Restaurants in Holland

Beneath the baked bread and vegetable du jour of Restaurant Toulouse's signature cassoulet, pork sausage and duck confit stew with great northern beans, bacon, carrots, onions, and tomatoes into one simmering pot of flavor. A staple of the French countryside, the dish is one of Chef Adam Smith's renditions of dishes from classic French cuisine. His other creations include onion soup and a medley of pan-seared scallops and mushrooms smothered in gruyère cream sauce.

The flavors of each dish are complemented by selections from a revamped wine list curated by staff from East Village Wine Shoppe. Bartenders also mix up an extensive assortment of cocktails, including Kahlua- and tequila-spiked coffee or the French Connection, a slowly stirred blend of cognac and amaretto over ice. Wait staff serve these feasts in a refurbished turn-of-the-century building replete with art deco–style posters and a wood- and screenplay-burning hearth, as well as a heated, enclosed patio.

Named for the British prime minister’s official country residence, Chequers of Saugatuck pays homage to British culinary traditions with a focused menu of popular Scottish, Welsh, and English pub dishes, along with a few Irish staples for good measure. Shepherd's pie, Guinness stew, and fish ‘n’ chips all make appearances, as do some of Chef Adam Smith's American favorites, including crab-cake sandwiches topped with roasted red-pepper sauce. The bar harbors similarly Anglophile predilections. Taps release pours of Bass ale and Guinness, backed by a generous number of bottled brews from Yorkshire's Samuel Smith and Michigan's Saugatuck Brewing as well as Strongbow cider. Beer and bites pair off in Chequers’ two dining rooms, one modeled after classic pub decor, the other an elegant English tearoom but without the traditional potato guns stuffed with crumpets.

Balancing on its hind legs, a polar bear stares intently outward, unaware of the grizzly rearing up behind it. This is the taxidermy trophy room at Whitlow's Forerunner, where heavy forks subdue similarly ravenous appetites in the adjacent dining room. Sirloin steak is paired with eggs at breakfast, or a juicy porterhouse arrives with a baked potato and greens from the salad bar, both of which accompany all of Whitlow's Forerunner’s dinners. American staples such as griddlecakes and patty-melt portraits of President William Howard Taft fill out the menu, but the kitchen's surprise specialty is seafood. The chefs casts a wide net, reeling in perch, rainbow trout, and even frog legs, which are among the marine delicacies deemed tasty enough for their all-you-can-eat dinners.

Sometime around the dawn of man, a human discovered that dough is worth more when tied into intricate shapes. Fast-forward a couple millennia to the present, and you’ll find that Nautical Knots has taken the next step in pretzel innovation. Since 2001, the Grand Haven boardwalk has benefited from the skillful tying of the eatery’s pretzel knots, which come in 11 sweet and savory varieties such as asiago cheese, frosted raisin, and sesame seed. In addition to stretching the dough into traditional pretzel shapes, staffers also twist it around frankfurters to make a signature treat they call the Nauti Dog, served with reckless amounts of ketchup and mustard. The waterside stand, which is open from May to September, also loads baked potatoes with cheese, chili, and salsa, and whips up frozen strawberry and mudslide drinks that combat the summer heat nearly as well as turning off the sun.

Although Goomba’s Pizza USA changed its name from Gumby’s Pizza, nothing has changed about the piping hot pies and Pokeme Stix that emerge from ovens baked golden brown. Cravings meet their match with basic cheese pizzas or specialty pies such as the Maui Wowi, a hangout for pineapple; Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce and surfer jargon; or the Stoner Pie, home to mozzarella sticks, pepperoni, bacon, and french fries. Meanwhile, Goomba’s Pokeme Stix bakers top hand-tossed dough with garlic butter, Italian spices, mozzarella, and parmesan. Munchers can carry out their boneless or buffalo wings and a variety of other appetizers to eat around the kitchen table or inside a vacationing neighbor's hot tub.

The roar of cheering fans bursts out of Spectators Sports Bar & Grill’s 26 televisions and is joined in voice by the crowd parked at tables and around the bar. Helmets and basketballs adorn shelves overlooking diners feasting on burgers and charbroiled ribs dunked in barbecue sauce. On the weekends, guests can stare longingly at the golf-course mural that decorates the walls as musicians belt out tunes during live performances.