Andrea MacMichael

Food and Travel Seminar

Restaurant Expectations: Crow’s Nest

I really want to eat at Fandango. The tinted windows and colorful inside lighting of this corner tapas restaurant in the Kalamazoo Mall have enticed me ever since my dad and I spotted it on our first walk together through downtown Kalamazoo last year. I wanted to experience the seemingly exclusive, lively, and fun Spanish dining experience but, alone with a few of my friends, we decided we’d rather try out something more “fit” for a college student- a place a little more casual. We chose Crow’s Nest. After anticipating a long awaited meal at Fandango (my dad and I have tried to go there many times, and every time it has to be closed), I am less interested in going to eat breakfast food, but, I’ve heard that everybody loves Crow’s Nest. Everybody is surprised that I haven’t been there.

After doing some research into the restaurant, my expectations have risen. I am going to eat at “Kalamazoo’s Favorite Restaurant,” as it is described on the restaurant website. My advisor says she meets there frequently with professors from Western Michigan University, my friends have, on multiple occasions, gone there on a Friday or Saturday for pancakes at 2 am, and I’ve read that it’s been around for almost ten years. I am excited to eat at a restaurant that keeps local people coming back again and again, and one that has been a part of the community for such a long time.

I am skeptical, however, about the fact that it is open for 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays. The description of the restaurant on the website creates an image in my mind of a small, trendy, cozy, breakfast café, while the long hours on these two days make me wonder about the quality of the food. I don’t usually associate quality food with late hours, or breakfast restaurants, for that matter. I venture that maybe the food is slightly above average, while the service and home-like atmosphere are excellent. I’m expecting, therefore, that the service and atmosphere have given this restaurant a special spot in the Vine neighborhood of downtown Kalamazoo and in the hearts of people in the Kalamazoo area.

I am expecting that the dining experience will be similar to the one I had at Sophia’s House of Pancakes. Last year I ate there with the softball team before we left for our spring training trip in Florida. The food was nothing especially exciting- heaping plates of pancakes, oversized omelets, and orange juice all around. It was food my family could make for Sunday brunch, with portions doubled. It felt like a small-town diner. The service was great, the atmosphere casual and cozy, and it had decent food. I hope Crow’s Nest lives up to the rave reviews it has, and I hope the food is more unique and flavorful than that of Sophia’s House of Pancakes and my general idea of brunch-type restaurants. That is, I hope the food is at least as good, if not better, than the service. I want Crow’s Nest to stand out.

I am excited to eat at Crow’s Nest because it is a big part of the city of Kalamazoo. I am from the Detroit area, so coming to college here, I did not know much about the city of Kalamazoo. In a way, I want this experience to be a sort of tourism for me. I have not explored the area outside of campus very much other than by eating out at the local restaurants with my parents. This has been my way of getting to know the area, and I believe that the more restaurants I try, the better I will understand and appreciate this city I now live in. As is brought up in the Culinary Tourism piece by Lucy Long, food is a great gateway into other cultures, and I think eating at a long-time favorite restaurant such as Crow’s Nest will help further immerse me into the Kalamazoo community. It may not be Fandango, but I think it will be fun.