Batter Up’s breakfast scores a home run

By GABRIELLE  LAWRENCE

For She Ate/He Ate this month, we tried to think of a restaurant that would give the best December vibes. Somewhere beautiful, cozy and festive. Somewhere you could have dinner with friends or co-workers. Somewhere to forget about the kids’ school spirit week and teacher gifts and year-end assignments at work and who is making the dessert for Christmas Eve. Somewhere to relax for a little while.

The crown jewel of downtown Lansing in a previous life was Mediteran, which would be crammed with a dozen insanely decorated trees that made you never want to leave. I had the highest of hopes that Batter Up Bistro had cleared the cobwebs from its pandemic-prompted closure and would come back better than ever.

On a recent weeknight, I met two girlfriends and Mr. She Ate for dinner. There was one other table of diners, a duo at the bar having cocktails and my illustrious co-reviewer, coincidentally. We had cleared the rest of our schedule that evening, and it’s a good thing we did, because we ended up spending several hours in the restaurant.

After being seated and looking over the menu, I was surprised to learn that there were only four dinner entrée options. To be clear, I love a focused menu. I don’t want to dine somewhere that offers both a wet burrito and fettuccine alfredo. (I don’t want to think about a wet burrito at all, actually, because I hate the name of that dish.) But I don’t think I’ve ever been to a restaurant that offers only four choices, unless it was an extremely small place with a daily special as the only thing on offer.

There were four of us, so we attempted to make the server’s life easy and asked for one of each entrée. Service throughout the entire evening was awkward and uncomfortable. It was shockingly slow and inattentive, especially given that the entire restaurant had fewer than 10 people inside, including our party of four.

I will occasionally set a stopwatch after placing a food order, which I did that evening. Entreés weren’t delivered at the same time, but they arrived at the table within five minutes of each other. All told, we waited just over 39 minutes to receive our food.

I will cut to the chase: Half of the food was good. The filet ($45) was savory and comforting in the best way. It was well prepared, although a few minutes past our requested medium rare. At this point in my 40s, I’m generally satisfied with a smaller portion of red meat than normal because I value how I know I’m going to feel the next morning, and while the filet was delicious, I was happy to have other options.

The burger ($20) was the second best. The sliced muenster cheese was fried to a crisp, which is one of my best home-cook tricks. It was rich and juicy, although the waffle fries on the side were completely devoid of salt.

Things took a turn when I sampled the salmon ($32). We opted for it to be grilled, not blackened, and it was topped with a thick layer of fruit gastrique. The texture of the fruit was offputting and mushy, and it was layered so thickly on the fish that eating it was unpleasant. The side of Brussels sprouts, purported on the menu to be “seared,” was barely cooked and unpleasantly toothy.

The vegetable mornay ($25) was an obligatory vegetarian option. The noodles were mushy, and the flavor of the cheese was odd.

Being dedicated to my research, I asked about dessert options. We were told that there were three choices, and I asked whether they were made in house. They generally are, according to the server, although on this particular day they were out of the desserts prepared by the pastry chef, so they were offering three items that had been prepared “at a different location.” I was completely unimpressed by that answer, so we ended the meal. I further scratched my head when I realized that Batter Up Bistro is only open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday, and this was a Thursday. Why were they already out of dessert?

Truly, I don’t savor panning local places. But this was not a good experience, and it was also not an inexpensive experience. Batter Up has a lot of room for growth.

 

By BRYAN BEVERLY

The 600 block of Michigan Avenue in Lansing’s Stadium District has been a hotbed of activity for the better part of the first quarter of this century. I’ve spent a lot of social time on this block, at the former Rum Runners bar and the former margarita spot 621.

Now that Meijer occupies space across the street, I spend time foraging for quality ingredients for meals I prepare at home. Gastronomically, the block has mostly been known for quick bites: first ice cream, then GoodFellas Bagel Deli (now inside the grocery store) and now the corner hot dog spot.

With the addition of a major chain hotel, the need for a quality breakfast and dinner spot has never been greater. You may recall from my July review my frustrations with the downtown food scene’s walkability, particularly for breakfast and coffee. Yet if one is willing to step beyond a few blocks’ radius, a quaint culinary option awaits. Batter Up Bistro is a classic French-style eatery whose name inspiration comes from the house-baked bread used in its meals rather than the baseball stadium just a block away.

What’s good

This is the kind of place I generally root for: locally owned, attention to ambience and identity, a focused menu that doesn’t try to do too much, and an effort to make you feel welcome.

Batter Up Bistro reminds me of several places I’ve visited in New Orleans, evoking memories of a jazz trio playing ragtime as I enjoyed brunch and maybe a midday hurricane cocktail. The interior is rustic-chic while still being warm and inviting.

I really enjoyed the beverages I ordered. The apple crisp latte ($8) I had with breakfast was hot and made me feel even more cozy. Apple simple syrup was paired with the house coffee blend and oat milk with notes of cinnamon. It was very pleasing to the palette and wasn’t overpowered by apple flavor.

The Baron ($15) was a pre-dinner cocktail with whiskey, ginger beer and liqueur, almond bitters and a hickory-smoked finish. It was strong, with a well-balanced flavor profile, but not breathtaking.

What’s really good

Dinner service was suitable, even if a bit slow, given only a few diners were in attendance that evening. The bartender was also waiting tables, and while he was capable and hospitable, he clearly had too much on his plate.

I started with the sea scallop appetizer ($17). Three substantial scallops with a dill-forward dusting were seated atop a lovely, creamy parsnip puree. The puree was slightly sweet, and the microgreens, likely intended more as a garnish, offered a nice textural note. The scallops were cooked unevenly, if I’m being honest, because only one out of the three had that desirable brown crust, and the other two were grayer.

Dinner went up several notches with the pan-seared salmon ($32), which I ordered blackened. The fish was tender and flaky, and the seasoning was right on target. The salmon paired quite well with the wild rice and the roasted Brussels sprouts, which themselves had a lovely char. I also appreciated the accompanying blackberries for a touch of sweetness without compromising the earthiness.

Best bite

My first visit was a bit lonely since I was the only patron dining mid-morning on a Thursday. Perhaps the previous day’s snowfall had scared others away, but I was itching to get out and about and to find a respite from winter’s doldrums.

I ordered the eggs Benny ($20), served upon delightful house-baked toast that was dense enough to hold up the thinly sliced ham, perfectly poached eggs, microgreens and herbaceous hollandaise sauce. The sauce was rich and creamy, with a pleasant punch of lemon and dill.

The dish was served with garlic-and-herb red skin breakfast potatoes. They were a hit. Also a star was the side of thick-cut bacon ($8), which was smoky and had a perfect medium cook. The chef came out to express her gratitude for my visit, which only made me wish more folks had joined me that day.