Max "Pure Swagger" K.'s Profile

If you're over the age of 25, don't go to Rick's. You won't like it. The bathrooms are gross. It takes forever to get a shot.  And good luck getting a table unless you're there super early on a Friday or Saturday before the rush.

But maybe this is exactly why me and the 40,000 other college kids in this town love this place. If you're under the age of 25, go to Rick's. You'll love it. It's dirty and loud. Drinks are cheap. They run drink specials every night. You'll always run into someone you know which can be either good or bad. And the food is super greasy which is perfect when you need something to hold down that Irish Car Bomb.

Albeit, I experienced my 21st birthday at this bar so it holds a special place in my heart, but it is an East Lansing tradition. Best nights to go to Rick's you ask? After or during any Michigan State sporting event, especially football games. But honestly, when is it not a good time to go to the bar?

Sparty's Coney Island is probably the most authentic coney joint around MSU's campus. They definitely tout their famous breakfasts and understandably so, their omelets are huge. If you order breakfast and manage to leave without a box, you won't be hungry for the rest of the day. Unfortunately I didn't order breakfast and opted for a Greek salad. The Greek dressing was some of the best I've had, not creamy at all, just the way I like it. They are real generous with the feta too which is always a plus.

Unfortunately, this place isn't exactly cheap. I mean sure, it's not expensive by any means, but everything seems to cost around $8. An $8 Greek salad would normally be a fine deal, that is, if there was enough to take home and save for dinner. That wasn't the case. Even more upsetting is they don't do chicken Greek salads. The waitress told me it would be an extra five dollars to get a chicken breast put on my salad. What?! I'm not living in New York City anymore, I don't feel like paying almost $20 for every meal.

Overall, the service was efficient and their coffee was actually really good, but stick with breakfast. Breakfast is where you'll get the most bang for your buck, err...I mean, eight bucks.

If you have any inkling of decency, any appreciation for the "little guy" or small, local businesses then you will love Goodrich's. They may be owned by Spartan Stores, but this place is clean, chock full of stuff in narrow aisles and pretty much the quintessential local grocer. It's a place where you're still asked, "paper or plastic?" and the employees wear aprons. They even have a barber shop upstairs.

It's seconds away from MSU and perfect for grabbing a quick bag of chips or month's worth of groceries. From the outside it doesn't look like much, but trust me, they've got exactly what you need. Booze, check. DVD's to rent, check. Fresh produce and vegetables, check. They also have a wide selection of imported items including olive oils, jams, and chocolate if you're into that kind of thing. They also have more varieties of mustard I knew ever knew existed- in jars no less! I didn't know mustard came in jars until I shopped at Goodrich's.

Surprise yourself. Buy mustard in a jar or imported cheese. Shop at Goodrich's and you'll find yourself going back. A lot.

I went to Coral Gables for breakfast. It was Sunday so the restaurant was quite busy with the church crowd. The menu was limited because they had a breakfast buffet. I know, I know, buffets are supposed to be gross, the food cold, etc...but seriously, they do a decent job. They had a ton of fresh fruit and juice, scrambled eggs (both regular and egg beaters), bacon, sausage, toast in the french and normal varieties, pancakes, corn-beef hash, biscuits and gravy, really good crispy hash browns, doughnuts, and whole bunch of breakfast pastries. It was pretty much endless.

The buffet cost about $9 which is my only gripe. Though the food was good, $9 seems like a steep price for a breakfast buffet. And sure, Sam M. called them out- this place is littered with baby boomers and the greatest generation. They flock to this place like it's a Buick dealership, but you know what, overhearing their conversations about church gossip and wool sweaters superiority to cotton sweaters is just part of the experience at Coral Gables. For a Sunday breakfast Coral Gables won't do you wrong.

With a party of roughly eleven, I wasn't expecting the greatest service or the greatest food, especially from an Italian restaurant chain. But that didn't stop me from giving this place a try because I have friends who rave about their pizza and chicken.

It was around eight o'clock when we arrived, but still relatively busy. If we didn't have reservations we would have waited about half an hour. The atmosphere is similar to any Italian chain, in fact, I'd put it at the same level as an Olive Garden by strictly aesthetic appeal. However, the food, is much better.

At Carrabba's they bring out warm loaves of bread and a plate of garlic to mix with olive oil. Most entrees are served with a soup or salad. I opted for the Italian salad which was topped with the perfect amount of dressing and fresh tasting kalamata olives. My entree, the chicken marsala, comes as either a small or regular. A small is just half a chicken breast, so pay the two extra bucks and get the regular. Considering $16 gets you bread, salad, a side (spaghetti, vegetable, or mashed potatoes) it's an OK price.

My marsala was absolutely delicious though. The mushrooms and sauce only complimented the flavor of the grilled chicken breast. The side green beans were cooked in olive oil and had a nice crunch to them, not at all soggy. Plus, our entire party even got free chocolate sundaes because we were celebrating a birthday. The service was excellent and the food was delicious- not bad for a chain.

Situated directly across the street from my house, Quality Dairy is my local stop for everything from bananas, coffee, and donuts, to snacks, alcohol, and milk. This particular location has a wide selection of snacks, munchies, and tailgating groceries. Think, chips, pretzels, candy, bread, frozen snacks, etc. They also have a great selection of specialty coffee like Hazelnut, Traverse City Cherry, two types of fair trade blends, and some others as well.

I usually stop in for a cup of hazelnut in the morning, $1.05 for a 16 ounce cup and once in the evening for a $.99 12 ounce cup of decaf hazelnut. Plus, they have a ton of creamers, coffee flavorings, and milk! Not many convenience stores have milk as an option for your coffee. Even better, you can get a coffee coupon card so after six cups of coffee (any size) you get a free 16 ounce cup. And usually by the time you get to four cups of coffee, they hook you up with a free cup and give you a new card. Awesome!

Quality Dairy is known for their doughnuts, baked fresh in downtown Lansing, and, of course, their dairy products. Their prices aren't bad for a convenience store either and each day they have a special deal. For example on Mondays, when you buy three half gallons, like orange juice, chocolate milk, and cider, you get charged $.99 each. If you're looking for a last minute snack or craving a cup of coffee that won't cost you $2.50, stop by any Quality Dairy peppered across mid-Michigan.

Good prices. Great service. Cool atmosphere. Delicious food.

Fleetwood Diner is the quintessential diner. Shiny steel, vintage Coke signs, a small bar lined with ashtrays...you get the picture. I ordered a Greek salad and chili. My friends ordered a combination of burgers, salads, chili, cheese fries, and steak subs. Everyone said their food was delicious.

My Greek salad was a pleasant surprise. The dressing wasn't too creamy, but was bursting with flavor, just like the Greek olives. And they loaded up the salad with feta which is always a nice touch. The tomatoes looked kind of nasty, but at this point, they're getting out of season so I shouldn't be surprised. My chili was pretty good too, generously topped with a layer of shredded cheese. The fries were cooked well done, very crispy, which is so much better than the soggy, damp fries most other diners dish out.

Even though the waitress spilled ranch dressing on my pants, she was very apologetic, great with refills and bringing out the food in a timely manner. From the looks of it there were only two waitresses and the restaurant was 75% full so kudos to her for being so attentive. This place is absolutely worth checking out. It's cheap, the food is good, and it's a diner so bring the kids and give them a history lesson.

Blockbuster Video is a great spot to rent movies and video games. Plus, their prices on pre-viewed movies are a steal- I'm talking like $10. You never know what kind of gems can be found. What's great about this Blockbuster is they always have the new releases in stock. No more awkward fights for the last DVD, with the middle aged single lady holding her half-pound box of Mike and Ike's and Dove chocolates. And if you have a sweet tooth, you'll find yourself in luck. This place has got an endless variety of candy with pretty good deals on movie sized boxes of candy. If you're like me and still go "old school" with renting movies, forget Netflix and waiting for your movies by snail mail, just go to Blockbuster.

Summed up, Mr. Shawarma is not even close to being at the same level as the middle eastern restaurants in the area like Cedars, Pine Land, or La Marsa.

I ordered a shish tawook sandwich with a cup of lentil soup. The chicken was cooked perfectly, except I only got three measly pieces in a wrap with the  diameter of my index finger. I'm not even kidding. It was so skinny, there were four layers of pita bread over the chicken.  

The soup was no better. It was only half full of actual lentil soup. It was watery, real watery- nothing like the traditional lentil soup I've come to expect from a middle eastern restaurant. And it was virtually flavorless.

So here I am, $10 later, and still hungry.

Bell's is conveniently located across the street from my house so after a long evening I often find myself dodging traffic on Grand River to get a late night fix. Their pizza isn't bad and it's cheap. Around a buck or two, depending on the slice. I like their Greek pizza that comes with feta and spinach. I've never had a bad slice, per say, but the next day it wreaks havoc on my body. Now, to be entirely fair, I can't say whether it was the alcohol or pizza, but every time I have ever had Bell's, the next day is an endless struggle of stomach aches and nausea.

On sober occasions I've opted to try outside the realm of pizza and order their chicken shawarma with rice. I guess each restaurant's take on shawarma is different because Bell's uses dark meat chicken. I'm not a fan of dark meat to begin with and the fact the chicken didn't taste marinated was of no help. For a buck extra, taking my total to just over $9, I got a Lebanese salad. I guess it was fine, even though it didn't taste too fresh.

My recommendation- stay away from anything but the pizza. I can't vouch for the falafel, Greek salad, or any of their pastries but this is a pizza place- get the pizza. Oh yeah, they take Sparty Cash too.