But there's so many new food joints popping up in Grand Rapids it's impossible to keep up. So a few months back, we decided to take on a bunch with one big sweep! Traveling from shop to shop, we gathered a sampling of snacks, and brought them home to sample and feast—all day. Let's see what I loved.
First up, Cakabakery. Made famous by the Food Network's Cupcake Wars, and brimming in adorableness in the Wealthy Street windmill that, till recently, housed the Local Epicurean, it would seem that owner Jason Kakabaker, had no choice but to grow up and bake cakes.
Sampled:
– Molasses Cookie
– Lavender Lemon Vegan Cupcake
– Chocolate Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream frosting + Blackberries
**Major points to the buttercream frosting!
Sampled:
– Blackberry Raspberry Pie
– Snickerdoodle
– Lemon Ginger Cookie
– Turtle Buttercream Brownie
– Cherry Lemon Muffin
**The fruit was where it was at. The muffin was a light snack and the Blackberry Raspberry Pie was definitely the best thing we ate all day!
And of course, there's always room for ice cream. While at the Downtown Market, I couldn't pass up sampling Love's Ice Cream. A little Toasted Coconut with Almond Croissant drowning in Salted Caramel Sauce, and a bit of Mango Habanero Sorbet. There's so many tempting flavors here, I'll have to come back all summer.
**Yes on the sauce! The mango flavor was good, but the peppers gave it a shocking amount of bite!
We supplemented our sugar rush with lunch at Marie Catrib's and deli-style carry out dinner from Marie's.
This Included:
– A.M.O. Salad
– Trio of Dips: Hummus, cucumber yogurt and baba ghanouj
– Spicy Sweet Potato Enchiladas
– Lentil Lasagna
**The cucumber yogurt was incredibly light/refreshing and the Lentil Lasagna will be had again(very soon)! Marie's never steers me wrong!
All in all, Grand Rapids has a pretty impressive and extensive offering of sugary snacks. We didn't even hit all the locations scheduled. But most importantly, I'm pretty pleased with my stomach's ability to hang tough during extensive binging!
Next up... Tour de Mexico I think. There's lots of salsa to try. Who's in?
Thanks for taking the tour, I see some potential new dessert loves in my future. I've had tasty treats from Sweetie-licious before, my favorite by far was the cherry lemon muffin. I also enjoyed the fruit pies, the brownies were actually a bit much for me. The thick layer of chocolate nestled on top of the brownie was over the top.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cupcakes are actually from Rita'sGirls in MoDiv, they has a cart and sold those on the street during artprize (we hit them up every day.) I loved the unique flavor combos.
If you are considering more desserts, try the new creperia place at the downtown market, they have sweet and savory stuff. I can't wait to try those guys out.
Oh man – yes there's still so much food left to eat. New places open every day, it's so hard to keep track of! There will be more eating! gotta try that crepe place!
DeleteOh man! And this one was in Rapid Growth this morning! Definitely looks worthy of a visit. Time to go to the west side! http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/innovationnews/0710cupcakes.aspx?utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Grand+Rapids%27+west+side+gets+a+little+sweeter&utm_content=%7bEmail_Address%7d&utm_campaign=The+local+food+scene%2c+from+seed+sharing+to+urban+gardening
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