One of my best friends, Lisa, and her boyfriend Tim, wanted Mike and I to come out and visit her at her apartment near Lansing. So we headed out there (half the drive being consumed by snow). We ended up going to a place called Harper's Bar and Grill.
We got there around 8pm. At that time, it wasn't too busy. Like any college town bar, the music was loud and the drinks were pretty cheap. We went on a Friday, which meant $2.50 pints, bombs, Svedka, and Jack. We ate there as well.
The place looked like a regular old bar, but also was it's own micro brewery. I don't like beer, but I took a sip of Mike's raspberry wheat, and I thought it was okay- mostly because it didn't really taste like beer at all.
Our group had a mixed selection of food, and mixed opinions. I had a hamburger, to which I added Ranch, as usual, and tomato, lettuce and bacon. The size of the burger itself was really small, and it was over cooked for my taste. No pink at all. Also, they charge an extra $1.50 for fries, so I didn't order any. A mistake because I got hungry again quickly.
Mike and Lisa got two different pasta dishes. While I was not super excited about my meal, Mike and Lisa's dishes were actually really good. Lisa got a sorta of lasagna type thing, which was thick, but good, and Mike had a genius combo of pasta, three cheese Alfredo and bacon. That too was really delicious. Tim had a hamburger like I did, but he said his was alright. That can be accounted for through differences of taste.
I think the best part of our evening was our waiter. He looked like his was miles above Earth. He was very forgetful and looked like his probably didn't know he was actually at work. Poor kid, but sadly, not surprising. He was, however, a source of entertainment for the night.
The night we were there, the bar had a band who played 80's covers, afro wigs and everything. I don't know the name of the band, though. They were actually decent, and were a nice break from the overly loud Top 40 songs.
The last aspect of the night was the pool tables. It cost $1.50 to play pool, but they at least had a change machine right next to the tables. The cues were okay. And the felt on both tables were stained from games of beer pong (they had a big wood slab that could be placed over the pool tables for the game).
Overall, I'd probably go again, but not order the hamburger. And hope that I would get a waiter who didn't decide to get high before work.
Harper's Bar and Grill
131 Albert Ave.
East Lansing, MI 48823
