Questions From Our Readers: One

Our readership has rapidly grown to three (including ourselves). We never intended this to go so far. We wanted to dialogue with each other, in public, about our local eating experiences. It never occurred to us that others would want to join in on our conversation. But the readers have spoken and for that we truly feel blessed.

And now to address our first Question From Our Readers:

Juli and Megan,

My wife and I are going to be in West Michigan next weekend. I was hoping I could take her to a nice romantic restaurant in Holland or Grand Rapids. Do you have any suggestions. Sincerely, John

John,

First we would like to thank you for your question.

Secondly, we do not claim to be experts in romance, however we will gladly share our thoughts on the matter if you feel you need guidance.

Lastly, but by no means leastly, we will answer your question. Yes. We have dozens of suggestions, but we'll narrow it down to a more manageable few.

There is a challenge in this as you did not submit a picture or bio with your question. Romance is mysterious and can be found in many places in many ways. We don't know where you find romance. Is it riding with your lady on the back of your four wheeler through muddy trails? Or is it an overly contrived candle lit dinner with a rose petal pathway into an abyss? For the sake of simplicity we are going to guess it's somewhere in between.

Holland:
CityVu: Great view. Local. Natural. LEED certified. A walk along the beach for dessert.

Grand Rapids:
Rose's On Reed's Lake: Is this the most romantic restaurant in Grand Rapids? No. Is the website remotely helpful? No. But it's on a lake. It's reasonably priced. And arguably it has the best outdoor seating in Grand Rapids.

The Reserve: Looking for a Big City feel? Great atmosphere. Interesting menu. Incomparable wine list. By far your best shot.

The Green Well: We're not going to begin to suggest that the atmosphere here is going to spark any flames. But the menu will. They have specials that rotate daily. They have staples that are hard to sway from. There's a small bar. There's a small patio. The hand dryer in the women's bathroom is unparalleled. They say it's eco friendly. And we've no choice but to believe them.

Fugi Yama: Look, John, We're not sure if you're reading these little blips first or clicking on the links first. If you're clicking the links first then we know that you believe our credibility is tainted. Hear us out. Get it to go. G.R. Roll. Spicy Yellowtail. Crazy Tuna. Pick it up and head out to the beach, or to a concert on the lawn at the Fredrick Meijer Gardens, or your room at the J.W. Marriott.

We said it before and we'll say it again, we don't know where romance is made. Maybe all you need is a scoop of ice cream or a pronto pup.

Good luck, John. And let us know how it goes.

After this post was submitted, "John" regretfully informed us that he would not be making this trip out to West Michigan because of his wife's reluctance to leave their newborn baby overnight. John, if you decide to do the romantic getaway on a later date, let us know and we will be happy to give you any updated information on hotels and restaurants. GR is a booming metropolis and you just never know what's going be next on the menu of cool places to go. So, you'd better ask us, because we do. Enough said.