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Searching for a fine Italian restaurant in Grand Rapids is not easy. We came across this name (too long to be a chain), and although we dislike Alpine Avenue as much as we do 28th Street, this place was worth it.
The exterior is unassuming and nothing that would attract attention. Parking is in the rear and the entrance is in the front, with no parking. Walking in, we were charmed by the replica of the La Bocca della Verita, known to us from the movie “Roman Holiday”.
A narrow hallway with nostalgic Italian photos on the walls leads past the bar and its dining area and into the main dining room, where we were seated. A couple of things we didn’t like immediately popped up: crinkly paper laid over tablecloths and seating the next arrivals immediately proximate to us. We soon forgot about the paper and got over the seating choices when we realized that we still had privacy in our high-backed booth, even with people in front and in back of us.
A few booths line the two side walls and nine tables fill out the middle. Abstract artwork is displayed the walls. It’s a subdued, comfortable, classy atmosphere and the service is just as fine.
The large two-sided menu is seasonal and we appropriately experienced the spring edition: appetizers; soups; salads; pizza, with and without tomato sauce; first course pasta; and second course meats. Unfortunately for us, Americans expect huge servings and the restaurant accommodates this predilection.
Unless you are used to bellying up at the Golden Corral Buffet, you cannot eat your way through the coursed menu. Choose between pasta or meat, and among appetizers, soups, or salads. And keep in mind that your server will promptly bring you delicious warm bread, made daily.
We asked for a recommendation for a couple of appetizers and our server suggested the Arancini, and the selection was seconded by someone in the kitchen. They didn’t steer us wrong. Risotto fritters stuffed with fontina cheese were topped with drizzled spinach aioli. We’ve never had as delicious a fritter.
The soups were too interesting to resist and we ordered the Lasagne soup and the Broccoli Parmesan. They were just alright and we should have passed on them and saved room for other courses. The Lasagne soup was enjoyable but nothing particularly special - it did taste like lasagne, however :) The broccoli soup was too salty and was in an uncomfortable place between chunky and pureed.
We both chose our main dishes from the pasta menu. The first was the Rigatoni Della Casa, smoked blue cheese cream sauce and smoked prosciutto tossed with rigatoni. The serving was large but beautifully prepared and presented.
The second selection was crespelle: homemade crepes with baked Italian vegetables, topped with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. If you think crepes are native only to France, this will expand your horizons.
To our surprise, we were brought an on-the-house tiramisu for dessert. If nothing else we’ve said will draw you to this restaurant, this delectable treat should.
Pastas are house-made and the restaurant looks for local sources for ingredients. There is a special lunch menu and an extensive Italian wine list. This is a well-run restaurant serving great food with superb service from knowledgeable servers. The next time you even think about going to a national chain Italian restaurant, head to Amore instead.
They have a somewhat active presence on Facebook and very light activity on Twitter.
www.amoretrattoriaitaliana.com
Post Script: We received a very nice response from the restaurant on our review and also an explanation that the owner/chef was not there the night of our visit and did not make the soups.
Opened last fall, the restaurant is located in the Knapp Corners retail center and is one of the best Thai restaurants in town. And there are plenty of them.
Like most Thai restaurants in Grand Rapids, the menu is huge (this one is seven pages) and they do not have a liquor license. Unlike many others, you will find a few more unusual offerings, and not ten spice levels, but four.
We enjoyed the warning on the menu: “We will not be held responsible for any dish that is too hot or not hot enough.”
It’s a pleasant atmosphere, complete with a carpeted floor, some traditional Asian artwork, and a few typical paper menu/dishes posters. Other than the employees regularly walking past us to use the what-must-be-the-only-restrooms-in-the-restaurant, the place has a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere.
We started with Chicken Satay and Mama’s Noodle Soup. The Chicken Satay wasn’t the best we’ve had. The marinade was not noticeable but the side of peanut sauce was quite flavorful.
The soup, however, was amazingly good. It consisted of Thai hot and sour broth, shredded lettuce, crushed peanuts, fresh bean sprouts, onions, cilantro, and the noodles. It was dished, with difficulty, with a spoon from a large bowl for two. We managed to serve ourselves and consume this wonderful soup but it all would have been easier with chopsticks for assistance with the noodles. (We didn’t think to ask for them until later.) This soup is worth a take-out or dine-in any time.
Our first entree was Gaeng Garee: potatoes, white onions, and snow peas in a yellow Thai curry sauce. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and not overdone, and the dish had the perfect level of heat but did not overwhelm the vegetables.
The second entree was from the Mang Noodle category that offered three choices, and ours was the Mang Peanut Curry Noodles. The thick round noodles were stir fired with white onions and red and green bell peppers, and served in a creamy Thai peanut and coconut curry sauce. We have to go back for more of these amazing noodles!
Don’t look for an inedible, desiccated slice of fruit with your meal here. The citrus accompaniments were fresh and the perfect antidotes to a very delicious, spicy lunch
Each of the entrees offered the following additions: chicken, tofu, vegetable (not sure if this would incorporate additional vegetables or just be the absence of any meat), beef, pork, shrimp, or scallops. Our choice for the Gaeng Garee was pork and for the Mang noodles, chicken.
Spice levels are described as follows: mild, medium, hot, Thai fire. We went with hot and it was perfect for us. But we could not have gone any hotter. We respected the fact that our server and the chef took us at our word and gave us the level for which we asked.
This has nothing to do with this particular restaurant but we have developed a finer appreciation of noodles after watching these two movies: “Tampopo” and “In the Mood for Love.” They come highly recommended and you will never look at noodles the same again.
The complete menu can be found online.
www.thaichefrestaurantonline.com
This little restaurant was a very happy discovery. It’s difficult to notice from the street, and the place is small, holding five booths/tables. Two TVs were playing old Dennis the Menace shows. Sports decor and other miscellaneous items fill every open wall space. When we arrived, no customers were there and the owner was running the vacuum.
The menu is large and offers Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Cuban dishes. Our server/owner/chef was very friendly and helpful. We started with appetizers: an empanada, and a plaintain with ground beef. Unlike most Mexican restaurants where the food appears instantly, your food here is prepared fresh. And these appetizers were amazingly tasty and well prepared.
For our main dishes we settled on a pork taco dinner, with an added beef enchilada, and a roast pork dinner. Ordering tacos at first seemed like a mundane choice but these were so worth it. The tortillas were fresh, and the flavors of both the tacos and the enchilada were something you won’t taste in most Mexican restaurants, and certainly not in the ubiquitous fast food chains.
The roast pork dinner was just as good. When asked what the spices were, the owner/chef laughed and said he could not tell us. Fair enough. The dinner arrived very well presented with a slice of fried banana.
Both dinners were accompanied by refried beans and rice, and these were not the usual micro-waved, bland slop that people are served and consume without objection elsewhere. Flavor and fresh preparation were the distinguishing characteristics. The pork dinner also included a fresh salad, seasoned with a house dressing.
Jaime Martinez has been in business 13 years and is a very personable and informative man (except for ingredients :). Only the catering menu is online and it lists the Mexican and Puerto Rican dishes. The restaurant has a twitter presence but hasn’t posted anything in about 3 months. So visit in person and enjoy some freshly prepared and delicious, authentic food.
www.cafesanjuan.net
An old funeral chapel now holds a very unusual pub/brewery that should not be missed. The large, wooden doors still have “Chapel” written above them. Walk in and you are in a small foyer with a hostess station and t-shirts for sale. Upon entering the pub, you will be treated to vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows.
It feels more like a monastery than a chapel, however, with somewhat austere decor. The floor is concrete and the walls are cinder block. A large cabinet holding goblets sits back in what was the apse, and a horseshoe bar, which seats about a dozen, extends from the cabinet into the middle of the place.
Each side wall contains three large booths or alcoves, and a long row of unfinished wooden, communal tables with benches extends from front to back. Three or four smaller tables fill out the area. The atmosphere is rustic and spacious. A small balcony is located above the entry and light streams in through the stained glass window.
The brewery is located in an attached building that once was a repair shop, and tours are promised for sometime this spring. There’s also talk of an outdoor beer garden to be located in an area facing Cherry Street.
The lunch menu is small and contains eight interesting selections. (The dinner menu is much larger.) Our first choice was Lobster Corndog, described as Maine lobster, cornmeal and vivant farmhand butter, house remoulade, with pomme frites. It was accompanied by a garlic, bearnaise-mayo. The dish was quite delicious and the cornmeal coating was not overwhelming. It was enhanced by the remoulade, tasting of lemon and pepper.
Our second choice was the burger. It consisted of 8 ounces of a “chef-selected blend of humanely raised hanger steak, top sirloin, and short ribs.” It was served with tomato, butter bib lettuce, onion, and bacon marmalade, and was also accompanied by pommes frites with the bearnaise-mayo. Cheese and bacon were added for a $2.00 up-charge. It was a lovely burger, and very well prepared.
You won't find salt and pepper, or ketchup, on the tables. It's a good sign of a confident chef.
Beer flights are offered, and at the time of our visit there were eight brews listed. (We both enjoyed the two we chose but that’s for another time.) One may also select from two hard ciders, and a Chardonnay or Cabernet Franc.
There’s a lot more that can be said about this very unique place and we would suggest checking out their website for more information and menus. It’s not inexpensive (the burger was $12.00, but where else can you order a burger made from hanger steak, top sirloin, and short ribs?). You will receive quality food and brew. Above all, drop in to experience this pub in person (and don't miss the innovative restroom sinks!).
www.breweryvivant.com
Formerly known as “Holly’s Landing,” the restaurant is located in The Radisson Hotel and has been open since 1968. Because it’s been around so long, the place tends to be overlooked. We thought we would check it out today, and it was a very pleasant surprise.
The large room is divided into several sections. The ambiance is warm and subdued, complete with wood trim, carpet, and upholstered chairs. Glass covering the cloth tablecloths is a fine improvement over crinkling paper. Decor is nautical, including a ship’s wheel and a lot of artwork, but it’s not overdone. The management does need to do a little updating/cleaning of the chair seats, however, as many of them are stained.
There are about six tables situated at the glass wall that overlooks the Grand River, and we took one of those. The other tables were vacant, and yet our hostess shortly thereafter seated a couple right next to us. We know it benefits the server but it’s still a pet peeve of ours.
The menu is small and interesting. We like to compare crab cakes, so from the five starters we chose the cakes. Lump blue crab served with arugula-root vegetable salad and accompanied by blood orange vinaigrette and horseradish cream was beautifully presented and very well prepared. The salad was fresh without a hint of bitterness, and the horseradish cream was nicely enhanced by the orange vinaigrette.
From the ten Signature Selections, our first choice was the Lobster BLT. Tempura fried lobster was served on toasted sourdough bread with basil aioli, applewood smoked bacon, and vine-ripe tomatoes. It was good but the star of the sandwich, the lobster, was a bit tough and chewy. House potato chips and pickle spear were the accompaniments.
Our second choice was vegetable lasagna. It was made with fresh roma tomatoes, squash, zucchini, baby spinach and basil, mozzarella and alfredo sauce, and layered with pasta sheets. The pasta was cooked perfectly. The sauce slightly overwhelmed the other flavors and was a tad salty, but overall it was a satisfactory dish.
We were there late for lunch and there was one server for the entire room. But she had only three tables to wait on and did a fine job. She refilled our beverages without asking and was polite and friendly.
The lunch menu contained nothing over $10.00, and the only item that hit that mark was the Ahi Tuna appetizer. It’s a lovely setting and worth a visit.
The background of this location concerns a 64 foot paddlewheel river boat that made charter and excursion runs on the Grand River between Holly’s Landing and Ada from 1967-1973. It was an 11 mile trip that cruised at 7 miles per hour, and was powered by a 1938 John Deere diesel tractor motor. That would have been a pleasant trip.
The Radisson Hotel website has an inaccurate menu posted but the site referenced below is up to date.
www.ontherivergr.com/wine-and-dine
The restaurant emphasizes locally produced, fresh ingredients, which means the menu changes with the seasons. We hadn’t been there since last April and thought it was time for a return visit. It’s a long, narrow, two-story restaurant with wonderful dark wood booths, tables, chairs, and a lovely bar. When the outdoor deck is open, it’s accessed from the 2nd floor. The ambiance is that of a welcoming, neighborhood pub.
We took a booth with a street view and were promptly served. From the ten “shared plate” offerings, we selected kobe steak rancheros for our appetizer. The grilled marinated steak was served with spanish rice, roasted salsa, crispy onions, and a poached egg. The combination was delicious, and the dish was exquisitely presented and prepared.
We didn’t want salad or sushi for our main courses so we were left with the nine sandwich selections. The Niko sounded interesting with prosciutto cotto, mortadella, cappicola, spinach, tomato, red onion, olive spread, and provolone, served on Nantucket sour dough bread. It was an interesting combination of flavors and an enjoyable change from more mundane sandwich fare.
Braised pork loin, garlic greens, spicy giardiniera, provolone, au jus on a Nantucket French roll made up the Italian pork sandwich. The overall taste was slightly muddied because there were so many competing flavors. It was a bit over-complicated. The pork was lightly seasoned and the roll was very fresh. Orzo salad or chips accompany the sandwiches, and fries can be added for an additional $2.00.
Other than the idle hostess continually staring at us, we had no complaints about the service. Our server was helpful and attentive. The kitchen and the deck are shared with the adjacent Republic, which is not open for lunch. Check out the basement to see a very interesting part of this old building. You will feel as though you’re in a catacomb while searching for the lower level restroom.Great pub atmosphere and interesting food choices make Rockwell’s worth a visit. Menus are online, and the restaurant will validate one hour parking in the parking ramp behind the restaurant.www.rockwellsgrandrapids.com
This restaurant is a favorite for its food variety and pleasant atmosphere. It has at least 20 tables for four, a few booths along the side walls, and several large round tables for six or more in the rear. An attractive bar is situated against a wall at the entrance.
The ambiance is warm and the room is tastefully decorated in golds and browns, including golden drapes at the windows. A few large columns and screens help to break up the room, and the carpeting keeps the noise down. There are only a few tacky posters to mar the decor. And paper is laid over the cloth tablecloths. We understand the practicality of this practice but dislike the rustling paper.
We looked for something more unusual for an appetizer and selected Beef Negimaki. Our server returned immediately to let us know that it was unavailable. So we chose Shumai instead, shrimp and scallion dumplings, and it was an excellent choice. The dumplings were delicate and flavorful.
Our favorite hot and sour soup to date can be found at Wei Wei Palace but the soup here was a very close second. It was slightly hotter and a bit less sour than Wei Wei’s and very delicious.
The very large menu features dishes from Southeast Asia, Japan, and China. Other categories include soups, salads, noodles and rice, sushi, sashimi, and the restaurant’s Signature dishes. We both selected from the latter.
Scallop and Shrimp Hunan style was expertly sauteed with mushrooms and broccoli. And Thai Basil Chicken was equally as good. Vegetables in both dishes were crisp and not over cooked. Spice levels ran one to five, and we both chose level three. We could have gone a little hotter.
Our server was polite and prompt, and the food was well prepared. If you’re a fan of green curry, you’ll find a fine one here. In the summer, there’s a small outdoor dining area, and a food cart if you’re in a hurry. The restaurant also has delivery service.
If you think the name of the restaurant is an asian word, here’s one last tip: don’t ask how to pronounce it. The answer is “X” “O.” Menus are online.
www.xoasiancuisine.com
