Lansing Brewing Company Cheeseburger Review

I forgot to take a picture of the place. This photo is courtesy of http://www.betterondraft.com

Welcome to Cheeseburgers in Michigan! We are James the Dad and Jerome the Teenager. We have a passion for the best meal in the world: a cheeseburger and fries. Our goal is to review every cheeseburger in Michigan. We will be joined by Erin the Matriarch and Bucky the Preschooler as well as other guests. Here is our review of Lansing Brewing Company aptly located in Lansing.

When I moved back to Lansing, I thought it was odd that I’d never heard of Lansing Brewing Company before. Their logo is designed to look old-timey, and it says right on there “Est. 1898.” How did a brewery that’s been around for that long fly under my radar? Well, it hasn’t been around for that long.

The original Lansing Brewing Company opened in 1898. So, technically, a Lansing Brewing Company was established then, and their claims are not a complete lie. However, the original LBC shut down in 1914, allegedly because of the strong temperance movement in the city. The newest incarnation of LBC opened in 2015 on East Shiawassee in a former tool and die shop – not the original location of the brewery.

Despite these liberties with the truth, I was interested in LBC’s menu and beers. So, on a hot Saturday evening, Erin and Bucky joined us for the walk to the restaurant as the Lugnuts played nearby.

Jerome’s Review

You should see the pictures Jerome didn't want me to post.

The Lansing Brewing Company is one restaurant I know I’m going to revisit quite frequently. We were seated fairly quickly despite all seats being almost full. For an appetizer we ordered a basket of wings, and honestly, I could have eaten those wings all night. The BBQ sauce was delicious and the wings themselves rivaled the ones I had back in Eugene. When the burgers came they were cooked exactly as ordered and weren’t at all dry. The buns were also tasty which is somewhat uncommon. Overall, I’d give the place 8.5/10 and recommend going if you're in town.

James’s Review

Cheeseburger 19/25

Lansing Brewing Company essentially has one beef burger and three vegetarian burgers: quinoa, portobello mushroom, and the Beyond Burger. The Basic Burger comes with lettuce, tomato, and cheddar cheese on it. Above the basic, you can add a variety of different items, including smoked brisket, fried egg, and smoked gouda, for an extra charge. I decided to spice things up with bacon.

I ordered my burger “medium,” and it came out medium-well to well. There was only a hint of pink to be found. I’ve grown accustomed to restaurants doing me like that. They claim that the patties are “seasoned with a blend of seasonings and spices”, but it was fairly bland.

I took this picture after giving most of my fries to Bucky.

Those were the negatives. Overall, it was a decent burger. I liked how thick the patty was. You could tell you were eating a hunk of meat. I didn’t like that I had to specifically ask for mayonnaise. It wasn’t automatically on the burger or delivered on the side, but I’m getting nitpicky.

Fries 23/25

The star of the show was the fries. There was a nice, well-seasoned breading. There weren’t a lot of the terrible end pieces. The fries were slightly underdone but not too bad. I had to battle Bucky for a lot of them because he also enjoyed them. Fortunately, Erin let me eat some of her poutine, which was also excellent.

The Kid going to town.

Value 18/25

Here’s what our receipt looked like:

• Wings $11.99
• Flights (2 @ $8) $16
• Poutine $10.99
• Basic Burger with Bacon and Fries $14.98
• Basic Burger with Bacon $12.99
• Sorbet (2 @ $4.49) $8.98
• Total with tax: $80.49
• Tip: $19.51

$100 for a dinner for a family of four is kind of a bit much for most. But, we did get an appetizer, alcoholic drinks, and desserts so it’s understandable. Still, I don’t like having to pay extra for fries when the burger is already $12.

Name that film: "If I'm gonna get my balls blown off for a word, my word is 'poutine.'"

Ambiance 10/15

Our table was incredibly sticky. And, the whole place was loud AF. I had to practically yell for Erin to hear me. We let Bucky play on his tablet so we could enjoy our dining experience, and he had the thing blasting. No one noticed because the ambient noise drowned it out.

Aside from that, Lansing Brewing Company appears to attract the judgy suburban crowd. At one point, we noted a table of middle-aged white people glaring at a table of people of color. I guess they didn’t like them being at their restaurant. On the bright side, we did have a nice discussion about how to be a good ally on the walk home.

Service 8/10

Our waitress looked like a cross between the musical artist Grimes and that one actress from Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. This has nothing to do with anything. It just gives you a glimpse into the idle conversation we had while waiting for our food. We arrived at about 7:45 in the evening and were out the door by 8:45. Not bad for a semi-busy Saturday night. There was no wait for a seat, but the place is darn spacious.

My biggest quibble was that I ordered mayo on the side, and it didn’t come on the side. I had to ask for mayonnaise again. At that point, I looked like a desperate little fat man who just needed nothing more out of life than to smear white viscid substances on my mouth.

Lansing Brewing Company’s Overall Score: 78/100

Erin having a working dinner.

I will probably go to Lansing Brewing Company again, but I probably won’t order the burger again. The menu has so many other things that outshine the unremarkable burger. Plus, there are plenty of good brews to be had. The flight is a great deal. Go to LBC for the other stuff, skip the burger.

The Ravens Club Cheeseburger Review

Since 2011, The Ravens Club has been serving up trendy dishes and fancy cocktails on Main Street in Ann Arbor. Their “bar snacks” include pork belly buns and steak carpaccio bruschetta. They have charcuterie boards, or you might want shrimp and pork belly like Erin ordered. The bourgeoisie will appreciate the seared duck breast and lobster mac.

What caught my eye as we were browsing the menus posted in front of restaurants bordering the Ann Arbor Art Fair was the Wagyu beef burger listed on The Ravens Club menu. I want to be clear that we were not in Ann Arbor for the Art Fair. We were there to visit my sister, Colleen, a genius engineeringish student at THE University of Michigan. The Art Fair just kept us from enjoying ourselves too much.

Also, we did not walk into The Ravens Club intending to review it. Jerome was just so blown away by their burger that he had to write about it. So, here we are.

Jerome’s Review

Jerome in heaven.

Though I have not yet been to many burger restaurants in my time living here in Michigan, I can say with full certainty that The Ravens Club had the best quality burger by far. Along with the burger, the customer service was also quite nice. I was offered free refills on my drink, and despite the waitress having no notebook to take our orders, she remembered them perfectly as all of our orders were correct when they arrived.

The wait to get in wasn't too bad, though our table was a tad small for 5. As if to top it all off, the food was absolutely amazing. The burger was the highest quality meat possible to obtain, and it was very low on the price side. Every other dish that my family ordered looked and smelled amazing. So, from what I can tell, you simply can’t go wrong when eating at Ravens.

James’s Review

Cheeseburger 24/25

This is how much of my burger was left when Jerome decided we should review it.

There are but two burger options on The Ravens Club menu: the TRC Burger and The Impossible Burger. For the uninitiated, the Impossible Burger is a vegan burger that is made of wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein, a little bit of soy, some binders, and plenty of magic. The result is a patty that is virtually indistinguishable from meat. Right now, you can only get the Impossible Burger in restaurants, including about 70 locations in Michigan. Colleen ordered the Impossible and let me try it. All I can say is believe the hype.

I, of course, ordered the real meat burger, the TRC. This consisted of a 7-ounce Wagyu beef patty, bacon, white queso cheese, tomato, onion, and remoulade aioli. The server actually asked me how I wanted the burger done. Since it was a fancy cut of meat, I said medium-rare hoping it would be medium. Unfortunately, they cooked it medium rare. I blame myself and all of the other restaurants in the world that have conditioned me to ask for my burgers undercooked in the hopes it will not be burnt to heck.

Regardless, this burger was pretty close to perfect: the patty was thick and flavorful. The seasoning was great. The toppings were fresh and delicious. The only reason I didn’t give it a 25 is because I want to leave room for something to top it. I think there could be something better out there.

Fries 20/25

The Fry Thief

The fries were pretty darn good. They were classic hand-cut fries with coarse salt seasoning. Bucky went to town on mine and pretty much only left me with the bits, which were sadly plentiful. I thought ahead and ordered mayonnaise on the side. At The Ravens Club, they call mayo “aioli,” which basically means it has garlic in it. I love garlic, and it provided a great dip for my fries.

Value 22/25

Here’s what our bill looked like:

• Coke $2
• Shrimp & Pork Belly $13
• The Impossible Burger $17
• 2 TRC Burgers $28
• Bell’s Two Hearted $5
• Total with tax: $68.90
• Tip: $13.10

For how fancy the décor was, for how it was located in an expensive (for Michigan) city, and for the high-quality ingredients, The Ravens Club was surprisingly affordable. The burgers came with fries at no additional charge. Our meals filled us up. I even got to finish Jerome’s burger. Bonus! Still, for four people, an $82 dinner with just one alcoholic beverage is a bit much.

Ambiance 12/15

Erin didn't know she would be photographed.

The Ravens Club is a bit of a dark place with the ceiling and several walls painted black. The lighting is beautiful. It appealed to my gothic roots. I would have liked more Edgar Allen Poe references, but what’re you gonna do? If the dark thing doesn’t appeal to you, there is also patio seating, where you can pretend you don’t have any cash as bums ask for change. The Ravens Club lost points because it’s clearly not welcoming to kids. There were no distractions. Though, we brought our own.

Service 7/10

We were there a little before 7 pm on a Thursday. And, overall, the service was slow. We were there for about an hour and ten minutes, and it wasn’t all that busy. There were fifteen-minute stretches of time when we wouldn’t see our server at all. Yet, when she did come by, she was responsive to our needs.

You may want to watch Colleen eat fries incorrectly,
but I insist you check out the Impossible Burger on her plate.

The Ravens Club’s Overall Score: 85/100

If you are in Ann Arbor and looking for a burger and aren’t in a rush, head to The Ravens Club. The TRC Burger will not let you down. I’d recommend ordering it medium or medium well. I tried Jerome’s medium well, and it was outstanding. So far, the two Ann Arbor restaurants I’ve had burgers in have been great. The other restaurant shall remain a secret until I can get there with Jerome. Overall, I’m excited to head back to AA in my Green and White to try more burgers.