Mid-Michigan Dining

• 2803 E. Kalamazoo St.
• Lansing, MI 48912
• (517) 374-0390
• No Known Website
• Menu

Dagwood's Tavern and Grill on Kalamazoo St. in Lansing.

There are so many places we drive by that I put on a mental checklist of places.  My memory isn’t always so good though.  Dagwood’s Tavern and Grill is one of those places I always think about when we’re driving on 127, but I never think of it when we’re debating where we should eat lunch at.

I was working at the Breslin Center Saturday afternoon.  J was had planned on meeting me for lunch at 3:30.  We got released for lunch break earlier, so I told her to meet me at The Roadhouse Pub.  I walked down there before she was able to get through town, but I found a dark, empty bar.  I had to come up with a plan b.  On my way to Breslin earlier that morning, I got off of 127 at Kalamazoo and again thought to myself, we should eat at Dagwood’s.  As I was walking back towards the arena, I finally remembered that little bar we’ve been wanting to try.

Dagwood’s is located on Kalamazoo St at the US 127 interchange.  It doesn’t look like much from the outside….just you’re neighborhood bar.  I’m much more comfortable in a place like that than I am in a bar where I’m trying to impress someone…..luckily, I don’t have to do that anymore…..good thing cause I was never good at it anyway. 

The "Dagwood's" sign hanging off the building.

We made it inside the bar just as the fourth quarter of the Michigan State football game was starting.  The inside of the bar is really cool.  There’s a row of booths along the wall.  There’s also another row of freestanding booths in the middle of the bar.  There are a few tables situated in the corners as well as the bar itself.  We chose a booth along the wall and settled in to watch the football game.  For a tiny “dive” bar, there are quite a few LCD TV’s scattered around and just about everyone else in the bar was wearing green and white.

There was only one waitress working the tables and she was slammed.  When she went back to the bar to put in a drink order, she noticed us sitting there and came over with menus.  After finishing her other drink order, she came back for ours.  By the time we got our Pepsi’s, we were ready to order.  There’s not a lot on the menu and I was just looking for grease.

J was tempted by the chicken fingers, but ended up opting for the grilled chicken sandwich and an order of fries.  She added cheese and lettuce to the sandwich.  She didn’t say a whole lot about the chicken other than it was good.  She was too excited about the fries.  They were fresh cut and deep fried to a perfectly.  J likes her fries really crispy and these were.  She declared them the best fries in town and I’m not going to argue with her.  I’m writing this a day later and she just said she was craving the fries again.

The entrance of Dagwood's Tavern and Grill on Kalamazoo St.

I ordered the double cheeseburger and got it plain.  I prefer to taste the burger and not condiments.  The cool things about Dogwood’s, and obviously how they keep prices down, is that they serve the sandwiches in just wax paper.  No plates.  No basket.  The waitress brought out the two sandwiches in her hand and the basket of fries.  Originally, I had ordered my own basket of fries, but our waitress asked if we were sure we wanted two orders.  When J asked if they were big, she said yes, so we split a large order.  The waitress was right, the basket was a really good size and only $2.  My burger was delicious.  It was the greasy burger I was hoping for. 

I was shocked when our bill was set down on the table.  It was only $15.  We got a great meal and both of us left satisfied.  Dagwood’s is one of Lansing’s hidden gems.  It’s not a place you would normally think of stopping in for lunch or dinner, but you’d definitely be missing out if you didn’t.  It was a great place to watch a game.  It got really loud every time State did something.  We were sorta watching the game and sorta talking to each other and when Javon Ringer busted loose, conversation was pointless.  We’ll probably go back to Dagwood’s again.  If nothing else, the fries will be a draw.