Category / Eats

by pjahnz

Wolfgang’s Restaurant – didn’t know what I was missing!

A friend and I headed out to lunch today and he suggested Wolfgang’s Restaurant in East Grand Rapids. I’ve lived in the Grand Rapids area for over 10 years now and I’d driven past the restaurant countless times, but had never eaten there until today. It’s not some fancy restaurant…more of a diner style atmosphere that cares more about great food and service than outfitting it with ornate woodworking or looking like your average chain restaurant.

The menu mainly consists of a few pages of breakfast fare and a page of lunch items. I had always heard great things about breakfast, and that’s what I was in the mood for anyway – so it was an easy choice…or so I thought. There were so many great sounding breakfast choices – it made for a difficult decision. I eventually decided on “Uncle Ron’s Skillet” – a conglomeration of red-skin potatoes, sausage, bacon, melted cheese and a little bit of onion – topped with a couple of eggs and a side of toast.

All I can say is “Wow!” The food was incredible and the size of the skillet was enormous. I wanted to eat the entire skillet, but just couldn’t polish it off. I had to at least finish off the eggs, they were cooked to absolute perfection, I just couldn’t resist.

I guess you could say it might be a bit pricey for breakfast (my skillet was just shy of $8)…but then again, the portions are huge and the food is excellent. I’m not sure if half-orders are available or not, but I think that would be about the perfect amount food so I don’t gorge myself next time 🙂

I’ll definitely be revisiting Wolfgang’s sometime soon, I only wish I hadn’t waited 10 years in the first place! Next time it will be with my family, and I’m sure they’re going to love it.

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by pjahnz

The Filling Station in Comstock Park

Some friends and I decided to try a new place for lunch, and decided to head over to The Filling Station in Comstock Park. We entered the restaurant and headed to the ordering line . It’s cafeteria style ordering, one person takes your order as you slide a tray down towards the other end to pay – the food is definitely not ready by the time you get to the end, I’ll get to that later.

The menu seemed quite large – both literally and the number of items. I didn’t have a chance to take it all in because I quickly saw what I wanted – a Philly cheesesteak sandwich – what caught my eye was the optional cheese whiz. I’d heard from a native Philadelphian that a “real” philly steak sandwich has cheese whiz on it…this just happened be the first time I’d seen it in the Grand Rapids area. So, I decided on the philly with a half side of onion rings. I can’t remember what the rest of my friends ordered other than a mix of burgers, fries, and onion rings.

The prices seemed pretty reasonable for the amount of food you get. After ordering, we grabbed a booth and waited (key word) for our food. I immediately noticed the decor, the dining area is adorned with old gas station type signs throughout. The dining area seemed clean and surprisingly quiet; it wasn’t empty, but not overly busy either.

It took a good 20 minutes for the first order to be called out…another 5 or so minutes later two more orders came out….and finally another 5 minutes later the last order arrived. And from what I can remember, the last order came out incorrect. This was by far the biggest complaint – TTGF (time to get food).

Anyway, when my order finally arrived, there was a heaping pile of battered onion-rings, deep-fried to golden perfection. Maybe not the best I’ve ever had, but pretty darn good nevertheless. Underneath these golden beauties was a delicious looking Philly sandwich. There were actually two “halves” about 6 inches each. The melted cheese whiz was oozing out over the very thinly sliced grilled steak and onions. I took my first bite….ohhhh yeah – the bun was toasted perfectly, everything in perfect harmony. It was like a party in my mouth. This was definitely the best philly cheesesteak I’ve ever had!

I can’t say that the rest of my friends had the same experience as me; one said the burger was “OK”…it looked to me like it was pretty overdone. I don’t remember anyone saying they wouldn’t come back; however, I think we were all in agreement that the speed and service had a negative impact on the whole experience. Overall, I’d have to give it a thumbs up for the great good food I had. Maybe next time I’ll try The Filling Station for breakfast or dinner and see if the service is any better.

by pjahnz

The Walker Roadhouse

wpbar1After getting some bad news at work this week, some friends and I decided we should get together this Friday for a drink or two.  My buddy suggested we head out to the Walker Roadhouse on the corner of Leonard and Remembrance Rd in Walker.  I’d never been there before, and I’m always open to try new places.

We met up after work at the restaurant as planned.  Luckily, we beat the Friday evening rush and were seated right away (the place was packed by the time we left).  I ordered up a Guinness as we began to chat and look over the menu.  This night was about kicking back after a tough week, spending time with my friends and enjoying the conversation more so than it was about the place we decided to go or the food to eat.

So, you’re probably wondering, why I am blogging about the Walker Roadhouse then?  Well, it just so happened that the food was fantastic – I only wish I would have tried the sweet potato fries!   We were pretty deep in conversation, so I quickly scanned the large menu selection, and decided on the turkey pretzel sandwich.  You’ve probably seen these before at other restaurants – some sliced turkey on a pretzel roll.  Nothing too crazy.  I must say though, the sandwich was excellent.  A nice soft pretzel roll with a load of  turkey, topped off with lettuce, onion, and a slice of tomato – it just hit the spot.

The Walker Roadhouse has a nice atmosphere, the prices are reasonable, they have a huge menu selection, and the food is great.  What more could you ask for?  I only wish my wife could have been there to enjoy it with me.  Hopefully next time.

To my friends who joined me this evening – I had a great time and hope that we have more of these opportunities to get together in the future.  Only next time without a “reason”!

by pjahnz

Eat, drink, and be merry

My wife and I went out with some friends last night to Founder’s in downtown GR, it was our first time there. We had a great time and enjoyed some good food and drink. The place was pretty packed; kind of hard to find a table to fit 11 people on a Friday night, but somehow we managed to squeeze in.

bfstout

I went with the Breakfast Stout, it was a nice smooth stout with a definite chocolaty coffee taste that also packed a pretty good punch. Patty went with the Pale Ale, which she wasn’t too fond of. I tried a drink of her Pale Ale and wasn’t a big fan either. You win some, lose some.

As for the food, Founder’s had a pretty big selection of different sandwiches and appetizers. Patty and I shared the “Godfather”, a sandwich loaded down with pepperoni and capicola – it was excellent. We also tried the “Beer Cheese Dip” with some sort of toasted bread and tortillas, it was also quite tasty – although I could have skipped the part of burning the roof of my mouth and tongue – the dip must have been boiling right before it was given to us!

We had a great time and hope to be able to do it again in the near future.