Restaurants in Kalamazoo

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.

On Valentines Day 2009, Jackie's Place Restaurant—which had been a Holland staple for more than 24 years—burned down in a fire. MLive.com reported that co-owners Ken Kragt and son Ken Jr. were devastated, but that as an "institution of the community," there was no doubt the building would be rebuilt. But on November 23, the Holland Sentinel had a more uplifting story to report: Kathy Kragt would spend that evening passing out free cider, coffee, and doughnuts to the attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Jackie’s Place Restaurant. With the new building construction completed, the local favorite was ready to return to serving the community its three popular homemade meals a day. Newly painted rose-red walls, framed photos of sunsets, and robot servers have modernized the restaurant's dining room. Though the decor is new, the homemade quality of the food hasn't changed. Veggie-packed breakfast omelets and strawberry pancakes segue into lunch offerings of deli-style sandwiches and juicy burgers. Dinner plates struggle to contain 8-ounce steaks and fresh fish filets beside made-from-scratch comfort sides of coleslaw and potato salad. Customers are also often seen walking out of Jackie’s with their loaves of fresh-baked bread, a complement to any picnic on the nearby Lake Macatawa boardwalk.

Since 1972, the kitchen at The Blue Lantern has filled plates with an array of steak, seafood, and comfort-food dishes. The chefs batter or pan-fry lake perch, mix lobster meat into a five-cheese macaroni, and expertly sear 8-ounce Lamplighter steaks that were traditionally used to illuminate alleys in Charles Dickens novels. As a nod to Notre Dame, whose campus is only 10 minutes away, The Blue Lantern's lounge screens sporting events while surrounding alumni, fans, and students with memorabilia and drawings of the school's best coaches and players. The main dining room is decorated with images of Mishawaka and the New York City skyline around intimate table settings. Electric blue light bathes up to 48 attendees during private soirees in the Blue Neon Room, which includes its own bar, wide-screen television, and outdoor balcony.

The eatery’s yellow walls are speckled with round mirrors in assorted sizes, each reflecting classic Thai dishes such as massaman curry with peanuts, potatoes, onions, and chicken. To view the entire menu, including many vegetarian options and some dishes listed in invisible ink, click here.

Rulli’s culinarians dish up pasta, pizzas, and seafood dishes born from recipes central to southern Italy, serving patrons in their 25-year-old dining area alongside Rulli's Bella Luna sports bar. A range of appetizers, such as 12 broaster-style chicken wings accompanied by dunk tanks of barbecue, ranch, or vidalia onion sauce, pave the way for heartier main courses or Stooge-level food fights. Velvety ricotta, parmigiana, romano, and provonello cheeses comprise the lasagna’s melty strata, which trundle italian sausage toward forks on fragrant avalanches of marinara and signature sauce. Rulli’s pizza, which has been served at the Elkhart County Fair for two decades, bristle with inventive toppings such as spaghetti and meatballs.

Vivid Italian artwork and murals from local artist Rocky Weaver pepper the dining room, an elegant prelude to the neighboring Bella Luna’s fun neon signage, clacking pool balls, flickering high-definition TVs, and live music, which customers can track on Rulli's Android app or iPhone app. Foam-flecked taps line the full-service bar boasting a selection of robust wines, which nicely complement rowdy bands wailing or grape stomping live atop a well-appointed stage.

Culling flavors from Austria, Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland, Alpenrose Restaurant treats tongues to dishes from a menu bursting with diverse Alpine cuisine. Weiner schnitzel and tuscan lamb rub elbows on the dinner menu, which ensures freshness by leveraging seasonal ingredients and local harvests, including duck from nearby Maple Leaf Farms. A glass or bottle selected from the extensive wine menu can help lubricate talk tubes, and a broad selection of pastries, including nine flavors of cheesecakes and tarts, supplies patrons with extensive options for indulging sweet teeth. The restaurant, which opened in 1991, beckons visitors to enter through a green, wrought-iron gate before traipsing down a birch-tree-lined cobblestone path. Inside, the dining rooms' massive windows, wood-paneled walls, and carved-wood columns evoke a warm, ski-lodge ambiance. The restaurant also boasts an enviable location; it's just minutes from Holland's famous Tulip Time Festival, whose 2013 edition welcomes the springtime sun May 4-11.