Quick overnight to Michigan

We barely had 24 hours but we made a quick jaunt up to Grand Rapids, Mich. We were anxious to check out the new Founders location and we heard (from Tom at Flossmoor) that HopCat was a great place to check out.

Hopcat was really cute and the food we had was great! We started with the quesadilla (marinated chicken, spicy chipolte black beans, house blend cheese & fresh spinach grilled in a flour tortilla). Oh, and we had a couple of beers, too!! We both started with Shorts brews. Tony had the Huma Lupa Licious IPA and I had the Hop the Dingle IPA. These were our first Shorts beers but we had heard of this brew pub on our first trip to Michigan (about three years ago). Now we know what all the buzz is about. Our waitress, Meghan, predicts that Shorts will be bigger than Bells some day. We ate dinner there - Tony had the Mac and Cheese with spinach and Sloppy Joseph added (see photo). I had the Olive Burger. Both were yummy.


We kept on sampling the beers with the Firkin Friday cask conditioned Bells Amber Ale (Tony) and I tried the special brew from world famous brewer Michael Plank - the Black Lager. Both beers were outstanding.

Tony also had the Flying Dog Double Pale IPA. "It is a good imperial IPA." was the review from my husband.

I bought a shirt (which I'll model in a later posting) and we hit the road and headed off to Founders. We had visited the old location the last time through the West side of Michigan (almost three years ago).











Founders new location is very nice and spacious. We sampled some of our favorites (the Pale Ale and the Centennial IPA).

We played a little pool, ate some peanuts and listened to the band for a bit.



We woke up the next day still interested in more beer so we hit the road and stopped at New Holland Brewing for a little lunch and beer.

I started with a 1/2 pint of the Mad Hatter IPA and Tony had the Imperial Hatter.


I ate the Presto Pesto salad (Mixed greens topped with chicken, red onion, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese and mozzarella. Served with pesto dressing) - I got it without the 'shrooms.

Tony had the Pilgrimage sandwich (a hearty turkey sandwich loaded with sprouts, tomatoes, onion, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, guacamole, salsa and sour cream served on focaccia with a side of pesto ranch).


Next came the Existential Imperial IPA for Tony. We sampled the Poet Oatmeal Stout and the Dragon's Milk Ale (barrel-aged). I ordered a 1/2 pint of Red Tulip Ale. All the beers were tasty and the food was great.


The trip was wonderful. We really enjoyed our visit to New Holland. The atmosphere is welcoming and warm. Our server, Brett, was friendly and helpful.

We'll be back to this pub often!