Worshipping at the altar of Looking Glass Brewing Co.

Worshipping at the altar of Looking Glass Brewing Co.

By GABRIELLE LAWRENCE

I won’t bury the lede: The food at DeWitt’s Looking Glass Brewing Co. is exceptional. Let’s get into it.  

My family tried to get a table for a Friday night dinner recently. It was one of the first evenings that was warm enough to sit outside, and the Looking Glass patio was packed. We went inside to inquire about wait times, but after 10 minutes, a host hadn’t materialized, so in the interest of not further angering my hangry children, we grabbed Little Caesars and Pita Way on our way out of DeWitt.  

The next day, we had much better luck for lunch. We settled in, and I ordered a blackberry sangria mocktail ($6), while Mr. She Ate had a beer. The mocktail was overwhelmingly sweet, so I asked for some hop water to cut it. I’ve long loved club soda, and there are likely few people who are more pleased about the emergence of about 843 different flavors of carbonated water. Hop water is a recent and personal favorite addition to this list. It’s nonalcoholic sparking water flavored with hops, so the taste is more earthy and not fruity. While I couldn’t cut the sweetness of the mocktail enough to drink it myself, my daughter enjoyed it, and I was charmed by the inclusion of handcrafted nonalcoholic drinks on the menu.  

We started with a Bavarian pretzel ($13) since the kiddos have both recently realized they love soft pretzels. When asked what she liked best about New York City in December, Jane, who is 5 years old, first reminisces about the pretzel cart before thinking about the Rockettes. Good to know where her priorities lie. Eddie liked it, too, and it was easy for him to eat without either of his front teeth.  

For lunch, the kids moved on to a cheese pizza ($6), chicken fingers ($7) and fries from the kids’ menu, while I chose the romaine crunch salad ($12), and Mr. She Ate ordered the Shredder sandwich ($15). His sandwich was heavy with pork and brisket, which were then lacquered with beer cheese and roasted garlic aioli. We’re both partial to pickles on a sandwich, so he happily dug in while Eddie snuck into the side of tots. The tots were pleasantly seasoned and crispy, decidedly kid-friendly. Our sweet daughter has never met a french fry she wouldn’t decimate, and her basket of shoestring fries was empty before her older, pickier brother finished one chicken finger.  

I love hearty salads, and I was torn between the chef salad ($14), which includes kielbasa, and the romaine crunch. I eventually chose the latter, a decision that was based solely upon the dressing it came with. How do you resist smoked-onion ranch? This salad was presented in a way I’ve never seen before, with long heads of romaine halved lengthwise to make boats, which were then topped with halved cherry tomatoes, corn, diced hard-boiled egg, sunflower seeds, scallions, chopped bacon and crumbled gorgonzola. The flavors were exquisite, the vibes immaculate. The dressing was packed with smoky flavor, and I am ready to go buy a Costco-sized bag of sunflower seeds because your girl is inspired.  

I gladly returned for a lunch meeting and had the smoked turkey club sandwich ($16), an order I’d planned during my first visit. This sandwich was one of the best I’ve ever had. This wasn’t deli turkey — it was sliced turkey breast snatched off the Thanksgiving table. The bacon-habanero jam was just a bit sweet but packed heat, too, and at the exact right level. The bread, sourced from Freshies Bakery down the street, was perfectly toasted and held up to the weight of the ingredients. I ate the entire order of truffle fries and saved half of the sandwich to take home. Once home, I ate a bite of the sandwich every time I walked into the kitchen, and the leftovers didn’t make it through the afternoon. If you’re a club sandwich fan, or a human being who likes food, try this sandwich.  

The menu is packed with other items I want to try, from the mushroom fries to the big chicken sandwich to the peanut butter and jelly tots and pancakes on the brunch menu. On Fridays during Lent, there’s a fish and chips special, and the website advertises fun things like a discount on your bill if you wear pajamas to brunch or a shirt with an alien on it on “Alien Abduction Day.” For a restaurant located in a former church, it’s good to know that the only thing taken seriously is the food.  

Worshipping at the altar of Looking Glass Brewing Co.

By Bryan Beverly

Early March is an unpredictable time in Michigan. Some years, the ground is still blanketed by snow, and the doldrums of winter continue to punish spirits and motivation. Other years, the break in the wintry weather is merely just clouds and cold, damp conditions that also aren’t great for inspiring impulsive decisions or exploration. This year, with its warmer temps and sunny days, has prompted many around mid-Michigan to shake off the winter gloom and step outside.  

This month’s review took me to a prime community destination for warmer-weather dining. Since its opening in 2018, Looking Glass Brewing Co. has been a vibrant element of DeWitt’s culinary scene, offering high-level gastropub fare, hyperlocally brewed beer and intriguing monthly specials. (This month’s are designed for St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness and Lent). The 73-degree weather on Friday (March 14) brought lots of patrons out to the patio, each soaking up rays of sunshine as they imbibed draft ales and pilsners or house-made mocktails.  

The light is nearly equally present inside since Looking Glass is a renovated church with breathtakingly beautiful stained-glass windows that illuminate the wide-open dining and bar areas. The altar-situated kitchen pumps out sandwiches, flatbreads, burgers, pasta and smoked meats. The bar has become a beer connoisseur’s dream, with both a red ale and an Irish stout serving as the monthly special. The staff is knowledgeable and highly professional, delivering food and beverages with an affable flourish. This is a great place to catch a game or tickle your foodie fancy. 

What’s bright 

I had some windows of time within a very busy week to stop into Looking Glass and taste some of its local brews. I was mightily impressed, but even more so by the caliber of conversations about beers with guests who clearly know about it more than I do. There was considerable giddiness about the Penny Whistle Irish red ale ($5). It was mildly sweet for an ale and had enough depth for me without being overpowering.  

I’m admittedly on the less-knowledgeable end of beer enthusiasts, but I also tasted the blue raspberry and ginger-peach ciders ($6.25 each). Both were quite good, and while the blue raspberry is a fan favorite, the ginger-peach was superior in taste, depth and punch.  

What’s vibrant 

I had to pause my personal belief that combining imitation crab meat and real lobster meat is sacrilegious when tasting the crab and lobster BLT ($16). That said, once I bit into the sandwich, I enjoyed the crunch of the lettuce, the savory smokiness of the bacon and the creamy, sweet notes from the seafood salad. The lobster claw chucks were plump, and the brioche bun was a nice vehicle. I loved the side of house-made truffle fries ($8), which were thin-cut and dusted with a truffle seasoning that elevated the fries rather than dominating them. 

The veggie pasta ($16) was also a hit. Cavatappi was joined by roasted Brussels sprouts, portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions and sun-dried tomatoes. Yet it was the combination of the roasted garlic sauce and fresh basil that made this dish dance. The portion size was large, and my much better half easily had enough for lunch the next day.  

The Korean hot chicken sandwich ($15) was flavorful and large, but a few too many components made it a challenge to eat. Pickle-brined chicken breast was coated in a spicy Korean barbecue sauce and then topped with pickles, pepper jack cheese and a traditional coleslaw. I’d suggest the kitchen swap out the creamy slaw for a kimchi-based slaw that’s more on theme but still brings the crunch diners enjoy. 

Best bite 

I’m a sucker for a po’boy, the French baguette sandwich popularized in low-country cooking. I’m heading to New Orleans at the end of the month and can’t wait to dig into some authentic shrimp or red snapper po’boys. To get my taste buds warmed up, Looking Glass offered a fried grouper po’boy ($16) that hit several spots: cornmeal-crusted fish, fried just hard enough, with pickles, coleslaw that didn’t soak the baguette and a slight kick from the remoulade. I relished every bite like the patio patrons worshipped the early spring sun.