Meating up for Sunday brunch

I got around to leaving for brunch way too late on Sunday, and after discovering predictably long waits at both PetalPop Café and Good Truckin’ Diner, I was about to give up. However, the friend I was with is much more resilient than I am and led us a few doors down from Good Truckin’ to Meat BBQ. Was it brunch? No. Was it satisfying? Absolutely.

Offering the most carnivorous menu in the area, Meat is a Lansing institution — it was even featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” From nachos with three different kinds of meat to a sandwich with five, I was a little concerned about my friend, who doesn’t eat pork or beef, being able to find something she wanted on the menu. Thankfully, pulled chicken and smoked turkey were on offer. 

I decided on the smoked turkey sandwich, which includes sliced turkey breast, bacon, pepper jack cheese, tomato, sour cream, avocado and, typically, jalapenos, but I opted to leave them off. The turkey was tender and flavorful, both smoky and sweet. It was complemented well by the rich, creamy avocado and sour cream. The bacon was crispy, as were the fries. 

What really brought everything from good to great, though, was the house-made barbecue sauces. My favorite of the five options, all of which were sitting on the table waiting to be sampled, were the coffee-based Black Magic and the Carolina mustard. 

I also have to shout out my friend’s meal, the stuffed grilled cheese sandwich, which contains mac and cheese, apples, caramelized onions and remoulade. She added pulled chicken. Oh, and what did she get on the side? More mac and cheese, to share with me. What a legend, and what an excellent mac — creamy and rich, with perfectly cooked cavatappi noodles. 

What even defines brunch? If it’s the presence of an egg dish, then no, Meat doesn’t offer brunch. However, if the requirements are a selection of somewhat decadent foods you wouldn’t eat just any old time, the availability of a Bloody Mary and an early-to-mid-afternoon mealtime, then yes, Meat absolutely offers brunch. 

Oh, and I was wrong; the aforementioned five-meat sandwich does, in fact, come with an egg.