Eating out in Grand Rapids tends to be pretty generic. There are tons of chain restaurants, and even most of the local restaurants have fairly the same menu. James and I decided to try a new place the other night that came highly recommended for having a good menu. I was very excited to try some new food!

One of the appetizers was called “Root Chips.” I asked the waitress, and she described them as homemade potato chips (normal), sweet potato chips (little less normal), and beet chips (not normal at all). To my knowledge, I have never eaten beet, so I decided to go for it. The trio of colorful chips came with a side of warm goat cheese for dipping. While the potato chips and even the sweet potato chips were a little run-of-the-mill, the beet chips were amazing. I was surprised by how sweet they were, and all of the chips were fabulous dipped in the warm goat cheese.

I have a new found interest in beets and I can’t wait to bake up some beet chips myself. These root chips (and goat cheese dip) were certainly the best thing I ate this week!

One thing that most everyone looks forward to during the holidays is the food. Family gatherings usually have their own traditional spread of food, which varies wildly depending on the family and the function. For whatever reason, most of my family’s functions seem to revolve around ham-on-bun (or a similar “on bun” type main dish). There isn’t anything particularly wrong with this, though it isn’t terribly exciting either.

When we celebrate the holidays with James’ extended family, however, the food is a bit more exotic with a Mediterranean flair. We both look forward to the hummus, which in Detroit is as close to authentic as one can get without a passport. This year’s delight was hushweh (or hashweh, depending on your source), which is a Lebanese Lamb Dish. It is basically a stuffing with pine nuts, though sometimes made with rice.

And with the hummus and pitas? The best thing I ate this week!

Sometimes, I eat something really great and want to talk about it, but it isn’t a recipe or interesting tidbit to share. Even the most banal meal can be extraordinary under the circumstances, like when James makes dinner and hands me a simple bowl of pasta and a glass of wine after a long day and it tastes better than any pasta ever has before.

What was the best thing I ate this week? While shopping at new store that specializes in flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars, I purchased a bottle of peach balsamic vinegar with the intentions of sprinkling it over salads and fruit. One of the owners mentioned that she loved it drizzled over vanilla ice cream. I was intrigued (James was confused…vinegar over ice cream?).

Well, I watch enough of the Food Network to know that it was a fabulous idea. On the way home, I picked up some all-natural vanilla ice cream and couldn’t wait to try it. In a bowl, I started with a couple small scoops of ice cream. Then, using a spoon, drizzled the peach vinegar over top and added a sprinkle of sea salt.

It was delicious. The best thing I ate this week.