Madcap Coffee in Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

Christmas brought us to Michigan via road trip. We drove eleven and a half hours from Baltimore. We woke up the day after our drive and decided to head north another 45 miles to Grand Rapids. The coffee pilgrimage continued. E. was excited to check out Madcap Coffee. Seemed a bit crazy but there was no traffic and it was a gorgeous, cold winter day.

I grew up in Michigan and my oldest friends are spread out across the Great Lakes state. We called my buddy Andy on the way up north and tried to meet up with him in GR. He works in the building next to Madcap but was watching the kids so his hot wife could get extra Christmas shopping done. It was such a tease to be so close to them but we were on a coffee mission and had to get back to The Zoo in time for Baby Nephew's baptism. Loved talking to you Andy and had such a nice time in your town. The museum is killer and we got an extra present for my grandmother in the gift shop. As always, YOU ROCK!

E. didn't know that I had already put in the request with my Momma and brother to pick up a few bags of beans for his stocking from Madcap. He of course also bought a few bags. The thing with way fancy coffee is you can't really stock up on the stuff. You want the beans to be freshly roasted, within a few weeks. So we later picked up a bean storage can from Waterstreet Coffee Joint in Kalamazoo. 

The coffee altar at Madcap is raised just slightly, begging for the customer to come and worship the brews. My Episcopalian mind imagined the bean "bags" as kneelers and E. going up for communion in his "church" of sorts. This large open space had nave-like qualities with exposed brick and great acoustics. The choir of espresso machines and milk steamers worked in harmony on our visit. 

The beans are roasted in the "lower crypt". This church metaphor works...even though it may be a bit much.

The term Madcap comes from the play on Mad Cappuccino. 

Third Coast espresso was the gift of choice from my family to Eric. I love the detail on the packaging that had a fabric label.

The place was not that busy when we arrived so E. had lots of time to discuss his options.

I love pretty things. I'm still wooed by latte art and I'm finally beginning to actually taste the difference between my lattes too. This latte was the perfect temperature, using locally grass-fed milk, that showed off the coffee vs. scorching my tongue. 

E. ordered the coffee flight.

There were two single roasted cups and one blend.

It was one of the highlights of our Christmas trip. Just sneaking away for the morning. My family was like, "You drove where? For what? Coffee? I don't get it." It's okay guys. You don't have to get it.

Charlie, you are the heart in my latte. Thank you for our adventures.

Kalamazoo, zoo, zoo!

Every time we visit Kalamazoo we have to stop by Food Dance. Eric has fond memories of having brunch there the day of our wedding with his best men. I loved the old location in the Haymarket building and remember having dates with my Daddy there. The new space is much bigger and has great private rooms and a little store.

E. got the Mexican scramble with Challah bread toast. The bread is all from Zingerman's bakery in Ann Arbor.

I chose the Sourdough Bread with my eggs and bacon. It was the best.

E. had an extra pancake too.

The decor is fabulous. There is a corn row leading folks to the private rooms. I planned our 20 year reunion this past summer and they did the nicest job. The food is always outstanding.

The space is wonderful, whimsical and welcoming.

The shop is in the front of the restaurant and sells the most wonderful products and gifts.

Fabulous cheeses.

Cakes and sweet treats.

They have the most fabulous selection of French dish towels.

We lucked out because there were samples when we arrived.

I spied some Salty Caramel ice cream in the cooler. It took everything in my will not to buy the lot.

The decor makes this place so special. There are three dimensional vegetables and little fairies flying all over the place. It is delightful.

I would think children would have the most fun looking around and counting all the cute little people.

There were samples of brownies and sugared nuts out as well. If you ever find yourself in Kalamazoo, you must go to Food Dance.

There are beautiful old buildings downtown too.

Michigan Avenue has changed so much but still has that Main Street USA kind of feeling.

We went to seek out if the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange was open. We were there way too early. We found out about them through Twitter. I love that people, no matter where you live, make great suggestions of places to visit via Twitter. It's like a giant Concierge Service.  

We were bummed it wasn't open. Santa would have brought Uncle Charlie a tee shirt.

The Radisson is where we spent our wedding night. We got upgraded to the Presidential Suite on 7-7-07. Pretty incredible considering there were four weddings at the hotel that day. We got married at St. Luke's and had our reception at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art. We remember this city so fondly from our fun wedding weekend and loved seeing the Radisson from afar.

The Water Street Coffee Joint is another location we hit up more than once on every trip.

We've been to the original and the Oakwood location in just one and a half days.

Both locations are always packed with cars and people.

We went to Water Street Coffee Joint with our buddy and maid of honor Mary for a quick breakfast our first day here. The Blueberry muffin was so tasty. E. had a waffle. 

They sell great tee-shirts and wonderful coffee gifts.

  

You can get breakfast and lunch items here.

I love the way they used the coffee bean bags to cover the planters for the winter.

And their go-cups are awesome!

Bell's is hands down another location that can't be missed. The bar and the General Store.

E. is a coffee and beer snob so he lucked out today.

This brewery has a cult following. Eric and I are card carrying drink-the-Koolaid-crazy members! We served Oberon at our wedding. They sell Bell's in DC but not Maryland. E. has to go to the Whole Foods to get Bell's. We have been known to buy cases and drive it over state lines ourselves. 

Bell's Oberon is a wheat ale fermented with Bell's signature house ale yeast, mixing a spicy hop character with mildly fruity aromas. The addition of wheat malt lends a smooth mouthfeel, making it a classic summer beer.

Sometimes it's hard to make a decision on what to get.

The sparkling ale is one of my favorites. It knocked me on my fanny a few years ago in November. It has 9% alcohol and tasted like a champagne style beer. They didn't have any this year.

For any cult like beer drinkers who want to go crazy and learn how to brew your own beer, this General Store has all that you need to begin that journey. Check out the Kalamazoo Libation Organization of Brewers (KLOB) for more information. My brother's buddy Andy Farrell is one of the brew masters.

The yeast is packaged and they sell glass containers to ferment the beer. It's pretty fabulous for the beer enthusiast on your Christmas list.

We love our trips to the Zoo. I grew up here and love visiting now with Eric. 

Thanks to my new Twitter friends from Kalamazoo, especially @JessePalmer and @SarahLWLee for their great suggestions.I've been sick as a dog so we haven't really gone anywhere but had to hit our faves. Next time we'll try Rustic! E. thanks for always being my partner in crime in our travel adventures. I love you to pieces.