MICHIGAN DINING AND RESTAURANTS

The Latest Restaurant Reviews and Dining Tips in Michigan

I've had countless rich and extravagant desserts over the years: flourless chocolate cake, creme brulee, vanilla and chocolate mousse swirled in an elegant parfait glass, cheesecake and key lime tartlets. Yet I would trade them all for one simple favorite: a piece of moist yellow cake with thick, white frosting, oozing in cream and sugar, the kind I delighted in as a child at backyard birthday parties. Long after my kids have had their two bites of their birthday cakes, I find myself taking finger-fulls of frosting off their plates.

So I was more than happy to survey the burgeoning cupcake market in the area. There are plenty to choose from, some specializing in cupcakes, others offering other treats.

Press File PhotoMaster Chef Angus Campbell, right, works with GRCC culinary arts student Gene Hartney in the teaching kitchen. Campbell will be one of the featured experts during this weekend's Grand Rapids International Wine & Food Festival.

GRAND RAPIDS -- If you love wine, food, beer, spirits or any combination of those four, you have no excuse to miss the Grand Rapids International Wine & Food Festival.

"If you're a foodie, you've got to come to this," said Angus Campbell, chef-instructor at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at Grand Rapids Community College.

Campbell will be one of the featured experts this weekend at the three-day, first-time event at DeVos Place. He and chef Robert Garlough will host a series of presentations during the festival, including cheese and olive oil tastings, modern sauce techniques, roasting and mixing spices, stylish plate presentation and pasta coloring, shaping and stuffing.

"It's going to be fantastic," Campbell said of the festival, which celebrates a range of epicureal delights.

Campbell hopes the event will encourage people to embrace the joys of cooking and spend more time getting creative in the kitchen or sharing food with friends and neighbors.

"(The organizers) are laying it on the line for Grand Rapidians. ... It's time for (something like this)," Campbell said. "They do this every day in Italy, we only do it one day a year.

"Cooking is so much fun .... This will teach people how to enjoy themselves with food."

Press Photo/Jon M. BrouwerInviting design: The bright, welcoming interior of Ciao Bella's is a cut above the usual buffet layout and would lend itself to the eventual addition of full-menu, sit-down dining.

When it comes to buffet-style dining, expectations aren't always high for interior design and smorgasbord offerings.

It's a nice surprise, then, to see the light, bright and inviting interior of Ciao Bella's Italian Buffet and Pizzeria, a new Italian buffet eatery in Hudsonville that also offers pizzas, pastas and sandwiches for take-out and delivery.

A wall painting behind the buffet line is reminiscent of the al fresco eateries of Italy and its outdoor markets, replete with a canopy draped over the picture. The palm tree at one side may be a bit on the side of kitsch, but I do recall palms far south in Brindisi.

Press Photo/Hollyn JohnsonPreparation: Prezanna Moore makes an order of Willy Wild Wings' 12 piece barbecue wings.

Willy Wild Wings, a relatively new wing place on Eastern Avenue that broke off from the Wing Heaven chain, offers 18 sauces -- and the tempting aroma hits as soon as you step out of the car.

Willy Wild Wings offers sampler options (six with three sauces or a dozen with four sauces), excellent choices for the uninitiated or indecisive.

Falling into both categories, I grabbed two dozen-wing samplers, $8.79 apiece, with the following eight sauces: medium, hot barbecue, bourbon, spicy garlic, mango habanero, Caribbean jerk, lemon pepper and teriyaki.

Press Photo/Jon M. BrouwerOn the menu: Marbled rye bread gives a ham sandwich extra flavor at Sundaes Cafe, 2404 Eastern Ave. SE, in Alger Heights.

So, I see ice cream season is officially over.

A big ol' bummer, yes, but fret not, sweet teeth.

Sundaes in the Heights, an Alger Heights cold confectionary counter in the summer, recently expanded upon its ice cream business with Sundaes Cafe, moving into adjacent space to provide coffee and sandwiches -- and, as you're about to read, sugary treats.

Fare and fees: Sandwiches and wraps, $3.99-$5.99; salads, $4.99-$5.99; coffee drinks, $1.60-$3.85; desserts, $1.75-$2.50.

Wait for food: About five minutes.

Press Photo/Lance WynnNew look: Bar Divani, above, prepares to mark its sixth anniversary with a swankier, trendier ambience. Below, Chef Craig Oland displays an orange chicken dish.

Slipping through the velvet curtains draping the entryway at Bar Divani always is a thrill, something new to try, a reason to revisit, often the best place to be in when downtown.

As Bar Divani prepares to celebrate its sixth anniversary next month, co-owners Dennis Moosbrugger and Rimple Nayyar have ushered in a trendier, swankier feel. Moosbrugger's wife, Melonie Rogers, a designer at Think Design, renovated the space with painted mirrors, lush panels, upright suede and leather furniture, window table booths, new light coverings and a fresh paint job.

My husband, Rich, and I, looked forward to sharing the fine show with my dad, James Beeler, visiting from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Taking advantage of the happy hour menu with greatly reduced pricing of many small plates, sushi maki rolls and flat breads -- to counter the economic downturn -- we found it was a delicious way to shave a few dollars off the bill.

Press Photo/Paul L. Newby IIBalancing act: San Marcos server Moises "Benjamin" Arroyo carries six orders to a table during a recent Friday lunchtime rush.

Readers often know best what stellar restaurants are in their area. Acting on a tip from a reader who raved about San Marcos, a new Mexican-style eatery in Caledonia, my husband, Hoyt, and I, decided to see for ourselves.

Located in the same building as the former Big O' Fish House restaurant, San Marcos features a warm, rustic interior with wooden pine booths, colorful murals and Mexican decorative touches.

The restaurant, locally owned and managed by the Cuellar family, opened about five months ago. The back portion of the building still houses the Big O' Fish smokehouse and specialty market.

Press Photo//Lance WynnTry a pizza (with pepperoni, mushroom, olive, green pepper and onion), garlic bread or boneless pork ribs from Mr. Pizza.

After years of experimentation, I think I've arrived at the perfect three-topping combination for pizza. Ready? Here goes -- pepperoni, mushrooms and green peppers.

I have absolutely no scientific data to back this up, and you are, of course, welcome to disagree (and if so, e-mail me your favorite combination). But remember: I eat for a living.

Eager to try out my newly christened Theory of the Invincible Three-Topping Combo, I visited Mr. Pizza, just over the Michigan Street/College Avenue hump on the Medical Mile.