A Quick Visit to Grand Rapids

Downtown Market

Despite being born and raised in the Detroit area, I somehow never visited Grand Rapids before. I didn't have anything against Grand Rapids. Instead, I found it too easy to keep visiting the places in Michigan that I already knew.

I have been wanting to visit for some time, and my work luckily took me to Grand Rapids on Monday. Since I had a meeting at 1 p.m. downtown, I left my home early enough so I could have two meals and see as much of the city as possible during my visit.

Argos Book Shop

Besides tasting a new city's food and beer, I always try to visit its independent bookstores, so my first stop was Argos Book Shop in the Eastown neighborhood. Argos specializes in used books, and it has a comic book section that looked impressive to this non-collector. The store has two rooms full of used books covering many genres. I could have spent more than an hour searching the shelves, but I had to eat lunch before my meeting.

The bar at the Green Well

For lunch, I chose The Green Well Gastropub in the East Hills neighborhood. The neighborhood was quiet because it was 11 on Monday morning, but I'm guessing it is bustling later in the day since it features several shops and restaurants, and one of Grand Rapids' many breweries, Brewery Vivant.

My Favorite New-to-Me Places to Eat and Drink in 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, it's time to reflect on the most important things in life, food and drink. Although I have plenty of favorite restaurants that I visit on a regular basis, I do like to try new places, especially when traveling around Michigan. Here are a few of my favorite restaurants and bars that I experienced for the first time in 2016.

Breweries

Tenacity Brewing

Tenacity Brewing

I visited Tenacity Brewing in Flint one afternoon this fall. It had just opened for the night, so I was one of only a few customers. The brewery is in an old firehouse along the Flint River, and it has a great atmosphere with a few different rooms and outdoor seating to sit back and drink. I tried a flight of beers and was impressed. The Farmer's Daughter IPA was very good, and their Oktoberfest was smooth. The highlight was their dark wheat, and I purchased a growler of it to go.

An empty flight

Bell's Eccentric Cafe

Bell's Brewery is the godfather of Michigan craft brewing. Larry Bell and his team started brewing in Kalamazoo more than thirty years ago, and Michigan's craft brewing revolution was born. Even though most of their brewing occurs in nearby Comstock, Bell's still brews on the original site in Kalamazoo, and they serve beer and food next door at the Eccentric Cafe.

Bell's Eccentric Cafe

Despite being a Bell's fan for years, I had never been to either of their breweries. The Eccentric Cafe lived up to my expectations. I had an excellent burger as well as a couple of delicious beers. After finishing my meal, I stopped at the Bell's General Store, which sells t-shirts, homebrewing equipment, beer glasses, beer (of course), and more. I picked up one six pack of the Oracle Double IPA and a mixed six pack of Bell's beers.

A Taste of Marquette

Downtown Marquette

I made my first visit to Marquette at the end of August and was impressed by this awesome city. Although it sits on the shores of Lake Superior and is surrounded by wilderness and amazing outdoor activities, Marquette offers great food, drink, and cultural attractions. This is not surprising since Marquette is the Upper Peninsula's largest city, with 21,000 residents, and it is the home of Northern Michigan University, the U.P.'s largest university.

One of the sculptures at NMU's sculpture walk

With so much to do, Marquette feels larger than it is. The areas near NMU and the downtown, with their residential streets, bars, restaurants, and shopping, reminded me of a hilly Ann Arbor. My family and I rented a small house on a residential street near NMU's campus. We could walk to the beach, downtown, the restaurants and bars on Third Street, and campus.

A Weekend Getaway in South Haven

Lake Michigan and the South Haven Lighthouse

This past weekend, my wife, Allison, and I visited South Haven for a quick vacation. South Haven is on the shores of Lake Michigan, about an hour drive from Grand Rapids, two hours from Chicago, and three hours from Detroit. We arrived around 4 p.m. on Friday and left around 1 p.m. on Sunday, just enough time to get a taste of South Haven and to leave us wanting more.

Our Accommodations

We stayed in the beautiful Yelton Manor Bread and Breakfast on North Shore Drive. South Haven is carved into two sections by the Black River, and Yelton Manor is on the north side of town, across the river from the downtown. It is far enough away from the crowds downtown and the larger beaches near the mouth of the river to give guests a relaxing setting to unwind.

The Manor

Even though it is on a quiet street removed from the downtown, Yelton Manor is close enough to walk to almost everything South Haven offers. Downtown is about a ten to fifteen minute walk away, and the South Beach lighthouse near downtown is about a twenty minute walk total. Best of all, a public beach access is across the street from Yelton Manor.

An Afternoon in Lake Orion

Downtown Lake Orion

Michigan has so many great towns to visit for a weekend, a day trip, or even an afternoon. In Metro Detroit, there are a lot of walkable downtowns with restaurants and shopping, but not many of them are within a short walk to a lake.

A dragon guarding the art center

Lake Orion in northeast Oakland County feels like a small resort town that you might find Up North, but it is only 45 minutes north of Detroit. The town actually served as a vacation destination for people from Detroit and beyond in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it even had an amusement park. The lake and a public park (a park pass is required during the summer) with a swimming beach are only a few blocks from the downtown.

Public art near Paint Creek

My family and I visited Lake Orion on a Saturday afternoon and parked in a free public lot between Broadway and Anderson streets. There is also ample and free street parking throughout the downtown, but the street spots have a two-hour limit, unlike the 23-hour limit of the public lot.

What's Been on My Plate During the First Half of 2016

Osso Buco from Roadside B&G

We're almost at the halfway mark of 2016, and I've had the pleasure of eating at several excellent Michigan restaurants this year. Here are some of my favorites from this year.

Roadside B&G

I have eaten at Roadside B&G in Bloomfield Township several times, and I always leave satisfied. Their balsamic glazed brussels sprouts with dried cranberries is a great appetizer. As for main courses, my favorites are the roasted vegetarian enchilada (I get it with short rib added) and the baby back ribs. On my most recent trip, I tried an osso buco with polenta special that was perfection. The restaurant also makes a very good mac & cheese (and the kids menu version, with its large portion, might be the best bargain on the menu).

Chartreuse

Chartreuse makes a lot of "best of" lists for Detroit, and the Detroit Free Press named it the restaurant of the year for 2016. I have only visited Chartreuse once, but one visit convinced me that it deserves the accolades it receives. The restaurant is next door to the Detroit Institute of Arts, so my wife, Allison, and I decided to try Chartreuse after attending the Freep Film Festival at the DIA.

It was a snowy April day, and Chartreuse's bright chartreuse-colored interior felt warm and inviting. We had a short wait for a table, so we ordered a couple of drinks at the bar. I tried the delicious "gon now git," a combination of rye, averna, and lemon. Allison had the Last Word (Then again, she always does), a tasty mixture of gin, chartreuse green, lime, and maraschino. For dinner, I tried the spare ribs, which were phenomenal. Allison had the vegetable bulgogi--a strange mix that included pineapple, poached egg, green curry, and excellent kimchi, but all the flavors worked well together.

Fork n' Pint

Asian beef tacos from Fork n' Pint

I reviewed Fork n' Pint after my first time eating there. I have been back to this Waterford restaurant a few more times because it has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in Metro Detroit. I love their fries. Their pizzas and burgers are very good. The walleye n' chips (served with potato chips, not fries) are wonderful, and so are their vegetarian options, like the coconut curry tofu. And they have fantastic tacos, as I recently discovered when I tried their Asian beef tacos. With its great menu, large drink menu, and relaxing atmosphere overlooking Cass Lake, I am always happy to visit Fork n' Pint.

An Afternoon in Plymouth

Downtown Plymouth

It's easy to stick to the familiar, to not venture outside the vicinity of our hometowns, to eat at the same restaurants, to shop at the same stores. But Michigan is full of smaller towns and cities that are perfect for a day trip or even a quick stop for a bite to eat and stroll around town.

Despite growing up in Metro Detroit and spending my college years in Ann Arbor, I had never been to Downtown Plymouth until this past weekend. It's about half an hour from my home, so my family and I decided to make a short visit to walk around the downtown and have dinner.

The downtown is surrounded by single-family homes on quiet-looking residential streets. Unfortunately, the weather was cold for April (and hopefully it was the last cold weekend of this year), so we did not walk around the downtown as much as we would have liked.

Fork n' Pint: Dining on the Shores of Cass Lake

Fork n' Pint

Fork n' Pint in Waterford opened in December 2015 and offers a large menu of comfort food, including burgers, barbecue, fish and chips, poutine fries, and pizzas. Located on Cass Elizabeth Road, the restaurant overlooks Cass Lake's Coles Bay.

The interior of the restaurant has ample seating, and its wooden tables and large fireplace give it the cozy feel of a ski lodge. Its large patio overlooking the lake will be a great spot to unwind with good food and drink on a warm summer's night.

Outside seating with a view of Cass Lake

With only one visit under my belt, I cannot speak for the entire menu, but the food definitely satisfied. My family and I started with the poutine fries as an appetizer. They were good, but I have had better poutine, and I actually found the plain fries that came with my burger to be tastier.

It might be obvious from its name, but Fork n' Pint has a large selection of draft and bottled craft beer, including many Michigan brews. They also have a good wine selection, as well as cocktails and spirits, including several from Michigan distilleries.

The delicious grilled caesar and cheese soup

For our main courses, I ordered a ridiculously heavy, but delicious, Muenster Monster burger. This 10-ounce Angus beef burger is topped with grilled house sausage, muenster cheese, haystack onions, coleslaw, and Fork n' Pint's tangy barbecue sauce, and it comes with a side of fries. I had been craving a burger for a few days, and the Muenster Monster delivered.

My wife Allison ordered the broccoli and beer cheese soup and a grilled caesar salad. The soup is made with Newcastle Nut Brown Ale and Swiss and roma cheeses. The soup was superb; the beer flavor was subtle and did not overpower the cheeses. As for the salad, Allison and I both love grilled caesar salads and found this one to be quite tasty. Our kids also enjoyed a burger and pizza from the kids menu.

The wooden interior gives the restaurant a cozy atmosphere

With its satisfying food and relaxing atmosphere, Fork n' Pint was a good experience. We definitely will be visiting again and look forward to warm summer nights dining and watching the boaters on Cass Lake.

Fork n' Pint. 4000 Cass Elizabeth Road, Waterford, MI 48328. 248-791-3256. www.forknpint.com

A Few of My Favorite Foods From 2015

A pizza from Mani Osteria in Ann Arbor

I did not write as much as I wanted to in 2015, probably because I was too busy eating my way around the state, especially Metro Detroit. Here are a few of my favorite restaurants and foods that I experienced for the first time in 2015.

Frita Batidos

Ann Arbor's Frita Batidos serves Cuban street food, and is a new favorite of mine in Ann Arbor. Their fritas are creative variations of the traditional burger while the batidos are tropical-flavored milkshakes. For more, read my review from January 2015. I've been back a few times since, and it is still excellent.

Kitchen Hanzo and Sharaku

Tempura from Kitchen Hanzo

One of my favorite finds this year is a couple of Japanese restaurants in an unassuming strip mall in West Bloomfield. Kitchen Hanzo and Sharaku have the same owners but deliver different food and experiences. During my first visit to Kitchen Hanzo, our waiter described the food as traditional Japanese pub food, but do not expect burgers and fries. Instead, the long menu lists a lot of smaller dishes that can be shared, as well giant hot pots filled with seafood. Everything is delicious, and the hot pots are especially appealing on a cold winter day.

Seafood hot pot

Sharaku is Hanzo's more upscale sibling. They have a menu with traditional Japanese main courses, but I only tried several rounds of sushi the one time I visited. The sushi is outstanding, and I definitely want to visit again.

Sushi from Sharaku

Saffron Indian Cuisine

Saffron Indian Cuisine in Farmington Hills is right around the corner from my work, and I often pick it up on the way home on Friday evening. I have not had a dish I did not like. Some of my favorites are the Vindaloo, Rogan Josh, Jalfrazie, and Palak Panner.

A Winter Escape: 24 Hours in Detroit

This is Detroit

When asked where to escape for an overnight stay or a weekend, many Metro Detroiters probably would mention ski trips to Northern Michigan, a cottage on a lake, or even a weekend in Chicago or Toronto. When faced with the need to get away for a night, my wife, Allison, and I chose to stay closer to home and spend a weekend in Detroit. Detroit is ever-changing, and though we try to visit the city as often as possible, we still cannot find the time to do everything we want to in this burgeoning town.

We only could get away for one night in December, but we wanted to make the most of our time in the city. First, we wanted to give a little bit back to the city, so we arrived early on a Saturday morning to volunteer with the Cass Community Social Services, through a volunteer event organized by the University of Michigan Club of Greater Detroit.

Cass Community Social Services provides food, housing, and health services as well as job programs to Detroiters. Our job involved building door mats out of recycled tires. The mat program employs formerly homeless Detroit residents, and also uses the services of volunteers. Along with the mats, they sell other products including Detroit Treads sandals made from discarded tires and coasters. After a morning making mats for the program, we visited the organization's store and walked out with two door mats, and two pairs of sandals.

Tour de Traverse City

Traverse City at night

Until this week, I had never been to Traverse City before. When I was growing up, my family always vacationed in the U.P. during the summer. Luckily, I had an opportunity to visit Traverse City for one night, and my wife was able to join me. Unfortunately, our visit was for less than 24 hours, and, after factoring in sleep, we only had seven or eight hours to explore.

With such a short schedule, we limited our exploration to an area within walking distance of our downtown hotel and limited our activities to walking, eating, and drinking. Plus, after a rain-soaked drive from Metro Detroit, neither one of us wanted to spend more time in the car. Midway through the night, I dubbed our series of quick stops the "Tour de Traverse City."

First Stage: Clinch Park and Grand Traverse Bay

We stayed at the Park Place Hotel, which is in the heart of Traverse City. We arrived around 4 p.m. and were fortunate that the monsoon that had plagued the last hour of our drive stopped when we reached the hotel. Knowing that the rain would return, we moved quickly and walked toward the shore of the Grand Traverse Bay.

Boats on the Boardman River

As we walked toward the bay, we crossed the Boardman River, a small tree-lined river whose shorelines were filled with docked boats. One tree juts out so far into the river that it must take some serious maneuvering to get around and under the tree without dinging one of the docked boats or banging your head on a branch. A walking path runs along the bank of the river, but we continued on to the bay.

After crossing the river, we crossed the Grandview Parkway, whose name is fitting. The skies were still overcast, but the view of Grand Traverse Bay was stunning. Though there are houses dotting the shores of the bay, the hilly shorelines surrounding the bay are covered with trees, making the bay seem pleasantly undeveloped. 

Grand Traverse Bay

We walked along the trail in Clinch Park and watched a few people swimming from the beach. Though the trail runs for several miles, we did not walk far since we had skipped lunch and were excited to try a few restaurants that friends and family had recommended.

Poutine in Corktown

Corktown's Brooklyn Street Local

When the Detroit Tigers moved from their ancient home in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood to Comerica Park, Corktown's future was uncertain. Would the businesses that thrived off the traffic from Tiger Stadium shutter their doors? Would anyone want to move a business into a neighborhood that lost its cash cow? Luckily for Detroiters, businesses did move in. Fifteen years after Tiger Stadium closed its gates, the neighborhood is a foodie destination.

Brooklyn Street Local is one of many restaurants to open up in the last few years. The restaurant uses locally sourced and organic ingredients and carries a wide variety of breakfast dishes and sandwiches, including several vegetarian and vegan options.

The Works burger. Definitely not vegan.

I ordered "The Works," a burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, a fried egg, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. My wife ordered the spicy tofu sandwich (fried tofu, sweet and spicy sauce, kale, and pickled cabbage). We also ordered a spinach and feta omelette for our daughters to share. Our main courses were good, but our poutine appetizer made the meal memorable.

Spicy Tofu Sandwich

Even though the French-Canadian dish has taken over the Metro Detroit restaurant scene, I had not tried poutine until my visit to Brooklyn Street Local. The traditional French-Canadian dish consists of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. I do not know what the English translation of "poutine" is, but my guess is "sublime artery clogger."

Brooklyn Street Local's poutine

Brooklyn Street Local serves a traditional poutine with a choice of mushroom or beef gravy, and they also have vegan and breakfast poutines. Since my wife does not eat meat, we went with the traditional with mushroom gravy. Since I have not had poutine before, I cannot compare Brooklyn Street Local's to other poutines, but I can say it was a great introduction to the world of poutine. With the first bite, I knew that I had found the perfect combination of salty, cheesy, and fried goodness.

My eyes have been opened to the world of poutine. Thank you, Brooklyn Street Local.

Brooklyn Street Local is located at 1266 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226. It is open Tuesday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.

Ivy and Coney Turned Out to Be Heaven

Bathroom Graffiti at Ivy and Coney

As a native of Metro Detroit who lived near Wrigley Field in Chicago for about 8 months, I was excited to hear about the opening of Ivy and Coney, a bar that celebrates both Chicago and Detroit, in the Shaw neighborhood of D.C.

I had read about this bar being a dive, but that description is too polite. This place is a complete dump. As Stevie Wonder states in an “autographed” photo hanging on the bar’s wall, “Even I can see this bar is a shithole.” However, for this Michigan expat who craves Coney dogs and an unpretentious Midwestern bar feel, it is a wonderful shithole...just like the shitholes back home.

My wife and I visited the bar on the Sunday night before President’s Day. The bar is pretty much unfindable unless you are looking for it and have the exact address. Even with the address, we drove by twice before I stopped the car, got out, and tried the disheveled door of what appeared to be an abandoned storefront.

The front door

The door opens to a dark entryway with a stairway that ascends to what I could only hope was the bar. Looking to the left I noticed a sign that is shaped like the famous marquee outside Wrigley Field with the words "Ivy and Coney Home of Good Dogs Mediocre Beer" When I went back out to let my wife know that this was the right place, I looked more closely at the outside of the door and noticed the words “Ivy and Coney” buried in a display of random words on the door.

The sign that I needed

As we ascended the stairs we passed a quote from D.C. native and Motown star Marvin Gaye: “Detroit turned out to be heaven, but it also turned out to be hell.” As someone who defends Detroit on a daily basis, the “hell” part made my hairs bristle, but I knew this place is supposed to celebrate Detroit, so I gave the quote a pass. Continuing up the stairs, we passed a map of the Chicago ‘L’ system and found a mural of the eternal voice of the Cubs, Harry Caray, staring at us at the top of the steps (although if you are going to honor Harry Caray, how could you not have a mural of the eternal voice of the Tigers, Ernie Harwell??).

Harry Caray: Holy Cow!

To the right of the top of the stairwell is a small room with several seats around a modest bar, and just a few tables. The room is dimly lit by small lamps covered by lampshades painted with images of Detroit and Chicago. A single television hangs above the bar, and on this night it was showing the replay of an Olympic hockey game.