michigan pt 1: wineries, breweries and bang for your buck.

It was time for some rest and relaxation. Taking advantage of a 4 day weekend, the wifey and I headed up to Michigan to visit our good friends Carrie and Nate in Grand Rapids. We also wanted to do a quick stop in Saugatuck, which Budget Travel magazine had deemed one of America’s coolest small towns.

The long weekend also afforded me to take one last trip with Bubba, our trusted van. Unfortunately, he wanted to stay home. With a turn of the key and not even the slightest hint of turning over, we knew we needed a backup plan. Jayne Honda (a play on Jane Fonda), Bridget’s car, to the rescue! We loaded up the car and were on our way.

I was pretty excited to be taking a trip up the western coast of Michigan. I’ve heard plenty of good things about the place.

Grand Rapids is about 3.5 hours away from Chicago, which is much longer than the drive to Michigan City, which Bridget first said they lived. “Why didn’t they just stay in Chicago, “I remember asking Bridget when she first told me.

It was about 10am. The plan was to stick to the coast. That is, of course, after we passed Gary, IN. There is a fine line between random adventure and just asking for it; running into a bear while hiking a trail in Yellowstone is different than wandering around on the South/West side of Chicago. After we passed Gary on I-90, we exited off on 20 and then veered left on the fork to 12 (Dunes Highway).  From Google Maps, it looked like the closest road to the shore but let me tell you, we did not see one hint of coastline all of the way up to South Haven. (My friends tell me it’s much better scenery up north. I hope so). We soon traded the industrial smoke stacks for forest; the light layer of snow that had fallen the previous night looked serene lying on the tree branches.

It didn’t take us long to drive into Michigan City proper, passing the Simpsons-esque nuclear power plant and what seemed like the tallest building there, Blue Chip Casino.

The next town north was New Buffalo. The only recommendation we had were burgers at Redamak’s and the ambience at The Stray Dog Bar & Grill. I checked the time on my phone. “Um, why is it an hour later….d’oh!” Yes folks, Michigan is on Eastern Standard Time. It was now noon instead of 11am. Factoring in the lost hour, we decided to cut east to I-196 and head down to our first stop: wineries.

Round Barn Winery and Tabor Hill Winery were the only two on our list. My team member at work raved about the bison tacos at Tabor Hill so our deprived stomachs dictated that to be our first stop. Unfortunately, we saw a sign that read Round Barn Winery Exit 6 and decided to exit since Tabor Hill wasn’t until Exit 12. When we pulled up the buildings didn’t look like the massive white round barn I saw on the website. Regardless, we stepped into the winery. We didn’t have time for wine tasting so I asked one of the workers which ones were the sweetest; my rudimentary wine palette only allows for wines that taste like grape juice. I picked up one called Edel Roux and a bottle of vodka made from grapes, as requested by my coworker. We then made our way to the brewery which I was more excited for. I knew they had a cocoa stout which they were known for but I also picked up an darker amber ale (think Sam Adams) and one just for its name called Bob’s Your Uncle (According to Wikipedia: Bob's your uncle is an expression commonly used mainly in Britain and Commonwealth nations. Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions to mean, "And there you have it", or "You're all set". For example, "To make a ham sandwich, just put a piece of ham between two slices of buttered bread, and Bob's your uncle".).

We were famished at this point. We hopped back onto the highway until we got off on Sawyer Rd. We were now on some country backroad and the half plowed snow made me wish we were driving Bubba. The single lane roads seemed to never end; either we were just super hungry or Tabor Hill didn’t exist. Finally, we made a right turn and up a small hill was the winery. We snapped some shots and then headed in for lunch.

Tabor Hill was really nice. It reminded me of a French Chateau mixed with a ski lodge, with the stonework on the outside and the large cedar beams on the inside. The wine tasting was situated in the front and the dining area towards the rear. Once we sat down, we could see the whole vineyard and sprawling countryside through the floor to ceiling windows.

Now, prices. The place is quite expensive for our tastes ($25-$35 per entrée). I couldn’t fathom paying that for lunch so luckily they had a Chorizo Guacamole Burger and Ahi Tuna Slider with Chili Wasabi Sauce for $14 a piece which Bridget and I ordered respectively. We also each opted for the Potato and Ham soup (with bacon on top) to quell our hunger. I enjoyed the soup and my dish mightily. Bridget wasn’t feeling her burger all too much; it reminded me of the extra lean elk burger I ate whilst in Yellowstone. All in all, it was what we foodies like to call a perfect example of destination dining in the heart of Michigan wine country.

Chorizo Guacamole Burger

Grilled Ahi Tuba Sliders w/ Chili Wasabi Sauce

I picked up a bottle of Demi-sec sweet white wine (I also learned a ‘Dry’ wine has no sugar) and then we were on the road again. It was now about 3:30pm and Grand Rapids was still an hour and half away.

Sally, our GPS, told us to take the country roads back up to 196 and as we did, lo and behold, we passed the real Round Barn Winery. The place we stopped at must have been an outpost.

About an hour later, we made it to Grand Rapids proper, safe and sound. I was surprised to see it was an actual city, with a downtown and tall buildings. For some reason, my simple mind expected otherwise. We exited off on Plainfield and passed a Taco Boy and multiple Asian buffets, including one that served sushi for $4.99 lunch and dinner. We vowed to come back just for that. We got to their subdivision and had a little trouble finding Carrie and Nate’s place, as it was perched on top of a hill, but fortunately we found it before dark.

Once we got in Carrie and Nate gave us the tour. It was massive. Coupled with it being away from the other homes, it was a perfect getaway literally and figuratively. I thought, “This is exactly what I needed.”

We ended up heading down to Heritage Hill/Eastown. Nate explained, as we passed these massive Evanston-eque houses, that the families of the furniture makers (Eames, Herman Miller, etc) used to live in those homes. I quipped, “These have to be million dollar homes, right?” Nate smirked and said, “These are about $250k-$300k.” Whaaaaaaaat??? I reflected on how much my monthly mortgage payment was and had a slight urge to drop everything and come live there.

We made it to Vivant Brewing which is the second brewery I’ve been to that has converted a church into a fine dining/drinking establishment (the first one being Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, PA). There was a bit of a wait so we headed across the street to the Green Well Gastro Pub to grab a beer at the bar. That place was packed too. We eventually ordered and I indulged in a Black Cherry Porter which tasted like a Dr. Pepper espresso. The thing with porters and stouts are, since they are so heavy, they sometimes serve as meal replacements. Our buzzer started blinking and we headed back to Vivant. We were promptly seated and I partook in the 4 beer flight. Bridget and I decided to order the Duck Confit Nachos and the Garlic Pomme Frites (fancy way of saying French Fries). I’m not sure if I was buzzed but we devoured our dishes. The rest of the night we sipped on our beers and talked about our latest and greatest bucket list of travel destinations. I love talking to Carrie and Nate about traveling because like us they are huge travelers. Carrie studied in India back in college. Nate slept in the same school bus in Alaska where Chris McCandless died in as recounted in the book/film ‘Into the Wild’. We also tried to devise our way into Cuba before the floodgates of tourists are eventually let in. Also, did you know BFE stood for Bumble F*ck, Egypt? Why Egypt? Oh, what you learn in the country!

 

Duck Confit Nachos

It had already been a long day so we decided to just head home after dinner, crack open some beers and have a fun board game night in.

Before we went to bed, we stared out of the large glass windows in Carrie and Nate’s three season room and couldn’t help but get caught up in all of the stars that were so luminescent in the dark sky. I thought, “This is what life should be about. Just simple and peaceful.”

The next day we woke up around 9am. We scurried upstairs to the first floor from the basement bedroom we were staying in. The morning sun was filtering in through all of the windows. Carrie got up a short while later and informed us that Nate wasn’t feeling too well; he threw up in the middle of the night and Nate rarely pukes. That was strange, I thought, because Nate was DD and didn’t have much to drink. Carrie thought it may have been food poisoning.

The trooper that he is, Nate decided to get up anyway to join our morning festivities. The plan was to hit up this breakfast spot called ‘The Electric Cheetah’ and then head over to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

The Electric Cheetah, although adult entertainment sounding, is a restaurant in Eastown, which is the hipster neighborhood in Grand Rapids. You could tell by the pastel painted houses almost in every color that we were nearing our destination. (I asked Nate how places around there were going for and he replied 100k – 200k. FML.)  Once we got to the restaurant, I wasn’t sure what to make of the place. The graphic of a cheetah in a bowtie and top hat was a nice touch but the place wasn’t necessarily hipster; eclectic, if anything. It had the jungle motif down with a cheetah mural painted on one wall and a 3 foot bronze cheetah up on a ledge. What didn’t fit the motif was the Zen paper lantern lighting. Nonetheless, we were here for the food and the entertaining names to their entrees (not to mention their offering of 26 different types of root beer, both locally produced or from other states). I settled for the Beastmaster which were breakfast potatoes topped with ground sausage, spicy ketchup and fried egg to boot. I also ordered a plate of fries with garlic aioli and char chili aioli. Bridget ordered the Huevos Rancheros when she really meant to say Breakfast Burrito; therefore, she really wasn’t feeling her meal. Carrie ordered peanut butter and banana pancakes and Nate played it safe with a salad to not upset his stomach more.  All in all, the meal was pretty good; not outstanding, but good fuel for the day.

The Electric Cheetah

Huevos Rancheros

Peanut Butter and Banana Pancakes

The Beastmaster

After breakfast, we headed to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park (Meijer as in the person who started up the Meijer Store chain). Nate, who used to work there throughout college, explained that Meijer donated the park, his entire sculpture collection and ungodly amounts of dinero to construct what the author of ‘1000 Places to See Before You Die’ deemed one of the top 30 museums to see in the world.

Now I’m not one to get excited over horticulture; what I was excited about was seeing Leonardo di Vinci’s sketches of a horse materialize into a two story behemoth. Regardless, we did our due diligence and checked out the whole park. Here are the highlights.

 

"Grand Rapids Arch"

"Mad Mother"

The cold had finally done us in and we were ready to get back to warmer surroundings. Before we headed home we decided to give Meijer some patronage and headed to his store. Now, before heading out to Michigan, I convinced myself that all I needed was my fleece and my trustworthy Patagonia puffy vest to keep me warm. I envisioned shooting guns and relaxing by a fire pit. After all, this was the country and I am man (beating chest like a caveman). Well, that chauvinism didn’t last too long. Long underwear: check. Knee high thermal socks: check. Swallowing my pride: check. I picked up some more six packs (Founders Brewing Breakfast Stout and Dirty Bastard) and some snacks to eat.

We got back to the house around 3:30pm and treated ourselves with hot pepper cheese and crackers and some egg nog. After a couple of games of Monopoly Deal and chitchatting about life, we all ended up passing out.

When we awoke, it was pitch black in the house. How long were we asleep? It was now 7pm. I changed out of my vagabond winter getup and into more presentable attire. It was a must we have a couple of cold brews at Founders and then grab some tapas at San Chez A Bistro Cafe. Nate was still not feeling well so we left him to recuperate. Once we got into the car and we’d been driving for a little bit, I realized that the girls sitting in front of me had no idea where the place was. I pulled out my handy Garminfone and looked up the directions. I gave the phone to Bridget so she could play navigator. The conversation went something like this:

“So you’re going to stay left on the fork to get on 131 South,” said Bridget.

“Here (pointing to the left)?” asked Carrie.

“Yes, stay in this lane.”

“I don’t go right?”

“No. Stay in this lane.”

Not too long after, we found ourselves in the right lane missing our turn. After two more rounds of exiting and getting back on the highway, I was saying to myself, “Nate, I wish you were here.” Knowing I was outnumbered, I shut my mouth, closed my eyes and prayed we’d get there sometime today.

We eventually made it. There was a $5 cover charge because an Afro Drum band was playing. Once we paid and got in the place was expansive. It looked like a renovated hangar. The crowd was full but not uncomfortable and we scrambled to find some seats. It was a diverse crowd (well, for Grand Rapids); you had your college kids, older beer connoisseurs, tourists, rastas and hipsters. We resorted to a table far from the stage, next to some shady hobo looking dudes (which didn’t surprise me since the train/bus station was across the street). One guy was spewing what I felt was a different language. After a while, I got his gist; he was openly and loudly cat calling Bridget and Carrie. To avoid the harassment, I told the two girls to go grab some drinks and I’d watch the table. “You must be some sort of pimp, huh? Yeah, you the pimp, “he lauded. I gave him an uneasy smile. Soon, they got up (thankfully) and left. If I were a hobo, I would pick a place cheaper than Founders I thought. Regardless, the girls came back shortly after. The girls settled in with a Lemon Shandy and I got a four beer sampler, none better than the Frangelic Porter, which was a porter mixed with the hazelnut liquor Frangelico. It could have been possibly the best beer I’ve tasted yet. 

We found it!

Backwoods Bastard, Devil Dancer, Porter, Frangelic Porter

Frangelic Porter

We talked about life and growing up; Bridget and I recanted stories about the engagement and Carrie explained how her and Nate ended back in Grand Rapids. The best way I can describe Carrie is that she’s spaz-tastic. She’s a ducks-in-a-row-everything-has-to-be-perfect type of gal. Nate, on the other hand, is the utter opposite. He was a child molded in the counter culture Steve Jobs hacker revolution (I’m actually not kidding; he, more or less, tries to hack into companies network infrastructures to determine weakness in their security for a living). He also doesn’t own a suit. Carrie is the sociable one. Nate seems to be more reserved. Looking at the big picture though, balance is completely underrated and with that in mind, I think they’re perfect for each other.

Soon the band was filling the room with Afro beats. A group of patrons nestled next to us and indulged in their food. It was hard not to look over. Soon we were all hungry.

“Hey, you know what we should do? You know that movie 30 minutes or Less, the one about the pizza delivery guy who has a bomb strapped to him? Well that was filmed here. We should go get pizza from the shop they showed in the movie, bring it back home, and watch it!” Carrie beamed. Funny how a little bit of beer transports you from fine dining to late night eats. We all agreed. We hopped out of there and were back on the road (sober, of course, hi Mom). Bridget and I hopped on our smartphones and started looking up pizza places. All we knew was this place started with a V. “There’s a place called Vitale’s….” “Yes, that’s it!” Carrie interrupted. We get to Vitale’s and there are three buildings all with the Vitale’s moniker. Vitale’s Ristorante, Vitale’s Sports bar & Grill, and Vitale’s Pizza. Well there you have it. We hopped in and ordered a pizza. “20 minutes,” the clerk remarked. “Let’s keep drinking!” Carrie exclaimed.  Soon we found ourselves at Vitale’s Sports Bar & Grill with a $6 pitcher of Coors Light and fried appetizer sampler in front of us. We drank half our beers, munched on some jalapeno poppers and then realized our 20 minutes was up. We picked up our pizza and headed home. Once we got back, Nate bore witness to three stumbling bumbling delinquents. We propped open the boxes and indulged in all of the greasy goodness of fast food. Carrie put the movie on and we sat back to enjoy. Three minutes into the movie a pizza sign reading ‘Vito’s’ flashes across the screen. We all look at Carrie. It was the totally wrong pizza place we went to. Typical Carrie. Nonetheless we kept munching until the movie ended and we all passed out due to food coma.