[Eat & Drink ArtPrize 2010] Rocky's Bar and Grill

In planning your activities during ArtPrize, make sure to include Rocky's Bar and Grill at 633 Ottawa Ave NW, a classic working-class watering hole in the heart of Grand Rapids' former manufacturing district near the north side. In the time it takes to make it half way through the queue at some downtown eatery, you can hop the shuttle bus North to the 6th Street bridge, walk two blocks east on Fairbanks and relax.


You walk into the place and the sand blasted timbers and brick are as welcoming as Sandy the bartender. Many of the folks sitting at the bar are greeted by name when they walked in for a draw, a bite and a conversation.

The place is full of character and characters. The menu is a traditional sampling of hot and cold sandwiches, burgers and appetizers. Turkey reuben, stacked thick with slices and kraut, and an olive burger were our choices, along with crinkle fries and iced tea, unsweetened, with lemon.

There is a full bar with a broad range of national brands and local favorites such as Bells, Founders, New Holland and others. For the retro crowd there is always PBR.

The ArtPrize you'll see

Specific to the exhibiting artists, All of the work looks pretty typical of queue offerings i.e. highly representational. From the ArtPrize website, it seems the work of the seven exhibiting artists is primarily 2 dimensional--drawings, paintings, collage. Perfect for the large blank walls in the place. In particular I would go back to see Jessica Darling's' "Wonderful World of the Mind" and Nick Nellis "DFD 13."  Both are collages/mixed media with a fair amount of attention and intricacy.