5095 Century AvenueSlowly but surely we’re starting to see the retail locations around Costco fill in. It took a while to get anything but a bank/credit union in there but the last few years have been pretty good to us with new restaurants.
We’ve really enjoyed having MOD Pizza so close and we treat the kids quite often with Menchines. The first restaurant that opened, Firehouse Subs has been a go-to when we just want a quick sandwich.
The next place to open just added a second Kalamazoo area location.
Olga’s Kitchen opened up on Century Avenue right next to that MOD Pizza in the Corner @ Drake shopping plaza. The large corner spot is visible from both Drake and Stadium Drive so it’s hard to miss when you’re driving by.
This is the second Olga’s location and the 27th location across Michigan and Missouri. The other area restaurant is in the Crossroads Mall in Portage. The only time we have ever eaten at an Olga’s was that restaurant back in 2011.
We were surprised at how big and open the restaurant was when we walked in. There’s a host stand right inside the door then it opens up into a large, bright dining room with modern leather backed chairs, high back booths, and solid wood tables. The walls are painted white which reflects a lot of the natural light coming in from the windows. There are can lights throughout the space that add a little more brightness during the day.
I’ve always found the menu at Olga’s interesting. The thing I really like about the place is they take something simple like a sandwich and do something with no one else does. Instead of a bun or bread, they use Olga bread which is a soft, fluffy pita they use as a wrap.
We started out our meal with Cheesy Marina Dip Snackers. Snackers are little triangles of the Olga bread that are baked crispy. This particular dip came with Snackers that are seasoned with a Parmesan herb-seasoning. The dip is baked Roma tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. We really thought the kids would like these but I think they were a little too salty for them. J and I loved them. The portion size is perfect for a table as an appetizer.
The Steak & Cheese Olga is the sandwich that really caught my attention. This one starts with that delicious Olga bread and is topped with Flat Iron Steak, Monterrey Jack Cheese, grilled peppers, grilled red onions, and onion straws. As you should know from reading this blog, I’m not an onion fan and there’s a lot of onions on this. I just scraped them out the best I could and enjoyed the parts of the sandwich I really wanted. The steak was so tender. It was still slightly pink in the middle and was coated in the melted cheese. Being a simple person, I was totally happy with this Olga just being meat and cheese. I don’t see how anything else could have made it better. I added on an order of Olga’s Seasoned Curly Fries because the sandwich comes a la carte. The fries are are typical curly fries but they use a house seasoning to make them pop.
J ordered the Gala Apple Pecan Salad. The plate is field greens, gala apple, red onion, feta, cranberries, candied pecans, and a white balsamic dressing. The menu lists chicken as an add on. J didn’t ask for chicken but got it anyway. She loves this combination on a salad (minus the chicken which I ate) and seemed to enjoy this creation.
All L wanted for dinner was a salad too but they didn’t really have a side salad she would eat. When she says she wants a salad, she just wants lettuce, cheese, and ranch dressing. We ended up ordering the Small Olga salad which is supposed to come with romain, iceberg, red onion, kalamata olive, grape tomato, feta, and Olga’s herb dressing. We asked to leave everything off but the cheese and substitute ranch. L finished the whole bowl. If that’s what she wants…and if that’s what she’s going to eat, I’ll pay whatever and just leave most of the good stuff off.
B was being a little stinker and wouldn’t tell us what he wanted. He kept saying he only wanted apples and carrots….we told him that was fine, we could get those as his side but he needed to eat dinner. I eventually just ordered the Kid’s Three Cheese Olga. This Olga bread is a little bit smaller and is filled with three different kind of cheeses. It’s essentially a grilled cheese but not quite grilled. He initially only ate about two of the apple slices. When his sister started taking them he all of a sudden got interested and finished the bowl. I ended up eating most of the Olga and it was delicious. So gooey and cheesy. The kid really doesn’t know what he missed out on.
J was really hoping to get dessert but the kids were kind of being a handful and someone was seated next to us so she asked if she could get an order of Cinnamon Sugar Snackers to go. These are just like the savory snackers but they’re covered in cinnamon sugar and served alongside cream cheese frosting. J ate all of these while I was getting the kids ready for bed but I like to assume they were delicious.
Our bill was a little over $42 before tip. The waitress kept apologizing like something bad was happening but J and I were both confused about what that was. We felt she was attentive enough and our food came out in a timely fashion. Neither one of us had any complaints about the service so there must have been something else going on we weren’t seeing but we were happy with the service…but not our kids.
The uniqueness of Olga’s Kitchen is what makes it stand out to me. I thought that the time we ate at the Portage location and I thought that this time as well. The only reason we never ate in Portage again is because we don’t go to the mall that often and when we do, it’s usually just to let the kids play in the play area. This location in Oshtemo will see us much more and the fact they have online ordering for pick up will be a huge help for us too.