10 Ionia Avenue NWOne of my favorite things about working a shift in Grand Rapids is lunch. I used to work in GR daily but got moved to the office in Kalamazoo almost five years ago. So many new places have popped up in Kalamazoo since the move.
I’ve been working a day or two in Grand Rapids every week the last couple of weeks due to some schedule shifting. The colleague I typically work with in Kalamazoo is filling in a few days a week in Grand Rapids for someone else. Instead of sending someone to work with me, I usually just get brought to Grand Rapids as well.
I was in Grand Rapids late last year and went to West Side Deli for lunch one day. On my way to Bridge Street Market, I drove past a building that didn’t exist when I worked up there. In that new building was a Wahlburgers. I knew there was one opening in Grand Rapids but totally forgot about it on my way to get a delicious roast beef sandwich.
Wahlburgers Grand Rapids location is on the corner of Ionia and Fulton in downtown Grand Rapids. The restaurant is part of the Residence Inn by Marriott building. There are a few street parking options on the street in the area but there is also a city owned lot and ramp right across the street to make things a little easier.
The only other time I have eaten at a Wahlburgers was in Greektown in Detroit. That night, I walked in to the restaurant and there was an order counter near the back of the space. I guess I just assumed they were all like that, but when I as I was walking by on the street, I noticed there was no order counter. Instead of walking in, I went back to my car and placed an order online.
I gave it 20 minutes before walking back across the street. The entrance to the restaurant is a little ways up the block from the Fulton Street intersection on Ionia. When you enter, there’s a host stand right there with the kitchen window right behind it. The rest of the restaurant has a huge, beautiful bar area and seating throughout where you are served by waiters. This is just me, but I really wanted this to be a counter service place.
My meal was being packed up as I walked in. I had already paid online so once it was handed over, I was out the door and on my way back to the office.
I started with the fries first. They were really nothing special. Pretty simple thin, skin on fries. Not much more to say.
My burger choice was the Double Decker. This sandwich is two beef burger patties “government” cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and the signature Wahl Sauce. I added bacon to my sandwich because….bacon.
The sandwich was actually quite large and quite filling. The double stacked meat made it a pretty hardy sandwich. The meat was tender and juicy and soaked up that Government cheese (which is essentially American cheese if you’ve never heard the term Government cheese before). I’m always iffy on sauces but I’m trying to get better and leave them on sandwiches. The Wahl Sauce is a combination of ketchup, mayo, sriarcha and a few other things so it’s a little tangy and a little spicy. I like when sauces are subtle and not dripping off the sandwich. That’s how this one was. The taste came through without making a mess and grossing me out.
Wahlburgers is good but I don’t know if it’s sit down restaurant good. I would have much preferred just to walk in and order a burger from the counter. I feel like they’re trying to stand out from places like Shake Shack and give you the full service restaurant experience but the burger, while delicious, isn’t really full service restaurant like.
With that said, I enjoyed the burger and will order from Wahlburgers again. Next time I’ll know to order online before I leave the house though.