Slow's Barbecue
The Marketplace
Grand Rapids, Michigan

I have been wanting to visit this place for the longest because I am such a fan of barbecue. I have been to barbecue joints all over the south, and really all over the nation. And initially I heard this was a good place.

Man was I lied to.

This place is first of all is going to die for being tragically hip. And it's funny. Northerners don't know how to eat barbecue so why they bother to come here befuddles me. The table next to me all of the people at their stuff without any sauce. Sheesh.

Anyway on to the specifics. First of all it'a all ala carte meaning they pinch you at every turn. We have paid ala carte before but each side we ordered was ample enough for two. But not here.

So we each ordered a side which of course was extra. I got the waffle fries [which I hate but what else goes with ribs?] and Penny got the cornbread.

When the cornbread came it was yellow, a signal that it's not good. If anyone has ever had the real-deal cornbread it comes white. It's awesome. And the yellow crap was small and certainly not worth $3.50. There were plenty of my waffle fries but most of them came home with me because really, nobody likes these. They aren't awesome hip. They suck.

I ordered the ribs and my wife ordered the sampler plate. These were the worst ribs I've ever had. I got the half rack and I didn't get enough meat to make a sandwich. The last two ribs were the only ones with any meat at all.

My wife's sampler plate came and the brisket was mostly fat. The pulled pork and the chicken were only so-so. Border line bland.

Our waiter had a man-bun so right off the place thinks it's cutting edge but one can't respect a man-bun any more than a hyphenated last name.

This place totally is ridiculously terrible. We dropped $50 bucks for a pathetic half rack of ribs, and a crappy sampler platter with bad fries and horrible cornbread [that wasn't even hot by the way.]

Avoid this place at all costs. I've never done this before, but

Grade: E
This place is terrible and I can't think of a single redeeming quality.

Pieology


This is so sophisticated that it appears to be a chain. What a great idea. One has to wonder did Subway see this and introduce pizzas or did Pieology see what Subway was trying to do and take it to the next level?

You basically walk in, select your crust, your butter, your sauce and then all the toppings. You pay.
They put them in the oven and you go pour your drink, get napkins, if you are smart grab the to go box and wait about 6 minutes. Your hot pizza it brought to your table. But all tables are too close to the door in the winter. So there's that.

I get the thin crust because this is the best thin crust in the business. Some people I'm with get the thick crust because they are somehow greedy, but the thin crust is much better. My wife tried the thick crust and next time the thin crust. She is sold - thin crust all the way.

This is a great concept done extremely well. Our only lament was why is there is not one in our town.

This is highly recommended. But I can't tell you where there are more.

Grade: A-

Amendment: Pieology, at least in Grand Rapids, has closed and are gone. Perhaps they didn't survive the pandemic. 

The Kirby Grille

We recently visited Grand Haven as an overnight get away. We tried to find the place of our first date and we picked a place that was now a high end grille. Later we determined that we were a block off of our calculations, but the place we actually went to back then is now closed.

So we ended up in this fine dining place. The entrees were $26 on up. Sides were all $6 each. But who cares? We don't do it everyday.

First off, my wife was intrigued by the espresso martini. She's a coffeeaholic. And it was wonderful. I had a beer. Not a craft beer that tastes like Squirt, but real beer. And then we both opted for the sirloin. And then mashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus. It came family style so there was much more that two people could eat.

The atmosphere was very nice. Our server was very bland but very knowledgeable and I guess that's enough. He was very efficient and that is all one can ask.

Our steaks were very good, but certainly not medium as we ordered. No pink at all in the steak. Usually medium has a pink strip in the center. But this was medium well and that's generous. The mashed potatoes were so-so but the asparagus was great, but asparagus is hard to make badly.

So for dessert my bride had the Creme Brûlée. She does anytime she can. She is an expert. And this was the best she ever had. For dessert I had a real martini. Gin and vermouth, not the wannabe martini's with vodka. And yes "shaken, not stirred." Ben brought it to the table and shook our martini's for us.

Yum Yum. My Favorite dessert. 

 This is a great place for a fun time. And a great meal. All of it was awesome. So there it is.

Grade. A-

Pita Pit

I was recently in Ft. Myers Florida and one evening my brother and sister in law took me to a little spot they enjoy. It was called the Pita Pit. I suspected we would all be getting veggie falafels, but man, was I wrong. 

First one gets to choose the meat they desire. I chose Prime Rib. They throw that on the grill.  And then it gets a little subwayesque. Then there are decisions; I chose spinach, cucumbers, pickles, tomato, provolone cheese and mayonnaise. And then they put this amazing masterpiece together. It turns out like a burrito but much more tasty. And the pita has been specially designed so there are a couple flaps that hold it all together. 

They are lots less carbs with this meal than a burrito would be and this is a lot more enjoyable. One bite and I was hooked. Delicious. I can't recommend this place enough. I don't know if they are a chain or if this is it, but I suspect there is more than one. I wanted to get the address, but they didn't didn't have a business card. So I don't know the exact address but it is located at the corner of Fowler and Colonial.

This is delicious stuff and I can't recommend it enough. One of my only complaint is that there is not one in Greenville, Michigan. 

Grade: A-