Cody Betsch

Burger Review: Lake Placid Pub and Brewery

November 13, 2025 by Cody Betsch

Hello, and welcome back to another Lake Placid Burger Review. For those new here, this article features two Northwood students, Parker Thompson ‘26 and Cody Betsch ‘26, who provide candid reviews of the burger spots in town. Today, Thompson and I visited a Lake Placid staple, The Lake Placid Pub and Brewery. Recently, we reviewed a new establishment that is a sister restaurant to the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery, and the burger was great. Thompson and I had high expectations going into this review.

The Lake Placid Pub and Brewery. Photo: TripAdvisor.

The burger being reviewed today is called The Schulzy Burger, which Mr. Weaver highly praised. The burger costs $20, which is the standard price in Lake Placid. The burger comes with two different types of cheese, American and Cheddar, as well as Bacon, Tomato, Lettuce, Ketchup, and Mayo. The service was super quick; the whole review took under 30 minutes. Right from the start, the burger is incredibly juicy. The burger was overall great, super flavorful, and cooked perfectly; the bun was also excellent. Honestly, neither of us has any complaints. “The burger was delicious, definitely up there for the best in town. The overall juiciness of the burger was unreal, and the fries were great to cap it off,” Thompson ‘26 said.

The Schultzy Burger. Photo provided.

My score- 8.2

Parker’s score- 8.4

These are two of the highest scores yet in this series. If you’re in town, this place is a must-try.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Opinion

Dorm Room Tour: Parker Thompson ‘26

November 6, 2025 by Cody Betsch

Welcome to Parker Thompson’s room. This is his third year of boarding at Northwood. Parker lives in a brand-new single room on Second East. His room was the former laundry room, so everything in his room is new, from the flooring to the walls. He has a nice setup and has added decoration and furniture to make it seem homier.

When it comes to rooms, Parker has been through it all. His first year, he was in Bergamini in a double room. In his second year, he was on 2nd East in a double room again. At the start of the year, his room was still under construction, so he was living in the smallest room on campus on Third East. He just recently made the move to his new permanent room on the second floor of East dorm.

This is Parker’s new room; he tries to keep his room as clean as possible because he likes the room to feel spacious. The color scheme is quite simple, but it all works well together. He keeps extra chairs in his room so that friends can come in and hang out for a while.

This is the flag that represents his hometown, Akwesasne. Being native to the Akwesasne reservation, this flag serves as a constant reminder of his home and his family. The flag keeps him connected to his hometown.

Outside of formal dinners, you almost never see Parker without a hat on. All of those hats he actually made himself, and over the summer, he makes hats for work. He is also working on a hat company for PEAK Pathways, so stay tuned for more on that.

Lastly and maybe most importantly, we have his bed. The spot where he begins and ends every day. As with the rest of the room, Parker tries to keep his bed neat. He likes relaxing here after long days of school and practice.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Burger Review: Big Slide Brewery

October 28, 2025 by Cody Betsch

Hey Northwood community! This is Cody Betsch ’26, and I’m excited to welcome you to another in our series where my good friend, classmate, and teammate, Parker Thompson ‘26, and I review all of the burgers in the town of Lake Placid. We’re here to give you all completely honest reviews of Lake Placid’s burgers on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best thing we have ever tasted and 1 being absolute garbage.

Big Slide Brewery. Photo: LakePlacid.com

The burger we chose for this week is from a restaurant just outside of town, Big Slide Brewery and Public House. This is a sister restaurant to another very popular spot, The Lake Placid Pub and Brewery, so expectations were pretty high.

Unfortunately, I am not joined by Parker Thompson ‘26 this week. However, I brought two other burger fans with me, Henry Kress ‘26 and Charles Pigeon ‘26. All three of us got “The Burger,” a Donahue Farm patty, house-made burger sauce, bib lettuce, heirloom tomato, Vermont Cheddar, bacon, and onion jam, stacked on their homemade Bake Placid bun. It had a pickle on the side and French fries.

The burger and fries at Big Slide Brewery. Photo: Instagram/Big Slide Brewery.

The burger came in at $18, very standard for a Lake Placid burger. This burger lived up to expectations and even exceeded them for me. I thought the onion jam was great, and the bacon was a great addition, something new compared to the other burgers. I give it an 8.3 out of 10.

“The burger was super juicy and had really good flavor,” said Henry. He rated it a 7.9 out of 10. “Every bite brought me joy,” said Charles, who gave it a 7.8 out of 10.

“The Burger” at Big Slide Brewery and Public House. Photo provided.

Overall, Big Slide offers a great burger option in Lake Placid. The service was great, and it being outside of town gives it a little more of a quiet atmosphere. This was a great burger, and I would definitely recommend not only this burger but this entire restaurant.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Opinion

Humans of Northwood: Joachim Neverdal ‘26

October 28, 2025 by Cody Betsch

“I first found out about Northwood because of all the times that I had visited Lake Placid with my dad. I knew I loved the area, and when my dad and I were doing research into schools and everything, we found Northwood. It checked all the boxes for me and felt like a no-brainer.

“I would say that my favorite part of the Northwood experience is the sense of community with not only the sports teams but also all of the students and faculty. I think that Northwood does a great job making you feel at home, and it is definitely a high point of my experience at school.

“My plan for next year is to hopefully go play hockey in a good junior league, but I think that Northwood has prepared me well for the next steps in my life, like applying to colleges and eventually joining the workforce.

“Something that I will never forget and take with me after Northwood is the way that school felt. It feels like a family here, and that makes getting up, school, sports, everything, much easier.

“The advice I would give to the students on campus is to savor every moment while you’re here. Northwood is really a special place, and it goes by really fast. These last years have been highlights in my life, and the thought of it coming to an end is sad. I’ll miss everything about this place.”

As told to Cody Betsch ’26. Photo provided.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Burger Review: McDonald’s

October 11, 2025 by Cody Betsch

Hey Northwood community! This is Cody Betsch ’26, and I’m excited to welcome you to episode two of a new series where my good friend, classmate, and teammate, Parker Thompson ‘26, and I review all of the burgers in the town of Lake Placid. We’re here to give you all completely honest reviews of Lake Placid’s burgers on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best thing we have ever tasted and 1 being absolute garbage.

We are back with another burger review. After a very hot and expensive start to the series, we decided it was time to slow down and explore more affordable options. Today’s review is a Northwood student staple: McDonald’s.

Photo: Cody Betsch ’26.

Now, obviously, coming into this review, we knew that these burgers would be a step down; however, the burger was $1.99. You could order 10 of these burgers for the price of one at almost any restaurant in Lake Placid. The burger comes with diced onions, pickles, ketchup, and mustard. Fries are not included, but you can add them for an additional $3.

When you first look at these burgers, they don’t quite pass the eye test; however, the burger tastes much better than it looks. “For 2 bucks, you can’t really go wrong with this burger; the bun’s toasted, and the patty tastes great,” Thompson said. The burgers are definitely a step down, but considering the price, they’re pretty good. Parker and I both give these burgers a 5.0 out of 10. This is a very solid option if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on dinner. The downside of McDonald’s is that it is a bit of a hike for Northwood students who have to walk. DoorDash is a solid option for McDonald’s and is already very popular with Northwood students. However, driver availability has been an issue in the past. So, if you want a cheap burger that is still enjoyable to eat, you can’t go wrong with a $2 hamburger from McDonald’s.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Opinion

Burger Review: Wise Guys

October 9, 2025 by Cody Betsch

Burgers at WiseGuys. Photo by Mirror Staff.

Welcome back to another Lake Placid Burger Review. Today, Parker and I reviewed WiseGuys. Wiseguys is a bar and restaurant opposite Lake Placid Town Hall. Everything is all about the Buffalo Bills, so if you’re an opinionated fan of another football team, this might not be the place for you.

But back to the review. The burgers came in at $16 for a regular hamburger and $18 for the Placid Burger. All burgers come with fries, tomato, lettuce, and raw red onion. The Placid Burger comes with Thousand Island sauce and Applewood-smoked bacon.

The burgers were cooked great; it is a much thicker patty than the other two burgers that we have reviewed so far. The patty is well-seasoned and juicy. Another highlight is the toasted bun, which is a great touch and keeps the bun from getting soggy. The toasted bun was a highlight for Parker. “This is a great burger; the toasted bun is unreal,” said Thompson.

Overall, Wiseguys has a great selection of burgers. This burger was much more filling than the others and, in my opinion, had the best-tasting patty so far. However, I do think that the other two restaurants were overall better than this one. My rating is a 7 flat while Parker’s rating was an 8.4. For the price of these burgers, I would recommend this spot, especially on Sunday nights.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Opinion, Real World

Prep Hockey Splits Season-Openers at Home

September 23, 2025 by Cody Betsch

The Prep hockey squad hopes to celebrate a lot of wins this season. Photo of the team from last year, provided.

The Northwood Boys’ Prep Hockey team took on the North Jersey Avalanche on September 13-14 for their first 2 games of the season. Coming off a very successful season, the Prep team has high expectations for this year. “We knew coming into the weekend that it would be a tough test for our team. Everything is very new to all the guys, and it was sort of a test weekend for us. The expectation was to win both games, but we ultimately fell short in the second game. We’re not worried, though; this team is promising, and I know we’ll keep getting better as we spend more time together,” Parker Thompson ’26, Prep team captain, said.

The team started strong in their first game, winning 3-1. The performance showcased a very promising group with considerable potential this season. A hat-trick from Thompson led the team to its first victory of the season.

In the second game, the team was down, but a goal from Hunter Bridges ‘26 tied the game up at 1. Unfortunately, the boys fell short, losing 3-2, but they are not worried about it and are focused on the upcoming weekend. “We had an okay first weekend as a team. It was a fun experience to get our first win, and even though we had a tough loss, I feel like we responded well, and we are ready for Pittsburgh,” Max Stracar ’26 said.

Adam Sherman ‘26 feels that it is only up from here. “Not the exact result we were looking for, especially since I collected the loss. But it was the first weekend of the season, and I think we’ll only improve from here.”

Filed Under: Sports

Burger Review: The Pickled Pig’s Crack Burger

September 16, 2025 by Cody Betsch

Hey Northwood community! This is Cody Betsch ’26, and I’m excited to welcome you to episode one of a new series where my good friend, classmate, and teammate, Parker Thompson ‘26, and I review all of the Burgers in the town of Lake Placid. We’re here to give you all completely honest reviews of Lake Placid’s burgers on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best thing we have ever tasted and 1 being absolute garbage.

We are starting off hot with a very popular restaurant and what many people think is the best burger in town: The Pickled Pig’s Crack Burger. “The Pickled Pig has been a spot where the boys love to come eat whenever we have home games or just the opportunity to come into town. The atmosphere and food are great,” said Parker.

The Pickled Pig Crack Burger. Photo by Cody Betsch ’26.

Cody and Parker at The Pickled Pig. Photo provided.

Parker and I both got The Crack Burger: his completely plain, and mine with everything on it. The burger is priced at $19.95 (15% off with the local discount), including house-made chips and a pickle. The patties are thin, in smash burger style, and well seasoned. It pairs incredibly well with their house-made Piggy Sauce. There’s a lot going on with this burger, but it all works well together.

All in all, The Pickled Pig has a great atmosphere and some great food, but that’s not what we are reviewing. For the Burgers and the price point, I gave it an 8.3, and Parker gave it a 7 flat. Two solid scores to kick off what should be the start of a great series. These burgers will be hard to beat, so we’ll see what the town has to offer.

We hear there’s some buzz about this new series at The Mirror, and we’re excited to help Huskies find the best burgers in Lake Placid. “Being a new student here at Northwood, everything’s all pretty new to me. I am excited to see what this series and town have to offer,” said Adam Sherman ’26.