Lake Burger

• 4404 W. Main Street
• Kalamazoo, MI 49006
• (269) 888-2355
• Website
• Menu

Sometimes a sign noticeable from a busy road is the best advertisement.

Earlier this week I was driving to downtown Kalamazoo from US-131 via Main Street.  As I got to the Big Apple Bagel near Piccadilly Road in Kalamazoo’s Westwood Neighborhood and noticed a new sign on a building next door.  It had the word burger in it so you know I was heading back after work.

Lake Burger just opened up this week. In fact, when I stopped in on Wednesday, that happened to be their first day of business.  It’s in a small storefront in the same building between Big Apple Bagel and Subway that I’m not really sure has ever housed a business as long as I’ve been here.

I stopped in after work on what turned out to be their opening day.  The place is pretty small.  There’s an order counter just a few feet from the door and the menu is displayed on the wall behind it.  There are condiments on the counter next to the cash register if you’re going to sit an eat but they also put some in the bag to go

The sitting is limited to some bars along the wall with metal pub stools.  There are cork boards hanging in front of each space with newspapers tacked to them.  You can read the paper while you’re enjoying your meal and never have to worry about how you’re going to fit the paper on the table.

The menu is simple.  It’s sandwiches, fries, dogs, a grilled cheese, and a salad.  The sandwiches consists of burgers, chicken, an Impossible burger, and a portobello burger.  This place doesn’t automatically exclude you just because you don’t eat red meat.  There are options for everyone.

I picked the Lake Bacon Cheeseburger.  The sandwich begins with a fresh brioche bun from Mackenzie’s Bakery.  It’s layered with a pasture raised beef patty from Carson Farms in nearby Lawton, thick cut bacon, American cheese and burger sauce.  For an extra buck, I added on a fried egg.  This sandwich is delicious.  I know there are people who say you can’t taste the difference between grocery store beef and the premium beef that can be found in places like this but I say bullshit.  The beef on this sandwich is so delicious on it’s own it doesn’t need anything else….but that would be boring…delicious, but boring.  The bacon is cooked nice and crispy for the thickness and the fried egg oozed the yolk when I bit into it.  The brioche bun does a heckuva job holding in all the juices that ooze out of the meat.  I could do without the burger sauce..but I don’t like sauces and I think this was just a ketchup and mayo combo with some added spices….and I don’t really like ketchup and I hate mayo…so this wasn’t my thing.

The fries have a couple of topping options. I picked the Parmesan Truffle fries.  These are fresh cut fries topped with truffle oil, Parmesan, and Italian parsley.  I remember a time…about ten years ago when I started this blog, when Red Robin and McDonalds were constantly winning “Best Fries” in the local media contests…..man, have we come such a long way since those days.  I’d be hard pressed to make that pick now because there are so many places doing so many delicious things with fried potatoes….these fries are definitely in the upper echelon of local fries though.  They’re almost craveable.

My bill was just under $14 which also included a can of Pepsi.

Since I’ve already gotten all nostalgic, I remember a time when I was jumping for joy because we were getting a Five Guys in Portage.  The locals stepped up and now we have places like Nonla Burger, Burger Bros. and now Lake Burger to compete with the big chain.  Burgers in Kalamazoo have gotten so much better and there’s no excuse not to find one of these great places….and we on the West side can take a right on Main instead of a left at Drake and get ourselves a delicious, home grown burger from Lake Burger.