West Michigan - Grand Rapids

West Michigan - Grand Rapids One - Day Trip & Food Guide 🗺️🍴 Grand Rapids is a quiet, clean, and beautiful small city near Lake Michigan 🌊. In early October, I took a stroll around the city while on a business trip—mostly following travel notes from Xiaohongshu bloggers for food and fun, and everything was amazing! Now, let me recommend a few restaurants that seem to be underrated too! Must - Visit Attraction: Frederik Meijer Gardens 🌳 It’s super spacious! If you’re driving, keep going all the way in—you can park in a spot really close to the main entrance 🚗.The garden is incredibly beautiful in autumn! The weather is sunny but not scorching, and the lawns are piled with all kinds of pumpkins 🎃. I spent about 4 hours here—there are so many places to explore, and the sculptures are gorgeous too 😆! However, autumn isn’t the best time to visit the Japanese Garden area—the leaves have all fallen, and the water is a bit murky 🥲. Social Misfits (The Highly Recommended Waffle Shop) 🧇 This is an incredibly delicious waffle shop!! Though it’s really hard to find parking (street parking doesn’t seem allowed—I ended up using a public parking lot 🅿️).I ordered the sweet - and - salty Hashtag Waffle. The waffle was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with just the right amount of sweetness 🍯. The outer crisp wasn’t sharp enough to hurt the roof of your mouth—just a thin, delicate crunch. As a waffle lover, this is definitely one of the best waffles I’ve ever had 🙌! Pho Soc Trang (Vietnamese Pho Restaurant) 🍜 The taste is amazing (o´ω`o) ノ，and the portions are huge! What I loved most was that the sauce didn’t have that harsh, sourness—how well a restaurant balances sourness is always my benchmark for good Vietnamese food 😋. This place has a gentle, mellow sourness that’s mixed with a hint of sweetness—total thumbs up!I ordered the Extra Large Special Combination Beef Noodle Soup and Pork Meatball & Eggroll with Vermicelli. Personally, I think the vermicelli is better than the pho—it’s chewier and has a nicer texture 👍. Anna’s House (Famous Chain Restaurant) 🍞 I got the Pecan and Banana French Toast, and it was such a pleasant surprise! This French toast isn’t sweet at all—only the natural sweetness of the bananas and a faint sweetness from the sauce 🥜🍌. It’s perfect for people who don’t like “calorie bombs”! I bet the calorie count is pretty low 🥳. Less Traveled (Downtown Small Bar) 🍹 The downside is still the parking, but street parking is available here 🅿️.After work, my colleagues and I went to this little bar to relax—we could sit outside, soak up the sun, and watch the sunset 🌇. I ordered a Rosemary Gin Fizz; the drink was just so - so, but the atmosphere was fantastic 🥰! Rose’s (Super Romantic Restaurant) 🌹 The downside? Still hard to park 😂.It’s right next to Reeds Lake—you can enjoy the lake view, and if the weather is nice, you can even catch the sunset 🌅. It’s so wonderful and relaxing! I really wanted to live in the Lakewood Hills apartments across the way—it feels like all your worries would just disappear there 😍. #GrandRapidsTravel#WestMichiganEats#FoodieGuide#AutumnGetaway