Food Finder listings are rotated each week based on space. If you have an update for the listings, please e-mail food@lansingcitypulse.com.

A $1 billion-endowed research university, a Level I trauma hospital, and the hubs of state and city politics sit along the hungry stretch of Michigan Avenue near downtown Lansing. It's a corridor begging for higher caliber eateries like the Soup Spoon Café, a great, unpretentious little dining spot that successfully serves up both Midwestern charm and cosmopolitan panache.

Food Finder listings are rotated each week based on space. If you have an update for the listings, please e-mail food@lansingcitypulse.com.

Over the last three years, the City Pulse Food Fight team has conducted a dozen taste tests encompassing over 75 local restaurants and food stands to determine everything from the best barbecue joint in town to the best margarita (obviously, some trips are more fun than others).

Food Finder listings are rotated each week based on space. If you have an update for the listings, please e-mail food@lansingcitypulse.com.

Bar 30, which is Eastwood Towne Center's newest addition, has the look and feel of a dance club, with its metallic decor, amoeba-patterned chairs and dance floor flanked by a fully stocked bar. While I'm sure there’s plenty of eye candy on that dance floor in the wee hours, I went for lunch looking to be impressed with what showed up on the plate.

Food Finder listings are rotated each week based on space. If you have an update for the listings, please e-mail food@lansingcitypulse.com.

Tasting dozens of wines from Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau Peninsula at the annual Traverse City Art and Wine Festival this summer, it was evident that the wines of the region continue to reach new heights. Over 5,000 attendees seemed to agree, as the event showcased wines from 27 area wineries, plus cuisine from area purveyors.

Moe's Southwest Grill sounds like it could be from an episode of "The Simpsons," featuring the show's longtime bartender attempting to cash in on patrons clamoring for Tex-Mex. Instead, it's an Atlanta-born restaurant franchise that recently arrived on the East Lansing food corridor across from Michigan State University, serving up tacos, burritos and fajitas.

The northwest suburbs of Detroit are home to a large Jewish population and (un-coincidentally) some of the state's finest delicatessens. Many mid-Michiganders who are native to the region still dream of the New York-style bagels, blintzes and marbled corned beef that are all now an hour's drive away.