Lansing Breweries and BBQ

When I made plans for my recent trip to Lansing, MI, it was going to be about Brunch, Biking, Breweries, and BBQ.  I brought my bike with me so it would be easier to get from one place to another.  When I got up in the morning, I made plans to go to brunch, which I have already talked about, but the route took me along the very scenic river trail with a dock-like wooden trail that ran over the river in many places, and many scenic places like the R. E. Olds Transportation Museum, and the River Trail Theater.  The rest of the day was about biking to breweries and finishing with BBQ.

 

 

The first place I stopped after brunch was Ozone's Brewhouse, a small place in Old Town Lansing, located about a block from Golden Harvest.  As it was early, I was one of the first people there, which gave me time to study the place and peruse the menu.  The space reminded me of an old woodshop with everything made of wood and the bar topped with a glossy resin finish with a multicolored bottle cap design inlaid in several places.  Ozone is three Oxygen atoms bonded together and with a chemical formula of O3.  The design of the Ozone's Brewhouse label has both the chemical formula and structure of ozone in the name which I, as a chemist, thought was pretty cool.  They have a twelve beer tap list with a pretty good variety.  When I go to a new place, I prefer to maximize my samples and order a flight.  Ozone's did not have a set flight and they had a price for four ounce pours, so you could create your own flight.  As I had just had an enormous brunch, and I planned on visiting several places, I decided to keep things a little light and only ordered 4 - four ounce pours of a variety of styles.  I started out with Tyrannosaurus Razz Raspberry Saison.  It wasn't incredibly sweet or tart, but it had a nice raspberry aroma and finishing flavor with definite saison funk.  After fruit, I went to bourbon with Black Roses Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.  This tasted big with a definite bourbon flavor.  The next beer kind of blew my mind which is exactly what it was supposed to do.  Called White Collar Crime, it was labeled a White Stout.  Now the idea of a white stout is a bit mind blowing because stouts are made with roasted malt, which gives the beer its dark flavor.  This beer is a pale ale brewed with cocoa nibs and cold brewed coffee, flavors that are frequently found in stouts.  While it certainly tastes like a stout, it very definitely did not look like a stout because it did not use roasted malt.  My final beer was Hopbreaker, which was an Imperial IPA.  It was pretty hoppy and flavorful with a nice body and with that it was time to get on the road again.

The next stop was the biggest brewery in the Lansing area, Lansing Brewing Company.
It takes its name from the original Lansing Brewing Company that operated in the city from 1898 until 1914 when it was closed in the movement toward Prohibition. The new Lansing Brewing Company opened in 2014 and uses the theme of the labor movement to build on.  Lansing was very important in the Labor Movement and the original was popular among the laborers in the new Oldsmobile Factory.  They had an Amber Cream Ale that was very popular which the new brewery also has.  I am going to guess that it is also very popular because when I tried to order it, they were out.  I started with a pint of Union Golden Ale and a small pour of Munchies Double Dank Double IPA.  The golden ale was solid and very drinkable.  The Double IPA, as it's name implies was dank and was going for a taste like marijuana smells.  It was not the dankest brew that I have ever had, but it was pretty dank.  While I was drinking these, I noticed some serving trays that seemed to be for flights.  Flights were not listed on the menu or else I would have ordered one when I sat.  I asked if they did flights, they did, so I ordered one.  I had already had the Golden Ale and their double IPA so they were off the list, but they had 12 beers on tap so I had choices.  In my flight I chose Michigan Medley Session IPA, Sly and the Family Saison Black Saison, Urban Grove Wheat Ale, Fox in the Henhouse Saison, and Saiko Himitsu Rice Lager.  Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have chosen the rice lager because the idea reminds me too much of Budweiser, but I wanted something on the lighter side.  It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't something that I would drink regularly.  Everything else was pretty good with my favorite probably being the Black Saison.  Lansing Brewing Company seems to be the most popular brewery in the Lansing Area, though they are also the safest as far as styles and flavors are concerned.

 

The last brewery that I stopped at was Ellison Brewery & Spirits, located in East Lansing, east of the MSU campus.  As I went to MSU, I did have to make a few stops to see landmarks and my dorm, but I didn't have to really go out of my way.  Located on a dead end road off East Lansing's main drag, you would think that it would be relatively easy to find.  Unfortunately the entrance is in the back of a generic factory building off the road and there is only one small sign on a door in the front, so it can be a little difficult where it is.  If you look into the alley/driveway behind the building, you can easily see a brewing tank, so I used that as a direction aid.  I had had some beer from Ellison and I liked it, so I was determined to find it.  Once you find the tap room, you see that it's kind of small with seating at the curved bar, high tops, and picnic tables for about 60 people (tightly).  There is a garage door at the entrance and space for the area to be used as a patio when the temperature was warmer than it was when I was there.  It was pretty busy, but I was waited on pretty quickly and found a spot to sit at a picnic table.  Their beers were little more on the exotic side and they did them well.  I ordered the Big Black Stout, BRB Fruit Ale made with Raspberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries, Crescent Fresh IPA, and Relativity Double IPA.  All of the beers had big flavors and were very good.  The two IPAs were West Coast and East Coast.  The Crescent Fresh being the West Coast IPA was very clear.  The Relativity was an East Coast IPA that was very hazy and had a juicy and citrusy flavor.  The Big Black Stout was solid with a nice coffee flavor, and BRB was tart and fruity.  Of the four, I think that I liked the Relativity Double IPA best.  My only issue was in the way the beers were served.  While I do understand the logic of serving beers in the order that they were ordered, the problem with that is that you could start with a beer that overwhelms your taste buds and kills your taste for the rest of your beers.  I prefer to have my beers served from light to dark.

I finished off the day with more food, stopping at the inventively named Meat BBQ, located very close to where I started in Lansing.  It was very popular when we went, I met my brother there, so there was a wait.  Luckily, my brother arrived before I did which alleviated most of our wait.  They have a pretty good beer list, but as I had been drinking all afternoon, I was not in the mood for any more.  We started things off with their Nachos.  These started out with hand cut Tortilla Chips topped with Pork, Brisket, and Bacon, Cheese and BBQ Sauce, and drizzled with Onions, Tomato, Jalopeno, and Avocado.  It was sloppy but it was really good and while it was served as an appetizer, it could have easily served as a main course.  For my main course, I went with a Half Rack of Ribs served with two sides.  The sides offered were normal BBQ fare and I went with Mac and Cheese and Potato Salad (although this Potato Salad was made with Blue Cheese and Bacon).  The ribs were dry rubbed and glazed with a sweet and spicy sauce, similar to Memphis-Style.  It was all good, but with my my high caloric intake for the day, I ended up taking most of it home which was fine because it was still good warmed up.  My day of Brunch (with Bacon and Broccoli), Beer, Biking, and BBQ was complete.  I had a lot of fun and enjoyed my experience at all of my stops.   
  

Golden Harvest - Brunch

 

I had heard about Golden Harvest for many years.  I heard that the food was great with large servings, they take no reservations and are cash only, it's very different, and they don't do mean.  Because of all of this, it sounded interesting to me and tried to make plans to go there.  As it is outside Chicago, it also involved planning a trip which had logistical problems the first few times I tried, but once I was able to get Lansing, it was fairly easy.  Located in an out of the way corner in Old Town Lansing, it's pretty small and pretty off beat.  I had to laugh when I got there and saw the large, rusted plate metal "boulder" with the top corner made from a No Passing Zone sign.  The boulder sat on one side of the bike rack and the Golden Harvest sat on the other.  It was not easy to get my bike into the rack because of the way that it was made, but I was able to do it and then came to the line.  I was told to take a look at the door when I got there, but I had to get through the line first.  It seemed that they sat people in groups of four because all of the tables are four tops.  If you were not a group of four you could possibly be made into a group of four with another person or group or sat at the counter.  Before that happened though, you had to wait in line.  Living in Chicago and having experienced the line at Hot Doug's, this was easy.  The people in line were friendly and there was a lot of stuff attached to the building to look at.  There was a wide variety of stuff that seemed to really have no order.  There were several street signs, styrofoam skulls, toys, mannequins, motherboards, and the Incredible Hulk.  The pairing of things were sometimes pretty funny (a spray painted mannequin on a dirt bike or Kermit the Frog riding a stage coach) and there is always something new to look at if for no other reason than to try to figure out where it may have come from.

 

 

 

When the line got short, the hostess let about 7 of us in at once, so I didn't get a chance to look at the door, so I was going to have to make a point to look at it when I left.  I was seated at the counter in front of the grill, so I saw all of the action.  There were Home Fries on one side of the grill, and there were a lot because I think they came with every dish.  The Pancakes were prepared in front of me and they were enormous.  There were also pans on the right for omelettes and several waffle irons.  There was also a lot of interesting stuff on the walls inside although many of those were wall hangings.  Several things that I liked were the They Live movie poster, the rebus that translates to Be Nice or Leave, the Exotic Girlie Photos, 80 for $2.00, and the Alice cast photo.

 

The regular menu was a single fold paper menu with items on 3 pages, so there is a pretty extensive selection.  There were several things that caught my interest, but the always changing Specials Board is where the good stuff is.  Looking at everything, I see why a friend of mine will frequently order two breakfasts.

 

I started out with Coffee because it came from a local roaster and it's a good place to start breakfast.  Presented to me in a Hair Stylist mug, I had to laugh because at this stage, my hair doesn't take much maintenance, and I really couldn't do it for someone else.  Made by Paramount Coffee Roasters, it was a medium roast, but it was very mild.  I've had far worse coffee and it would do the job that it's supposed to, but the flavor left something to be desired.  For my breakfast, I went for something off of the Specials Board, the Baked Potato Omelette.  It was a 4 Egg Omelette with Cheddar, Bacon, Broccoli, (Peruvian) Purple Potatoes, Onions, Sour Cream, and Chives, served with Home Fries, Toast, and a slice of Pineapple.  I also ordered a side of Bacon which, while it was only 4 slices, was still almost too much.  It was crisp and flavorful and made from Berkshire hogs. There were lots of flavors and textures and a lot to eat.  It was one of the best omelettes that I have ever had.

After I ate, paid and tipped, this is a cash-only establishment and uses a cashier with the tip jar next to the cash register, I took a look at the door.  The door states the rules letting people know that it's a cash-only establishment, the line starts on the outside of the door, groups of two will be paired up at four tops when busy and they are always busy, and if you are not nice, they don't want your business.  Their Jolly Roger logo using a fork and spoon instead of crossbones, is also on the door.  It was a lot of fun to come here.  The people, both staff and diners were friendly, the food was great, there was a lot to look at, and the soundtrack was literally all over the place, from disco, to punk, to oldies.  I will definitely return, I just wish I could figure out a way to introduce some of my friends to it.          

Mango Pickle - Tasting Collective Dinner

I will admit that while I love food and love trying new foods, Indian food will frequently intimidate me.  This is because I really don't have a strong base to know exactly what is good and what isn't.  The food is so different, I really don't have a lot to compare it to.  Having said that, if I have a guide, I am happy to try it out.  I saw the release when Mango Pickle opened and I was interested but unsure.  When Tasting Collective announced that they would be doing a dinner there, I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to try it out.  Located in Edgewater, it is on the far north side, though not quite in the Indian neighborhood on Devon.  It is a small place, though they were able to seat between 60 and 70 people and there is a small bar in the back.  The walls are very colorful and their was a lot of mandala art on the walls.  Our dinner was going to be an eight course dinner served mostly family style.  As in previous dinners, there was a small selection of beer, wine, and cocktails, sold cash only (The dinners were pre-paid).  I started things off with the Mango Pickle Gin and Tonic which, like all gin and tonics, had the title ingredients, but also included Cucumber and Anise.  It was pretty good as far as the gin and tonic, but the anise and the cucumber added a fresh vegetal and spicy flavor.

I said that the dinner was 8 courses.  That's how it was promoted, but there were extra things that in other places may have been considered a course in and of themselves.  The first of these was a plate of crunchy, cracker-like things.  There was no description of them on the menu and they were never mentioned, but they were pretty good.  They were crunchy with a little spice and impossible to just eat one.  I kept coming back to them as long as they were at the table.

Our first official course were Paneer Pops.  Paneer is an Indian cheese similar to Ricotta, and these were essentially cheese balls with a crust.  The crust did not seem fried, but it was cooked in some way because the crust had a crunch.  The paneer was served with Cilantro, Ginger, Chives, and Lemon Preserves.  The Cilantro and Lemon Preserves were outside the cheese balls, the lemon preserves holding them in place.  The ginger and chives, I think were mixed into the dough to add flavor.  It had a crisp outside, with a soft and creamy interior with a sweet tart flavor and a ginger finish.

Next were the Taro Root Pakoras served with Fennel, Cucumber, Red Onions, and Tomato.  Taro is a bulbous root vegetable that is grown throughout the world and is similar to yuca where tapioca comes from.  Pakora is essentially a fritter.  In this case, the taro root fritters were served as part of a salad with the fennel, cucumber, onions, and tomato, and providing it with a crunch.  The vegetables were very fresh and flavorful adding some flavor to an otherwise neutral flavored fried root.

From the salad, we proceeded to Tomato and Garlic Rasam with Tamarind, Curry, Cumin, and Mustard Seeds.  This was essentially a spicy tomato soup with a strong tamarind flavor.  This was served individually in a small glass.  The flavor of this wasn't bad, though it was strong.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite, though it was finished quickly.

 I did not notice while I was dining, and I didn't really expect it, but the course progression was very similar to western course progression.  I am not sure if this is authentic in Indian cuisine, or done because that is how Western diners expect to eat.  After our appetizer, salad, and soup, we started with our entrees with fowl, and specifically Butter Chicken served first.  It was served in a sauce of Cinnamon, Black Cardamom, Cumin, and Ginger.  It was very spicy and had a flavor similar to what many people expect of curry.  It was served with Naan, which was hollow like Pita Bread so the butter chicken could be eaten in the pita like a pocket sandwich.  It was very good and seemed to be a favorite of the diners.

The next entree was seafood and I will admit that when I think of Indian food, I don't think of seafood.  Called Siolim Kalwamchee, it had assorted seafood including mussels, scallops, and shrimp served in a Coconut Tamarind Broth.  It was also served with these interesting crackers similar to Shrimp Toast which couldn't easily be eaten with the mussels, but went well with everything else.  It was very good and flavorful and I think one of my favorite dishes, even if I couldn't pronounce it.

Our next entree was vegetarian, which, while it may seem to be a step in the wrong direction was actually very savory.  Called South Indian Pulao, it was the Indian version of Rice Pilaf and was served with Yogurt, Mustard Seeds, Raw Mango, and Curry.  It also had something that brought immediate dread upon me when I saw it, Chinese Eggplant.  When I had Chinese Eggplant years ago, I had no idea what it was and it was prepared in a dish, so I had to do some research to figure out what it was that I ate that I disliked so much.  It is incredibly bitter without much to temper it.  Despite the fact that I saw the Chinese Eggplant, I did try it.  The dish itself was pretty good with a lot of flavor and spice, and many textures coming from the rice and vegetables.  The Chinese eggplant did add some bitterness to the   I liked the dish, but I think that I might have liked it more if the Chinese eggplant.

Our final savory course was Ghee Braised Lamb with Bottle Gourd and Ten-Spice Masala.  The bottle gourd used in cooking is a thinner skinned version of the gourds (that are used as water holders when dried) and is similar to squash.  Ghee is an Indian version of Clarified Butter made from Yogurt.  As such, it makes the lamb very tender.  A masala is simply a spice mix, so the ten-spice masala is simply a ten-spice spice mix and the one used on the butter braised lamb added a lot of spicy flavor.  This was also one of my favorite dishes.

For our dessert, we did step away from strictly Indian cuisine and were served a Pot de Creme with Chocolate and Candied Pineapple.  A pot de creme is a custard prepared and served in a small dish and is similar to a panna cotta.  The custard itself had a nice and delicate flavor and was good without the chocolate or pineapple.  I enjoyed it and it was a good finish to a very good meal.

After coming here, I am less intimidated than I am in the past, but I would in no way call myself an expert.  The menu changes frequently and the names of dishes are not common in western cuisine, so I still might wonder exactly what it was that I might be ordering when I order something.  The food that I had was very good, so I would be confident that I would probably like what I got even if I didn't know exactly what it was that i was ordering to begin with.             
   

Revolution Brewpub

As most of my friends would say, I love going to brewpubs as well as any number of restaurants.  I like going to breweries to try the beers that they make.  If they also serve food, all the better.  Revolution Brewing, one of the veterans of the Chicago craft brewery scene (opened in 2010), has been a favorite for years.  I realized recently though that while I have been here many times, I had never had a regular meal.  I have gone to a few popups and special dinners at Revolution's Brewpub, but those generally do not reflect the menu.  There beer reputation is well established and I had read many good things about their pub menu (which puts a seasonal focus on relatively standard bar food), so I decided to actually try it out myself.  Located in a very hot section of Logan Square, it is located in a vintage building with some very nice lines.  For the first few years of its existence, it had pillars in front of the entrance that were topped with fists.  The fists are a big part of the visual imagery for the brewery and are still on cans and coasters, but I was a little disappointed when they removed them from the building.  Entering the building, there is a large bar in the center with seating on 3 sides.  There are booths on the walls as well as some table seating on the main floor and an elevated seating area to one side.  The kitchen is open and in the back of the dining room with a window next to it that shows the brewery.  The brewpub is very popular and there is frequently a wait for seating.  A stairway leads upstairs where there is a second bar as well as overflow seating or a space for private dining.  I sat at the bar on the main floor and started with the beer list.  The beer list at the brewpub features the brewery's flagship beers, as well as what they happen to brew there.  They also have a commercial brewery close by with a taproom that actually has a longer beer list, but does not serve food.  As I was at a brewery with a long list, I obviously had to go with a flight.  For my flight, I went with a variety of styles, none of which was a standard bearer that I  had had many times.  I started with Freedom of Speach Peach Sour, Sun Crusher Hoppy Wheat Ale, A Little Crazy Belgo-American Pale Ale, and Rise Hoppy American Stout (which won gold at the World Beer Cup in 2012).  All were very different and with the variation of hops used, even the hoppy ones had different flavors.  The Freedom of Speach was not exceptionally sour and the sour went well with the peach flavor.  Sun Crusher is a good and light summer beer even with the hop flavor.  A Little Crazy had the body of a Belgian Single with the flavor of a pilsener.  And Rise is a very good and hoppy stout with flavors of chocolate and coffee.  They were all good, but I think I liked Sun Crusher best.

Between the beer and the bar food that I would be eating, I thought I should at least try to have something a little healthy, so I started out with some Brussels Sprouts.  I will grant that they were Pan-fried, but at least I tried a little.  The Brussels Sprouts came with Roasted Cauliflower, Butternut Squash, Maple-Chipotle Sauce, and Toasted Pepitas.  This was really good.  The Brussels Sprouts and Squash were crispy, and the Maple-Chipotle sauce added a sweet and spicy flavor.  The toasted pepitas added a finishing crunch.  While it wasn't necessarily the most healthy way to eat brussels sprouts, they were good and at least better than the bacon fat popcorn that was also on the menu.

The healthiness went out the window for my main course.  I had a burger.  This burger, the Galaxy Burger was topped with Chipotle Cheddar, Pimento Cheese, Pickled Pineapple, Cucumber, Red Onions, and Bottom Up Wit Aioli.  As with most places, my burger was served with a large serving of fries.  Galaxy hops have a flavor profile with a lot of fruit, and Bottom Up Wit, has a lot of fruit flavor as well.  I imagine that the fruit was used to pair with the aioli.  It was all very good and filling.

 

When I go out, I order dessert, so I looked at the dessert menu and saw a S'Mores Pie.  Local pie masters, Bang Bang Pie and Biscuits, have a S'Mores Pie on their menu and their main shop is located very close to Revolution's brewpub, so I thought that the pie came from Bang Bang.  I have no issue with a bar outsourcing their dessert if it brings in something  this good.  When I found that Revolution made their own S'More's Pie, I had to order it to compare, if for nothing else.  The pie was very good, but I could tell immediately that it was not a Bang Bang pie.  The flavor was very good.  The chocolate was rich, the Marshmallow Cream Topping had a nice brulee to it, but the crust was a little tough.  While it wasn't perfect, it was still very good and a nice ending to my dinner here.  I will undoubtedly return, I know know that the food is of a high standard to match with their beers.