Oldsmobile Park

19 04 2008
  • 505 E. Michigan Ave.Oldsmobile Park
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 485-4500
  • Website

Nothing beats a Saturday afternoon at the ballpark, so that’s what my girlfriend and I decided to do.  The Lugnuts were home and the weather was beautiful.  I had been to many games at O’Brien Field in Peoria where the the Chiefs play.  Once at the ballpark, nothing beats ballpark food.

The reason I chose to write a review on Oldsmobile Park is because of the selection of food available.  Of course they’ve got the standard hot dogs and cotton candy, but the first thing I noticed when I walked in was a push cart where a vendor was cooking pulled pork on a flat top.  We go down a little bit farther and there’s another guy doing Philly Cheesesteaks the same way. 

Oldsmobile ParkWe stopped at the pulled pork guy’s stand but all we got were a Pepsi and a Diet Pepsi.  We had just eaten so it wasn’t time for lunch just yet.  Vendors were constantly going up and down the aisles….almost to the point of annoying.  I missed a few hits because I had three vendors following each other down the aisle.  When we finally did grab something to eat, my girlfriend just got an ice cream sandwich from one of those annoying vendors.

I’ve been to a couple different minor league ballparks and it’s usually the same ol’ same ol’ when it comes to food.  More and more places are trying new things and I was pretty impressed with the way the items were set up.  For the most part, all the vendors had their backs to the field, so you could actually watch the game while waiting in line.   Oldsmobile park didn’t have the atmosphere that I’ve grown used to at Midwest League games, but that probably won’t be enough to keep me from going back.  It’s still baseball.


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Categories : Downtown, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Community Supported Agriculture

18 04 2008

When I was living in Peoria, I saw an interesting story on Community Shared Agriculture or CSA’s on the local news.

With the price of gas pushing up the cost of food all over the country and the recent contamination scares with produce grown both in the U.S. and abroad- many are turning to locally grown organic produce to insure food safety and lower prices.

We visited a farm in Congerville.

It’s called Henry’s Farm and it works like a corporation that sells its stock to its customers.

It’s a way to get locally grown organic produce and truly have a stake in what you’re feeding your family.

“We do tell them that you’re going to share like you would in a company- with certain risks and rewards and you’re part of our operation,” said Terra Brockman, Henry’s sister.

Like the article suggests, CSA’s are a way to get farm fresh produce and support local farmers.  Every farm does it differently, but the idea is the same.  The farm sells a share then every week, the “shareholders” get fresh produce that was grown on the site.  The downfall is you don’t get to choose what you get.  Whatever the farmer feels is ripe and ready to be picked is what you get.  Everyone in the group gets the same thing.  The food that is harvested that week is divided evenly among the shareholders.  Usually, you can get 13-16 weeks of food during the harvest season for right around or under $500.  Most CSA’s have pick-up points in town or at the farm itself.  Some CSA’s will require that it’s members work on the farm, but most don’t.  Something to check into before signing up.

There are risks involved.  When you buy into a CSA’s, you’re buying into all the costs associated with the farm.  The farmer determines what his costs to farm are going to be and what his salary for farming will be.  The shareholders pay that cost no matter what.

Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

So, where can you find a CSA in Mid-Michigan? 

  • Our Farm and Dairy – 4633 Essex Center Rd., St. Johns MI 48879, (989)-224-7353
  • Wildflower Organic Farm – 14650 Center Rd., Bath, MI 48808, (517) 641-4761
  • Owosso Organics – 3378 Mason Rd., Owosso, MI 48867, (989) 725-3151
  • The Giving Tree Farm – 15433 Turner Road, Lansing, MI 48906 (517) 482-8885
  • Titus Farms – 3765 N. Meridian Rd., Leslie, MI 49251 (517) 589-5543
  • MSU Organic Farm – MSU Horticulture Teaching and Research Facility 3291 College Rd. Holt, MI 48825 (517) 230-7987
  • Our Asparagus Patch and Gardens – 12650 Sutfin Road, Horton, MI 49246 (517) 529-9054
  • Tantre Farm – 2510 Hayes Road, Chelsea, MI 48118 (734) 475-4323

If you want to look for a CSA in your area, check out Local Harvest


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Categories : Agriculture, East Lansing, Food News, Grocery, Lansing, Local Flavor

Smoke Free Restaurants in Lansing

17 04 2008

Looking for a place to enjoy a meal without having to deal with the smoke?  Smokefreemichigan.org has compiled a list of al the non-smoking restaurants in the state.  Unfortunately, most of the places listed are chains, but if you’re interested, check out their site….for a Lansing specific list, click on this link


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Categories : Food News, Lansing, Michigan

Barley’s American Grill

17 04 2008
  • 727 E. Miller Rd.Barley's
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-7297
  • Website
  • Menu

I picked my girlfriend up from work on a Thrusday night for a quick dinner break.  I had drove by Barley’s a few night’s earlier and wanted to check it out.  I figured this was as good as time as any.

Barley’s is a pretty unique bar/restaurant.  When you walk in, you actually walk into a huge pool room.  It’s more of a pool hall feel than a bar.  Take a right and you hit the bar.  Go a little bit farther and you hit the dining room.  Nice, spacious area surrounded by TV’s and cut off from the pool room and the bar to make a nice cozy setting.

We took a booth near the back and got menus.  I had eaten burgers for the last three meals so I wanted something else.  That something else was the Hot Cheesey Italian.  Italian meats piled high on buttered, toasted bread.  Between that was both cheddar and provolone cheese.  This sandwich was surprsingly good.  Little things like toasting the bread just made the sandwich so much better.  The fries that came with it were actually fresh cut and had a hint of a cajun seasoning on them.

My girlfriend got the crunch chicken wrap.  Instead of grilling chicken and putting it in a wrap, they deep fry some chicken tenders, cut them up, and put them in the traditional chicken wrap which also included mayo, lettuce and tomato.  Her complaint with the sandwich was the tomatos.  The chicken was hot and crunchy while the tomatos where cold.  She said the contrast of hot and cold made the sandwich a little difficult to eat, but she made it most of the way through.  Had the tomatos been at least room temperature, there wouldn’t have been any complaints.  Like me, she noticed the fresh cut fries and appreciated the cook taking an extra five seconds.

The damage was $20 before tip.  The food was really good for bar food.  The cook/chef took the extra time to develop a menu that goes beyond grease and wings and developed a diverse collection of favorites.  We accidently stumbled upon Barley’s, but it’s location combined with the great bar sets it up for a return trip


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Categories : Burgers, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pub, Reviews

In Good Company

17 04 2008
  • 9039 S. MeridianIn Good Company
  • Clarklake, MI 49324
  • (517) 529-9150
  • Website
  • Menu

I was working near Clark Lake for a couple weeks and I drove by In Good Company a couple times on the way to my job.  Since I had a little time for lunch one afternoon, I decided to head back and give the place a shot. 

You walk into the restaurant and come to the hostess station.  The dining room is seperated into three sections.  Since I was dining alone, they put me in the middle dining room by myself at a table for two.  The waitress came over and brought me a Pepsi then took my dinner order.  The menu at In Good Company is really unique for a diner.  They have exotice things like a Bison Burger and they take someting like a panini and go a little bit farther than the usual diner fare. 

I went with the Only One Burger.  A fresh 1/2 lb angus beef patty is topped with bacon, cheddar, tomato, lettuce, and onion then put on a baked fresh bun.  You get the option of either just ordering the sandwich or ordering a meal which gives you your choice of two sides.  I went with a salad for my first choice.  Just your basic side salad with a Italian dressing.  My second choice I went with fries which are curly fries similar to those you get at Arby’s. 

The burger was a little disappointing.  All the extras made the burger tasty, but the meat itself was dry and In Good Companysorta flavorless.  It was a good concept for a burger, but overdone a little.  I asked for the burger medium and it came out more well done.

The waitress came with the check while I was still working on the burger, so there was no lag time there.  The bill was $10 before tip.  Not bad for a full meal like that.  The service was quick and I was able to make it back to my job in under an hour.  In Good Company has a menu full of interesting items that will make this place worth a return trip. 


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Categories : Burgers, Clarklake, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

1913 Room a Five Diamond Dining Establishment

16 04 2008

A friend of mine sent me a link to this article on WILX’s website today….

A swanky Grand Rapids restaurant is one of only 46 dining establishments in the nation to receive the AAA’s five-diamond rating this year.
For the sixth consecutive year, the automobile club has awarded its highest rating to the 1913 Room, which is inside the downtown Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.
The restaurant is the only five-diamond winner in Michigan.

So, what exactly does that mean? According to AAA, 60,000 lodging establishments are restaurants are reviewed annually and rated on a scale of one to five diamonds. 

One Diamond properties meet AAA’s basic standards for comfort, cleanliness, and hospitality, while five diamond properties are the premier establishments that provide the ultimate in quality and service.

So what I wanted to know is what exactly makes a Five Diamond restaurant.  Having not been to the 1913 Room yet, I don’t have any idea what the restaurant looks like or even what they serve, but  this news has peaked my interest.  There’s a whole list of criteria broken down by rating on AAA’s website.  You can access that by following this link.  For the most part, a five star diamond rating is only acheivable with elegance.  The use of exoctic ingredients and presentation of food comibined with from-scratch cooking make up some of the criteria from the food prep list.  Things like addressing patrons approriately when calling for reservations and calling to confirm those reservations are required by AAA to earn the distinction that the 1913 Room has. 

Congrats the 1913 for it’s sixth straight Five Diamond Rating.  I am now looking forward to a weekend trip to Grand Rapids to check it out and see what exactly makes a Five Diamond restaurant

 


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Categories : Michigan, Restaurant

Penn Ave. Diner

16 04 2008
  • 6031 S. PennsylvaniaPenn Ave. Diner
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-0504
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

When you take the first letter from each word in the name of the Penn Ave. Diner, you get the word PAD.  The Penn Ave. Diner has taken that theme and ran with it.  As you walk into the restaurant, there’s a sign that says “Welcome to the PAD.”  Do you see where I’m going with this yet?  No?  Look at the picture to the right.  See anything there that jumps out at you?  Yeah.  It’s frogs.  Frogs everywhere.  The diner is painted green and adorned with stuffed frogs, ceramic frogs and anything else you can make a frog out of. 

Penn Ave. DinerI picked my girlfriend up at work and we took a quick dinner break at the PAD.  We walked in and waited for a waitress at the front counter.  The waitress came out and asked smoking or non-smoking.  We chose non-smoking which is a pretty small dining room in the front of the restaurant.  There’s a wall that seperates that space from the smoking section, but windows still allow the smoke to sneak through.  The non-smoking side of the dining room is actually pretty big.  I headed back that way to the restrooms and there were quite a few people back there enjoying their meals in the thick, smoky air.  Most of the patrons back there seemed to know each other as converstions extended beyond their own tables.

Dinner was what you expect at little family diners like this.  I chose the Penn Ave. Diner because I was in the mood for a greasy cheeseburger and fries, so that’s what I ordered.  Unfortunately, the sandwich didn’t come with fries.  It came with chips, so I had to order fries and they had to charge me extra.  The burger itself was really good for a diner burger.  They took a little extra time to toast the bun and the meat was a little bit better than a frozen patty.

My girlfriend went with comfort food too and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich.  Like me, she wanted fries instead of chips and added on the extra.  She took her first bite and the look on her face was enough to tell me the PAD passed when it comes to making comfort food.  Both her and my sandwich came with coleslaw as well as the chips.  I don’t really like coleslaw so I passed and my g/f only took a couple bites and didn’t say anything.

Penn Ave. DinerThe Penn Ave. Diner passed the test as a greasy spoon diner.  They didn’t really do anything that made them standout, but most people don’t go to a place like this for something super special.  The bill seemed to be a little high to me coming in at $15 before tip.  I’m sure it was the extra we had to pay for a fry cook to open a bag of fries and drop them in the oil.  It was a quick meal though as we were in and out in about 20 minutes.  The PAD has a unique design and food that satisfies, but doesn’t wow.


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Categories : Diner, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Michigan Workplace Smoking Ban Revision

16 04 2008

I just moved to Michigan from Illinois and at the beginning of the year, Illinois enacted the Smoke Free Illinois Act which is very similar to a law that is being pushed through the Michigan legislature right now.  The Smoke Free Illinois Act bans smoking in all public places including bars, restaurants, and casinos.

I know this is controversial.  I know this borders on constitutional rights, but let me tell you from first hand experience, this is one of the greatest things to ever come out of the Illinois legislature.  I eat out more thanMichigan State Capitol most people, but once this law went into effect, it made dining out so much better.  You could go to a pub after work or for lunch and not have to worry about your suits soaking up that cloud of smoke.  Ther have been some bumps in the road in Illinois.  The disfunctional legislature hasn’t been able to agree on how to enforce the law so all tickets wrote in Illinois have been thrown out so far.  Communities have had to deal with an abundance of trash on the sidewalks.  In my former home of Peoria, the city has stepped up and given the downtown bars cigarette receptacles.  In the first three months I was there, not one bar or restaurant shut it’s doors because of the smoking ban.  Forty miles to the east, Bloomington/Normal (home of Illinois State University) banned smoking in all public places six months before the rest of the state.  Again, not one bar or restaurant closed it’s doors because of the smoking ban.  In fact, a few business have said the smoking ban has actually helped there business. 

“We’re really starting to see an improvement in lunch business and early evening as they’re doing business activities,” said Sully’s General Manager Curt Johnson. And that’s not all.
Sully’s in downtown Peoria is seeing a lot more families too. Manager Curt Johnson says it’s the Illinois Smoke Free Act that’s bringing different faces to his business. Across the River City, Bingo officials say the act is also scoring new players. “We may have some people that aren’t coming out but on the other side of the equation we have some different faces,” said Roger Boswell of the Knights of Columbus.

 With that said, should the State of Michigan ban smoking in bars and restaurants by revising the workplace smoking ban?  HB4163 passed the Michigan House of Representatives on Dec. 5 by 10 votes.  What this bill does is update the bill by striking the provision that allows exemption for “licensed” establishments.  This exemption allowed businesses that were licensed by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to sell alcohol to continue to allow smoking.  The bill has not yet been introduced in the Senate where a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop said he opposed the bill, but would allow a debate on the subject according to the Detroit Free Press.

Of course, the bar and restaurant owners are already on the defensive.

A spokesman for the Michigan Restaurant Association said Tuesday that bars and restaurants should be allowed to set their own policies based on what customers want. More than 5,000 bars and restaurants in Michigan already ban smoking, up from around 2,200 in 1998, Andy Deloney said.

“If it’s what their customers want, their potential customers want, then they’ll do it,” he said

Of course, that’s the same bull I heard in Illinois for a year leading up to ban.  No bar is going to ban smoking on it’s own.  When one bar does it, but the other 200 in town don’t, the bar may as well just close up shop.  When the entire state bans smoking, everyone is on the same playing field. 

I, for one, hope this issue gets taken up soon in the Senate and smoking gets snuffed out in public places.  I remember the first time I walked into a bar in Lansing and the first thing out of the hostess mouth was “Smoking or Non-Smoking” and I just kind of rolled my eyes.  I was finally able to enjoy a night out drinking or a relaxing dinner with my girlfriend and not be assualted by smoke and now I was stepping back into that world. 


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Categories : Michigan

Rendezvous on the Grand

15 04 2008
  • 226 E. Grand River Ave.Rendezvous on the Grand
  • Lansing, MI 48906
  • (517) 853-0300
  • Website
  • Menu

I saw a review for Rendezvous on the Grand in The Hub‘s 2 for $20 feature shortly after moving to Lansing.  We got up early one day and decided to hit Rendezvous for lunch before my girlfriend had to go to work.

We stopped in on a Tuesday afternoon just after the lunch rush.  The place was empty.  The waitress/bartender and the cook were wrapping silverware at a table near the back.  They were very friendly when we walked in and took a table near the bar.  The Rendezvous is located in Old Town which is the hip, artsy part of Lansing.  The decor of the old bank building embodies that spirit.  When you walk in, you walk into a spacious, high ceiling space filled with art deco chairs and tables.  The feature that jumped out to me was the light fixtures.  They took something as simple as conduit and bent it into an art piece.  The lights on the end of each condiut are spot lights that are plugged right into a junction box on the end of each piece of conduit.  There’s an upstairs area with a few more tables and a pool table then there’s a dance floor in front of a stage with permanent stage lighting hanging from the ceiling.

Rendezvous on the GrandWe took a seat near the bar and the waitress came over with paper menus to take our drink order.  Since it was early, we both went with Pepsi’s.  The menu is pretty interesting with salads, sandwiches, and personal french bread pizzas.  I went fairly safe and got the Beefeater sandwich.  The kaiser roll was filled with sliced roast beef, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and bistro sauce.  I left the lettuce and tomato off and went straight for the meat.  The meat itself was nothing special.  It actually kind of tasted like they went to the deli and got some roast beef.  The bistro sauce was interesting and I couldn’t really place what it actually was, but it was good and added some flavor to a sandwich that really wasn’t much more than cold meat sandwich.  The sandwich came with chips and a pickle spear.

My girlfriend got a little more adventerous and got the chicken satay.  The waitress almost accidently talked her out of it because it’s probably supposed to be an appetizer and not a meal, but when the waitress said it came with mashed potatoes, she figured it could be a meal.  With this meal, chicken breasts were wrapped in bacon and skewered with green pepper, tomato, and pineapple then the whole thing is drizzled with a sweet BBQ sauce.  The two skewers came beautifully presented on the plate with a drizzling of the same BBQ sauce underneath.  Heck, they even put the BBQ sauce on the garlic mashed potatos.  One bite and she knew that she had made the right choice.  The chicken had a delicious smokey flavor from the bacon and the grilled veggies were a great compliment to the meal.

After we ordered, we realized neither of us ordered fries.  I tracked down the waitress and asked if we could still put in an order.  She said the fryer had been down all morning and she wasn’t sure if it was hot enough to actually cook the fries.  After talking with the cook, she came out and apologized that the oil wasn’t hot enough.  A few minutes later, she came back and said the oil had warmed up, so we went ahead and told her to fry some up.   The cook came out 5 minutes later with an order of fries.  Nothing special here, but I really like the way the staff handled it.  Most places would have just tried to pass off the fries as cooked, but these two were not going to serve something that wasn’t done right.  The first couple my g/f bit in to she said were a little under done, but I didn’t notice.

We picked Rendezvous because of the claim the Lansing State Journal made about two meals under $20.  As promised, this meal came in under the $20.  With tip, we paid $17 and made it in and out with enough time to spare to walk around Old Town.


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Categories : Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Old Town, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Uncategorized

Clara’s Lansing Station

14 04 2008
  • 637 E. Michigan Ave. Clara's Lansing Station
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 372-7120
  • Website
  • Menu

Wow!  That was my first thought once walking inside Clara’s Lansing Station in downtown Lansing.  We knew just from looking at the outside that the restaurant was an old train depot, but had no idea the care that was taken to preserve that charm inside the building as well.  The first thing you see when you walk in is a waiting room.  There are are old benches and a lot of railroad artifacts just in this room alone.

Next, you walk up a ramp into the main dining room.  You’re greeted at the door by the hostess then shown this massive three level dining space.   My girlfriend and I stopped in for an early dinner on Sunday night.  We were shown to a booth on the first level of the dining room near the rear of the restaurant.  Just behind from us was the steps that lead to an upstairs level.  To the right were the stairs that lead to an balcony level.  If that isn’t enough for you, there’s also an old dining car connected to the building that was being used for a party.  The decorations are gorgeaus.  The windows are stained glass.  The wood is distressed dark woods.  There are chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and paitings adorn the walls.  You get the feel that Clara’s is a find dining establishment, but the atmosphere is cozy and casual.  Waiters walk around in shorts and ball caps and the menu is full of sandwiches and dining car favorites.  A real interesting feature is the soundtrack.  Yes, the restaurant has a sound track.  I have to admit, both my girlfriend and I were competely fooled.  There are tain noises piped into the building.  Some of them sound like you’re in the car, but others make it sound like there is a freight train or Amtrack running by the building. 

Clara's Lansing StationThe place was gorgeaus, but how would the food stack up?  Our waiter came over for drinks.  My girlfriend went with one of their many cocktails.  I had a Pepsi.  The drink menu is just about the same size as the dinner menu.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been handed a menu so thick.  Meals range from burgers to steaks and everything in between.  I went with my new favorite, the Black and Bleu burger.  The half pound burger with Cajun seasoning comes on a Ciabatta roll with blue cheese crumbles and hardwood smoked sugar cured bacon strips.  The waiter said it was a good choice as Clara’s is known for that burger.  The sandwich came with the standard out-of-the bag fries which were crispy and salty, so no complaint there.  The sandwich was delicious…except I didn’t realize it was going to have mayo on it.  The menu doesn’t say anything about mayo and I was really surprised when I took a bite to find that there.  The first few bites it was overpowering and took away from the taste of the cheese, but the more I ate, the more the bleu cheese flavor came out.

My girlfriend got the Califronia Chicken Sandwich.  The chicken is marinated in a fajita sauce then served on  sourdough bread topped with roasted red bell peppers, shredded lettuce, sauted mushrooms, ranch dressing, two avocado slices and melted pepper jack cheese.  She went with the homemade cole slaw as a side instead of the fries.  She could barely put the sandwich down to tell me how good it was.  The neat thing about both dinners, and this goes back to the elegant yet casual theme, is the plates.  I would call them faux china, but they could have easily passed for real china.  It was an interesting choice to serve sandwiches on and added to the aura of the place.

We were both very happy with Clara’s.  It was a nice casual night out, but it felt like more.  The building is beautiful and the huge menu has something for everyone.  If it wasn’t for that surprise on my burger, I wouldn’t have anything bad to say.  Our bill with drinks was $30 and on a Sunday night, we were to get in and eat dinner and still make it home in time to catch The Simpsons.


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Categories : Burgers, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

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