Reserve, 201 Monroe Ave NW - 4/3/13

This was its first week open for lunch (other than during ArtPrize) so we were happy to be there. Regardless of your feelings about the DeVos family, the restaurant is worthy of a visit. ‘Open Water,’ the 2009 ArtPrize winner (pictured first in its original ArtPrize location), after spending some time in the Art Museum, was purchased by Dick & Betsy DeVos and now hangs beautifully in this restaurant. 

We enjoyed a dinner here last year and partook of the lovely wine bar and charcuterie offerings. But lunch time is different, and the menu reflects that. It’s small, creative, and emphasizes locally obtained ingredients.

 

To begin, we ordered ‘Bacon Jam with Warm Bread’ - yes, Bacon Jam :-) along with ‘We Can Pickle That,’ which featured winter root vegetables in a pickled state. Both were so interesting and a treat for the tastebuds.

We selected our sandwiches accompanied by Potato Soup (with spicy guanciale & rosemary oil) and the soup was the standout; we wanted to take some home. The roast beef and lamb reuben sandwiches were delicious, as was the fried perch, but the perch sandwich was too large to eat as a sandwich and had to be de-constructed before consuming.

 

Added to that, we had to happily try the ‘Pork Fat Fries’ with garlic mayonnaise - recommended if you’re not too afraid of occasional tasty fat.

Service was very attentive and a little obsequious, but customers were light on this day and employees outnumbered them. A bored hostess stood nearby waiting for customers and willingly answered our questions about the restaurant.

The menu will be ever-changing and take-out is available. There is a small and somewhat hidden outdoor deck (far left in photo) that we will visit if summer ever arrives. So check it out, Grand Rapids.

Update:  6/1/13 Visit