I first heard of Insomnia after watching Unwrapped on the Food Network. Imagine our surprse when we accidently found one near the campus Michigan State University. We didn’t stop in the first time we saw it, but after a meal one Saturday afternoon at Dublin Square we decided to hit Insomnia up for dessert.
The shop is located right on Grand River which is East Lansing’s main business district just across the street from MSU. The shop is pretty small. There are a couple tables against the windows and there’s a counter (made out of Boos Blocks) on the other side. Behind a small sheet of glass, they have samples of their cookies and brownies. In probably the rudest, worst example of customer service, we were greeted by a college girl who probably didn’t want to be there talking on her cell phone. She couldn’t even put the phone down long enough to take our order. The whole time my girlfriend was ordering, she kept the phone plastered to her ear.
We got the Sugar Rush deal. Six cookies and six brownies for $13. Our ordered included three chocolate chunk cookies, one sugar cookie, and two peanut butter chunk cookies. We got pretty much one of each of their brownie choices.
After a few minutes in the kitchen, the server brought out our box of the most delicious cookies and brownies we’ve ever had. We took the box home because there is no way we needed that much sugar right after dinner, but it was so, so hard to put the box away once we got home.
I grabbed a chocolate chunk cookie right away. Even after the drive home, it was so gooey and soft. It was delicious. My girlfriend grabbed the marshmallow topped brownie and said the same thing. There was a nice crunchy crust and the inside was so moist and chewey.
Other than the rude, obnoxious server, Insomnia was amazing. Just sitting here right now I’m having a hard time not getting up and grabbing another cookie. I don’t think they are going to last very long. Insomnia Cookie shops can be found exclusively on college campuses. There are 13 locations nationwide and they all stay up late to feed a late night craving.
So, today, I started out with my homemade piza dough from a recipe I got from one of my friends moms. She used to make homemade pizza for us every Friday and Saturday night. It was definately the highlight of the weekend when I was in high school. It’s a pretty simple, basic pizza dough recipe of yeast, water, salt, sugar, canola oil, and flour. I’ve healthied it up a little bit by doing half AP flour and half wheat flour. It changes the taste a little bit, but nothing bad. I actually think it might taste better. I let the dough rise over night then fired up the grill after running a few morning errands.
Now it was time to cook the pizza. After rolling the dough out and brushing on some garlic butter, the dough rounds when straight on to the grill grates. I had considered using a cast iron skillet, but thought I’d try this. It worked great. The fire was hot enough the dough cooked really quickly. Almost too quickly. I was yelling back in the house to my girlfriend to bring the sauce and cheese. After
only a minute or two, I flipped the dough and started spooning on the sauce. It didn’t take long at all. By the time I was putting on the cheese, I was a little worried that I was taking too long and the pies were going to be burnt on the bottom. At this point, I put the grill cover on for just a couple seconds to melt the cheese. Less than five minutes after I put the raw dough on the grill, I was taking them off. 
So, how they’d stack up to Weber Grill’s? Pretty darn close. The crust had a nice smokey flavor. The cheese was perfectly melted. I add a few spices (oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes) to the sauce and that made for a spicy sauce. This was much, much better than cooking them in an over and it was really quick. It took longer for the coals to warm up. I felt bad about wasting the fire so I grilled some burgers for dinner later tonight and I grilled some pineapple and peppers for my girlfriend to eat. Don’t be intimadated by pizza on the grill. It’s not as hard as you would think it would be. If you don’t make your own down, just buy one of those pre-packaged ones. All the flavor is coming from the fire and it’s totally worth the time and effort. 
Mid-Michigan Dining 
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