Mid-Michigan Dining

• 350 Frandor Ave.
• Lansing, MI 48912
• (517) 336-0717
• No Known Website
• Menu

Tripper's Sports Bar and Grill in the Frandor Shopping Center

I’m a little surprised I had never heard of Tripper’s before this past weekend.  On Saturday, we were at Frandor to check out the Linens ‘n Things going out of business sale and I noticed a sports bar on the other side of Frandor.  This afternoon, J and I realized we haven’t eaten out since Saturday, so we decided to go for lunch.  I had a hard time getting out of bed and by the time J pushed me out, it was afternoon.  I was a little worried we’d be pushing it to get her back in time to get ready for work, but it turned out not to be an issue.

Tripper’s is located in the Frandor Shopping Center right next to Olga’s kitchen.  For a Thursday afternoon, Frandor was packed.  I was surprised at just how many people there were.  The traffic was bad and it was hard to find a parking spot.  I finally found one somewhat near where we were going.  We walked back to Tripper’s.  When we entered the building, we were met with a long hallway back to the bar.  The host met us about halfway and asked if we wanted smoking or non-smoking.  We, of course, didn’t want to sit in a smokey bar.  The host took us the rest of the way down this long hallway, past the pool room and poker room to the non-smoking dining room.  Once you get to the back of the bar, there are two rooms.  One is the actual bar area which is set up and lit like a normal bar.  To the right of the hallway is the non-smoking dining room which is more like a typical restaurant with regular tables and more lighting. 

A waitress came over for drinks.  We ordered our Cokes and I actually got a regular Coke this time.  That hasn’t happened in a while even though I keep ordering it.  When it came time for lunch orders, I spotted my sandwich right away.  Even though Tripper’s has a really big menu that would satisfy any palette, I barely looked it because I found a Black and Bleu burger on the menu.  My burger came with bleu cheese piled on top.  There was no missing it and I got a good chunk of cheese in every bite.  The sandwich also came with lettuce and tomato which I pulled off.  The bleu cheese is the only flavor I want on this particular burger.  A mound of steak fries were served on the side.  Not usually a fan because steak fries get really potato-y tasting.  However, Tripper’s seasoned these fries really well with what I believe was just salt and pepper, but it added a really great taste to the fries.

J ordered the Chicken Wrap.  The menu was even bold enough to say this wrap was not for wussies (their words, not mine).  After ordering, the waitress asked J is she knew the wrap was hot.  She said she did and that’s what she wanted.  The tortilla came filled with crispy chicken that had taken a bath in hot sauce, lettuce, onion, cheese, and ranch dressing.  The chicken was so hot it made her nose run.  She said she liked it, but had a hard time eating it.  Besides being hot, the dressing made everything soggy.  The lettuce got soggy which made the tortilla soggy which caused a lot of dripping and falling apart.  She about half of each side of the wrap before getting full.  The chicken was hot, but not blazing hot.  It was just about right for her.

Our bill was just over $21.  The pops were $2 a piece which is a little higher than most places charge.  The food was good as was the service.  The dining room was pretty full when we walked in and the waitresses were hustling to get everyone in and out within a reasonable time.  Our entire meal probably only took a half hour.  The food was out quick and everything was hot…even the fries which you could tell where fresh out of the fryer.

The thing that really surprised us about Tripper’s was the size.  The pool room next to the non-smoking dining room was huge.  There were at least half a dozen tables.  On the other side of the hallway was a massive poker room.  There had to be over two dozen tables.  No one was playing at the time, but it looked like they could have some pretty big poker tournaments.  J noticed the smoke even in the non-smoking dining room.  She’s got a good nose.  Mine is usually stuffy so I don’t smell that well and I didn’t notice any smoke, so it wasn’t really overpowering like some places. 

Tripper’s was a good choice.  We’ve been to quite a few sports bars since moving to Lansing and I don’t think we’ve found one yet that we didn’t like.  The food was good, the service was good, and it was an interesting space.