RJ’s Burgers and Ice Cream Co (East Lansing)
1399 E. Grand River AvenueIf you have followed this blog the last couple of years, you know that competition weekends turn me in to “Dad Dash.”
I’m that grumpy old guy who is not going to pay the extra money for DoorDash when I could just go get it myself. Me going to get it also lets everyone get what they want instead of forcing someone to get food from the place their sibling wants instead.
We went to lunch at Pizza House with my parents on Friday then just hit the Chick-Fil-A drive thru Friday night for dinner once we were back at the hotel.
Saturday, my parents stayed for the first two events then headed back towards Illinois before L’s final event later in the afternoon. As I was walking out to the car with them to say goodbye, J asked if I’d go get everyone lunch.
J and L wanted Tropical Smoothie which is near downtown East Lansing. B wanted Chick-Fil-A again which is the other direction on Grand River Avenue towards Okemos. I wanted neither.
I had a few options between Tropical Smoothie and Chick-Fil-A. I was actually planning on stopping at taco truck parked near our hotel but then saw a sign for a burger joint closer to the rink.
I stopped at RJ’s Burgers and Ice Cream Co on the corner of East Grand River Avenue and Hagadorn Road. This is the second location for the shop with the original one being in downtown Jackson. This location opened this past December in the Brookfield Plaza shopping center next to Grand Traverse Pie Company. The space is actually pretty big because it used to be a Rite Aid Pharmacy.
I used the online ordering to put in an order for a burger and fries while I was sitting in the Chick-Fil-A drive thru waiting on B’s nuggets. They gave me an estimated time of about twenty minutes but I knew it wasn’t going to take me that long to get there.
The restaurant is pretty big and very bright. The color scheme is light blue and pink with neon light accents. The order counter is near the back of the store and there’s a large area with pink stanchions and rope leading you to the cash registers. Next to that is the ice cream cooler. I waited while the group in front of me figured out if they wanted ice cream in addition to their burgers to tell the ladies working the register that I had a to-go order. One of them looked it up and realized it wasn’t ready yet so I just took a seat in the dining room to wait.
There are two seating areas in the very large, open space. The main one is right inside the door. There is a mixture of different types of seating and tables. The walls colors are toned down a little bit here but it’s still a nice bright space that is made brighter with the natural light that comes in through the large front windows.
The other space is a long pink padded bench with tables and chairs on the other side of it. The decor here is much brighter with a pink and white striped wall and black and white checkerboard tiles on the floor. This area is closer to the order counter so I just grabbed a seat here to wait. It was less than five minutes before someone came out of the kitchen with a white paper bag of food and handed it to me.
I headed back towards the Biggby Coffee Ice Cube – East Lansing to deliver everyone’s lunch and to eat mine.
I started with the fries when I got back. They’re served very similarly to the way Five Guys serves their fries. A paper cup full of fresh cut, skin on fries. They’re not as greasy as Five Guys nor as salty. They’re a nice golden brown with a little bit of crunch to them. There were some extra fries in the bag but not nearly as many as you’d get at Five Guys.
The burger I ordered was RJ’s Double with Bacon. The burgers come full customizable so this one only came with two patties, cheese, and bacon. I added on jalapenos and BBQ sauce. I’ve been comparing a lot to Five Guys in this blog and that just kind of seems what they’re going for. The burger is two smash patties with cheese. I chose American. It’s wrapped in foil so everything kind of steams once it’s done. The burger came out of the foil looking like a mess but it was actually really tasty. The bun had gotten really soft but that just added to the flavor. The meat had some nice crispy bits around the edges, the bacon was super crispy, the cheese had melted in to all the crevices, the BBQ sauce added some sweetness and the jalapenos gave the sandwich a little more crunch and a bit of spiciness. It doesn’t look like it from the picture but this was actually a really tasty burger and a lot cheaper than Five Guys.
The cost for my meal, with a drink, was $18.
There’s actually a really interesting story about how this restaurant came about due to a tragedy in the owner’s lives but you should read about that from someone who actually interviewed them.
RJ’s Burgers and Ice Cream Co has so much more to offer than just what I got. The burger was really good but the ice cream looks amazing. I wasn’t in an ice cream mood this weekend so I passed on it. They’ve been pretty popular in Jackson for a while now and the move to East Lansing puts them close to Michigan State University opening up a huge market. I had no idea they were there until I noticed a sign passing by and while my heart was kind of set on tacos this day, I’m glad I called an audible and went for the burger instead.
SW Michigan Dining 