Leo’s, 60 Ottawa Ave NW - 8/10/10

Walk into Leo’s and you smell fish. Although there are alternative items on the menu, if you’re not a seafood fan, this is not your restaurant.

With an attractive bar to the left, the main dining area is very spacious. Last time we were here, we dined in the bar area and it’s a much more intimate setting. Although there are a few booths, the dining room on the whole is wide open. Decor is muted with light wood trim, an elevated black ceiling, and large windows. It’s classy but still has a dated feel to it. And the absence of diners is a little eerie and makes one feel somewhat conspicuous. To top it off, there’s piped-in light jazz music which immediately reminded us of the weather channel. Salt and pepper shakers were situated on the table, which is not a good sign.

Our server was attentive but distant, almost as if he disapproved of us; the attitude remained throughout, but he did bring us deliciously warm dinner rolls (unusual for lunch). We started with seviche: sea scallops, scottish king salmon, and halibut, served with marinated cucumbers, onions, avocado, red peppers, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. It was a lovely and tasty creation, with our only criticism being that it was slightly oily.

First main dish was the brazilian grilled shrimp: gulf shrimp (hard to believe) with spicy honey-herb marinade, served with harvest blend rice and fresh vegetables. All good except that nothing went into the presentation. It’s Sunday dinner at your Mom’s - each item just piled on your plate.

Our second dish was grilled alaskan halibut. The restaurant claims to receive its fish daily and we have no way of knowing whether that’s true or not. Along with the aforementioned rice and vegetables, the fish was served with roasted lemon vinaigrette and Mediterranean tapenade - really nice accompaniments but again, presented without any creativity.

The menu is updated by the week, and the online menu changes accordingly. As a nice final touch, your bill comes with two fish-shaped chocolates. Our tab was over $50.00 and we would recommend the bar atmosphere for a more enjoyable setting.
                    
www.leosrestaurant.com

Ichiban, 3005 Broadmoor SE - 8/6/10

This was our second visit and we tried the Chinese wing of the restaurant this time. It‘s a large room with about 16 tables and is very tastefully and minimally decorated; dark wood tables and chairs, and white table cloths. There was no one else is the room when we were seated. After about five minutes, the hostess seated another two people - right next to us.

The lunch menu offers fourteen different lunches at $6.45 and another seven items at $6.95 each. We began with crab wontons and they were brought to our table in less than two minutes. Obviously they were already prepared. But the filling was good and there was a lot of it. Unfortunately, we did not have plates on which to eat them.

Our hot and sour soup was brought next and although there was a nice addition of a dumpling in the soup, it was neither hot nor sour.

Ingredients for each lunch item are not listed on the menu. We chose szechuan pork for our first main dish and confirmed that we wanted this and our next dish to be spicy. They obliged nicely; jalapeno and red chili peppers covered both dishes

Our second selection was orange flavored beef. We’ve had this dish many times before and this was our least favorite to date. The beef appeared to be chicken and the deep-fried little pieces were light on meat and more like little fat chunks. But vegetables were nicely done and the spice level was perfect.

Our server was very polite and prompt, and menus are online. Although the ambiance here is quite nice, we enjoyed the Japanese food much more (see October 2009 Review).

www.shanghaiichiban.com

Mexico’s Little Kitchen, 2747 Clyde Park Ave - 7/30/10

This is the old location of Lindo Mexico, which has moved into new digs near Studio 28. We dined here when it was Lindo and have yet to visit their new location. But today it was about MLK (that is how they refer to themselves). The owners also own a nearby grocery story.

The small restaurant is divided into two sections, separated by the entryway. On the left are four booths along the wall and three large tables. On the right are two small tables and three booths. The place has a nice tile floor but is otherwise decorated with typical Mexican restaurant decor. A Mexican game show was playing on the TV at a high volume.

The menu is large: nine appetizers, two salads, four soups, four enchiladas, a category labeled Mariscos offering seafood dishes, six Mexican platters, twelve Mexican specials, seven burritos, three fajitas, two chimichangas. You get the idea; it’s another very large Mexican restaurant menu. But this one has handwritten modifications and black magic marker cross outs on it.

Our server brought us tortilla chips and salsa immediately. The tortilla chips were double layered, quite greasy and very good, but the salsa was bland. When we asked for hot sauce to liven it up, it arrived when our main selections did, spicy salsa along with a separate dish of hot sauce.  

Looking for something different to start with, we picked the Southwest egg rolls. We knew it would be some Tex-Mex configuration but it was a taste treat all the same. The guacamole that came with it was excellent, and we ignored the accompanying bland salsa and ranch dressing.

Our first lunch selection was the taco dinner: three soft shell corn tortillas; one spicy chicken and two steak. The tortillas delivered were flour but they were great and  definitely home-made. Ingredients needed spicing up with the hot sauce, and the chicken taco paled in comparison to the steak tacos.

The second dish was carne asada. Ingredients: little chunks of steak simmered with tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and onions. Fajita style was ordered and it was an excellent choice. It was good and “hot;” the flavors all blended well and were not overwhelmed by the jalapenos.

There were only a few people in the restaurant but we had to physically get our server when we were ready to go. Up until then, service was fine. Most items are below $10.00. There is no website so you’ll need to check it out in person.

The Daily Grill, 445 Ada Dr SE, Ada - 7/28/10

August, 2012 - the restaurant has re-opened, not as a Gilmore location, but as Chloe Elan.

On August 20, 2010, I read a notice that the restaurant will be closing at the end of the month. The future of the leased building is unknown but Greg Gilmore is planning on building a new restaurant on the adjacent 12 acres that he owns, sometime next year.

The oldest member of The Gilmore Collection, the former Thornapple Village Inn is an expansive restaurant located on the Thornapple River. It has a large outdoor deck and a small, beautiful bar. The main floor is divided into three rooms. The dark lower level has private dining/banquet rooms and a wine cellar. Wooden walls and large windows predominate upstairs and it’s a pleasant atmosphere.


The lunch menu is not online but there’s enough overlap with the dinner menu to get the idea. Fresh, local food is emphasized and the restaurant has its own garden.

We had tried most of the appetizers already on previous visits and therefore selected the PEI (Prince Edward Island) mussels. This beautiful creation consisted of lemon thyme butter broth, garlic bread, crushed bacon, and olive rocket salad (arugula & onions). Lovely to look at and even better to eat. Combined, everything worked perfectly and the toasted garlic bread provided much needed texture.  

Next up was the TBA: local honey smoked turkey breast, bacon, and avocado with red onions, organic greens, and basil mayonnaise on ciabatta. The idea was good but the individual parts could not be consumed at the same time. The avocado was a thick slice, arbitrarily placed at one end of the sandwich. There was no way the flavors could evenly combine.
                                
Penne was the other selection: pasta, grilled chicken, artichoke hearts, shitake mushrooms, and asparagus with herbed bleu cheese sauce. It was a decent choice but the blue cheese sauce completely overwhelmed everything. The ingredients could be seen, but only bleu cheese was tasted.

Service was friendly and prompt. However, when asked to box up the second half of the sandwich, our server omitted the fries without asking or mentioning it. That, along with a ripped and frayed cloth napkin, was a little surprising at this otherwise nice restaurant.    
                        
www.thegilmorecollection.com

Bloom, 40 Monroe Center - 7/14/10

Update:  Bloom closed its doors, effective 11/1/10.

We’ve dined here at least four times previously and always love the food but hate how long it takes to arrive. It’s never been crowded, which makes the delay inexplicable. But the food is relatively creative and we think it's worth the wait. Located on a corner, the restaurant has an open design with exposed round duct work, wood trim, and warm colors. It’s not a cozy or intimate setting but it has an attractive, trendy atmosphere.

There were ten appetizers offered and the pressed quail stood out among them. Accompanied by peas, almonds, and drizzled lemon vinaigrette, the dish had a nice interplay of flavors. 

Next up was crispy pork belly, served with lentils, glazed turnips, mustard, and red onion/honey jam; a little heavy on the lentils but otherwise beautifully presented. The pork belly was done well with a crispy top but still retained great taste.

Our second main dish was seared whitefish, paired with crispy bacon, raisins, and multiple carrot preparations. This was interesting and so creative; carrots came pureed, marinated, and sauteed, and one cooked carrot was on the plate with a slice of bacon resting in it perpendicular. Who does that? Just the people at Bloom. We don’t know exactly what the “whitefish” was, but it was expertly seasoned and delicious.

Because of our past experiences, this time we checked the timings. Our appetizer arrived in 25 minutes and our server let us know after 20 minutes that it would be up shortly. The main dishes arrived 40 minutes after ordering. If you’re not in a hurry, enjoying your conversation and some bottled beer, this wait time is acceptable. But we did order our main dishes before our appetizer arrived, which we usually don’t do. There was only one server tending the tables but with just three or four tables filled at one time, no additional servers were needed. She was friendly and efficient.

Bloom offers a weekend brunch that is rumored to be excellent. Multiple menus are posted online. If you like a pleasant environment, are not in a hurry, and enjoy original, innovative cuisine, visit Bloom.

www.bloomgr.com

Six One Six, 235 Louis St, NW - 7/7/10

Located on the ground floor of the J.W. Marriott, Six One Six swirls around the front of the building and overlooks the Grand River. We’ve been here several times before and it’s always been a positive experience.

The restaurant is horseshoe shaped, and the decor is warm and tasteful. Open lounge seating along the windows greets customers first. From here, one moves into the bar or down a short hall, both of which coalesce into the dining room. The bar faces the river and has a few high tables for two right at the windows. It moves seamlessly into the dining room, which continues along the windows, contains a few center booths, moves past a chef’s counter with an open kitchen, and circles back to a small semi-private draped dining area. In addition, outdoor seating is available on what they call the “jdek”. The entire atmosphere is sophisticated and swanky.

From our table we could see the river and the restaurant’s garden. Like several other restaurants in Grand Rapids (e.g., The Winchester, Blue Water Grill), Six One Six emphasizes buying and serving local food, and this philosophy carried them into growing their own. At each of these restaurants, one is free to walk about the garden and look at the soon-to-be ingredients in your next dish.

The lunch menu is small, interesting, and creative: seven appetizers and eight entrees. We started with California Rolls: dungeness crab (west coast crab named after Dungeness, Washington), cucumber, avocado, and lemon mayonnaise. It came beautifully prepared and presented. The flavors combined wonderfully and the crab tasted fresh.  

Our first main dish was the brick oven grinder: smoked ham, spicy coppa, sopressata, oregano aioli, and provolone, accompanied by a very attractive spring market salad. The sandwich arrived smoking hot and delicious. It had a subtle salty/sweet taste and was enthusiastically consumed. The salad was fresh and flavorful.

Our second selection was the wild ramp and morel quiche that was prepared with dancing goat creamery chevre. When asked where they were getting morels in July, our server thought that they had been preserved in some way, maybe pickled (I guess we could have asked the same thing about ramps). Accompanying the quiche were some mixed greens: mud lake cress, trillium petite lettuce, and icicle radish, with a little balsamic dressing. (If you’re unfamiliar with some of these descriptors, it’s because they are names of local farms, noted for chemical-free product.) The quiche was exquisite. The fresh goat cheese blended superbly with the eggs and it was cooked to perfection. But the mixed greens were made too bitter by the cress; cress tends to become that way during the heat of summer, and we’ve certainly had plenty of that recently.  

Service was satisfactory. When our server figured out that we were leisurely diners, she stopped coming by every five minutes but remained professional and friendly. Park in the J.W. Marriott parking garage and the restaurant will validate your ticket. Multiple menus are online along with additional information about the restaurant. But you should sample this ambience in person.

@ilovethejw
www.ilove616.com

                   

The Winchester, 648 Wealthy St SE - 6/30/10

We’re fans of this restaurant but haven’t been there since 12/30/09 (see previous review). We’ve attempted to have dinner there many times on various weekends, but could never get in. (If by some chance you would get in, you won’t be able to hear over the din.) It’s a popular spot, no doubt about it. So lunch is a better bet, and a later lunch time is all the better. Today was a sunny day in the 70's and we wanted outdoor dining. It was time to revisit The Winchester.

The patio alongside the restaurant is long and narrow; it holds four tables for 4 near the front and another three for 4 in the rear. Four small tables for 2 are attached to the exterior wall and a long counter runs through the middle with about two dozen bar stools facing each other. There’s also a counter along the parking lot side with about eight bar stools. Although that counter was in the sun, diners face the small parking lot; not so great. The sunny tables for 4 were all occupied so we opted for a table for 2 against the wall. After about 10 minutes, one table was freed up and we quickly moved to the sunny side of the patio. From our point of view, adding more tables and reducing the counters would be an improvement, but claiming to be more pub than restaurant, the Winchester is probably fine with how things are.

The menu doesn’t match the online menu but we enjoyed the humorous preface to the undercooked food warning, “the legal stuff.” (They really should say, you won’t get anything medium-rare, sorry.) The menu isn’t very large but for us that’s a positive; they concentrate on making a few dishes really well.

We started with the Pierogies: handmade, containing butternut squash and goat cheese, and served with braised cabbage, drawn brown butter, and Sobie Meats (local producer) bacon. You may have had Pierogies during Pulaski days or otherwise, but these are the Winchester version and are incredibly delicious. The dough was perfect - thin and not overdone. It was a real taste treat.

Our first main dish was Surf and Turf: grilled tri-tip steak, handmade crab cakes, avocado puree, and smoked paprika aioli. In our experience, when we order beef medium-rare, our odds are less than 50% that we’ll get it. Today was no exception. The steak still retained flavor but was medium at best, and closer to medium well. Tri-trip steak was an interesting offering (see hanger steak at Blue Water Grill); it’s a part of the cow that used to be consigned to ground beef or soup meat. The trick is that it’s so lean it is easy to overcook, as it was today. The avocado puree was a little overwhelming for the very good crab cakes but was easily corrected by portion-control.

Our second dish was Chicken Bhuna: blackened chicken breast with red curry spiced tomato sauce, haricot verts (french green beans), and basmati rice. A few minutes after we  ordered, our server returned to offer an alternative for the rice: mashed potatoes or a vegetable medley. The chef had informed her that the rice would be 13 minutes to prepare. We’re fine with 13 minutes (and loved the specificity) and it was definitely worth the wait. The dish was great - nice spice level, tasty chicken, fresh beans from their garden across the street, and perfectly prepared rice. It was a wonderful combination and blending of flavors.

Each dish was beautifully presented, and service was prompt and friendly but not rushed; our tab was under $40.00. If you appreciate creative cuisine based on fresh, locally produced ingredients, you will love The Winchester, particularly on a nice, sunny day on the patio.

And one last note: the owners took the name of the restaurant from the hilarious, zombie cult classic, “Shaun of the Dead,” which is a wonderful touch. "Come and get it -  it’s a running buffet!" "If we hole up, I wanna be somewhere familiar, I wanna know where the exits are, and I wanna be allowed to smoke."

It’s not a buffet, and you can’t smoke, but you can quite comfortably hole up here. And don’t say the zed-word.

www.winchestergr.com