GRDine

I’m pretty sure I have just been introduced to the best burger in Grand Rapids.  I would have made the argument for Cottage Bar, but Choo Choo Grill blows there burger out of the water.  Have you even heard of this place?  I wasn’t aware until I was introduced by co-worker Dan Willey last Friday (That’s right…I promised the shout out by name!).

Located on a very large lot in a very small red building (Old Train Station I do believe), on the corner of Leonard and Plainfield, the Choo Choo Grill has been serving up one of Grand Rapids best burgers for a very long time.  Any Grand Rapidian  needs to experience the Choo Choo just once…then you will be addicted for life.

Did I mention this place is small?  The Choo Choo has nothing more than a grill, a malt machine, a counter than fits maybe 10, and two booths.  You have to come early or late.  Never be on time or you’ll be waiting to be seated.

When I went on Friday, I went with a group of four.  We left around 11:30 in hopes of beating the lunch crowd.  We were lucky to find the last 4 seats available at the bar as another couple had just finished.  Before I had a chance to review the mish mashed menu board I was approached for my order.  Once you do review the board you notice that you really can only have three things…a burger, steak fries, and a shake.  I opted out of the shake to make sure a food coma didn’t kick in later in the day (I would soon find out that was inevitable).  I went with the standard half pound burger cooked to order.  The option to take on the Legend will be saved for my next trip (consisting of two half pound patties before the toppings are added).

The burger was absolutely delicious.  It had the right combination of beef to bread to grease and left me wanting more.  This was a prized experience I look forward to sharing with family and friends.  Enjoy!  – Jon

What do you get when you take an EQ3, gut it, and add over 250 seats to a 10,000 square foot warehouse?  You get the best new arrival to Grand Rapids in some time…Peppino’s Sports Lounge.

Just after EQ3 left the space

You probably know Peppino’s for the delicious take-out pizza with over 10 locations around Grand Rapids.  The owners decided to take that delicious taste, expand it to several new menu items, and match it with the perfect compliment…Sports.

The new sports lounge is located on Ionia, and will give other bars and restaurants on the street a run for their money.  Then they added an assortment sports memorabilia, 46 flat screen TVs, including screens inside most booths. Behind the concrete-topped bars are 36 taps offering 20 draft beers.  This place can beat out any other sports bar on several different levels.

Besides the incredible location, and the several beers on tap, and the several TVs, and the good prices, the menu dives deeper than what you would expect in a sports bar.  They have dishes like the Taste of Italy, Chicken Spiedini, Sicilian Ribeye, and of course pizza.  Since I know Peppino’s primarily for their pizza, it was difficult for me to deviate far from the comfort zone.  I tried their build your own calzone and filled it with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, and green olives.  The beast of a calzone was incredible and not a doughy as what you might get at other pizza establishments.

I have decided that this is now my new favorite Sunday Football spot, and can’t wait to try out some of the other dishes.

-Jon

I’m surprised it took me this long to get over to Bull’s Head since starting this blog.  Bull’s Head truly encompasses an establishment that tries to be everything to everyone, and they do a damn good job of accomplishing this.

The first time I visited, I went primarily for drinks for friends.  The menu seemed limited, but the drinks were plentiful.  I actually went around telling friends that they lacked significantly on the dinner selections, and that the food was primarily upscale bar-fare.  I couldn’t have been more incorrect.  Over the last week I actually made two trips here; once for dinner upstairs and once for lunch downstairs.  The experiences couldn’t have been more different.

Dinner upstairs:  The setting moves beyond the tavern look and the setting is white table cloth with full dinner menu including some of their signature Buffalo and Ostrich burgers, but expanded to include Smoked Gouda Chicken Pasta and Sashimi Tuna Steak.  The service is friendly and alert since this portion of the restaurant can’t seat much more than maybe 40 patrons.  Prices are comparable with restaurants of the same caliber.  Not to mention…once you are done with dinner you can retreat to the lower level for a few libations.

Lunch:  At lunch you are presented a completely different menu that focuses on appetizers, salads and sandwiches.  There are a few lower prices lunch entrees that stuck out as well…a great value.  I opted for their Cuban and was not disappointed.

The bottom line is that this place will suit you well whether it is a quick lunch with a colleague, dinner with a significant other, or happy hour to late night drinks with your friends.  It is not easy to pull off the dining trinity, but Bull’s Head has a great thing going.

-Jon

Yes, another Rockford entry making this two trips to Rockford back to back.  I didn’t intend on my dining choice to be the Rogue River Tavern when committing to the 50 mile, round trip drive it takes me to get to Rockford from my house in Cascade.  My intended victim was the Corner Bar where I was hoping to experience hotdogs that supposedly rival some of GRs best.  Unfortunately, upon arriving Corner Bar around 7pm on a Friday, it was either dogs to go, or at least an hour wait.  Since a group of us had ventured out to Rockford, we looked for a close alternative.  Fate brought us to Rogue River Tavern.

RRT can be found right on Main Street cattycorner from Corner Bar, and looks like it has recently been refinished from the outside.  Essentially, it is a very local restaurant and bar that is frequented by the Rockford locals.  This was made very clear when it started to overflow with the color orange after a Rockford high school football game.

RRT likely wouldn’t be a spot that I would return to based purely on location.  It was a very warm feeling establishment that served pretty decent bar food, has your typical drink selection, and is broken up into two key areas: Dining and Gaming.  The gaming side has tables, but has a few pool tables and tvs.  Their Friday night claim to fame is the karaoke…however, the karaoke talent in Rockford seems to fall behind what I’ve experienced at Cascade Roadhouse (I do have to keep in mind the time of the evening I’ve experienced both…It always tends to sound better as the night wears on.).

I feel pretty indifferent about RRT, but would love more insight from someone who has been here a few more times than myself.  If it were downtown, or in Cascade I could see myself making the return.

-Jon

PS: Looks like RRT has been working on changing their image

There have been some requests for some “non-pizza” establishments.  Apparently the readers want me to class up my dining options!  This is a fair request.  However, I must admit, I have a weakness for pizza.  I’m craving it as I type.

I was encouraged to venture out to Rockford to try a place I honestly had never heard of…Grill One Eleven.

Grill One Eleven reminds me of a common two story Chicago – Lincoln Park establishment that serves a variety of sandwich options, but also has a robust dinner menu focusing on seafood and steak options.  The selections are pretty impressive, and the prices are pretty reasonable.  Essentially you can get a great dinner and drink for about $20 -$25…not too bad.

Our table shared a bottle of white wine to try and compliment the seafood options we had all selected.  My wife and I had the Seafood Stuffed Grouper (stuffed with crab, shrimp and scallops and layered with a chive almond butter sauce).  The meal was very enjoyable but it left me craving a Corner Bar dog just around the corner.  The portions are “appropriate”.  Meaning, the portions will leave a food enthusiast like me craving more…Perhaps a ploy to push the desert menu (unfortunately for them we had desert at Red’s on the River afterwards).  Trevor had the Seafood Linguine.  Apparently the proportions of that particular meal were larger as he had to box up his leftovers (an unheard of situation for Trevor).   His wife enjoyed the Salmon…must be good as it is the second time she’s had that dish.

One downside to our visit…we were disappointed with the wine service.

1. The wine list did not mention the vintage year.
2. We went with the Vouvray from the Loire Valley of France…Nowhere on the wine list did it mention this wine was a demi-sec…Kind of a big deal when you aren’t expecting your wine to be sweetened.
3. The glass was a generic wine glass that serves both reds and whites and had terrible thickness.

All very minor issues, but worth pointing out…especially if this establishment wants to be known for their wine selection.

All in all, a great experience.  I will visit when I inevitably return to Rockford again.  Cheers!

-Jon

Grand Rapids lacks true sports bars.  Sure, I have highlighted a few that I have enjoyed in the blog previously (Uccello’s, My Bar, and Vitale’s in Ada).  When you look at the number of eating and drinking establishments in Grand Rapids, you have to be shocked by the slim count.  Z’s is a true sports bar and staple of Grand Rapids.  I’ve spent many a time at Z’s cheering for the Pistons or cursing the Lions.

Z’s has a great location downtown, but is tucked away slightly on Campau Ave.  It is a stone throw away from the BOB.  However, Z’s never seems to be very busy.  It is a pretty small establishment that vaguely reminds me of the bar from Cheers.  However, I’m pretty sure no one ever remembered my name, and the crowd varies drastically depending on the night.  They have a huge U shaped bar that wraps around the entire interior and takes up 80% of the seating. Around the bar they have a handful of booths and tables.  The largest TV would be a screen that is pulled down in front of the Golden Tee game.  I’m not going to go out of my way to say this place is pretty, but it feels like a comfortable place to go and watch the game. (I forgot to take pictures, and unfortunately nothing is available online.  It is a bit of an eye sore, but you should try to see past that.)

The food is surprisingly good.  It’s nothing gourmet, but it is on the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to bar/pub food.  They like to tout their ribs.  The baby back ribs are very good… However, I wouldn’t call them the best in town.  It’s a safe bet to go with the burger or the make your own pizza.  The pizza is fantastic!

In order to truly call yourself a local you have to experience Z’s!

-Jon

So after a grueling month and a half of boycotting the Dog Pit for not being served before close one evening, I decided I have too big of a weakness for chili dogs that the boycott could never last.  The Dog Pit on Monroe Center is now in good standings with GRDine.

Last week I was downtown for a meeting and when the meeting got out I just needed something quick and easy for dinner.  I considered the new Pita House next to the Dog Pit, but how could I resist eating unhealthy?  When I entered the Dog Pit, I was greeted by none other than who I had once referred to as Man-boy.  Let’s call him Keith (I don’t know his real name, but he deserves something other than Man-boy).  Keith wasn’t very busy and served me very well.  I went with a Junkyard Dog, and Frito Nachos…Fantastic!  It must have been my pent up guilt over the last little while I left Keith with a nice tip as an offering of my apology…Not like he’s seen this blog, but it made me feel a little better.

I’ve moved on.  I’ve forgotten the poor experience.  The previous experience has been masked by chili cheese Frito nachos.   We can all move on with the weight lifted off of our shoulders.  Go to Dog Pit!

-Jon Dodge

More hype than I have seen for a restaurant in a while, the Electric Cheetah was brought to my attention in 2008 by some eager folks in the Grand Rapids area, ready for an “enhancement” to the intersection of Diamond Ave. and Wealthy St. The Meanwhile, and few other neighborhood expansions began the re-invention of this eclectic intersection a few years back. Now sprinkled with a few more businesses eager to grow the area, this intersection is becoming its own little “East Hills, Center of the Universe.”

Regretfully, it has taken me until this summer to actually eat at this talked about, locally owned restaurant run by Cory DeMint, Owner/Executive Chef. He opened the doors in May 2009.

The Electric Cheetah took a means of expression that I was refreshed by. When I walked into the restaurant, I was surprised that it was as small as it is. Just a café, it seemed. Expecting a large, eccentric dining area with bizarre tables, chairs, menus etc. I was suddenly drawn to the large windows with spices growing in the sunlight. How unlike what I had imagined – Electric Cheetah, a name that provoked my imagination in an urban-safari sort of way. Thank goodness no one let me pick that theme.

With the spices growing inside next to our window-front table, it was easy to see that they use them for their locally grown menu items. I enjoyed the menu descriptions telling me where the food comes from – anything from fish to salad greens.

With no liquor license, (yet) I left the idea of my favorite micro brew behind. Even though happy hour could have caught my interest, I was instantly drawn to the idea of a cane sugar mandarin-lime soda. My mom and lunch partner in crime joined me on this dinner venture, and ordered a Sprecher Root Beer (great German brewery that also produces gourmet sodas in Milwaukee, WI).

After ten minutes or more of choosing only one dinner for myself, off of a menu that offered nothing but yummy, I began to have menu regret. Menu regret – which I consider to be the point where you start to worry if you ordered the thing you REALLY wanted or if you just made a mistake and should catch the servers attention again. I finally ordered the Egg Sandwich and hand cut Michigan Russet fries and my mom ordered the Sweet Pulled Pork sandwich and sweet potato fries. No mistakes here.

Many options including aoli were given as an alternative to ketchup for our fries (yeah! but you can still order the classic). The aoli was perfect for the incredibly tasty homemade fries.

When the food arrived, naturally we traded halves of our sandwiches and swapped fries. Overall, the Sweet Pulled Pork sandwich beat the Egg Sandwich, with its pineapple-jalopeno-sage salsa on top and tostonnes on the bottom. Sweet potato fries – a must at the Electric Cheetah! I will go back just for the sweet potato fries and Parmesan aoli – perfect match.

At the time we ordered our food, we also ordered the cookies off of the dessert menu. I had heard this was a must at the Electric Cheetah (mostly because they bake them fresh as you eat your dinner and serve them warm)! We could barely finish dinner when we remembered we had cookies on the way out. You will not be left going home hungry or unsatisfied from the Electric Cheetah. This new edition to the Diamond and Wealthy St. intersection is nothing but pleasant with their well-rounded menu and atmosphere.

Note: Interested in sharing your experiences at Grand Rapids local establishments?  Just email me at jdodge@grdine.com and let me know where you would like to write about.

No not my bar, My Bar.  The name just asks for the terrible joke.

I believe it was named that way to serve as an unconscious reminder that this place needs to be your bar.  They are on the right path with 32 TV’s  (they have yet to invest in HD…you are not complete until you get the HD), 16 beers on tap, HD Golden Tee and Big Buck Hunter, and my favorite table accessory…an emergency beer switch.  Just hit the light switch and a red bulb lights up above your table demanding that your drink be refreshed immediately.  What more could you need?

Located at 1 Ionia, My Bar boasts food that is a notch above your typical bar fare.  I can support that claim with my trip to My Bar for dinner.  Not exactly a place that would immediately jump out as a place you would go for dinner primarily.  However, with most establishments closed on Sunday, and the Tigers game in the 9^th inning, My Bar could support our food needs and sports fix.

I had absolutely no expectations when it came to the food.  In fact, My Bar had never crossed my mind for the blog.  I ordered a buffalo chicken sub with fries.  Tough to screw up, but when it is done well you can really taste the difference.  I walked away stuffed having enjoyed a great sandwich.  The menu seems pretty diverse.

If you are around and need a quick and inexpensive bite, My Bar and Grill is a great option.  You have to support this newcomer to the Grand Rapids market.  –JD

Note:  Thanks to Josh from grnow.com for the images.

While strolling through downtown recently my wife and I came across The Cottage Bar.  We had both heard good things about the place from friends so we decided to give it a try. The restaurant sits just south of One Trick Pony  (its sister restaurant) on the corner of Fulton and La Grave.

The Ambiance

Upon entering you immediately feel like you are in a cozy, up North bar with it’s dark wood paneling, low ceilings, and nautical fare hanging from the walls organized just perfectly enough that it doesn’t feel cheap or inauthentic (after all, they’ve been doing it since 1927). 

My only complaint would be to say that it is a little smoky, but when we went it wasn’t too smoky not to bring the little one.  They have high chairs available, btw.

The Service

While I’ve only been there once, the service that I experienced was top-notch.  Jon has been there many times before (he used to live just down the street), and he agreed with my assessment.

The one and only Cottage Burger

 The Food

I had, what I feel, is the best hamburger in town:  the Cottage burger.  Served on a rye bun with olives, bacon, two kinds of cheese, and a hickory mayonaisse, you can’t possibly go wrong.  The burger is cooked to order, which is refreshing in this day and age of pre-cooked meat (try and get medium rare at most hamburger joints…I bet you can’t).  Top that with delicious waffle fries dipped in ranch, and you got yourself a tasty meal.

I’m told that they’re potato nachos are the thing to get (wedges covered in cheese), so you can be assured that’s getting sampled next time I swing by.

 Summary

Although a bit smoky (it is after all, a bar), the Cottage Bar is truly an excellent place to grab a beer and a good deal on good food.