CLOSED: Red Cedar Grill and China Gourmet in Lansing Mall

I went out to the Lansing Mall today to run some errands and both restaurants that I had in mind to eat at were closed.  My first choice today was for Bourbon Chicken (I know, I know, not the healthiest of things to eat) at China Gourmet.  That place at the food court is closed. 

Then, I thought, “Why not Red Cedar Grill for a burger?”  That place was closed as well. 

Click here for a report from Lansing State Journal on how Red Cedar Grill will be handling gift certificates at their Williamston and Brighton locations.

The English Inn

The English Inn
http://englishinn.com
677 S. Michigan Rd., Eaton Rapids, MI 48827
(517) 663-2500
Lunch:  Monday – Friday: 11:30am to 1:30pm
Dinner: Monday through Thursday: 5:00pm to 9:00pm; Friday and Saturday: 5:00pm to 10:00pm; Sundays: 1:00pm to 7:00pm

(I reviewed this restaurant back in October  –  forgot this in a draft folder that I rarely check.  Oops.)

The English Inn is just minutes away from Lansing and is totally worth your consideration.  I’ve seen their ads in the Lansing State Journal for dinner specials and none of them looked all that enticing.  However, after accepting a dinner invitation there with some friends, and getting very excited about checking their menu out online, I was very excited about our upcoming trip.

We were a bit early for our reservation so my wife and I took the opportunity to explore the grounds of The English Inn.  They operate a small bed and breakfast with an adjacent catering hall with a charming pub in the basement of the main building.  The grounds are just extraordinary.  The view from the restaurant is just amazing  –  it makes you forget you’re in Eaton Rapids!

The atmosphere is wonderful for a night with friends or for a special occasion.  At first, our table of 6 was the only table being used in the restaurant.  We were whispering for a while until some other tables started to fill up and then the piano player took her place to provide some much needed background noise.

The dinner menu reminds me of what you would find at a country club or an old school bistro.  The wine list is very comprehensive and decently priced  –  our table split a bottle of Hess Collection Cabernet at $30.

To start, I ordered the Escargots for $10.  It was classic preparation with herbs and garlic butter.  Delicious.  My entree was the Entrecote Cafe’ de Paris  –  14 oz. NY Strip with Café de Paris butter at $30.  My steak was perfectly prepared medium rare and there was more than enough for dinner and the rest was the next day’s lunch for me.  The side dishes were uninspiring  –  mashed potatoes and steamed cauliflower.

I skipped dessert after loading up on the escargots, calling it quits on my entree and eating more bread than I care to admit (all the while dipping away at the remnants of the escargots butter).

Bangkok House

Bangkok House
420 E Saginaw St # 112, Lansing, MI 48906
(517) 487-6900

Usually when I have a craving for Filipino food (BTW, I’m Filipino!), I usually find a Thai restaurant as that is usually as close as I can get as far as flavor profiles are concerned.  Filipino restaurants are hard to find around here in the Midwest (unless you’re in Chicago) but I can usually find a Thai restaurant that will hit the spot.

But, I digress…  after a few attempts in my nearly two years in Greater Lansing, I finally was able to eat at Bangkok House!  Usually, they are closed when it occurs to me to go check it out.  The location is another factor as it isn’t on my way to my normal routes for work or errands.  So, this had to be a deliberate trip at the dinner hour and they were open!  (The restaurant is closed for a few hours in between lunch and dinner.)

My wife and two daughters joined me for this little outing for dinner and all of us were pleased with our experience.  To start, we ordered 2 orders of Thai spring rolls (4 pieces all together for $4.00) and fried tofu ($3.00).  The fried tofu comes with either a sweet and sour sauce (I recommend this one) or a peanut sauce (I would avoid this one  –  the look of it wasn’t all that appetizing).  The kids loved the starters and they came to the table very quickly.

For dinner, my wife and I both ordered Pad Thai (come on, why not?).  My wife had the pork version, mild spices.  I ordered shrimp and chicken with extra egg, medium spices.  My wife’s came out first and then there was a bit of delay before mine came out.  They were both delicious and not at all greasy (which has been my experience at another Thai restaurant in Lansing  –  Dok Sing, across from the Lansing Mall).

Everything comes from the kitchen to your table at one temperature  –  “boiling lava hot” as comedian Jim Gaffigan would call it.  It’s not meant as a criticism at all.  It’s just how it is.  Food coming to our table was extremely efficient.  However, don’t expect for anything to be cleared off your table between courses.  We resorted to putting empty plates, glasses and other stuff on the table next to us (thankfully, no one was seated at that table next to us!).

Bangkok House seems to be one of the few Asian restaurants in the Greater Lansing area with a liquor license.  I enjoyed a healthy pour of the house chardonnay at $1.95 per glass  –  a relative bargain at any restaurant these days.  The white wine matched well with the spice of my entree.  There’s also a good selection of beers also at very affordable prices.

All in all, I’d recommend this place for something different.  The prices are just great, the food comes out to you very quickly and everything is pretty tasty.  This was not at all a bad way to spend a Thursday night with the family!

Now On Twitter

I’ve been posting plenty of food-related posts to my own Twitter account, but I figured it was time to start posting them to an Eat! Lansing twitter account.  Twitter works well for posting small items that aren’t worth writing a whole blog post about. Follow us!

Omi Sushi

Omi Sushi
210 M.A.C. Ave., East Lansing, MI 48823
(517) 337-2222
Mon.-Sat.: 11:30 am 9:30 pm (closed 2:30-5:30 pm); Closed Sunday

Omi is a cool, sleek (albeit cramped) place if you don’t mind waiting and have the patience for outstanding sushi.  It’s rare that I have been able to go right to a table.  I usually wait 15-20 minutes for a space to open up.  From there, it could be more waiting depending on the attentiveness of your server.

The sushi is wonderfully fresh (my favorite is the maguro, or tuna) and the selection of rolls for the sushi squeamish is more than complete with lots of delicious cooked options to choose from.  It’s always worth it, but at $1.95 per maguro piece, it adds up in a hurry (I could eat Omi’s maguro all day!).  The tables are a bit squished together so as to accomodate as many diners as possible.  Getting up every so often if one in your party needs to visit the restroom can be tricky so as not to bump the table next to yours.  We typically eat out with our 2 daughters and considering the tight squeeze in the restaurant, I would not consider Omi to be particularly kid friendly (not a criticism – it’s just the way it is!).

Omi also has a nice small selection of beer, wine and sake to go along with the meal.  A great thing to see is that all of the items on the beer, wine and sake menu are decently priced.

There are other items on the menu but I’ve never bothered to order them because the sushi is just outstanding.  I highly recommend this place  –  but be patient and be prepared to wait a bit.  It’s worth it!

Derek’s Take:

Omi is one of my favorites.  The location is great, walkable from many points around campus.  The atmosphere is modern and feels like it might come straight from a hip neighborhood in Tokyo.  I’ve never had to wait for a table, but I usually go on weekdays at around 5-6.  

I wouldn’t rank the sushi as highly as Sansu.  The specialty roles tend to be extremely salty (even without soy) and the fish isn’t quite as fresh.  However, the prices are far better at Omi.

Service is businesslike, but efficient.  There’s nothing better than a jar of warm sake on a cool, gray Michigan day.  My only complaint about the menu is the seeming lack of nigiri items.  Most of the a la carte items are maki or sashimi.  Sometimes the wasabi can be very fresh but at other times extremely old and dry.  It’s a mixed bag, but overall a cozy, casual place with good sushi.

Moe’s Firehouse Grill

Moe’s Firehouse Grill
565 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing, MI 48823
(517) 333-7040‎

NOTE:  As of today (10-13-08) and driving by on Grand River, the restaurant is closed.

I walked into Moe’s Firehouse Grill and had a bit of an idea of what Chef Gordon Ramsay (Michelin-starred chef featured on FOX’s “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Hell’s Kitchen”) must think when walking into the restaurants that he is about to turn around.  I had a craving for a gyro and didn’t know where to go.  I settled on Moe’s after seeing a Kronos Gyro poster in their window  –  plus a sign that said there was a gyro dinner combo special.  I thought, “what could go wrong here?”  Sadly, the answer was everything that could go wrong  –  would go wrong.

The good news was that dinner set me back $6.50 for a gyro, french fries and fountain drink.  That’s where the good news ended.  After I ordered and paid, I noticed that the grill man took some gyro meat out of the freezer and placed it on the griddle.  If ever I was tempted to take back a transaction, it was right here.  But sadly, the deed was done and I had paid for my dinner.

There was one other customer in the entire place on a Friday night.  There were more flies inside the place than customers (something that Chef Ramsay would point out if he were reviewing the place on his TV show) and I had to swat them away as I tried to enjoy my dinner.  I picked up my gyro and immediately dropped it because the pita was so hot as if it was warmed up on the surface of the sun.  (Too bad this wasn’t an actual firehouse as I might get some water hose relief after getting burned from just picking up my gyro!)

My french fries tasted awful as if the cooking oil hasn’t been changed out in weeks (another thing that Chef Ramsay would point out if he were here).  The fries left a beige stain on the styrofoam container that my dinner was served on  –  a bad sign that the cooking oil is old.  At least my Slice tasted like lemon-lime soda.  The soda helped wash out the remnants of a regrettable meal.

The rest of the menu features plenty of cheap eats:  burgers and fries, sub sandwiches and something called a “chicken wrap.”  I didn’t bother to ask about the chicken wrap.  I bussed my table, took my soda and tried to forget about my mistake of a meal.

Curtis Original Barbecue

Curtis Original Barbecue
Saginaw & Cawood, Lansing MI
(in the parking lot of American Print & Copy – west of St. Lawrence Campus of Sparrow Hospital)
517-333-9287
Thursday, Friday & Saturday: lunch and dinner hours

“You don’t know what you got until it’s gone” applies to me and barbecue.  I lived in Kansas City for 8-1/2 years before moving to Lansing.  Kansas City is one of the capital cities of barbecue along with Memphis and Austin.  Every so often, I have a craving for some good BBQ and usually have to settle with Smokey Bones at Eastwood Towne Center in Lansing (a chain operation that is underwhelming and overpriced … not a great combination).

Enough backstory  –  let’s talk about Curtis Original Barbecue!  At the Old Town BlueFest, after a few bites of a horrible gyro purchased in the vendor area (wow, I’m full of reminiscing tonight!) I moved on to Curtis’s white catering truck with a reasonably priced menu of barbecue.  I settled on the rib tips and I was suddenly transported to Kansas City in a single bite!  It was an amazing meal that could have easily fed 2 adults and it only set me back $5. 

I was looking for something out of the ordinary for dinner tonight (i.e. I didn’t feel like cooking) and thought of Curtis Original Barbecue!  I drove up to his catering truck parked at Saginaw & Cawood and looked over the menu.  So much to choose from:  ribs, chicken, rib tips, beans, potato salad and green beans.  While I was trying to decide, Curtis was so kind as to give me a sample pork rib and rib tip  –  both were heavenly and made my decision all the more difficult.  I eventually settled on the Rib Dinner:  a massive serving of smoked pork ribs, green beans and potato salad for $11.  Everything is served from the catering truck with the grill/smoker right beside the truck.  It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

The drive home to enjoy my barbecue dinner seemed like an eternity but it was worth it.  I uncorked a bottle of Provenance 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon  –  a fine pairing to go along with my rib dinner from Curtis Original Barbecue!

Chapelure

Chapelure
Ste 10, 4750 S Hagadorn Rd, East Lansing, MI 48823
517-333-7172

My wife and kids and I stumbled into Chapelure after taking a walk around Hannah Plaza after dinner.  And, what a wonderful surprise this was earlier this summer finding this little jem in East Lansing!  I also can’t believe that I’ve forgotten to blog about this place because it is amazing.

Imagine European bakery treats like traditional madeleines offered along with an Asian twist  –  green tea madeleines!  As far as I can tell, they do both European bakery items along with Asian bakery items and they do them equally well.  This is the only place where I’ve been able to find Asian sweet red bean buns in town.  The assortment of goodies is eye popping and wonderfully arranged. 

You can enjoy your pastries with coffee and tea inside a very cozy atmosphere with free wi-fi.  We went on a Saturday night and there was a great buzz inside the place. (And, note to bargain hunters: some items are 30% off after 7pm!)

Grand River Coffee

Grand River Coffee
515 W Grand River Ave, East Lansing, MI 48823

In the spring of 2007, I was looking for a good coffee place to hang out at.  I saw a lot of billboards for Cornerstone Coffee and decided to try out the one in Holt.  I wasn’t impressed.  The decor seemed to come straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog (no character), the wireless internet was a no-go, and the owner/manager rubbed me the wrong way.  Since then, I drove by the Grand River location in East Lansing without stopping.

Now, the cafe sitting on Grand River is named Grand River Coffee.  I never would have stopped in, but my wife suggested it.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised.  The atmosphere is cozy – leather chairs and couches, a fireplace, and a sheet of falling water surrouned by stone masonry.  However, it’s still a little bit soulless and the light jazz piped through overhead speakers requires a pair of headphones to drown out.  

The coffee here is the best part.  It’s probably the best brewed coffee I’ve tasted here in town and there are plenty of varieties to choose from.  

On the dining front, there is a case full of tasty pastries or they’ll grill up a panini for you.  I had the Italian panini and it was good.  The dill bread was buttery and crisp with pesto spread on the inside.  The meat was pleasantly spicy.  The sandwich was served with salt and pepper flavored kettle-style potato chips.  

Overall, it’s a great place to study or hang out, especially if you enjoy good coffee.

Memo’s – The Döner Company

Memo’s – The Döner Company
http://memosdoner.com
Grand River Avenue, next to Barnes & Noble

Update: Memo’s is now closed!  Such a shame!

The Döner is legendary in central Europe.  It has become the new fast food hit in Germany, rivaling the mighty wurst (sausage).  After World War II, Germany’s population, especially its male contingent, was greatly reduced.  The West German government started a Gastarbeiter (guest worker) program in the 60’s and 70’s to help reduce the labor shortage resulting from a booming post-war economy (Wirtschaftswunder).  As a result, many Turkish immigrants came looking for work and a sizable Turkish population remains in Germany’s urban centers.  The döner kabob originated in Turkey (similar to plain shawarma), but was adapted to German tastes by putting the kabob meat and salad on fluffy pita bread.

I was extremely excited when I saw the newly placed sign over Memo’s storefront this summer, but it seemed like I waited forever for this place to open.  I looked forward to something a bit unique to appear in Lansing. To be honest, my only döner experience was a chicken döner in a backwater train station in Austria.  It wasn’t anything exciting, but I still wanted to experience the legendary döner.  Now, I could experience the legend right here in East Lansing!

Memo’s is definitely a unique restaurant.  The walls are brightly colored in red, green and yellow.  Small, simple furniture provide plenty of seating.  Food is ordered at a main counter and döners are prepared sub shop-style.

The döner itself is served on a fluffy pita or dürüm (like a flour tortilla).  Beef or chicken can be piled along with yogurt sauce, cucumber, tomato, onions, lettuce, cabbage, and chilies.  The beef I had in my dürüm had a depth of flavor that was far more interesting than the gyro meat you get at typical Mediterranean joints.

In addition to the kebabs are Turkish style pizzas and desserts like baklava.  The baklava I had seemed drenched in a lot more honey than what I’ve had before.  A word of warning to non-Turkish taste-buds: the yogurt drink is not a carbonated, milky-tasting drink (as I was used to), but is very salty.

Overall, Memo’s is unique enough and has good quality ingredients that will keep me coming back.  The owner plans to start a chain, so it’ll be interesting to see if this takes off.