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What to eat in Grand Rapids? Where to eat in Grand Rapids? 5 Traditional Foods You Have To Try in Grand Rapids

The best traditional dishes in Grand Rapids and the best authentic restaurants that make them, recommended by industry professionals.
Last update: Thu Mar 27 2025
5 Traditional Foods You Have To Try in Grand Rapids
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01

Burger

MICHIGAN, United States of America
2.7
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Olive burger is an American burger variety originating from Michigan. It’s made with a combination of ground beef, oil, white buns, mayonnaise, and pitted green olives. In order to prepare it, the meat patties are fried, topped with a mixture of olives and mayonnaise, then placed in a burger bun with no other condiments.


Some like to add a bit olive brine to the olive-mayo mix, while others put the mayonnaise on a bun, and the patties are topped with olives before they’re placed into the buns. There are many theories about the origins of this burger, and some people claim that Olympic Broil in Lansing made the first olive burger in the 1960s, while others say it was made much earlier at Kewpee Hotel Hamburgs in Grand Rapids.

MOST ICONIC Olive Burger

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02

Side Dish

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
4.0
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This simple fast food dish is made by topping french fries with melted cheese. Depending on the varieties of the dish, the cheese is sometimes enriched with the addition of various vegetables, meats, and spices. Although not much is known about the history of cheese fries, it is believed that it gained popularity after 1952, when canned cheese products became available in the United States of America.


What is known, however, is that this comforting side dish is a staple of numerous diners and fast food joints across the country.

MOST ICONIC Cheese Fries

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03

Wrap

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico and  one more region
4.3
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Burrito is a dish consisting of a wheat flour tortilla that is wrapped in such a way that it is possible to fully enclose the flavorful filling on the interior. The filling consists of a combination of various ingredients such as meat, beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, and cheese, among others.


Its name means little donkey in Spanish, and a popular theory suggests that it stems from the way the bedrolls and packs appeared on the donkeys that carried them. Some claim that the dish originated in the 19th century by either the vaqueros in Northern Mexico, farmers in California, or the miners from Sonora. 

MOST ICONIC Burrito

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04

Wrap

GRAND RAPIDS, United States of America
3.5
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This burrito variety is especially popular in Michigan, although it can sometimes be found throughout the Unites States, in California, Washington, and Texas. The burrito is called wet because it is smothered in red chile sauce, and the whole thing is then topped with heaps of melted cheese.


It is quite heavy and filling, and can be filled with anything from shredded beef to beans and rice. Although its history is quite murky, some people claim that it originated in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

MOST ICONIC Wet Burrito

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05

Hot Dog

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
3.9
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Chili dog is an American creation consisting of a sausage in a standard bun, topped with chili sauce and other ingredients depending on personal preferences, such as onions or cheese. The dish is often sold at numerous street stands, local eateries, and sports stadiums.


No one can really agree about the origins or the inventor of the chili dog: some claim it was invented in Texas, the chili capital, while others believe that the first chili dog was created at Art's Famous Chili Dog Stand in southern Los Angeles. 

MOST ICONIC Chili Dog

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