Marie Catrib's Restaurant and Bakery

Dear Marie Catrib,

Please adopt me and cook for me every day. I will move to Grand Rapids if necessary. I can't recall ever eating a more delicious meal, possibly ever. (I may be a little stupefied by your luscious chocolate pudding with fabulously dense whip cream and a massive succulent strawberry bigger than my spoon). I have been eating my way through the entire USA one small podunk town at a time, but I can die a happy and slightly fatter woman now that I have rolled through your excellent restaurant. Thank you for speading the love of excellent, creative, wholesome cuisine to all who seek it.

We Love You! Pass it on....


I have been rather lax on adding my food finds to this blog due to general laziness, but I could not WAIT to add Marie Catrib's to the list, lest one more hungry program manager pass through this northerly city without sampling the delights of this exquisite establishment. Marie brings a creative touch to classic american fare, as well as a new take on Lebanese traditional favorites. This place is so much more than soup, salad, sandwiches and Lebanese food. Everything I saw was uber fresh and they try to make the most out of local, organic, and seasonal vegetables as well as choice organic, antibiotic-free meats and "ethically harvested" fish. You can get one awesome fair trade coffee here too, and they are renowned for their brunch.

I stuffed my face and ordered the special, which was a Veggie Pot Pie with soup or salad (I wisely chose the Moroccan Quinoa soup...mmmm). To this excellent line-up, I added a side of hummous with their signature crispy sesame crackers for dipping. And even though I was bursting at the seams and they were closing down the restaurant and I was maybe possibly the only person left, when my charming waitress Shea smiled sweetly and asked, "Dessert?" I was powerless to say no. Oh, Chocolate pudding, I will dream of thee and thy silky smooth texture tonight and hopefully every night.

Everything. Was. AMAZING! I am contemplating returning for lunch tomorrow, but I think I will still have serious leftovers to devour. Maybe for the airport...?

Marie Catrib's is located at 1001 Lake Drive Southeast, Grand Rapids, MI

Coupon Clipper: First Attempt

Talking with Matt D. one early Sunday morning waiting for the great flight from SEA to PHL, I realized that, because we all go to the same locations time and time again, there may be some use in collecting coupons from various restaurants around the country. I have no idea if this will work in actuality, but the full-size version of the following image should be printable to a realistic size from any hotel business center; it's 3.5" wide at 300 pixels per inch. If you try it, leave a comment letting us know how it goes.

A Program Developer's Take on Things (pg 2 of 5)

Disclaimer: Former BER program developer, Sandy Anderson, has kindly provided her list of favorite restaurants around the country and the following descriptions are verbatim from her notes with the addition of formatting and hyperlinks by myself. Enjoy!

Sandy's Restaurant Reviews - Updated Version for Fall 2000 (continued)

Cincinnati, OH

You might enjoy Champs in the Hyatt-Saks Square (map). Informal yet tasty. Other options include Sturkeys (map, now an Encore Bistro), Cafe Cin-Cin in the Crowne Plaza (closed) and Boca (map) - all eclectic menus.

Cleveland, OH

Harry Corvairs (closed) serves modern American cuisine. Also, you might try Moxie (map), an American bistro, or Lola (map).

Columbus, OH

I've not tried it, but Rigsbys Kitchen (map) comes highly recommended, so the next time I'm in Columbus I'll have to try it.

Dallas, TX

If you want to splurge, there's The Mansion on Turtle Creek (map) which is wonderful. If you want more reasonably priced and like Mexican, try Uncle Julios (map) near the Galleria.

Denver, CO

Z Brasserie (closed?) is a fun place in the heart of downtown. Situated in a former bank, the restaurant offers up a lively atmosphere with a stellar menu. Selections lean toward a New American bent, but you can find a wide variety of dishes to tempt your palate. The formal restaurant at the Brown Palace Hotel (map) is yet another classic on the Denver restaurant scene. The Beef Wellington is well worth the wait, especially as your server slices it tableside. A very formal atmosphere with first class service.

Detroit, MI

Some recommendations include French Asian at Tribute (map) in Farmington Hills and Duet (map) for French American.

Honolulu, HI

My two favorite places are A Pacific Cafe (map) for seafood and Alan Wong's (map) for the best Ahi I've ever eaten. Another to add to the list is Yanagi Sushi (map).

Indianapolis, IN

If you like Italian, try Benvenuti's (location unknown). I enjoyed it. The California Cafe (closed) also serves an eclectic menu with fresh seafood each day.

A Program Developer's Take on Things (pg 1 of 5)

Disclaimer: Former BER program developer, Sandy Anderson, has kindly provided her list of favorite restaurants around the country and the following descriptions are verbatim from her notes with the addition of formatting and hyperlinks by myself. Enjoy!

Sandy's Restaurant Reviews - Updated Version for Fall 2000

I always enjoy the opportunity to try out innovative, fresh cooking (or maybe decadent, wonderful cooking). So I thought I'd pass along some of my favorites - if you have favorites, I hope you'll let me know, and I'll add to the list.

Albuquerque (Santa Fe), NM

My favorite is the Coyote Cafe (map) in Santa Fe - incredible southwestern food and well worth a trip to Santa Fe. They also sell some of the spices and sauces in their gift shop.

Alexandria, VA

Try Le Gaulois (map) for great country French cooking. It's in Old Town on King Street - great fireplace for a cold winter day.

Anaheim, CA

If you're int he mood for Italian, consider Pavia in the Anaheim Hilton (map). The prawns were incredible. Tutto Mare (map) in Newport Beach offers upscale contemporary dining at reasonable prices. They always feature a wide assortment of fresh seafood and shellfish. You can eat to your heart's content and then shop until your plastic melts at Fashion Island (map) right next door. The sushi restaurant at the Disneyland Hotel (map) has excellent sashimi and roll assortments created by a talented crew from the Land of the Rising Sun using only the freshest ingredients. Try the Ahi roll or California Roll - they're outstanding.

Atlanta, GA

Buckhead has a number of restaurants that are outstanding, but one of my favorites is Cafe Tutu Tango (map), which serves incredible tapas. They also have one in Orlando.

Boston, MA

If you like seafood, try Legal Sea Foods (map). There are several of them in the Boston area.

Chicago, IL

The list is unending, but some of my favorites are Cafe Spiaggia (map) near the Drake Hotel (map) serving Italian, the Cape Cod Room in the Drake Hotel with incredible seafood soups and chowders, Prairie in the Hyatt on Printers Row (map) where I had a portabello salad, and Cafe La Cave (map) near the airport for wonderful seafood and/or Italian food. A new favorite is Maggiano's (map) for Italian food - the portions are oversized so plan on sharing or eating a lot - there are multiple locations, including downtown, Oak Brook, Schaumberg, and Arlington Heights.

Sticky Icky

On a recommendation from a recent presenter (and fellow sushi lover), I'm posting about an awesome-looking sushi stop with locations in both Richmond, VA and Washington, D.C. I've not yet been to either city to experience this small, but independently-owned, chain, but from the looks of their web presence, they must be awesome!

Geek out: They've got at least two different websites with great design/coding, social media interaction all over the place (on-location photos, Twitter, blog, etc...), and even a list of their go-to websites (must be a work in progress with only two links right now)! Any place this "hip" to the latest web and marketing trends (and that does it well!) gets a huge thumbs up from me; way to go, Sticky Rice.

Looks like these locations are all pretty happenin', with live DJs, alcohol sales, and all sorts of other cool things, but some reviews online average out to 3/5 stars. Looks like there's good sushi, but it may not be a great idea to go during a rush or later in the evenings when the bar gets crowded with college students.

[ Website #1 ]
[ Website #2 ]
[ Google Map ]
[ Yelp ]

P.S. Did I mention one of their specialties is tater tots? Craziness.