MBC Authentic Michigan Pub

Our dinner group visited MBC Authentic Michigan Pub in Lansing last night. We’ve all been there a bunch of times, but for some reason nobody ever got around to blogging about it. So here it goes.

I love the MBC Pub because it is smoke-free! They also have great beers made by Michigan Brewing Company in Webberville, MI. I am a total hop-head, so my favorite is the High Seas India Pale Ale. They usually have about ten beers on tap, so there are options for every beer drinker. Only MBC beer is offered because of their brewery license – so it’s either great craft-brewed beer, soft drinks or water.

The food menu is traditional pub fare. The difference is all of their fried foods are hand breaded and fried to order. I met some friends for a pre-dinner IPA and we split an order of fried dill pickles. Like all of the fried foods at MBC the batter is light and crispy. The order had at least a half dozen pickles and they are served with ranch dipping sauce.

For dinner, Rod and I split the shrimp basket and the pub fish and chips. We got the sweet potato fries and the pub fries along with coleslaw as sides. I love the flavor of the sweet potato fries – they are crinkle cut – but they are not super crispy. The pub fries are lightly beer battered, super crispy on the outside and fluffy goodness on the inside. The coleslaw is pretty standard – creamy but not overly mayo-ee (yes, that’s a word!).

We ordered the shrimp with buffalo sauce on the side. The shrimp were wonderfully crispy and cooked perfectly – moist and tender inside. The buffalo sauce is zippy and delicious.

The pub fish and chips has two moderate size pieces of cod. The fish is always cooked perfectly too. It seems like there is less fish in the order than there was when the pub first opened, but I can’t be sure. Also, they have reduced their offerings – they no longer have Walleye and one other fish. I can’t remember if it is the whitefish or perch that got cut from the menu too.

The atmosphere at the pub is always fun. The wait staff is friendly and attentive. There is a soft seating area if you are just relaxing with friends over a few beers. There is also bar seating and high top tables in the bar area. The main dining area has many square tables that are easily pushed together for large groups such as ours.

I highly recommend MBC Authentic Michigan Pub for a casual night with friends. They are open 6 days a week at 11:00 and open at noon Sunday.

MBC Authentic Michigan Pub

402 S. Washington

Lansing, MI 48933

517-977-1349

Geno's Pizzeria

I cannot even begin to say how happy I am that Geno Abbey will be opening Geno's Pizzeria within the next month or so. Geno is the former proprietor of the pizzeria associated with Izzo's Pub in REO Town. Geno's new location is 208 S. Washington Square - the former Menna's Joint location.

To say Geno makes a good pie is an understatement. While there are some pizzas I enjoy in Michigan, most notably Crunchy's with an awesome IPA, none of it compares to what I grew up eating in New England. Our Blog group ate at the former location together on several occasions and you can check out our review below.

We'll be sure to visit the new location and write about it as soon as possible. Keep your eye out for Geno's to open and please stop in for a slice. Be sure to tell Geno that The Blog that Ate Lansing sent you!

Roma

To Cassie's list of local shops and eateries, I would like to add Roma -- which is both! Locally owned and in business for 41 years, it is fantastic. Roma has, hands down, the best deli in the Lansing area. Fabulous imported meats and cheeses that you just cannot find anyplace else! You can get a sandwich and eat there or buy the fixings for the best sandwich ever. The bakery is to die for -- seriously. The best cannoli I have had outside of the North End of Boston (and, by the way, if you ever make it there go to Mike's (http://www.mikespastry.com/) for a chocolate rum cannoli -- you will understand that heaven really does exist!). Roma has specialty grocery items and frozen homemade pastas and sauces. If you haven't been yet, you are really missing out!

Roma is open Monday through Friday 8:00 - 6:00 pm and Saturdays 9:00 - 5:00! Next time you are downtown, stop in for a feast for both the eyes and the palate!

Roma Bakery Deli & Fine Foods
428 North Cedar Street
Lansing, MI 48912

517-485-9466

Handy's Market and other cool places in the Lansing area

Well it has been over six months since we last blogged, way too long for sure! No excuses.

On my way home from work today my mom and I stopped at Handy’s Market (424 West Willow Street, Lansing, MI 48906, 517-482-1156) on Willow. I am very sad to say it was my first visit (I’ve lived here since ’96!) but it will definitely NOT be my last! Mom bought tortilla chips and salsa along with Mexican Coke (it is the best … cane sugar) and two burritos (a surprise for Scott’s lunch tomorrow). Just got done eating 13 chips and salsa and OMG, they were out of this world!!! Why oh why haven’t I stopped in sooner? I knew about it back in ’99, but no, it was 11 years later that I finally stop. I’m just glad I did not wait longer. What a cute market and the staff was very friendly! I’m looking forward to my next visit.

The stop at Handy’s got me thinking about all the food related places new and old to me that I love here in Lansing. So I thought I’d share my top ten list in the hopes that if you haven’t been to one of these places, you’ll make it a point to stop in. Enjoy!

Oh and please share your favorite places with us.

Horrock’s Farm Market
7420 West Saginaw Highway
Lansing, MI 48917-1104
(517) 321-4446
Learned about Horrock’s the first week I moved here, thank goodness! Love this place from the wine selection to the flowers to the cheap fruit and vegetables, a fun shopping experience.
http://www.shophorrocks.com/

Emil’s Restaurant
2012 East Michigan Avenue
Lansing, MI 48912-3012
(517) 482-4430
Cozy, dark and good food. I go for the relaxed atmosphere as much for the manicotti.

New Aladdin’s
300 North Clippert Street
Lansing, MI 48912-4691
(517) 333-8710
If I were Norm, then this would be my Cheers. Love it!

Maru Sushi
5100 Marsh Road
Okemos, MI 48864-1195
(517) 349-7500
http://www.marurestaurant.com/
Best sushi in the Lansing area.

Goodrich’s Shop-Rite
940 Trowbridge Road
East Lansing, MI 48823-5298
(517) 351-5820
http://www.goodrichshoprite.com/
I do not shop here enough. Great hazarai, Dr. Beef makes great brats!

Sultan’s
4790 South Hagadorn Road
East Lansing, MI 48823-6810
(517) 333-4444
Tasty shawarma chicken and lentil soup. Oh, and when they have it, the rice pudding is amazing!

Alicia’s Authentic Mexican Deli
6424 W St Joseph Hwy
Lansing, MI 48917
(517) 323-6430
Just found this place and the tacos … are the best! It is like Pablo’s and Mexico to Go had a baby.

Mijo’s Diner
5131 North Grand River Avenue
Lansing, MI 48906-5811
(517) 886-0406
Great staff, quick food and the cinnamon raisin toast is good.

Mexico to Go! Restaurant
418 Elmwood
Lansing, MI
517-886-1133
The grease runs down my arm when I eat tacos here. Love it!

Izzo's Pizzeria -- PIZZA!

Izzo's Pub & Pizzeria
1147 S Washington Ave
Lansing, MI 48910
(517) 853-8500‎

* In the REO Town neighborhood

While Scott and I like pizza, we are not pizza connoisseurs. We’ll stop at Little Caesar’s for a $5 hot and ready and enjoy it. Our favorite pizza is from the local Cottage Inn on Saginaw. We love their thin crust! With that said, we enjoyed the pizza at Izzo’s.

The first visit was back in May. The bloggers along with Dan, Eric, Josh, and my mom made us a table of 10. Danielle called ahead to forewarn them. She also asked if she could bring a cake in (to celebrate Dan’s birthday), they said yes! We took up ½ of the pizzeria. We ate various pizzas, some ordered right from the menu and others picked the toppings they like. While it did take a bit of time before the pizzas came out, that is to be expected for a table of 10, it was a great night! Unfortunately, I cannot remember exactly what we ordered. But I do know it was good!

My second visit was about two weeks ago (late June). Two friends and I headed down to Izzo’s for lunch during the work week. We called ahead to place our orders (we each ordered a 14” pizza, not knowing that you could order slices of pizza, something to remember for the next visit) since we have an hour for lunch.

My pizza was a thin crust, loaded with good ingredients – cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms (they appeared to be fresh!), and great sauce. This is the type of pizza you fold to eat (it is not a crunchy thin crust). I ate three pieces at the restaurant. It was yummy! And, the leftovers held up well and tasted great the next day. The total for my pizza and soda, with tip, was $18.28.

We ate outside at their sidewalk tables. It was a nice day and sitting outside made the dining experience even better! To top it off, the service was amazing! You might think that sitting outside the service may be a bit slow, but our server was great. She came out a few times to check on us. It was a fun lunch!

If you are in the mood for yummy pizza, great service and a good time, I definitely recommend heading to Izzo’s!

Asia's Finest

Asia's Finest
6443 South Cedar
Lansing, MI 48911
517-393-1688

Visit Date: April 3, 2009

Rod and I have been fans of Mary Anne, owner of Asia's Finest, for over 14 years. We first met Mary Anne when she was a waitress at Bangkok House. I am sure I won't get the timeline right, but about seven years ago Mary Anne purchased Dok Sing Restaurant and added Thai food to the Chinese restaurant. Shortly after purchasing Dok Sing, Mary Anne also purchased Asia's Finest. She ran both for about a year, maybe two. It turns out running two restaurants on opposites sides of town proved to be more than difficult. Mary Anne sold Dok Sing to focus her attention on Asia's Finest. As an aside, the Dok Sing location recently transferred ownership again becoming the new location of Fortune House. We hope to blog about it soon.

Mary Anne is a warm and gracious host. Asia's Finest has, what I consider, typical mid-western Chinese restaurant decor. Well lit, Asian art on the walls, fairly uninspired. It is comfortable, but nothing fancy. A feature that I especially like is the large round tables that can easily seat 10 people -- in fact on this visit we had 11 in our group.

The Asia's Finest menu has Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese food. Mary Anne is, in fact, Vietnamese and was excited to open her own restaurant and include Vietnamese favorites on her menu. I strongly believe Mary Anne has the most flavorful Chinese food in the Lansing area. Since becoming a fan of Thai and Vietnamese food I've shied away from Chinese since the watered-down version found in most local restaurants just doesn't seem to have as much flavor, in comparison. Not so with Mary Anne's food -- I am a huge fan of her General Tsao's Chicken!!

I ordered Gang Gai. It is a Thai curry dish with bamboo, green peppers, green peas and holy basil. OK, here's the thing, I hate green pepper in a dish. On it's own, fine. Put it in a sauce of any kind or on a pizza and I feel that it completely overwhelms all of the other flavors -- even in a spicy dish like a Thai curry. That being said, I always replace green pepper for broccoli in my Thai and Chinese food orders.

This night's rendition of Gang Gai was really good, but not the best ever. My love of Thai food stems from the wonderfully complex layering of flavors and the intense spices. The creamy sweetness of the coconut milk, while delicious was the predominant flavor tonight. The spice was not at the forefront and overall the flavors just seemed a bit muted. I got the impression that others who ordered Thai that evening were having a similar reaction. When using fresh herbs and spices, as Mary Anne does, there is bound to be some variance so I assume this evening was an anomaly not a trend toward the mundane.

It is also important to note that Asia's Finest does not serve beer, wine or liquor. Regular readers of this blog know that finding great beer on a menu is important to Rod and me, however we make exceptions when the food is as good as it typically is at AF. I usually opt for ice water or hot tea as my beverage of choice.

The prices are extremely reasonable. Most entrees are under $10 and with no bar service, the typical bill for a couple with two entrees and an appetizer is under $30. If you haven't been to Asia's Finest, you really should check it out -- and tell Mary Anne I said "hello!" If you've never had Thai food, consider ordering mild and adding extra spice if needed.

Deadbeat Blogger

OK -- I feel like a total deadbeat! Our group has dined together a few times since our last post, but for some reason none of us has blogged about our outings. I am going to attempt to blog from memory on a few of the places we've visited -- so they may be more overall impressions rather than detailed descriptions of food -- but I'll do my best.

Also, I must thank my inspiration for getting going again. Last night Mike, Keith, Rod and I went to the Peanut Barrel, the Dairy Store and then Summer Circle at MSU. There we saw one of our blog followers and he mentioned that he'd been to the site a few times recently and was disappointed that we hadn't posted in quite some time. Boy, did I feel like a shmuck -- but I appreciated the mental kick in the pants seeing Paul provided. Paul, thanks!!! I loved your shades -- super cool. I'll be interested to see your thoughts on the play in the City Pulse.