Restaurants in East Grand Rapids

Named one of 60 Restaurants Worth the Trip by Midwest Living magazine, GoJo Ethiopian Cuisine introduces guests to the traditional, community-focused dining style of Ethiopia. Using injera, a soft sourdough flatbread, diners scoop up bites of robustly flavored stew, or watt, from a bed of the same flatbread. Tibs watt, a dish made of sautéed tender beef and spices, and doro watt, a spiced chicken stew, satisfy carnivores, and lentils, collard greens, and green beans take the lead in the vegetarian dishes. The lamb sampler, GoJo's No. 1 seller, consists of well-spiced lamb and smaller sides of spiced beans and other vegetarian dishes.

According to the Grand Rapids Press writer John Berba, Jamaican Daves subjects takeout customers to a unique form of torture: making them wait until they get home to enjoy the delectable Jamaican cuisine they've purchased. Berba himself couldn't wait that long; he pulled over into a parking lot after picking up his order, parking to devour chicken curry that he described as "the best $6.50 I've spent on food in recent memory." Other specialties include fried, pickled escoveitch fish and fall-off-the-bone curried goat, which can be taken home or savored at the restaurant's booths. Potted plants, natural wood, and a Jamaican flag contribute to a quaint, homey ambiance.

A culinary sidecar of chef Cory DeMint's Electric Cheetah, Uncle Cheetah's Soup Shop ladles out bowls of belly-warming broth and hearty sandwiches and salads Monday through Saturday. The liquid slingers dish out 12 varieties of fresh fluid fare, including vegan and gluten-free choices, each day. Past soups ($5 for 12 oz., $7 for 16 oz., $11 for 32 oz.) have included a savory seafood bisque, a citrusy greek lemon chicken, and a piquant jalapeño corn chowder. Each bowl comes with a berg of your choice of homemade challa, molasses oatmeal multigrain bread, or Vermont crackers, ideal for nibbling, dipping, or re-creating famous maritime disasters. Complete a codependent meal with a doting sandwich such as an herby grilled white cheddar or goat cheese sandwich ($3 for half, $6 for whole) or a potage-coddling sidekick of salad ($2 for side, $4 for small, $8 for large), such as a down-to-earth caesar or tangy and mysterious spiced pear salad. Check Uncle Cheetah's Facebook page for the daily selection of soups, pastries, and ice cream flavors.

The Ramona's Table menu is filled to the brim of the page with sandwiches, salads, wraps, and breakfast items that are never frozen and always made fresh to order. Wrap your mitts around the mighty sandwich list, including the eponymous Ramona ($8.45)—spice-rubbed chicken or steak, greens, and bruschetta on a French roll—or the Venetian Swing ($8.45), with its sliced ham, brie, tomatoes, and apricot-wasabi dressing on a gondola of sourdough. Ramona's Table also boasts an impressive selection of grilled-cheese sandwiches, with 10 variations to surprise even the most jaded of turophiles. Sandwiches come with a choice of roasted redskin potatoes, kettle chips, homemade coleslaw, or a salad. Make greens your meal with a Michigan cherry salad ($5.95), containing mixed greens, dried cherries, and feta, or add a sea to the mix with the Mediterranean salad ($6.95), offering peppers, cucumbers, onion, feta, and olives on a bed of spinach and romaine. Breakfast, served from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday, boasts a creative selection of skillets ($6.95), quiches ($6.95), and other morning fare.

McFadden's Restaurant & Saloon provides an extensive menu of classic American eats and a well-stocked bar of classically intoxicating drinks in a casual, convivial atmosphere. Start by gobbling wedges of fried provolone ($6.99) while debating later strategy, such as a healthy diversion into an ahi tuna salad ($11.99), or continued decadence in the embrace of a black angus saloon burger ($8.99), topped with cheese, bacon, and caramelized onions. Less meat-oriented individuals and passing plesiosaurs can enjoy baked white cheddar mac and cheese ($7.99) with green onions and diced tomatoes. Desserts are a sweet nightcap to any feast, and include the likes of hot apple pie ($6.99) with vanilla ice cream, and dark chocolate and Baileys mousse ($6.99) with a head crafted to resemble a pint of paradoxically bitter Guinness, a manly alternative to other mousse dishes, which often come topped with hair ribbons and emotion.

Ranked #1 Submarine Sandwich Franchise in the 2011 "Franchise 500" issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, Subway has graced the globe with nutritious stacks of meats, crisp veggies, flavorful cheeses, and fresh-baked breads since 1965. Sandwiches, which can be left out cold or invited into a toaster, include classics such as the turkey breast and black-forest ham, the premium big philly cheesesteak, and a host of $5 Footlong subs, which can be used to measure a child's height or the distance between here and the sun. There are also kids' meals to introduce children to the concept of eating.