Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Best Burger in America!?!

Mel and I went to Stella's on the 10th. It is home to "The Best Burgers in America," as given by GQ Magazine. In case you haven't been to Stella's, it is a little hole in the wall bar owned by the same owner of Hopcat and GRBC. It has a bit of a hipster/alternative/geek vibe. It is dark with some interesting artwork. Outside of the food and drinks, the best part about Stella's is the vintage arcade and pinball games.Nothing like a burger and some Mortal Combat or Street Fighter II. Anyway, on to the food.


We started with the beer battered onion rings with avocado ranch. The rings were cooked very nicely. The batter was light and crispy and the onion was fully cooked and sweet. The ranch worked well with the onion rings with just a hint of avocado coming through. 


 Mel got the Stella blue stuffed burger. The burger is stuffed with blue cheese and bacon. The cheese oozes out of the burger and the bacon adds a nice saltiness and kept the burger from drying out. It also adds some saltiness. It was topped with some onion and crispy lettuce. Ketchup and mustard are at the table. The fries are similar to Hopcat's crack fries and GRBC's seasoned fries, however they are spicier. Mel thinks they go great with a little ranch dressing to cool them off.

I got "the Buffalo" burger. It is just like the Stella blue burger, except it also has buffalo sauce and a celery mayo on it. The buffalo sauce adds a nice little bit of heat and the celery mayo does add a hint of celery flavor that recalls a classic buffalo wing with celery and ranch on the side. The burgers are big and satisfying and the buns are toasted and dense enough to hold up to the burgers, yet also soft enough so they don't tear up your mouth like I have had happen at some restaurants. Also, the burgers, in my experience, are always cooked perfectly to order. Medium is medium, medium well is medium well. 

Stella's is one of those places that you sometimes hesitate to tell people about because you want it all to yourself. It is so unique in a sea of similar bars/eateries. But the burgers and drinks are too good not to tell people about. The servers have always been friendly and you can play arcade games. As far as being "the best burger in America," I don't know about that. I haven't traveled the country eating hamburgers. However, I can say that it is the best burger in Grand Rapids, and possibly the best I have ever eaten. It is the perfect combination of high class taste and working class sensibility; the taste is good enough to be found on a top dollar restaurant, but priced and served so anyone can enjoy it. Highly recommended.


Sunday, March 17, 2013

GRBC round 2

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. It has been crazy around here after one of our cars died and we had to try and buy a new one. Anyway a couple of weeks ago (3/2) Mel and I went back to Grand Rapids Brewing Company with her sister Emily and her husband Jordan. Here is a quick rundown of what Mel and I had.

We started with the fried dill pickles with avocado ranch. The batter was crispy and light, and the pickles were sliced perfectly. It seems trivial but having the right thickness of pickle really affects how a fried pickle turns out. The avocado ranch was a perfect dipping sauce for the pickles. As a southern boy, I have had a lot of fried pickles and these definitely pass the test.


Mel got the braised beef and smoked cheddar sandwich. The beef was braised in stout beer and was tender and falling apart. It was also very tasty. The sandwich also featured the cheddar cheese and caramelized onions. It was, as Mel put it, "Sexy." The fries were good too; nice and crispy and seasoned.


I got two of their hand cranked sausages: the duck sausage and the chorizo. The duck sausage came with an orange sauce and the chorizo with beans. I also got a pretzel bun to go with them. The duck sausage was good, although I preferred it without the orange sauce. It was well spiced and the duck flavor really came through. The chorizo was very good. It was spiced very nicely without the pepper being overpowering. The heat was still there, but in balance to everything else. With the beans on the bun it was fantastic.
For dessert we had the salted caramel pudding with whipped cream and chocolate streusel. Salted caramel anything is already off to a great start, but the whipped cream and chocolate really added to it. A fine ending to the dinner.

Once again GRBC impressed with food unique and well executed. I still highly recommend this place.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Living it up at Leo's

Mel and I dined at Leo's, downtown on Ottawa and Louis, Feb 28. Before I go any further I need to say thank you to my mom and dad in-law for giving us a 2 for 1 entree coupon that  enabled us to be able to eat there.

The restaurant is pretty classy looking on the inside, with a lot of natural colors such as various shades of tan. It has the feel of an upscale eatery. The restaurant is known for serving seafood, but also has dishes without fish such as steak, chicken, and lamb. It is generally on the pricey side with many entree's over the $30 mark. However there are also quite a few plates that come in under $30. The service was good. At first our server seemed a little awkward, but as the night went on that went away. He was able to explain dishes well and even took my lobster claw into the back to bash it open with a hammer after the shell cracker couldn't break through (seriously, that was the thickest shell I have ever experienced on a lobster, and I have cracked through a few! Now that is service. Also of note is a fairly healthy wine list for bottles. The wine by the glass is limited and not as extensive as the by the bottle list.

On to the dinner. (Regrettably my pictures did not turn out very well. I will still post them but they may be blurry and hard to see)


We started with an appetizer of their chicken spring roll with sweet and sour hoisin sauce. It was a good start to the meal. The wrappers were crispy and fried. The chicken was very flavorful and here were quite a few veggies as well. It was a perfect portion to start with for two people.

 Mel ordered the filet mignon with sour cream and chive mashed potatoes and fresh saute'd asparagus. The filet was covered with a merlot demi-glace. The potatoes were good with a nice garlic and sour cream flavor. They also were kind of chunky which was nice. I like a rustic mashed potato. I think it tastes better personally. The steak was cooked perfectly and the demi-glace added a nice flavor that complimented but didn't overtake the flavor of the steak. Our server said he thought it was the best in the city; I am not so sure about that. I think Ruth's Cris may still have a better steak from the places I have been to. The asparagus was well cooked and seasoned as well.

First off, this is a horrible picture and I apologize for that. I had the Bouillabaisse. Bouillabaisse is basically a French seafood soup/stew. This one had clams, mussels, scallops, salmon, shrimp, snow crab leg, and half a lobster in a saffron-sherry tomato broth with leeks. The broth was amazing. It was probably the best part. It was light and all the flavors worked in complete balance as not one thing dominated. The saffron was present but not overpowering, the tomato was not too acidic and it wasn't thick like tomato soup. The sherry also was able to be tasted. The seafood overall was spot on. The clams had a smokey taste to them like they had been smoked before being put in the broth. The mussels were very good and were not rubbery at all, which can happen if over cooked, like most seafood. The snow crab was really sweet. The shrimp were good but slightly overcooked, but still cooked better than most places. The scallops were perfectly poached and sweet and meaty, as was the salmon. The lobster was hit and miss for me. The flavor was spot on. It was sweet and perfect with the broth. However I thought the tail meat was a little over cooked as it was on the tough side. The claw was good and was cooked better than the tail. That could be because it was whole while the tail was cut in half. Overall though I would order it again. The flavor overrode the slight flaws of the overcooked lobster tail and shrimp.

 For desert we had a vanilla cheesecake topped with fresh berries and kiwi, a gram cracker crust and a berry puree. The cheese cake was very good. The vanilla came through very nicely. The texture was good too, not too dense but not very airy either. The berries added a nice burst of freshness, acidity, texture and sweetness. A very satisfying end to our meal and night out.

I liked Leo's over all. The ambiance was pleasant and the food good. It was a bit pricey, so for us, at least, it is a place that we would visit only once in a while. I would recommend it as an alternative if someone had never been, but had visited some of the other good restaurants downtown, or to someone who likes seafood. Does it get my highest marks? Sadly no. I think there are better restaurants around. But it is worthy of eating at and I do recommend it is given a try.