G's Birthday Weekend

The second to last weekend in January I achieved my goal to plan something special for G's birthday and surprised him with a spontaneous getaway to Grand Rapids. We left Saturday morning and dropped Manny off and were on our way.

It was a beautiful day in GR! Mid-30s and sunny. Perfection!

We checked into our hotel and scored early check-in, late check-out and a view of the river. Woohoo!

We settled into our hotel and then walked over to SpeakEZ Lounge. My friend told me this place had awesome drinks and was a popular place for soccer fans. 

I knew I had to take G here! Soccer was playing on every screen and hooligans were sitting at the bar cheering on their favorite club teams. G was in heaven.

He ordered a RedRum and I had the Suffering Bastard (Gin, cucumber, mint, bitters and egg white) and I loved it! 

My first time trying a drink with egg in it and I'm a fan.

G and I shared the Bacon and Goat Cheese Dip with the most amazing bread I ever tasted. It was so incredible. I could eat it all over again.

I also had to try the Asparagus Soup because you just don't see it on the menu enough. It was also out of this world. It took so much willpower not to order full meals at this place and continue on to our next stop on our Restaurant Tour.

Our next stop was Grand Rapids Brewing Company. On our way over there we saw a figure skating competition going on so we stopped and watched for a while. So fun!

Then we ran into a horse and carriage. 

Before finally arriving at our destination. I ordered the amber ale and it was so bitter I could not even drink it.

But the fried pickles saved the day. They were AMAZE. The atmosphere was cool and our waiter was chill. 

Next up on our restaurant tour was Rockwell Republic. It had amazing reviews on Yelp and was .4 miles away from where we were.

G ordered a cherry burbon drink and I had one of the best cosmos I ever had AND it was only $3. Score!

We had the sushi and it was absolutely incredible. So fresh and yummy.

We realized sunset was only 20 minutes away so we walked over to Cygnus 27 which is on the 27th floor of the Amway Grand because you guys know how I love my sunsets.

As you can see we got quite the show. It was just gorgeous.

G had a ginger drink and I had Cygnus Martini with grapefruit and orange and it was incredible. 

The lighting from the sunset was gorgeous. The warmth of the sun felt incredible.

Lastly we went to The Chop House. They only had seating in the basement, but it was a really fancy cellar type dining room and we had it all to ourselves. Our waitress was super awesome too. 

I have to get the lobster bisque anytime I see it on a menu. The waitress was sweet enough to split it for us and her and the other waitress raised our soups, said "Your lobster bisque" and put the bowls down at the exact same time. Such service! We felt so pampered.

I've been getting into scallops lately and they came highly recommended so we split them. Okay. These were the best I ever had. I'm so glad there is a Chop House in Ann Arbor because I will need these in my life again real soon.

The city is so beautiful at night. We walked back to the hotel and swam in the pool before crashing. We had a blast, but it was a long day. So unlike us to do so much! And all of this was in an eight hour time span. We really lucked out. Everywhere we went we had yummy drinks, great food and amazing service. We didn't make reservations anywhere either and we never had to wait for a table. What a perfect day!

Sunday we slept in and then got ready for the day and walked to brunch.

We went to San Chez (a favorite of ours). In the spirit of trying new things we decided to try a Bloody Mary. They had a bar where you make your own, but we didn't know how to make one. Our waiter was also a bartender so he volunteered to walk down with us and help us make them. Oh my goodness, so good!! I'm a fan!

G had the egg casserole with homemade toast and homemade jam. 

I had the breakfast empanadas with chorizo, goat cheese and eggs. So delicious!!!

After an amazing brunch we stopped at Madcap Coffee. Their Cafe Miel is bomb.

We walked and watched the ice skaters one more time while drinking our coffee. Then we swam at the pool for a while. I swam laps for over 30 minutes to burn off brunch, ha! Then we packed up and headed home. It was a short trip, but we packed it full of fun. G had a wonderful birthday weekend. Mission accomplished!