Aperitivo and Fish Lads, Downtown Market - 1/30/14

We decided to make another visit to the Downtown Market to see how lunch options were shaping up. And choices are becoming more numerous ~ Tacos el Cunado (although our favorite chef pictured here has left). (The market sign above was also obviously taken earlier.)

Rak Thai (we've already dined at their Northland Drive location)

Rak Thai ~ 12/22/10

                     Fish Lads (earlier photo & current lunch menu),

 

and Aperitivo (offering a grilled cheese sandwich, and otherwise cheese plates & charcuterie).

We were leaning towards Fish Lads but there was no comfortable place to sit. They have only a small counter (oyster bar) with stools. Tacos el Cunado has a small seating area behind it but we’ve already sampled their tacos. The market provides a dining area for all to enjoy whatever they’ve purchased but it’s an aesthetically cold, pale, and unfriendly space ~ metal furniture with no plants, art, or color.

Granted, there are more tables and chairs there now then when this photo was taken on 8/31 but the atmosphere is not improved.

So we’re toying between Fish Lads and Aperitivo (who has small dining area and now a lunch menu), liking the space at Aperitivo but wanting something from the Fish Lads menu. Out of the blue, a Fish Lads employee tells us we can eat our food over at Aperitivo so long as we purchase a beverage from them to accompany our lunch. Score!

That sealed the deal, and after placing our orders we headed over to Aperitivo to take our place at their counter. One of the owners waited on us and after we informed her of our lunch selections she expertly paired beers for us.

Shortly thereafter, a Fish Lads employee brought us our seafood lunches. Our appetizer was a delightful Crab Cake topped with a delicious aioli and accompanied by a fresh green salad. Exquisite!

We split that and then dug into our main dishes Arctic BLT (Arctic Char, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo) and Fish & Chips (Cod). Both dishes came with fries that were a little over done but there was no complaint about the fish. It’s flown in daily and the flavor reflects that, as does the price. However, Fish Lads announced recently on their facebook page that due to the large volume of business they were doing, they would be able to lower their prices. Good news.

To close out this posting, I'm going to share some photos of the market from its opening weekend (8/31/13 & 9/2/13), which then included a huge Farmers' Market in its parking lot. We're looking forward to that coming back this spring.

The building design is beautiful.

 Second floor greenhouse and the view from upstairs.

This graffiti is now gone and other less than subtle changes are also taking place, including fencing off a nearby underpass so the homeless can no longer sleep there.

 

To finish off this digression, here are photos taken on 12/3/13 when our staff enjoyed a lunch there.

Cheers!

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