Dining in Michigan

[plunk]

No one goes to Detroit to eat. Period.

Me and my midwestern palate only ever went to Detroit for warehouse parties or to drive over the bridge to Canadia.

As for finding food worth writing home about in the state that is shaped like a hand, you can find a few worthy spots in Grand Rapids, Traverse City or Saugatuk. Most people from the Midwest travel to Chicago if they are jonesin' for some fine dining.

Where in Saugatuck? I lived in Douglas for a bit and found the dining options pretty limited.

Also, I never miss an opportunity to get a coney dog with red pop anytime I'm in the greater Detroit area. Most any coney island will do but I'm partial to Athens or Leo's.

[plunk]

Limited, yes. But compared to Detroit, the Belvedere Inn in Saugatuck is downright cosmopolitan. Resort towns and cities in Western Michigan (namely, G-Rap) are much more tummy-friendly than Eastern Michigan and the Dirty D. The last time that I was in Detroit, I was there for the DEMF - which is a very large festival that draws in at least 500,000 people each year - the only time I actually ate at a restaurant was during my daily brunch in Greektown. One of the biggest problems with Detroit is that NOTHING is open downtown on the weekends except for nightclubs, liquor stores and/or bars. It's a dead city.

I forgot about the Belvedere Inn. It really is great. Plus, it is BYOB.

[DanielK]

There are, indeed, some good Middle Eastern restaurants in Dearborn. (I could not tell you their names, though.)

La Shish/Talal's in Dearborn is by miles and miles the best Middle Eastern food I have ever eaten. The kabobs there put what we have in the DC area to shame, and their hummus with olive oil and roasted pine nuts is in a different class than any other hummus I have ever eaten. Even their pita bread can't be compared to anything else.

If you're in the Detroit area, dinner there is definitely a destination and worth the drive.

[sunshine]

Must shout-out to some favorites in West Michigan. In Grand Rapids, the best downtown restaurant is San Chez, a Spanish tapas place that was serving tapas back when the tapas/"small plate" phenom was foreign and not so cool. Interesting cocktails and good sangria, wide selection of cold and hot tapas, paella, and noisy,vibrant atmosphere. Bistro Bella Vita isn't bad for finer dining. They have an excellent selection of (large) martinis. Also downtown, the Cottage Bar for divey bar atmosphere and food (think burgers and hot turkey on white bread with gravy and mashed potatoes). It's a local institution. In Eastown, the Gaia Cafe for big, vegetarian-friendly breakfasts, as well as Marie Catrib's, a Lebanese bakery/cafe. Further west in Holland (original in Grand Haven), Fricano's - a no-frills pizza joint where you get beers in cans and only five topping choices for your thin-crust pizza - pepperoni, house-made sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, and anchovy, in any combination. Same formula for 50 years. Also in Holland, the best, cheap, family-run Mexican food restaurant in West Michigan, Don Miguel, in a little strip mall off Lakeshore Drive (the sopes, mole, tacos, and pork dishes are particularly good). In Fennville, the best orchard with a bakery/restaurant on-site, Crane's. Delicious cider, seasonal fruit pies, apple butter, apple butter bread, apple butter ice cream, cider donut sundaes. Whenever we go there, I always get a cider, piece of apple butter bread, a sloppy joe and a fruit pie with ice cream for dessert. In Saugatuck, we love Ida Red's and the Elbow Room for breakfasts and Chequers, a British pub for Welsh rarebit and fish and chips.

I don't know if it's still there, but in GR, Tuscan Express (terrible name) had the best Italian (not Italian-American) food. Like many restaurants, it was located in suburban Grand Rapids in a strip mall off 28th Street.

While it may be a culinary wasteland for upscale, innovative or cutting edge dining, West Michigan is all about the beloved local community institutions. They don't get a whole lot of publicity but they remain tried and true.

[demandalicious]

San Chez...Cottage Bar...Gaia Cafe

There are very few things that I miss about Bland Rapids, but I find myself dreaming about Gaia Cafe brunching at least once a month. I love everything about that place. We need something like that in DC!

While we are on the subject of West Michigan, don't forget about Florentine's in Kentwood for pizza and the Corner Bar in Rockford for great bar food and brewhaha. Flo's is much better if you go early to avoid the obnoxious bar crowd, or do carryout.

Is Gibson's still around? What about Cava House?

[sunshine]

There are very few things that I miss about Bland Rapids, but I find myself dreaming about Gaia Cafe brunching at least once a month. I love everything about that place. We need something like that in DC!

While we are on the subject of West Michigan, don't forget about Florentine's in Kentwood for pizza and the Corner Bar in Rockford for great bar food and brewhaha. Flo's is much better if you go early to avoid the obnoxious bar crowd, or do carryout.

Is Gibson's still around? What about Cava House?

Gibson's and the Grapevine closed. Kava House is still going strong.

[hillvalley]

Traverse City and Interlochen have a nice variety of restaurants that focus on local purveyors and good food. I had low hopes for eating while I was there but was happily surprised with the choices.

In Traverse City highlights included....

Some of the best fish tacos I've had at A Cook's House. The fish was caught locally the day before, expertly fried topped with a chipotle aioli and nonmayo slaw. It came with one of the most perfectly dressed salads I've ever had. For dessert I had the local cheese board-a great idea I haven't seen around here. There is a surprisingly wide aray of good cheese in Michigan.

Others in Traverse City not to be missed include Trattoria Stella, located in the basement of a former state hospital. I had a few appetizers with the lamb crudo, which was more like a lamb tartar, and ricotta stuffed sauteed squash blossoms as the winners. The heirloom tomato salad was the only miss but I think it was because their tomato season is just getting started. Poppycocks was a last minute choice after a long day so all I remember is one app which was their riff on a pizza-roast beef and havarti on pita. Damn good.

In Interlochen, Creative Expressions (owned by former NY'ers and approved by a current one) serves kick ass sandwiches and cinamon rolls but Giovanni's should be avoided at all costs. The Hofbrau, on the other hand, has mastered the art of bar food and has the best list of hillvalley approved, sweet, girlie drinks ever. Oh, how I miss the agony of having to choose which specialty to imbibe in after a 12 hour day. Each one is a color you wouldn't find in nature (The Blue Whale and Blue Colada were favorites) and comes with a toy including a squeaky whale and huge plastic blue seahorses. The nachos and pizza are better than they should be considering that you are in the middle of nowhere. If you are in the mood for real food, the grilled local white fish was one of the best versions I had while up there. Finally, up the road from The Hofbrau there is the beloved Bud's Ice Cream and Coffee (they're so good they don't need a website). Great coffee which you can pick up early in the morning or late at night at the drive through window, nice salads and sandwiches, and damn good ice cream. And of course Bud's baked good of the day. I only splurged on day old donuts ($2.50 for a dozen!!!!) and they were worth every calorie. Considering you can't get reliable cell service in the area, the quality of food was a happy surprise.

Bud's, I miss you. Hof, I will return.

[Joe H]

Must shout-out to some favorites in West Michigan. In Grand Rapids, the best downtown restaurant is San Chez, a Spanish tapas place that was serving tapas back when the tapas/"small plate" phenom was foreign and not so cool. Interesting cocktails and good sangria, wide selection of cold and hot tapas, paella, and noisy,vibrant atmosphere. Bistro Bella Vita isn't bad for finer dining. They have an excellent selection of (large) martinis. Also downtown, the Cottage Bar for divey bar atmosphere and food (think burgers and hot turkey on white bread with gravy and mashed potatoes). It's a local institution. In Eastown, the Gaia Cafe for big, vegetarian-friendly breakfasts, as well as Marie Catrib's, a Lebanese bakery/cafe. Further west in Holland (original in Grand Haven), Fricano's - a no-frills pizza joint where you get beers in cans and only five topping choices for your thin-crust pizza - pepperoni, house-made sausage, green peppers, mushrooms, and anchovy, in any combination. Same formula for 50 years. Also in Holland, the best, cheap, family-run Mexican food restaurant in West Michigan, Don Miguel, in a little strip mall off Lakeshore Drive (the sopes, mole, tacos, and pork dishes are particularly good). In Fennville, the best orchard with a bakery/restaurant on-site, Crane's. Delicious cider, seasonal fruit pies, apple butter, apple butter bread, apple butter ice cream, cider donut sundaes. Whenever we go there, I always get a cider, piece of apple butter bread, a sloppy joe and a fruit pie with ice cream for dessert. In Saugatuck, we love Ida Red's and the Elbow Room for breakfasts and Chequers, a British pub for Welsh rarebit and fish and chips.

I don't know if it's still there, but in GR, Tuscan Express (terrible name) had the best Italian (not Italian-American) food. Like many restaurants, it was located in suburban Grand Rapids in a strip mall off 28th Street.

While it may be a culinary wasteland for upscale, innovative or cutting edge dining, West Michigan is all about the beloved local community institutions. They don't get a whole lot of publicity but they remain tried and true.

Sunshine, a bit after your post (well, three years!) but I'll have dinner tomorrow night at San Chez. You're not alone in believing it is the best in downtown Grand Rapids and it sounds perfect for a single man on a business trip on a saturday night who wants to sit at the bar-me. What puts San Chez over the top in my interest is its kitchen "stadium" food bar which sounds awfully similar to Estadio which I absolutely love. Anyway, tomorrow night I'll be doing my best to singlehandedly wade my way through their menu.

[dcs]

Touring 109 Bars in Michigan's Upper Peninsula by Joe Rhodes on nytimes.com

[pcollins]

Touring 109 Bars in Michigan's Upper Peninsula by Joe Rhodes on nytimes.com

I'm trying to think of how many of the 109 could be knocked out in Marquette and Ishpeming alone...