Mid-Michigan Dining

• 7262 Lansing Road
• Dimondale, MI 48821
• (517) 646-0974
• No Known Website
• Menu

Jackie's Diner on Lansing Road in Dimondale.

When J and I moved here, one of the first restaurant recommendations we got was for Don’s Windmill Truckstop in Dimondale.  We ate there one weekend and enjoyed the classic diner setting.  Don’s hit some hard times and the restaurant closed.  In comes Jackie’s Diner.

We’ve eaten at Jackie’s Diner on Pennsylvania and, again, enjoyed the greasy spoon diner aspect of the place.  J and I were out in Delta Township and decided to check out the new place on the way home.

Jackie’s Diner is on Lansing Road in Dimondale in the old Don’s Windmill building.  Not much, if anything, has changed other than the lack of gasoline sales.  We entered the truck stop through the restaurant where we found a sign that told us to wait to be seated.  A waitress took us to a booth near where the buffet is.  She took drink orders right away as we looked over the huge menu.

When she came back with the Coke’s, we were still wading through the large menu.  They serve breakfast all day and that menu alone is daunting.  There are 50 types of pancakes, 20 kinds of French Toast, and 25 Belgian waffles.  J’s more of a breakfast person than I am, so I went straight to the lunch portion of the menu while she looked over the morning food.

What do you know?  Our waitress forgot about us.  She was off folding napkins and gossiping while J and I sat there looking at each other.  Ten minutes or so passed before the waitress came back and apologized for leaving us.  Obviously, we were ready to order. 

Jackie's Diner in the old Don's Windmill Truckstop location.

I ordered the Quesadilla Burger.  The burger had a southwestern seasoning to it then it was wrapped in two grilled flour tortillas with cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheddar jack cheese, and jalapenos.  I left the tomatoes and onions off like I normally do.  I was really looking forward to this sandwich because of the jalapenos.  When I got it, there were no jalapenos.  Damn!  On our last trip to Jackie’s, they screwed up my sandwich there as well.  Still, this was a very tasty idea for a wrap.  The tortilla actually was grilled and warm.  I loved this part of the wrap.  Too often, places pull a wrap out of the fridge, put something hot in and don’t warm or press the tortilla.  This tortilla had obviously been grilled.  It was warm and crunchy.  There was a cup of salsa served on the side.  I thought it was ketchup until J said something.  I put a little on the wrap, but I didn’t want to open it up too much.  The sandwich came with fries which were out of the bag restaurant fries that were nice and crispy.  My sandwich was good, but I really wished it had the jalapenos on it.

J went for breakfast.  She ordered a Belgian Waffle with cherries, blueberries, and bananas.  She also got a side of bacon and some hash browns.  The waffle was a pretty good size and it came with a lot of toppings.  She also got whipped cream on top but she pushed quite of bit of that off to the side.  There was too much.  The berries made the center of the waffle a little soggy, but she ate around the soggy and got the good stuff.  There was so much on her plate she wouldn’t have eaten the whole thing anyway.  She wasn’t wild about the bacon.  She said it had a funny taste.  I didn’t notice anything and I gladly ate it for her.  She really liked the hash browns.  They had a nice crunchy top which she loves.  She finished most of the plate. 

The waitress cleared J’s plate while I was finishing up.  When I was done, we sat again and waited for the check.  It took a little while for her to get there and when she set the check down, it wasn’t added up, so we had no idea what we actually owed.  J threw down a tip and we took the check up to the cash register near the entrance.  A young boy came out from behind the counter and stood there for a second.  He finally said he was the cashier so I gave him the check which he added up and it came out to a little over $17.  I paid in cash becaue I didn’t see anything that said they took credit cards.

To me, the best thing about Jackie’s Diner is that it’s smoke free which annoyed the heck out of at least two different parties when we were in there.  The first one really pissed me off.  These two twenty-somethings came in with a newborn and started bitching about a truck stop being non-smoking.  They’re the reason smoking should be banned in all restaurants.  I feel for this kid because you know both of them lit up as soon as they got back in the car.  The other was a group of older people who walked in with several packs of cigarettes in their hand.  The waitress told them they were no smoking and I thought they were going to leave, but they ended up staying.  I applaud Jackie’s for taking a tough position and going no smoking when they’re the type of place that most people expect to be able to smoke in.

J and I both liked Jackie’s as the greasy spoon diner that it is.  Expectations are low when we go to a place like this, but Jackie’s delivered on greasy diner food.  Sometimes, you just want something conforting and this is the type of place to get it at.