325 W. Main StreetI always have a hard time finding places to eat in Benton Harbor. I’m looking a little harder when I go that way but it just seems easier to cross the river over in to St. Joseph.
I hate that way of thinking though. If I’m in Benton Harbor, I want to find as many delicious options as I can.
The hard part about finding places in Benton Harbor is that there isn’t really a city center that’s built up. Over the years, I’ve seem dramatic improvement along Main Street with those improvements have come some new restaurants in some cool old buildings.
A co-worker and I were in Benton Harbor a few weeks ago on an assignment. I was hungry and wanted to grab something quick. I got a couple restaurant recommendations from some people but those will have to wait. I was in a sandwich mood and I found a sandwich place.
Happy Poochie Eatery is right on West Main Street near 10th Street just to the west of downtown Benton Harbor. This building has been so many different restaurants over the years. A Mexican place, a hot dog place, a breakfast joint, fried fish shop. This stretch of road is how many people get from I-94 to Silver Beach. We’ve been driving it for years and every time we drive by, it seems to be something new.
You really can’t miss Happy Poochie. One of the things that has remained consistent with all of the changes is the large “FOOD” sign near the entrance to the parking lot. It’s been there as long as I can remember (which is only about 11 years) although it did change from white lettering to red at some point in the last few years.
I picked Happy Poochie because it looked like a quick counter service option by looking at the Google photos. Turns out, those photos were right. It is counter service.
Happy Poochie is a pretty simple lunch joint with sandwiches and salads. The sandwiches are pretty simple but at the same time, much more gourmet than just throwing some sliced meat on a couple of slices of bread.
I ordered the Hot Poochie. The sandwich was a little under $10. I declined chips and a drink figuring the sandwich would be more than enough.
There are some tables inside for those wishing to dine in. I think CW would have rather done that but we need to keep working so I asked for my sandwich to go.
Order pick up is actually outside. You can put an order ahead of time and pick it up at the carry out window just off the parking. Even if you order in the restaurant, you still pick up to-go orders outside. Once we both ordered, we just went and hung out near the window. It only took about five minutes for our sandwiches to be put together and handed out to us.
The Hot Poochie sandwich is made with salami, capicola, ham, and provolone on a toasted hoagie. The reason I picked this sandwich is the Chicago twist. They add hot giardiniera to give the sandwich a little bit of a kick.
The toasted bread was so good and the meat all had a little bit of toastiness on the edges. The hot giardiniera did exactly as I would expect it would and gave the sandwich a little bit of crunch and a little bit of that vinegary heat.
What a great sandwich shop. I know the Whirlpool corporate headquarters are just down the street now and this is such a perfect place to walk to for lunch. Happy Poochie Eatery is fairly new having been open a little over a year now. This is such a great location in Benton Harbor and there’s been so much turnover. Hopefully this guys have found a winning combination because even on beach days, this is a fantastic place to stop and grab a sandwich.