Traverse City has its cherries.
Kalamazoo has Bell's Brewery.
Detroit and Flint can argue over whose coney dog reigns supreme.
But what about Lansing? Shouldn't there be a culinary claim to fame for our state's Capital City?
After perusing the dining options in this fair city, one epicurean delight began to stand out: the cheeseburger.
But how would we go about accomplishing such a daunting task as taste-testing the best burgers Lansing has to offer?
Simple: Divide and conquer.
The Strategy
We chose five of the most recognized, appreciated and recommended burger spots within the city limits and started ordering burgers for lunch.
As with any ultra-scientific study, we set a control sample—a standard burger we ordered at every place. We settled on a cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, pickle, onion, lettuce and tomato as the perfect control.
Then, we took a shot at each joint’s specialty burger. Of course, we split the two burgers so we each sampled both.
Because we’re no slackers and will go the extra mile for you, dear readers, we split orders of fries and onion rings at each restaurant, too.
North: Bonnie’s Place
A cozy place with a cozy name, it was here that we set the ground rules for our research and began our mission.
The menu at Bonnie’s is full of different kinds of burgers. From aloha to jerk, pizza to BBQ, Bonnie’s has something for every burger lover.
After drooling on our menus, we both agreed on the Bonnie Burger. But the Bonnie Burger comes in two versions: the Bonnie Burger and the Baby Bonnie.
No problem, we thought. A Baby Bonnie to go with our control burger, fries and onion rings.
Minutes after we place our order, out came the queen mother, Bonnie herself, to greet us. Bonnie informed us that the Baby Bonnie would not suffice. If we wanted a real taste of her offerings, we had to go with a full Bonnie Burger and downsize the control burger.
"The Bonnie is the specialty burger," she explained. "Not the Baby Bonnie."
If there's one thing we've learned in our 33 years of gastronomic indulgence, it's that you listen to an owner who's willing to tell you what to order.
And after sampling everything, we came up with one easy bit of advice: don’t even think about ordering the Baby Bonnie.
The Bonnie is a half-pound of Angus beef, ham, American and Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato, deliciously served on a soft bun.
The burgers both looked phenomenal. Quite honestly, everything did. The fries were thick, but not as big as steak fries. The onion rings had a fantastic brown crust on them. Both burgers were talking to us.
They didn't disappoint.
You might think the ham would make the Bonnie too salty, but it had the perfect amount of saltiness. The ham was like The Dude's rug in The Big Lebowksi—it brought it all together.
The control burger was great. Nice and juicy with nice zing from the pickles. You'd be completely at ease ordering a regular cheeseburger, but the Bonnie was the star.
East: Dagwood's Tavern and Grill
Dagwood's, an Eastside institution for more than 50 years, is your prototypical neighborhood bar.
Lucky for us, they serve not-so-prototypical cheeseburgers.
The Dagwood burger comes wrapped in wax paper—old school, if you will—with nary a plate or piece of silverware served.
Here we tried the Bacon Burger (with American cheese) in addition to our control.
The burgers were good, but the toppings were most memorable. The tomato was fresh and the leaf lettuce was crispy, great compliments to the gooey, American-cheesy waxpaper the burger comes in.
If you like raw onion on your burger, order it—you won't be disappointed. But if you don't, steer clear cause they slice 'em thick and they pack a kick—whew!
Dag's fries are fresh-cut daily and offer a little flair in an otherwise very standard environment for your neighborhood bar. The onion rings were the crunchiest we tasted, possibly because of the unique crumbly, bready crust. A definite must-have on any visit.
South: LeRoy's Classic Bar & Grille
The first time we rolled into LeRoy's was after the Spartans blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to Michigan in 2007.
Despite the gut-wrenching loss, our spirits were slightly lifted with a trip to this blue collar bar. It caters to the Cadillac crowd. And that doesn't mean the customers sported Rolexes. The Cadillac CTS is assembled less than a mile away, so the place is known to attract its share of autoworkers.
We knew right away what we wanted: fries, rings and a control burger, of course. But LeRoy's ain't your typical burger joint when it comes to its specialty. That's because The Slapper isn't your typical burger. It's actually chipped beef—think Steak-um, but tastier— with grilled ham, double American, lettuce, tomato, mayo on a toasted white bun. It is a massive undertaking, and that bun comes buttery.
We agreed that the fries were the best in our scientific experiment. Like McDonald's fries that have been in the prison yard, pushing upweight.
What it boils down to is that we’re glad we tried LeRoy's — you will be too.
Downtown: Kewpee's
When you visit Sin City some might say you have to checkout the Bellagio.
But there's a certain appeal to old-school feel of the Las Vegas Hilton or the Sahara—the kind of place you'd find Frankie, Dean, Sammy and the boys.
And if there's one place in Lansing that screams old-school burger joint, it's Kewpee's in Downtown, where they've been slingin' burgers since 1923.
And if you mosey in during a weekday lunch hour when the Legislature is in session, well, good luck finding a seat.
The specialty is the olive burger, of which one of us is a connoisseur, while the other ranks olives just ahead of gum scrapings and gutter balls.
Sometimes, though, you have to be ready to stimulate your mind because, while they do serve other specialty burgers, there's one burger that defines Kewpee's, and that's Das Olive.
Burgers at Kewpee's come in three sizes: 2.5 ounces, four ounces and the King half-pounder. For the record, we went with a King control and a four-ounce olive burger.
Both burgers were flavorful, but the olive burger really surprised. Let's just say that despite our differing opinions on green olives, neither of us had a drop of that salty, tangy green olive sauce left when we were finished.
We both certainly recommend making your way to Kewpee's to satisfy a burger craving. The service is fast and friendly, your wait won't be long and believe us, you'll be happy you stayed.
West: The Irish Pub
When you head into The Irish Pub, you get exactly what you expect. That is, a pub. You don't see anything that screams "great burger joint." So, we'll do it for the owners: THIS IS A GREAT BURGER JOINT!
We had another array of specialty burgers to choose from, but we ended up pairing our control burger with the BBQ Bacon Western.
The burgers were sites to behold, neatly stacked and picturesque, served on a skillet.
That's right, a skillet.
We could talk about the fries and onion rings (both, legitimately, some of the best we've ever had), but it'd be better to cut to the chase: the BBQ Bacon Western was easily the most memorable burger we ate during our Lansing burger adventure. It was, in a word, mind-scrambling.
The patty itself was perfectly cooked, juicy and flavorful; the outstanding BBQ sauce took it over the top.
Again, the control was a damn good burger. But the specialty burger stole the show. Suffice it to say that nary a crumb remained.
The Results—Sort Of
These are just five of the many "must-try" burger spots in Lansing. This list doesn't even include places like Kelly's or Brannigan Brothers, where you're sure to find a tasty tower of beef to your liking. God forbid we should delve into East Lansing burgers.
So keep your overpriced delis, Ann Arbor.
Do what you will with your pasties, Yoopers.
Because when you're hankerin' for a hunk of beef on a bun, you've got to come to the Capital City.
(Originally published Jun. 17, 2009)
Philip Zaroo and Peter Hughes are high profile foodies that live in Lansing and Ann Arbor.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Irish Pub burger
Dawnn Gibson cooks at Dagwood's
Kewpee's burger
Burgers going out to a table at Bonnie's
On the grill at Dagwood's
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie