Just a few miles east of Northland Drive/East Beltline is the village of Cannonsburg, home to The Grist Mill (deli and gas station), The Bottle Shop (excellent wine store) and the focus of this article — The Honey Creek Inn.

First things first. This place is busy all the time. We’ve yet to arrive there and not have a wait for a table. Which often poses a problem as there is very little room to stand and wait for one. On any given Friday or Saturday evening there are people stacked up all over the place, waiting for their chance at a great meal. Secondly, this place is loud. If you’re looking for an intimate, romantic dinner — this isn’t it. It’s loud, crowded and frantically busy.

That said, if you are looking for some seriously tasty food, knowledgeable and extremely-friendly wait staff, and a well-stocked bar second-to-none, then this is the place. Chef Michael Whalen and his crew know how to do it right when it comes to good food and drink.

My husband and I were seated after a 45-minute wait, and were promptly attended to by Matt who provided drinks and advice on the menu. My husband ordered the Perch Fillet Basket ($12.95), and I ordered the Pan-fried Walleye ($15.95), topped with lemon caper sauce as recommended by Matt. Even as busy as it was, both our meals arrived within a very reasonable time and we settled down to a great meal.

The perch fillets were lightly breaded and crisply fried and had a heavenly aroma. Eight to 10 fillets are served in a basket, along with crispy fries, slaw and the chef’s homemade tartar sauce. The walleye was beautifully done, and the addition of the caper lemon sauce really boosted the flavor of what can sometimes be a rather ho-hum fish. The fish was served with mashed potatoes and parsnips and fresh broccoli. The mashed potatoes, while good, were pretty heavy on the parsnip flavor, and the broccoli was a wee bit crispier than I would have liked.

The Honey Creek Inn is also known for their steaks and their house-made kielbasa. They have daily food and wine specials, and the chef focuses on doing a few things very well, rather than a huge menu where all things are done in a mediocre way. This restaurant is worth the drive, and if you are uninterested in waiting for a table, it’s the perfect place for a Tuesday or Wednesday night meal. Or, just show up really, really early.

Let’s face it: There are a lot of sub-par and average burgers out there. It takes a special place to turn the common burger into a near-religious experience. Luckily, for West Michigan burger aficionados, we have Fat Boy.

With a name like Fat Boy, how can you go wrong? The name is fitting. There’s little on the menu to satisfy the dieter or vegan. And there is nothing fancy about Fat Boy, an institution in the Cheshire Neighborhood that has a new lease on life after closing for a short time. Under new owners Matt and Jill Urbane, Fat Boy is even better than it was before it closed for a short time.

I’ve been going to Fat Boy since I was a kid growing up on the Northeast side of Grand Rapids. My friend and I would ride our bikes to the restaurant for a burger and chocolate malt. While the iconic Fat Boy neon sign is the same, the restaurant has gone through some changes since the Urbanes took over. It is cleaner, there’s no smoking and the decor has been updated.

But the burgers are still top-notch, fries served piping hot and chocolate malts just as sweet and creamy as I remember. The burgers are simple: More the Mr. Fables-like smashed patty variety than the huge gourmet burgers found at a place like Stella’s (which is, by the way, my favorite burger in West Michigan). Fat Boy burgers are flavorful, greasy and delicious. Most of the burgers run about five bucks, so it’s a great place to grab an inexpensive meal.

On a recent visit, I had the double cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard and extra pickle. It was cooked to greasy perfection with a perfectly grilled bun, oozing cheese and tons of flavor. The fries were hot and fresh. There are a few specialty burgers to try as well, including the Fat Boy burger with green olives, cheddar, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato ($4.99) and the Blue Burger with cheddar, shaved ham, blue cheese dressing, lettuce, tomato and onion.

While I would highly recommend trying the burgers and fries, Fat Boy also has a solid breakfast selection. Most of the items on the breakfast menu are of the greasy spoon variety — heavy on eggs, meat and potatoes.

For many of us who grew up on the Northeast side, Fat Boy is a classic. And despite the changes in ownership and a few menu tweaks, it remains a rock-solid contender for the unofficial title of Best Burger in Grand Rapids. Yes it is that good. And yes, if you haven’t tried it, you should.

Grill One Eleven is a bit of a surprise in a town where hot dogs are king. Tucked into a storefront building on Courtland, one must traverse a long hallway before having the room open up to a very handsome bar and a wall of windows that provide just the right amount of light and ambiance. On the day we were there, it was snowing a bit and made for a very pretty picture. As it was past the lunch rush, we were lucky enough to be seated right at the window. Our waitress cheerfully brought menus and beverages right away.

Starved, we ordered appetizers promptly. The “First/Small Bites” menu lists such items as a cheese and fruit plate (featuring local cheeses), spring rolls, cheddar fondue, stuffed portabellas and grilled brushetta. They also feature two soups — a seafood chowder and classic French onion. I ordered the chowder, and while it was a bit thicker than I prefer it was chock full of seafood.

The sandwich/grains selection includes wraps and burgers, panko crusted salmon sandwich, and fish and chips, all under $10. Salmon, blackened grouper, bruschetta pasta and chicken marsala were just a few of the available entrees in addition to a nice selection of steaks (ribeye, filet and New York Strip).

I ordered the Ham and Cheese Melt, which came with a side order of freshly made kettle chips. This sandwich was spectacular! It was grilled to a lovely crunch; my first bite was a delightful combination of toasted buttery marble rye, smoky gouda and cured ham, with spicy greens and Dijon mayonnaise adding that unexpected zip. This was no ordinary melt! My friend ordered a Western Burger and thoroughly enjoyed the Hereford beef topped with cheddar, haystack onions, bacon and sauced with chipotle mayonnaise. She ordered fries with her burger (how can you not?) and we both found them to be cooked to a nice, crispy crunch.

Our orders were promptly served and nicely plated. Service was attentive and friendly and the ambience of the bar is local flavor combined with a bit of Chicago or New York neighborhood gem. No wonder this place is hopping on weekend evenings and does a brisk trade the rest of the week. Well worth the trip! Spend some time hitting the Squire Street shops then relax at Grill One Eleven!

I was immediately reminded of Uno, or Malarkey’s, when I first walked into Ashley’s. It has a very similar casual, rustic sports bar-type experience. But the menu tops them all, with several pages worth of beer (there has to be over 100), and appetizing selections that’ll fill you up quite nicely.

We started off with an appetizer of the Boardwalk Fries. What seems like a heart attack waiting to happen, Ashley’s puts its homemade beer battered fries on a plate, and tops them with homemade chili and Cheddar Ale sauce. It was probably one of the best appetizers I’ve had in a long time, and it certainly exceeded my expectations. I washed it all down with an Edmund Fitzgerald draft, which is just as thick and creamy as a Guinness, but with hints of chocolate and a bit more hoppy-ness.

Choosing an entree from the menu proved to be quite the difficult task. There were about four things I debated on, before finally deciding to go with the Pulled Pork Sandwich ($7.99), served with homemade potato chips. One thing I forgot to mention here — everything is homemade. When my sandwich came out, I knew immediately that I was in for a treat. The bun was filled full of pork and a sweet barbecue sauce, and the chips were extremely crunchy. Even the ranch sauce, which our waitress recommended for the chips, tasted perfectly. The pork melted in my mouth, and with the bun and barbecue sauce, it literally was an amazing combination.

My dining partners couldn’t agree more. Sam went with a Philly Cheese Steak ($7.99), which featured sliced rib eye steak sauteed with onions and peppers, and then topped with cheese. Ashley, who recommended the restaurant to us (I can’t imagine why…), went with the Chicken Caesar Wrap ($7.99).

The service matched the food as well. Our waitress was energetic and extremely helpful in my beer selection. She dropped off two beer samples for me at different times during my meal, which is almost unheard of in any bar today. Our meals were filling, and the whole experience makes me want to drive down to Detroit next weekend and try something else. All in all, Ashley’s is a must-visit Detroit or Ann Arbor eatery, and I can only hope that they expand to the west side of the state soon.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you burgers with endless fries and malts!

While the Electric Cheetah is known for great, local food, they kick it back to the 50s every Wednesday night. For $12.50, diners can receive one burger, unlimited regular or sweet potato fries, and an assortment of ice cream malts. Being the sweet-tooth I am, I took every advantage of this opportunity that I could.

I started out with a rich, chocolate malt. I expected it to be stirred and ready for me to drink, but was pleasantly surprised when I saw that I had to do some work. At first I was curious as to why, but then I realized it — the restaurant wanted us to see what was so good about these malts…thick ice cream, great-tasting syrups…what a great combination.

When my burger and fries came, I dove right in. The sweet potato fries were paired with parmesan buttermilk and garlic dressings, which were a perfect complement to the well-seasoned fries. We added their dill dressing into the mix later on, which offered a more flavorful alternative. The fries were perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and perfectly…perfect.

By that time, I had forgotten all about the actual entree I had ordered — the burger! Served on a fairly large bun, I topped mine with tomatoes and swiss cheese. It was great with the meal; not too heavy, and not over-burdening with a ton of flavor either.

I was amazed with the amount of food we got for that little of price. By the time I had finished eating, my $12.50 bill was made of one burger, two orders of sweet potato fries and three malts (chocolate, caramel, and strawberry; though chocolate was by far the best). All in all, it gives diners a great alternative to what the Electric Cheetah does best, without any stripping of quality or service.