State Room Restaurant — Restaurant in East Lansing

I visited this establishment for dinner, the staff was at first a bit disheartened when I requested a table almost as if it were a lot of work that they didn't want to do. Once I was seated they made a quick effort to get my water glass topped off and set me up with some fresh bread. Promptly they came back to take my drink order. They gave me a little bit of time to look over the menu and came back with my drink exactly when I was ready to order, the timing couldn't have been better. The waitress was kind and a bit quirky which was a nice change of pace from the serious upscale vibe of the establishment. I placed my order for a Stateroom burger done medium and an additional salmon fillet. Not even 10 minutes later my food was done and was immediately brought to my table. The Stateroom burger looked fantastic with a mountain of fresh steak fries aside it, the Salmon was fantastically cooked and grill charred perfectly. However once I took a few bites of the burger I noticed it wasn't cooked perfectly, the inside rather than being a nice pinkish medium was much closer to a rare red. The burger also was extremely bland, I ate it but didn't feel satisfied afterwards having paid a substantial amount for something I could have slapped together on the grill at home comparatively. Note I didn't mention this to any of the staff as I had a meeting to get to shortly after and didn't want to wait to get another made for me. The cheese wasn't even melted onto the burger rather just a slice slapped on-top as an afterthought. The toppings of the burger were also a bit on the tough side, rather than lettuce that snaps when you bite it this stuff just all came together almost as if it were a piece of plastic and the rest were the same. I presumed maybe they had been frozen for a while to keep them fresh but drew too much of the moisture out of them and caused them to wilt. The fries were as fresh as could be and looked and tasted authentically cut and fried in house, my only complaint with them was the massive amount of them that you get, honestly you could feed a small family with just the side dish. The salmon fillet was a delight, it was cooked to perfection and tasted as close as you could get to yesterdays catch for a mid-Michigan restaurant. Mistakes happen when cooking, its unavoidable and I'm not one to judge the food based off of a couple little nuances. Overall it was a pleasant dining experience and I'd go again if I found myself in the area and was looking for that upscale dining experience again. I don't think I'll be going out of my way to go back though. I rated 4 stars because you...

This review covers four meals over the course of a three day stay at the Kellogg Center. Meal One was the best of the bunch. Kristen W was our server. She couldn't have been better. She was friendly and attentive to all of our needs. I had the small Bistro salad. It was fresh and tasty. Among the best I have had. I followed that with the Smoked Turkey and Lentil Soup. Though just the slightest bit salty it was very tasty soup. My entree was the special of the day; Adobo rubbed pork loin. It did not disappoint. Followed that with some MSU Dairy Chocolate Ice Cream to end a satisfying meal.

Day 2 lunch was a bit underwhelming. Due to a conference at the hotel the restaurant was busy. Ordered crispy chicken sandwich and fries. Everything took way longer than it should and the food was on the overcooked side. Somewhat dry. Took a long time to get check and even longer to get change.

Day 2 dinner. Darrel M was our server. Again I had the small Bistro salad. Again it was excellent. Followed that up with a bowl of Smoked Turkey and Lentil soup. The portion was very small for a Bowl. It was not filled sufficiently but was still tasty. Had the New York Strip for entree and it was cooked as ordered and well seasoned.

Day 3 Lunch. Conference still going on. Staff still overwhelmed by the number of diners. Ordered something simple, a burger and fries. Burger was ordered Medium. It was dry and somewhat tasteless. Learned a lesson from previous lunch and requested check at time of food delivery. Still took just over an hour from start to finish. Restaurant knows when conference is at hotel. I think they could do a little better job staffing appropriately so the dining experience at lunch time was better.

If I could give two separate reviews it would be four stars for dinners and Two stars for lunch. Thus the three...

So let's face it, when it comes to serious food, East Lansing (and the Greater Lansing area for that matter) is/are a bit of a wasteland. There exist a literal handful (i.e.,