Dark Horse Commons Market
511 S. Kalamazoo StreetI’ve mentioned before I like beer, right?
Dark Horse Brewing and I have a little bit of a history. When I moved to Kalamazoo 14 years ago, I pretty much only drank PBR.
Living in Kalamazoo, it seems like a must that you drink Oberon every spring so I did that one year and realized, hey, this ain’t too bad.
I wanted to try other beers and one of my friends had told me about a beer from Marshall they really loved. It was Dark Horse Brewing’s Crooked Tree IPA.
I tried it. I liked it a lot and from there I became the guy that always asks for the IPA. Dark Horse Brewing did that to me.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually been to Dark Horse’s tap room. Like almost 10 years…..I haven’t been to the taproom since they were bought by Roak Brewing.
A co-worker and I were in Marshall last week and I was hungry. We didn’t have time for a taproom lunch but there is another option that’s just as good.
Dark Horse Commons Market is part of the Dark Horse Brewing complex on Kalamazoo Street just south of the railroad tracks in Marshall. The Commons market is the grab and go part of Dark Horse. There’s a huge variety of food and a lot of beer. The building sits next to main taproom but has it’s own entrance.
The shop is mostly beer and food but there is some merch too. This is the place to go for Dark Horse and Roak beers.
As soon as you walk in the door, you’re greeted by large coolers full of colorful cans of beer. I stopped and looked for a long time at the cans of Plead the 5th…but I don’t drink enough at home anymore to justify the money I was wanting to spend.
The grab and go food is all in a display case in the center of the store. They have quite a large menu and you can call ahead to have it ready to go. We just stopped in and I was going to grab whatever was ready and looked delicious.
Some of the food needs to be boxed up while others are already in pre-measured to-go containers. I was just going to grab a slice of the lasagna but the pulled pork drew me in. I passed the last second even though I know I would have eaten both.
I asked for the slice of lasagna and the guy working the counter boxed it up for me. The cost was $9.99…no tax. I paid with my card right then so I couldn’t be tempted to buy more things. I grabbed the lasagna and we headed back to Kalamazoo.
The lasagna slice was huge. It probably could have fed at least two people but I was hungry. I’m really weird and like cold lasagna too so I didn’t even heat it up. When I popped the box open I immediately dug in.
This slice of lasagna was soooo good. There are thick layers of noodles, meat sauce, and ricotta cheese. Every bite was a little creamy and a little meaty…the way lasagna should be. I would say it was just like mom used to make but my mom hates ricotta and never put it in lasagna..but it’s the way mom *should* have made it. This is such a delicious slice of homestyle lasagna but on a much bigger scale.
Dark Horse Commons Market is a really great option for a quick lunch. We still need to get back to the taproom one of these days but when I’m in Marshall for work, this is something that I can grab quickly and know I’m going to have a tasty meal.
SW Michigan Dining 