Vitale’s a great game-time experience

I was driving back from a fun but long weekend in the Traverse City area with my brother-in-law last week, and we decided we needed some food and a well deserved beer. We both live on the east side of Grand Rapids and felt like something a little different than the usual Ada, or 28th st same olds. Coming up on the Fifth Third ball park, I remembered that there is a Vitales on West River drive that I went to four or five years ago. There is Sunday night football on and they have T.V’s and Beer! Perfect.

Upon entering, I was surprised by how few people were inside compared to the cars outside. The hostess instructed us to go out to the deck. Wow! This was not here last time. They built a large open patio with seating for close to 100. There are oversized garage-type doors that open all the way around to expose the patrons to the outside. They put in in-floor heat so that area can be used in the winter as well. There is a huge raised bar along the building side of the patio with large screen tv’s along the top. I believe this is the only place I have been where you could sit in an open air environment and watch your choice of sports. They have six 110″ TVs and 37 LCDs thoughout the building. One of my main complaints about most Grand Rapids restaurants is the lack of outdoor seating, so this is a welcome addition.

Vitale’s offers $2.75 pints and $3.75 24 oz drafts on Sundays with Bloody Marys at $3.00. We went with the 24 oz. (just seemed like a better deal). The menu consists of typical Italian style bar food with grinders, pizza, paninis, salads, pastas and pizza. They offer various food specials throughout the week as well.

I was hungry, and the eggplant parmesan sounded like the way to go. The waitress told me that it was a very large portion, and the sandwich was almost as large, but less costly, so that is the way I went. And she wasn’t exaggerating; the sandwich was huge. The eggplant was delicious and luckily not swimming in cheese. They make most of the food from scratch including the eggplant. The texture was mildly firm with just the right seasoning. The bread was very fresh with a nice crisp crust. The sauce was very tangy and had crisp tomato taste. I liked the sauce so much, I did ask for a side to dip the sandwich. Accompanying the sandwich was a crisp dill pickle. Overall the sandwich was great. I opted for the broccoli cheese soup rather than fries. The soup was very tasty with crisp broccoli. The sandwich with soup was just under $10.00. I would say a couple could easily split this with an appetizer and a few large beers and be out the door for $20.00 with tip. A very reasonable price for what you are getting.

Vitale’s was clean and the staff very friendly. I would give them four out of five stars. The only negative I would say is that it’s located in a manufacturing district and there was quite a bit of large truck traffic. For your next visit to Fifth Third ball park, stop at Vitale’s for a quick bite!

Vitale's  ( Rating: out of 5 )

Where: 3868 W River Drive NE, Comstock Park, MI
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Ambiance: Sports bar
How much will it cost you: Entrees and pizzas average between $10 and $20.
Credit cards: All major
Alcohol: Yes
Reservations: No
Wireless Internet: Yes
Contact: (616) 784-501
Online: http://www.vitalessportsbar.com/