Mid-Michigan Dining

• 809 E. Kalamazoo Avenue
• Lansing, MI 48912
• (517) 482-8328
• No Known Website
• Menu
• Original Review (4/13/08)

Art's Bar & Grill on Kalamazoo in Lansing.

It’s been almost a year since our first visit to Art’s Bar & Grill.  It was one of the first places we ate at after moving to Lansing.  The building didn’t look like much, but I had heard the food was some of the best in town.  After a little hesitation, we went in and had one of the best meals we’ve had in town.

J’s parents were in town and we needed someplace to eat.  The original plan was to eat in Mt. Pleasant after gambling for a little bit, but we were still full from lunch, so we headed back to Lansing.  We tossed around a few ideas, but eventually settled on Art’s.  I had heard good things about their pizza and we hadn’t tried it yet.  By hitting up a bar, we could get a pizza and J’s parents could get burgers.

We stopped in around 7:00 on a Saturday.  There were quite a few people, but we found a table in the middle of the dining room.  Just like last time, a waitress noticed us right away and yelled over that she would be right with us.  A few minutes later, she dropped off menus while she was taking care of the rest of the dining room.  There were only two waitresses for the whole building and the one we had was working her butt off. 

After getting drinks, the waitress came back to take orders.  J’s mom ordered a burger and soup.  J’s step-dad intially ordered an olive burger, but he didn’t realize what that was until the waitress asked if he wanted ketchup and the olive sauce.  We’re pretty sure he thought and olive burger just had olives on top.  Oliveburgers aren’t something you’re going to see in Chicago.  He also added a salad to his burger.  Both of them came with chips. 

Art's Bar & Grill near downtown Lansing.

J and I went for the pizza.  I noticed they had a thin crust on the menu that came with both mozzarella and cheddar cheese.  I added pepperoni to half of it. 

The burgers came up first and the waitress brought them out to J’s parents.  I told them to start eating…don’t wait on the pizza and let their food get cold.  It was another ten minutes or so before the pizza came up.  When it finally did, the waitress grabbed it then went to grab a stand to put the pizza on.  I could see her bending over to grab the stand and she was having difficulty shaking one lose.  I looked at J and said she’s going to drop our pizza.  Right after I said that, she came really close.  The pizza started to slide off the pan and actually got about halfway off, but she recovered and was able to save it.  She grabbed the stand and we dug right in.

The pizza was awesome.  This is the pizza I was looking for at Izzo’s.  It was a thin crust with a fresh sauce, a lot of cheese, and a lot of pepperoni.  J’s mom looked at it and commented about the pizza being cut in triangles.  On the south side of Chicago, pizza is cut into squares.  The rest of the world uses triangles.  This pizza was a New York style that had just a little bit of crunch on the crust.  You could fold it over and eat it just like a slice a pie from Times Square.  The pizza just had a lot of flavor.  This is one of the best pizzas I’ve had in Lansing.  It’s the slice of pizza that I’ve been looking for for quite a while now.

Neither of J’s parents commented on their hamburgers.  I had the burger last time we ate there and I really liked it.  When all was said and done, J’s mom had half a burger left and there was one slice of pizza.  Our bill was right under $50, but that included four beers and three pops.  The waitress cleared our table and asked if we needed anything else.  We said no assuming she would bring the check, but she let us sit there for another ten minutes before coming back and asking if we were ready for it.  Um….yeah.  That’s why we’ve been sitting here with empty drinks for ten minutes. 

Art’s Bar & Grill is still one of Lansing hidden gems.  Of course all the locals know about it…or at least they should, but it’s not a place you’d ever find if you weren’t looking for it.