4553 Canal Avenue SWWasn’t planning on being in Grandville tonight, but since I was, I thought I’d take advantage of it and find someplace in the area to eat.
There are a lot of chain restaurants in the area of Rivertown Crossings, so I actually had my pick of what chain I was going to eat at. Sure, I could have went deeper in to town or even Wyoming and found something local, but there is one place in Grandville that is slowly expanding across the state and a place that I have liked in the past.
Bagger Dave’s Legendary Burger Tavern is fairly new to the Grand Rapids Metro area. The first restaurant opened in Cascade Township at the end of 2011. Since then, they’ve added restaurants in downtown Grand Rapids, Holland, and this location in Grandville.
The restaurant sits in a little shopping center on Canal just south of Rivertown Parkway near Grandville High School. The store is part of a larger multi-use building but it carries the theme of Bagger Dave’s upscale tavern.
I really like Bagger Dave’s due to their online ordering. I used it in the past when I’ve ordered from the Cascade Township store and I decided to do it again. My plan was to order a burger, but for whatever reason, the order wouldn’t go through no matter how many different burger combinations I tried. It never gave me an explanation as to why, but instead of being a normal person and picking up a phone, I just changed my order.
I was planning on ordering one of the Artisan Mac ‘n’ Cheese options as a side, but I said hell with it and just upped to an entree.
My choice was the Smokin’ Hot Mac ‘n’ Cheese. The entree portion seemed a little small to me at first, but it was packed in to the to-go container pretty tightly. I bet on a plate it would have looked like a full meal. The Smokin’ Hot Mac ‘n’ Cheese actually starts with the Twisted Mac ‘n’ Cheese and brings on the heat. The cavatappi noodles is mixed with three cheeses, sharp cheddar, smoked gouda, and Swiss. It’s then topped with more cheese (Parmesan) and bread crumbs. To make it hot, applewood bacon, jalapenos, pico de gallo, and their Santa Fe Chipotle Sauce is added to the mix. It’s hard to imagine me not getting a burger at a burger joint, but damn, was this mac ‘n cheese good. Some of the heat was obvious…there were big chunks of jalapenos, but even in bites without the peppers, there was still just a hint of spice in all that smokey, cheesy goodness.
With my original idea, I wasn’t going to order fries, but since I got the mac ‘n cheese as an entree, I added on the fries and I went for a double order…and when they say double order, they mean it. It was two full orders of their Fresh Cut Potato Fries with Sea Salt. Of course, I had no trouble polishing off both bags….
The total for the pasta and fries was just a hair over $13. I really like how this Bagger Dave’s is set up with the carry-out counter the first thing when you see when entering the restaurant. I walked right up to the register and could see my order being packed up.
I’ve heard complaints about Bagger Dave’s from friends in Grand Rapids..mostly about cost vs. amount/quality of food. I don’t agree. I really enjoy Bagger Dave’s and I would enjoy it a helluva lot more if I actually had time to sit down and eat one day. They have a great selection of Michigan beers to compliment their tasty burgers which screams “great restaurant” to me.
Fresh Cut Potato Fries w/Sea Salt and Smokin’ Hot Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Smokin’ Hot Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Fresh Cut Potato Fries w/Sea Salt
