Perrin Brewing Company
5910 Comstock Park Drive NWThere are so many great breweries in Grand Rapids and so many I haven’t been able to check out yet. After spending a night on the southside of Grand Rapids, we wanted to hit up some place for lunch. We don’t get to Grand Rapids often as a family because I work there five days a week. J doesn’t like making me drive to Grand Rapids on my off days.
Even though it was probably the furthest from where we were, we decided to drive out to Perrin Brewing Company for lunch. Both of us have gotten several recommendations on the place, so we made the 25 minute drive from Cutlerville to Comstock Park just to grab a couple of beers and some delicious food.
Perrin Brewing really isn’t near anything. It’s on Comstock Park Drive just off 7 Mile Road NE between Alpine Avenue and Pine Island Drive (closer to Alpine). The building is a huge warehouse that houses both their brewing operation and a large taproom.
We walked in to the industrial space just before noon on a Saturday. The sign at the door said to seat yourself so we headed towards the all season patio near the front of the space. During warm weather, it appears as if large waist level garage doors will open up and bring the outside inside. During the cold months, these doors are closed and there are warming lamps hanging from the ceiling.
A waiter saw us come in and was right behind us with menus. He left them on the table then gave us a few minutes to look over the tap selections. I noticed they had sampler sizes, but it didn’t say anything about flights. I’m assuming they do, but I wasn’t in the mood to drink that much so I just ordered a You Bretta Run. This sour, which they call “wildly tame and drinkable,” is made with brettanomyces yeast. Yeah, I have no idea what that means. It was just one of their specialty beers, so I thought I’d give it a try. Sours are not at the top of the list as my favorite beers, but I really enjoyed this one. It had that sour taste that makes you pucker a little, but it actually is a really easy to drink beer. Read more…
Cranker’s Restaurant & Brewery
454 68th Street SWA couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine from work was finally lucky enough to get the hell out. He had found a new job with better pay and better hours…the dream for most people that work in my business.
His going away party was last Friday night at Buffalo Wild Wings in downtown Grand Rapids. J and i decided we were just going to make a day trip out of it and reserved a room at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Grand Rapids South on 68th Street. This particular Holiday Inn has a pretty nice pool area with a splash park and a zero-depth pool for the kids. L loves to swim and since we were planning on going to Grand Rapids anyway, why not make a night out of it with something we all could enjoy.
Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate. The big pile-up on I-94 had just happened and every time we left the house that day, we couldn’t see much of US 131 from the Stadium Drive bridge. We had to cancel our plans.
The hotel actually has a 48 hour cancellation policy, but after a call to the corporate office, they finally agreed to let us reschedule. That was fine because we still wanted to go. The only downside is that we missed the party.
To make up for it, I asked my friend if he and his girlfriend would want to meet for dinner Friday night after they got off work. They were both game and I picked a place pretty close to our hotel so we would have maximum swim time.
Cranker’s Restaurant & Brewery has been in the unincorporated community of Cutlerville for sometime although up until pretty recently, it was known as Cranker’s Coney Island. Once the original restaurant in Big Rapids started brewing beer, they decided to take advantage of Grand Rapid’s status of Beer City USA and turn the Grand Rapids Cranker’s into more of a traditional restaurant instead of the breakfast heavy Coney Island place. Read more…
Speedy Cafe – Wayland
1155 W. Superior StreetI go through a lot of gas driving between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo five days a week. Most of the time, I like to stop at Speedway gas stations due to their Speedy Rewards program. I quickly rack up the points and use them to buy iTunes gift cards so I can buy movies for L.
There are a couple of Speedways along US-131, but I usually stop at the Wayland store just because it’s pretty easy on and easy off.
Earlier this summer, I made my usual stop in Wayland for gas and the Speedway was gone. There was a fence around the property and the building had been torn down. There were signs outside saying they were rebuilding, so in the mean time, I started getting my gas at the Shell station across the street.
When the new Speedway finally reopened last month, it opened with Speedway’s newest concept. The Subway counter that was inside the old building was gone and the new Speedy Cafe concept was introduced. Read more…
Butch’s Beach Burrito’s – Spring Lake
728 E. Savidge StreetSummer in Grand Haven is awesome. The beach scene is fantastic and the food along the channel is the perfect summer time fare. In the winter, Grand Haven can still be pretty awesome, but Pronto Pup and Butch’s Beach Burrito’s close up until it gets warmer. Fortunately, Butch’s has a second, year-round location.
The Spring Lake location for Butch’s Beach Burrito’s is just to the east of downtown Spring Lake inside the Shell Gas Station on M-104 (Savidge Street). The location has a fairly large dining room, but just doesn’t have the atmosphere of the location in Grand Haven.
The order counter is in the back of the space. A co-worker and I pulled in not too long before closing time, but we were far from the last people to order dinner from Butch’s that night. There was no one eating in, but there was a steady line of customers for take out pretty much the whole 10-15 minutes we were there.
The fare at Butch’s is pretty standard Mexican food. There’s nothing too crazy on the menu. It’s mostly just burrito’s and tacos. However, they did have a special on Enchilada’s that night and that’s what C.W. went with. Read more…
Burger Town Grille & Upper Deck Sports Bar
9136 Shaver RoadIt’s been quite a while since J and I went out for lunch and it wasn’t fast food. L is always so good at restaurants, but we’ve been lazy lately. We run errands then pick up a pizza or fast food somewhere.
Last Friday, J had some things to take back to the mall from Christmas and we wanted L to run around a little bit. While J shops, L and I hang out at the little play area near the food court where she tries to make friends with every body.
I was in the mood for something other than food court food or fast food, so I asked J if she wanted to go sit down somewhere and eat lunch before hitting up the mall. J was game for it and I, of course, had a place in mind.
Anyone who reads this blog knows I love burgers, so the fact it’s taken me a year to get to a restaurant called “Burger Town” is kind of amazing.
Burger Town Grille & Upper Deck Sports Bar is the long name for a rather large sports bar that opened on the site, but not in the same building, as Mulligan’s Steakhouse & Grill. The new building is a large Morton-type building that was built in front of the old restaurant which was then torn down and turned in to a parking lot. Read more…
Costco Food Court – Oshtemo Township
5100 Century AvenueLast summer, J and I started noticing a clearing of the land on a pretty large area near Michigan Avenue and US-131 in Oshtemo Township. It’s one of those places that we drove by all the time and never actually realized how big it was or what was even back in the trees. Apparently, there were quite a few abandoned house on this prime piece of real estate that were bought and leveled for a new shopping area.
Both of us were pretty excited once we learned the anchor for this new area was going to be a Costco Warehouse. Neither of us had ever been in a Costco, but we both have friends that rave about the place. My family shopped at Sam’s Club all the time when I was in high school, so I was a little skeptical at first that it was really going to be worth our time, but not too long after it opened, I knew the membership was going to be worth it.
We’ve been there several times since the wharehouse opened just before Thanksgiving. There are so many great things about it that I could rave for hours, but this blog isn’t about the wharehouse itself. It’s out the small food counter just past the cash registers that we have to stop at every time we shop.
One of the first things we were told about Costco is how amazing their pizza is. Apparently, Costco is one of the largest pizza chains in the country which is kind of hard to believe, but that’s what so many articles on the world-y tubes tell me. Read more…
Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Express – Oneida Casino
2020 Airport DriveEvery now and then, I get to do something really cool for work. Last weekend, I was sent to Green Bay for a job along with a co-worker. We had to drive a work truck all the way around the lake, but it was totally worth it. We got in to town late Saturday night and were surprised to learn the hotel the company go for us was actually at the Oneida Casino in Ashwaubenon. Neither one of us are huge gamblers, but we knew there were going to be options for late night meals at a casino, so we didn’t have to venture out and try to find something open at midnight.
Sure enough, we headed down to the casino floor and found a food court near the back of the gaming floor. There were three options for for dining….all offering something different. There was a Chicken Fry Fry, Boar’s Head Deli, and a Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Express. I was sort of in the mood for a burger, so that’s where I headed.
Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Express was my choice. The menu had a number of burgers, wraps, and sandwiches in the 50’s style diner counter. I ordered the Bleu Cheese Burger which comes with fries then added on a small Coke to wash it down. The cost was just under $10 and the meal is made fresh, so I had to wait a few minutes while my burger was cooked up on the flat top in the back of the kitchen. Read more…
Caruso’s Pizza & Pasta
4801 Rivercrest DriveOne of my favorite things about going to my in-laws house in the Chicago suburbs is the food. Man, oh man, is Chicago food amazing.
My usual M.O. is to pick up lunch for my wife and Mother-in-Law at Portillo’s. Most people would just do the obvious and order and Italian beef from Portillo’s, but not me. There is better Italian beef in Chicago. Much better. So, I get what they want then head down 95th Street to Al’s Beef.
After waiting in the ridiculous line for a couple of salads and some chicken tenders from Portillo’s, I went to pick up my Italian beef. My heart sank when I pulled in the parking lot. It was closed. Again. There was some ridiculous sign on the door about being closed for maintenance and they would be reopening “soon.” This is the second time that has happened.
I wasn’t going to go back to Portillo’s and wait in line again, so I brought the ladies’ food home then had to head back out to find an Italian beef. There are many, many places in Chicago that will sell me one,but finding a good one just isn’t that easy. Read more…
Casa Bolero
116 Portage StreetNot having any family in the area means nights out are few and far between. Finding a babysit is hard and when we do have family in town, we feel guilty about just dropping L with them and leaving. They always offer, but we want to spend time with our family too.
L’s preschool gave us the perfect opportunity for a night out. They held a Drop-n-Shop on Friday night and even though we have all of our Christmas shopping done, we still took advantage of the event and went out for a nice, leisurely dinner.
We wanted to go someplace where we wouldn’t feel comfortable taking L. Bell’s was an option because it was Eccentric Day, but we do Bell’s all the time. Instead, we chose a place that we have been trying to go to for several years but could just never find it open.
Casa Bolero opened almost five years ago in Kalamazoo’s Central Business District. The restaurant is on Portage Street just to the south of East Michigan Avenue across the street from Olde Peninsula.
I mentioned we’ve tried to go a couple of times. Once was when they used to do lunch, but we must have caught them after they stopped. It was pretty close to when J was due with L. It was going to be our one last lunch without a baby, but we ended up at Central City Tap House after finding Casa Bolero closed.
The other time was a little more odd. It was actually New Year’s Eve when J was pregnant with L. We called to make reservations and they told us they were going to be closed…..on New Year’s Eve. We just kinda chuckled and said OK, then made decided to go to Rustica instead.
We had back-up plans this time just in case they weren’t open as seems to be our luck, but once we parked in the parking lot off Bates Alley, we noticed people inside and it calmed our fear of the place being closed. Read more…
Toppers Pizza – Grand Rapids
947 Wealthy Street SEIt’s been a weird couple weeks at work. I worked two days, was off three (including Thanksgviving) then worked seven in a row. The two day week made it hard to get motivated. I just kept looking forward to those three days off, so my brain wasn’t really where it needed to be.
I got pretty lucky in that the second day of that two day week turned out to be a pretty easy day of work. I had plenty of time for lunch (or at least I thought I was going to), so I decided to order a pizza.
There’s a pretty good pizza place not too far from where I work, but I always like checking out new things and just ordering a simple pepperoni pizza. I passed on the more fancy option and got online to put in an order at one of the newer chains to move in to Grand Rapids.
Toppers Pizza is on Wealthy Street just to the west of Diamond Avenue. This is the only store the small midwest chain has in. The original restaurant in Champaign, IL is closed now and the headquarters are now Whitewater, Wisconsin. This store is a little odd for Toppers as most of them are near college campuses. I don’t think it’s still there, but we ordered from Toppers a few times when we lived in Lansing and were always happy with what we got but it still seemed just to be typical big chain pizza. Read more…
SW Michigan Dining 