I did the first Frandor Challenge. Now it’s your turn

Is there anything more Lansing than, “I have a weird idea, lets do it!”

A few months ago, I wanted to do the Frandor Challenge. Turns out the first challenge was creating a Frandor Challenge.

I went with the first thing that popped into my head: eating a day’s worth of meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at Frandor restaurants.

If you stick to Frandor proper, there are a dozen restaurants and a handful of additional places for groceries or a coffee.

 

Breakfast:
Sparty’s Coney Island

I put this off for months, waiting so I’d have the pressure of having only one day to squeeze the Frandor Challenge in.

That wasn’t enough, so I waited until the only day I had left and stepped into Sparty’s around 10:30 a.m.

My notes autocorrected “Sparty’s” to “a party,” and the floor was packed but surprisingly quiet and peaceful on a Friday morning, the week after Michigan State University’s semester ended.

The walls are a colorful (mostly Spartan green, Pantone 567) celebration of MSU sports newspaper clippings.

I didn’t want to ruin my lunch, but I also didn’t want to order just a single pancake.

So, I went with the breakfast burrito with bacon and OJ.

The food was great. I didn’t clean my plate, but only because I was already getting ready for lunch.

 

Lunch:
King of the Grill

This is a relatively new spot in Frandor.

The last time I went in, someone respectfully hurdled past me in the line to snatch up the last pecan pie.

I’m a Michigan native but spent most of my adult life in South Carolina. This barbecue setup reminded me so much of a down South meat-and-three that I asked for a soda instead of a pop.

I told on myself to the clerk, Paul Jager, who was helping out for the day.

He said it was the same price either way. Perfect answer.

So, I told him he reminded me of Hank Hill from “King of the Hill” (Grill). He was gamefully amused.

I got the brisket sandwich with cornbread, green beans and a cherry soda.

The food was great. I regret skipping the pie.

 

Dinner:
Bento Kitchen Cravings

I wrapped up a whole day of eating nowhere but Frandor with dinner at Bento Kitchen Cravings, joined by my spouse and daughter.

The food was quick and great.

I had the birria pizza (similar to the Crispy Cheese Birria Dilla at Bubbakoo’s Burrito’s, a new Frandor entry).

My companions each had ramen bowls: a miso with chicken dumplings and bean sprouts, and a creamy chicken with dumplings. We all had the Galaxy lemonade.

Next level:
There are a lot of ways to do your
own Frandor Challenge

The easiest way is to spread it out over a week and to include Frandor-adjacent restaurants, which opens up tons of additional options.

The standard Frandor Challenge is to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at official Frandor restaurants in a week.

Pro-level Frandor Challengers will do the three meals in a day and add dessert, coffee or another stop.

Everyone taking part in the Frandor Challenge should remember to give workers some love and tips.