Mike’s Portion
When I first pulled Taco Bob’s out of the Going Local hat on Monday, I didn’t think much of it. I envisioned a small restaurant that specializes in tacos and deduced that it would be a tasty way to spend the Wednesday lunch hour. Nothing more, nothing less.
My expectations were raised later that night when talking to my girlfriend, Mary, about where Joanne and I would be Going Local this week.
“Taco Bob’s? The one down in Kalamazoo is very good! You’re going to like it,” Mary quipped. She grew up in Kalamazoo and is a bit of a food aficionado herself. If Taco Bob’s brought back immediate positive memories for her, I was now expecting the same for myself. The bar had been raised.
From the street, Taco Bob’s doesn’t look like much. You’d be forgiven if you missed the taco shop at 900 52nd St. entirely because of the car wash in close proximity. I should mention, you will only be forgiven if you apologize, admit you were wrong to glance over Taco Bob’s, and stop by sometime in the near future to try the delicious offerings presented on the menu. I’ll be the first to admit it, I glanced over Taco Bob’s many-a-times and only saw the car wash. I have seen the light and it is marvelous!
At Taco Bob’s you can order at a drive-thru or at the pick up window and sit outside. Wednesday may have been windy, but it was sunny enough to enjoy a bite outside, so Joanne and I chose the pick up window. The whole menu looked enticing and I felt each item whispering sweet nothings into my ear. However, I can only date one item at a time as I believe in a monogamous relationship between a man and food. In order to help me make a decision, I called upon the owner himself, Kyle Hemmes.
“The funny tacos are really popular. They’re a hard shell taco wrapped in a warm soft shell taco and sandwiched with nacho cheese in between,” My heart skipped a beat as butterflies began swarming in my stomach. I was getting nervous and excited all at the same time. Some call it love at first sight, I call it a typical Going Local afternoon.
My heart made its decision with the #4 meal that consisted of two funny tacos, a side of rice and beans, chips and a drink all for $6.69.
The tacos were warm, zestful, and crunchy in all the right places. I consumed both tacos in an instant and immediately pondered if I wanted more. My taste buds wanted more, and they wanted it NOW, but my stomach, eyes and mind were telling me no as there were still rice and beans in front of me. I finished the rest of my lunch and went back to work with nothing but Taco Bob’s on my mind.
At work the next day, my heart couldn’t shake the impression Taco Bob’s made on me. Joanne sat and listened as I poured my heart out about a love that ended too soon. Did that meal mean more to me than it did to those tacos? I couldn’t help but think maybe I fell too fast, too soon. I was craving Taco Bob’s but I didn’t want to come across as desperate. Thankfully, Joanne was there for me. She swung by Taco Bob’s for lunch and picked up two tacos to bring back to the station. I ate in peace and my heart was full once more.
Joanne’s Portion
With the announcement that the downtown Fifth/Third building is being turned into a hotel, Kyle Hemmes was forced to move his restaurant Taco Bob’s from Grand Rapids to Kentwood. All I can say is Grand Rapids’s loss is a heck of a gain for Kentwood and all of us who love to eat local.
I became familiar with Taco Bob’s when in my previous life I was working in Kalamazoo and a co-worker took me to the original. The owner, Bob, told me of the location in Grand Rapids, but I was never able to eat there as the lines were too long and the hours were limited to lunch only.
Fast forward and I have been driving past the Taco Bob’s location at 900 52nd St. SE for several weeks, not realizing its famous connection, until we were on our way for lunch. When Hemmes confirmed it, I was so excited I could barely focus on the menu board.
“Most people get our Funny Tacos. That’s what we are known for.” Hermes said. Nah, not what I wanted. “Or the Nachos Supreme. A lot people like our nachos.” Bingo! The item I always got in Kalamazoo was just singing to me.
At the Kentwood Taco Bob’s, you have the choice of take it and go or sitting outside. The location is actually the former Java Cone ice cream stand. The day we were there, it was a beautiful fall day and if you sat in the sun, it was warm enough to sit outside. We gathered our food, took a table and dug in.
The nachos were a nest of tomato, lettuce, cheese, meat, and chips all nicely layered with sour cream zigzagged on the top. It was happiness in a square styrofoam container. I munched away contently.
Taco Bob’s is open year around and offers an array of Mexican fare: tacos, burritos, tostadas, taco salad, quesadillas, and a “Quick Fix” selection that includes tortilla chips, nacho cheese, and small drink.
I ended up visiting Taco Bob’s the next day as someone, whose name starts with an “M,” had to mention tacos. Actually, he started his taco talk soon after returning from our first Taco Bob’s adventure. It brought a chuckle to Hemmes when I drove up and said “I’m back.”
“That’s a good thing,” he said. In fact, during our first foray, I mentioned how I was definitely bringing my family to Taco Bob’s. It became a definite when I read the description of the Cheezy Taco: soft shell with ground beef melted shredded cheese and sour cream, which is my daughter’s definition of the perfect taco.
Victoria’s Side
I’m the person on the sidelines, the one who has to hold down the fort while these two do their foodie happy dance each week. But I don’t mind, because every so often, you gotta take one for the team, right? Besides, I get so much more work done than they do. And as a bonus, when they come back from their Going Local thing, they’re always happy, and I love working with happy people.
But this week was different. When Joanne and Mike came back from Taco Bob’s, I could tell they were inordinately happy, much happier than usual — almost frighteningly so, eyes bright and shiny, a peppy step to their gait, smiles a mile wide. Luckily, I had an editing project to do upstairs, so their squeals of laughter didn’t get on my nerves.
On Thursday, I was still editing upstairs when Joanne popped her head in and asked if I wanted some takeout from Taco Bob’s. Well, heck, yes! I wanted to feel what they were feeling.
I tried a crunchy meat taco. OMG. I cannot stress enough how awesome it tasted, even without taco sauce. The meat is seasoned to perfection, the cheese cheesy as cheese is wont to be, and the lettuce fresh and crispy.
Well, that does it. I’m going to head over to Taco Bob’s. Mike and Joanne have hit on a winner.
About Lynn Strough
Of all the beer festivals in Michigan, WABF resonates with taste trippers, explorers and fans of community building. Recently voted “3rd Best Beer Festival” in West Michigan in a reader’s choice poll, Wood-Aged Beer Festival not only offers the unique beer tasting experience but also festival foods from the acclaimed Brewery Vivant kitchen.
Mixed Grill with Balsamic-Mustard Vegetables
The venue will also incorporate Great Pumpkin artwork into other areas of its venue, providing the perfect setting for visitor photo ops with the Peanuts characters.
“We’re thrilled to work with Peanuts Worldwide and The MAiZE, Inc. as we customize our corn maze to celebrate It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” said Ed/Allan Robinette, Owner of Robinette’s. “Corn mazes are all about providing a fun and interactive experience for our visitors—even the adults feel like kids again! And that’s exactly what Peanuts does: Aren’t we all kids again when we see Snoopy and Charlie Brown? This is the perfect match of holiday traditions.”
Raspberry-Peach-Mango Smoothie Bowl
Oven-Roasted Corn with Smoked Paprika Butter
Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato & Avocado Sandwiches
With the salad gone, I was ready for my stir-fry and I was not disappointed when the hot skillet was set down in front of me. It was still sizzling, packed with food, and ready to be devoured. Quick word of advice, when something is sizzling, its contents are still very hot. My brain decided not to pass along this information onto my watering mouth. Thank goodness for the glass of water that was seemingly always filled to the brim.
Going on the waitress’s recommendation, I selected one of the Hibachi Lunch Specials, Beef Hibachi, $7.95. It came with a salad, white rice and stirred fried beef and vegetables with a homemade sauce. I selected the onion salad dressing and I could taste why someone would want to purchase a bottle for home. The dressing was sweet and favorable with no overbearing onion flavor.
For the viewer, the exhibition is an experiment in fun, an opportunity to experience art through the lens of the familiar and popular act of drinking a finely crafted beer. For fans of Michigan art, the show allows viewers to see how artists solve the creative challenge of making an artwork that must, when viewed from a distance, communicate a single color. The show is, in the end, a reminder of the joy of creating, be it art or a microbrew.
Muskegon has a great recurring event for wine lovers: The Art & a Glass event is your Thursday Happy Hour! Every Thursday from 4pm to 8pm, grab a glass and check out some of the great art pieces at the 
The deluxe pizza came with mozzarella cheese, ham, sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and they did not skimp at all on the toppings. The pizza was packed with toppings all the way to the crust line. I measure a pizzas quality on how well the cheese stays on the crust. There is nothing more frustrating that picking up a slice and having all of the cheese and toppings fall off and land in the box. Daniele’s passed with flying colors as the cheese stayed on the pizza. It’s the little things.
No pizza is complete without the cheesy bread to accompany it. First off, the cheesy bread is a generous size with 16 pieces of thick, fluffy bread. It is well seasoned and adds the perfect side complement to the pizza for an added five dollars.
Blueberry-Maple Muffins
What do you do when you want to go to Venice, but the hotels are way out of your budget, and you’d really rather get to know the locals anyway, than stay in an anonymous hotel in a crazy tourist area?
I unofficially couch surfed at the beginning of my trip in 2014, staying with a woman in Australia that I’d never met, and then with several of her friends. But this was my first official couch surf using the 
She cooked her grandmother’s pasta recipe for me (I cooked for her as well, although it’s not my area of expertise, so I also gave her a watercolor that I’d painted, and took her out for lunch). She showed me around the city of Treviso, where we dined like the locals in a restaurant full of old phones, checked out the market, and she showed me the architecture as well as telling me a little about the city’s history –- Treviso is known as home of the famous Pinarello bikes.
The area is known for its famous prosecco, and we were told to go to a small, boutique winery known for the best. It’s the kind of place where the owner is also the winemaker and tasting room host in his home, with old family portraits on the walls. His mother and daughter came to say hello, and we were given several wines to taste. We were not only not charged, but when we tried to buy some wine to take with us, he insisted on giving it as a gift. There was even a small sculpture garden nearby that he and his daughter showed us on our way out.
One of the other local couch surfing hosts invited me to a dinner with even more couch surfing guests. We all pitched in to help with the cooking. Francesco taught us how to play cards, a game called Buracco, and we realized that out of the group of us, we were from six different countries, including Italy, France, Romania, Azerbaijan, Albania, and the U.S.
About Lynn Strough
National Night Out celebrates local heroes and the community
The day starts out early — 7 am — at the Consumers’ Energy building (4000 Clay Ave. SW in Wyoming), where mayors and dignitaries from Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Wyoming, Grandville and other local municipalities will gather to recite the NNO credo. Here’s a great opportunity to meet your local leaders!
We were seated at a booth and Mike immediately spotted the $6.99 lunch special that included a soda, any sandwich and soup or salad. Our server informed us the salad was a traditional side salad but for a dollar more you could select any of the other salads such as tabouli, fattoush, or Greek. I was sold and went for the fattoush salad paired with the falafel, hommous, tabouli wrap cause a girl has got to have her falafel! For those who do not know, a falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. I prefer my falafel with a little hommous, so this wrap was screaming my name.
When we walked into Le Kabob, I was caught off guard by the size of the restaurant. The last two places we had been to were small and we were the only people there for lunch. Le Kabob was not only much bigger, but it was packed with people there for lunch. Apparently we weren’t the only ones Going Local. We had a slight wait before we were seated and the $6.99 lunch special immediately caught my eye. The picture of the shawarma looked small, so I decided I needed to order two, a chicken and a lamb, on top of my lamb chili. I did not need to order a second one. I repeat, I did NOT need to order a second one.
Both shawarmas were exceptional. The meat was tender and the pita was baked with the right amount of crisp. The lamb shawarma comes rolled with onions, tomatoes, pickles, parsley and tahini sauce. It went down smoothly as the chicken starred me right in the face. The chicken shawarma is rolled with pickles, lettuce, and garlic sauce – I think I hit my yearly garlic intake during the meal. The second shawarma was just as good, but my stomach said no more! Fortunately, I was able to take half the sandwich home in a box and have it for another Going Local lunch the next day.
What Dallas Deli lacks in space it certainly makes up for in food — at least my chili packed a wallop of flavor being voted best meal selection by our little group and leaving Victoria and I planning chili runs in the winter. I had the World Class Chili which was topped with the restaurant’s signature brisket, cheese and onion. With the right mixture of heat and sweet, it was perfect even for our blistery hot summer day visit. (By the way, the air conditioning was not on while we were there but the place stayed pretty cool with the door open and a breeze moving through the building.)
Thanks to the size of the meal, I had some leftover for lunch the next day (that doesn’t happen very often) and it kept its taste upon a second serving. The corn bread tasted even better the next day, if that’s even possible.
Makes: 8 servings