Wild Chef: Holland, MI

Wild Chef is an independent Japanese steak house in Holland, Michigan. I've been there twice and have been impressed both times. The chefs are as talented as any you would find at the well-known teppenyaki restaurants. There are moments of impressive fire and utensil tricks, but what really matters is that the food is excellent. The fried rice is some of the best I've ever had and the shrimp appetizer is delicious. Their sushi and miso soup is wonderful. As my entree, I had their yakiniku, a marinated beef, and really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed a glass of some of the best plum wine I've ever tried (they sell it by the bottle, as well).

If you're in Holland for the Tulip Festival, or any other time, check out Wild Chef. It's right on 131, so it's easy to find (just look for the red triangles on top of the small strip they're in). I think you'll really like the combination of theatrics and delicious food. If you've never been to a Japanese steak house, you'll love the experience! And maybe, like my son, the chopsticks.

Cinco Lagos: Milford, Michigan

Ok, again, I apologize for the lack of pictures. We went to Cinco Lagos on the same day we went to The Burger Joint. Since the camera battery died without a single picture being taken...well, you understand.

I really like Cinco Lagos. I've been there twice and made sure to try a couple different items. I've had the roasted chile relleno and the tres sopes. Both were fresh and tasty. The pork belly in the tres sopes was especially delicious and the roasted chile rellano was really complex and full of flavor. My husband enjoyed his fajitas and we all loved the bread pudding and banana-changa (a banana and almond paste deep fried in a tortilla with a chocolate dipping sauce). My four year old stuck with his old standby, the cheese quesadilla, but he had no complaints and was happy to share the dessert! Not only is this a local restaurant but Chef Brian Polcyn is diligent about sourcing everything locally as often as possible. If you're looking for a bit more upscale take on Mexican cuisine, but still want to stay local, visit Cinco Lagos on Main Street in Milford, Michigan!

The Burger Joint: Milford, Michigan

First, I must apologize for a lack of pictures. Our camera battery died as I was trying to get a picture of the outside of the restaurant. *Sigh* Oh well, use your imagination and you'll be fine!

The Burger Joint, on Main Street in Milford, Michigan, is awesome! It's a small place where you order at the counter and then wait for your number to be called. Their meat is ground locally just for them and their fries are hand cut. At our table, we ordered a salmon burger (a special for Lent), a kid's cheeseburger, a Joey burger, and a custom burger with garlic aioli, bleu cheese and burnt onions. Every sandwich was delicious and perfectly made. The fries and coleslaw were also wonderful.  We were there in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday and there was a pretty steady trickle of customers, but we only waited about 10 minutes for our freshly made food.

All-in-all The Burger Joint was a great place for a quick, casual meal and I will definitely go back!

Guidelines #1: Food

Food is one of my very favorite things, so let's start there. Keep in mind, these are guidelines. There are no hard and fast rules for this quest of mine. Sometimes life happens. I'm not going to berate myself if an experiment goes terribly wrong and I end up ordering a pizza...or drinking heavily while locked in my bedroom. OK, probably not that, but you never know.

My hopes for the food part of this adventure are as follows:
1) I plan on cooking real food, from scratch, about 80% of the time. The remaining 20% of the time we will probably be visiting or eating out. If we're eating out, I will do my best to find a locally owned restaurant. Ideally, they will source their foods locally.
2) This spring, I'm going to plant a garden using the square foot gardening technique. I already have rhubarb and raspberries planted and they should both bear fruit this summer.
3) I am going to buy the majority of my meat and produce from local sources. Ideally, these will be organic and untreated.
4) This summer and fall I'm going to begin learning to can and preserve the food that I grow and buy locally.

That about covers it, I guess. I'll probably revise these as I go along, but I think food will be the easiest part. Stay tuned for the hard stuff!