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Driving south down Division the week before, we spotted a couple of Mexican restaurants that we wanted to come back and try, and this was the first. We knew nothing about it and pulled into the rear parking lot. There was just one other vehicle in the lot, which is not something we like to see, on several levels. We walked in the back door and found a good-sized room with an empty lunch buffet on our right. On the left, upholstered booths lined the windows, tables filled the space in between, and on the far end of the room, very large booths take the middle space. The kitchen and counter were on the right, halfway into the room, with pictures of the food above the counter/kitchen opening.
We took a booth by the window far back into the restaurant and found ourselves seated near a Virgin Mary statue highlighted with colored lights, two booths on the right loaded with dirty dishes (must have been a busy lunch), a compact disc juke box, and very colorful artwork. Against the back wall was a large flat screen TV showing, with sound, soccer on ESPN de Portes. It’s not our idea of atmosphere but the decor may be culturally true, and unlike “Little Mexico” that tries to provide a Mexican food experience for Americans (Tex-Mex meets Aztec art), this is a restaurant serving Mexican food for Mexican people.
It was around 1:30 p.m. and the only other occupants were a couple with a small child. Sometime during our meal, they departed and two customers in hoodies arrived for take-out. From the looks we received, we knew we were an oddity here. Our server frequently lapsed into Spanish but was friendly and patient; chips and salsa were delivered promptly. The salsa was thinner than what we’re used to but the flavor was excellent with a nice spicy kick, and far above the average fare; no refills were brought (and we didn’t ask). Soda is served from cans - nothing on tap. Valentina Salsa Pi Cante is on the tables.
The lunch buffet was obviously over, and that was fine with us. The menu had four large pages (and a 5th page in mine that listed Chinese luncheon specials - really??) We bypassed the Chinese items and found a mole dish (enchilada mi tierra de mole), which consisted of four enchiladas with chicken, beef, or cheese, topped with cheese and sour cream, accompanied by rice, beans, and salad. Mole sauce creation is an art in itself and we couldn’t resist. We attempted to order it with beef but were twice told that it should be served with chicken. Who were we to disagree? Our second selection was fajitas a la Mexicana (marinated grilled steak with tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, rice, beans, and salad, on flour tortillas). Both dishes were wonderful, made up of fresh ingredients and great Mexican flavors - and definitely homemade tortillas. The small salad that accompanied our entrees was so much more than the token flavorless tomato slice on a piece of wilted lettuce that we’ve all experienced. This was fresh and crispy - chopped lettuce, tomato, avocado, and cilantro - a taste treat.
After we were served, our waitress disappeared. We helped ourselves to the takeout dishes that were stacked on the kitchen counter, and the cordial cook sent her back out with our bill. Well, not exactly. She went to the cash register, totaled up our meals, came back to our table, and told us what we owed. Entrees are under $10.00 for the most part, and the lunch buffet runs Monday - Friday for $5.99.
The restaurant has a drive-through window and that might be a good way to go for those that may be uncomfortable in this setting but want to enjoy an authentic Mexican meal.
It was recommended by a friend as being the best Thai food in Grand Rapids so we had to try it. After circling once through Towne & Country Plaza, we located the nondescript, little restaurant, and it’s a sliver of a space. The entrance is off the parking lot and the space extends up to windows facing Kalamazoo. Upon entry, you are welcomed by a table for seven and the restrooms. The room then divides into a hall of small tables for two on the left, with the kitchen running along on the right. The hall continues down to the aforesaid windows, and the kitchen ends in time to add three tables along these windows. In total, there were about 11 tables, the table for seven, three tables for four, and the rest for two. From the small table in the middle with two chairs, loaded with magazines, we’re assuming they do a bit of take-out service.
It was crowded when we walked in and we walked through and took the middle table by the windows. From this viewpoint, we could look back straight down into the kitchen. Decor is eclectic, ranging from warriors and deities to pictures of food and the popular Asian good-luck, beckoning cat (left paw up brings in customers). And with its somewhat mismatched curtains, this restaurant is not about ambiance but is all about the food. We could see an older woman doing most of the cooking and two younger women assisting in the kitchen or serving. Later on, a young man also surfaced in the kitchen. By the time we left, the restaurant was empty and they were all relaxing together at a table in the corner of the kitchen.
Our server was very friendly and helpful, prompt but never rushed us. We started off with the appetizer sampler that offered four appetizers, two of each, and it was a great way to try as much food as we could. The sampler had crab cheese (as good as Angel’s Thai Café, and those were good), goong tod (breaded shrimp, heavy breading), kai satay (chicken satay, just ok; peanut sauce couldn’t be detected and the curry was a little bitter), and kai tod (chicken wings, marinated in non-specified Thai herbs, with a slightly sweet sauce that was a tastebud treat). Although it wasn’t part of the sampler, spring rolls with sweet and sour chili sauce were also served, and they were delightful. Lightly deep fried, the ingredients were a harmonious balance of flavors and much better than others we’ve had, as was the accompanying sauce.
Choosing our main selections was more difficult as the menu is large (not a book like Angel’s, but big enough). The menu is divided as follows: Appetizers 1-9, Soup/Salad 1-6, Thai Curry 1-4, Thai Seafood 1-4, Thai Noodles 1-6, Thai Specialties 1-13, and on the website, Lunch Specials, items pulled from the written menu. As luck would have it, our choices ended up being “lunch specials”, which explained why we also received the spring rolls. Dishes are offered with choice of chicken, pork, tofu, or a combination, and for another dollar, you may select beef or shrimp. When we finally made our selections, our server asked us to choose our included dessert: cheesecake or ice cream sandwich.
Our first dish was pad prik, (red curry) with chicken, onion, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, and sweet basil. Second order (recommended by our server) was pad med ma muang, also with chicken (cashews, house sauce, onion, bell peppers, mushrooms). Both were incredibly good. Vegetables were obviously fresh and we saw the dishes being cooked - no overcooked, fast food here. But a word about the spice levels; our server explained that the levels ranged from one to ten. For women, she recommended level three and for men, level four. What? We both went bold and asked for level five - and it was just right. Both of us took some food home and were questioned as we asked for boxes - is it too hot? *sigh* The take-home boxes were the usual boxes found in most Asian restaurants but these had advertising on them from MetroPCS - most likely a mutually beneficial arrangement.
We wrote down a lot of information assuming that this little business would not have a website, but they do. The full menu is available, most items are under $10.00, and they also advertise catering services. Not ordered but brought to us was a thai sweet iced tea and a thai sweet iced coffee - we each claimed one - tasty, interesting, and yes, sweet. Our chosen cheesecake dessert came in the form of a plate offering small squares of chocolate chip, raspberry, and plain cheesecake. It was a brilliant, cool finish to a hot, spicy meal. Along with our bill came not only the non-fortune fortune cookies (“You are broad-mined (sic) and socially active” ), but also a sweet little sugar bowl with mints and a serving spoon - very nice touch.
So to summarize: this is probably the best Thai food you will find in Grand Rapids, at least to date. It’s not the full package of atmosphere + quality + service, but as Meatloaf once sang, “two out of three ain’t bad.”
www.thai expressgr.com
The Green Well is a favorite of ours and, like The Winchester, labels itself a Gastro Pub (more pub than restaurant but with really good food). To us, The Green Well is more restaurant than pub but perhaps later at night, it becomes more pub. Regardless, it’s a great place to eat. (Also, in its pub defense, the bar has very large wine and beer selections and, in keeping with their philosophy, includes some local micro brews.)
The restaurant is not large and is slightly divided between bar and dining. Tables are close together (ok, maybe it is more pub-style) and it was crowded at 1:00 p.m. The outdoor deck has tables more spaciously placed and seeing that it was a sunny day, we headed outside. They may put more tables out later on but today there were only six, and three to four stayed occupied. If you know anything about this well-documented restaurant, you know it’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, and as its website states: “it’s environmentally safe, ultra efficient, and leaves behind the smallest possible carbon footprint.” Tables from recycled materials, food from local suppliers, many local brews and wines, and more, prove the Green Well lives up to its claims.
And the food? Wonderful. Creative, fresh, and beautifully presented; what more can you ask for? If you want the best burger in town, order the Kobe burger (but if you’re going to order it anything more than medium-rare, just take a run to McDonald’s instead). The cheese plate is lovely with a great combination of tastes, and is highly recommended. Today we started with the smoked chicken and goat cheese crepe. It consisted of mushrooms, spinach, roasted vegetable hash, and bacon buerre blanc. Interesting and delicious.
Several specials are always available but this time we stayed with the menu. It changes frequently and every description is enticing. Our first choice was the barbequed braised pork (sweet corn, andouille, braised greens, and creamy polenta). It was a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds (the polenta with corn was particularly notable). The second dish was jambalaya. We haven’t had jambalaya since our last visit to Louisiana and this was a great midwest version of the famous dish (braised pork, andouille, shrimp, roasted peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes, onions, and basmati rice); great combination, and if the shrimp were frozen, they still retained flavor.
Service is always great; servers are friendly, helpful, and informative. Menus differ slightly for lunch and dinner and both are found online, as are complete wine and beer listings, and all pricing. The Green Well consistently offers unique dishes with fresh ingredients, and although some customers may complain about the prices, you won’t be disappointed with the quality.
www.thegreenwell.com
This is one of the two restaurants in Grand Rapids, to our knowledge, that offers dim sum (the other is Peking Wok’s Restaurant in Cascade), but today we wanted to eat off the “regular” menu. The restaurant is located in Hong Kong Plaza, which hosts a comprehensive Asian grocery store, an Asian sub shop, jewelry store, cell phone store, and a Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Soc Trang. When previously dining at Pho Soc Trang, we noticed Wei Wei Palace, which is hard to miss with ducks and part of a pig hanging in the window. Shortly thereafter, we tried the Palace for Sunday dim sum and it was a great experience.
Today when we walked in, we were offered the dim sum menu or the regular menu and we chose the regular. We joined one other couple, a couple of “godfathers” conferring very quietly and confidentially, in this very large room that probably holds more than 100 people. On dim sum Sunday, the room was packed - today, not so much. There’s a long table in the rear of the room that just begs for a large group and it would be a fun place to dine with a big party, particularly for dim sum.
The menu is huge - 197 items, including the last one for “pop” - and the choices are extensive. This is not your average Chinese food menu. Live fish, lobster, and crab are visible in the restaurant tanks, and as mentioned previously, duck and pig are hanging in the window. So unless there’s a huge subterfuge going on, there’s no frozen seafood or meat being served here. It claims to be authentic Cantonese food and we can neither affirm nor deny that, but can say that you will not be eating in the usual “Chinese” restaurant. Jellyfish, anyone?
We started with hot and sour soup, and then roast duck (Hong Kong style). This soup puts all other hot and sour soups to shame - it’s robust with flavor and ingredients - so much more than the usual broth with a little tofu and smattering of miscellaneous vegetables. We will definitely be back for this because it’s the best we’ve found to date.
The roast duck did not fare as well in our humble opinions but we tried it because it’s not our usual fare. For one of us, it tasted like the restaurant smelled when we walked in. It needed to be pulled off the bone to eat, but you did know you were eating duck, rather than some mystery meat. Our main complaint, however, is that we were not given clean plates after the duck dish and the duck flavor continued to seep through our next dishes. (We later ran the leftover duck past our resident Asian traveler, and although he thought it was a fairly typical Asian duck dish, he had a subsequent stomach upset...maybe it’s just our western sensibilities.)
For our main dishes, we chose shredded pork in garlic sauce and szechuan beef. Both dishes were loaded with crisp vegetables. The pork dish had a somewhat sweet sauce (too sweet for us) and we couldn’t taste any garlic. Szechuan beef fared better but as we ate our food we could see oil separating from the sauce on the beef dish.
Service was fine, but seeing as how there were only four of us in the restaurant, that’s not much of a statement. The cook and server spent a bit of time at the counter staring at us. Otherwise, our server was at a corner table on her laptop. Later, another employee made an appearance with a cleaning cart but didn’t clean anything. After our main dishes were delivered, the cook came out and stood looking very pensively at the fish tanks. English was a little difficult and we didn’t press for any additional information about the food from our server. Dishes all run around $10.00 and our tab came to $45.00, including tip.
Try this restaurant if you want something out of the ordinary, and don’t miss the hot and sour soup. If you haven’t experienced dim sum, check it out on a Sunday. During the week, they will cook your dim sum selections to order but on Sunday the carts are continually roaming throughout the restaurant offering intriguing and delicious - ok, sometimes just intriguing - little food creations. It’s a grand adventure.
This is a large restaurant/bar that sits alongside the Van Andel Arena. We’ve lunched here several times, in the dining room, on the outdoor patio, and in the bar. Park at the meters on Grandville, and walk to the entrance on Weston. Enter and you are in the middle of the restaurant. The dining area is on your left, which is a combination of tables, and half, curvy booths. The bar is on your right and contains tables and full booths curving around a long, J-shaped bar. We chose a booth in the bar simply because there were fewer people there and we could have a window view. The entire place has a very open, airy feel about it. Very few walls, and windows on three sides give it a spacious feel, but other than the bar booths, it doesn’t provide an intimate or warm atmosphere.
Out of the seven offered appetizers, we’ve previously had three of them (all good) so selected the antipasta. It was exquisite not only in its taste combinations but also in its presentation. The marinated vegetables combined deliciously with the meats and cheeses. Here the sum of the parts was truly better than the individuals. We could have used more crostinis to help finish the food but to be fair, we didn’t ask for them either. We still had full dishes to come.
Our main dishes were specials of the day and will not be found on the menu. The first was a meatball sandwich with fries, and coming off Rockwell’s a few weeks previously, made for an easy taste-test comparison. (Sorry, Rockwell’s - this one has your’s beat.) The meatballs were flavorful, and were served with grilled mushrooms, onions, and fresh basil leaves on French bread. Fries had partial skins and were nicely seasoned. Much more creative than Rockwell’s, this sandwich was, however, even messier to eat. The other special ordered was rigatoni with scallops, sausage, broccolini, grilled tomatoes, and chick peas, in a light lemon creme sauce. Again, a very creative and enjoyable dish.
We had the same server as last time and she was great. Moving between the bar and the dining area, she was very efficient as well as personable. One other note on this fine restaurant, expect a higher tab (we parted with $54.00 including a generous tip). But the food is innovative and of high quality. We learned from the menu that both this establishment and The Green Well are owned by the same organization, and for fans of both of these places, you will see the pattern: fresh ingredients, local produce, creative dishes, and lovely presentations - Chef Ramsay would approve.
P.S. For you martini lovers, the Bistro claims to have the largest martini bar in Michigan.
www.bistrobellavita.com
www.thegreenwell.com
Originally opening in February 2009, this restaurant was closed when we attempted to eat there earlier this year. It just reopened and we had the pleasure of dining there today. In an earlier life, the space was Casey’s greasy spoon, and having never been there, we’re not sure about the extent of the renovations. Although the restaurant does not currently offer a warm atmosphere, it definitely has a certain charm about it. Wood floors, wood trim on walls and ceiling, and dark wooden booths were obviously refurbished, along with an antique bar that includes a beautiful mirrored bar back (from the Herkimer Hotel?). Walls are painted either red or yellow and it all somehow works. Decor is refreshingly minimal and other than a couple of sombreros and red chili pepper lights, you won’t see any of the “traditional” Mexican decor you’ve come to expect.
Upon entering, we were met by eight booths along the left wall (cushioned seats), two tables on the right, and the aforementioned bar farther down, on the right. Between the two tables and the bar was an opening leading into an adjoining wood-paneled dining room, which was occupied by a large group from the Catholic Diocese across the street. Due to this group, our initial service was poor as all hands were waiting on them. Eventually a young man, who was noticeably not a server, brought us water.
The booths are a little tight - no large person would be comfortable - and the space would be better utilized if one booth was removed and the remaining seven were spaced out a bit. Two other booths were occupied, and at various times a customer was at the bar. The bar, by the way, does not serve liquor (no license), but customers are invited to sit at one of the four unique, attractive chairs at the bar to order an express lunch-to-go.
Then suddenly we had a server to take our appetizer order, and the other server was right behind to bring us complimentary chips and salsa. Things were picking up and when we started in on the taquitos appetizer, all was well again. Three homemade flour tortillas (cut in half), filled with beef and chorizo, perfectly deep-fried and served with delicious queso dip, were great. Full of flavor, the taquitos were nicely enhanced by the dip.
Bypassing the Mexican American entrees, we chose carne asada tacos and gorditas de frijoles. The tacos were fine and although we couldn’t be sure the tortillas were homemade (probably not made that day), they were, and they were better than you’d receive in most Mexican restaurants. The gorditas were great, lightly deep-fried and stuffed with beans. Both dishes required hot sauce (but that’s our particular preference) and it was freely offered. The menu isn’t huge but they are attempting to produce a few high quality dishes, and you’ll be eating more authentic Mexican food here than in the famously, recently reopened Mexican/American restaurant (you know of whom I speak).
Other than the initial service speed-bump, our server was excellent. There’s nothing on the menu more than $8.00, our tab with tip was $25.00, and we took 1/3 of our food home. Interestingly, this is only the second restaurant we’ve encountered that offered a take-home dish for the dip - nice. The menu is online, and the restaurant offers catering and downtown delivery. With free parking on the street and behind the restaurant, there’s nothing to prevent you from trying Taquitos Mexican Grill.
http://taquitosmexicangrill.com
This restaurant has closed but catering is still available for parties of 20 or more. Contact robert@taquitosgrill.com. It's been replaced by "All American Junkies" restaurant.
Eighty degrees in Grand Rapids called for outdoor dining, and this week, Rockwell’s outdoor deck was open. The view is diminished due to the new parking garage that dwarfs the deck, but it’s still a great place to dine. There are about twelve tables of varying sizes and only four were occupied when we arrived around 12:30.
From the twelve interesting starters, we narrowed our choice down to lamb quesadillas, tuna poke, or lettuce cups. Our server recommended the quesadillas, and he didn’t steer us wrong. They had a really great spicy kick and combined well with the salsa and lime flavoring (chipotle monterey jack cheese, black bean salsa, lime sour cream). Quesadillas extraordinaire.
Sandwiches are a little more mundane but most offered at least one out of the ordinary ingredient. We selected a french dip (shaved beef, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, smoked gouda cheese, ciabatta bread, au jus) and it was fine but a little bland. More seasoning would have been helpful. Everything was fresh and nicely presented, as was the meatball sandwich (house made garlic-parmesan meatballs, provolone, basil marinara, ciabatta bread). This was a better sandwich than the french dip and the accompanying fries were nicely, lightly seasoned. The problem with the meatball sandwich was that it was sloppy and difficult to eat, which takes away from the enjoyment.
Both were big sandwiches and we each took half home, along with half of the quesadillas. Ciabatta bread has great texture and consistency but it is big bread, and really more than we need. But I digress. Along with providing a nice outdoor venue, Rockwell’s also consistently gives great service. Friendly, informative, and efficient - you can’t ask for more than that.
The restaurant has a great atmospheric interior but we tend to save this place for outdoor dining. The deck is shared with the adjoining restaurant, Republic, and they also share the kitchen. Republic’s doesn’t open until four, however, so enter through Rockwell’s for the deck at lunchtime. Menus for both establishments are online. We spent $40.00 today and enjoyed a nice meal under the sun.
www.rockwellsgrandrapids.com
www.republicgrandrapids.com
