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

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

Big Boy Restaurant – Okemos

11 06 2008
  • 2221 University Park Dr.Big Boy
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-9570
  • Website
  • Menu

Ah, one day sales.  After being woke up by a lawn mower, my girlfriend and I decided to make a trip to the Meridian Mall in Okemos.  Younkers was having a one day sale and as it turns out, so was Macy’s.  We shopped for about an hour and then started back towards home since my girlfriend still had to go to work.  When we got in the car, she asked about lunch and I said, “What about Big Boy?”  Before moving to Michigan, my only knowledge of Big Boy was gained from watching Austin Powers.  Heck, at first I didn’t even know Big Boy was real.  Funny thing.   Big Boy is real and it’s corporate headquarters are here in Michigan in the town of Warren.  Neither of us had ever eaten at a Big Boy Restaurant so we decided it was time.

I’d seen the sign from the road for Big Boy on the way in, but when we actually went to find the store, it was much harder than it should be.  Big Boy actually sits behind a Sunoco near I-96.  The problem is, if you get to the Sonoco, you’ve gone too far.  So, I made myself a traffic hazard and turned into the Sunoco to turn around and go back to University Park Dr and take a right.  After the turn, we came up on a sign that said “Big Boy” and a very plain looking building.  The trademark cartoon character was nowhere to be found and there was no marking on the outside of the building.  Again, we weren’t sure if this was the right place or not.  If you turn into the first driveway, it actually takes you to the backside of the building, so again, we were confused as to where to enter.  After driving around the building, we found the front and again, no markings until you get to the second set of doors. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Burgers, Chains, Okemos, Restaurant, Reviews

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

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

Dalmation Firehouse Grill

21 05 2008
  • 1107 S. Washington Ave.Dalmation Firehouse Grill
  • Lansing, MI 48910
  • (517) 485-7877
  • No Known Website
  • No Menu Online

I got an e-mail from a reader over the weekend that suggested I try the Dalmation Firehouse Grill on my quest for the perfect burger.  Lance, the reader, called Dalmation’s burgers the “best in Lansing” and “amazing.”  With an endoresment like that, how could I pass?

Dalmation Firehouse Grill is located in REO Town next to the Cadillac Club.  It’s a small diner with a lunch counter and only six tables.  We stopped in for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon and the place was about half full.  The waitress came over for drink orders while we looked over the menu.  They’re only open for breakfast and lunch.  They switch over to the lunch menu at 11 am.  The waitress came back with our Pepsi’s and we were ready to order.

My girlfriend went with the BLT.  The sandwich came piled with bacon, lettuce and a few slices of tomato on white toast with a light spreading of mayo.  The lunch baskets came with fries, a pickle spear and a brownie bite.  While her sandwich was filling, her complaint was the same as mine on the burger.  The bacon was really chewey and not very crispy.  A couple hours later, she said her stomach was rumbling.  She really prefers her bacon way overdone and crispy.  The structure of the sandwich was great as you really got a lot for your money and had the bacon been a little crispier, this would have been the perfect BLT.  The bread was buttered when it was toasted and she said that gave the sandwich even more flavor.  The fries were the out of the bag type and they mixed shoestring and crinkle cut fries for some reason.  They were crispy and cooked perfectly.  The brownie bite was a great addition to the meal for desert.  It wasn’t very big, but the flavor was huge.  It was very gooey, fudgy, and even had chocolate chips in it.

Since the burger was the reason we chose Dalmation Firehouse for lunch, that’s what I had to get.  They had a few different kinds of burgers on their menu, but I chose the bacon cheeseburger.  I finally got what I was looking for in flavor of the meat.  It was a classic diner burger.  It was juicy and cooked perfectly on the flattop.  The cheese was melted almost into the burger and it was topped with a ton of bacon.  Like I stated early, the bacon was really chewey.  The flavor of it was good, but it was hard to eat.  After biting into the sandwich, I had to rip the bacon with my teeth.  I really liked that they put an extra effort into the bun.  It wasn’t just the usual seasame seed bun.  This bun was soft and flaky.  They buttered the bottom of it then toasted it on the grill as well.  It makes for an extra layer of flavor that most places skip on.

The Dalmation Firehouse Grill is truly a neighborhood diner.  The small space makes it cozy and the staff seemed to know most of the people in there at the time.  A couple of the waitresses were sitting at the counter talking to a customer and our waitress was carrying on a conversation with two soldiers who were sitting behind us.  The grill is out in the open so you can watch you meal being cooked.  Thank you, Lance, for the recommendation.  I’m not sure I would have found this place on my own.  Is it the best burger in Lansing?  Well, it’s probably the best I had so far.  The individual components of the burger have by far been the best.  The bacon knocks off a lot of points, but the meat, cheese, and bun combo was incredibly tasty. 


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Categories : Burgers, Diner, Downtown, Lansing, Local Flavor, REO Town, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Chicken Coop

19 05 2008
  • 848 S. Kalamazoo St.Chicken Coop
  • Paw Paw, MI 49079
  • (269) 657-6136
  • No Known Website
  • No Online Menu

I was on my way back towards the Chicago area one day when I needed gas.  I got off in Paw Paw to stop at a Speedway and I noticed a sign across the street.  All it said was “Chicken.”  I looked down and saw a little restaurant that looks like it was a chain store at one time converted into a little chicken shack.  I figured what the heck.  I was hungry and not sure when I’d actually get a chance to eat again, so I stopped in.

When you walk in, you walk up to a counter and order.  The menu is is pretty much chicken and fish.  Off to the right there’s a dining room that didn’t look very inviting.  There’s a few booths then a few tables scattered in the remaining open area.  Behind the counter are the deep fryers so you can see your chicken getting fried.

I ordered the popcorn chicken basket.  You have a choice of a la carte, baskets, and meals (I think that was the word used…might have been platter or something similar…the point is, you get three choices).  Baskets Chicken Coopcome with a side and the meals get the side and a pop.  The popcorn chicken was dropped into the deep fryer when I was standing there, so there was a five minute wait.  It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but that’s not a bad thing.  Usually, popcorn chicken is little bite size pieces.  In this case, they were more like chicken chunks.  The order only came with five pieces which when you think popcorn chicken, doesn’t sound like a lot, but for the “popcorn chicken” that I got, it was actually a pretty substantial meal.  The side I got was fries, but they were what you’d expect.  The cook did take a little extra effort and dump the fries that were sitting under the warming light back into the fryer, so the fries were warm and crispy.

I found an article in the local paper that says The Chicken Coop won’t be at this location much longer.  Pretty soon there will be a Walgreens there.  That kind of sucks for the restaurant. I never would have found it and definately would not have stopped if it hadn’t been located right off the Interstate.  The food was alright, but it isn’t something that’s memorable. 


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Categories : Chicken, Fast Food, Paw Paw, Restaurant, Reviews

Pizza Al Forno

11 05 2008
  • 1943 Cedar St.Pizza Al Forno
  • Holt, MI 48842
  • (517) 694-4175
  • No Known Website
  • Menu

No matter where you live in the country, there’s one place that the locals go for pizza.  There’s one place somewhere that is just a little, locally owned, shop that serves up the most delicious pizza you swear you’ll ever eat.  I haven’t had much of a chance yet to find that place and no one has really been able to offer that information up here in Lansing.  I’ve been getting coupons in the mail for some local places, so I figure it’s finally time to start looking.

The first place I tried was Cottage Inn (review here).  That’s kind of a chain, so not really what I’m looking for.  The next place we tried was a little place called Pizza Al Forno in Holt.  I called the order in at about 6:30 on a Sunday night.  They offered delivery, but I really needed to get out of the house, so I got it for pick up.  We headed down Cedar St through Holt to find a pretty non-descript shop in a non-descript strip mall next to the Edru Skae-A-Rama.  It’s strictly a carry-out place….only a counter and the kitchen inside.  My pie was really reasonably priced.  I got a 16″ pepperoni pizza for just under $11.

Once we got it back home, we didn’t waste anytime digging in.  The menu brags that they use all locally grown ingredients and make their sauce from scratch.  That’s what it looked like to me.  The sauce is put on pretty thick and you can taste the fresh tomatos. There was a kind of a sweetness to it instead of a spicyness that most places shoot for.   It’s not a smooth, blended sauce.  There are chunks of tomatos and you get that in every bite.  The cheese was a nice golden brown and held up on each bite.  My girlfriend called the pepperoni’s “cute.”  Instead of a handful of huge pepperoni’s, there were a lot of little pepperoni’s.  The crust is a thin New York-style crust and sort of chewey.

She wasn’t very hungry and only had two pieces and I didn’t finish the rest of it by a long shot.  Even if she had been hungry, the 16″ would have been enough and there probably would have been a little left.  Pizza Al Forno was good.  It wasn’t the knock your socks off I’m looking for, but it is good enough to put the phone number away for another day. 


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Categories : Holt, Local Flavor, Michigan, Pizza, Reviews

Red Cedar Grill

5 05 2008
  • 5114 W. Saginaw HwyRed Cedar Grill
  • Lanisng, MI 48917
  • (517) 323-6300
  • Website
  • Menu

I first noticed Red Cedar Grill my first week in Lansing.  We found Lansing Mall looking for Younkers and Red Cedar Grill has a very prominent store front on the outside of the building.  Regular commenter John recommended Red Cedar, so we decided to make it a point to check it out.  My girlfriend needed to go to Younkers, so we made a pre-work trip with enough time to grab lunch.

There are two entrances to Red Cedar.  There is an entrance inside the mall, but the main entrance is the outside door.  We entered through the mall entrance and there was a sign that told us to go to the hostess station at the front of the store.  That’s a little weird considering you have to walk all the through the dining room to get to the front.  The space is gorgeous.  The dining room is dimly lit.  There are booths on a little platform that run the whole length of the wall plus there are tables between the booths and the bar.  There’s a patio out front and a sun room type space next to that.  The bar is also beautiful.  It’s a long L-shape made out of a dark wood.  The low lighting and dark colors make the place really cozy and relaxing.

Red Cedar GrillUsually at malls, you expect places like TGIFriday’s or Ruby Tuesday.  Red Cedar Grill is definately not one of those places.  The menu is much more upscale.  We stopped in for lunch and even the lunch menu was better than burgers and salads….but they did have both on the menu.

I ordered the BBQ, Bacon and Bleu burger.  Crumbled bleu cheese topped a juicy burger.  Bacon was layered on top of that then BBQ sauce was put on the onion roll.  The burger was nice and juicy.  The BBQ sauce sort of cancelled out the bleu cheese taste, but you could still get just a hint of it….and there was a lot of bleu cheese.  I don’t really like onion rolls, but I knew that when I ordered, so I’m not holding that against the sandwich.  The sandwich was good.  It was served with shoestring fries on the side and there was also some hot rolls and butter brought to the table before.  With all that food, for the first time in a long time, I was defeated.  I couldn’t finish everything on my plate….which is a good thing because I’m a big eater. 

My girlfriend ordered the Smoked Turkey Grill….which I almost ordered myself it looked so good.  Smoked turkey was stacked on rye bread with bacon, tomato, aged cheddar, and dijon mustard.  Her meal also came with a side of cracked pepper kettle chips.  For the first time, I almost wished my meal came with chips instead of fries.  These were really good.  The cracked pepper made the chips a little spicy.  The smoked turkey was delicious.  She didn’t say a whole lot about the sandwich other than it was good.  She did remark more than once that the chips were delicious.

Our bill with pop was $25, so it’s not a cheap meal, but the food is quality and the service was pretty good.  For a while, we were the only ones in the restaurant, but we hit them right as they opened.  The server disappeared come check time, but during the meal, he was always there when we needed another Coke.  The food came out pretty quickly and we probably weren’t there more than a half hour. 

Thanks, John, for the suggestion.  We’ll have to go back and try the dinner menu now.


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

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