Mid-Michigan Dining

• 2314 Woodlake Drive
• Okemos, MI 48864
• (517) 347-8810
• Website
• Menu

Frank's Press Box East near the I-96 exit in Okemos.

Yup, it’s Friday again.  For some reason, I get lazy on Friday and don’t feel like cooking.  Today, I had another reason though.  My family is coming to town late tonight and J and I spent all morning cleaning.  I’m a pretty messy cook.  It’s not unusual to find flour or a little bit of cheese on the floor after dinner.  Instead of taking that chance, J suggested we go out. 

A few weeks ago, we went to Applebees in Okemos for dinner.  I chose that location because we J wanted to go to a chain, but being Friday night, it was a good idea to have a back up option just in case.  Tonight, that back up became the main attraction.

Frank’s Press Box East is on Woodlake Road just off of I-96 in Okemos.  Like so many businesses in that area, they don’t have a store front on Okemos Road.  There is a little sign on the road, but it’s easy to miss.  It was a long time before I even knew Frank’s had a second restaurant in Okemos.

We pulled into the parking a little after seven and there were a lot more cars than I expected.  I almost had doubts that we wouldn’t get a table.  I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was expecting what we found.

Frank’s Press Box East is one big room.  When we walked in, there was a pool table immediately to the right and a number of people standing around it drinking.  Behind one of the guys, I saw a sign that pointed to a “non-smoking section.”  I ignored it.  It was one big room.  It didn’t matter where you sat, if there was smoke, it was going to drift.  However, they did have some air cleaners hanging from the ceiling and there were a number of fans that probably helped suck the smoke up.  J’s usually pretty sensitive and the smell wasn’t overwhelming her.  I didn’t even notice if there was any.

We took a seat at a table that was near the bar and near the kitchen.  I figured there was no way the waitress could miss us if she walked by us every time she left the kitchen.  I was pretty much right.  A waitress came out, saw us sitting there and grabbed a few menus.  I looked at the menu before I got there and J found something right away, so by the time she came back with our Pepsi’s, we put in the order.

Frank's Press Box East on Woodlake Road in Okemos.

When we ate at Frank’s in Delta Township, I ordered a burger, so I wanted to try something else.  My eyes found their way down the menu to the pizza section and the Five Alarm Chicken was calling my name almost daring me to try it…so I did. I ordered a 9″ which is about the size of a plate.  I was hoping it would be a thin crust pizza, but it was actually a pretty thick crust.  The pizza was well done which is how I like it. Instead of a pizza sauce, they use a hot sauce which I assume was Frank’s Hot Sauce (the brand, not a house sauce) but I’m not 100% sure on that.  The pizza was topped with mozzarella cheese, jalapenos, and spicy chicken.  For the first half of the pizza, I couldn’t even tell the chicken was there.  The jalapenos and the hot sauce overshadowed everything, but it was a delicious overshadowing.  It wasn’t super hot, but I like spicy.  I do think it would have been way too hot for J.  My only complaint about the pizza was that it wasn’t cut very well,  I had a hard time getting the pieces apart so I could eat them.  I would have preferred a thin crust, but this is easily a pizza I would order again. 

J was a little more predictable and ordered the Bleu Cheese Chicken Wrap.  She actually looked a the pizza too, but we’re planning on eating pizza at Buddy’s in Detroit tomorrow before we take my family to a Tigers game (a little hint about our weekend plans 😉 ), so she went with something else.  The Bleu Cheese Chicken Wrap chicken, lettuce, tomato, and bleu cheese plus a bleu cheese sauce for dipping.  She really liked the bleu cheese sauce instead of a ranch sauce which is a more common way to serve the wrap.  The sandwich came with fries which were done exactly how she likes them.  The chicken had a little bit of a kick to it and she actually had to stop eating because she ran out of her Diet Pepsi.  When the waitress notice and brought us two fresh glasses, she dug right back in. 

Our total was a little over twenty one bucks before tip.  When we ate at the other Frank’s, we had a service problem that sort of hung over the meal.  We had a much better experience at Frank’s East and because of that, the overall meal seemed better.  The food was delicious and it’s a great sports bar atmosphere. 

If you remember my review from Applebees a few weeks ago, you’ll remember how I complained about old people standing in the way and just talking.  Must be an Okemos thing.  Same thing happened tonight just down the block.  As we were finishing up our meal, J looked over at the door and saw a group of older couples standing right in front of the door blocking the only way in and out.  By the time we got our check and paid for it, they were still there!  I tried to open the door like I always do for J and there was no room.  It was really awkward as we both tried to get out.  To make it even worse, we when got there, there were two people standing…..you guessed it…right in front of the door!  As we were walking up, they were starting to say there goodbyes, but one of them was going back in and she kind of stood with her hand on the door and continued talking.  Thus, blocking our entrance.  I don’t get it.  How rude and oblivious to the people around you do you have to be?  I understand if you’re not ready to leave but move away from the freakin door. 

Sorry, again.  Rant over.  Frank’s Press Box East is a fabulous sports bar.  We both enjoyed our food and the service was a lot better on this trip than on our trip to the other Frank’s location.  It’s one of those places that if you don’t know it’s there, you’re not going to happen to drive by and notice it which is sad.  They have good food and a great atmosphere for watching a game.