It was a Saturday afternoon, and my husband and I were hungry, but didn’t feel like cooking, so we decided to head out and have fun trying something new. We landed not far from home at TRAVELER’S CAFÉ & PUB in Portage.

The first thing I noticed about Traveler’s was the cleanliness. It not only looked sparkly clean, but smelled clean as well! I watched as servers would come in and out of the kitchen using hand sanitizer each time, which is obviously important in these times.

Our masked server brought us menus and we explored the wide variety of options they had. It appeared they offered breakfast,

lunch and dinner, along with what they call a “Destination Menu.” Their current destination menu featured a variety of German cuisines!

After drink orders, I took notice they had a full bar, yet I did not see a drink menu.

We decided to start with an order of CRISPY POTATO CAKES. Our server encouraged us to get them loaded, or topped with bacon and cheese, served with a side of ranch. These were amazing. They are basically small, flat tater tots, but are flavorful and surprisingly not greasy like one would expect. Although we enjoyed them loaded, I think they would have been great plain as well!

For my meal I went with a CLASSIC REUBEN with shaved corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut, tangy sauce, on grilled marble rye with fries for my side. And it was a delicious sandwich! I was impressed how neat and clean the Reuben was, as they are usually sloppy and messy. I loved the amount of ingredients that they put on  the marble rye as well. I hate getting a sandwich that is so large that I can’t even take a bite out of. And the fries were awesome, with a perfect amount of seasoning on them that made them near addictive.

My husband ordered and loved the NEW YORK BURGER. It had their Signature Michigan Craft Beef topped with provolone cheese and sauteed mushrooms. Served with Thousand Island sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion & pickle. It was near their version of  a Big Mac, just with much better-quality ingredients. Again, we were impressed with the neatness and presentation of his burger. He also had the delicious fries as his side.

Lastly, for reviewing purposes, we decided we MUST try a dessert. Our first choice was the Black Forest Cake, but our server returned to apologize and inform us that they were out. So, we went with our second choice, the BAVARIAN APPLE TART. Let me tell you … this was simply perfect. It was made with local apples and cream cheese custard, served warm with house- made caramel sauce.

I loved that the crust was thin, and the apples were soft enough that there wasn’t a crunch, but not so cooked down that they were soggy or gooey. What WAS gooey was the delicious caramel sauce drizzled atop. Everything was perfectly proportioned to make it absolutely perfect. It is now my favorite dessert.

All in all, Traveler’s Café and Pub was impressive. It is a very casual atmosphere (think diner), but with exceptional food. It was impressively clean, and the service was great. Traveler’s does have a private room too that can be reserved for private parties. It would make a great celebration spot!

Elizabeth is a hairstylist by day and 24/7 food enthusiast. She visits restaurants in the Kalamazoo area and blogs about her experience at feedmekzoo.com