Lunch at One Trick Pony Grill and Taproom in Grand Rapids, MI

We dropped our daughter off at the Grand Rapids Fencing Academy again, but this time at 11am, so we decided to head off to lunch, before doing our grocery shopping at the Meijer on E Beltline Rd.  Like we did the day before, we had to find somewhere that had a gluten free menu and also, if possible, participated in the Rapid Rewards Dining program.

Luckily, we found a restaurant that fit our needs - the One Trick Pony Grill and Taproom.  We saw online that they offered gluten free options, so we headed in that direction.  One Trick Pony was pretty easy to find and parking was easy on the street, because of the time of day.  Since it was a Sunday, we didn't have to pay the meter.

We entered the restaurant, using the door handle that was in the form of a meat cleaver, which we thought was a cool touch.  Later, our waitress, Courtney, explained that the meat cleaver means that the restaurant is co-owned.  I did a quick Google search, but could not verify her information.

We were seated at the window at Fulton St.  I ordered a Diet Coke and my wife ordered a water.  We looked at the very small menu and wondered if it was the normal menu.  When Courtney came back with our drinks, she told us that there were also two specials - corn pancakes and huevos rancheros.  She confirmed that the corn pancakes were both vegan and gluten free and the huevos rancheros were gluten free, as well.  My wife ordered the corn pancakes and I ordered the Cider Poached Sausage Pizza with the gluten free crust, so that my wife could try it.  Though they did not have a gluten free menu, each menu item was marked as being gluten free or vegan.

Courtney did a great job refilling my Diet Coke as needed.  When she brought our food, we were very happy.  My wife's corn pancakes seemed very "earthy".  They had a rich, earthy tone and readily soaked up the syrup.  My pizza looked great.  It came with bbq sauce as the red sauce and gouda cheese and included some carmelized onions, along with the cider poached sausage.  The corn pancakes and pizza were excellent.  My wife tried some pizza, but later that evening had some ill effects.  We never verified if the sausage was gluten free, so we came to the conclusion that it was the culprit.  Either that or there was some cross contamination in the kitchen.

When we go to Grand Rapids the next time, I will definitely consider One Trick Pony again.

Takeout from the Mitten Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, MI

After having eaten a big lunch at Brann's earlier in the day, we thought it might be better to limit that amount that we had to eat, plus we wanted to hang out with some friends.  We knew that the Mitten Brewing Company had a gluten free menu and was close and convenient to our friends' condo, so we decided to place a takeout order.

We ordered two regular pizzas, a gluten free pizza, an order of gluten free breadsticks and an order of gluten free cheesy breadsticks with marinara and ranch.  On the regular pizzas, we ordered half cheese/half pepperoni and sausage and on the other we ordered a Deluxe.  We ordered Da Meat Hook for our gluten free pizza.  All of it was great.  My wife and daughter loved the pizza and the leftovers that we brought for our oldest daughter was eaten by that evening.

My friend told me that they have had some bad luck ordering takeout from Mitten Brewing in the past - the pizza was burnt - but this time it came out great.  The toppings were fresh and the pizza crust was crispy.

I have been to Mitten only one other time and that time it was just as busy as when we picked up our order.  I would love to be able to eat in and try some of their beer choices.  For now, I must say that I do like their pizza and breadsticks.

Lunch at Brann's Steakhouse and Grille in Grand Rapids, MI

My wife and I were up in Grand Rapids, MI due to a clinic our daughter was participating in at the Grand Rapids Fencing Academy.  Our daughter started at 10am, so we dropped her off and headed quickly to a movie, which started at 10:20am.  After the movie, we could not decide on where we wanted to go for lunch, but knew that we needed to find somewhere that had gluten free options, since my wife suffers from celiac disease.

Since it participated in the Rapid Rewards Dining program, we decided upon Brann's Steakhouse and Grille on Leonard Street in Grand Rapids.  It was a great choice, since it was close to the fencing club and also had a gluten free menu, which was actually pretty big.

After a few minutes, we decided upon what we wanted to eat.  Unfortunately, our waitress took some time to get back to us.  When she did finally get to us, we ordered 2 pounds of the bbq ribs with buttered steamed broccoli and the vinegar and oil coleslaw to split.  We also added a shrimp skewer to it, so that we would definitely have enough to eat.  To drink my wife ordered a water and I ordered a diet Mountain Dew - it's always nice, when a restaurant has a different diet choice than just cola.  Our waitress arrived with our drinks and with a couple of yeast rolls, which includes their cinnamon butter, which is awesome.

When the huge mound of ribs, sides and shrimp skewer arrived, we knew that we would have enough to eat.  The ribs were falling off the bone and tasted great.  The bbq sauce was a perfect blend of tangy and sweet.  Plus, there was enough bbq sauce.  Sometimes restaurants really skimp on the bbq sauce - not Brann's!  The shrimp skewer was decent and the sides were pretty good.

The value that received for what we ordered was great.  We were able to get out of Brann's for the two of us for less than $25 and we were stuffed.  Add to it that they participate in the Rapid Rewards Dining program, we will definitely be back.