Lansing, Mich...

I have some upcoming travel to Lansing and could use a handful of recommendations around town. I'll take anything that keeps me away from dialing hotel room service.

Staying out by the Sheraton, but will have a rental car, etc.

Any recommendations are appreciated! Thanks.

No trip to Lansing is complete without a trip to Kewpie's for a burger.

Many moons ago when I went to school in East Lansing - the restaurant of choice for most of the population was el azteco. currently, the e. lansing store is a fairly shiny clean place, but it used to be a really divey basement restaurant with downright addictive food. the store in lansing is in it's original location. our standard order was the cheese dip w/chips, a "dung bag" (aka bean burrito) a topopo salad - a mountainous salad chock full of chopped veggies, and/or a burrito chile verde - spicy meat burrito. i still know folks who make the trip to lansing/e lansing just for "el az". it's really one of the only reasons i go back!
El Azteco - 1016 W Saginaw St, Lansing - (517) 485-4589 or 225 Ann St, East Lansing - (517) 351-9111

Other notable places in the area are:

Travelers Club and Tuba Museum
2138 Hamilton Rd., Okemos, at the corner of Okemos and Hamilton Rds., 349-1445
(copy of review) One of the area's truly unique restaurants. The Traveler's Club has rotating monthly features where one area of the world is highlighted for the month, and each week a different country from that area provides inspiration for a sampler platter. There are plenty of things to choose from in addition to the samplers; middle eastern, Italian, Asian, and good old American buffalo burgers round out the menu. They also serve a great breakfast. Live music most Friday and Saturday evenings.
Price range: $4 - $15

My first experience with middle eastern food was at Woody's Oasis
(970 Trowbridge, East Lansing, in the Trowbridge Mall, 351-2280) and i've heard the food is still very good

Beggars Banquet Restaurant and Saloon (218 Abbott Road, East Lansing)
This was the place the cool kids took their parents. i frequently found myself there on sunday mornings for the best bloody mary's in town. the food was always excellent and it's still one of the favored places town

my other favorites - the Dean Bean, Bunches Cafe, Bilbos and Castellani's Italian Market have, alas, all gone by the wayside

wherever you go, please post your finds & likes!

Ciao
Sharon

Emil's at 2012 E. Michigan Ave

Near the capitol building has awesome old school italian. The pasta Emil has fist sized meatballs, mushrooms, italian sausage patties, and a super tasty red sauce.

Georgio's Gourmet Pizza
1010 E. Grand in East Lansing

Great combinations of ingredients. Think mom and pop california pizza kitchen ideas on new york style crust.

BUMP!

Got a buddy stuck out in Lansing. He was a regular luncher at Las Asada's and La Pasadita. He is hurtin' for certain now. Anybody have any Burrito recs in Lansing? He said his last trial was a Qdoba. Steak burrito was full of stew meat. 'Nuff said.

Anything? Just lunchy recs - mexican greatly appreciated, but anything for a lunchy - not too expensive kinda thing would be GREAT!!

I was intrigued by Joe's Gizzard City in Potterville on an episode of "Diners, Drive ins and Dives." I've never been. It's a bit outside of Lansing, so maybe not perfect for lunch, but it also looks as though it's never been mentioned on LTH, so now that's rectified.

Since I can't say anything about the actual food, I'll offer up this video from the 2007 Gizzard Eating Contest instead.

Joe's Gizzard City ("The only Gizzard City in the World")
120 W Main St
Potterville, MI 48876
(517) 645-2120

Potterville, MI is my hometown. I grew up just down the street from Joe's and went to school with Joe Bristol (the younger guy in the kitchen).

I'm not a fan of gizzards, but Joe's is a great small town bar. It's only about 15 minutes from Lansing, at exit 66 on I-69. Watch for the giant, fiberglass chicken.

As for Mexican food in Lansing, the pickings are very slim. My best friend always has to hit the El Azteco on W. Saginaw in Lansing. Don't go to the one in East Lansing, it's not the same.

Famous Taco is a local chain that many people love.

There used to be some great Mexican restaurants in the Old Town area of Lansing, but I don't know what is there anymore.

During a quick visit to Michigan yesterday, I took leesh's advice and visited the Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum. The name was enough to get me to go, and the fact that the food was pretty good was a real bonus.

Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum



At first blush, this place appears to be a neighborhood bar serving food, but it is much more. Every month, the Travelers Club features a different area of the world and offers specials from that region. This month, France is featured. While none of the special offerings appealed to me, there were plenty of other eclectic choices on the menu. Both The Chow Poodle and I started off with house made chunky cream of tomato soup, which was outstanding, if served perhaps a little cool temperature wise. The tomato soup is part of a rotating choice of 4 - 5 soups and chilis, although I think it is a permanent member of the menu.

Travelers Club Cream of Tomato Soup


Being our first visit, and the fact that this was really just a neighborhood bar, we decided to play it safe with our entrée choices. I ordered a burger with swiss cheese and grilled onions. It was served on a toasted onion roll, but I could have had it on a bun or dark rye or even served as a patty melt.

Travelers Club Cheeseburger


The Chow Poodle ordered 1/2 of a sandwich called The Homegrown, which was whole grain bread filled with a cucumber/cream cheese salad and alfalfa sprouts. This sandwich was much better than it sounds. The Chow Poodle made sure I had a taste so that I could reverse engineer the cucumber salad for her later because she liked it so much.

The Homegrown


The Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum is a real sleeper in the little town of Okemos, MI. Everything is made from scratch and sourced locally whenever possible. There is a beer selection comprising at least 120 different beers which are mostly locally brewed. The largest brewery represented on their menu is Bell's. There is also a pretty extensive wine list, which I didn't look at all that closely.

Travelers Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum
2138 Hamilton Road
Okemos, MI
(517) 349-1701

Thanks for the pics! ...It makes me miss East Lansing, just a little. The Tuba museum was definitely a favorite of ours in college, as was Bilbos and El Azteco, though I'm sure now that El Az would not hold a candle to my Chicago favorites...there is a warm spot in my heart for that cheese dip.

The last post was in 2007, so perhaps I should start by seeking confirmation as to whether or not Lansing still exists.

Providing it does...I will kill a few hours there later this week around lunchtime. My plan is Kewpees. Have been to the Racine location -- is it the same kind of deal? One thing I saw on an online menu for the Lansing location is a cherry burger. I'm intrigued and/or grossed out:
Cherry Burger $4.75
low fat, healthy choice, combination of ground beef & michigan cherries, includes mustard, ketchup, pickles and onion

Any experience with that item?

And, will probably walk over to the Capital. Any other recommended time killers in Lansing, mid-day and mid-week?

Thanks.

A quick Google search confirms what I'd heard through the grapevine; The Traveler's Club International Restaurant and Tuba Museum is closed, and looking for a new location.

Too bad. Like stevez, we had a fine meal in a unique setting there several years ago. Hope they relocate and reopen soon.

Buddy

I haven't been to Kewpee's in years and I'm pretty sure they didn't offer a cherry burger last time I visited. I have a feeling it would be good, though.

One place I love to hit whenever I'm home visiting my parents is Olga's Kitchen. They have a bunch of locations in Michigan, including a few in the Lansing area. I love their bread. I'm not sure if my love is mostly nostalgia, or if other people would consider the food great, but I do love it. The Snackers, the Greek salad, and a cup of soup, with bread on the side, is a great meal.

http://www.olgas.com/

Sharon,

Thank you for bringing back the recollection of EL AZ!! I loved that place and spent many hours there. You can never really recreate the sensation of being with a group of friends your early twenties with a plate full of those greasy nachos in front of you and a pitcher of beer knowing that whatever you eat you will feel no repercussions and gain no weight. We would go there after coming back from MAC's. In fact, I am certain that is exactly how I spent my 21st birthday. (1981)

I wonder if Bagel Fragel or Bell's Greek Pizza are still there? I actually worked at Bells for a bit and I am still not sure what Greek Pizza is, but it was the best pizza in town. Not saying much because the competition seemed to limited to Domino's and Little Caeser's. I really enjoyed my time in Michigan, but I have never encountered so much bad pizza and a population that doesn't seem to mind the difference. Maybe things have changed since I was there.

Go Green.

Shasson,

If its the same as it was when I was there, it is pretty slim pickings in downtown Lansing. I suggest that you check out Clara's, which is in the old train station. Of course, it is possible that it may have changed somewhat since 1985. . .

You can also take a bus down Grand River to the MSU campus. It is about a twenty minute trip and it really is a beautiful campus - particularly the old section.

Thanks BW77. Ended up at Kewpees and tried the cherry burger. Honestly, no evidence of any cherry in the appearance of the patty or the flavor. it kind of tasted like a McD's quarter-pounder w/out cheese. I liked Kewpees, but next time would order a traditional burger (like what I had and loved at the Kewpees in Racine).

Between Kewpees and walking to the remarkably ornate State Capital, and sititng in on a legislative session (where actual interesting legislation was being discussed), and then stopping at the really great landmark The Peanut Shop for some roasted peanuts and bridge mix, I had a nice sojourn. And felt that downtown Lansing, midday with the legislature in session, had good energy.

A general question to those of you familiar with Lansing cuisine. A friend who is something of a know-it-all insists that Lansing sports the best, most authentic Thai food in the US, and that she hates Thai here because it's not "real" Thai. And yes, she's been to TAC and Spoon, ordered off the specials menu, and still claims this is true. I find it hard to believe that our Thai sucks by comparison to Lansing - but hey, if she's right, maybe I'll visit! Thoughts?

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:A general question to those of you familiar with Lansing cuisine. A friend who is something of a know-it-all insists that Lansing sports the best, most authentic Thai food in the US, and that she hates Thai here because it's not "real" Thai. And yes, she's been to TAC and Spoon, ordered off the specials menu, and still claims this is true. I find it hard to believe that our Thai sucks by comparison to Lansing - but hey, if she's right, maybe I'll visit! Thoughts?

I have not found that to be the case over many years of visiting Lansing and East Lansing (hometown of the Chow Poodle). Does your friend have any specific Thai restaurant recommendations in Lansing?

stevez wrote:

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:A general question to those of you familiar with Lansing cuisine. A friend who is something of a know-it-all insists that Lansing sports the best, most authentic Thai food in the US, and that she hates Thai here because it's not "real" Thai. And yes, she's been to TAC and Spoon, ordered off the specials menu, and still claims this is true. I find it hard to believe that our Thai sucks by comparison to Lansing - but hey, if she's right, maybe I'll visit! Thoughts?

I have not found that to be the case over many years of visiting Lansing and East Lansing (hometown of the Chow Poodle). Does your friend have any specific Thai restaurant recommendations in Lansing?

Well, she's actually basically an ex-friend now (I cannot handle know-it-alls) so I can't ask. She did, however, say that the pad thai here wasn't up to Lansing standards, if that gives you an idea. She also claimed that the Middle Eastern cuisines were done better there , which seemed plausible given the number of people from that region who settled there.

I can't say that I've ever had Thai food in Lansing. It certainly wasn't a presence when I last lived in the area. Lansing does have a decent Vietnamese population, but I have never heard anything about good Thai restaurants in the Lansing area. There were some very good Thai restaurants in the Detroit-area, though, so it's entirely possible they have spread westward to Lansing.

Middle Eastern is definitely very good, though. My Milwaukee-based sister always buys a giant tub of hummus and a huge pile of pita whenever she's back for a visit.