416 S. Burdick StreetI’ve been writing this blog a long time. 15 years. My kids get so annoyed when I take pictures at restaurants but I keep doing it because, as I’ve said all along, this blog is pretty much a journal. I don’t care if anyone reads. I don’t make any money off it. But I do go back and read posts all the time. Even though I’m somewhat vague with my stories, they all jog a memory for me.
One of the first restaurants we went to in Kalamazoo when we moved here in 2009 was Harvey’s on the Mall. J had got invited to a going away party for one of her new colleagues and we decided to go. It was a chance to hang out with people in a new city.
That night was mostly drinking and maybe a few appetizers so we went back about six months later and actually had dinner.
I think we went back maybe one other time after that. Not because there was anything wrong with the place, there are just so many options for dining out in Kalamazoo and we don’t really eat at the same places very often.
J and L were heading to a figure skating competition in Bloomfield Hills one day last week. It was a Wednesday competition and I’m running out of days off so they went without me. B went to J’s parents house for the night because we didn’t have any daycare for him. That left me alone Tuesday night to grab dinner.
I figured 14 years between blog posts was way too long. I keep seeing Harvey’s post Tuesday night burger specials and it was a Tuesday night.
Harvey’s on the Mall has been a staple right off The Kalamazoo Mall in downtown Kalamazoo for years. The restaurant is right next the The State Theatre on Burdick Street just south of Lovell Street. The building is kind of hard to get a read on from the street as large outdoor patios have been built in front of the original building. It sits among some old buildings on this section of Burdick Street but it’s hard to tell exactly what this building looks like from the street.
It was about 5:30 on a Tuesday evening when I walked in and the place was still pretty quiet. There were signs to seat yourself and order at the bar. I just went straight for the bar and grabbed a seat. The bartender was talking to the only two other people in the place at the time so I had a few minutes to look over the beer taps.
I almost stuck with my usual Two Hearted but I actually noticed a Founders beer I had never tried before. It was Mortal Bloom which is a Hazy IPA. My favorite kind of beer. I had it gone by the time my food came.
I had to order a second beer so I’d have something with dinner. This time I went with my old standby Bell’s Two Hearted Ale.
Tuesday is $2 off burgers and truthfully, that’s what made my decision for the night. I had been wanting to go to Harvey’s at some point but seeing the Facebook posts of the burgers swung the pendulum in their favor on this particular night.
I ordered the On Fire Burger. This sandwich is a 7 oz ground beef patty with Buffalo sauce, jalapenos, bacon, provolone cheese, lettuce, and tomato on a brioche bun. The burger was just as messy as a burger like this should be. The jalapenos were oozing off the cheese and off the side of the burger. It was a mess to pick up and I enjoyed every dang bite of it. It was spicy, crunchy, juicy, and just the slightest bit hot. It’s the kind of good burger I crave from time to time.
The sandwich came with beer battered fries. I’ve talked a lot on this blog about how these are not my favorite fries but I still always eat every last one of them. It’s never a type of fry I’m going to order on my own but when they come with sandwiches, I will always eat them.
Harvey’s to me has always felt like more of a hangout place than a go for dinner place. Maybe it’s because my first experience was a big group with a lot of alcohol and some good times. The set up of the place has a lot of bigger tables used for congregating both downstairs around the bar and upstairs where they do live music and karaoke.
There are also some outdoor spaces both upstairs and downstairs that lean more towards the hanging out in a group aesthetic than a nice quite dinner.
The great thing about Harvey’s on the Mall is you can have the best of both worlds. You can have that great place to hang out with friends and do some karaoke and dance to a DJ but also have great food while you’re doing it.
It was definitely several years between trips to Harvey’s for me and the place is almost exactly how I remember it. Sure, there have been some cosmetic changes over the years but good food and good beer in this laid back atmosphere.