Food and Laughs in Grand Rapids

My friend Lisa and I woke up in the Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton to another clear and comfortable day.

We had heard a lot of wonderful things from people in Grand Rapids about San Chez Bistro, but it turned out to be even better than we ever expected for breakfast.

It took a while to sort through their extensive and unique menu. With some help from our waiter, we filled the table with excellent choices.

We started with the Cinnamon Pecan Roll with cream cheese icing and it was amazing. It arrived freshly baked and was huge! It was hard to stop eating, even though we knew there was a lot more food to come.

My vegetable cheese eggs were loaded and topped with guacamole. Lisa went for the Breakfast Empanadas, filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, chorizo, goat and manchengo cheeses. Yes, it was as good as it sounds.

I would definitely like to return to San Chez someday and also try their drinks. They do infusions of vodka, gin, and tequila.

After breakfast, we drove by the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum. We didn’t have time to stop, but judging by the line outside the door, it is quite popular.

We also past the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, in honor of the 38^th President, who lived in Find Grand Rapids and represented the state in the House.

Our next stop was at one of the most unique and interesting museums I’ve been to, the Public Museum of Grand Rapids.

It’s hard to even describe the variety of exhibits and activities here.

There is something for everyone, making it an interesting stop for the whole family.

I love Merry Go Rounds so I couldn’t leave the Grand Rapids Public Museum without a ride on their historic carousel, even though we had spent more time there than originally scheduled.

You could easily spend an entire day exploring history, science, and technology, as well as some Michigan specific artifacts.

We were running late and pretty worn out with a late night in front of us, so we didn’t make it to the Grand Rapids Brewing Company. Instead we headed back to the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel to shower and dress for the evening.

The LaughFest Signature Event with Seth Meyers was held at DeVos Place, the convention center right next to our hotel.

As members of the press, we arrived early and sat in a special area. We sipped some wine the waiters brought out and waited for the presentations to begin.

I didn’t really know a lot about Gilda’s Club before attending this event, other than the fact that it was started by Saturday Night Live comedian and Grand Rapids native Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer, and her husband, Gene Wilder.

The stage was filled with people who had been taken in and given help by this compassionate organization. (Please take a moment to read more about Gilda’s Club, which has locations throughout the U.S., and make a donation, if possible.)

The Seth Meyers monologue was as funny as you’d expect from the late night star.

One thing we didn’t get to enjoy at the Laughfest banquet was the food. The first thing we did when we headed to the Waldron Public House was order some food.

I couldn’t resist one of their cocktails, the Smoked Pineapple Daquiri, with coconut infused white rum, pineapple, lime juice, and fresh mint.  We also had the Tandoori Chicken Pops, which were quite good and served with a cucumber-mint sauce.

We went to the back of the building to a packed room for the Laugh Riot Dolls. The free show (some of the LaughFest events are complimentary) was a wonderful mixture of local women comedians and a lot of fun.

Right after we headed back to the Amway Grand Plaza by Hilton and had a spiked hot chocolate in their rooftop bar and restaurant, CYGNUS27.

We had planned on staying for a while, but were exhausted from another full day in Grand Rapids and headed back to our room instead.