Grand Rapids Taste-Talk

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Prelude to the Westside

So originally, I’m from Wyoming/Grandville area. And growing up, that’s really all I knew. I knew I liked Olive Garden and Olga’s. LOVED Applebee’s and TGIFriday’s. Marge’s was the ONLY place to get donuts. (I’ll actually still stand by that today, and everyday… All. Day. Long. ) Every now and then my friends and I would venture out to Wayland, to the Uccello’s (yes, another chain. ) or we’d get REAL crazy and eat Crab Rangoon’s from China Max at Rivertown Crossings Mall. Whoa. That was like a Friday/Saturday night let’s get real crazy kinda thing though. Then there was the times we went to THE Pizza Ranch..out in HUDSONVILLE! (That’s all I’ll say about that for now though, because I want to go back there soon and then you better believe I’ll write a whole post of love on that place) But recently..and by recently I mean about 5 months ago(on June 3rd, but who keeps track of those things anyway…oh wait..this girl.) , ( and isn’t it crazy how a time period can seem SO much longer and shorter all at the same time? ) I started dating this guy, B. and the first time we went out, he told me…in a quite proud voice… “I’m from the Westside” and I’m all, oh that’s sweet, he was in the Army, so he likes talking about directions..maybe I should impress him and tell him I grew up on the Southside, but now I’m on the Eastside. I think I got distracted by his laugh though (he’s got a great laugh) and taking pictures. Anyway, fast forward through the first couple of months and as we would be hanging out with his friends, who all grew up on the Westside as well, kept saying that they were from the Westside, or “Welcome to the Westside”. And I had NO IDEA, that being from the Westside or “up the hill” and “down the hill”..they were actually THINGS. So being in the Westside pretty much every day for the past 5 months, I’ve realized, to someone like me who has grown up in a 3 mile radius (besides my year stint down south) and lived in a bubble for 20 some years, it’s like a whole different culture! B. hangs out with a VERY tight knit group of friends. And on any given weekend, you can find them, usually at B.’s house, on the deck or in the kitchen. Everyone brings something for everyone, it could be booze, it could be a snack, it could be a side dish, or it could be prime rib. All I know is, there has ALWAYS been left overs, and grilling on a charcoal grill, is the best thing ever. Everyone is outside on the deck shooting the shit and talking about the old days and telling stories and talking about things they want to do together. It’s like a family. And the other thing that always happens? The food is outstanding! Probably because it’s made with love  B’s motto is “It’s not a meal without meat” haha. I don’t know if that’s a Polish thing, or if that’s a Westside thing, but works for me! I’ve tried SO many different things the past 5 months that I don’t know why I’m not telling you about them, just because it’s at the house and from Meijer or Family Fare, and not at a restaurant. So that will be a change coming to the blog. I don’t want to stop blogging just because I’ve stopped going out to eat as often. Life has been crazy busy and I have been struggling to keep up! Since this post is already forever long and I didn’t even really talk about food, I’ll call this a prelude to a few “Westside Editions” posts coming soon, about Clams and Oysters, and Seafood Fettuccini. And I’ll even tell you about new love of Kosher salt! Xoxo, Em.

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To Chain..or Not to Chain..

I struggle. Does anyone even want to read about a chain restaurant? Then I thought, this is MY blog..I can write about whatever I want! And that made me happy. As I mentioned in my personal blog ( http://emilym-manor.tumblr.com/ ) I went to the Downtown Buffalo Wild Wings last night with my Dad. It's our favorite place to go! We both got some boneless wings ( I got Spicy Garlic and he got Curry Thai and Spicy Garlic) and he had a beer from Shortz Brewery up in Belaire ( https://www.shortsbrewing.com/ ) and I had a Summer Shandy..yum! We went around 6 and I was SO surprised that 1, it was not busy at ALL, and 2 that they didnt have the upstairs open. It was 70 some degrees out and in Michigan..that's patio weather! They were nice enough to sit us by a window though, which was great! Our waitress, Hannah, was the cutest, nicest, waitress I've had there! She was super knowledgable about their flavor of the month, which draft beers that they had, and just so friendly! That means a lot to me when dinning out. She even brought me a menu when I wanted to place a to-go order, it was bagged up and ready to go when she brought us our check! So if you head to the Buffalo Wild Wings downtown Grand Rapids, ask to sit in Hannah's section! Talk to you guys soon, xoxo Em.

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"About Me"

So as I’ve gone through my posts in the past few days, I’ve realized..I haven’t really introduced myself! I call myself Emily on pretty much all things internet related . It helps me to remain “un-filtered” when talking about things. Yes, I am one of those girls that actually care what people think. I never want to offend anyone, always want people to be happy to see me, I take things WAY too personally and obviously worry WAY too much for someone in their twenties. I grew up in the Southwest side of Grand Rapids, (Shout out to Marges Donut Den!! www.margesdonutden.com ) and pretty much lived in a 3 mile radius my entire life, until about 2 years ago. I took a job that led me 800 miles away from everything and everyone I knew!! It was the scariest, most amazing thing of my life! It taught me so much about life, and about myself. I loved my time away and would recommend anyone to move away and discover themselves for a time. What a great experience. I can’t even say for 100% sure that I wouldn’t move away again. There is just something in me that wants to see and experience SO MUCH more than I have. But for now, I’m so happy to be exploring the great city that I call home, Grand Rapids. In the beginning of November of last year (2013) I moved into the Historic Heritage Hill District. WOW do I love it! It was already starting to get a little chilly by the time I moved in, so I am pretty excited to get out and see my neighborhood a little more this spring and summer! I can't wait to walk through some of the neighborhoods and check our the beautiful homes, and maybe even go on a tour this summer! I have been told I am “right on the edge” of the Heritage Hill neighborhood, that being said, it’s just a short walk to the Cottage Bar ( www.cottagebar.biz ) and maybe 8 or so blocks to the Downtown Market! ( www.downtownmarketgr.com ). I also live pretty close to Cherry Street, so I have ALL of those lovely restaurants to look forward to trying out!

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Mill Creek Tavern

So last Saturday, a couple of us went to Mill Creek for “Brunch” , I use quotes because for some of us, it was breakfast, and for others, it was lunch. Either way..a couple of us had beers too. Haha I had never been to Mill Creek, but had heard good things about it, namely from the people I was with on Saturday. 2 of us got a burger, I built my own with bacon cheese and lettuce, another of us got The Mill Creek. The Mill Creek is Wisconsin Colby, bacon, and haystack onions on a homemade Kaiser bun. The 3rd of us got The Chicken Club. For some unknown reason the one of us that got The Mill Creek didn’t like bacon on his burgers..( I know..it sounds so un American, doesn’t it?!) so I gladly took that off their hands! Those of us that got burgers agreed that the meat was REALLY good. The buns were nice and soft and the chips and fries that came with our meals were perfect. I have never said this about bacon before, but it wasn’t that great.. (gasp! I know!) It tasted almost microwaved and maybe freezer burnt? Maybe it was just a bad batch of bacon. It definitely won’t keep me from going back. I was told the Chicken Club was great, and it must have been, because it was the first thing gone at the table!  The waitresses were cute and as friendly as could be too. That’s a HUGE plus plus plus in my book of returning to places! I know this post might be a little off, because I have been focusing on places closer to my apartment in Heritage Hill, but in the long run, I’d like to tell you all about my experiences all over the Greater Grand Rapids Area!

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Flat Landers Bar

You guys… Last night at Flat Landers Bar ( www.flatlandersbar.com ) I ate something that I never thought I would..I had a fried egg ON MY FRENCH FRIES! Yes, a FRIED EGG on my fries. I still can’t believe it! It’s called Hillbilly Poutine- it’s crinkle cut fries covered (and when they say covered..they aren’t joking..)in cheese sauce and topped with smoked bacon, jalapeno slices, a FRIED EGG, and chopped green onion. I should have just had that as my dinner, it was so good!! ( no worries, I took a picture..see below!!) We also got the fish tacos, which I was told, while the taste was pretty good.. the shells looked a little limp and greasy, we thought they were in flour shells, but the website says corn. The you build it burger was done PERFECTLY. Definitely cooked it to my liking, and it was HUGE. I could only eat half! They had a ton of drink selections too! There was only one “Featured Tap” that I hadn’t tried yet, the Farm Hand from Brewery Vivant. ( I love love love that all of their taps were local, Founders, Bells, and Perrin!) The Farm Hand was great. Nice and light with a great taste. I’d like to go back and try a can of Oval Beach Blonde from Saugatuck soon! Our server was beyond friendly and super attentive. I love that. She wasn’t overly in our faces, but always made sure our waters were full and that we didn’t need anything else. I’m super lucky to have someone who likes trying new places with me, and who takes me places just DAYS after their grand opening! Their grand opening was last weekend, Friday the 14th, and here it was just the 19th last night when we went! The atmosphere of Flat Landers Bar was so nice! SUPER industrial feel to the whole place, until you get to the chairs, VERY modern (very comfortable too!), but in a way, they just worked with everything! The whole place has a great relaxed feel. I also think its great that Flat Landers is on Michigan St., besides the lot being almost full, it was a nice quick walk to the door. It’ll be great to have a place to grab a bite to eat with a beer and head over to one of the other bars on Michigan! I just love the way Grand Rapids is growing!

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Flat Landers Bar on Michigan Street!

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Downtown Market

Okay wow! What an awesome space!! I was lucky enough to have a tour from someone who has frequented the market!! Every. Single. Vendor. was SO welcoming! We stopped and looked at spot and talked about the displays, products, set up..it was so fun! We decided on some smoked salmon for our snack from Fish Lads ( http://fishlads.com/ ). I have never had smoked fish before..and WOW it was SOO good. Not only was the guy that helped us SUPER friendly, he definitely knew what he was talking about! He was telling us about his last time out on the water and what their catch was. So personable! We walked all around the first floor and ventured up to the 2nd floor too. The cooking classes sound interesting, and I love that they use the spaces for other things like yoga too! I can’t wait until it’s warmer and experience the farmers market outside as well!

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Maru

Oh wow, Sunday was my favorite day this past week! I met up with some friends to head over to Maru Sushi! ( http://www.marurestaurant.com/grand-rapids/ ) I have been there several times, but I had never gone on a sunday..FYI...they have CRAZY amazing specials..check our their facebook page! I decided to pig out and get the Nirvana Speciality Roll AND the Soy Joy Speciality Roll (they were 15% off..how do you say no to that?) We started with Edamame for the table..yum! Maru always put the right amount of salt on! I should have started out by telling you guys about our server, Nick. Seriously..if he's there, ask to be in his section..he's awesome! He knew EVERYTHING about the rolls, the wine, the beer, and probably life. It's the experience that someone like Nick creates, that makes me want to go back to Maru. He was kind, patient, fun, and knowledgable. There were 4 of us that went to brunch, and we all got something different..I love going with a group because then you get to try everything! I even tried a vegetarian roll..super good! But I felt like it was eating a salad all rolled up. I can get that at Wendy's, ya know? I loved boy of my rolls, SO much flavor! My only "thing" with specialty rolls is the size sometimes. my mouth is on the smaller side, so it's a challenge sometimes to get one of those bigger rolls in there( I hope someone somewhere is saying "thats what she said" in their head and laughing to themselves, because I'm definitely doing that!). So then I shove it ALL in there, put my napkin up to my mouth and have to seriously concentrate on chewing for the 2 minutes straight. Don't get me wrong- it's worth it--the taste is great! One of my friends and I split the Mimosa Bar too..half a bottle of bubbly and 3 juices each for only $12.00, canNOT go wrong! They also did $3.00 off all glasses of wine too. Maru is one of my favorites..so I'm going to say 4.5 stars out of 5 for overall.

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Maru!

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Grand Rapids Brewing Company

I dont even know how to start this post. I have FOUR places that I want to tell you all about! First things first- This weekend I went and grabbed a beer and a few shareables with some friends at The Grand Rapids Brewing Company ( http://www.grbrewingcompany.com/ ). Not going to lie, I was a little hesitant to go here, I had heard that the service was not very good..at all. That always bums me out..I've never been a server, or worked in the food industry for that matter, but as someone who loves EVERY aspect of going out to eat, it always bums me out when I feel like I'm wasting the servers time. We obviously started out with some beer..some of my friends had tried a flight of beer so I got to have some sips off of theirs, good stuff! I wish I remembered which was what..and took some pictures! I promise I will get better at this blog stuff! I ended up ordering a Red Ramona for myself, SO good! I didnt know the name was based off an old theater in East Town, but awesome! I love when things have stories, especially when they are hometown stories! This is how our waiter (and the website..) described the beer: Red Ramona A balanced, bright red ale named after the Ramona Theatre and Amusement park that was located in Eastown during the first half of the 20th century. Style: American Amber Ale ABV: 5.9 % IBU: 27 Then the table split the Fried Dill Pickles ( I am a sucker for deep friend pickles..anywhere), so good! I loved the avocado ranch to dip them in! We also split the Poutine and Beer Bar Cheese. The Poutine is hand cut fries, with gravy and cheese curds, so messy, but so good! The Beer Bar Cheese was decent. I was hoping for more of a wasabi flavor like it listed, but instead it tasted mostly like cheddar. The bread for it looked like a pretzel bun..yum. Our waiter was super nice and laid back. I love that. He didnt crowd us, but always made sure we had full waters and checked in on our beers and food. It was pretty early in the day ( like early enough that I got ANOTHER stinking parking ticket..good thing those babies don't count on your license..I would be screwed for sure) so the place wasnt too busy when we got there, but there were only a few empty tables when we were walking out! I'll definitely head back here to try out more of the beers, and and their smoked salmon burger! And if we're being honest, the gelato and stout float too!

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Hungry.

What a great morning it has been!! As I am trying to get "all of my ducks in a row" with all of my social media outlets and figuring out exaclty how I want to put all of these fun idea's to action, I was local star struck! I tweeted ( @GRTasteTalk ) an inquiry about local's favorite places to grab a bite, and get this..GR Magazine ( @grmagazine ) replied! Guys, it's a big deal. I've started a list of places that I've heard about, and I'll post them on here this weekend! As I looked through GR Magazines website ( http://www.grmag.com/home.htm ) I found quite a few resaurants that I had never heard of! I'm new to the downtown area, so it's not super surprising, but it was so fun to look at all of the different menus. - note to self..try not to do that before lunch..it only makes you MORE hungry- Can't wait to tell you all about my experience at Grand Rapids Brewing Company ( http://www.grbrewingcompany.com/ ) after I go there this weekend!

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Newbie

As described by wikipedia, a Foodie: Foodies are a distinct hobbyist group. Typical foodie interests and activities include the food industry, wineries and wine tasting, breweries and beer sampling, food science, following restaurant openings and closings and occasionally reopenings, food distribution, food fads, health and nutrition, cooking classes, culinary tourism, and restaurant management. A foodie might develop a particular interest in a specific item, such as the best egg cream or burrito. This is not me, at all. For all intensive purposes, I am Emily and I love going out to eat! I love the whole experience of eating out- every single thing about it- trying something new, or satisfying a craving of having one of my favorite dishes. I am NOT an expert on how things should be prepared, and what should be paired together, or with which wine. That's why I enjoy going out to eat so much, I have help! I recently moved to Historic Heritage Hill Neighborhood (check them out - http://www.heritagehillweb.org/ -) and I'd really like to tell everyone I can about all the great restaurant's the Grand Rapids area has to offer! I've only been to a few so far ( http://www.marurestaurant.com/grand-rapids/ & http://www.thegreenwell.com/ ) but I'd really like to share my experiences with you as I try new places!!