Mike McAlpine's Blog-Pond
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Windy City Grill
5751 Byron Center Ave SW Wyoming, MI 49519
616-261-2489
Awesome! I went there with some co-workers (Andrew Wolgamott, Tal Gonyea and Chris House). It was torn between the gyro sandwich and Italian Beef but I finally settled on the gyro. I think the combo (drink and fries) was $7.99 They do it right. Shaving the meat off the rotisserie. Served on a warm pita with onions, tomatoes and tzatziki. This baby was packed full of meat. The guys I was with ordered the windy city club (chicken club grinder), steak grinder, and the turkey club on marble rye. Everyone loved it. The sub sandwiches are huge. We had the humus appetizer. 1/2 pound version was enough for 4 people to share. The only thing I would have changed would be use a bakery-style pita, more like home-made naan, than pita bread typical of what you'd find at the grocery store. The staff was great. The girl behind the counter came out to check on us a couple times. That's not typical of places where you order at the counter. The owner even came over to our table. Henry "the eighth" as he calls himself was cool. You get the feeling that they are really happy to serve you. We jumped at the baklava for dessert. It was was a great finish to an awesome meal. I've looked everywhere in Grand Rapids for a great traditional gyro sandwich and I think I've finally found one. I will be back!
5751 Byron Center Ave SW Wyoming, MI 49519
616-261-2489
Awesome! I went there with some co-workers (Andrew Wolgamott, Tal Gonyea and Chris House). It was torn between the gyro sandwich and Italian Beef but I finally settled on the gyro. I think the combo (drink and fries) was $7.99 They do it right. Shaving the meat off the rotisserie. Served on a warm pita with onions, tomatoes and tzatziki. This baby was packed full of meat. The guys I was with ordered the windy city club (chicken club grinder), steak grinder, and the turkey club on marble rye. Everyone loved it. The sub sandwiches are huge. We had the humus appetizer. 1/2 pound version was enough for 4 people to share. The only thing I would have changed would be use a bakery-style pita, more like home-made naan, than pita bread typical of what you'd find at the grocery store. The staff was great. The girl behind the counter came out to check on us a couple times. That's not typical of places where you order at the counter. The owner even came over to our table. Henry "the eighth" as he calls himself was cool. You get the feeling that they are really happy to serve you. We jumped at the baklava for dessert. It was was a great finish to an awesome meal. I've looked everywhere in Grand Rapids for a great traditional gyro sandwich and I think I've finally found one. I will be back!
Food: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Service: 10
Labels: gyros
Crankers Coney Island
454 68th St SW Grand Rapids, MI 49548
(616) 827-1919Get directions
Went there with my hot dog eating buddy Andrew "The Pancake Man" Wolgamott. From what I understand there are a few other Crankers around MI. It's a typical Coney Island, highlighting Greek food but serves a little of everything. I went the tradition Detroit Style Coney route, 2 on 1, with the usual Mustard, Onion, Coney Sauce. I have to say they were pretty good. My only complaint is that one side of the bun on both dogs was hard like it had been steamed and is now starting to dry out. The dog itself was almost too hot to eat but that's far better than cold. I was happy to see they went with a natural casing vienna hot dog instead of selling out to a frankfurter. I regret not asking what brand hot dog they buy. Service was fast and friendly. They have a couple TVs for your viewing pleasure. I'd say it's the best Coney on GRs South Side. I'll go back to Crankers but my favorite coney in West Michigan is still The Grand Coney on Michigan Street in GR.
Food: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Service: 8
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Bosna Express - Mediterranean Cuisine
I had almost given up on the thought of finding a mouth-watering Gyro in Grand Rapids. That is until I stumbled on the Bosna Express on 28th st. While slightly different than your traditional Gyro Sandwich, it blows the tzatziki off of places like Sammy's Gyros / Pita House. Great meat, shaved off the rotisserie, tomatoes, onion, and lettuce are folded in an interesting Pita-style bread that was so fresh it had to be homemade. The bread resembled a combination of pita with an english muffin texture, it was wonderful. The tzatziki (cucumber sauce) was likely homemade as well since it was different than your traditional but still very tasty. In short it was a big sandwich, that tastes great, for $6. I convinced this is the best traditional Gyro sandwich in GR. If you like this, you should also try the non-traditional Gyro at the Mediterranean Grill on East 28th st - always a favorite!
I had almost given up on the thought of finding a mouth-watering Gyro in Grand Rapids. That is until I stumbled on the Bosna Express on 28th st. While slightly different than your traditional Gyro Sandwich, it blows the tzatziki off of places like Sammy's Gyros / Pita House. Great meat, shaved off the rotisserie, tomatoes, onion, and lettuce are folded in an interesting Pita-style bread that was so fresh it had to be homemade. The bread resembled a combination of pita with an english muffin texture, it was wonderful. The tzatziki (cucumber sauce) was likely homemade as well since it was different than your traditional but still very tasty. In short it was a big sandwich, that tastes great, for $6. I convinced this is the best traditional Gyro sandwich in GR. If you like this, you should also try the non-traditional Gyro at the Mediterranean Grill on East 28th st - always a favorite!
I went back a month later and it was even better the second time. This is a wonderful gyro sandwich. Put it on your list.
Food: 9 (I've only had the Gyro. I'd love to try more.)
Atmosphere: 7 (Nothing fancy but very clean.)
Service: 9 (friendly, and accomodating)
128 28th St SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49548
(616) 249-9395
Get directions
Food: 9 (I've only had the Gyro. I'd love to try more.)
Atmosphere: 7 (Nothing fancy but very clean.)
Service: 9 (friendly, and accomodating)
128 28th St SW
Grand Rapids, MI 49548
(616) 249-9395
Get directions
Labels: Bosna Express - Mediterranean Cuisine
Monday, March 27, 2006
Casey's Bar & Grill
136 N. Whittaker Street New Buffalo, MI 49117
This place is in downtown New Buffalo, MI (right near the Indiana border). While it's not in Grand Rapids, it's a great place to stop for lunch on your way to or from Chicago. I had such a good experience I feel obligated to tell you about it. While still casual dining, it's a little more fancy than your average Bar (white table-cloths). There menu is very simple serving many traditional items you'd find in other bars. However, they make them exceptionally well. Lot's of flavor, great ingredients and many homemade sauces. Javier, in the kitchen, even makes his own hot sauce (get it with the wings, you can even buy a bottle to take home). Their prices are around $7-$8 for a lunch entree and worth every penny. If you're lucky enough to have Sam (girl with short red hair) wait on you, then feel free to strike up a conversation. Ask her how the painting went on her new apartment and let me know.
Food: 9 (I'd need to try more dishes to go any higher)
Atmosphere: 9
Service: 10 (Sam is the best - Congrats on my first Perfect 10 Service rating)
Little Mexico
401 Stocking Ave NW Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Fun Atmosphere. Great Chips & Salsa. The food was rather blah - not much flavor. I had "El Favorito." Which, based on the title, you'd think is a sure bet. The chicken enchilada was served in a verde sauce and was pretty good. However, the soft taco left a bit to be desired. When I picked it up, a bunch of water ran out of each side. I'm guessing the chicken is sitting in water in the kitchen and wasn't strained properly while making my food. This lunch special had a lot of food for the price but given the atmosphere, I expected better quality. I doubt I'll be back.
Bear with me as I'm working out the kinks on a new rating system:
Food: 6 (would be lower if not for the chips & salsa)
Atmosphere: 8 (could have been higher if they didn't have the tacky sign in the lobby with pictures of their food.)
Service: 6 (Our server was MIA)
Monday, March 06, 2006
Ritz Koney Island - Downtown Grand Rapids (Ionia St)
Wide selection of hot dog varieties. I tried the Chicago Koney and Detroit Koney. What's with the goofy spelling anyway? Someone tell these people that there is nothing trendy about coneys. We stumbled on $1 dog Monday so for the price this place can't be beat (normally $2.25). However, price aside I'll give it a 6 outta 10 all around. Probably would be lower but the friendly wait staff (especially Sara) made for an extremely pleasant atmosphere. The dog itself was of poor quality. Deffinitely not Koegel vienna caliber. The Detroit Style coney sauce had some flaws, it was obvious by it's dark brown appearance. Check here for a better recipe. http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5824 As for the Chicago style. First to call it a Koney is a mistake in itself. Sure they're going for naming consistency in their menu but no one in Chicago even knows what a coney is so let's not pretend. Most of the ingredients were correct. However, they forgot the mustard and relish. Then substituted sliced jalapenos for sport peppers. I'd eat here again. Especially late night after the bars close. However, if I'm looking for a true coney, I'll be over at The Grand Coney on Michigan St.
Friday, March 03, 2006
In this blog I try to focus on GR eateries. However, I recieved a geat email today from my brother in NY and wanted to share it with my readers. Besides, us chow-hounds like to travel and you never know when you'll find yourself in NYC hankerin' for a deli.
#1 Carnegie Deli. The king of the New York deli scene. Make this your first stop. You will have enough Pastrami left from one sandwich to feed the HP office back in GR. I once asked the owner (he's friends with my wife's grandparents) how they cure the meat with such a great flavor and he said that if he ever told me he would have to kill me and my wife's grandparents. Good midtown location just north of Times Square.
#2 Second Ave Deli (Kosher). In my opinion the only edible Kosher food is deli and Second Ave is the only place to eat it. If your fancy is deli meat topped off with more deli meat, but no cheese, Second Ave is the place. Also don't forget to wash it down with a can of Cel-Ray (celery flavored soda).
#3 Katz's Deli. A remnant from the the Pastrami glory years of the Lower East side and of Sleepless in Seattle fame. The neighborhood is a little rough as is the staff. My father tried to order a corned beef sandwich with ketchup here once and the man behind the counter made him go to the end of the line so he could rethink the whole ketchup request.
#4 Sarge's Deli. The most "local" deli out of the four. Hidden away in the mostly residential neighborhood of Murry Hill, its a little out of the way, but definitely worth the trip. No frills or gimmicks just classic NY deli fare.
- "Fat" Matt McAlpine
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Honey Baked Ham - take out sandwiches.
Great quality meats. Much better than you'll find at the "fast-food" sandwich shops (subway, blimpies). However, there's not a lot of customizing you can do to their sandwiches like the other shops. The Classic Ham sandwich was fantiastic. The turkey bacon sandwich was good but the bacon was served cold - not good. Nick rated the Classic Turkey as "solid." Emily took some of the meat off her roast beef sandwich, whatever that means. Don't worry, I stuck her extra on mine:) The biggest drawback of the place is there are no tables to eat there. I love the samples you get while you wait. I'll give it a sandwich rating of 4 outta 5.
Monday, January 30, 2006
The Grand Coney
Living in West Michigan, I’ve struggled to find a good Coney Dog. After my visit to The Grand Coney 809 Michigan St NE Grand Rapids, I need not search anymore. This place has it all. The coney itself was perfect. Koegel Viennas, grilled on a flat grill, served ala carte with Detroit Style chili, chopped white onions, and mustard out of a reusable yellow rubber squeazy bottles that has about 20 years of grime built up on the outside from the not-so-sanitary patrons that frequent the place. Don’t get me wrong, this place wasn’t dirty to point where you wouldn’t want to eat there. But just enough to know that it gets a lot of traffic due to the quality of their food. As many of my readers know, I have a serious obsession with germs and wouldn’t put the McAlpine stamp of approval on a place that isn’t safe to dine. The atmosphere is ideal for coney consumption. The huge counter (bar seating) in the middle must seat at least 20; with plenty of other options of booths or tables depending on you preference. In true Coney Island fashion there was just enough cigarette smoke in the air where it set the mood but didn’t overwhelm the scent of French Fries from the kitchen. For those who prefer variety, they also offer a Flint Style (meaty chili), a coney with shredded cheese and jalapeños, and a few others. The jalapeños was a great addition I never before considered but now highly recommend. As you look out the window you’ll notice a boarded up Hot ‘n Now restaurant across the street. Just imagine, how back in the day, this section of the city must have been thriving with two exquisite eateries right next to each other. The GR dining scene gained some serious points with this diamond in the rough. I can’t wait to go back!!!
