The Claddagh Irish Pub in Eastwood Towne Centre
My parents had come to town for the final day of Common Ground to see Trace Adkins. After a four hour drive, they were a little hungry and it was still way to early to head to Riverfront Park, so we decided to find a place for dinner. One of our first weeks in Lansing, we went and found Edgewood Towne Centre and noticed an Irish pub on one end. Since pub food is usually a sure bet with everybody in my family, we headed out to Lake Lansing Road for some grub.
Claddagh is a chain of fifteen Irish Pubs located in the midwest with the home office in Solon, OH (you know, “we’re going bowling, so don’t leave her in Solon. Moon over Parma, tonight!” I love Drew Carey 🙂 )There are only two locations in Michigan with the other being in Livonia. It was a beautiful day so we opted for the patio over the dining room. We got a quick look at the inside and it’s a gorgeaous pub. Very typical of what you expect. Lots of dark woods with a huge horseshoe shaped bar in the middle. The really interesting feature was the pub tables located near the bar. They took old whiskey barrels and put a table top on them. I noticed it when we were walking out and I actually went back to take a closer look. It was a really cool idea and added nicely to the overall theme.
The hostess showed us to a table on the patio which sits on the sidewalk in front of the building. The waiter came with drinks and since we had a big night of drinking at Common Ground, we all went with Pepsi’s. The menu has a lot of traditional Irish fare along with pub staples. There were a few sandwiches that looked good, but I went with the Steak Burger billed as “Our Signature Sizzling Steak Burger.” The 10 oz. burger was served on a brioche roll which was soft and flaky and really soaked up the flavor from the bleu cheese and American bacon I had them add on. It was a good burger. Good size and cooked to medium. The bleu cheese had melted just enough to mix a little with the bacon grease which made a little sauce instead of just chunks of cheese. The sandwich came with pub chips which are seasoned steak fries and cole slaw.
My girlfriend ordered the Shamrock Chicken Sandwich which was the other sandwich I was going back and forth about. The char-grilled chicken breast came basted with a spicy shamrock sauce topped with bacon, aged white cheddar, and lettuce on the same brioche roll that I had. The chicken was good but maybe a little over done. The sauce wasn’t too spicy on the sandwich. She said she didn’t any hint of heat at all until she took a bite of the bun without the chicken. The spicy had soaked into the bread and she wasn’t expecting it. Her meal, like everyone elses came with the pub chips and coleslaw.
My dad got The Mongahan Meatloaf Melt. I thought that was an interesting choice, but I’m not a meatloaf fan. I’ll only eat my own. The sandwich is a slice of meatloaf that is grilled and basted with a Guinness BBQ sauce then set on a slice of sourdough bread that has been toasted. The sandwich is topped off with aged white cheddar and onion straws. I know he doesn’t like the taste of Guinness, but he never said anything about the BBQ sauce other than it was good. He orders these open-faced type sandwiches most places we go. He seemed to really like the sandwich. Usually he makes faces when there’s something he doesn’t like and I never noticed it.
My mom also got an interesting sandwich. She ordered the TRLT (pronouced “turtle”). It’s a twist on a classic BLT, but with a slice of turkey. Instead of American bacon, they put rasher bacon on instead (that’s the “R” in the title). The other twist with the sandwich is hard-boiled egg. She was a little leery of that addition at first, but warmed up to it and really liked it. She ended up ordering a lunch special which was a half sandwich and soup or salad. None of the soup sounded good so she went with salad. She asked for french dressing, but the waiter said they don’t have any red dressings, so she went with ranch. At first, I think she was a little worried about the different bacon and the eggs, but it ended up tasting much better than she hoped and she liked the sandwich.
The damage wasn’t too bad. Just about $45 for the four of us. I had heard this place was a little expensive, but I didn’t think so. There’s been places where I’ve paid almost $30 for lunch for two of us. I was expecting over $50. Even being outside, our waiter did a pretty good job of keeping up with drinks even though he did give me my girlfriend’s Diet Pepsi and she got my Pepsi on one round of refills, but that’s an easy mistake and not a big deal. Claddagh is a great bar with an incredible space. The food was good, but I’m not sure if it tops Dublin Square (review HERE). It’s definately worth a second visit and a good place to stop if you’re doing a little shopping.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
My boyfriend and I just went to Claddagh on Saturday night! We had planned on Johnny Rockets because we had a coupon, but realized we wanted something a little nicer for a date night. It was actually my first time going during dinner. I’ve been there a few times for lunch and have always gotten the fish & chips, but I felt the need to try something different. I got the Monoghan Meatloaf Melt and Ryan got the Sizzing Steak Burger, the signature Claddagh way. We both really enjoyed them. The meatloaf sandwich wasn’t the typical meatloaf I expect (which is probably good, because I’m picky about meatloaf), but it had a great BBQ taste, and the sourdough bread was perfect. Most of my co-workers prefer Claddagh over Dublin Sqaure, but they’re pretty neck and neck in my book.
I think they’re pretty close as well. I wouldn’t drive all the way across town to get to Dublin Square if I was near Claddagh.
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