[Eat & Drink ArtPrize 2010] 25 Kitchen + Bar

Twenty-five Kitchen + Bar at 25 Ottawa SW has a definite theme going on with its 25 beers on tap (local brews and more), 25 hand-crafted signature cocktails and 25 kinds of 9-inch flatbread “Pizzas from around the World.” If that’s not enough to choose from, this restaurant serving “new American cuisine featuring international flavors and flair” also offers up a wide selection of appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches and wraps, as well as entrees for  lunch, dinner and late-night dining. Vegans will find several choices available.

 

The open, spacious atmosphere of exposed brick, darkwood floors and high ceilings is perfect for a casual dinner for two or for a group celebration. A large downstairs area can be rented for parties or receptions. During nice weather, the outdoor patio is open for cocktails or dining and people-watching close to the bustling corner of Ottawa and Fulton.

 

Families will feel welcome, and according to the website, kids eat free. It’s an adults-only venue in the evening, however, and you must be 21 with a valid ID to enter.

 

 

As an ArtPrize venue, this is a high traffic space that offers maximum exposure to 11 mostly local artists. A two-story atrium near the entrance offers a vast expanse of the same exposed brick and high ceilings found in the restaurant’s interior. There is plenty of wall space inside as well.

 

Artists showing their work here include award winners Sean Fox Eister of Portland, MI, and Astrid Jahnsen, of Trujillo, Peru. Eister’s “Diversity in Balance” is a three-dimensional piece consisting of a sphere of randomly cut painted wood pieces connected through a web of wire, representing the reality of diversity in the world: A pyramid base of painted wood represents the dream of diversity: diverse elements joined together for a common goal; one world in harmony.  

 

Jahnsen’s work, titled “FlashCards,” is represented in digital print posters, combining images and words in a unique way, trying to generate powerful and synthesizing ideas.  

 

The line-up at 25 Kitchen + Bar also includes:

 

Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

David McAllister
Grand Rapids, Michigan
no. 19

 

Michelle Sucaet  
Armada, Michigan
Unititled

 

Lesley Van Leeuwen-Vega
Spring Lake, Michigan
Coalition for Responsible American Policy

 

Laura Hoag
Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Duncan Project

 

Symex Oversol
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Unititled

 

Kerri Jenison
Jenison, Michigan
Photography/Painting

 

Joe Goeldel
Grand Rapids, Michigan

 

Mark Switzer
Allendale, Michigan