Sweetie-licious: Pie, cake, quiche, oh my!!!

For almost a year now, I have been hearing my friends talk about this amazing bakery in Dewitt called Sweetie-licious and I had not made the time to go.  Then happily, I found myself with a weekday off and so I called my girlfriend to see if she was free to meet me there for lunch.  She is a Dewitt resident and has been there many times and had mentioned that they also have breakfast and lunch items.  I was curious.  

The store is very easy to find, right at the four corners in downtown Dewitt.  It is very charming with its red and white awning and 60s retro decor.  There are only a few tables but it is cozy and quaint and you can watch the baking and decorating while you eat.  The menu is handwritten on a chalkboard on the rear wall with unique sandwiches, quiches, salads and soups.  The quiche and soup options change daily are posted on the Facebook page along with any other daily special.   

When I arrived at the store, my girlfriend had already ordered which was to my advantage because I did not have to think about what to order after I saw her quiche.  WOW!  I, of course, ordered a diet coke as well.  The sodas are self serve out of a vintage 1960s fridge and are the old-fashioned glass bottles with caps staying true to her theme.  Adorable!!!  Much to my dismay I had devoured the entire piece of quiche before I remembered to take a picture!  Some food blogger I am!  It was so good though, creamy and smooth and just the right amount of spinach and feta as to not overpower the taste buds.  Then there is the crust!  I don't know what Linda Hundt, the owner, uses in that crust, but it is light and flaky and so yummy!  I could just eat the crust by itself.  I was such a happy girl after that lunch. 

Flash-forward a week, I needed a cake to bring to work for clinic meeting to celebrate the birthday of one of our physicians.  I knew the perfect place to go and the exact cake to get: a Lacey cake.  I was told by Lacey to order in advance so I called the day before.  It is the most adorable little cake.  

It tastes like a brownie with chocolate chip pieces in it!  Thank you Lacey!  

I also bought a Grandma Ferrell's Sweetie-licious pie to share and cookies to bring home to my kids.  First the pie:  

Some of the comments by my coworkers were "wow" and "this is amazing".  My son said "Woah!" after his first bite.  The women who served me said to make sure I warm it up prior to eating.  I figured out why.

The cake is filled with chocolate chips and when warmed they melt into the pie and create a warm cookie dough/brownie batter mixture.  It is like Kentucky derby pie meets Nestle Tollhouse cookie married with Duncan Hines fudge brownie and topped with nuts and caramel!  

My son was right Woah!  My husband and I ate the last piece topped with ice cream….no words!  

I was thrilled to discover that on the menu for that day was the spinach feta quiche.  Of course I got another piece.  And now I have a picture!!! 

Needless to say between the quiche, the pie and the Lacey Cake, I was overly full and a very happy girl.  Thank you Sweetie-licious!  

Oh and the cookies were a hit with my kids!  

Valentine's Day: Heart full of love, belly full of Nachos: Buddies

For the first time, my husband and I decided to take our children out for Valentine's Day date night.  What better way to celebrate love then to take out the loves of your lives.  Where to go?  Easy decision: Buddies in Okemos.  They are family friendly, with a great menu and great beer selection.  Good for the kids and great for mom and dad.  Our kids love the high back booths, and so do we.  It adds a essence of privacy in a busy bar and grill environment.
Although appetizers are usually just the start of your meal, here you can make a meal out of their appetizer menu.  There are so many great choices like the pretzel bread sticks and cheese, lobster rangoon, waffle fries, and buffalo wings.  The best is that they have a combo platter where you can choose several of these and put them together.  We got the pretzel bread sticks for our appetizer that included five soft, salty sticks.  My daughter loved the cheese!  Thick, and creamy and very reminiscent of the amusement park pretzel cheese.  And who doesn't love that!!  The only unfortunate part of this appetizer was there were only five sticks and there are five of us.  We should have ordered two.   My husband decided to make a meal out of the appetizers.  He ordered the waffle fries, onion rings, Buffalo wings and chicken tenders.  Total comfort food right here!  What more can you ask for?

My son and I decided to split the Southern nachos.  What are southern nachos you say? They are OMG yummy nachos loaded with refried beans, cheese and more cheese, lettuce, tomato, green peppers, and BBQ beef.  Yes I said BBQ beef.  Then they top it with guacamole and sour cream.  

They bake them in a way that keeps the chips crispy so you don't end up with a soggy mess of chips at the end.  There was so much goodness we couldn't finish it.  I definitely needed a fork for these nachos!  They were even great reheated the next day!  

They have a great kids menu with lots of choices including corn dogs, quesadillas and chips and cheese but also the standard chicken tenders and burgers. My daughter was super excited about the corn dogs. Kids can choose from french fries, fruit, veggies, or chips, plus they get a drink and sundae.

I did mention the great beer selection, right?  They have a many local Michigan and domestic brews as well as a full bar.  This is a great place to sit back and relax.  I was a happy girl on Valentine's night at Buddies.  

The Best Sushi-Sansu

In history of tasting, I mentioned that my first culinary adventure was to a sushi restaurant.  Since then, I have had a love of sushi.  Luckily, my husband likes it as well so we usually eat at a sushi restaurant on every trip we take.  This has allowed me to sample sushi in Boston, NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago to name a few places.  But the best sushi I have ever had is right here in East Lansing, MI.  Sansu restaurant is located in Hannah plaza, on Hagadorn.  It is housed in what was once the USA cafe.  Sansu, owned by the Jeon family and run by their daughter Rebecca, opened in a small space on the same strip but later moved to its current location to expand due to it's popularity.  The change also allowed for a larger sushi bar and tatami seating (except you don't have to sit legs crossed, the floor is dug out and your feet drop in).  This is much more comfortable, with the same authentic feel.  They also have two "party" rooms in the back where you can have authentic tatami seating and privacy (great for a girl's night out).  The decor is very elegant and clean and the staff is extremely friendly and helpful (even if they are not your server).  They will even make kid friendly chopsticks for the child (or adult) who has not mastered the art.

I must talk about the food!  I have said that it is the best sushi I have had and I am not exaggerating.  The rice is fresh and soft and the sushi and sashimi portions are generous.  However, the rolls are what sets Sansu apart from all the others.  The blending of flavors and the creativity behind the rolls make for a fantastic adventure for the taste buds.  They are not only full of flavor but beautiful too.  The sushi chefs create a masterpiece of flavor and art.  See for yourself:

Sometimes it looks too beautiful to eat (that would never happen of course, it is too good).  I always eat entirely too much when I come here not being able to decide between the rolls.  Tonight we ordered (starting from the bottom) the Spider (fried soft shell crab and cucumber), Spicy Lobster (lobster salad and avocado, topped with masago), Tempura Eel (eel and avocado tempura fried), Rock and Roll (Salmon, tuna, and crab rolled and tempura fried and then re-rolled with Sansu's special sauce drizzled over it) and Koala (tempura shrimp, avocado, yamagobo, topped with eel).  Sansu's sauce is spicy and savory and smooth and adds just the right amount of kick.     

The rolls range from simple (just one type of fish with avocado or cucumber) to exotic (several types of fish with Japanese vegetables or fruits).   My sister-in-law's favorite is the Mango passion roll (salmon, mango and cream cheese).  Who would have thought that these three flavors would go together?  It is truly fantastic.  There is a roll for every palate.  

Each meal starts with soup and salad (if your meal is over $9):

They also have a vast appetizer menu.  You can go simple with the edamame or try something new like the Avocado Boat, which is my favorite.  Feel free to bring friends that don't like sushi.  Their dinner menu is just as good.  They have full meals and bento boxes. (the bento boxes are also on the kid's menu-just because you are a child doesn't mean you can't enjoy a fantastic meal) Here is the kid's teriyaki chicken box:

The bento boxes usually include the meal of choice, tempura shrimp and vegetables, fruit and California rolls.  (and this is just the kid’s meal!)  

They also have a dessert menu, which includes pastries and cakes from Chapelure (located in Sansu's old location around the corner and owned by Tae and Soogee Ahn, daughter of the Jeon's).  They have a full bar with many unique cocktails and sake.  Sansu is a dining experience.  It is a great place to take your family, meet friends or co-workers, go on a date or even have a meal on your own.  I am a happy girl any time I get to eat at Sansu.  

Indian Food-Persis

Although my husband and I frequently eat Indian food, our children have not been exposed to this delicious cuisine.  Last night I decided it was time to change that.  With both our husbands out of town my girlfriend and I decided to take our kids to Persis, on Jolly and Okemos Road in Okemos.  I had heard great things about this restaurant from my Indian colleagues at the hospital and so I was very excited to go.  I was not disappointed!  We started with naan of course and ordered the Persis basket that includes naan, onion naan and buttered naan.  Perfectly toasted and buttered with just the right amount of onion or spice.

They give you complimentary Papad (fried tortillas) with three dipping sauces (all chutney: tomato, mint-cilantro and tamarind).  My son loved the tomato and I loved the mint-cilantro.
Of course my children wanted a fun drink so we ordered the mango lassi.  Wow was that good!  I blinked and three of the kids had already finished and my son (love him) was licking the glass.
The menu offers both vegetarian and meat options and there is a kids menu as well.  We decided to eat family style so the kids could try everything.  We ordered the Chicken Biryani, Butter Chicken and Paneer Tikka Masala.  They allow you to taper the spice level to your liking on most dishes so we went wimpy for the kid’s first try.  The Biryani was still very spicy much to the delight of my son and my girlfriend's two daughters.  The sauces for the Paneer and the butter chicken were smooth and thick and fantastic just by themselves over the rice or with the naan.  I look forward to going back to try other dishes.
The atmosphere is quiet and calm and they show Bollywood videos on the large TV on the wall for entertainment.  They also have a take out menu if you are not in the mood to dine out.  (I will definitely be using this option in the future).

It was fatastic food and great company.  I was a happy girl that night.  

Family fun and fantastic food: Spags

My husband and I love to go out to eat, so our children have been to a great many restaurants.  Because of this, they have learned how to sit still and behave in family friendly and fine dining restaurants.   Sometimes, however, my husband and I want to go out to eat and just relax with a drink and not have to worry whether the kids are too loud or whether they are settled down and sitting nicely in their seats.  Our friends introduced us to a wonderful place in Williamston called Spag's Bar and Grill several years ago.  Spag's Bar and Grill opened in 1998 when the owners of Spagnuolo’s in Okemos wanted to start a second place to serve their award winning pizza.  We love Spags for so many reasons.  First of all, it is quaint and friendly.  Secondly, they have a great selection on tap (16 taps) with many local microbrews included.  Third, they have a very laid back atmosphere that includes an arcade right next to the dining area where children can play, while waiting for their dinner, and after they are done, so that Moms and Dads can talk to each other and relax.  Make sure you bring small bills or coins (there is, of course, coin machine handy). 

Then there is the food.  When you go make sure you get the cheese dip.  What looks like cottage cheese hits your palate with a garlicky, spicy kick.  It is warm and creamy and you can’t stop eating it!  Their nachos are loaded and you usually have a pile, of what my husband refers to as salad, left in the middle when the chips are gone.  For nacho lovers like me, this is when you grab your fork to finish up the olives, lettuce, onions, cheese, jalapenos, tomatoes, beans and chicken.  (Note that these are chili nachos not refried beans nachos).
They have the standard bar fare but they also have fantastic calzones with thick doughy crust filled to bursting with toppings (you can choose what you want or pick a local favorite) and of course their pizza that is loaded with toppings.   My husband loves their buffalo chicken sandwich, which is super hot.  They have Grinders and wraps, all which come with fries (thick steak fries) or giant onion rings.  Let me not forget that they have adult macaroni and cheese!  Penne pasta with fontina and cheddar melted into a gooey mouthwatering dish that is sure to please any child at heart who does not want to order off the kids menu.

Spags is a great night out with the family or with friends and their kids.  Adults can enjoy time together while the kids have fun.  It is also a great place to meet friends for drinks, enjoy a game or play some pool.  I am always a happy girl at Spags.