six.one.six during Restaurant Week 2013

So, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the desire to neither gain 15 lbs nor spend $500 this year during Restaurant Week made for a sharply paired-down list of places to go. Add laziness to the equation and you can see why we made it to only one restaurant this year, versus the eight from last year! The good news is, it was one we hadn't been to before!

Inside six.one.six (courtesy of Tripadvisor.com, I can't take pics like this)

six.one.six, located in the Marriot hotel downtown, reminded me a lot of Cygnus 27 on the 27th floor of the Amway Grand Hotel. The decor, menu style and selection, level of service, and prices all seemed remarkably similar. One advantage that Cygnus has is the view, however. Whereas six.one.six is located on the first floor of the Marriot (squirreled away and really not well-signed: we had almost given up our lost wandering to track someone down to ask when we found it), Cygnus has the wonderful high view of the downtown area, the river, and the sunset if you time your dinner just right. Anyways, let's talk about food.

For starters, I ordered the Sweet Corn chowder, made with local corn. DH ordered the smoked lake trout terrine (basically chilled fish layered with spiced cream cheese). My soup was very creamy with the sweetness of the corn offset by just a hint of cayenne pepper. On the top were a few sprigs of clover, adding another hint of sweetness as well as some crunch. The smoked fish was awesome! It was served with little dipping splotches of mustard, capers, and some crostini. I found that the mustard and capers overwhelmed the flavor of the fish, so I just ate a few bites of the fish by itself and let that flavor work it's magic.

Entrees were pappardelle pasta with heirloom cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and parmesan cheese for me, double pork chop for DH. His was served with green beans and shoestring parsnips (?) as well as cornbread muffin that was a cross between traditional cornbread and Yorkshire pudding, which is super light and airy. I tried a couple bites of his things (all really tasty) but was very focused on my pasta! The tomatoes were astonishingly sweet and full of that flavor that only in-season local tomatoes have. (For all the tomato lovers out there, you KNOW what flavor I'm talking about!) The pasta tasted freshly made, perfectly cooked to al dente, and the olive oil was flavorful but not too heavily applied.

Dessert though, was where six.one.six really shined! I just noticed today that the dessert DH had was voted best dessert by mLive! I'd believe it (see the picture below, you'll see what I mean.)

Blueberry almond cake (courtesy of mLive because again, I can't take pics like this)

The almond cake was dense, slightly sweet, and believe me, the perfect foil for the explosion of wild blueberry flavor! Of course, the vanilla gelato on top just made it all better, as well as adding another texture and temperature to the mix. I ordered the Honey Peach gelato, also delectable (especially the tiny flower-shaped shortbread cookie on top) but honestly, I think my spoon spent more time dipping into the blueberry dessert than in my own bowl.

For wine, I ordered a red blend, even though white would have gone best with everything I ordered. I'd love to give you details, but I don't remember exactly where it was from or much about it except that I was in the mood for red and it totally worked!

All in all, we loved our meal and the service. The restaurant week menu was nicely varied and of course, ended on a high note! Looking over the regular menu, I don't think I'd be willing to pay the prices that six.one.six charges except as a special occasion (or expense account, of course). As they were setting up for breakfast the next day, that I probably would pay for! ($15, included all kinds of tasty-sounding treats!)

Where did you go? Anything spectacular stand out?

A terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad meal

So this happened a few months ago, but it took me this long to cool down enough to write about. And to be honest, whenever I think about it I still get steamed. I'll try to be fair and polite though.

Whenever my co-workers and I have to work on Saturday, we order in lunch. We've noticed it makes the day go more quickly, allows us to try new places, and makes it so we don't have to pack a lunch for an extra day of the week.

Sheshco Grill, in the Celebration Cinema North plaza, had been open for a few months and we all felt in the mood for Mediterranean food. Once the order was called in, I said I would go pick up the 5 orders for everyone and then we could eat lunch.

When I walked in, I saw that it wasn't very busy (2 tables), which gave me some time to look around as I waited for my order to finish up. I loved the decor, loved the number of booths, and the location was, of course, convenient.

After waiting an extra 15 minutes after the time they told me it would be ready (no biggie, I and most other people have worked in the food industry, we know how these things go), there were still only 4 tables, with 3 people working the front. They seemed to do a lot of hurrying back and forth fixing orders that they had messed up or bringing items they had forgotten. ( For example, one gentleman pointed out that the entree he was served wasn't what he ordered. The waiter didn't seem to think this was much of a problem but offered to bring him an extra salad to make up for it. Uh, doesn't really fix the original problem...This should have clued me in.)  Despite the lack of people, over 5 minutes of those 15 were spent waiting for the person who took my order to confirm that the whole order was there. Okaaaay.

After paying and getting my order, I quickly scurried out to my car and tried to get back as quickly as possible, since I was much later than I had told everyone to expect. Once there, we started distributing orders and realized that half of my order and the whole order of one of my coworkers was missing. After it had been "double checked". Ok, so now I will call and inquire about that.

They were very nice on the phone and said they would deliver the missing pieces of the order to us immediately. I gave the address and a contact number in case they had questions or trouble finding our location. And then we waited.

and waited....

and waited...

for an hour. No phone call, no food, nothing but crickets chirping and stomachs growling. So I called back a second time. This time I was told that "Well, we got busy. So we didn't have time to bring it to you."

I'm sorry, what? *speechless here *

So, they mess up my order, don't make it right, and don't even bother to call to tell us they're not going to make it right! Because I knew whoever answered the phone probably didn't have any part of the decision to not deliver the order, I asked to speak to the manager. I got a bored-sounding woman on the phone who reiterated that, "We were just too busy. You can come pick up the food if you still want it though."

How about no. I DON'T want cold food that's been sitting on a counter for over an hour, and even if I did, I'M AT WORK. (Of course, I didn't say this because I was raised to be polite and not shriek when I'm angry.) She then generously offered to refund me my money for the missing food. Wow, thanks. Thank you for not making me pay for food we didn't get. Now what are you going to do about the fact that I'm still hungry and my co-worker is really hungry since she hasn't eaten lunch? Anything? Nope, nothing, just a grudging apology.

I took my refund and fumed for the rest of the day. And apparently I'm not done yet.

So if you still want to go, I'd just recommend double-checking your order before you leave or let the waiter leave the table. I'd recommend Zeytin Turkish restaurant in Ada or Le Kabob Restaurant if you'd rather have a GOOD Mediterranean dining experience. (I've also heard good things about Shiraz Grille but haven't been there personally.)

Best Mexican Food

And inexpensive too- how often does THAT happen?!

We have another couple who are adventurous eaters like us and always on the hunt for cheap, authentic food. Friends of friends know the owners/operators of La Huasteca and suggested it for our dinner out. Ahhhh, I love good Mexican food...

So the location is sketchy, I'm not going to lie. Sandwiched between a tattoo parlor and a pizza place with a temporary sign, it's easy to miss. Trust me when I say you don't want to drive by this door! A couple perks of this location, however, are that the rent is cheap, therefore the food will be cheaper; and there is parking in the back, which is always a worry for someone who can't parallel park to save her life.

So, the food, which is what we really care about. I had never tried tamales before, but decided for less than $3, I would decide if I liked them or not. I ordered a spicy pork as well as a chicken tamale. Additionally (in case I didn't like them, and also because I'm a pig) I ordered sopes, which are about the size of a large man's palm, have a thick meal crust, and are filled with deliciousness like slow-cooked meat, crunchy fresh onions, cilantro, and served with sauces to top as you will. Ooooh, oooh, can't forget the guacamole! Oh my goodness, people! Made to order and I'm pretty sure hand smashed, because it wasn't that freakishly smooth like it had been pureed 3 days ago, but instead had some various sizes of avocado chunks, fresh cilantro, and the perfect blend of flavors so that nothing overpowered anything else. Seriously, some of the best guac I've ever had, and by far better than anything I make! (Good enough I ate a whole order by myself, but let's not talk about that.)

DH ordered the carne asada, although I have to admit I didn't notice too much of it as I was inhaling my new love, tamales. I did notice it was a lot of food, all looked good, and he gave me his grilled onions, which were awesome. But whatever, let's talk about these tamales. So, served a la carte, wrapped in the corn husk, nothing else. Perfect simplicity of spiced corn meal, kept moist from the husk, shrouding shredded meat that was nicely spiced and super tender. I especially loved the spicy pork one. The sopes were really good as well, the variety of flavors and textures making me one happy kid. One of my favorite parts of Mexican food is the crunch of peppers, onions, and fresh cilantro against the creaminess of sauces and texture of slow-roasted meat. It all just comes together so well!

La Huasteca also makes their own horchata. AKA dessert in a glass. I've decided that's one of my favorite drinks, nice and cinnamon-ey.

I've subsequently tried the Mexican style tacos: 2 corn tortillas, doubled up to absorb all the yummy meat juices, topped with your choice of meat, (trust me, do the barbacoa!), onions, and cilantro. That's it. And it's a beautiful thing.

So you have some recommendations now if you go. If you're lazy like me, you can also call and have them deliver. Give them some time though, this is a small operation and sometimes it takes a bit before they can get away and get your food to you. Either way, eating in, taking out, or ordering for delivery, you'll most likely get full on less than $10.

Enjoy!

Christmas for Food Lovers

Restaurant Week in Grand Rapids is here! Similar to last year, restaurants all over and around the city have created special menus featuring local products (meats, cheeses, produce, etc) that are available for 10 days. Although probably best for my budget and waistline (both of which I'm supposed to be monitoring closely these days), I can't help but wish that this was a month-long or even summer-long event. *sigh*

 Here's the site: Restaurant Week Information

Unlike previous years, I won't be eating out every day of Restaurant Week, for the reasons listed above. (I hate being an adult sometimes!) However, I have created my short list of where I'd like to go whenever we do venture out in the next few days. For each one we visit, I'll then do a posting of our experience, food choices, and all the yummy details. And I do realize I have some catching up to do. As summer winds down and work also slows a bit, I am hoping to fill you in on all of our new favorite places. (And there are some seriously good ones!!!!)

So, my wishlist list for Restaurant Week, in alphabetical order and with links to their websites:

Aryana Restaurant and Bar
Bistro Chloe Elan
CitySen Lounge
Grove
The Landing (new owners and new style)
Licari's Sicilian Pizza Kitchen

Reserve Wine & Food
six.one.six
Tre Cugini
Watermark Grill
Zeytin Turkish Restaurant (an old favorite but I never get sick of it!)
 

I'll keep you all posted on our outings. Because I can't go out all 10 days, please feel free to leave a comment and let everyone know the details of where you've been during this blissful holiday-like eating extravaganza! Afiyet olsun!