Skipping meat on Fridays is a common sacrifice Christians make during Lent. But meals can still be flavorful when chicken, beef and pork are off the table. Lent makes for an ideal time to embrace delicious vegetarian meals, as well as those that feature seafood. more

After my first visit to East Lansing’s Everyday Authentic Chinese Cuisine for an epic feast with friends on a Saturday, I had to go back for more when tasked with bringing takeout to my dad’s house for dinner the following Wednesday. more

Chocolate steals the show on Valentine’s Day, while vanilla plays the Cinderella. The rest of the year isn’t much different. But there’s an easy solution to this imbalance: double the vanilla. In your Valentine’s Day chocolate, in your morning Cream of Wheat and any other dish where sweetness — or the flavor of sweetness — is dominant. more

This month, I’ve been celebrating a milestone birthday, which has meant dining at many great Lansing restaurants and forgetting to buy groceries. more

In early January, I heard elk on the mountain behind my house. The crisp air carried not only the cow calls, which sounded like trees bending in the wind, but also the otherworldly bugles of the bull elk, which sounded like a soundtrack to the northern lights. more

While driving to Crunchy’s in East Lansing to meet up with my family for a holiday gift exchange that was postponed by a COVID outbreak, I noticed that Dave’s Hot Chicken had opened its doors on Albert Avenue. Though I was already on my way to chow down on a bacon cheeseburger, I made a mental note to return the next time I was feeling too lazy to cook. more

Texas grapefruit is in season and on sale at my local bodega. The bittersweet, ruby-fleshed orbs look shrunken and beat up, which is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it may mean they’re ripe. more

Fuel’d 1500 W. Lake Lansing Road, East Lansing 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily 517-220-4983 fueldfoods.com more

The farm-to-table movement has pushed chefs to find creative ways to showcase the local harvest. Menus are loaded with information about where the ingredients came from and how they were treated, but the recipes themselves often struggle to keep the story going. more

Bell’s Greek Pizza has been an East Lansing mainstay for what feels like forever. From getting Wednesday night $1 slices with my dad to devouring Saturday night $1 slices with my teenage friends — and to taking a little 1 a.m. disco nap in the now-closed M.A.C. Avenue store on the night of my 21st birthday — Bell’s has seen me at my worst and truly deserves me at my best. That’s why when I’m on my lunch break from being a responsible adult, I’m now proud to patronize this wonderful establishment in broad daylight. more

When I lived in Portland, Oregon, in the late 1990s, there was a breakfast spot on Hawthorne Boulevard called Cafe Lena that I used to go to for a dish called BBG Scrambled Eggs. more

I can cook many things fairly well, but anything that requires patience or finesse will always elude me. Thus, the omelet, deceptively simple though it may be, is something I must seek outside my home if I want it done well. And therein lies the rub, because it seems that most restaurants also struggle to knock the dish out of the park. Thankfully Square One, a breakfast and lunch spot tucked away in East Lansing’s Hannah Plaza, has me covered. more

Most cooks and eaters understand the importance of acid in food. If a dish isn’t popping as envisioned, a squeeze of lemon or a dash of vinegar will sharpen the flavors with a bright zing. To a meat or cheese eater, a mouthful just isn’t the same without a sip of wine. A salad maker needs acid as much as oil and salt. Dessert makers use acid to help them add more sugar. more

Many people are familiar with the notion that avoiding carbs at night can help ensure they’re not ultimately stored as fat. But is that perception the truth, a half-truth or a complete fabrication? more

This year, Greater Lansing welcomed a host of new eateries, many of which quickly solidified themselves as staples in the hearts and bellies of area residents. City Pulse food reviewers were eager to try the new options and sampled plenty of dishes, but the following five stood out as the cream of the crop. more

Sourdough stew resembles a classic, simple meal: a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. Except in this case, the bread acts like a bone and sneaks into the stock pot. When you try this rich, chunky, slightly tart stew, you’ll be glad it did. more

Last week, I read a bizarrely mean-spirited and pointless editorial in the Detroit Free Press, bemoaning the fact that Lansing is the capital of Michigan and generally expressing how terrible our city is. Obviously, I disagree vehemently. more

Making a side dish for a holiday get-together is a rite of the season, and one for which we should be grateful. If you aren’t making the sides, you might be roasting some poor bird — or a soy-based approximation of some poor bird. more

I spent this past weekend eating my way through Chicago on a girls’ trip, dining on Mediterranean lamb and chorizo breakfast hash and drinking $15 vodka mules out of a can. more

At the winter farmers market, I saw the most enormous beets. Larger than softballs, a bag of six went for $5. The growers are from Belarus. She’s as sweet as the Virgin Mary. He’s a welder, with a handshake that could crush golf balls. Feeling goofy with holiday cheer, I had to jest. more