GRGridGirl

Nitro, I know what you're thinking.... I will NOT accidently drop my phone in the toliet!

I'll be there tonight. At 1am I'll check out the bathrooms and with my handy i730, I'll post a live update.

Yes that's true, but that is not always the case for me. I know about many different things that are not related to work. I will never reveal my sources..... I will say it's not from work. (YO, it's my "Jenny on the Block" street knowledge)

Brian Giampapa & Larry Zeiser are the proprietors. They are great guys & do good work.

Monte's is closing for 90 days to remodel the place. O'Tooles will remain open.

Thanks....

Daddy: Good start..... Division received her name because she was the line between Section 11 & 12. You see this today as many east/west streets do not line up as they cross Division. The two sections were developed by two very different developers. Division was not only an entertainment district; it was a central business district. Division was used as a major north/south route for trade & commerce. When 131 was built through the city, a negative result was loss of traffic on Division, thus reducing the amount of customers & forcing once vibrant businesses to close or move. In our City's effort to compete with the suburbs and the malls, they decided that by constructing highways thru the heart of the city, razing buildings for parking lots, zoning out mixed use, and closing up transparent storefronts would help, when it actually hurt. A common theme in many cities. Heartside has been listed as historic district since 1982: "The Heartside Historic District is significant in the history of Grand Rapids' commercial development as the historical center of the city's large wholesale trade. The district is also notable in architectural terms for possessing one of the largest and finest concentrations of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century industrial and commercial warehouse/wholesale structures in Michigan. In addition, many individual buildings within the district are important architectural landmarks in the Grand Rapids context." -NR; NPS -GridGirl "I'm either on the Grid or off in Nature, there is no in-between."

I disagree with you on this one. Okay, maybe they do that at the OG & other chains, but my place Downtown, which was not the case. We didn't even take reservations, only walk-ins, and the seating is visible to all, so no "closed" sections here. Plus from a server's point, they want to turn their tables, its more cash. We could not help it if for the 200 seats we had, 400 people wanted them between 6:30-11pm on weekends. Next time, keep your favorite places numbers on your cell phone. That way, if you have a long wait at one place, you can call & check the waits at other places. It might help you realize that you

Daddy, I love people like you. I used to serve as a manager at a (still) hot Downtown restaurant. Guests come in, see that its a 45 minute wait (OHMYGOSH!), and leave, only to wander around and find a place with less of a wait, & by the TIME they do, they could have had a table at my place. So you Daddy-O, go to BWG at 6:30 pm, don't want to wait & leave. Had you stayed, you would have been sat at 7:30pm. Instead you wasted 1 hr 45 min traveling all around the east side, only to end up at a big chain restaurant with bad food & service. Oh yeah, thanks for saying hi when you stopped in Mangiamo's. I was at the bar with the big guy.

I use a Canon Digital Rebel SLR & I have the choice of an 18-55 mm lens & a 75-300 mm lens. This is a GREAT camera, it's easy to use. The best part is that my father has multiple lens and accessories for me to play with. I just got the Samsung i730, which I love. After bad luck with two other cell phones, I

Nitro: Be nice. You know how I think you're soo smart. Happy Holidays & get back to work!

Nerdy Nitro: My apologies. This was the term that some of the Downtown business owners used since the tunnels are used as storage places. You never know what you might find down there..... Would "UnderGR" work better in reference to the undergound? Anyway, a buddy of ours is working on setting up this tour. Let us know if you're in. BTW, last night the contractors were pouring concrete on Division by Cherry. They were sitting out in lawn chairs protecting the smoothness. I had a great time trying to walk down the sandy street with heels on and red wine.

When I worked Downtown, many of the buildings along Fulton had catacombs that were partially closed. In many cases, you can still walk underground to the middle of the street.

Friday night I went to five art gallery showings along Division, Wealthy/Straight, and at the UICA Art Battle. A lot of fun and a lot of red wine. It was my first time in Studio 71 South, which does not only sell art, but has a cool retail section too. I was impressed with all the art galleries and with the new artist lofts. Division is on its way to being the "Avenue for the Arts" in GR. There is an street event on December 15th. "Urban Lights of December 2005, an urban celebration of Food, Art, Music, Fashion, and things undiscovered." Studio 71 South Avenue for the Arts Artists in many cases are pioneers in revitalizing urban blighted areas. For example, Wicker Park and Bucktown in Chicago. To Art! BTW, it would be cool to organize a Downtown catacomb tour.

Does anyone know the new name of Cambridge House's new bar at the old Scoreboard? Its "_______ Crossing" and they'll be opening soon. Bye, bye Scoreboard! Congrats to Larry and Brian on their new venture. 1223 Plainfield Ave NE

Does anyone want tickets to McFadden's opening parties Thursday or Friday? Thursday night is there pre-grand opening VIP party and Friday is the grand opening party. I have tickets to both nights, but can't go.

I do not like national chain restaurants. I do not like them Downtown, I do not like them Uptown, I do not care if they have a cool front of the house, I could care less if they had the best BBQ sauce!

Rogers big & Tall is having a grand opening celebration this week at their new location, 1100 East Paris, part of the Daniel's compound.

I agree it's good, but it also has too many nontraditional items. Super deep fried maki rolls??? My issue with menus serving too many nontraditional items is that people start believing their eating "authentic cuisine." That is why I love Wei Wei's. It serves traditional Cantonese food like dim sum, chow fun, & gai lon. It's my GR version of a little Chinatown. Tea (cha) anyone? "In the crazy world of mu goo gai pan and egg foo young, the line between authentic Chinese food and just another corn starch-infested slop from Happy Wok gets blurred." Quote from Mark Liao. "Rainbow Roll, Caterpillar Roll with cream cheese is not traditional sushi," Kotani said. "I want to introduce American customers (to) how to eat sushi." "The art of making sushi is being lost because it's getting too commercialized," said Robert Alvarado, co-owner of Yokozuna's, a Hawaiian-style sushi restaurant in Chula Vista. "They're just ... throwing ingredients together." Maki I know my opinion is strong on this matter.

I wish the Thai House and Wei-Wei Palace were not so far away from Downtown. I would like more sushi, Thai, Cantonese, and Vietnamese places in central city neighborhoods (they tend to hide in suburban strip malls). I say less fast food ethnic buffets, less national chains (Fishbone is owned by?), a larger Gaia House similar to the Heartland Cafe in Chicago, more local bistros that stay open later, more ethnic restaurants, and more specialty restaurants. (Like what you find in Bucktown, Scylla) Is that too much to ask? Until 28th Street & Alpine are rebuilt with mixed-use sustainable developments, streets with a width of 42 ft, sidewalks, street furniture, crosswalks, mass transit, and zero setback buildings with open facades, I

What is going on at the old Gibson's? The Gilmore Collection will be opening a new restaurant in the old Gibson's at 1033 Lake Drive SE. Welcome Mangiamo

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