
Biz Beat April 2025: New Restaurants, Bars and More

The 10 Best Restaurants in West Michigan

Wineries are a little harder to find than breweries, but that doesn’t mean we have any shortage of the stuff in West and Northern Michigan. Dozens of wineries are pumping out more than enough vino for all (supposedly thanks to a France-esque climate). Southwest Michigan and Traverse City are particularly dense with vineyards if you know where to look.
A new era of doughnut consumption has dawned. West Michigan is home to several beloved doughnut stops — Marge’s Donut Den, Sandy’s Donuts, Van’s Pastry Shoppe, to name a few — but here are some of the impressive new players that have joined the market in the past year.
When it comes to dining, strip malls get a bad reputation. The universally drab architecture of strip-mall buildings could make you think they hold no culinary gems. However, we all know it’s what’s inside that counts. With excellent food from all over the world, here’s a few strip mall sensations that deserve a visit.
Family recipes on the menu bring back the power of food made from love, magic and a little history. Whether it’s your mom, nonna or uncle’s secret sauce, you can rest assured no one slaps their name on a dish unless it has achieved perfection through generational lore.
Brunch is no longer just a late breakfast for lazy folk. No — this weekend tradition is a sacred event dedicated to early morning drinking and specialty menus, far superior to your standard breakfast offerings. Read up on where to find stellar brunch menus and Bloody Mary bars.
Eager to feed the demand for after-hours eats and pop-up excitement in Kalamazoo, local food trucks last year hosted the city’s first-ever Food Truck Rally. Now, the five-event series has just announced another run for 2017 following the mouthwatering praise it earned during last spring and fall.
If you’re the kind to flip immediately to a menu’s dessert page, maybe you can help us settle a score: We’re pitting rich, sensual chocolate against nature’s best to see which one makes for the ultimate sweet treat. These are the kinds of delicacies that warrant a visit all on their own, but you can grab some dinner while you’re at it too, we suppose.
“Authentic” is the kind of adjective applied to food so indiscriminately that one forgets what it was supposed to signify in the first place. (See also: “organic,” “natural,” “artisanal.”) But even if the idea of food authenticity hadn’t been mostly marketed into meaninglessness, it’s a slippery concept to begin with.
Pho, it seems, is having a moment. If you’re new to the dish — a traditional Vietnamese offering of noodles, broth, meat and various herbs and vegetables — welcome! You’ve got a bit of catching up to do, but the journey is going to be delicious.
Here are 10 delicious, filling dinners in West Michigan that all cost $10 or less (before your generous tip, of course). Plus: Find out where to score cheap happy hour deals and other specials every day.