MICHIGAN DINING AND RESTAURANTS

The Latest Restaurant Reviews and Dining Tips in Michigan

Owner Sandhu Gajjan spent six months renovating the new Indian restaurant, Mahek, transforming it from a dark, closed-in space (when it was Shehan Shah) into a larger, bright and airy atmosphere.

Gajjan expanded the restaurant into an adjoining former office building and redid all the electricity and lighting. Bright white walls are decorated tastefully, with intriguing Indian paintings. The dramatic facelift contributes very positively to the dining experience.

Continue reading "Mahek buffet simply fantastic" »

Holland's Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant entices patrons with its varied menu and casual lakeside charm, thanks to an updated look in the dining room and a brand new outdoor bar and lounge area.

My husband, Hoyt, and I treated our youngest son, Evan, a student at Eastern Michigan University, to a celebratory birthday dinner at Boatwerks on a recent Friday night.

Continue reading "Waterfront Boatwerks is an eatery in good taste" »

The staff at Little Bangkok is careful to ask each customer exactly how spicy they'd like their food.

And for good reason. Too little spice, and there's not enough zing. Too much, and you'll be sweating too profusely to enjoy the small restaurant's abundantly tasty entrees.

Feeling like a wimp for requesting my food with mild spice while calling in a recent order, I got slightly ambitious at the last second: "... OK, maybe with a bit of kick."

Prepared by a staff accustomed to this type of request, the food contained, to my taste, the perfect balance of flame and flavor.

Continue reading "Bangkok delicious: Curry will carry you away" »

First of all, he's cute.

I mean the leprechaun. In the blue outfit. Beaming down at you from several vantages in the new South University Avenue sports bar called - wait for it - The Blue Leprechaun.

Continue reading "Hangouts: Touchdown Cafe" »

Pig, meet cow.

Mixing meats is the official Cheap Eats definition of excessive eating. Of course, there are exceptions, such as putting a couple of strips of bacon on a chicken sandwich -- that's routine. But combining swine with beef? It's a sign of one's culinary fortitude. Like that time I was at a Chicago restaurant and engulfed a half-pound burger with a halved bratwurst on top; I felt like a real man, washing it down with a hearty ale and feeling the unavoidable intestinal effects later.

But, back to the present. At Rupinski's, a new West Side deli, meat, meat, meat is the name of the game. And although I'm typically Grand Rapidian in my Dutch/Polish heritage, I couldn't resist Rupinski's meat-melding of my Eastern Bloc roots with Italian beef:

Continue reading "Mixing meat is tasty pastime at Rupinski's Deli" »

In nature, fire can be a catalyst for new life and growth. In the restaurant business, not so much.

But Cracked Pepper -- a charming family-owned restaurant in downtown Middleville -- beat the odds and literally blossomed in the face of adversity.

The eatery, which opened in July 2007, suffered a devastating fire in December. Two months later, the restaurant reopened next door, unveiling an expanded dining room in a previously vacant space.

Continue reading "Middleville's Cracked Pepper beats odds, returns from fire" »

FLINT, Michigan -- If you don't know or can't remember what a neighborhood restaurant is like, go to Krystal Jo's. It's a little difficult to spot because it's small.

It has three tables and a counter with 10 stools in front of a grill and broiler where you can watch owner Tony Tucker do all the cooking.

As the youngest of seven brothers, he has family pictures displayed along one wall.

Tucker is co-owner with his wife, for whom the restaurant is named. Krystal does some baking and is a general all-purpose helper.

Continue reading "Krystal Jo's small restaurant in Flint scores big in flavor, friendly atmosphere" »

There are few restaurants in Ann Arbor where I know that, whatever I'm in the mood for, be it a burger or a healthful salad, I can count on consistently reliable, high-quality food for every member of my family and know that I won't have to spend a fortune. Grizzly Peak Brewing Company is such a place.

Continue reading "RESTAURANT REVIEW: Grizzly Peak" »