Chocolate & Wine Pairings in Southwest Michigan

Let the interesting and unexpected relationship between chocolate and wine inspire the romance of your relationship. If you're in West Michigan on February 9, there are two events that will get you in the mood for Valentine's Day:

At Food Dance Restaurant, which is in Kalamazoo about 30 minutes southeast of our inn in Allegan, MI, a Chocolate and Wine tasting begins at 6pm. Guests will be invited to circulate among five different and imaginative combinations of chocolate flavors; each offered with just the right wine. $35 per person. These events tend to sell out, so advance reservations are recommended.

At Warners Vineyard Tasting Room in Holland, about 30 minutes northwest of our romantic Michigan B&B, a Chocolate and Wine pairing will be held at both 6 and 7:30pm. Pre-sale tickets are available through February 2 for $25 per couple.

Downtown Holland Ice Sculptures

Downtown Holland, a really cool winter venue about 30 minutes north of our Inn, hosts a Collegiate Invitational Ice Sculpting Competition annually. We gave the camera to one of our housekeepers, Kaileigh, who went out with her mother Deb to see what was up. The weather was ideal: sunny yet cold enough to keep the ice from melting. The video shows a little of the ice carving process and an assortment of sculptures.

Downtown Holland utilizes a snowmelt system to keep their main street and sidewalks clear of snow or ice, so it is always a good place to visit in the winter.

Review of Butch's Restaurant in Holland Michigan

Butch's Restaurant, is located in downtown Holland, about 30 minutes from our Inn.

They feature an extensive offering of spirits, wine, and beers. If you like to sample, they offer various flights of wines such as Michigan Whites, Big Reds, even a flight of three Single-Malt Scotch's, one from each of the major distilling regions of Scotland.

The food offerings were varied, imaginative, and expertly prepared. Here's what we had:

A petit 6 oz brie round filled with a Michigan cherry butter, topped with a balsamic honey syrup and served with de Boer Bakkerij baguette

Grilled sashimi tuna glazed with Honey balsamic vinaigrette and served with
apple bacon risotto

Grilled apple marinated hanger steak with caramelized onion,
smoked gouda, smashed, butter potatoesThree-Berry Cobbler with Vanilla Gelato

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Review of Piper Restaurant, Holland

Piper Restaurant is located on the South Shore of Lake Macatawa, about 30 minutes from our Inn. Situated among the marinas and yacht club, overlooking the mouth of the channel to Lake Michigan. A nautical setting if there ever was one. We had a table outdoors, but the indoor dining area features large windows overlooking the same sunset view. We recommend this restaurant if you want a beautiful spot to watch the sunset while eating dinner, dessert, or having a drink.







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Review of Curragh Irish Pub in Holland

Curragh Irish Pub is located in downtown Holland, about 30 minutes from our Inn. The atmosphere is of a traditional Irish pub: casual, friendly, and usually full of people having a good time. A generous amount of outdoor seating is available overlooking the prime intersection of Holland, 8th street & College. There is outdoor seating on all four corners here: New Holland Brewery, JP's Coffee, and Kilwins chocolate (now featuring an outdoor fireplace.)
This is one of our favorites because the food and service are always good. The menu trends towards interpretations of traditional Irish food. For example, we had Bangers and Mash: Irish Sausage, Mashed Redskin Potatoes, Roasted Shallot Gravy.
And a Chicken Boxty with Pesto Cream: sauted vegetables paired with chicken wrapped in a potato pancake.



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Review of City Vu Bistro in Holland

We had lunch recently at City Vu Bistro a restaurant located on the top of City Flats Hotel in Holland, Michigan, about 35 minutes from our inn.

Probably the most appealing aspect of this venue is it's view. There aren't many tall buildings in Holland, perhaps this is the beginning of the "Holland skyline?" Anyway, this picture is of the downtown area, taken right from our table.

The decor is decidedly modern and clean, as shown below. The rest of the building, the lobby, lounge, and I would assume the guestrooms are all consistently in this kind of style. Maybe a little cold for some, but certainly one of the the hippest spots in Holland. This seems to be the second best thing, after the view, of this location.


Since this was just a light lunch, we did not order anything too large from their menu, which had many good things including multiple variations of flatbreads made on site. Pictured below is what we ordered: Mushroom ragout, Roasted tomato Soup, Mixed Greens with roasted beets and fennel. While the food was certainly good, it didn't seem like the most wonderful part of our visit. Go for the view, enjoy the clean and modern atmosphere, and have some good food while you are here.


Here's the google map:


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If you have some experience here, please comment to keep these reviews balanced.

Kollen Park in Holland Michigan

If you need a break from the crowds of tulip time in Holland, or any time you want to stop shopping or dining in Holland, we recommend a visit to Kollen Park. Located on Lake Macatawa, a short drive from downtown Holland and about 35 minutes from our inn.


Ruth and I frequently visit the park to spend some quiet time together. For us, it brings back many memories of the time we lived a few blocks away and would often walk there. We even visited this park when we we dating, so many years ago. Ruth's relatives would often spend a summer evening on lawn chairs neat the bandshell listening to concerts. The bandshell can be seen in the photo above and is still used for concerts. There is a statue set giving tributes to the Dutch (something we are happy to see, since both Ruth and I are children of dutch immigrants.)


There is an extensive system of boardwalks and sidewalks in both directions along Lake Macatawa from the Park so you can stroll along, catching the breeze from the lake. Very Romantic.

Please share your experiences of Kollen Park with us.


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Review of Boatwerks Waterfront Restaurant, Holland, MI

The best thing about Boatwerks Restaurant in Holland is the view. They are located on Lake Macatawa, next to Kollen Park, about 35 minutes from our inn. Their food is good, service-also good, but we go there for the view. This visit was in April so it was too cold for seating on the deck, but when it warms up, this is the best place to be if you like water:

The service has always been good, the atmosphere is nautical (what else?) in a speedboat/waterskiing kind of way. The food quality has really improved. We used to recommend this place for lunch only, but now dinner would be good as well.

We had a sampler of appetizers due to our tight schedule, very good. The Asian sauce-kind of a combination Hoisin and duck sauce-went well with everything.





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Review of Gringo's Grill, a Holland MI Restaurant

Ruth and I discovered Gringo's Grill in Holland, Michigan last fall. We advise you don't pass this one by, which is easy enough to do. It is located in a strip mall in what I think of as the "generica" area in northern Holland, along the highway among chain restaurants and big box retailers, about 35 minutes north of our Inn. Rumor has it they are planning a move to the downtown Holland area, which would improve their visibility and image, I think.View Larger Map

The theme here is Mexican, but this is not the usual "wet burrito" place. These folks emphasize using fresh and seasonally excellent ingredients which are creatively put together into interesting and unique items. We usually order the Guacamole prepared tableside for starters

For the salad, try the grilled head of Romaine with caramelized onions, goat cheese, and a shell of parmesian.


A full head of romaine was enough for both of us, so we ordered one entree to share. There are too many interesting choices to share here-we can recommend the fish tacos, chicken empanadas, pork tenderloin with cocoa and dried chile.... This time, we ordered from the "Lighter Fare" section of the menu and chose the sticky shrimp tacos. The main reason was my curiosity about them being sticky and all. The subtext stated the shrimp are tossed in something called a "gastric" which turns out to be a sweet glaze. This came with choice of soup, salad, or beans & rice.
Full wine/beer and mixed drinks available, live music on Thursday nights. Full menu available on their website.

Have you experienced this restaurant? Your comments help keep this blog real.