Have you ever started out with a good intention and things got a little, ahmm, off course?
We made plans about 6 months ago with our good friends, Jake and Kaylee, to run a race in Grand Rapids, MI this past weekend. The plan was to get up at 5:45 am on Saturday and be in Grand Rapids for a race start time of 9:00 am. Well, as the weekend got closer, we all kind of decided that getting up at 5:45 am to run in less than ideal weather wasn’t sounding so fun. Instead of running the race, all four of us decided to sleep in (guilty pleasure) and go to Greenbush Brewery for lunch.
I am so glad our plans got off course–we had the best day! We did encounter a little rain on the way to Greenbush but by the time we got there the sun was shining! Greenbush has such a fun, funky vibe with great beers and an eclectic little menu. The building is somewhat industrial but has a cozy feel. Cody and Kaylee got flights of beer. I always let Cody get the flight and I try a sip of each until I decide which one I like–I am not a beer connoisseur but I do enjoy a tasty brew once in awhile.
We were all starving by the time we got there. I think I am always hungry, especially, when good food is involved! We shared a Basil Pesto Hummus appetizer and a Pickled Vegetable appetizer. Of the two, we liked the hummus the best!
For entrees, I had a wedge salad with radishes, croutons, and a homemade dill buttermilk ranch dressing. I eat a lot of salads at home and usually stick to vinaigrette dressings but the dill buttermilk ranch was calling my name. It was so good I could have eaten it with a spoon.
Cody ordered the BBQ Combo plate that had pulled pork, pulled chicken, and a house-made sausage link. He had house-made baked beans, potato salad, and Como bread (a thick slice of buttery-bread goodness) on the side. Naturally, a salad wouldn’t fill me up so he shared his BBQ with me. Both of our favorite meat was the pulled chicken.
Kaylee got the Cubano sandwich–hot capicola, house-smoked pulled pork and swiss cheese with mustard bbq sauce and sweet hot pickles on a pretzel bun. She said it was as good as it looked! Go ahead and wipe that drool from your mouth.
Jake was feeling adventurous and went with the Smoked Asparagus sandwich–house-smoked asparagus, goat cheese, house tomato jam, mint-basil pesto, sliced cucumber, and lettuce on Como bread. He gets the adventurous eater of the day award! He gave us all a little bite and the house tomato jam was out of this world! They should consider doing an appetizer made with cream cheese and that tomato jam!
Let me just say that their house-made mustard is a force to be reckoned with–Jake was in heaven eating the mustard on pretzels!
After lunch, we walked over to the Sawyer Garden Center. I have heard about the garden center from a lady I work with but had never been there before. It is like a gardeners wonderland in there. It seems like the store never ends–there is fresh produce, unconventional groceries, a gift shop, and a never-ending supply of flowers and plants.
We were having so much fun we didn’t want the day to end so we decided to stop by Flippin’ Cow in Elkhart on our way home. My brother, Nick, is a bartender there and he always knows how to keep a party going. Besides that, he makes a darn good Bloody Mary! We ran into our good friends, Mike and Nick (Nick must be a popular name). It was warm enough to sit outside on the patio for a few hours–summer is hopefully on its way!
After Flippin’ Cow we headed back to our house for quote on quote “garage beers”. Cody is known in our group of friends for having a clean garage with cold beer–not a bad gig. We sat out on the back patio and soaked up the last of the sunshine. The highlight at the end of the night was Cody’s mad scientist skills–he opened the Gumbo he bought from the Sawyer Garden Center, made rice, cooked brats, sauteed shrimp and then created his own spiced-up Gumbo. I am sorry I didn’t get a pic of him in action!
It was a never ending day of fun! It was a good reminder to always be open to going off course–follow what your gut is telling you in the moment! I think we all had more fun on our little adventure than we would have forcing ourselves to get out of bed at the butt-crack to drive to Grand Rapids!
