Don’s Windmill Truckstop

27 04 2008
  • 7262 Lansing Rd.Don's Windmill Truckstop
  • Dimondale, MI 48821
  • (517) 646-6752
  • Website
  • No Menu Online
  • Don’s Windmill is now closed.  To see the place that replaced it,
    CLICK HERE

Don’s was a suggestion of one of my girlfriend’s co-workers.  We both like greasy spoons anyway and both have fond memories of truckstops from our pasts, so on our way to Horrock’s one Sunday, we took a little detour to Don’s.

The truckstop is exactly what you expect.  It’s kind of run down and not at all fine dining.  There’s a lunch counter with little coin operated TV’s then booths spread throughout the remaining space.  We just missed the breakfast buffet, so we showed ourselves to a booth in the non-smoking section and started looking over the menu while we waited for the waitress.

Don's Windmill TruckstopWe both got pop’s while we looked over the huge menu.  They do breakfast all day and offer some unique items like veal parmigana while making sure not to stray too far from what makes truck stop food great.  I ordered the Pepper Jack Cheeseburger.  The burger is a 1/3 lb frozen patty topped with a slice of pepper jack cheese served with coleslaw on the side and crinkle cut fries.  I don’t expect a whole lot when it comes to these types of places and I got exactly what I expected.  The meal was not great by any standard, but it was comforting and brought back memories of late night drunkeness in college.  There’s just something about a greasy diner burger and salt that’s comforting to me.

My girlfriend ordered the Gigantic Grilled Cheese sandwich.  Here’s a situation where Don’s went a little bit above expectations and served a grilled cheese with Texas Toast.  Like me, the memories of truck stops out west came rushing back.  She said her grilled cheese was delicious and appreciated the Texas Toast over regular bread.  Neither one of us really ate the cole slaw that came with the meal. It’s just one of those things your taught in the restaurant business….you never know when it was made.  She tried one bite just to see if it’d knock her socks off and it didn’t. The fries were a little soggy, but alright.  I salted them up pretty good.  Again, it’s truck stop food.  I wasn’t expecting anything great, but it was filling.

Our bill was just under $20 before tip.  Really, the food was good and exceeded expectations, but not worth that much.  The diner is open 24 hours and that’s what makes it appealing to me.  I love 24 hour places and will most likely be back to settle a late night craving.


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Categories : Dimondale, Diner, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Truck Stop

Dublin Square

26 04 2008
  • 327 Abbott RoadDublin Square
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-2222
  • Website
  • Menu

I found Dublin Square just by searching for restaurant websites in the Lansing area.  Good find.  We pulled up to Dublin Square and almost drove by it.  The building is beautiful. Too nice for a bar in that area.  The building is 70 years old and started its days as the East Lansing Post Office.  A few years ago, the new owners decided to do something different and brought in Irish carpenters to give the place an authentic Irish feel.  The interior of the pub as well as the bar was built in Dublin out of mahogany then shipped to East Lansing.  Everything was put together back here in the states by the same craftsmen who built it in Ireland.

We were met at the door by a hostess who showed us to a table in the main dining room next to where the stage is at night.  A waiter came over and brought us water as we were looking over the menu.  It’s not necissarily the sign of a great restaurant, but it is the sign of a restaurant going the extra mile when the include a lemon slice with the water.

Dublin SquareThe menu is interesting.  I couldn’t decide as there were so many things I wanted to try.  I settled on the Irish  Bacon BBQ burger.  The 1/2 lb. Angus burger came with two slices of “Irish Bacon” (strips of ham grilled on the flat top) and cheddar cheese then it was drenched in a green apple bbq sauce.  Lettuce, tomato, onion, and a pickle spear served on the side next to a cup of green apple cole slaw.  Fries were a dollar more.  The burger was delicious.  It took up half the platter it was served on.  There was a lot of bbq sauce.  Somehow, I managed to let enough drip off then set the burger in it, so everytime I picked up the burger, I was grabbing the sauce.  It was pretty messy, but it was really good.  The green apple bbq sauce was different and the Irish bacon was much better than traditional bacon.  The fries were not very good.  They were steak fries that were not very crispy and actually kind of soggy.  The burger was delicious though and very much worth the price.

My girlfriend got the Smoked Turkey Rueben.  Two slices of pumpernickel were stacked with smoked turkey, swiss cheese and the green apple slaw.  Sauerkraut could have been added for no extra cost, but she’s not a fan, so it was left off.   The smoked turkey was incredible.  She was expecting the sandwich to be mostly slaw with a few slices of turkey, but it turned out to be just the opposite.  There was quite a bit of turkey on there.  So much she took a few slices off and tossed them on my plate.  It really tasted like something I would make at home on the grill.  It was really good.  Her meal also came with a side of the green apple slaw which she devoured.  She didn’t like the soggy fries at all and only ate a couple.  The sandwich was more than enough to fill her up though as neither of us left hungry.

Dublin Square is a beautiful bar and a great dinner spot.  There’s also a huge patio outside and if it hadn’t been so windy, would have been a beautiful spot for dinner.  They have a great menu that goes beyond bar food and beyond traditional Irish food (yes, they do have Bangers and Mash).  The space looks and feels great.  I don’t know if they allow smoking or not, but I know where we were at seemed to be free of smoke.  The atmosphere is great and the food matches the atmosphere.


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Categories : Downtown, East Lansing, Irish Bar, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews

Insomnia Cookies

26 04 2008
  • 603 E. Grand River Ave.Insomnia Cookies
  • East Lansing, MI 48223
  • 877-63-Cookie
  • Website
  • Menu

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.

Insomnia CookiesWe 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. 


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Categories : Bakery, Chains, East Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Tim Hortons

24 04 2008
  • 5625 S. CedarTim Hortons
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-3536
  • Website
  • Menu

So, Tim Hortons is the first chain restaurant I’ve eaten at since moving to Michigan.  It’s a chain I had never heard of before coming here, so we decided to stop in for a quick lunch one day after a morning of shopping.  The chain is based in Canada getting their start in Ontario in 1964.  In 2000, they opened their 2000th store in Toronto, ON.  In the US, their stores are mostly in the northern and eastern part of the country….closest to Canada.

Tim Hortons is a coffee shop and bakery that serves a few sanwiches and soups.  When you walk in, your senses are assaulted (in a good way) by baked goods in glass cases right up front.  Since we were there for lunch, we somehow managed to not give in to desire and just got sandwiches.

I got the turkey bacon club on white and my girlfriend got the same, but on wheat bread.  The bread takes a quick ride through the toaster oven then is piled with turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mustard.  My g/f and I had totally different takes on the sandwich.  The bread was good.  The turkey was good and you could smell the bacon.  We both agreed there.  The mustard was a big point of difference for us.  I thought the neon yellow mustard was way too tangy and I really didn’t like it.  I ended up taking off the bottom piece of bread on both sides of the sandwich and eating the remianing half like an open faced sandwich.  My g/f totally disagreed with me and loved the mustard and thought that it made the sandwich stand out.  I’m kind of glad we both got the same thing just so you can see how different people view the same thing.

We grabbed our sandwiches to go so we wouldn’t be tempted by the sweet treats just inches from us.  The total for two sandwiches was $8 and it only took about 5 minutes from the time we walked in the door.


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Categories : Chains, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Stillwater Grill

22 04 2008
  • 3544 Meridian CrossingStillwater Grill
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-1500
  • Website
  • Menu

I ended up at Stillwater Grill on an interesting night.  Every year, the Michigan State University football team plays a spring football game called the Green and White game.  Each side drafts players and they play against each other.  They also draft local media members to each side.  The winners get steaks.  The losers get beans.  A friend of mine who anchors sports at one of the Lansing TV stations invited me along to meet a friend of his.

SInce I wasn’t part of the bet, I ordered off the menu.  My friend was on the losing team and had a meal of baked beans.  He also ordered the hot spinach artichoke dip to go along with his beans.  The dip comes seved on a platter of tortilla chips.  It’s a pretty large portion and he tore through it like it was going out of style.  He mentioned to one of the other guys sitting at our table that he really liked it when one of the other guys was eating theirs.

I went simple and just got the Stillwater Burger.  I forgot to say “cheese” so it was my fault, but the burger was pretty good without it.  It was a fresh angus beef patty served medium with a side of seasoned fries.  The burger was actually more on the medium rare side than medium.  That doesn’t bother me because I actually think there’s more flavor if the burger is a little pink, but most people are so paranoid about beef they probably would have sent it back.  The fries were really salty.  Almost too salty, but they were fresh cut fries and they were really crispy.

For dessert, they brought out a piece of cheesecake.  The other guys at the table were at desert while we were eating dinner and they were all salivating over the cheesecake, so there’s no way we could turn it down.  The cake met the hype.  It was really good.  Probably the best since the cheesecake I had at Jimmy’s on the Park in St. Louis (review here)

The atmosphere at Stillwater was a “somewhere between Applebees and a shirt and tie place” (my friends words).  There’s a nice big horseshoe bar to the right when you walk in and a large dining to the left.  The kitchen is semi-open as there are windows so you can see into the prep area, but they are high enough you can’t really see what the line cooks are doing.  Another interesting feature is the ceramic giraffe that has a permanent seat at the bar.

My dinner and two pieces of cheesecake ran right around $20.  The rest of the menu at Stillwater looks good and worth a second trip to try out one of their entree’s and a good alternative to the highly commercialized Okemos area.


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Categories : Local Flavor, Michigan, Okemos, Restaurant, Reviews

Ice Cream Joe’s Cafe

20 04 2008
  • 4131 W. Saginaw Hwy.Ice Cream Joe's
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 321-2509
  • No Known Website
  • No Menu Online

My girlfriend mentioned Ice Cream Joe’s to me after seeing it on Eat! Lansing, so we stopped in on a Sunday afternoon before our weekly trip to Horrock’s Farm Market.  The shop is located in a stand alone building right next to what used to be a Fannie May Candy store about a mile from the Lansing Mall.

There was only us and one other guy in the store on his break from the Arby’s across the street.  I went pretty safe and got a Peanut Butter Cup Flurry, but my girlfriend was a little more adventerous.  The ice Ice Cream Joescream is KaleidoScoops! Ice Cream which offer a variety of interesting flavors.  Not one to just settle for plain ol’ vanilla, she went for two scoops of Tootsie Roll ice cream.  She was a little worried that the Tootsie Rolls were going to be hard but that wasn’t the case.  Instead they were crunchy on the outside, but the typical gooes Tootsie Roll in the middle.  The whole Tootsie Rolls were mixed into chocolate ice cream.  As I sit here on the couch writing this, she informs me, we will be going back.

Ice Cream Joe’s has a wide selection of flavors.  That’s not really a surprise at an ice cream shop.  Unlike other ice cream shops, Ice Cream Joe’s also offeres hot and cold coffee drinks.  The price was no worse than most ice cream shops.  For my small Flurry and her two scoops, it cost just under $8.  It was a nice enough day we were able to sit out in front of the store and enjoy our ice cream creations before heading to the market.


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Categories : Ice Cream, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Reviews

Crunchy’s Burgers and Pizza

19 04 2008
  • 254 W. Grand Ave.Crunchy's Burgers and Pizza
  • East Lansing, MI 48823
  • (517) 351-2506
  • Website
  • Menu

I found Crunchy’s by doing a Google search for the phrase “Best Burger in Lansing”  What I got was a link to Crunchy’s Burger’s and Pizza who, according to their website, was voted the best burger in Lansing by the Lansing State-Journal.  We made two trips to Crunchy’s.  The first time, we popped in late on a Friday night because my girlfriend wanted to do karaoke.  It was late so we didn’t get food.  We went back a second time on a Saturday afternoon after we went to a Lugnuts game.

It was also the same day as the Green and White game at Michigan State University, which is right down the road, so the bar was pretty packed by 5:00.  We found a booth located in the room off of the main dining room.  A waitress eventually came over for drink orders and found us a couple menus.  I had to go with the Famous Crunchy Burger.  A 1/2 burger comes with American cheese, lettuce, tomatos and pickles.  So, was it the best burger in Lansing?  It was definately the best burger I’ve had since moving to Lansing, but not the best burger I’ve ever had.  The meat was fresh and very juicy.  The bun was a mega-mart poppy seed bun, so nothing special there.  The sandwich came with chips, but I upgraded to fries and for the second meal in a row, they were fresh cut.  My girlfriend chimed in on the fries saying despite being fresh cut, they were crunchy like the out of the bag ones (which I hate and she likes) usually are.  So for once, we were both happy with the fries.

Speaking of my girlfriend, she went with the Traverse City Cherry Burger.  We had seen this on the menu at a few restaurants here in Michigan, so she decided to finally try it.  The waitress warned her it wouldn’t taste like cherries which must be a misconception to out-of-staters (she saw our drivers license when we ordered drinks).  She it pretty much tasted like a burger, but she did say she probably put a little too much ketchup and mustard on the sandwich because she forgot to order cheese.

Both of us ate for under $20 with drinks.  I was actually shocked when I picked up the bill because I figured it had to be wrong, but it wasn’t  Crunchy’s wasn’t quite everything I hoped it would be.  The burger was good, but not knock my socks off good.  The atmosphere is unique.  Being a college bar, they decided to just encourage vandalism instead of trying to stop it.  Patrons have been writing on the walls, tables, and any other surface with Sharpie’s for quite a while. 


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Categories : Burgers, East Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pizza, Pub, Reviews

Oldsmobile Park

19 04 2008
  • 505 E. Michigan Ave.Oldsmobile Park
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 485-4500
  • Website

Nothing beats a Saturday afternoon at the ballpark, so that’s what my girlfriend and I decided to do.  The Lugnuts were home and the weather was beautiful.  I had been to many games at O’Brien Field in Peoria where the the Chiefs play.  Once at the ballpark, nothing beats ballpark food.

The reason I chose to write a review on Oldsmobile Park is because of the selection of food available.  Of course they’ve got the standard hot dogs and cotton candy, but the first thing I noticed when I walked in was a push cart where a vendor was cooking pulled pork on a flat top.  We go down a little bit farther and there’s another guy doing Philly Cheesesteaks the same way. 

Oldsmobile ParkWe stopped at the pulled pork guy’s stand but all we got were a Pepsi and a Diet Pepsi.  We had just eaten so it wasn’t time for lunch just yet.  Vendors were constantly going up and down the aisles….almost to the point of annoying.  I missed a few hits because I had three vendors following each other down the aisle.  When we finally did grab something to eat, my girlfriend just got an ice cream sandwich from one of those annoying vendors.

I’ve been to a couple different minor league ballparks and it’s usually the same ol’ same ol’ when it comes to food.  More and more places are trying new things and I was pretty impressed with the way the items were set up.  For the most part, all the vendors had their backs to the field, so you could actually watch the game while waiting in line.   Oldsmobile park didn’t have the atmosphere that I’ve grown used to at Midwest League games, but that probably won’t be enough to keep me from going back.  It’s still baseball.


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Categories : Downtown, Lansing, Michigan, Reviews

Barley’s American Grill

17 04 2008
  • 727 E. Miller Rd.Barley's
  • Lansing, MI 48911
  • (517) 882-7297
  • Website
  • Menu

I picked my girlfriend up from work on a Thrusday night for a quick dinner break.  I had drove by Barley’s a few night’s earlier and wanted to check it out.  I figured this was as good as time as any.

Barley’s is a pretty unique bar/restaurant.  When you walk in, you actually walk into a huge pool room.  It’s more of a pool hall feel than a bar.  Take a right and you hit the bar.  Go a little bit farther and you hit the dining room.  Nice, spacious area surrounded by TV’s and cut off from the pool room and the bar to make a nice cozy setting.

We took a booth near the back and got menus.  I had eaten burgers for the last three meals so I wanted something else.  That something else was the Hot Cheesey Italian.  Italian meats piled high on buttered, toasted bread.  Between that was both cheddar and provolone cheese.  This sandwich was surprsingly good.  Little things like toasting the bread just made the sandwich so much better.  The fries that came with it were actually fresh cut and had a hint of a cajun seasoning on them.

My girlfriend got the crunch chicken wrap.  Instead of grilling chicken and putting it in a wrap, they deep fry some chicken tenders, cut them up, and put them in the traditional chicken wrap which also included mayo, lettuce and tomato.  Her complaint with the sandwich was the tomatos.  The chicken was hot and crunchy while the tomatos where cold.  She said the contrast of hot and cold made the sandwich a little difficult to eat, but she made it most of the way through.  Had the tomatos been at least room temperature, there wouldn’t have been any complaints.  Like me, she noticed the fresh cut fries and appreciated the cook taking an extra five seconds.

The damage was $20 before tip.  The food was really good for bar food.  The cook/chef took the extra time to develop a menu that goes beyond grease and wings and developed a diverse collection of favorites.  We accidently stumbled upon Barley’s, but it’s location combined with the great bar sets it up for a return trip


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Categories : Burgers, Lansing, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pub, Reviews

In Good Company

17 04 2008
  • 9039 S. MeridianIn Good Company
  • Clarklake, MI 49324
  • (517) 529-9150
  • Website
  • Menu

I was working near Clark Lake for a couple weeks and I drove by In Good Company a couple times on the way to my job.  Since I had a little time for lunch one afternoon, I decided to head back and give the place a shot. 

You walk into the restaurant and come to the hostess station.  The dining room is seperated into three sections.  Since I was dining alone, they put me in the middle dining room by myself at a table for two.  The waitress came over and brought me a Pepsi then took my dinner order.  The menu at In Good Company is really unique for a diner.  They have exotice things like a Bison Burger and they take someting like a panini and go a little bit farther than the usual diner fare. 

I went with the Only One Burger.  A fresh 1/2 lb angus beef patty is topped with bacon, cheddar, tomato, lettuce, and onion then put on a baked fresh bun.  You get the option of either just ordering the sandwich or ordering a meal which gives you your choice of two sides.  I went with a salad for my first choice.  Just your basic side salad with a Italian dressing.  My second choice I went with fries which are curly fries similar to those you get at Arby’s. 

The burger was a little disappointing.  All the extras made the burger tasty, but the meat itself was dry and In Good Companysorta flavorless.  It was a good concept for a burger, but overdone a little.  I asked for the burger medium and it came out more well done.

The waitress came with the check while I was still working on the burger, so there was no lag time there.  The bill was $10 before tip.  Not bad for a full meal like that.  The service was quick and I was able to make it back to my job in under an hour.  In Good Company has a menu full of interesting items that will make this place worth a return trip. 


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Categories : Burgers, Clarklake, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

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