Reboot of a time tested favorite, Lansing Brewing Company

My family and I go to Lansing Brewing Company quite a bit and we love this place.  From its modern redesign of an old garage, to its great selection of beer and its fantastic menu.  They have a kids menu too, to great for us!! We brought my sister and her family there and my brother in law loved it so much he bought a shirt and a few crowlers for the road. 


Lansing Brewing Company was first founded in 1897, and was on the first brewing companies in the Capital area.  Unfortunately it closed in 1914 during the prohibition.  A good thing will never die and we are so we are fortunate to get the reboot.

 

                         

They have a fantastic patio area our front complete with corn hole and a fireplace.  Several picnic tables are scattered on the lawn providing a relaxing and area to sit with friends or family.  They also have a large open area in the back that can be used for social functions complete with its own bar and stage. On weekends and holidays, they have live music on the stage for all to enjoy.

Lansing Brewing company has a great selection of beers covering all palate types.  Their most popular are the Angry Mayor IPA and their Cream Ale.  Both are now available in stores as well.  The Angry Mayor always a go to for me.  It is smooth and hoppy and with a reasonable ABV if you don't want to kill the night too quickly or you are out with your family.  They offer some great session beers and never fail to surprise me with their new releases. 

Beer cheese

Their food is eclectic with a true Michigan flare.  They offer amazing poutine, with tons of gravy and of course an egg! Their nachos are not made with your standard potato chips but with wonton chips made in house and thy top with both regular cheese and their beer cheese sauce, so delicious!  You can also get the beer cheese sauce alone with the wonton chips and a large soft pretzel or pretzel nuggets. 

Smoke Me Smoke Me

Their food menu is so good I can never decide what to order.  The sandwiches are not your basic bar food fare.  They have a brisket sandwich, the Smoke Me Smoke Me (Smoke! Smoke!), that is made with smoked gouda, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions and our Kansas City BBQ sauce on brioche bun.  What a fantastic combination of flavors that is!!  Don't miss it.  You also shouldn't the flat bread pizzas!  The Notorious PIG is the only thing my husband orders!  Who could resist braised pork, pepperoni, ham, bacon, tomato sauce and mozzarella?  Now you may think that a brewery can't possibly have any good salads but you would be wrong there!!  Their signature, Get To Da Choppa, is an amazing with romaine, avocado, bleu cheese, bacon, tomato, cucumber, red onion and egg with our roasted garlic Parmesan dressing.  Add the grilled chicken, it is totally worth it! 

Kids Meal

 The kids menu actually has good food on it too.  Check out that grilled chicken plate!

 

You can go just for the beer or just for the food, either way you will be happy.  Both together is the icing on the cake.  Happy eating (and drinking)!

Farmers Fishers Bakers- Georgetown, Washington, DC

When traveling, we eat local, as much as possible.   In Washington D.C., you can't get more local than Farmers, Fishers, Bakers.  Situated right on the harbour, off of K street in George Town, this eatery boasts casual fare from local grain to farm, to fishery.

 They have 24 craft beers on draft and an extensive cocktail menu.  They even have a "Farmacy" with non alcoholic cocktails.  My daughter ordered the Rickey.  Lime juice, jerk soda with a flavor of the day.  Today's was cherry.  It tasted like a cherry mojito.  She kept asking if it has alcohol in it.  I must say a little tequila would have been amazing in this drink.

We ordered the calamari and the onion rings for starters .  The calamari was perfect.  Not a chewy bit to be had.  The onion rings were thick and crispy but the beast part was the sauces to dip in.  One was like a French onion dip and the other was like a spicy honey mustard.  Wow!

The menu is extensive, offering pizza, sandwiches, and tacos, as well as, steaks, seafood and salads.  A bit of something for everyone, even sushi!. I couldn't decide what to order.  They do not offer a kids menu, so my girls ordered the thin crust pizza. ( half pepperoni).  The pepperoni was three dollars extra and they graciously put all three dollars worth on the one half. It was crispy and light on the cheese (my kids love that) and the pepperoni was thick and spicy.  I did not get a photo on this one because they grabbed for it too fast!  My daughter was rubbing her belly because she ate so much and my husband was more than happy to eat the last slice.

My son ordered the crab cake sandwich.  He and I are crab cake connesiours, so I was thrilled he ordered this, because I could have some.  The bun was light and fluffy, the crab fresh with thick chunks and light on the mayo but thick on the kick.  Super good.

My husband opted for the sushi.  Appropriately, he ordered the Chesapeake Bay roll.  Fresh crab with light mayo, lettuce and celery.  It sat on a bed of spicy sauce and topped with fried onion strings.  Surprisingly good for a non Asian restaurant. 

I ordered the Cioppino.  I figured if we were right in the water, I should order seafood.  Shrimp, calamari, mussels and white fish in a tomato based soup with bits of potato and onions.  This was an amazing dish.  I wish I had ordered two because my daughter ate most of my calamari and my son most of the mussels.  After I ate the rest of the seafood with spoonfuls of the decadent soup, my son took a spoon and ate all the remaining soup.  My daughter then took the bread and soaked up the very last drops.  Safe to say we loved this dish!  

We decided before we even ordered dinner that we had to get dessert, when we saw the dessert at the next table. After a battle over what to order, beignets, death by chocolate brownie sundae, key lime pie, or banana pudding, we decided on the bananas foster and the Sooze's chocolate cake.  I love bananas foster because I love caramel and this serving did not disappoint.  It did not come flaming but I got over that because it was soooo good.  My son and I did not let anyone else touch it.  He still has not stopped talking about it! The chocolate cake was torn apart by the girls and quickly consumed.  My poor husband was left empty plated.  

Having over filled our bellies we called it a night.  We were very happy with our meal and you will be too.  Happy eating.

Still dreaming of this meal!- Yerba Buena, Perry Street, NYC

After an awesome matinee, my husband and I walked down the West side along the Hudson heading for a good Mexican meal in the village.  The restaurant we chose, had yet to open.  This turned out to be a great thing.  A quick search of the area and we stumbled on quaint Latin restaurant tucked in the corner of Perry and Greenwich.  Yerba Buena is fusion of Cuban, Peruvian, Chilean, Mexican and Argentinian flavors, tastes and styles.

As with many NYC restaurants the seating is very cozy, with only inches between you and the next table.  No worries because you are so involved in your meal that you don't even notice the people around you.

They have a full bar but highlight their custom cocktail menu.  I ordered the El Manguito, cachaca with mango, ginger beer and lime juice.  I took a sip and loved the flavor and then I was hit with the heat!!  I missed the fact that it also contained poblano pepper!  It was an amazing drink! I loved it more and more with each sip.  

 

My husband was thrilled to see chicharron on the appetizer menu.  Why order guacamole, when you can have chicharron?  This appetizer, called Picada, comes with yucca, tostones, chorizo with rocoto.  Holy Moly was this good!!  The chicharron was crispy, crunchy on the outside and smooth on the inside.  I am drooling just thinking about it!  The Yucca was fresh and salty and the tostones fried to perfection all having a kick from the rocoto pepper. 

Dinner was a culinary masterpiece.  We ordered the house dish, Parillada, a mixed grill popular in Argentina and Columbia.  This Parillada came with rib eye steak, Beef short rib, Bone marrow and Morcilla arepa with three amazing salsas for dipping, Chimichurri, Yerba Buena horseradish and an Aji panca salsa.  The meat was so flavorful it didn't need the salsa but we added a bit and the flavor exploded.  I left most of the ribeye and short rib for my husband and dove into the marrow and Morcilla arepa.  My husband will not go near blood sausage or marrow.  He was missing out!  I could have had only the Morcilla arepa for my meal and I would have been happy.  This meal was definitely a treat, and one you should definitely try on your visit.  We ordered a side of beans and rice that I didn't eat till all the meat was gone.  I couldn't leave that plate.  They offer Chaufa rice, which is a Peruvian/Chinese fried rice.  Wow! My husband ordered the Papas a la provenzal, aka fried potatoes.  He always finds a way to get French fries.  These were awesome.  They were drizzled a tomato salsa which added quite a kick. 

If you aren't full by this point, make sure you get the Churros for dessert!   No matter what you order, I am sure that you will be as happy as we were.  Happy Eating.