Spinach and goat cheese salad — Grand Traverse Pie Co.

At least once a week, lunchtime sneaks up on me. I ravenously wander from office to kitchen, hoping a soup or sandwich will magically materialize in front of me. It never happens. So I hop into the car and drive across the busy Okemos Road/Jolly Road intersection to Grand Traverse Pie Co., a company rumored to have been started by a relative of my grandmother. That possible family connection, sadly, has not manifested itself in free pies, cookies or even a salad.

But as long as we’re talking about salads, I am totally obsessed with the restaurant’s spinach and goat cheese salad. I always add chicken for added protein and heartiness. A bed of spinach is topped with blueberries, chopped apple, red onion, crumbled goat cheese, juicy grilled chicken and the best part, candied pecans. A honey mustard vinaigrette comes in a little cup on the side.

On a recent Thursday, I needed to add a little extra fuel to get through a Lansing School Board meeting, so I added a massive chocolate chip cookie and a coffee to my order. On meeting nights, I try to eat half of the cookie at lunch and save the other half for the evening. Sometimes the cookie doesn’t survive that long. Luckily, Grand Traverse Pie Co. has another location downtown.

— GABRIELLE JOHNSON LAWRENCE

---

Grand Traverse Pie Co. (Three Greater Lansing locations)

6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 200 S. Washington Square, Lansing (517) 316-0900

6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday- Friday; 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday- Sunday 1403 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing (517) 203-3304

6:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday- Friday; 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday 3536 Meridian Crossing Drive, Okemos (517) 381-7437

gtpie.com

---

What’s your favorite dish/drink?

Do you have a go-to dish or drink at your favorite local restaurant? We want to know about it. Email your favorite dish/drink and a short explanation about why you love it to food@lansingcitypulse.com, and it may be featured in a future issue. If possible, please send a photo along with your description — a nice smartphone photo is fine. Cheers!