let me tell you about grand rapids, michigan, the town that i've been in since sunday night.

from what i can tell, grand rapids, which is the second-largest town in the state of michigan, is a real nice place.

i'm staying at the days inn, which is near some swanky hotel as well as a less swanky hotel, a short walk across one of two bridges into downtown. downtown has this real nice music stage which, sadly, was not active tonight. beginning in june, wednesday is outdoor blues night in grand rapids.

i've sampled two local eateries, as well as two chains, while here.

blake's turkey sandwich shoppe grades as a b. the wheat bread wasn't dark enough for my tastes, and the service of the counter guy was a bit condescending (the menu is a bit confusing...they've got condiments listed in two different places...different condiments...so he thought i meant 'everything' from one section, and i meant 'everything from the other section...and then he gave me a look when i was confused...as it turns out, i didn't get the avocado that i had hoped for.) but the sandwich was really good (as was the fruit cup...i'm on company money, so i can afford fruit cups), and the real carved turkey was all thick and yummy.

the dog pit grades as a b-minus. i expected a standard short-order place but, as it turns out, it's strictly a hot dog stand. the major flaw was their chicago style hot dog. (as we all know, a chicago style hot dog features the following condiments: mustard, relish, dill pickle, sport peppers, tomato, onion, celery salt. it's wonderful.) their definition of a chicago style hot dog: catsup, mustard, relish, tomato, onion, celery salt, chili. this clearly is not a chicago style hot dog (they've omitted the dill pickle and peppers, while adding the chili and ketchup). i was so offended by the catsup mistake (i did order the chicago style hotdog, minus the ketchup) that i didn't notice the chili anyway, i had the chicago style dog and the junkyard dog (chili, cheese, catsup, mustard, kraut, tabasco, perhaps onions...). they were yummy, and i've got indigestion! also, bonus points for the bottled beverages on hand - glass bottles of grape crush and ibc root beer and my choice, ibc cherry limeade (a success on my first sampling), and double bonus points for the empty bottle boxes next to the garbage cans...cans are worth 10 cents in the great state of michigan.

i also ate at t.g.i. friday's, where the friday's three-for-all and miller lite tasted the same as they always do, and the local burger king, which was out of barbeque sauce and dollar bills. i also drank last night at sully's sports bar in the days inn, which is pretty bad, but (see yesterday's entry) was also free.

anyway, i think grand rapids, michigan, is a place where i wouldn't mind living. it's a good smallish town.