space is a typical quick service set up.  There are tables as you walk in and even a small counter facing the window.  On one side of the room is the kitchen and order counter.

I had never eaten at Big John before so I really had no idea what to expect.  I scanned the menu pretty quickly, but they had signs all over for a special they had going.  It’s hard to pass up two Original Steak subs for $5….I didn’t pass it up. 

I did keep the onions off though.  I hate onions and I know that’s probably blasphemous since they have “onion” in the name of the restaurant.  To make up for the lack of onions, I added jalapenos. 

The cook took out a handful of thinly sliced ribeye steak and threw it on the grill.  They kind of give it a Philly cheese steak treatment and cut it up on the flat top.  I didn’t really watch as they put my sandwich together, but I do know the meat came right off the flat top and on to a bun.  The jalapenos were added and they were wrapped up and handed to me with a cup of Big John Red Sauce in a small plastic cup. 

I headed back to my hotel and ripped the sandwiches open.  They resembled a Chicago-style Italian beef, but they weren’t wet or seasoned anything like that sandwich.  The meat was good and it was tender, but there wasn’t a strong unique flavor.  There were quite a few jalapenos which added a lot of flavor…and heat, to the sandwich.

Two sandwiches for five bucks is a great deal.  If you’re a big eater like I am, two sandwiches is enough for a meal.  You do get quite a bit of meat on each sandwich, so that’s a good thing too.  There’s just not a deep or complex flavor to the sandwich.  It is what it is.  If you want a quick, warm, meaty sub, Big John is your place.  

Original Steak Sub

It’s been a busy, fun weekend! I’m about to go to bed, but here are some random eats from the weekend.

Friday, I was craving a sub sandwich, so I got one with turkey, provolone cheese, lettuce, and tomato.

With my sub, I decided to try my sample of barbeque popchips.

I loved this flavor. Much better than the salt and vinegar ones. My favorite thing about these bags of popchips, is that it’s a pretty big serving for 120 calories.

This was my breakfast yesterday. Cinnamon Kashi H2H with 1/2 a banana.

Have an amazing week! Night!

Yummy, yummy, feels good in my tummy.  The noogan loves pizza.  If you’re in the East Ridge area, try Hungry Howie’s Pizza across from Food Lion http://www.chattanoogaloveshowie.com/.  You can order online, or call 423.629.7007.  Try some of their flavored pizza crust.  Not in the mood for pizza?  They also have subs and chicken wings.  Don’t forget the salad and drinks.  Tell them you saw it on The Nooga Notes.  nooga.notes@gmail.com

Most of us know that various regions of the United States have different terms for the same thing. I was reminded of this when the local newspaper  did an article titled, “Americans say the strangest things.” It references the just completed book titled Dictionary of American Regional English. (Looks like it is available for sale at the online booksellers)

I guess I first became aware that people from other states or areas of the country labeled common items by different names when I enlisted in the Air Force. The one I remember most (and is mentioned in the newspaper) is “soda” verse “pop.” Growing up in Iowa, we drank bottles or cans of pop. My friends from the eastern U.S. called it soda. To us, soda had a dip of ice cream in it. Now, in Colorado, I hear a mix because people have migrated here from all over. To confuse things, I also learned of an “egg cream.” This is chocolate syrup, milk and seltzer water.

Still on the subject of drinks, we also debated the word “malt”,or malted milk. This was a rare treat for us as kids. My buddies from the east part of the U.S.A. alluded to a frappe, which they considered similar. The web says a frappe is more like a fruit smoothie.

The newspaper article also listed the different terms for a submarine sandwich. Some call the same sandwich a “hero”, “hoagie” or “grinder.” It says in Florida, it is known as a Cuban sandwich. Where the po’ boy sandwich fits in is not clear to me. I guess most are too young to call it a “Dagwood” sandwich.

It seems some places use the term “bag” and others use “sack” for a container to hold or tote things. I was reminded of this when I worked in a grocery store. We were called baggers or bag boys (no girls allowed at the time) but some called this position a sacker. Somehow, I don’t like the word “caddy” to apply to the young men and women who do the same task.

I also found a discrepancy on the use for the carts used to hold groceries as I shop. I have heard them called “buggies”, which seems odd to me.

Lastly, the terms for our daily meals has blurred. I ate breakfast, lunch and supper growing up. As I traveled around, I found some called the noon meal or the evening repast dinner. Hmmm.

Share your regional terms or labels with us 

Flicrk indio1

In my opinion, the following videos represent Ellen’s best (and funniest) moments.  Enjoy!

Gladys Harvey, an elderly viewer in Austin, Texas, calls Ellen’s Suggestion Line to offer her opinions on how Ellen can improve her show.  Ellen calls Gladys back on the next day, resulting in a side-splitting conversation.

Ellen is sexually assaulted by a snake.

Ellen reenacts a viewer’s embarassing moment which involves a passer-by who was eating a submarine sandwich.

Ellen reenacts another viewer’s embarassing moment which involves a woman’s first experience taking the cold remedy known as “Airborne.”

Who knew that watching musical chairs could be so fun?  When the participants are blindfolded, hilarious hi-jinx ensue.  “Blindfolded Musical Chairs,” aired on February 4, 2009.

Ellen Tests the Hawaii Chair

Nicollette Sheridan Makes Herself Comfortable (01-16-2009)

C’mon, we’ve all seen them.

The horrible commercials for a food product or restaurant that just makes us cringe? Yeah, we’ve all seen them.

The one in question at the moment is for a famous sub company.

The theme of the commercial is packing up your hunger – and hold on to your seats -sending it on a YUM ROCKET.

Seriously?

A YUM ROCKET?

What am I, three?

And frankly I’m not even going to go the other direction.

*sighs*

Makes me NOT want to buy their sandwiches ever again.

I’ve been patient. I’ve given them every opportunity to make my mouth happy. But, my mouth isn’t happy. It’s not happy one tiny bit. Here’s why. Just as I usually do, I ordered one of their sandwiches. In this instance, the ‘Steak and Cheese’. The photos looked inviting, as they usually do, and as is almost always the case, the photos didn’t even remotely match the sandwich I was served. Of course, I was ‘distracted’ with the amount of steak that was placed in the sandwich. Kudos on that one point. There was no lack of meat. I commend Subway’s excellent ability to watch a competitor’s commercial and find out how to make sandwiches, rather than ask me how I’d like them to do so.

Moving on, the abundance of steak is the *ONLY* positive side to this sandwich. There was a small, barely present strip of melted provolone cheese, some onions. I had them hold off on the peppers, as I’m not a pepper person when it comes to sandwiches. I fail to see how the inclusion of the peppers could have remedied this complete failure of a sandwich, however. It was almost bone-dry, as well. Now, when I, a person who didn’t attent culinary training sessions, make a steak and cheese sandwich, it’s never dry, not even a bit dry. The bread, as is their policy, was probably baked fresh. I cannot verify this, though, as I wasn’t present when this batch came out of the oven.

I have a suggestion for Subway. How about focusing on teaching your staff to make a sandwich properly? You could probably afford the extra training for the staff by closing the other Subway you have less than 200 feet away from the one I ordered this waste of a mouthful at. Another thing, I almost hate to bring it up, but Jared Fogle seems to be gaining the weight back. I think it might be a good idea to find a new person to appear in your commercial spots. Sooner or later someone’s going to photograph the gut you seem to be trying to hide in your commercials, and put it up on the web for everyone to scrutinize. Oh, one more thing I wanted to mention, for lunch, I’m often doing something, or in a hurry. Having a server obsess over whether or not I want items on my sandwich that they know I likely don’t, wastes their time, your time, and my time. Wasting your time, is up to you. But, wasting my time, pisses me off. You might want to consider having some sort of default menu selection for the sandwich someone orders. That way, rather than be pestered by idiots asking questions, we can say “the usual please.” Just afew thoughts.

I went to buy a sandwich today, because I was about to eat the petrified French fries of the floor of my car if I didn’t pull over quick. I went to that popular Sub Sandwich shop to pick up a $5 foot long [I love a good deal]. I figured 1/2 now and 1/2 later for dinner–what a deal. I’m always amazed by the lack of enthusiasm people have for their jobs. I have worked in just about every retail setting and I must say I worked really hard on having a good attitude and being pleasant to the customers [even when they cursed at me]. I don’t know if it’s a generational thing or if a lot of people are just unhappy, but where has the strong work ethic gone? So the guy that’s building my sub looks like he’s on the verge of puking or crying [or both]. I was kind of in a hurry, so I resisted the urge to ask him what was wrong. I felt like I was crushing his spirit with each topping I requested for the building of my Dagwood sandwich. We made it through and then he ripped off his sanitary gloves so that he could handle my money to take my payment. He was just about to press in the computer what I had ordered and stopped short. He raised his head with the enthusiasm of a brick wall and said “dude, what kind o’ sandwich was this? I forgot”. He must have felt horrible or been completely stoned because he had just finished building the entire thing himself. The other girl working was of no assistance to her fellow worker-bee [who obviously could have used some help]. She was shuffling dirty containers to the back to wash them [hopefully] all the while eating the chocolate chip cookies she had just made for the cookie display rack. There is nothing more appetizing than buying a sandwich from a guy who is about to puke, while watching his co-worker shovel cookies one after the other. I was hungry enough to let it all go, but not before wiping my hands down with an antibacterial wipe. One sandwich to go – hold the stomach flu.

I decided to splurge a bit for lunch today. Normally, I will drive through Wendy’s and get a small salad and small chili for $2.73 (up nearly a dollar over a couple of years ago), or I’ll motor on past the Burger King window and pick up a Whopper, Jr. ™ and side salad for $2.12 (the best deal going, if you ask me). But today was payday, so I thought I’d treat myself to someone’s full “combo meal,” that is a sandwich, chips of some sort, and a drink. I thought it was time to try something a little different for a change—I was in a change-of-pace sort of mood—so I settled on a national brand sub shop that I had eaten at only once before.

I thought, “Yea, I can drop six bucks or so for a combo meal. So I walked into this little sub shop (that will remain nameless for now) and no sooner cleared the threshold into the joint and a voice came out of the sky like some narrator in one of those epic fantasy films saying, “Welcome to ______!” I looked around to see where the reverberant voice was coming from and my eyes settled on a table in a front corner of the store. It was an employee who was sitting at the table with obviously nothing much to do. Then it struck me that it was noon, and I was the only customer in the place—a little strange for a guy who is used to waiting in a line of cars for his lunch. Well, I ordered my sandwich, and grabbed a bag of chips, and was given a cup for my drink. And then the cashier totaled my order. $8.35!

Now I hadn’t intended to buy stock in the franchise today. All I wanted out of this quick pick-up place was a simple sandwich and a couple of extras. I couldn’t believe that I was only getting a buck and some change back from my ten-spot. This certainly explained the lack of clientèle during a time of the day when the place should have, by rights, been packed. What workaday schmuck on his lunch break can afford to shell out nearly ten bucks for lunch every day, or even once in a while these days—since most of us are now putting our lunch money into our gas tanks. And, there is another national sub chain where you can get a large sub for $5.00; Eat one half and put the other half into your little office refrigerator for tomorrow. That’s $2.50 a day for the sandwich, and you can drink water with it for free.

Now the $8.35 question: Does anyone what to take a guess at the name of the high-priced sub shop? There are, of course, only just so many sub shops out there. Take a guess. The first one to get it right wins!

Thank God Hickenlooper hasn’t coerced Rose into selling Carbone’s.

@ 1221 W. 38th

- Monte

collected on Friday, December 22, 2006

I must have done some serious mallratting on Friday, December 22, 2006! After the trek to Granite Run Mall, where I acquired Cup #10 from Villa Pizza, I wound up at Springfield Mall in Springfield, Pennsylvania to collect my first-ever cup from that particular enclosed shopping center.

Situated along Pennsylvania Route 320 and local-yet-busy artery Baltimore Pike (which becomes U.S. Route 1 a few miles south…right near Granite Run Mall, as a matter of fact), Springfield Mall is a 2-level shopping mall located just east of Interstate 476 (locally known as the “Blue Route”), a superhighway connecting Interstate 95 with the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It’s a bit of an upscale establishment, as a majority of Springfield, Pennsylvania (the Delaware County one, that is…I’m sure the most popular U.S. town name has a few other locations in the Keystone State) is rather upscale in terms of living conditions.

Its Subway location was one in a series of such locations in the chain to pop up in my immediate home vicinity in the early-to-mid part of the 21st century’s debut decade. It is located across the hallway from a hair salon that holds positive memories for me because of what it used to be (story of my life, huh?). Yes, prior to filling itself with $16 bottles of hair care products and overpriced stylists, the unit was home to a Burger King that was visited AT LEAST once a week by my friend Squall and I during my college years and immediately thereafter. He was employed at the mall’s key anchor store, Macy’s, and worked each and every Sunday. I usually didn’t work on Sundays back then and, having nothing better to do, would drive up to the mall and have lunch with Squall in the Burger King.

Anyway, when the “BK” closed, it was a dark set of months until the Subway opened. While it of course is no Home of the Whopper, it is nevertheless good food (and actually healthy, too, not that that matters to my friends and I). It has no interior seating; that need is filled by a series of tables and chairs in a small court in the actual mall hallway a short distance away.

Attempting to capitalize on my “request for water gets me a free cup” maneuver that successfully got me Cup #10 just several moments earlier from Villa Pizza, I tried here to no avail. The cashier only sold water in bottles and thus I had to shell out a whopping $1.47 (yes, in my offline “cup collection log” I for whatever reason listed the price) for the cylinder, which I half-filled with Dr Pepper.