Max & Erma's near the Eastwoode Towne Centre in Lansing Township
Another lazy Sunday. J and I were laying on the couch watching a Fox News Channel special about corruption in Illinois. We didn’t learn anything that we didn’t already, but it’s fun to see the rest of the country coming to the same conclusions we had five years ago about the current political situation in Illinois. Neither of us were in much of a hurry to do anything, but my tummy was really growling. I was hungry. We needed to run a few errands, so we just decided to eat out. I asked J what she wanted and she said a nice big salad with dried fruit, nuts, and cheese. That really narrows it down. Nothing was coming to mind.
I went to Google and typed in “Restaurants in Lansing, MI.” I do that a lot for out of town meals because it gives you a list of all the restaurants in town. I started clicking on website links figuring the chain restaurants would have what she was looking for. I clicked on a couple and got a “yeah, those look ok” response. When I clicked on Max & Erma’s I got a “YES! That’s what I want!” Off to Eastwoode.
Max & Erma’s is one of many chains located around Eastwoode Towne Centre. Even though they have several locations throughout the country, I had never been to one nor had I ever seen one anywhere else. J had never heard of it, so I didn’t go in with my preconceived notion that all chains are evil.
Once inside, it was painfully obvious that this was not a local mom & pop place. The place is nice, but it’s decorated the same way every other place is. They try to “localize” by putting up old newspapers, event posters, and jersey’s from local sources, but the main idea is the same. The dining room is separated in to two rooms and those two rooms are separated from the bar by a brick wall. Not an original idea. Still, Max & Erma’s is a nice looking place.
Max & Erma's in Lansing Township
We were seated at a table near the door and right next to a railing that sepeartes the walkway between the two dining rooms. It was fine until someone was seated at the table behind us. At that point, things got a little cramped and I tried to scoot myself closer to the table to give the people behind me a little more room, but the woman who would have sat behind me scooted her chain around to the corner of the table.
Our server was right there to take drink orders. When he came back with our Coke’s, we were ready. I was just in the mood for a cheeseburger so that’s what I got. The choice of cheese is left up to individual taste instead of sticking you with Cheddar. I got bleu cheese. The menu claims the meat is fresh. It might be fresh, but it’s pattied in a machine. When you patty beef by hand, it stays pretty loose. This was a very tight pack I wouldn’t have thought it was a fresh patty. Either way, it was a good sandwich. They put quite a bit of bleu cheese on top and the sandwich was huge. The fries that came with it were seasoned with salt and pepper and they still had the skin on. Again, I don’t know whether they were cut fresh or cut and shipped to the store, but I appreciate the skin on, fresh cut look and taste. The whole meal was really good and much better then I would have expected.
J started of with a cup of tortilla soup. When the server brought it out, we were both struck by the smell. J took a bite and said it tasted like a watered down nacho cheese sauce which, even though it doesn’t sound like it, was a pretty big compliment. The soup was topped with strips of tortilla and in the broth were chunks of jalapeno’s. J really liked the soup. I reached over and stole one of the tortilla strips off the top. I’m not much of a soup eater, but it really was tasty.
Her salad came out with my burger and it was exactly what she was craving. She ordered the Apple Pecan Salad which was a bed of mixed greens tossed with a maple vinagrette and topped with apples, sweet & spicy pecans, dried cranberries, crumbled bleu cheese, and drizzled with a balsamic drizzle. The salad hit the spot. She said it was really good and exactly what she was craving.
Our bill was just over $26 before tip. I think we were both surprised with Max & Erma’s. It looked like a chain, but the food was a little bit better than I expected. The waiter was very attentive. I went through three glasses of Coke. As I was sucking the last sip out of the first glass, he was setting the second glass down on the table. Max & Erma’s isn’t one of those chains you see on every street corner which is reason enough to give it a chance.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
I love Max and Erma’s, even though you say you are not a big soup person I would recommend checking out the Tortilla soup burger. It comes with the tortilla on top of peeper jack cheese with a very small “shot” of the soup, it makes for an interesting combination of flavors.
Max & Erma’s used to have more of an “homey” look, but they changed it about a year ago to fit in more with the rest of the chains. I was bummed at first, but luckily the food has stayed pretty good. We were just there Monday for a co-worker’s lunch. I too got J’s salad, and I have a couple of co-workers who are in love with that tortilla soup. I also like the hula bowl salad they have. And if you’re ever in the mood for sweets, order the chocolate chip cookies. You order them when you order your meal, and they’ll have them out fresh on the cookie sheet right after your food. It’s one of their original menu items before they started looking like a TGIFridays, Applebees, etc.