Bell's Brewery (and more)

Bell's Brewery is pretty much one of the original kings of the rise of craft brewing.  That's how I'd describe it.  They've been selling their own beer since 1985, and with the expansion of their facilities in Comstock, they're staged to be the #5 producer of craft beer in the country pretty soon!  (I think they're #7 now.)

We rented a car and headed about an hour south from Grand Rapids to visit Bell's.  It had snowed a lot, so the crowds were light. Our tour of their original brewing space was a private one as we were the only two there for it!  But we really enjoyed the Eccentric Cafe.

Eccentric Cafe

There are so. many. beers. on tap at the brewery that you'll never see for sale anywhere else.  The HUGE beer menu was two pages, and we focused on the ones we could only get there.  You could seriously sample beers all day and not get through them without getting wasted.  It's a true destination, well worth the trip.

Oh, and I also ordered a bunch of food for us to share.  Bacon lollipops, served with BBQ sauce.  Crab cakes.  Soft pretzel bites.  And my favorite, the Ploughman's Board with charcuterie, cheeses, and more.  I'm not the beer aficionado in the family, but I can appreciate how it complements good food.

The tour at Bell's is FREE of charge!  Just sign up on the clipboard before you head into the taproom or restaurant.  There's also still a home brewing shop combined with a gift shop where you can purchase t-shirts and other merch.

Bell's Brewery Tour (Kalamazoo)

Dan's friend LC moved from Nashville to Kalamazoo to work for Bell's, and she and her boyfriend met up with us to head over to Bell's facility at Comstock, where the majority of the beer is now brewed.  (Note: The tours of that facility are free too, so beer lovers make sure you plan the extra stop!)

Comstock

I was absolutely in awe of the facility at Comstock.  I've never seen a brewery at that size and scale!  It was incredibly clean and high-tech and efficient.  The pallets of cans waiting for beer alone were impressive to me!  It was a really great tour, and such a contrast with the small breweries I'm used to touring now that I'm married to beer Dan.

I need to go to Traverse City

Beer Cans

Bottling and Boxing

Our gang!

After leaving Kalamazoo, we headed back to Grand Rapids for dinner.  We grabbed a delicious bite at The Green Well, then grabbed our last beer of the trip at Brewery Vivant.  (Check out my past post about visiting these two places here.)

Our trip to Michigan was awesome.  One long weekend just wasn't enough!  We've talked about taking a week's vacation to Traverse City and western Michigan when the weather gets better.  It's just such a unique area, and it's awesome.  Now to plan our next trip there someday soon...

Grand Rapids Ale Trail

Dan and I spent a weekend up in western Michigan over a month ago, and I'm finally getting around to blogging about it!  I had a work meeting on a Friday morning, and since Grand Rapids is a Beer City, I suggested to Dan that he join me and extend it into a weekend brewery-focused trip.

We stayed at my favorite hotel in Grand Rapids, the JW Marriott, and picked up a beer map to guide us on our brewery expedition.  You can even get a brewery passport at a participating location to collect stamps towards a free t-shirt.  We didn't succeed in getting the eight stops required (we went to Kalamazoo for a day, more to come on that later) but we had a lot of fun!

After I was done with work for the day, we walked to HopCat, where we indulged in both beer and their famous crack fries.  I love the decor at HopCat!  You can also order a ton of different beers from all over the place there, on top of their brewpub offering.

HopCat

After HopCat, we headed up the block to Grand Rapids Brewing Company to sample beers.  We enjoyed talking to a couple of the folks on their brewing staff, who explained that some of the rotating beers are dedicated to staff members who come up with recipe ideas, including one we tried with peanut butter flavor.  Dan has made a peanut butter stout before, so he had to try it.  Being much less of a beer person than he is, it's so interesting to hear brewers and beer lovers talk about the brewing process and beer styles.

Grand Rapids Brewing Co.

After that, we stopped by one of my favorite buildings in the Grand Rapids downtown area, the B.O.B., short for the Big Old Building.  Downstairs, we headed to B.O.B.'s Brewery.  They have a small system downstairs, but their beers have big flavor.  We liked some of their pulp fiction tap handles too, and Dan had a high-gravity stout that he really liked.

For dinner, my coworkers picked us up and we headed to Mitten Brewing Company.  This was probably my favorite stop of the night!  I had a delicious cherry cider (Michigan is known for its cherries) and I still want more.  We also ordered TWO of the pizza flights, each with six different varieties of their delicious pizza. We ordered every flavor except for cheese!  There was a wait for a table, and the place was filled up even with snowy weather.  I'd definitely go back.  There were some weird (but cool) pizza combos too, like the Westerdog with hot dogs and mustard and all that.

After Mitten, we hit up one more brewery, and it's a biggie: Founders.  Founders has been around since 1996 in some form or other, and now it's one of the most prominent breweries in Michigan, expanding its market to 37 states.  Every year it moves up on the list of top producers in the U.S.; in 2014 it was 17th largest craft brewery in the country.  I had been to both Grand Rapids Brewing and Founders Brewing before, but it was nice to be able to enjoy it with Dan!

Needless to say, visiting FIVE breweries from lunch to late night was a lot.  Dan and I were pretty exhausted!  But we still had more to go on our trip...  the next day we'd be headed to Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo.

Stay tuned!

Casual Dining in Grand Rapids

I was back in beautiful Michigan for work in June, and I'm just now getting to recap the delicious, casual bites I grabbed with my coworkers while I was there.  I usually dine at foodie/upscale restaurants during business meals, but this time I was treated to casual fare that was just as delicious.

Olive's Restaurant & Bar

Olive's was my favorite on this trip; we stopped there for lunch on my first day in town.  It was in an adorable district of town (I love East Grand Rapids), had a light interior and cute decor, and the menu, while small, appeared to be fresh and varied.  I decided to order the Crab Cakes off of the small plate menu, with a side of fries added.  This turned out to be the perfect casual lunch!  The crab cakes were perfect and very tasty.  The fries were just as crispy as I like them, with a soft inside.  It took a little while to get our food, but I'm assuming it's because everything was made to order.  All of my coworkers' meals looked just as fresh and delicious!  I'd definitely come back here again in a heartbeat.

Brick Road Pizza Co.

For an easy pizza weeknight dinner, we went to Brick Road Pizza Co.  It was a casual place with a fantastic craft beer menu.  Michigan (especially Grand Rapids) has such a great craft beer scene, and the restaurants definitely celebrate that.  I liked that we could ask the waiter for thoughts on craft beer and he knew what he was talking about.  We ordered meatballs and cheesy bread as appetizers, and both were solidly good.  I ordered a personal-sized pizza and could not finish it!  The portions are huge; the calzone could easily feed two people.  Overall it was solidly good pizza and I have no complaints.  It was a fun meal.

Little Bangkok

I don't crave Thai food, mostly because I'm not a big fan of peanut and coconut flavors.  I wasn't excited when my coworkers wanted Thai food, but I went with it.  Little Bangkok exceeded my expectations!  I started with their peppery but delicious soup.  It reminded me of egg drop soup but with lots of black pepper.  I then had the Pad Noodle with chicken.  It was a garlicky sauce, with broccoli and onion and water chestnuts.  I was pleasantly surprised that I really liked it!  I would definitely come back to Little Bangkok on future trips.

Have you been to Grand Rapids?  Any favorite casual bites?

Grove - Grand Rapids

My last two trips to Grand Rapids, I've been fortunate to be able to spend time with my friend MW after my work is done.  This trip, after both of us having a rough go of things that week, it seemed an epic meal was in order.  So we made reservations to eat at Grove!

I've been seeing more restaurants using iPads as menus (what a world we live in nowadays!), and this made especially good sense for Grove.  They have an extensive menu, changing seasonally, and we knew we wanted to dive into their three-course Taste of Grove special.  (The menu online is just a sample of what you'll see when you actually get to the restaurant!)  We kicked off the meal with a cocktail:  a seasonal sangria with a distinctly spiced flavor that was very much a taste of fall!  It's hard to describe it, but it was special.
For my first course, I chose Potato Gnocchi, served with a prime beef bolognese, fresh mozzarella, peppers, and greens.  Perfection!  I'm a gnocchi and bolognese fan, so this dish was comfort-food heaven.

For my second course, I selected a little Asian fusion: Sesame Braised Beef.  Served with rice noodles, an assortment of veggies, chiles, sesame-soy beef broth, and a slow cooked egg, this was tangy and flavorful.  The egg (I love eggs!) was a true treat.  I also really liked the noodles.

For my third course, I chose the Duck Confit Spaetzle.  I know what you're thinking now... every course I chose had some kind of carb/noodle, and I just recently indulged in duck breast with spaetzle at Dinner Lab.  But come on, people, I was in Michigan, land of duck hunting!  I  knew it would be good, and it was.  The meat was from a smoked onion barbecue duck leg, served mixed with spaetzle, radish, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, and a pimento cheese fondue.  YUM.  The duck was shredded like pulled pork, so it felt a bit like a gussied up Southern BBQ bowl.

 And yes, dear reader, we ate dessert.  Because reasons, as my pal Lladybird would say!  I couldn't decide between the Dilley's Favorite Butterscotch Pudding (with caramel, sea salt, whipped cream, and shortbread) and Sweet Potato Doughnuts (with vanilla allspice ice cream, molasses bourbon caramel, chocolate pecan butter, pecan crumble, and CANDY BACON) , so we ordered both and shared.  I thought the doughnuts would be my favorite given all the delicious things on it, but the butterscotch pudding slayed me.  It was so simply, delectably good I couldn't help myself.  I'm not even a pudding fan, and I could probably eat this every day.

My favorite part about Grove was being able to try so many different flavors.  The Taste of Grove is really reasonably priced (I believe it was $35, with some courses meriting upcharges), and you get so much out of the meal!  I left feeling very full, but not uncomfortably stuffed, which is the perfect ending to a multi-course dinner.  I'm so glad MW suggested that we eat there!

P.S.  Just a quick shoutout, I also had a great meal at Bistro Bella Vita, as well as a visit to Founders Brewing Co., during the same trip.  Grove, Bistro Bella Vita, and Green Well Gastro Pub are all part of the same restaurant group, I've learned.  And I like them all now that I've tried them!  Definitely worth a visit in Grand Rapids.

Rose's Restaurant - Grand Rapids

On my most recent trip to Grand Rapids, our group stopped at a beautiful spot on Reeds Lake: Rose's Restaurant.  The place has a great history, dating back to 1901 when this lake in East Grand Rapids was a hub with pristine beaches and an amusement park.  The lake still draws a crowd, and Rose's is definitely a little gem in this lovely spot.

View of the lake from my chair!

We started with a house special, the Housemade Root Chips, which were made from sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and beets.  The chips came with a goat cheese fondue dip, and a red pepper aioli; the aioli was my favorite of the two.  You could tell the chips were fresh, and they had a great crunch to them!  Definitely not dumped out of a bag here.

For my lunch, I had one of the restaurant's specialities, the Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast, served with a tomato-pepper sauce and yukon gold garlic mashed potatoes.  (Note: I opted out of the asparagus, but that is usually included too.)  It was delicious!  I actually ordered the smaller portion plate; I love that they give you the option.

This is the SMALL portion!

To top it all off, the bring you a little caramel corn with your check... a nod to the days when the restaurant was a place to get beachside snacks like popcorn.  It was probably my favorite part of the meal, which is saying something, because the rest was good too!

If I lived in Grand Rapids, I would come to Rose's on sunny day to enjoy the view and the food.  It would be a nice, relaxing way to spend a meal.

Art Prize in Grand Rapids

Once again, a lucky business trip happened to be timed with Grand Rapids' annual Art Prize festival!  This year, I was able to soak up more of the artwork, reconnect with a friend, eat delicious food, and enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

On my first night in town, I joined the "Nerd Walk" supporting the local PBS station, which was kind of a kickoff event for the festival.  I marched behind the GVSU band and enjoyed the great energy!  I also saw some art exhibits in The Morton hotel building, which is being gutted to construct apartment I believe.  Saw some very modern/freaky stuff.  Also enjoyed a walk around The B.O.B.

My friend MW, who grew up in Grand Rapids, met up with me for both the walk and dinner.  We joined her son and her parents at San Chez, a fantastic tapas restaurant, for a true feast.  There was just so much deliciousness!  I couldn't take pictures fast enough to capture all the plates.  The patatas bravas were excellent (always a tapas favorite) and my dessert, the empanadas de manzanas, were like a gourmet McDonald's apple pie, in all the best ways.

The next day, after my business meetings, I enjoyed a run around the downtown area.  The river and surrounding area was perfect for a relaxing jog, and filled with things to see.  I met up with MW again at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, to see some more exhibits.  This festival has everything... I saw installations, robots, woodwork, even a display case filled with BEES.  Live bees, making art on art.  Crazy!

Those are real bees on the right.

Really cool how you look at something from one perspective... then another, and it's WOW!

For dinner, we met up with MW's parents again, this time for delicious burgers at Cottage Bar, a delightful little hole-in-the-wall with great food.  It was just so fun to eat places with true locals; MW's parents have been volunteering for the festival ever since it started five years ago, and everywhere we went they were stopped by people who knew them.  I felt very special to experience the city with them!  Not only were the burgers at Cottage Bar delicious, but they had beer-battered waffle fries.  Grand Rapids has such good beer and food, I feel like I could live there if it weren't for the harsh winters!
I really like Grand Rapids.

P.S.  Congrats to SHAUNIE, who won my Red Gold apron and cookbook giveaway!  Check your e-mail so I can get you the prizes.
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Grand Rapids: The Green Well Gastro Pub & Brewery Vivant

I was back in Grand Rapids for a quick work trip (literally fly in one day, out the next), and my local coworker and my boss indulged in a delicious dinner out.  Seriously, Grand Rapids, you entirely make up for the cold by being the most amazing place to EAT ALL THE THINGS.

My coworker chose The Green Well Gastro Pub, across the street from Brewery Vivant.  We started with their Cheese Tasting (my boss looooooves cheese) which had artisanal cheeses, fresh fruit, fruit chutneys, local honey, candied nuts, toast points.  I think the chutneys were my favorite part, and the bread was hot and locally baked.

It was soooo cold, so I desperately wanted soup. I chose the Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwich, which sounds very boring.  WRONG.  It's on delicious sourdough, topped with a fried egg, and comes with their tomato soup.  BOOM.  And I got truffle fries.  Fries are my downfall.  Too delicious.  I liked everything!

To drink, I chose a Brewery Vivant Farm Hand.  It was the perfect beer for me, as I favor less hoppy and more Belgian and French styles.  I drank the whole thing, which if you ask my brewer boyfriend is saying something.

Inside Brewery Vivant

I also tasted a couple other Brewery Vivant beers at their taproom after dinner.  We walked across the street to explore the brewery, which was placed in an old church!  Beautiful, and so perfect.  We joked that someone who got married there years ago might be upset to see their old church become a brewery, but then again they might get some free beer out of the deal.  Thank you, Grand Rapids, for always being such a lovely host!

P.S.  You guys, my hotel room had the bestest view ever.  You go, J.W.Marriott, big pimpin'.