3100 Portage StreetMoney has been a little tight lately with as much figure skating as the kids are doing. We’re right in the thick of competition season so there are a lot of coaching hours, ice times, and competitions that we’re paying for.
We do a pretty good job of doing the the things we still like to do but I’ve cut way back on eating out…it’s why you haven’t seen a ton of new Southwest Michigan blog posts lately. I’m pretty much only eating out on road trips or maybe our once a week pizza night….or grabbing chicken from the gas station.
I was hungry one day last week and forgot to grab anything from home. I didn’t want to just make myself some microwave popcorn and I knew I had a $20 in my wallet. I had an idea for a cheap lunch.
I headed down to The Rootbeer Stand on Portage Street in Kalamazoo’s Milwood Neighborhood. The simple drive-in restaurant, that has been there since the 1960’s, is in that weird block of land that forms a triangle between Portage Street, Lovers Lane, and Cork Street. The parking lot is behind the O’Reilly’s Auto Part while the restaurant itself kind of sits just south from the intersection with Portage Street and Reycraft Drive.
The Rootbeer Stand is a classic 60’s drive-in and not much has changed since the location was built actually in the 1960’s. The restaurant actually got it’s start in downtown Kalamazoo in the 1930’s but moved out to it’s two current locations here on Portage Street and on South Westnedge just north of Kilgore.
Service at The Rootbeer Stand is all carhop. There’s no place for a person to put in their own order and there’s not really any seating outside of your car. There is a picnic table nearby if you walked over from the neighborhood but that’s about it. The restaurant comes from a time when cars were king and you’d hang out a place like this showing off your ride.
The menu is very simple. Your only real choices are hot dogs or ham sandwiches….and, of course, their house made root beer. There are some extras like chips, popcorn, and pickles but you’re probably either getting a dog or a ham sandwich.
Unless you’re me. Then you’re getting a couple of dogs AND a ham sandwich plus a root beer. The cost for that meal was a little over $10. They’re cash only (there’s a nearby ATM if you need it) and it took less than 5 minutes for the car hop to come back with my change and my food.
You can do the drive-in thing with a tray on your window but I just asked for it to. I didn’t want to eat chili dogs in the car.
When I got back to the office, I popped open the lid on the root beer first. There is no ice so it can’t be watered down. They serve it kind of at room temperature which is the best way to get the flavor out. The drink is so rich and so much sweeter than canned root beer. It’s worth the trip just to get a couple glasses of this stuff.
I unwrapped the Ham & Cheese sandwich first. It’s exactly what it says it is. A couple of slices of ham and a slice of cheese on a simple white bun. It’s served hot so the ham is warm and the cheese is nice and mety. They use the same liquid cheese they put on hot dogs so there is gooey cheese in every bite. I added mustard because I like mustard on my ham. The sandwich isn’t very big but that’s fine. That’s why I added a couple of hot dogs.
I got two hot dogs and added the home made chili, cheese, and mustard to the dogs. Onions are also an option but I like my Coney dogs without chili. The hot dogs, again, are very simple hot dogs in a simple steamed. The bun is wrapped around the hot dog, the cheese and mustard come next and then the chili is slathered on top. Whenever I write a blog post about hot dogs, I always say, I’m not a huge fan of hot dogs…but I always eat them and I always enjoy them. The chili on top of this dog is what makes it so dang good. It’s simple but delicious.
The Rootbeer Stand is a simple throwback to an era when everyone wasn’t trying to one up each other with some new wild topping choices. There’s nothing fancy either here or at the Westnedge location. It’s just hot dogs and ham sandwiches. It’s cheap, delicious eats that have stood the test of time as they inch closer to their 100th Anniversary. There’s not many places in town that even come close to the longevity of The Rootbeer Stand and they did it by keep it simple and affordable.