The Library Kitchen & Taphouse
I got another rare night home alone and I got off work pretty early.
Since I didn’t have to get a kid to school, I went in to work early for a job assignment in East Lansing. When I got back to Grand Rapids in the afternoon, we had a few things to do but I was cleared to leave around 4:00 to save a little bit on overtime.
I had eaten an unexpected lunch at Shake Shack in Lansing so I wasn’t super hungry but I had plans. I was home alone and I wanted to grab a burger and a beer for dinner before heading home to catch up on TV shows.
I got back to Kalamazoo a little after 5:00. I stopped at home to swap out cars then headed out for dinner.
I chose the Library Kitchen and Taphouse on West Michigan Avenue near Jack Pine Way. The large restaurant and bar is a big gathering place Western students who live all it around it in the apartments along West Michigan. The space is kind of legendary among WMU students. Before it was The Library, it was the Firehouse and it’s been known as a hangout spot for years. There’s a large parking that surrounds the building and it’s not unusual to see dozens of cars there Saturday and mornings after people do the responsible thing and not drive home after a night of fun.
I’ve been to The Library a couple of times but it’s been a really long time so I figured it was time for a revisit. The last time I blogged about it was in 2011 and that was the last time we actually ate in. We ordered from the restaurant several times during COVID times and always said we needed to go back once indoor service resumed but we never did.
I wasn’t sure if the restaurant was even open when I pulled up. There were no cars in the parking lot and I couldn’t see any lights on. I decided to walk up to the door and it said they opened at noon. I pulled on the handle and it popped open so I headed inside.
The restaurant is huge but most of the space is more of a gathering space than restaurant. There is a pretty large dining room on kind of an elevated platform right as you walk in the door. This is probably the biggest area with tables and chairs meant for actually sitting and eating.
There is some space around the bar as well with pub tables against the wall. They’re pretty spread out and sit up right along the brick wall and underneath the many TV’s that are hung throughout the space. The decor is pretty typical college bar chic with beer advertisements plastered all over the place.
I headed for the large bar in the middle of the room. I believe there is only seating on one side. It was hard to see because it was very dimly lit. There is no outside light that gets in to this part of the restaurant and there is very little in the way of lights. The bartender was doing homework when I sat down but she closed her book, grabbed a menu and came over to see what I was drinking.
I couldn’t see all the taps where I was sitting but I assumed they had Two Hearted as most places in Kalamazoo do so that’s what I ordered.
The menu was really, really hard for me to make out. It’s a black menu with small lettering and in the low light, I had no idea what any of it said. I tried not to look too old and fought the urge to turn on my phone light. I just used the light from the front of the phone to find something that I thought looked good.
I put in an order for Buster Burgers with jalapenos and bacon. A few more people had come in to the dining room after I sat down but it was still really empty. It took a really long time for my food to come up. I wasn’t in a hurry so it wasn’t a big deal but I was starting to run out of beer and I didn’t plan on having too. It probably took at least a half hour for the tray with the two burgers to come out of the kitchen…wait, two burgers? Yeah, I couldn’t read the menu very well and didn’t realize the Buster Burger comes as two burgers unless you specifically ask for one.
The two burgers come out identical. They start with two angus beef smash patties topped with cheese. I just kept it simple and ordered American. You can then build from their with toppings. Whatever you order comes out on both sandwiches. I added fresh jalapenos and bacon. These sandwiches were really good burgers. All of the burger patties had that nice crispiness around the corner. The bacon was super crispy and there was a big mound of jalapenos underneath the bun. This was a delicious burger…both of them were…so I ate both of them. I could have gotten by with just one but they were so good I couldn’t help myself and ate both of them.
The sandwich came with some really crispy restaurant supply fries. There was a lot of them in the basket but they were just kind of….fine. I was never offered anything to dip them in but would have gladly taken some mustard. These are perfect mustard fries.
The bill, before tip, was right around $27. Obviously there was a lot of food so the price is justified. Just to show you how much prices have increased in the last 15 years, J and I together ate at The Library for $18.
I’m in my mid to late 40’s so The Library Kitchen and Taproom is never going to be place that I’m going to go to on a Friday or Saturday night. It is a place that I need to put more effort in to remembering though either when we’re ordering dinner or if we got earlier in the day. The burgers were so good. I was a little bit surprised but then I remembered whey were ordered from The Library during COVID. It’s not a place most older adults would think of as they tend to think of it as a “college bar.” There are obviously college bar things that won’t change no matter when you go (the low lighting) but it’s definitely worth going for an early (ish) dinner.
SW Michigan Dining 