4615 W. Main StreetI always thought that I had been to all of the chain restaurants in Kalamazoo but while I was looking for pictures or one a few weeks ago, I realized I was missing one.
As weird as it may sounds, it’s a chain that I also have a history with.
I moved away from my small town near Kankakee, IL for college in the late 90’s. I chose a small private school in Joliet, IL so I could play baseball.
Joliet is only about an hour and a half from where I grew up so my parents would come see me fairly often. During baseball season, they’d come to games on weekends. The rest of the year, they’d randomly pick a Saturday to come hang out.
I hadn’t started doing the whole dine local thing yet. There were a few places that some of my friends who grew up in Joliet would recommend but 7 out f 10 times, we’d end up at Fazoli’s.
I eventually moved to Peoria, IL after college, then Lansing, and now here to Kalamazoo. We continued to eat at Fazoli’s in Peoria and even a few times when we lived in Lansing, but apparently, I’ve never eaten at this one in Kalamazoo in the 15 years I’ve lived here.
The Fazoli’s in Kalamazoo on West Main Street near the corner with Drake Road. The restaurant is kind of on a hill so it’s really easy to see as you’re coming up to the very busy intersection. There is parking along the west side of the building and that’s where the door to get in is located.
I chose to put my order in online (as I usually do) but the restaurant is set up like a typical fast food joint with an order counter right as you walk in the door separated from the rest of the dining room.
There were only a couple of people working and it took them a few minutes to even acknowledge me. Had I been putting an order in when I got there, I could have just waited or there’s a kiosk on the counter to put the order in yourself.
The rest of the restaurant is pretty typical for a fast food joint. The theme is Italian so pretty much the only color in the dining room is red. There’s a mix of leather covered booths and tables and chairs throughout the rather large dining area.
I hadn’t eaten at Fazoli’s in so long and I really couldn’t even remember what I used to order. I decided to give a couple things a try and picked the Classic Sampler that came with Fettuccini Alfredo, Lasagna w/Meat Sauce, and Spaghetti Marinara with a Meatball plus two breadsticks. It was a little hard to distinguish in the to-go container where one ended and the other began but there was a decent sized portion of all three pastas.
I started on the right with the Fettuccini Alfredo and worked my way across. A lot of the fettuccini was hidden under the lasagna but I managed to pull it apart so I could get some of the Alfredo sauce without the marinara. I don’t typically eat Alfredo so I don’t know what a good one is but I enjoyed this. I probably wouldn’t order it as a whole meal but it was nice to get a sample of it.
The baked lasagna was next and that’s probably what I would have ordered on my own. The pasta is a delicious layered creation of noodles, cheese, and sauce. Is it as good as a sit down Italian restaurant. No…but is a fast food burger as good as a sports bar’s? This was a pretty delicious fast food version of my favorite type of pasta.
The third pasta is the sampler was the spaghetti with marinara and a meatball. I ate the meatball first since it was on top. No complaints. Same for the pasta. It was good. Again, it’s fast food Italian. It’s about what I expected and I would eat it again. Of the three though, the lasagna was the best.
The sampler platter also came with two bread sticks which were always my favorite part of Fazoli’s. Back when we used to go in the late 90’s/early 00’s, the bread sticks were unlimited and there was a person who would walk around the dining room with a basket of them replenishing your supply when you ran out. I don’t think that’s the case anymore, but the breadsticks are still delicious. They’re super soft and have a lot of butter on top.
Just to try something different, I also got myself an order of the Pepperoni Pizza Breadsticks. There are three breadsticks cut in half and topped with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni then served with a side of marinara sauce for dipping. These were actually quite tasty and a way for me to get more breadsticks.
The cost for my meal was a little under $17 and I feel like I got quite a bit of food for that price.
Fazoli’s isn’t the best Italian food in the world but it’s really hard to argue with that price. The meal was good and it was really filling. It’s definitely a meal I would consider again when I’m short on cash but still want something delicious.