Thanks to Alex for such an insightful tour of the Grand Rapids Public Museum Archives. And thanks…read moreto Katy for setting up this amazing Yelp event! I really enjoyed seeing all of the many different items in Archives. It was everything from old mugshots and lamps to furniture, clothing, fossils ... and sooo much more. Everything had its place, was tagged and recorded in a database. This was an overall great experience!

This was by far my favorite yelp event I have attended. This kind of thing is right up my alley and…read moreI was so psyched to do this tour. Our tour guide (who is also the chief curator of the museum!) was awesome and super personable. I was seriously in awe of how much stuff they have in the archives. I probably could have spent another 6 hours there and still want to go back after to look at more. Definitely appreciated that the whole building was climate controlled to preserve the artifacts. Thanks Yelp and Katy for setting this up!! I really want to go back for another tour and/or volunteer here in the future.

A sophisticated tire-swing for adults! I love the Motu Viget…read moresculpture just to the NW of the Calder. To me, it's a fun and whimsical place to go, set in an unassuming place, on a grassy patch of lawn with picnic tables, a built-in swing, in the shadow of a more well-known sculpture, The Grande Vitesse. On the weekends, no one is EVER there. It's one of those special "finds" in a city that people don't really use or go to much. Go for a swing, feel the wind in your face, and please, don't add to the grafitti - this is supposed to be art, afterall.

We would highly recommend this tour for both Grand Rapidians and definitely those who want to know…read moremore about downtown Grand Rapids. Joanna was tops...knowledgeable about Grand Rapids and food, charismatic, and a great host. We loved the restaurants and food choices along the way. Probably the only improvement might be to have a small taste of something at the last stop.

From the owner: You will leave feeling like you had night out with friends. With smaller tour sizes and guides who…read morelove the city you will have great portions and the attention to detail you would want on a dining experience. We will take you to food focused restaurants with give you time to enjoy the atmosphere.

First time visit and it was delicious! Beautiful truffles and bonbons. The S'mores Cup was…read moredecadent and the filling can get messy. The Basil Blue ice cream sammy has blueberry ice cream between two basil cake cookies and half dipped in white chocolate. It was messy but worth it! I loved this flavor combination and can't wait to try more. There are so many more pastries and desserts I want to try. The service was fantastic. There is no seating inside. There are two small patio tables with two chairs each out front. It's nicely shaded in the afternoon!

Great little dessert spot. Some things were a bit hard to eat like the ice cream sandwich with…read morechocolate chip cookies../ the textures just weren't quite right and hard to bite with how frozen the chocolate got. But the flavors were awesome.

The atmosphere here is confusing. Tropical meets dark sports bar. There's fish on the wall, along…read morewith palm trees, and for no reason Christmas things. It doesn't really work for my tastes, but also wouldn't stop me from visiting. The light kevel difference when it's bright outside and you enter and it's a little hard to see, but you quickly adjust. I ordered their Hamburger ($15 + $1 for cheese) it is a Charbroiled ground sirloin patty served on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato and onion. The patty was small, probably a 1/4 pound patty. The meat is tasty and definitely good quality meat. The veggies were super fresh. However the burger to veggie equation was way too far on the veggie side. Also at $16 it is way too small. I think if the doubled the size of the patty or just did a double patty they would have a good thing going. At it current size and price though I couldn't recommend. zi got fries with it and they were very good. The service was very good. Alan seemed to enjoy his job and it showed in his service. overall sadly it is only a 3 star review. The atmosphere and small size of meat vs price. Plus the place was just really loud. Would I return? No. If someone else wanted to go, I wouldn't be opposed, but on my own I wouldn't!

It's been a few years since our last visit, and after today's experience make that "never again"!…read more I know there's "sticker shock" for cars; but there should also be one for places like this! The menu in the entrance features Rueben soup- a cup or a bowl. No price! Wait until you get the bill --$8.50 a CUP ! Thankfully, we didn't each order a Bowl! The soup was mediocre at best. After questioning the price, our Waitperson assured us that the bowl was chuck-full of Corned Beef, as if that alone justified the price! (And what else goes into Rueben soup?) The $4.00 split charge for plates will not entice diners to rush back! We split the wet burrito. The portion size would justify that added cost, but not in this case! I do have to give them a "thumbs up" on the drinks; but the price points on the rest of the menu are certainly not appealing!

For my 1,500th review, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the city of Grand Rapids. I grew up…read morein the area and have lived in the city for over a decade, and I love it. There's always something to do in Grand Rapids - festivals, art exhibits, community events, outdoor activities, etc., along with so many local restaurants and other businesses. The population of GR proper is about 200,000, making it the second most populated city after Detroit. The metro area has a combined population of just over 1 million people. The city feels small, but has things you'd find in a bigger city, like sports teams, a thriving theatre scene, including Broadway Grand Rapids, nightlife, lots of hotels, many beautiful parks, museums and cultural centers, a symphony, opera, ballet company, and more. There are several universities in Grand Rapids, including Grand Valley State University, Kendall College of Art and Design, Aquinas College, and Grand Rapids Community College, just to name a few. Michigan State University has a medical school campus downtown, and Western Michigan University has a graduate school downtown as well. Founded in 1826, the area that is now Grand Rapids was originally settled by the Odawa near the Grand River. The city is known for its furniture industry, which thrived in the late 19th century. There's a great exhibit about the city's furniture industry at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. More recently, Grand Rapids is known as "Beer City USA" with 80+ breweries in the metro area, with more opening each year! There are many points of interest that visitors and locals enjoy: Calder Plaza, Rosa Parks Circle, Frederik Meijer Gardens, John Ball Zoo, the Meyer May House, fish ladder park, historic homes in Heritage Hill, and many farmers markets in the area. ArtPrize is an annual art competition that brings visitors and artists from all over the world. Popular neighborhoods to explore include Eastown, Heritage Hill, downtown, Creston, Midtown, and Uptown. Grand Rapids is a great place to live and visit!

You won't get a cutesy review of the City from me... I've lived here for over four decades, and…read morehave seen a real decline in how Grand Rapids is managed and the quality of life for residents. It's a town with a rich history, but you won't see much of it. Many of the older buildings were torn down for parking lots. (More on this issue below.) The former mayor (Ms. Bliss) did a lot of damage during her tenure. The rude demeanor that she constantly expressed didn't translate into any community improvements, nor open communication. A soccer stadium and amphitheatre were "approved" without any citizen input, other than a hotel tax vote that wasn't explained very well at all. Back to the parking issue... bottom line, there is a huge price to pay for it. Lots of errors from the City office, too. Over $80k in fees were taken by "mistake," but there was never anything done to make this right. Refunds won't be issued was the official stand from the City. Nice, huh? The 3-1-1 system is also a joke. For taxpayers, there should be immediate access to call a City department. Another feature from the prior administration. It's just not working. So, what are City employees doing other than sitting at their desk sipping coffee? I really don't know. Maybe planning more buildings or parking lots.

Logistics. East of Beltline between Leonard and Bradford, in Grand Rapids, about 2.5 hours NW of…read moreDetroit metro area. Vibe and First Impressions. Parking is free and accessible. Of course, get there early to since parking fills up. Inside, the ticketing is fairly quick. Inside designed for a lot of events and meetings. Awesome and open. A LOT OF KIDS SCREAMING. Hospitality. Friendly and knowledgeable ticketing. Tour guide on the trolley gave an interesting experience. Offerings. We went for the Chihuly exhibit. BEAUTIFUL. See pics. Wildlife amok: fish, birds, deer, rabbits, squirrels -- were what we witnessed. The HUGE art installations are fascinating. The ampitheater for concerts is an excellent venue. Cozy, intimate, and relaxed. I can see why a lot of entertainers book this place to perform. Of Note and Last Impressions. Loos were clean and stocked. EXTREMELY relaxing and rejunivating to see such art and natural beauty here. Well done. Next time, we would plan to bring snacks or comestibles to picnic at designated dining areas around the garden. Lovely. Highly recommend. Your admission also can go towards a membership that also has reciprocity to visit over 200 gardens. Very cool.

Grand Rapids is very lucky to have the Meijer Gardens & Sculptor Park. We were visiting from out of…read morestate and made sure we made time to visit. It did not disappoint. There are many exhibitions from desert to tropical to Japanese gardens as well as an interactive children's garden. There was also a CHIHULY exhibition which added to our experience at the gardens. A cafe, gift shop and clean restrooms can be found in the main building. We spent about four hours exploring the beautiful gardens and look forward to returning and enjoying the park.

I love calamari, and I love good halibut even more, so I am familiar with disappointment with…read morerestaurants. However, no disappointment here: this was the best calamari and best halibut I have had in a very long time. We dined outside on a very warm evening, and I wish they had a fan to mitigate the bugs. But the calamari and halibut made up for this mild shortcoming.

We had the best brunch at Nonnas! Our server was so sweet and gave some great recommendations. If a…read morefrench omelette is on the menu, I'm getting it. I was not disappointed! I couldve sat out on that patio all day long.

We had a great time on our GR Crime Tour! Our guide, Eirann, was both super knowledgeable and…read morereally funny, and we really enjoyed listening to them recount some of the lesser-known stories from Grand Rapids history. As residents who didn't grow up in this city, it was cool to learn more about it in an engaging way. Highly recommend you take a tour as well, you won't regret it!