Checked out for the Weekend

19 09 2008

J and I are heading to Traverse City today and Grand Rapids tomorrow just to hang out and see what we can find.  The plan is to eat lunch at Cook’s House when we get to Traverse City.  For dinner, we’re looking at Boone’s for dinner. 

Tonight, we’re heading back to Grand Rapids where we’ve got a Red Roof Inn booked.  Red Roof’s don’t offer free Wi-Fi with rooms, so there probably won’t be any blog updates until at least tomorrow night or Sunday.  Saturday’s plans are to check out Grand Rapids.  I don’t have much as far as restaruants go in GR.  I’ve heard good things about Real Food Cafe and Wealthy St. Bakery for lunch.  We’ll see what we can find.  Dinner?  Not sure.  Maybe find something in GR..maybe drive back to Portland and try Duke’s Cajun Bar & Grill.  Not sure.  We’ll see.  If you have any suggestions, leave them here.  We may be able to find Wi-Fi at a McDonald’s or something so I can at least check e-mail and the blog.


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Categories : Grand Rapids, Michigan, Traverse City

….and Grand Rapids Recs. as Well

18 09 2008

Looks like I’m gonna need some restaurant recommendations for Grand Rapids as well.  We couldn’t find a hotel for under $100 in Traverse City, so instead of spending two days in the Cherry Capitol, we’ll just spend one then head back and spend Saturday in Grand Rapids.  Any good places for lunch and dinner….or any places between Grand Rapids and Lansing that we have to hit for dinner?

Any shops or markets we should check out in Grand Rapids as well…or just in anything in general you would suggest to first time visitors?


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Categories : Grand Rapids, Michigan

Orignal Meijer Superstore to be Replaced…

4 07 2008

…with the first new Meijer in Grand Rapids city limits in over a decade.

The Grand Rapids Press reports Friday that the store is scheduled to be replaced. Grand Rapids-based Meijer plans to keep the supercenter open while it builds a new store next to the existing site, with the new store opening in 2010.

The building began as a 17,000-square-foot grocery store in 1958. It became the retail chain’s first supercenter in 1962, adding 75,000 square feet to house non-grocery items.

That’ll be a piece of history being torn down.


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Categories : Food News, Grand Rapids, Grocery

Fruitport High School Second in National Competition

28 04 2008

Congratulations to Fruitport High School‘s Culinary Arts program for finishing second in the National ProStart Invitational this past weekend in San Diego,

The Culinary Arts Team represented Fruitport Community Schools very well with a second place showing at the Pro-Start National Invitation in San Diego this past weekend.  They were competeing against the thirty eight best teams in the nation and clearly demonstrated that their skill and technique is remarkable. 

The ProStart Invitational is divided into two competitions.  There’s a culinary competition and a management competition.  In the culinary competition, teams prepare a three course meal in sixty minutes using just two butane burners.  Judging is also done of knife skills, appearance, and cleanliness of food preperation.  The Fruitport team was beat by just a fraction of a point.

“It’s just crazy — we’re second in the nation,” said team member and FHS junior Karly Krentz. “It’s hard to put it into words because it’s so cool. We just worked so well together.”

For their accomplishments, each of the five team members received full-ride scholarships to the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt. They also received cash prizes from Coca-Cola and the National Restaurant Association.

The team is coached by Amway Grand Plaza Executive Pastry Chef Scott Hunter, 1913 Room Chef de Cuisine Christian Madsen, and FHS teacher Michael Wheeler.

“The kids did probably the best we could have ever, ever asked for,” said FHS teacher and coach Michal Wheeler. “Everybody did everything they needed to do at 110 percent, and they received tons of compliments from the judges. Most importantly, the kids feel really great about what they did.

“Of course, you go for first (place), so there was a little disappointment,” Wheeler added. “But second in the nation — wow! It’s just amazing.”

That’s a great accomplishment anyway you look at it.

 


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Categories : Food News, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Can you survive on $1 a day?

22 04 2008

That’s what one woman in Grand Rapids is trying to do.

If a field of dandelions sprouts in your yard over the next few weeks, you might want to call Maria Gajewski. She has scaled back her food budget this month — to $30.

She will be foraging for edible plants, working on the family farm for payment in eggs and eating lots of brown rice and lentils, all to call attention to the hardship of eating nutritiously on a limited budget.

The remainder of the approximately $250 she usually spends on food and beverage for 30 days will go to her favorite nonprofit: Blandford Nature Center & Mixed Greens in Grand Rapids.

Is it possible to only spend $1 a day and forage for food?  For me, no freakin way, but for Maria, a vegetarian, that’s the challenge.  She started on April 9 and will go 30 days without spending more than $30.  According to her blog, Rice, Beans and Mixed Greens it hasn’t been easy.

was pretty ugly for a while.I REALLY wanted to quit this whole project, but I’m sticking in there. Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement. Without all of you, I don’t think I’d make it.

This whole experiment is for charity.  Maria is donating the other $220 she would normaly spend on food to Blandford Nature Center and Mixed Greens.  Along the way, she’s hoping to get others to eat for just $1 a day and donate the rest of the money they would normally spend on that day to the same cause.

You can follow Maria’s progress on her blog Rice, Beans, & Mixed Greens.  The challenge ends May 10.


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Categories : Food News, Grand Rapids, Lansing

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