Michigan: Comet and MadCap
Hey all!
There was some exciting things happening in Ohio so I left there having high hopes for Michigan! We ended up spending a lot of time hanging out with Dorens old family friends and had so much fun with them we didn’t get out that much but we did have two days that we went on excursions in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor.
I had grown up in OK and there wasn’t a huge snowfalls every winter. Maybe Once or twice there had been snows storms that resulted in almost 5 foot snow drifts but nothing to what people in the North are used to. There was plenty of snow still on the ground when we had arrived and lakes were still frozen over! I had never seen a lake frozen solid before. It was very alien to me. The small town that we were staying was called Fenton and it had a very cute downtown area with small business. There was a Cafe that we went to called “Laundry” and it didn’t have incredible specialty coffee but a lot of the typical flavored blended drinks but we went to enjoy their dessert. And it really was awesome. We picked three desserts to share.
There was some exciting things happening in Ohio so I left there having high hopes for Michigan! We ended up spending a lot of time hanging out with Dorens old family friends and had so much fun with them we didn’t get out that much but we did have two days that we went on excursions in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor.
I had grown up in OK and there wasn’t a huge snowfalls every winter. Maybe Once or twice there had been snows storms that resulted in almost 5 foot snow drifts but nothing to what people in the North are used to. There was plenty of snow still on the ground when we had arrived and lakes were still frozen over! I had never seen a lake frozen solid before. It was very alien to me. The small town that we were staying was called Fenton and it had a very cute downtown area with small business. There was a Cafe that we went to called “Laundry” and it didn’t have incredible specialty coffee but a lot of the typical flavored blended drinks but we went to enjoy their dessert. And it really was awesome. We picked three desserts to share.
One of my favorite stores in downtown was owned by an English family and was filled with Soaps, bath items, kitchen, baby clothes and womens clothing. It was amazing. I even found a perfume that was used as a sample in the sale section. There wasn’t a price tag on it so I went up and asked how much it was she gave it to me for $3! There was no way I could pass that up.
Ann Arbor
We got to go to Ann Arbor one day which was really cool! It definitely was a legit college town. Students walking everywhere and lots of things going on. We visited one coffee shop called Comet and grabbed an espresso and cappuccino. It was really frustrating trying to find the location. We should have just asked someone for directions. The drinks were pretty mediocre compared to other’s that we had had on the trip. It was really busy inside which was not ideal because it was such a small space. I have no idea how anybody could try and study there. For a college town you’d expect something a little bigger. Definitely go visit the town there are a ton of great restaurant choices that are very diverse.
So of course when you’re in Michigan you have to go to Grand Rapids. Especially if you love specialty coffee because it’s the home of MadCap. There are very few coffee shops that are well known in the coffee scene that are located in the midwest and MadCap is one of them. More and more are becoming know which is wonderful! The midwest has amazing offerings not just coastal cities. My espresso was served in a tulip glass, it was creamy, citrusy and just wonderful. I also got a Spiced Cascara which was heaven! Cascara is dried coffee cherries and is steeped like a tea. It has minimal caffeine and different coffee varieties and the regions it’s grown in can create a difference in profile. I thought it was absolutely brilliant and I literally could drink that stuff all day. The customer service was great and the guy doing pour-overs was very entertained by Teagan and her delighted face when I gave her a sip of my espresso.
Also if you are ever in Grand Rapids go check out their downtown Farmers Market. It was incredible! It’s indoors and you can eat there. Buy some local produce or even enroll your children in cooking classes! How awesome is that???