Local Watering Holes

In 2016, the first bar in Jenison opened here in an old Pizza Hut building. It's a great improvement 😊 The name comes from Baldwin Street (of which it's just off) and 1933, the year that prohibition ended. Pretty creative on the part of the owners. When we first were being seated, our server put us in a side room with garage doors that open in the summer. Being that it was winter, we asked to be in the main room and they obliged. I'm sure it's great in summer but it was really cold that night. The tavern has a full bar with lots of specialty drinks and craft beers. We started with Founders Reds Rye, 3 Floyds Zombie Dust, Imperial Peanuts and Cracker Jack (tasted like we were out at a baseball game), and a plain old Pinot Grigio. Beginning with tots for our appetizer is our tradition and we had multiple choices here. We went with the Totchos (pepperjack, queso, taco meat, romaine, pico de gallo, and avocado creme fraiche). So good! Keeping with their clever naming theme...

If you don't know it's here, you just might drive past this unassuming place.  But do yourself a favor and stop in. It's casual and low-key with food made from scratch, and Charlie is usually in the house. That's her in the hat behind the bar. Charlie and her husband opened the restaurant back in the 1980s, sold it, and reacquired it in 1996 (her husband passed away 16 years ago). She gave us a lot more history of the space but that's all I can recall other than her daughter, Jodi, is the current owner. So it's still family owned and is a popular local, neighborhood restaurant. Charlie is so friendly and greeted most people in the place. If you want to hear more stories, she'll be glad to share them.  We started with a Scooby Snack Basket: fried mushrooms, fried green beans, fried pickles, and mac & cheese bites. It was a great beginning 😊 Our main entrees were the Wet Burrito (huge), the Turkish (turkey, havarti & avocado on sourdough), Smelt Baske...

You know you're walking into a local favorite when everyone in the place turns and stares at you because they don't recognize you. Yes, that happened here 😊 The space is divided into three parts: the bar that includes a few tables, the large middle section with most of the seating, and a third room that contains pool tables. The bar has some very cool lighting. The middle section has a stage where live music takes place on the weekends. Tonight was Comedy night, which sounded fun, but we didn't stick around for it. The gaming section also has some seating. We seated ourselves and were promptly greeted and welcomed by Michael. Arriving during Happy Hour we had some questions, and follow-up questions, and thought we might be being difficult. Michael's response: "This is the Westside. You're child's play to me." We were instant fans 😊  We have a tradition of starting with tots if they are on the menu and River City offered up Philly style tots. Light an...

 Opened in 2000 as Logan's Alley, the bar occupies a converted home built in the 1890s. A patio was added at some point and we'd love to return in nice weather to experience it. The place was packed. There are two rooms: the main room with the bar and a smaller room with the games. Music being a tad louder in the game room, we picked the bar and found a table near the front door. Other than how noisy it was, we loved the old-school, cozy feel about the place. The game room This being Valentine's Day, there was a special offering via Short's Brewery, showing some Alley love. We did a Cupid's Arrow and F'load (clever) from Shorts, an Apricot Sour from Avery and a bottled Moose Drool from Big Sky. Logan's is known for their smothered tots and we don't like to pass up the specialty. Cheddar jack cheese, sour cream, bacon and green onions truly smothered the tots. This is the full order that the menu suggests for two. We shared it with four and it was plenty....