Mr. B’s Rustic Tavern

5 07 2008
  • 101 W. Grand Ave
  • Howell, MI 48843
  • (517) 548-5500
  • No Known Website
  • Menu
Mr. B\'s Rustic Tavern

Mr. B's Rustic Tavern - View from across Grand River Ave.

We came to the corner of Grand River and Michigan Ave. and there was this old building with a neon sign that wrapped around the building that said “Mr. B’s Rustic Tavern.”  There were tables outside that were full which is usually a good sign.  We found street parking about a block away then walked back.  Since the outside tables were full, we had to sit inside which really wasn’t a bad thing.  The inside of the tavern is divided into smoking and non-smoking with the bar in the smoking area.  Of course, the little half wall that divides the two areas does nothing to stop the smoke.  They certaintly didn’t falsely advertise with the name of the place.  The whole inside does have that rustic feel.  The floor is old, creaky hardwood and the walls and support beams look like had seen better days.  It gave a really neat, unique feel to the place.  Along one wall was a row of pictures depicting the history of downtown.  Along the ceiling beams were orange neon tube lights.  There were booths along with walls with tables filling the rest of the space.  Near the back of the space was another room with video games.  Plasma TV’s were hung over the bar and in the smoking section of the dining room. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Downtown, Howell, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Leo’s Lodge

2 07 2008
  • 2525 E. Jolly Rd.Leo\'s Lodge
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 882- 3850
  • Website
  • Menu

OK, so I’ve spent our day playing our new Wii.  Before I knew it, it was dinner time and I had nothing laid out or any energy to actually cook a meal.  I went and picked my girlfriend up from work and decided we needed a night out.  I had drove by Leo’s Lodge several times and figured it was time to actually stop in. 

The decor of Leo’s should be pretty obvious from the name.  It’s a lodge.  Very cool rustic feel with a faux log cabing design.  When you walk in, you sort of walk into a small dining room connected to the bar.  There are a few tables and a pool table.  We started to head that way, but my girlfriend called an audible at the last minute and we went over to the other dining room which was no smoking.  We took a seat right in front of a big screen TV.  If we played the stock market, we could have gotten caught up during dinner as they had CNBC on that particular TV.  First thing we both noticed was the chairs.  It was a very cool design with a woven rope seat and back on a rustic wood frame.  Very cool addition to the log cabin feel. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Stanton

Steak ‘N Shake – Edgedwood Blvd.

30 06 2008
  • 540 E. Edgewood Blvd.Steak \'N Shake
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 272-3038
  • Website
  • Menu

I know.  I’m getting bad.  We’ve been going to a lot of fast food chains for lunch recently.  It’s not that there aren’t places we want to go, it’s just that we’ve been lazy.  We’ll be laying on the couch watching The Price Is Right and one of us will say “I’m hungry.”  Since my girlfriend needs to get ready for work, we really can’t drive somewhere and have a sit down meal, so we debate for twenty minutes on which greasy fast food we want.  Today, we were almost decided on Wendy’s when I said “Hey, what about Steak ‘N Shake?” 

Steak ‘N Shake is one of the few places that make me think of home in Eastern/Central Illinois.  Growing up, the 24-hour options were either Denny’s or Steak ‘N Shake.  I didn’t really like Denny’s.  While living in Central Illinois, I grew more found of the place because of it’s history.  The original Steak ‘N Shake was in a gas station in Normal, IL (the home of Illinois State University), so there were Steak ‘N Shake’s all over the place.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Burgers, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

White Castle/Church’s Chicken – S. Cedar

27 06 2008

I hate White Castle.   That’s not necissarily a slam on the business.  I just don’t like thier slyders.  I’m not a huge onion fan and I really don’t like them on or in my burgers.  I’m well aware that people travel hours just to get to a White Castle, but I’ve never bought into it.  So when my girlfriend said she wanted something greasy for lunch, I was kind of surprised that she said White Castle.  I went along with it because this particular location also has a Church’s Chicken.  I figured I could get some chicken and she could get whatever greasy concoction her heart desired. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Burgers, Chicken, Fast Food, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

Benson’s Vinaigrettes

26 06 2008
  • 940 Elmwood Rd.Benson\'s Vinaigrettes
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 703-9616
  • Website
  • Menu

Boy, did we stumble on to something great here.  I drove by Benson’s Vinaigrettes last time my girlfriend got her haircut and said next month, that’s where we were going to eat lunch.  I found their website and was a little worried that I wouldn’t be all that thrilled with it.  I knew my girlfriend would love it and it’d be a nice change from all the bars and pizza joints I bring her to. 

Benson’s is located just behind the Lansing Mall.  It’s a really nice looking building from the outside with a LCD board underneath their sign that displays today’s entrees.  Inside, Benson’s reminds you of a deli.  The place is much bigger than it looks.  You walk through the dining room and get in line.  All of today’s food is on display in cases.  The menu is constantly changing.  You can get salads and wraps everyday, but that days entrees won’t be there tomorrow.  All the food is fresh and homemade.  The chef was standing in the dining room making sure everything was running smoothly.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Cafe, Lansing, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

Troppo

25 06 2008
  • 101 S. Washington Sq.Troppo
  • Lansing, MI 48933
  • (517) 371-4000
  • Website
  • Menu

My girlfriend had a meeting at City Hall this morning and I tagged along to help her out.  The meeting ended just before one o’clock and both of us were hungry, so we decided to try another downtown place.  After two bad experiences, we finally had a good one with The Firm (review HERE), so why not try again.  From City Hall, I could see the sign for Troppo and that’s been on my list of places to try.  We moved the car a little farther down Michigan Avenue and made our way in for lunch.

Troppo can be kind of intimidating for the casual diner.  There’s a massive sign on the upscale building on the corner of Michigan and Washington Sq clearly marking the establishment.  You walk into a lobby area before you run into the hostess.  Beyond the hostess stand and thru a curtain, you enter the main dining room.  The space is gorgeaus.  Red fabrics and a deep brown wood are highlighted by vintage photos of Lansing and small chandeliers.  We were seated near the windows which look out to the terrace which has a beautiful view of the Capitol.  From our table, the view was the roundabout and the Comerica Bank Building.  Interesting thing about that building is the writing carved into the stone.  It looks like it used to be the City National Bank and there’s a huge inscription claiming to be the oldest bank in Lansing. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Downtown, Fine Dining, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

The Firm Food & Spirits

23 06 2008
  • The Firm227 S. Washington Sq.
  • Lansing, MI 48933
  • (517) 487-3663
  • Website
  • Menu

Finally!  In our third attempt at eating at a downtown restaurant, we finally had a pleasurable experience.  Last week at the BWL Chili Cook-Off, we grabbed a $5-off coupon from The Firm’s booth.  It’s been a couple weeks since we’ve been grocery shopping, so there’s not a whole lot of food left in our cupboards.  Instead of shopping this morning, we decided to just head out for dinner.  When I got in my truck, I noticed the coupon still sitting in the console, so that’s where we went.

The Firm is located on Washington Sq in downtown Lansing.  We stopped in on a Monday night for dinner.  The place was deserted.  There was a sign that said wait to be seated.  The bartender noticed us and seated us at a booth in the dining room.  The dining room is a pretty good size with a row of u-shaped booths along the walls with tables in the middle.  There’s a cut-out in the wall that lets you see into the bar.  I spent most of the meal watching the two LCD TV’s above the bar that were showing the College World Series. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Downtown, Fine Dining, Lansing, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews

Frankie’s Beef, Pasta & Catering – Oak Lawn, IL

23 06 2008
  • Frankie\'s Beef5721 W. 95th St.
  • Oak Lawn, IL 60435
  • (708 ) 423-4444
  • Website
  • Menu

I love Italian Beef and there’s really only one place in the world to get it.  Italian Beef is a Chicago specialty.  Other places will try it, but the only places that get it right have roots in the Windy City.  My girlfriend and I did some grocery shopping for a cook-out we were going to later that night and needed to find something quick for lunch.  Her family eats at Frankie’s quite often and she knew it would be something that would be right up my alley. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicago, Chicken, Italian, Oak Lawn, Restaurant, Reviews

White Palace Grill – Chicago

23 06 2008
  • White Palace Grill1159 S. Canal St.
  • Chicago, IL 60607
  • (312) 939-7167
  • Website (not working)
  • Menu

Guy Fieri let me down.  That’s painful to say out loud.  My girlfriend and I first heard of the White Palace Grill in downtown Chicago on an episode of Diner’s Drive-In’s and Dives about 24 hour diners.  I was working in Chicago this past weekend and since my girlfriend’s parents live in a Chicago suburb, she decided to come with me and take a long weekend.  We left Lansing around midnight on a Thursday night and got to Chicago a little after two a.m.  We took a detour into the city instead of just heading to her parents.  We’ve been to a handful of places featured on Triple D including two others in Chicago and figured if Guy went there, it must be good.  We were wrong.  Really, really wrong.

White Palace Grill is located just south of the Loop on Roosevelt and Canal Streets.  According to a friend of my girlfriend’s, venturing into this neighborhood at this time of night five years ago would have been scary.  It wasn’t quite a walk in the park now, but it wasn’t really bad.  We parked about a half a block from the diner and walked back.  There’s a huge mall with a lot of high end stores right next door.  The scary thing was all the people just loitering in the street and around the restaurant.  We made our way to the front door and someone behind the counter acknowledged us and told us to sit where we want.  There are two dining rooms.  When you first walk in, there’s the traditional diner setting with a counter and a row of booths along the wall.  Keep going back and there’s more of a dining room with tables and booths.  We sat in the front dining room in a booth along the wall.  The menus were already on the table, so we grabbed a couple and started looking over them.  A bus boy came by with water and wiped the table down.  After that, it was quite a while before a waitress noticed us.  This was just the start of possibly the worst service we’ve ever gotten at a diner. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : 24-Hour Diner, Chicago, Restaurant, Reviews

Arby’s – S. Lansing

18 06 2008
  • 6035 S. Cedar St.Arby's
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-1619
  • Website
  • Menu

Arby’s is my guilty pleasure.  I know I give chains a hard time on this blog, but if there’s one fast food place I could eat at everyday, it would be Arby’s.  Growing up, Arby’s was always a treat because it does tend to be a little more expensive than a Wendy’s or McDonald’s, but the food is soooooo much better.  Now, it’s about the only fast food I eat at regularly.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Arby’s on South Cedar is the old sign out front.  There was one store in my last town of Peoria, IL.  I think we did some research and found out there’s only a handful of these old signs left.  The old sign sits in front of a more modern building.  I let my girlfriend talk me into going through the drive-thru.  I HATE drive thru’s.  I can never understand the person talking to me and I feel like they always get something wrong because they can’t hear me.  I did it anyway because neither of us were totally awake yet or dressed very well, but we needed lunch. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

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