KFC – S. Cedar

9 06 2008
  • 6600 S. Cedar St.KFC
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-9781
  • Website
  • Menu

I was all ready to fire up the grill and cook myself a nice, big T-Bone for dinner when, for the third night in a row, the Lansing area got pounded with heavy storms.  As I’ve mentioned in this blog before, I’m a former news photographer, so my girlfriend and I grabbed a camera and went storm and damage chasing.  Unfortunately for my T-Bone, the storm came during dinner time, so we needed a back-up plan.  We were on our way home, tired and wet when we remembered the KFC on the corner of Cedar and Pennsylvania.  A few days ago, we walked to Meijer to get some stuff and talked about trying the new Smoky Chipotle Crispy Chicken.  Since it was getting late and we were tired, this was as good a time as ever to give it a shot.

I’m not really a fan of Mexican food, but the one thing I use all the time in my own cooking is chile’s, dried chile’s and chile powder’s.  I have bags of Chili De Arbol and Ancho Chile Powder in my spice cabinet and there’s usually a can of chipotle’s in adobo in my fridge, so I was really looking forward to this chicken. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chains, Chicken, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews

Deluca’s Restaurant

8 06 2008
  • 2006 W. Willow St.Deluca's
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 487-6087
  • Website
  • Menu

Taking my girlfriend out for pizza on a Saturday night….I know. That’s classy.  We were sitting around watching TV and both of us were hungry.  I didn’t want burgers anymore and neither of us wanted to get dressed up for a fancy night out, so I suggested pizza.  I kept reading that Deluca’s has won “Best Pizza….” many times, so we gave it a shot.

Not being really familiar with Lansing yet, Deluca’s took a little while to find.  GPS is seriously the best invention of the last ten years.  We weaved through the neighborhoods until we got back to Willow St.  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but Deluca’s is not what I was expecting.  It’s a really nice building located on the edge of a neighborhood.  The parking lot looked packed, so we got kind of nervous about getting a table.  We parked behind the building and walked back around front.  There’s a little waiting room when you walked in filled with autographs of mostly local celebrities who have eaten there.  After that, there’s a big counter for take out and a hostess station.  Our fears of not getting a table were unwarranted.  The place is huge.  The hostess took us back past the bar to a booth along the wall.  There’s a couple different rooms with booths and tables as well as a nice big bar. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews

Mayfair Bar

7 06 2008
  • 1585 Lake Lansing Rd.Mayfair Bar
  • Haslett, MI 48840
  • (517) 339-3880
  • Website
  • No Menu Online

I had to run some errands in the Okemos area one Saturday and had been looking forward to trying Mark’s Watershed.  Unfortunately, when we got out there, Mark’s looked closed and no one answered when we called.  I kept going down Lake Lansing to turn around and saw a brick building with a sign outside that said Mayfair Bar.  We figured what the heck.  The sign had a hamburger on it, so they must serve food.  We parked in front and ventured inside the dark bar.

When I say dark, I mean dark.  It took my eyes a few minutes to adjust.  My girlfriend just grabbed my arm and told me to find a table because she couldn’t see anything.  The bar is set-up into two rooms with a bar in the middle.  We found a booth near the bar and right on the dance floor.  There was just one waitress/bartender working the whole room.  She noticed us right away and came over with menus.  There’s not a whole lot of options.  Some hamburgers, appetizers, and sandwiches.  Some of the appetizers looked really good.  Fried ravioli.  Fried mac ‘n cheese wedges.  Some really unique options for a bar like this. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bar, Burgers, Haslett, Local Flavor, Reviews, Sandwiches

Carlin’s Catch

6 06 2008
  • 1979 Aurelius Rd.Carlin's Catch
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-4020
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

I wasn’t planning on eating out, but an outbreak of severe weather late in the afternoon kept me glued to my scanner and Accuweather.  Being a former news photographer, I’m a weather junkie.  I’m still learning my way around Mid-Michigan, so it was hard trying to keep up with where the spotters were located, but that adrenaline that used to flow everytime the storm clouds built up started flowing again.  Because of that adrenaline, I wasn’t able to concentrate on cooking dinner.  My girlfriend called about the time she normally comes home and said she wasn’t going to be able to make it home for dinner so I figured, screw it, I’ll eat out.  I heard about Carlin’s Catch by reading about it on another blog.  It’s fairly close to my place so I jumped on Cedar St towards Holt. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Chicken, Holt, Local Flavor, Reviews

Mancino’s Pizza and Grinders

5 06 2008
  • 6520 S. Cedar #4BMancino's Pizza and Grinders
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 887-6300
  • Website
  • Menu

I’m going to try not to confuse you, but I’m still a little bit confused myself.  Growing up, my family would always eat at Mancino’s Pizza and Grinder’s in Bradley, IL.  I loved the sandwiches.  So, is this the same Mancino’s?  I’ve been searching the net for days and can’t come up with a good answer.  There’s no corporate website that links the two together.  I found another Mancino’s website that lists the Mancino’s on Clippert and that one is linked Samuel Mancino who is from St. Clair Shores, MI and started this concept for a store.  This website doesn’t list either the store on S. Cedar or the two in Bradley that I’ve always eaten at.  To make things even more confusing, there is a chain called Bellacino’s Pizza and Grinders which had stores in Peoria, IL where I lived the last five years.  Bellacino’s had the same menu and made the exact same sandwiches that Mancino’s did, but there is no Bradley store listed on their website either.  On their franchise info page, they say that the recipes are those of Samuel Mancino.  So, are all these stores related?  I still have no freakin clue………… Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Lansing, Pizza, Reviews, Sandwiches

City Limits Sports Grill

1 06 2008
  • 801 N. Cedar St.City Limits Mason
  • Mason, MI 48854
  • (517) 244-1090
  • Website
  • Menu

City Limits was a recommendation from an avid reader and one of my girlfriend’s interns.  We were sitting around after spending all day being a tourist in our own town debating about what to do for dinner.  I didn’t really feel like cooking, so we decided to go out.  We hopped in my truck and headed down Cedar Street to Mason.  City Limits sits just on the other side of 127 inside the Mason Bowling Center.  The parking lot looked pretty full when we pulled up.  Then it hit me.  Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals had just started. 

We went inside and there was a hostess station at the door, but no one was there.  We didn’t know if we should wait or just sit down.  Finally a waitress noticed us and told us to sit wherever we would like.  The dining area is divided into a smoking and non-smoking space.  The non-smoking is down a couple stairs into a big, open room filled with tables, dart boards, and, of course, big screen TV’s.  We chose a booth along the wall near one of the huge projection TV’s.  I wasn’t super interested in watching the game, but that didn’t matter.  You can’t look up without seeing a TV somewhere.

It must have just been our luck that particular day.  Everyplace we ate we had a wait.  It took five to ten minutes before our waitress finally noticed us sitting there.  Once she did, she brought menus and got drink orders.  Saturday night is a margarita special, so my girlfriend got a strawberry margarita.  I wasn’t in the mood for alcohol so I just got a Pepsi.   The menu was full of the traditional sports bar fare.  There were burgers, pizza, salads, and chicken sandwiches on the menu, but the interesting thing was the grinders.

When I lived near Kankakee, IL, we always used to go to a pizza place called Mancino’s Pizza & Grinders (I’m still trying to figure out if the Mancino’s here in Lansing are the same thing), so we had Grinders all the time growing up.  My girlfriend had never heard the term before and was a little surprised when I got my sandwich.  I went with the half pizza grinder.  The seven inch sandwich was topped with pepperoni, ham, banana peppers (according to the menu anyway.  I didn’t taste or see them on the sandwich), mozzerella cheese and pizza sauce.  It’s like a little mini-pizza in sandwich form.  It was delicious.  I almost wish I got the full sandwich because when I was done, I wanted to keep eating.  It’s not quite the same as Mancino’s, but this one had a unique flavor with the ham.  For an extra buck, I added fries to my sandwich.  They were just typical fries…nothing special.

My girlfriend got the Southern Fried Chicken Salad with Buffalo Chicken tenders.  Again, they have the option of a half or full salad.  She asked the waitress what the size of the half was, but didn’t get a really good answer, so she ordered the full salad just to be safe.  The salad came with a bed of fresh lettuce, jack cheddar cheese, tomatoes, red onions, bacon and buffalo chicken tenders.  The chicken was hot and there was a lot of it.  Almost enough to make that a meal on it’s own.  She passed a few pieces of the chicken over to me and it really tasted like a boneless chicken wing.  She said the chicken was as hot as she likes buffalo wings and any hotter would have ruined the salad.  Her only complaint was the red onions.  They were stronger than she likes, but that’s a personal preference when it comes to onions.  Neither of us are big onion fans and there’s always the hope they won’t overpower the other ingredients.  With all the chicken, she probably finished about half the salad.

City Limits is a great space.  Yes, it’s a sports bar, but the design allows it to be a family friendly atmosphere as well.  The table next to us was a family with four kids.  They had a couple pizzas and all eyes were glued to the TV’s.  My girlfriend said her eyes got really dry from the smoke, but I didn’t notice it until we were leaving.  I think someone opened the door to the bowling alley a little too long and a huge cloud of smoke rolled in, but she said it was there the whole time.  We both LOVED the food.  My sandwich was delicious and something you can’t get at a lot of places.  We both left stuffed and only paid around $20.  Even with the crowd for the Red Wings game, our server was there when we needed her after the initial wait.


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Categories : Bar, Mason, Pizza, Restaurant, Reviews, Sports Bar

Kelly’s Downtown

31 05 2008
  • 203 S. Washington Sq.Kelly's Downtown
  • Lansing, MI 48933
  • (517) 484-5007
  • Website
  • Menu

My girlfriend and I were checking out the city courtesy of the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitor’s Bureau “Be a Tourist in Your Own Town” (which is an incredible event and I would definately recommend you check it out next year.)  Around lunch time, we made it downtown and decided to hit up Washington Square for lunch.  At first, we stopped into Tavern on the Square, but the menu kind of sucked.  There were no sandwiches and it was pretty expensive.  We were just looking for a quick lunch so we could keep touring the town.

Across the street sat Kelly’s.  So we got up and left Tavern on the Square and crossed the street.  There was a patio outside, but we chose to go inside and found a table near the front of the shop.  There’s a huge bar in the middle of the space with seating all the way around.  We sat down and waited five to ten minutes for the lone waitress/bartender to even acknowledge us.  She yelled across the bar to get our drink orders then a bus boy actually brought them out.  After a few more minutes, she yelled across the bar to take our order as well.

My girlfriend got Kelly’s Thatsa Wrap which is listed as vegetarian, but offers options to add grilled chicken which she did.  The wrap comes standard with tomatos, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and mushrooms inside a flour tortilla.  Besides the chicken, she got ranch on the side and added fries to her order.  She seemed to really like the wrap and had some fries left over for me.  She said the cucumbers were a good addition changing the texture and the flavor of what you usually expect in a wrap like this.

I got the Bear Burger.  It was a 1/3 lb sirloin burger with crumbled bleu cheese and bacon.  The burger was obviously a frozen patty.  It was really greasy.  I picked the sandwich up and it was wet.  At first, I was afraid it wasn’t done.  There was a puddle of grease on the bottom that I almost mistook for blood.  I bit into it anyway and it was done, but it was really greasy.  Fortunately, the bleu cheese covered most of that up.  I did a double check just to make sure there was bacon on there.  It kind of got lost in all the wetness.

After the initial delay in getting to us, the waitress did a much better job.  Our drinks never got empty and she got the check to us pretty quickly.  For the two of us, it was about $20, but we ended up spending more time in the restaurant than we really wanted to.  Really it was only about forty minutes, so it’s not terrible and normally I wouldn’t complain.  I’ve read a lot of good reveiws about this place, but it didn’t do anything for me.  My burger wasn’t very good and places like this I usually expect more.  I just haven’t had much luck with the downtown restaurants yet.  I’m still looking for that place near the Capitol that is worth getting in the car and paying parking for.   Kelly’s would probably be a great night spot, but for lunch, it just didn’t do anything for me.


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Categories : Burgers, Dive Bar, Irish Bar, Lansing, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Taco Bell – S. Lansing

31 05 2008
  • 5634 S. Cedar St.Taco Bell
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 393-8639
  • Website
  • Menu

Ah, Fourth Meal.  My girlfriend came home from work and said she was hungry.  What a coincidence because I’m always hungry.  We debated for about ten minutes about where to go.  There’s a White Castle, Tim Horton’s, and Taco Bell pretty close.  For some reason, we both craved taco’s so Taco Bell won out.

Like most fast food, it has been year’s since I’ve eaten at a Taco Bell.  In Illinois, I always went to a chain called Taco John’s.  Tuesday’s were Taco Tuesday where taco’s were half price, so that was about the only time I ate fast food taco’s.  Anyway, back to Fourth Meal.  It was after midnight so only the drive-thru was open so we got in line.  Taco Bell is a pretty popular place that late at night.  There were probably five or six cars in front of us, but the people working inside were pretty efficient in getting people through the line.  We didn’t sit in line more than five minutes before ordering.

I stuck to something simple and just got four hardshell tacos.  Like most places, the tacos are really simple with just beef, lettuce, and cheese in the shell.  I’ve always thought Taco Bell’s tacos were a little dry and that’s why I don’t usually go.  These were that way too, but it really hit the spot that late at night.

My girlfriend got a softshell taco, a small nacho, and a Strawberry-Mango Fruitista Freeze.  The softshell taco was just like mine….but with a softshell.  The nachos are just…well, nachos.  The chips came with a cup of cheese on the side.  The Fruitista Freeze are kinda like a fruit smoothie.  All the advertisements show a mango smoothie with a layer of strawberries on top.  What she actually got was a mango smoothie with a dollop of strawberry on top.

Taco Bell served it’s purpose.  We didn’t order enough food beause we were both still hungry, but that late at night do you really want a big meal?  Since there are no Taco John’s that I know of in the Lansing area, I’m sure we’ll hit Taco Bell more often.  Again, not my first choice, but it’s not horrible either.  It’s one of those “you know what you’re gonna get” places and that’s not always a bad thing.


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Categories : Fast Food, Mexican, Restaurant, Reviews

Celebration Cinema – Lansing

30 05 2008
  • 200 E. Edgewood Blvd.Celebration Cinema
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 393-7469
  • No Menu Online
  • Website

So, like so many guys this weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing the Sex in the City movie with my girlfriend.  Unlike most guys, we had to go to the midnight showing Friday morning.  I actually suggested it because I didn’t want to waste a gorgeous weekend indoors at a movie.  She loved the idea and so did one of her co-workers so I picked her up from work and the three of us headed over the theater.  We ordered our tickets on-line earlier in the day and even went and picked them up on her dinner break, so once we got there, it was straight to the concession stand.

I had been hungry all night and was really looking forward to movie theater popcorn.  Not sure what they do differently, but there is nothing better than movie theater popcorn.  The menu was a little confusing.  The only thing they had listed behind the counter was combos.  Two pops and a popcorn, one pop and a popcorn, etc.  There was a video menu on the counter on the other side of their registers but it was moving so slow I didn’t want to sit there and wait to see what they had.  I just said screw it and went with the super combo which was a super bucket of popcorn and two large pops.  At first, it seems expensive at $13.50, but when you break it down, it’s really not all that bad.  There was a lot of popcorn and the pops were huge, so had I ordered them seperately, they probably would have all been over $4 if not $5.

Celebration CinemaThe cool thing about this particular theater is a lot of it is self serve.  There is another room just off the concession area.  There are a couple large fountain machines…but even better, there are a couple butter dispensers for the popcorn so you can actually determine how much or how little butter you want with the popcorn.  I don’t do movie theaters that often, so I definately took advantage of that one drenching my super sized bucket of popcorn in butter.  There are also shakers of powdered cheese on the counter.  I added some sharp cheddar to my popcorn.  My girlfriend liked it, but I couldn’t wait to get down a little farther in the bucket to get passed it. 

That large bucket lasted the two of probably a half hour or so…and I was really hungry so I wasn’t eating very slow.  The pop lasted me an hour into the movie then I had to get up and make a quick trip to the bathroom.  There was another fountain outside the theater we were in so I’m assuming that means free refills, but it was one in the morning and there was still an hour and a half left in the movie.  I didn’t want to have to get up again, so I passed on the refill.

I really liked the self service part of Celebration Cinemas’ concession.  It gives the consumer control over the amount of butter in the popcorn and ice in the drinks and it makes drink refills easier.  I’ve been to a lot of theaters and lot of different theater chains and this was the first time I had ever seen this.  A nice to touch.


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Categories : Entertainment Venues, Lansing, Reviews

Turkeyman Deli & Catering

29 05 2008
  • 5021 W. Saginaw HwyTurkeyman
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 327-8300
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

My girlfriend gets her hair cut at Etc. Salon & Spa near the Lansing Mall on Saginaw Highway.  I usually go with her then go shopping to kill time.  After she’s done, we’ll grab lunch and enjoy the rest of the afternoon together until she needs to go to work.  Last time she got her hair cut, I drove into Turkeyman Deli & Catering’s parking lot to turn around.  I thought then it looked like a neat place but didn’t want to eat without her, so I kept going.  We didn’t have time for lunch that day because she had to go to work earlier than usual.  This time, we had time so we made the stop.

Turkeyman is located in a small strip mall kitty corner from the Mall.  Inside the store are about five booths and a small deli counter.  You order at the counter and they get your food up pretty much right away.  We both went with the house special.  The Turkeyman Sandwich is very similar to a pulled pork sandwich.  They take all white meat turkey that has been smoked and pulled off the bone then marinate it in a BBQ sauce.  The pile the pulled turkey onto a whole wheat hoagie bun.  My girlfriend had them add lettuce and shredded cheese while I got my with just the meat.  For another $1.50 each we added a bag of chips and a fountain drink. Our total was just over $15, but our total time in the store was less than fifteen minutes. They were efficient in getting our food and it was so good we plowed through it.

TurkeymanThe turkey was delicious.  The texture was just like pulled pork, but the white turkey meat made it a completely different sandwich.  The bbq sauce was sweet, but not overpowering.  The whole wheat bun was another unique feature.  My girlfriend loved that, but I probably would have been happier with a white roll. This sandwich, even though it was a BBQ deli sandwich, was pretty healthy and it was healthier food that was incredibly delicious.  My girlfriend kept saying over and over that Turkeyman was a “good choice” for lunch.  I just got a bag of Lays, but she got a bag of baked Pita chips.  Something different.

Turkeyman is found all over the area.  In the parking lot they had two giant smokers that are used for fairs and carnivals.  They also have a permanent presence at Spartan Stadium, the Breslin Center, and Oldsmobile Park.  Sandwiches aren’t the only thing on the menu.  You can also find turkey drumsticks, soups, salads, and grilled sandwiches.

If you don’t know it’s there, you’ll probably drive right by Turkeyman.  Slow down, open your eyes and stop.  Turkeyman has taken a unique concept and ran with it.  Everyone can do pork or chicken, but a whole restaurant that survives on it’s turkey is something worth stopping in to.


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Categories : Lansing, Local Flavor, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches, Turkey

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