The food here is delicious. The wonton nachos have never let me down. The staff is always friendly…read moreand makes great recommendations. This is one of our go-to spots when friends come from out of town. We recommend Char to everyone.

Tucked among an intersection of amazing restaurants, we finally got to check out Char!…read more While looking at some of the Artprize pieces, since Char was a venue this year, my fiancé ordered the steak fried rice and I ordered a fried noodle bowl with rice noodles and chicken. There are plenty of toppings to choose from and everything tastes super fresh. It's like Qdoba/Chipotle style where you pick what sauces and toppings you want then they whip it all together for you. First bite was a flavor explosion and continued throughout both the dishes. Yum yum sauce was on point. Service was quick and friendly. It is a bit pricey but the fiancé treated dinner on this night ;) A friend suggested their nachos which we will have to try next time. The space is shared with Gita Pita so there is a dining area that is in between both restaurants. If you felt like trying two places at once you knock that out by grabbing something from Gita Pita while you wait for your food from Char. Definitely will be back again and I'm glad to finally cross Char off my list!

I can only say this is one of the best comfort food restaurants I have ever experienced! The greens…read morewere cooked to perfection. If you want food that will remind you of soul food on Sundays after church you are in the right place. The staff is amazing!

Nice and clean inside. Food was amazingly delicious. I had meatloaf, rib, collared greens, yams &…read morecornbread. Definitely coming back soon to try the rest of the menu.

SongBird is a local pop up that I try to catch when I can. Most recently they popped up at Sparrows…read morefor breakfast sandwiches, so Nate and I got a coffee at the shop and ordered one of each of the menu - a sausage breakfast sandwich, a bacon breakfast sandwich, and a dark chocolate chip cookie. Chef Daren set up on the patio at Sparrows with a flat top and brought our food to us when it was ready. The sandwiches were super hot and fresh, and so delicious. I love a good breakfast sandwich and this is one of the best. The cheese was melty and gooey, and the bacon was great quality and thick cut. The sausage sandwich had a bit of sweetness and the housemade sausage was garlicky and delicious. Keep an eye on SongBird's social media for their schedule - sometimes he does popup dinner events which I would love to check out.

I always look for Gallafe at the Fulton Street Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings because they…read moreusually have a vegetarian steamed bun option I can enjoy as I walk through the market. This last week was a shiitake mushroom and leek bun that was so flavorful and the best of all I've tried over the last two years. The flavors change each week and you need to get there before noon. Sometimes they sell frozen buns you can take home to store and reheat later.

Ube tart Ox tail bao bun…read more The steamed bao bun was filled with ox tail, a savory peanut sauce, green beans, and a few other things I can't remember. The sauce was very mild in peanut flavor and had a nice creamy finish to it. The meat and veggie mix added some nice variety with textures but didn't have too much flavor. The bun itself was absolutely perfect; fluffy, bouncy, and delicious. The tart was beautiful but didn't have very much Ube flavor, it just tasted like a standard sugar tart. The items were a bit pricey ($5 for the tart, $9 for the bao) and just because of that I don't think I'd get them again. I'm glad I did try them as I haven't experienced any Filipino cuisine before.

Another social media win! I'd seen Da Boils on Facebook and was trying to catch them at a pop-up…read moresince they don't have a physical restaurant location. They were at the BIPOC Night Market at Fulton Street Farmers Market so I decided to try the Low Tide boil, with 1/2 pound snow crab and 1/2 pound shrimp. Also included were some potatoes and two chunks of corn on the cob - you can also add sausage, egg, and more potatoes or corn. I haven't been to any of the seafood boil restaurants in town yet but I think Da Boils' prices are pretty similar. The Low Tide was $34.99 and they dropped it in fresh after I ordered. It took about 10-15 minutes but it was worth the wait. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and easy to peel, and the seasoning was definitely on point and I loved the flavor. I didn't think it was too super salty and the medium level spice wasn't really spicy, I might go up a level next time. The crab was easy to get out of the shell. It's definitely messy and you don't get the bibs or gloves you might get at a sit down spot, but I didn't really care. You just have to go with it and know you'll be messy! I loved this boil and would definitely order from Da Boils again. I've seen them post other items like lobster mac and cheese, which I'd love to try. They also do catering which would make for a great party!

This is a delightful restaurant with great food, great service and great ambiance. Their thoughtful…read morefarm to table menu was outstanding. I'm sad I was only in town for one night because I was forced to pick just one item. I decided on the Short Rib Ragu Gnocchi. It was a good choice, but everybody's meals looked great. We had 8 at a table and our server did an excellent job engaging with everyone, getting our drinks out in a timely manner and serving us all at the same time. I tried someone else's Salmon and it was delicious also. 2 people got the hanger steak and gave it 5 stars. The prices were reasonable given the quality, freshness and presentation of our dinners. We got there just before happy hour ended and our server was nice enough to clue us in and we got a few appetizers and drinks before the prices went up. Definitely go if you get a chance. I'll be back if I find myself in GR's again.

TerraGR: Some Great Dishes, But Overall a Major Disappointment…read more We drove about two hours to see a show and had pretty high expectations after seeing all the glowing reviews. Unfortunately, TerraGR didn't come close to living up to them. The Focaccia ($8) was probably the best thing we had all night. It came highly recommended in previous reviews, and I can see why. The pesto, 'nduja butter, and truffle pecorino worked really well together. At $8, it's a great value and an easy recommendation. Definitely a must-have. The Arancini ($15) were probably our second favorite. Very tasty, with a great gooey cheese center. The Calabrian chili oil, fried basil, hot honey, lemon zest, and ricotta salata all worked well together. Definitely recommend. The Pesto Casarecce ($25) was a completely different story. We honestly questioned the concept of this dish. The combination of pesto cream, fennel sausage, peas, garlic breadcrumbs, and Parmesan was just baffling to us. We ate maybe half of the dish and simply didn't want any more. The Scallops ($34) were disappointing as well. I skipped the jalapeño, and while the scallops themselves were cooked very well, the roasted corn, poblano, and chorizo mixture was cold. That was just a strange combination and really took away from the dish. I think it would be significantly better if that component were served warm. I did bite into several pieces of rock-hard chunks of something in the dish. My guess is chorizo which was extremely off-putting. The scallops were also a little too salty. At $34, the price felt excessive for what was served. The Short Rib Gnocchi ($28) was actually very good. The short rib ragu, potato gnocchi, and truffle pecorino worked really well together. Would recommend. The Brix soda was another head-scratcher. Just why? We didn't enjoy it at all. I understand it's local but just no. And then there was the Spiced Cranberry Martini. Unless you like unusual, heavy spice flavors that remind you of Jägermeister, do not order this. It was by far the worst martini I've ever had. I even mentioned to our waitress that I thought it was awful, and there was zero response. Service itself was fine. We were seated immediately, and the food came out promptly and at good temperatures. Our waitress wasn't particularly memorable, though, and I would have expected at least some acknowledgment when I mentioned how bad the cocktail was. The parking situation was also an absolute nightmare, which didn't exactly get the evening off to a great start. Overall, the appetizers were head and shoulders above the mains. The focaccia and arancini were genuinely excellent, and the short rib gnocchi was good. But we would not order the scallops or Pesto Casarecce again. Sadly, we were very disappointed with the overall experience. We came in with high expectations because of the near-perfect reviews, drove two hours for the evening, and ultimately felt that TerraGR was very overrated. There were definitely some good dishes, but the overall experience simply didn't live up to the hype. We did get to sit outside which was great.

Healthy "fast food" option. I came here to meet a friend and though there is a sit down area, we…read morewere the only customers to utilize it because most were grabbing their poke bowls to go. Luckily, I was able to learn how to order thanks to the nice gentleman in front of me ordering whilst holding a conversation with me. Basically, the set up is a lot like Q-doba. You stand in line, choose your bowl size, choose your proteins and then toppings and sauce. I chose the regular bowl because it had 2 proteins and I just couldn't decide between spicy salmon and spicy tuna. My bowl was delicious! I was impressed with the amount of rice options, the quality of the poke, and the copious amounts of toppings and sauces to choose from. This place was fine for a lunch date where I met up with a friend I hadn't seen in 20+ years. Everything was delicious, though the milk tea with boba was a little too sweet for my taste. Overall, excellent lunch option, albeit a tad expensive for "fast food." My milk tea and regular poke bowl came up to over $22. Certainly worth it, but not a daily go to option on my budget. Def check out poke toki if you're in the area. The food is better than the pun this restaurant is named after. Now turn yourself about, and do the Poke Toki!

I can't believe it took me so long to try Poke Toki. It's like the subway of poke bowls and I'm in…read morelove. Everything was so fresh and delicious with SO many amazing options to add to your bowl. The mini bowl was PLENTY for a lunch, I'm glad I didn't get the next size up. Very clean and peaceful ambience. Overall 10/10.

Boxcar Coffee is great for any event. They are extremely kind and helpful. They work to make sure…read morethey fit into your event. We had them for our wedding reception and guests LOVED them. They not only had delicious coffee, but the tea was also a crowd favorite. They would be perfect for whatever event you are throwing. My husband and I are obsessed with coffee and this did not disappoint.

From the owner: Boxcar Coffee Company is the Grand Rapids area's premier mobile pop-up coffee shop. Find us serving…read morecraft coffee and tea at events, corporate functions, weddings, and farmer's markets in your area!