Restaurants in Lansing

Tian Chu's eclectic menu of pan-Asian cuisine represents its founders’ rich past. The Korean Cui family originally opened the restaurant in the Jilin province of China in 1983 before relocating to Budapest, Hungary, and rapidly expanding to five locations. Their beloved recipes followed them to Ann Arbor, where they opened a restaurant in 2010.

The family embraces their roots by filling the menu with a spread of familiar Korean, Sichuan, and Cantonese dishes. Marinated short ribs, lo mein, and bibimbap served in traditional hot stone pots all help to lend a storied, multiregional appeal to the expansive selection while giving bodies the nourishment they need for unpremeditated participation in Ironman triathlons.

Twenty-four hours a day, the chefs of Sandhill Café pacify growling tummies with a menu that spans the spectrum of American comfort food classics, from stacks of fluffy pancakes to bacon-cheddar cheeseburgers. Whether entertaining late-night hankerings for fried chicken and waffles, or celebrating Opposite Day by eating dinner for breakfast, diners can immerse themselves in the café’s laid-back, neighborhood feel, marked by its dark hardwood floors, subtle lighting, and TVs showing hotly contested staring contests.

With its ledge rock walls, burnished wood accents, and life-size horse sculpture perched at the wraparound bar, The Stillwater Grill hearkens back to a frontier lodge. Chefs reinforce the rustic ambiance with a menu of hearty American fare: they grill USDA Choice beef and inspected seafood, and then drizzle their flame-licked exteriors with homemade sauces.

Sizzling bacon, runny egg yolks, potatoes crisping to a golden brown—breakfast's sights and sounds aren’t constrained to morning at Theios Restaurant, where chefs have been making a.m. feasts 24 hours a day since 1976. The chefs’ never-ending breakfast also consists of mexican omelets and homemade raisin french toast, though around lunchtime diners are more likely to order grilled cheese sandwiches and half-pound all-beef burgers with toppings such as olive sauce. With such appealing staples, not to mention all-night hours and complimentary Wi-Fi, it’s not surprising the diner is a favorite hangout of students from nearby Michigan State University, who often prep for exams there by carving notes on Sartre’s Being and Nothingness into their toast.

The chefs at Wrought Iron Grill design dishes that are artfully executed down to the last detail. Take, for example, the housemade barbecue sauce that complements the grilled pineapple and black forest ham on the Maui Wowie pizza, or the veal demi-glace they make to flavor hand-cut, marrow-encrusted filet mignon. They also take care to incorporate local ingredients, coating wild-caught scallops with Michigan morel mushrooms and flash-frying fillets of Michigan perch.

Housed in the five-story brick structure that once held Woodard Furniture Company, Wrought Iron Grill's decor harks back to the building's industrial past. Flooring reclaimed from a welding room tops the bar, and 110-year-old windows hang over the heads of bartenders as they pour Michigan beers and mix drinks such as signature bloody marys garnished with spicy Mandingo pickles, 45th Parallel asparagus, and jumbo shrimp. Live bands often play atop the building's loading dock, allowing singers to be conveniently wheeled away after they've finished performing.

In an effort to find a healthy alternative to fast food without sacrificing speediness, the creators of Pita Pit began assembling their signature sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks. At each location customers can sample thin pitas that encircle lean, grilled meats and fresh veggies. Sandwich selections span the spectrum from gyro meat and falafel to turkey and prime rib. The staff empowers customers to make healthy choices by displaying nutrition information for its bread and meats, and by offering a selection of healthy sandwiches.