All Serious Foodies - Head to GR, Restaurant Week is November 4 to 13

Make Grand Rapids a culinary destination

By Jane Ammeson
Published Nov 1st, 2010

While in Grand Rapids, Michigan, take a taste of the artisan microbrews offered at Founders Brewing Company.

Serious foodies will want to head north to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Restaurant Week, a new event that runs from November 4 to 13. More than 50 area restaurants are offering three course (and sometimes more) for $20.10.

“It’s a chance for people to try many of the city’s great restaurants,” said Sally Zarafonetis, a media consultant who works with Experience Grand Rapids, one of the major underwriters for the 10-day event. “Grand Rapids is gaining more and more attention as a food destination and Restaurant Week helps chefs show off their great culinary skills.”

Giving us one more reason to eat—as if we needed one—one dollar from each meal ordered funds the student scholarship program at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at Grand Rapids Community College.

Start the feasting on November 1, “A Celebration of Dining Out in Grand Rapids,” the inaugural event featuring the city’s best chefs who will be on hand to talk about their menus and mingle with the guests. A special menu has been created by Secchia students with an emphasis on current culinary trends and the use of local products. Artisan microbrews from Founders Brewing Company, headquartered in Grand Rapids, will be served along with wines from The Hess Collection, a boutique Napa Valley winery, and artisan cocktails made with Grey Goose spirits.

With a list of 50 or so restaurants to choose from, it’s hard to know what to pick, particularly because Grand Rapids has a diverse range of eateries, but here’s a start. And remember, by visiting the website and clicking on the restaurant, diners can see what three-course dinners each of the restaurants is offering.

Environmentalists can eat and feel good at the same time at two eco–friendly restaurants—The Green Well Gastro Pub and Bistro Bella Vita. Owned by the Essence Restaurant Group, the restaurants emphasize the best practices in promoting sustainability wherever and whenever possible. That means they recycle all their waste including paper, cardboard plastic, glass and grease and also use dye–free paper products. Promotional materials are printed on 100 percent PCW content paper.

And though farm to table is a common term now days, Bistro Bella Vita was the first farm–to–plate and sustainable farming restaurant in West Michigan having entered into what is now an 11–year partnership with Ingraberg Farms in nearby Rockford, Michigan.

The Green Well Gastro Pub, located in the trendy East Hills neighborhood east of the downtown, is LEED certified both inside and out meaning it’s environmentally safe, ultra efficient and leaves behind the smallest possible carbon footprint.

But just because they’re green, don’t think it’s all bean sprouts and yogurt spreads. The menu at Bistro Bella Vita focuses on rustic Mediterranean cooking and The Green Well is globally influenced with some new American cookery as well.

Music lovers might want to check out the tunes at Mojo’s Dueling Piano Bar and Restaurant. Two grand pianos, located on a raised platform, set the stage for pianists to duel it out four nights a week in an interactive show. Patrons can call out their recommendations—and the pianists can throw a joke or two at the audience as well. But it’s not just music here, the food is good and the martini bar offers more than 20 options.

If fondue is your thing, leave your own pot in the basement where it’s gathering dust and check out the Melting Pot. Microbrew aficionados should raise a glass at Hop Cat, housed in the old warehouse district with exposed brick walls, magnificent turn of the last century bar and trendy urban ambiance. Named by Beer Advocate as the third best beer bar in the world, the emphasis is on Michigan beers but there are also artisan beers from as far away as Denmark. Or try some of the house made brews, each with such unique names as Slammin’ Salmon, Hoppopotamus IPA and Fornicator Dopplebock.

Like many cities, Grand Rapids offers a fantastic selection of ethnic eateries. San Chez, a Spanish tapas, is a must stop as is Osta’s Lebanese Cuisine. Another exciting concept on the list of participating restaurants is Graydon’s Crossing, a pub representing English cuisine as it was influenced by Brits returning from India, back then a colony of Great Britain, with a vast array of curry and other exotic spices.

And of course there’s the top-end restaurants—in more ways than one. Cygnus 27, atop the marvelously restored Amway Grand Plaza Hotel with its magnificent views of the Grand Rapids skyline boasts the AAA Four–Diamond mark of distinction while the Grand Plaza’s 1913 Room is the only restaurant in Michigan with a Five Diamond AAA rating.

“What’s great about Restaurant Week is that there’s something for everyone and every taste,” says Zarafonetis. “No one should go hungry.”

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

For more information: 800.459.8287 or experiencegr.com For more on Restaurant Week, visit restaurantweekgr.com

How to get there: Take I-94 East through Michigan. Near Benton Harbor, take I–196 North (exit 34) to Grand Rapids. In Grand Rapids, take exit 77C on to Ottawa Avenue which leads to the downtown.

You’ll like: Need to walk off some food? Download a map of the downtown and do some walking, visiting the many museums in the downtown, shops or a walk along the Grand River.

Kids will like: Hmmmm . . . unless your kids are really into gourmet, best to leave them home though most of the restaurants do have kids’ menus. And if you bring them, check out what’s playing at the IMAX at Celebration Cinema.

And don’t miss: Though most of the leaves are almost gone, it’s still a pretty time to check out the three covered bridges in the Grand Rapids area. Two, the White Covered Bridge and the Fallasburg Covered Bridge, both of which cross the Flat River, date back to the 1800s and are within a few miles of each other. The Fallasburg Covered Bridge is also near Fallasburg, a historic village. The Ada Covered Bridge in nearby Ada is a replica of a 19th century bridge which burned down about a decade ago. The original bridges are located near Lowell, on the outskirts of Grand Rapids and one of the participating restaurants—the Flat Iron Grill is located there, so combine the two excursions.