25 Ottawa Avenue, Suite 100You all know I work too much.
It’s fine when I’m choosing to work those hours. The overtime is really nice.
What makes me angry when I’m forced to “work” weekends when I have plans.
Our company put in an “on-call” schedule where they just assign people weekends to be on call. Those days aren’t paid unless we get called in….but it also limits what we can plan for and do on those weekends.
My on-call weekend happened to be the weekend Disney on Ice was in Grand Rapids. My kids aren’t really in to Disney anymore but they are really in to ice skating. That and one of the performers is from Galesburg and skated in the Greater Kalamazoo Skating Association so there’s a connection there that made them really excited to go.
J didn’t want to take a chance on buying a ticket and then me getting called in to work thus wasting the ticket. I was angry…not because I was going to miss Disney on Ice but because I was being forced to miss Disney on Ice without getting paid for it.
By the time J was ready to leave for Grand Rapids, I hadn’t gotten called in and the chances of me getting called in for a shift were very slim. I decided to chance it and drove J and the kids to Grand Rapids. It was snowing and J doesn’t really like driving in snow. It doesn’t bother me and I figured I could find something to do in downtown Grand Rapids while they were at the show.
I dropped everyone off in front of Van Andel Arena around 6:00 on Saturday night. There was no way in hell I was going to pay event parking downtown so I started driving around looking for a meter….which is free on weekends. I wasn’t in a hurry so I could drive around for a while to find one.
I eventually found one on Monroe Center then had to make the decision on where to go to eat. When I dropped J and the kids off, I saw a restaurant across the street that I’ve been wanting to go to so I headed back towards Fulton Street.
Social House Kitchen & Bar is on Ottawa Avenue just south of Fulton Street across from Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids. The bar takes up a large street level space in the 25 Ottawa Building in the city’s Arena District. The building underwent major renovations in 2015 give the spaces an updated feel and even included a skybridge to the Arena.
The space has the main bar/dining area plus a large private dining space next to it. I was a little surprised to not find the place totally packed with an event across the street but that event was a kids show. There were a few families eating dinner before heading over but most people looked to be larger groups getting their Saturday night started. The dining room is pretty open and takes advantage of the historic features of the building to accent the space. Social House is kind of a mix between a sports bar and a higher end pub. There are TV’s all over the walls but the vibe is classier than a typical sports bar.
I headed straight for the U-Shaped bar in the back of the space. I saw a couple of open seats so I grabbed one on the corner next to one of the support posts. I was clearly the “old guy” in the bar so I just wanted to remain invisible, have a beer, and get something to eat.
I took a look at the taps and saw a couple that I would drink. I ended up picking the Jai Alai from Cigar City Brewing because it has been quite a while since I’ve had one of those. The bartender asked if I wanted a pint or a 32 oz. I took the bigger one not quite realizing I was going to get a huge mug of beer. It was a little awkward to drink but probably worked out just fine. Instead of ordering two beers, I just got the one.
When the bartender set the drink down, he asked if I wanted a food meu. I said yup, looked at it quickly and found a burger that sounded delicious.
I ordered the Social House Burger. This monster of a sandwich is three beef patties topped with a fried egg, cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, haystack onions (I left these off), lettuce, tomato, and jalapeno. The whole thing is then covered in a gooey, creamy cheese sauce of gruyere, gouda, and fontina cheese. It’s put together on a brioche bun that didn’t stand a chance. With all the different flavors and textures going on, it’s hard to believe that everything came though. It was hard to get everything that was on this burger in one bite so I kind of got pieces of it at different times. I tried to pick this thing up and eat like a sandwich but after a few bites, there was just no way. The bottom bun was obliterated. I actually had to use a knife and fork to eat a burger.
The sandwich came with fries. Nothing super special but they were perfect for dipping in to the cheese sauce that was oozing off the burger.
The cost for my dinner was a little over $30 before tip.
I was pretty bummed about missing out on what my (2 year old when we took her to Disney on Ice the first time) daughter referred “two mice and some ice skating” but I knew I was going to end up with a delicious relaxed meal somewhere. Walking back to Social House was a good move. It’s a great space with a great menu and tap list.