1299 E. Columbia AvenueThere’s been a theme on this blog over the last year and a half. Find a place to hike….then find a place to eat. That’s kind of what our life has become during this pandemic.
J was back in the office this summer and the kids were at a summer camp so we didn’t do nearly as much hiking as we did last year when I was the only one not at home all day.
We’ve had some really nice weekends the last couple of weeks and J wanted to get out of the house. We’ve been spending time just hanging around the house doing housework and chores but it was time to get out. We needed a destination hike.
Battle Creek is kind of an untapped area for us when it comes to hikes. We’ve found a couple of trails over there but decided to look a little deeper to see what we could find. There are number of newer restaurants on my list so J went to looking on AllTrails.
We picked Ott Biological Preserve in Emmett Township. Hey…wouldn’t ya know. There’s a restaurant near there I’ve been pitching for a while now.
Lucky Rooster Kitchen and Cocktails is on Columbia Avenue in Emmett Township near Marjorie Street. The large restaurant has a little bit of a difficult parking lot to get in to as there’s really no separation between the lot and the road. In a past life, this was the Brickyard Pub and the Warehouse and it looked nothing like it does now. It was about four years ago they started to add on to this building giving it the look it has now.
We chose the Lucky Rooster because they had outdoor seating. We’re back to taking precautions so indoor dining isn’t an option for us right now. Finding places with good patios is getting a little easier and this place has a nice one.
If you are comfortable dining inside, they have a huge dining room. The front part of the space has large pub tables in a large open space leading back to the kitchen. The decor is minimal taking advantage of exposed beam ceilings and ductwork with soft lighting and concrete floors.
Past the bar, there is more traditional four tops. As I’ve mentioned a couple of times, the space is pretty large so it’s easy to spread out if that makes you feel more comfortable right now.
Everyone was really excited for the drinks to start. The kids menu had this Firecracker Icee that B could not put down. They also had the option for handcrafted lemonade. Both J and L went for that in different flavors. Me? Pepsi.
Lucky Rooster has different menus for lunch and dinner. We were dining in just after the lunch rush so still on the lunch menu. There aren’t a lot of options on the menu but the ones that are there make it really hard to choose just one.
I picked the Meatball Burger. This sandwich isn’t a typical burger. It’s made with a house made Meatball patty instead of just ground beef. It’s topped with marinara, pepperoni, pickles and provolone cheese on bread from Dark Horse in nearby Marshall. Lots of things stood out in this sandwich. The meat was so tender and so flavorful on it’s own but the pepperoni’s they use really make an impression. They’re thicker cut and slightly spicy. This was a substantial burger and every single layer contributed to an overall impressive sandwich.
The sandwich came with these really large spiral cut fries. They had a delicious crispy exterior and that soft, pillowy, potato-y interior. There was some ketchup served alongside but it wasn’t needed. The fries are tasty on their own.
J did the pick two lunch combo with 1/2 a house salad and 1/2 grilled cheese.
The house salad is organic baby greens with croutons, strawberries, tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, carrots, pickled peppers, and Parmesan cheese. She picked the white balsamic vinaigrette and loved every bite of the salad. Like pretty much everything else we order, every layer of this salad was delicious and when put together, made for a really fantastic meal.
The 1/2 grilled cheese was pretty simple but she said it was really good. The sandwich is a mixture of American and Swiss cheese and served on a locally made Bavarian Rye Bread.
Both of the kids chose pizza. We ordered the pepperoni flatbread for each of them. It’s disappointing the kids don’t recognize deliciousness yet. This flatbread was truly amazing. The handmade crust was topped with a five cheese blend, tomato marina and possibly the best pepperoni I’ve ever tasted. I picked up one of B’s half eaten pieces just to get a sample and holy cow…the pepperoni on this flatbread. It’s thicker, longer cuts as opposed to the typical thinly sliced cheap stuff. That always throws the kids off and that’s too bad. This flatbread was super tasty.
Our bill for lunch, before tip, was a little over $65.
Lucky Rooster is not the type of restaurant I would expect to find on this stretch of road. It’s more of a downtown type place with higher end pub food, a solid drink list and a great atmosphere. This is the type of place to seek out when looking for a solid meal.