Getting a little too Comfortable at Kozy Lounge

It’s been a while.

A long while, actually. Our last official MCBC post was back in November 2019, at Duffy’s Den, which turned out to be a real treat. And to be honest, I had another entry in the works in early 2020, but I started to feel real weird about posting it, as our collective lives and the way we do things all changed that March. Our experience at Frita Batidos will be released eventually, after a revisit.

Things really did change. The state of our hospitality industry is totally different, as people in the industry have found new work in different industries and stood up for more pay for a job that put them in the line of Covid. Restaurants have been seeing a huge change in staffing because of it, and many places even with the smoothest service have found themselves chronically understaffed.

With that in mind, I’m giving bigger tips and more grace to anyone in the service industry, as they’re still keeping it all together so we can feel a sense of normalcy in a world that is burning. With our sense of safety and need for togetherness raising, new and old members of the club pushed to get it all back together and to try something new – we headed over to Hazel Park’s Kozy Lounge to try things out.

Kozy fell on my radar after seeing them win the Detroit Burger Battle in 2019, an independently organized festival in downtown Detroit that gets a real strange list of entrants to sell their burgers in large quantities to attendees. I place little to no stock in these kinds of things, as they are very corporate sponsored and ultimately meaningless in terms of diversity of the real food scene, but it’s nice to see a local business highlighted in the news after a win. A quick poll between Kozy and one as yet unnamed other local bar, and the Burger Club picked Kozy Lounge to bring our big group of friends together.

All the Fixins

Very much in the same vein as Duffy’s Den, Kozy fills a niche that every city needs, in my opinion. A simple sports bar, with a bunch of TVs, some bar games, an eclectic jukebox and a group of regulars. In my experience, you usually can’t go wrong in this kind of environment. Even if you get a slightly-expired beer, or food that is a little less than perfect, you’re not going to feel that out of place.

This kind of neighborhood dive brings mostly good experiences, but there are some oddities about it. You will have a good time playing shuffleboard at the side of the bar, but you might want to avoid looking at the tar-stain colored ceiling. Feel free to put on whatever music fits your vibe, but don’t get too annoyed when someone plays four Blink-182 songs in a row. You take the good with the bad, and hopefully the good evens out at the end.

The service matched the environment perfectly. The lone bartender working that afternoon took care of all of us with a lot of skill, got most of our orders correct, and she wasn’t annoyed to cash in our meager pull-tab winnings. The lone cook managed to get out food for our huge group within 15 minutes of each other, which is no easy feat. I have nothing but good things to say about the staff here, and the staff is really what ties a dive bar together.

The menu, while surprisingly large, isn’t too big of a departure from any other bar menu. However, their Kat Burger, created for the Burger Battle and now a menu mainstay, features crispy bacon, fresh jalapenos, swiss cheese, and honey. Definitely a standout among their rest of the menu, it piqued my interest and that of several other club members. Other slightly less unique burgers on the menu are the signature Kozy Burger (with grilled onion, bacon and swiss), the sunny side burger (with american cheese, bacon, and egg), Ma’s burger (swiss, bacon, and mild peppers on grilled bread), as well as both an impossible burger and a black bean burger. Doubling down on vegetarian options is a plus.

Side options abound here – regular fries, curly fries, onion rings and tater tots are all great fried accessories to the burgers, but also corned beef egg rolls and pizza egg rolls, mozzarella sticks and jalapeno poppers. I had a hard time deciding what to go for in this group, as all fried potato options are great ones.

Our thoughts

Some of us loved Kozy’s offerings, and others were not so happy. Due to the size of our order, there were a couple mix ups in the kitchen, one person waited an extra amount of time for food, and several had pretty overcooked burgers. I will say that 16 orders for one party in the middle of a Sunday afternoon is not average, so I’m willing to give a bit of leeway, but it was still a pretty disappointing meal for many of us.

Personally, I enjoyed my Kat burger quite a bit. I thought the honey and swiss were a good foil for the jalapenos, with enough saltiness from the bacon and beef to balance it all out. While the burger itself was a bit on the small side, and mine also slightly overdone, the toppings served their function exceedingly well. The bun was unextraordinary, just a standard white burger bun, but the burger didn’t need a massive brioche to hold in all the juices, so it served its purpose quite well.

If I had to compare Kozy’s burgers to others, they remind me most of Nemo’s, with a great backyard cookout feel, but with a slightly more interesting approach and cooked with a little bit more love. There’s nothing to hate here, and it’ll scratch a burger itch exactly like you want it to.

The real star for many of us, however, were the sides. The tots, onion rings, well-seasoned curly fries and regular fries were all very well cooked. Crispy but soft on the inside, they really stole the show. We ordered some egg rolls as well, and while they weren’t the best I’ve ever had, they were tasty and more filling than I would have expected. Ultimately, I would not hesitate to come to Kozy just for fries and for the big servings of cheap beers.

Takeaway

As I do more of these over time, it gets harder to say that local institutions ‘aren’t good’ at anything with a review. And I certainly don’t ever mean to say that (unless it’s Applebee’s), because the truth of the matter is we all had a great time, even if the food didn’t hit on all fronts. The beer was cheap, the service was good, and we all were very happy to have a convenient place to check out and catch up. Kozy is and will continue to be what it is because it creates such a positive atmosphere for newcomers and oldtimers, and I’d highly recommend a visit to anyone close enough to Hazel Park for a visit.

Ratings:
Music Report: A strange amount of Blink 182.
Burger: 3.488
Service: 4.131
Atmosphere: 4.035
Value: 3.962
Overall Rating: 3.820

Alex – “I loved being back with MCBC. I’m a little disappointed we didn’t go to [upcoming restaurant], also that Sala didn’t make an appearance, but happy to be back regardless! Can’t wait for more burgers to come!” 3/5
Alice –
“Pull tabs victory
Burger buds reunited
Shuffleboard is tense“ 4.5/5
Alicia – “Burger was good but those curly fries though… Also I enjoy any place that offers a 22 oz beer regardless of style. A rare pleasantry.” 4/5
Bonnie – ” I enjoyed my burger” 4.8/5
Brett – “The bun overwhelmed the flavor of the burger a bit. The burger was a bit overdone. It came with extra pickles which I really liked! Curly fries were good.” 3/5
Carl –”Kat burger had a nice combination of mild spicy and sweetness from the the honey. I enjoyed it although the burger was cooked a little over done, understandable with there being 16 of us and one cook. The ambiance was great with the vintage beer mirrors all over the walls and the townies at the bar playing classic country hits. It feels very genuine and exactly what I’m looking for in a dive bar. Bun toasted nicely, a little thick. Patty was too small for so much bread. 5/5 onion rings, 3/5 curly fries (crispy but not hot).
Come in, be Kozy
See the sun open door breeze
Loaf and Lounge at ease“ 3.75/5
Emily – “Burger was fine for a dive bar. Kudos to the server for accommodating our large unannounced group. Overall though, I am surprised these burgers have won any awards. Nothing special. ” 3/5
Erik – “Small things could change. I love the honey on the burger and good quality bacon. The server was delightful and kind, which makes up for any imperfections. Would come for cheap beers every time; would always at least consider the burger. ” 4/5
Ian – ” I thought the honey on my burger was excellent. I spilled ketchup on myself and it was worth it.” 4/5
John – “Burger was overdone, which is a big drawback. Otherwise, very good food. Overall experience is fun as well.” 3/5
Michelle – “I had fun! The baby loved the pickles!” 3.5/5
Mike – “The superiority of the curly fries over crinkle cannot be overstated” 4/5
Phil – “This is a burger that I’m not mad I ate, but it is a burger I would not come back for. This is not a burger I would advertise beyond the fact that ‘WE HAVE BURGERS’. My burger was last to arrive out of 16 and somehow it was still not very warm. Did I offend this server by refusing a Bud Zero? Did I offend her by asking which type of fries are crispiest? Perhaps Kozy is a place where you should take what you are given. And if they gave me a burger, I would eat it. But I’m not sure I would seek out out here. Oh, by the way, the curly fries were great.” 2/5
Rachel – “Sides were great! Hamburgers were fine. Service wasn’t without flaws but we were a big complicated group, so that was expected.” 3/5
Sean – “Jeff is at swim school
I’ll have to do a haiku
The bun was not good.” 3/5
Scott – “I liked the place, I would probably to back but I wouldn’t go out of my way. The burger toppings were good, but the patty itself was lacking seasoning and was overcooked, which overshadowed the nice jalapeno and honey toppings. The fries were cold and the beers were a bit too expensive for that place. Overall, 3/5 for being average but accommodating our large group.” 3/5