Graydon's Crossing — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

Good pub with a nice burger and fries. Service was a bit lacking, though nice.

Big Easy: Half pound standard burger ordered medium and got it medium. The burger was juicy and cooked the way I like it. The rest of the burger was fairly plain and not much else to write home about. The cheese was not melted much. I saw it had mustard and no ketchup, so I freaked and asked them for ketchup instead of mustard which they did.

I thought the burger was a little overpriced compared to the many of the other places I have visited in the area. If it were that good, I wouldn’t have a problem paying the price, but it was too plain to charge $16 and only get chips.

Fries: I upgraded to the fries. They were again fairly plain, but done right. They are medium sized steak fries with a good fluffy center and medium softer outer skin. They stayed warm until the end and were cooked just right.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts: WOAH! Powerful taste. There are several well balanced flavors that were nonetheless screaming for attention on this dish. I do like brussel sprouts and these were great, but a bit too much.

That said, the parmesan was added as large shavings rather than grated which gave a great texture. The bacon is always a nice touch. The sherry gastrique was very sweet and powerful. There was a sour flavor to it as well that hits you at first, but settles down as you become acquainted with the initial shock. I liked it and it is worth trying. You’ll have to be the judge, though. It is a unique flavor.

Not on the menu, but they have gluten free buns. Also, their Barnyard Burger was listed apart from the other burgers and I missed it. Their menu needs a bit of organization.

They also have Shepherd’s Pie. Maybe I’ll come back and try that some time.

They also list specials on their website. They are mostly drinks, though. I do see occasional specials for food listed on their Facebook page.

Service: We were greeted at the door immediately and seated at a booth at our request. However, that is where it seemed to go downhill. We looked over our menu and were ready to order and waited a good while (it was NOT that busy). Finally, I ended up sticking my head into the isle and being served by someone who wouldn’t have served us otherwise. Waters were finally brought (though never refilled) and our orders were taken. When served, it did come in a timely fashion, though. Paying also took a while. We had the credit card on the table for a good 5 minutes or more waiting to pay.

BEWARE: The tip by default is 25% when paying by credit card. I didn’t notice until it was too late, especially since we were trying to get out as soon as possible since it was taking too long. I would NOT have tipped that much for our experience. Lesson learned.

Atmosphere: The booths have hard wooden backs, but cushioned seats (a bit worn, but not bad at all). The wood is warn down I think on purpose. It gives it that old-world feel they boast of. I felt like we were in Ireland or Scotland. There is a decent amount of old-world decor and the main of the inside is dark wood. It was overall comfortable in spite of the wooden backs.

The music playing in the background was almost imperceptible. I could not hear it unless I really listened for it. Talking to my wife was not an issue and I appreciated that.

The bathrooms were a tad small, but were okay. My wife mentioned the women’s room was a bit unclean, but I didn’t think the men’s room was bad.

To call this place a “gastropub” (according to their Google Maps description) I think is a bit of a stretch. I think it is more of a pub with a slightly greater emphasis on the food than a pub. Maybe somewhere in the middle. I am guessing they have been around for almost 14 years (November 5, 2010 according to their Facebook page).

Visited on a Friday night 7-8 PM. It was not terribly busy for a Friday and there were plenty of staff on hand from what I saw. Even a couple of the cooks came out for a...

I can genuinely say that I have never, ever, seen onion rings that look quite like these. They are, as the kids like to say, "thick," plump, and tall, at least two of those words being something I've never used to describe onion rings in the past. They're almost like cross-sections of bulbous onion spheres, with a handful of holes drilled in to make them true rings.

The batter is clearly thick, and coats what is certainly a massive cut of onion, both in height and width. They are, as the menu claims, "super colossal." Sprinkled with cilantro as a garnish, the specks of green make for an interesting dish. While the beer batter is appealing, there are more than a few gaps in the facade. That said, this is only a minor mark on their appearance, with everything else being a delight.

The presentation, like the restaurant, is classy and simple, on a bowl-like plate and served with a ramekin of cilantro ranch.

The colossal size of the onion rings is not quite matched by the taste, though it does come close. The thickness of the rings, both as a whole and in the constituent parts of the onion and the batter, meant that the quantity of flavor was supreme. The onions were cooked just right, able to maintain their shape while still secreting copious amounts of juices, all without devolving to a mushy mess.

They were, as a result, fairly greasy, though the amount of grease compared to the surface area of the onion ring is roughly standard. The batter is very well seasoned, particularly with the flakes of cilantro mixed in with the batter.

The cilantro ranch provided a uniquely spicy kick accompanying the rings, making the first unique foray into what might be construed as Mexican inspired onion rings.

While there was a big flavor for these rings, I think the sheer size of the onion, and the thickness of the batter, was responsible more than anything else.

The batter on these onion rings were the absolute thickest I have ever encountered. It was tough and crunchy, and took serious effort to gnaw my way through the brick-like edifice. The texture was good, but there was just an extraordinary amount of it. "Woe, woe to you, great onion ring, you mighty city of Allium!" Alas, onion ring. Alas, as you collapse under the weight of your own hubris.

Each bite led to successive layers of the rings of the batter shedding off, like a collapse of the walls of Constantinople, with my tooth cannons chipping away at its once mighty defenses. The edifice, which looked so mighty, had a weak structural integrity, borne out by the bitter truth of experience.

Much like the treasures and loot hidden within Constantinople, for the conquering invaders to pluck at their whim, the onion had a shiny and silky smooth texture. They were thick and meaty, and helped the onion ring gain ground at the loss of points from the impenetrable batter.

These four onion rings cost $4, for a dollar apiece. While it's very pricey per ring, the size and quality of the taste made them a more than reasonable...

Visited with my girlfriend and several other friends a while ago. I'm late in reviewing, I admit, though I digress. We selected Graydon's as we felt a yearning for British style pub fare and proper pints. The beer selection was impressive absolutely, and I appreciated that many of the taps were filled by uncommonly seen beers from the UK and Ireland (Boddingtons, Murphy's, Speckled Hen, Wexford, etc). However, thats where the positive feelings ended. It took a good long while between our drink orders being put in and the time that our drinks actually arrived at table, and none of us ordered mixed drinks or cocktails. It took a slide further when it came time for food. We waited nearly an hour for our meals to arrive, at which point many at the table were cross. Our server was thoroughly incompetant, to the point of being outright neglectful. When our food arrived it was barely edible. Myself and several others at the table ordered the house's fish and chips, figuring that they were a pub staple and fairly easy to make. All who had the fish and chips were sorely let down, as they were barely edible lumps of under done, doughy and grease sopped lumps of grey coloured "fish". My girlfriend ordered the pub burger, done medium well. It arrived very very rare, and after politely hailing our waiter, was sent back. When it returned to the table, it was a burned to a crunch. When we asked to speak to a manager, our server developed an attitude and questioned why we'd want to speak to do that, becoming rude and hostile. We had to chat with the hostess in order for a manager to come past. Our visit was truly disappointing, and management made no efforts to correct the mistakes, nor offered any sort of apology for the horrid service and food. It's sad to say this all, as the atmosphere itself was really rather charming, in a well worn and inviting traditional country pub style. I have serious reservations about returning here for anything besides a...