Beggar's Banquet

• BEER SCALE: 
Definitely one of the nicer places in the area. The place has style and a pretty good selection of bottled beers. It wouldn't be my choice for a Thursday night bar excursion, but perfect for dinner and a few drinks. Anyone that leaves without trying the chile should be chased out of the city. They also have one of the best selections of good wine out of any of the restaurants in the city. You'll find a good mix of people at Beggar's, making it a nice change from a lot of college bars.

Special Note:

• Wednesday: 1/2 off bottles of wine



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Bilbo's

(517-332-6006) , Ann St.
                 Alas, Bilbo's is no longer with us.

 

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Buffalo Wild Wings (BW-3's)

(517-333-BWWW) , Has moved to Albert & M.A.C
• BEER SCALE: 
    BW3's has been a landmark at MSU for years and with it's new location it will surely remain so for years to come! The hottest wings in town (with 10 levels of "spiciness" to suit everyone from the weak to the insane), 20 oz. mugs, good food, more beers on tap than any place in town. BW3's is a personal favorite, primarily because of the NTN trivia and their enormous big screens. If you want to watch sports events on state of the art movie theatre sized screens, accept no substitute. They also have pool tables dart boards and Golden Tee. MSU's BW-3 is definitely one of the chain's best.

Special Note:

• Incredible selection of beers on tap
• Guinness on tap!



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Crunchy's

(517-351-2506) , 254 W. Grand River
• BEER SCALE: 
Yes, they're cheap, and the selection isn't incredible, but if you're looking for a place to sit back with a few close friends and really put a few back, this is the place. They don't even waste your time with bottles, cans, and small mugs and such (although they're available for the timid). At crunchy's beer is served in buckets! You have to have at least 5 people at your table, but a few buckets (very well priced, by the way) will easily provide for an evening you most likely won't remember. Crunchy's has good food and also karaoke Friday nights. By the way, at Crunchy's there's never a cover. This is Personally one of my favorite bars. The wait staff is unbelievably friendly. Make sure you catch Dirty Don on most Wednesdays, his "Rude, crude and Socially unacceptable" style of singing is an uproarious good time for those who are not offended easily.

Special Note:
Dirty Donn Dowland singing on most Wednesdays

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El Azteco

(517-351-9111) , 255 Ann
• BEER SCALE: 
El Az is at its best in the summer and warmer months when the patio on top of the building is open. Chips and salsa and a few drinks in the sun are a great way to spend the afternoon. The food is really good although it's not always real speedy. Of course, you can find all your favorite mexican beers and a good selection of marguaritas. If it's a nice summer day then I highly recommend sitting up on the roof and enjoying the downtown view with a Dos Equis in hnad.

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The Evergreen Grill

(517-337-1200) , 327 Abbott Rd.
• BEER SCALE: 
The Evergreen Grill is a personal favorite. It may be on the expensive side, but in terms of quality beer selection, wine selection, and food, it's definitely one of the best in the East Lansing area. The wait staff and bartenders are extremely friendly, the style and atmosphere is both relaxing and a little avant-garde at the same time. It's no dance club, and you won't hear blaringly loud music with indistinguishable lyrics. But you will hear good live music on almost every night; whether it's live piano music, acoustic guitar, irish folk, or a live jazz band.

Special Note:

• Guinness on tap!

 

 

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Harper's / Downtown

 
• BEER SCALE: 
Harper's is the EL downtown's first and only brew pub. The atmosphere is incredibly well put together. The design of the interior, the bar and patio are great. They also have a huge hi-tech television screen for sports viewing. They have had some great bands inclusing jazz, swing and blues. The bar was spacious and comfortable and the crowd is a great mix of students, residents, and other people happily quaffing pints. The service is often excruciatingly slow and the bar could use at least double the bartenders to handle the crowd. The Management leaves a little to be desired. The food has gotten a wide variety of reviews from patrons and the prices are unusually high for the area. It is a nice patio though, and it's unfortunate that city ordinance requires all patio patrons to move inside at midnight, leaving many of them scrambling for a table inside. There's also the downstairs which is a 21 and over dance club and venue. It's pretty cool and probably the best place in the downtown to dance.

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Harrison Roadhouse & Roadhouse Pub

(517-337-0200), 720 Michigan Ave.
• BEER SCALE: 
The Harrison Roadhouse is a great restaurant. Good food, good selection of beer and a perfect place for dinner on football staurday or going out to dinner with your parents when they come to visit. The next building over from the Roadhouse is the Roadhouse Pub, just North of the restaurant. It's a small bar with pool tables, darts, all the free popcorn you can eat and some great drink specials. It's often a very mixed crowd in the Pub, making it an interesting place to drink and hang out.

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Jimmy's Pub

(517-337-3000), 3139 East Grand River
• BEER SCALE: 
Jimmy's is a fairly classic sports bar. They have a good selection of beers (including Guiness on tap) and good bar food. Mostly it is your classic sandwiches, burgers, good appetizers, etc. They have plenty of televisions are pretty good about keeping several games on at the same time. The staff is friendly and the drinks are decent. I've only been there once but thought it was a decent place to get a drink and watch a game.

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The Landshark

(517-351-8973) , 101 E. Grand River
• BEER SCALE: 
If you're looking for a place that's almost garaunteed to be packed, have loud music and plenty of people sucking down beers, the Shark is the place. Although it's not a personal favorite, I give it a rating of 4 Beers since it really is one of EL's signature bars. Few students graduate without stories of general drunk and disorderliness at the Shark. It's pretty much your classic college bar with some headlining bands, and often very long lines. There's not a lot of space, and you'll be dodging elbows right and left, but any avid bar-going student who graduates without sampling one of their famous shark bowls should be chased out of the city and banished from East Lansing. They also have a great happy hour buffet with wings, shrimp, nachos, subs and pasta. Notably, they have added several microbrew beers to their selection: a vast improvement over their previous stock.
 

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Murasaki's

E. Grand River

• BEER SCALE: 
Murasaki's is the only place in town where you can find a good glass of saki as well as a Saparo. I'm a big fan of sushi and this is one of the only places in town to find it. The sushi is decent and somewhat reasonably priced. It's much more of a restaurant than a bar and it's not open late, but if you're in the mood for some culture, a little sushi, saki or some japanese beer, this would be the place to go.
 

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Paul Revere's Tavern

E. Grand River

• BEER SCALE: 
Paul Revere's is located on Grand River in E. Lansing between Park lake and Hagadorn.  They serve cheap ($2.10 on Thurs) 32 ounce mugs of Bud and Bud Light.  They also let you stick around and finish your beer after 2am.  One of the better jukeboxes in town and a friendly owner that's almost always around.  Local employees of Bennigans, Mongolian BBQ, Pizza Hut, and Ruby Tuesdays make up the night time regulars.
 

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The Peanut Barrel

(517-351-0608) , 521 E. Grand River
• BEER SCALE: 
There's few college experiences that can compare to being ankle deep in peanut shells and having a cold beer in hand while watching an MSU basketball or football away game on TV at The Peanut Barrel. The outdoor patio is a nice touch for the warmer months, although the number of tables available seems rather small when EL is covered in snow and all the patrons must crowd inside. It's a little bit away from most of the mainstream bars but it's perfect for a slightly more relaxing night of drinking and conversation. The Barrel is truly an old classic at MSU.

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P.T. O'Malley's

(517-332-2959) , 210 Abbott Rd.
• BEER SCALE: 
P.T.'s is a cross between an Irish bar and your typical popular college bar. It does manage to keep a decent selection of beers on hand. You'll almost always find a big crowd there on bar nights. In the past few years it has become a Mecca for students involved in the Greek system. There's some good food for happy hour and good drink specials. The large booths are perfect for packing a large group of friends in together for a night of serious drinking. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for a large group of people. And if you plan on drinking there on St. Patrick's Day, you'd better get in line early.

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Reno's East Side Sportsbar & Grill

(517-337-2333) , 1310 Abbott Rd.
• BEER SCALE: 
It's a pretty good sports bar, although a little too dark on the inside. There are plenty of tv's and you'll never be without fresh popcorn on your table. They also have good specials during games and the patio outside is great. It's a little out of the downtown, but usually attracts a decent crowd. The tables are not real close together which gives you some elbow room. They do have Guiness on tap which is a big plus, and there are a number of imported beers on the menu. They also have some extremely cute waitresses which is a huge bonus.

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Rick's American Cafe

(517-351-2285) , 224 Abbott Rd.
• BEER SCALE: 
Although Rick's isn't one of my favorites, I think I'm probably in the minority. Recently it was rated one of the Top 100 College Bars by Playboy Magazine and the line on Thursday and Fridays is usually around the block. A lot of really good bands play at Rick's and the inside is huge. The beer selection is less than wonderful and specials on weak beer are common, but it's often the biggest party in downtown EL. Be sure to check out their Monday nights if you like to dance.
 

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The Riviera Cafe

(517-351-5855) , 231 M.A.C. Ave.
• BEER SCALE: 
Darts, pool and casual atmosphere. This is the bar you can go to if you're wearing a suite and tie or sweatpants and a T-shirt, no one will stare at you either way. The Riv has the greatest variety of people in the entire town and dirt cheap beers (usually $1.75 for a 20oz. glass). Great atmosphere: perfect combination between a place to hang out with friends and a place to meet people. Good selection, good specials, and plenty of tables! But beware if you're not truly 21, Riv doormen are known to be pretty keen on spotting that I.D. of your friends that just accidentally happened into your possession.

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The Small Planet

(517-351-6230) , 220 M.A.C.
Gone! Torn down! In fact a whole bunch of things have been torn down to make way for some sort of new center.

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The Spartan Sports Den

Spartan Rd. and Grand River
• BEER SCALE: 
Plenty of big screen tv's in great locations make it perfect for watching sporting events. Pool tables, arcade games and such provide for plenty of entertainment. They also have the NTN trivia game that you can play from your table. The burgers are pretty good and there's a decent selection of beers on tap. It's a nice open atmosphere with some pretty friendly staff. Highly recommended for an enjoyable time while catching a Wings game and the like.

Special Note: On Tap

• Killian's Red
• Samuel Adams
• Budweiser
• Bud Light
• Labatt Blue
• Miller Lite
• Fosters
• Miller Icehouse

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Tropo

Albert & Ann St.
        BEER SCALE: 

       Tropo is a nice martini bar, although they do have an extensive bar that covers everything beyond martini's. If  want to sit in a nice atmosphere and talk with some friends without having loud music blaring in your ears this is the place to go. Although it is a bit on the expensive side, their bottle-flipping bartenders can make a damn good drink. Tropo seems to aim at the older crowd and you won't find too many students hanging out here. The interior is very well done and goes along with the sophisticated look they're going for. This is not the place you want to wear a baseball cap and shorts to, in fact, I would even suggest against jeans.
 

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Sparty's

(517-351-5690) , 410 S. Clipprt Ln.
• BEER SCALE: 
If there is one place that I can not in good conscience give a stellar rating, it has to be Sparty's. Disagree with me if you will, but the few times I ever went there as a freshmen, I found nothing but a rather young crowd, most of whom were not 21. Now, if you're not 21, and want to go dancing, I suppose Sparty's will suffice, but it wouldn't be based on my recommendation.

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Thanx... I hope you enjoyed the review.
 
 

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hernack1@msu.edu