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Tootsie Yr2: Grand Rapids, MI
Oct. 13th, 2022 09:21 amIt's going to be a long post because I LOVE Grand rapids and there's a LOT of good food here.
You've been warned.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
It was an early flight, with the bus leaving around 7am for a 9:30am takeoff.
I have been SO EXCITED to see Grand Rapids again!
The circus came here several times (2012, 2014, 2016) and it quickly became one of my top 10 US cities.
At the last minute they switched all our seats around (I think we got a different plane?) and I got L-U-C-K-Y!
Exit row baby! How bougie.
We arrived in Detroit a little early and began our epic 2.5-hour bus trek to Grand Rapids.
Our bus did not have AC unfortunately, so it got pretty uncomfortable, but we made the best of it.
Coming off the bus I lucked out again, somehow my luggage got shoved out early so I was one of the first to my room
(and subsequently out the door to hit the grocery.)
The nearest grocery is Bridge Street Market, which is really a Meijer masquerading as a "local business".
That said, it was a REALLY good grocery store because of all the local products!
Locally butchered meats, and locally roasted coffee, locally-made snacks and pastries and breads and ready-to-eat meals.
I got my weekly basics of fruit and veggies and base proteins, but then had a good long oogle at all the foods I wanted to try.
Blueberry-infused maple syrup!
Plant-based tamari "jerky"!
Peach habanero chicken sausages!
I picked out some goodies and escaped before I could bankrupt myself.
Pretty much all of these beverage brands (Olipop, de la Calle, Aura Bora) are nationally available, and I've had them before, just not in these flavors. Different parts of the US get different flavors, isn't that interesting?
But most of the food is very local, either to Grand Rapids or to Michigan.
A friend of mine pointed out how appealing and "joyful" the packaging on these products looks, and I think she's right.
I think that when a small business owner invests in appealing packaging, it shows that they care deeply about their product.
And that definitely makes me want to support that business!
I had some of the Big O' Smokehouse salmon jerky for dinner and y'all...
It was so good that I SWORE.
I mean look at this.
They had several flavors to choose from, but this one is "Dragon's Milk", so named because the salmon is brined in Dragon's Milk stout beer with brown sugar and vanilla before it is smoked using bourbon barrel oak and tossed in cracked black pepper. I'll swear again: holy HELL, it was so good. Like, I've had the "salmon candy" from Whole Foods, and this is MILES above and beyond better than that. This stuff belongs on an upscale charcuterie, and on Michelin star menus.
With that, I unpacked and did some meal planning before watching Halloween Baking Championship with Jameson and then heading to bed.
Welcome to Michigan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday morning I enjoyed a cup of the cherry-flavored Michigan coffee with my breakfast. Yum!
Then I got to work cooking some tilapia filets in the Itaki. ( Read more... )
Today is Thursday and I'm working on some more data entry this morning.
Plan for the rest of the week is
- Today: sandwich from Two Beards and a visit to Grand Rapids Art Museum
- Friday: my new in-ears are supposed to arrive + thrifting + dinner at The Electric Cheetah
- Saturday: two shows
- Sunday: two shows
- Monday: off to Wilmington, NC for one day only!
Other stuff:
Brianna (management) has updated the internal Tootsie site to give it a spooky Halloween feel!
You've been warned.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
It was an early flight, with the bus leaving around 7am for a 9:30am takeoff.
I have been SO EXCITED to see Grand Rapids again!
The circus came here several times (2012, 2014, 2016) and it quickly became one of my top 10 US cities.
At the last minute they switched all our seats around (I think we got a different plane?) and I got L-U-C-K-Y!
Exit row baby! How bougie.
We arrived in Detroit a little early and began our epic 2.5-hour bus trek to Grand Rapids.
Our bus did not have AC unfortunately, so it got pretty uncomfortable, but we made the best of it.
Coming off the bus I lucked out again, somehow my luggage got shoved out early so I was one of the first to my room
(and subsequently out the door to hit the grocery.)
The nearest grocery is Bridge Street Market, which is really a Meijer masquerading as a "local business".
That said, it was a REALLY good grocery store because of all the local products!
Locally butchered meats, and locally roasted coffee, locally-made snacks and pastries and breads and ready-to-eat meals.
I got my weekly basics of fruit and veggies and base proteins, but then had a good long oogle at all the foods I wanted to try.
Blueberry-infused maple syrup!
Plant-based tamari "jerky"!
Peach habanero chicken sausages!
I picked out some goodies and escaped before I could bankrupt myself.
Pretty much all of these beverage brands (Olipop, de la Calle, Aura Bora) are nationally available, and I've had them before, just not in these flavors. Different parts of the US get different flavors, isn't that interesting?
But most of the food is very local, either to Grand Rapids or to Michigan.
A friend of mine pointed out how appealing and "joyful" the packaging on these products looks, and I think she's right.
I think that when a small business owner invests in appealing packaging, it shows that they care deeply about their product.
And that definitely makes me want to support that business!
I had some of the Big O' Smokehouse salmon jerky for dinner and y'all...
It was so good that I SWORE.
I mean look at this.
They had several flavors to choose from, but this one is "Dragon's Milk", so named because the salmon is brined in Dragon's Milk stout beer with brown sugar and vanilla before it is smoked using bourbon barrel oak and tossed in cracked black pepper. I'll swear again: holy HELL, it was so good. Like, I've had the "salmon candy" from Whole Foods, and this is MILES above and beyond better than that. This stuff belongs on an upscale charcuterie, and on Michelin star menus.
With that, I unpacked and did some meal planning before watching Halloween Baking Championship with Jameson and then heading to bed.
Welcome to Michigan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday morning I enjoyed a cup of the cherry-flavored Michigan coffee with my breakfast. Yum!
Then I got to work cooking some tilapia filets in the Itaki. ( Read more... )
Today is Thursday and I'm working on some more data entry this morning.
Plan for the rest of the week is
- Today: sandwich from Two Beards and a visit to Grand Rapids Art Museum
- Friday: my new in-ears are supposed to arrive + thrifting + dinner at The Electric Cheetah
- Saturday: two shows
- Sunday: two shows
- Monday: off to Wilmington, NC for one day only!
Other stuff:
Brianna (management) has updated the internal Tootsie site to give it a spooky Halloween feel!
