The SugarBowl Bar & Grille — Restaurant in Kalamazoo

I mostly like it for the people who go there and the owners are very nice.

Food tastes very good, but, to me, prices are out of whack in both terms of quantity (sandwiches don't come with side) and atmosphere. It's not really a 'cozy' place; no booths, cafeteria chairs, very...well, not really a 'date-night' kind of place... I mean, sure, I meet my friends there, and it's one of my go-to places, but it's not a warm, cozy place for a "nice" meal, but the prices are better suited for that kind of place...which it isn't. It's a bit crammed with tables and there's no wait staff, and while I DO like the bartender, she's not exactly in a position that suits her unless she gets a hearing aid (and that's solely a fact, not a snarky judgment...we all know she can't hear well, and we deal with it we'll with patience, understanding, etc.). It's just not easy to connect and when you do, the reception is more like a bother, as if she did hear you the first three times, but it's impossible for customers to know unless she gives some kind of kind indication of such, and when I do pretend she heard, nothing happens, so, I'm pretty sure the request wasn't heard. It's difficult to write this about a place I like, because I DO like it. A lot. But, it's not without caveats. And while I'm glad everybody has a job, sometimes, unless some changes are made (i.e. hearing aid), then maybe, for the sale of the customers, the position should be rethought. Maybe put an automated ordering system in, indicate your seat number or table number and let her fulfill them. Or something. Or...not. It is just fine as it is, IF you know what's going on. New people struggle with understanding and I see people get frustrated. When I do, I clue them in and help them get their order in. That goes a long way in smoothing things over. But, it would be nice if the situation was addressed otherwise. Even if it was made light of... Like a big sign that says "I have trouble hearing, so don't be afraid to speak up or raise your hand to get my attention. I promise I'm not ignoring you! 🤗". That would get it all out in the open and relax the tensions surrounding the bar (where everybody has to place...

The SugarBowl is exactly what you want in a working-class bar; cheap beer, pool tables, metal on the jukebox, and burgers that make you question why you ever ate anywhere else.

We rolled in after wrapping four days of filming around Michigan. Everybody told us “get the burgers,” and they were dead right. Huge, messy, cooked with pride.

I usually go vegetarian, and they were out of veggie patties that night. I asked if I could bring in my own Impossible Burger for the grill—bartender just laughed and said, “health code, can’t do it. But I’ll make you something. You won’t be disappointed.”

What came out was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Not on the menu, totally improvised, and absolutely killer. My partner got a mushroom version, I got mine without. Both were seriously fantastic.

I can’t tell you what to order because it doesn’t have a name, but if they ever add it to the menu I hope they call it The Crew Melt. It was the perfect end-of-shoot meal for a hungry film-crew vegetarian.

Bottom line: this is a dive that punches way above its weight. Come for the metal, stay for the pool, and don’t sleep...

This weathered brick building looks, from the curb, like a long-closed "locals-only" joint from decades past where everyone is a mid-day regular and a five-spot can get you two draft pints and three songs on the jukebox with cash to spare to leave as a tip on the time-worn bar counter that has held up many sets of elbows. The inside did not disappoint. Cool, clean air, hushed congenial conversation, the female bartender warm and engaging. This is a place you can slip right into, instantly welcomed. The absolute magic is not the impressively low drink prices. (though I appreciated the wallet-friendly thing) No, what makes Sugarbowl rise to the top of my list is the feeling that while inside these aged walls, the chaos, discomfort and myriad of uncertainties punching holes in the outside world are far, far away. Keep doing what you do, dear old Sugarbowl....there is true peace of mind here. Oh, I can't forget the pair of four-letter words that come to mind as...