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UPSCALE CASUAL BAKERS OF MILFORD Bakers of Milford is dishing up favorites in a fun and family-friendly environment. Their Sunday brunch is the best on the far westside, with an array of breakfast and lunch faves including an omelet station and carved prime rib. Mondays and Wednesdays are all-you-can-eat Alaskan snow crab. The Viewmaster is the most clever kid’s menu we’ve seen. All summer long, Bakers holds cruise nights on Sundays from 4:00 p.m. to dark, where classic car enthusiasts show off their babies. BEANS AND CORNBREAD: Inspired by the cooking of his Southern forbears, proprietor and long-time restaurant guy Patrick Coleman serves an array of upscale soul dishes with the help of his sharp and loyal staff. The requisites are there: fried chicken, smothered pork chops and of course, red beans and fresh cornbread. BEAU JACKS An archetype of upscale casual restaurants. Warm atmosphere with a hopping bar and satisfying menu that aims to please and impresses with quality rather than show off. Whether you are in a suit or a golf shirt, you’ll fit in and feel comfortable. BOODLES Couples cuddle and businessmen lunch in Madison Heights’ fanciest restaurant. Decidedly old-school, Boodles features the type of food and tableside service that hasn’t been in the limelight since James Bond and James Beard were the arbiters of taste. The bulging bill of fare is laden with crustaceans, chops and, most importantly, classics: dishes that have all but disappeared from big-ticket dining. Chateaubriand and flambés are the showstoppers here. These pyrotechnic presentations of beloved gourmet dishes like steak Diane and desserts such as cherries jubilee remind us that service can truly be an art. GINOPOLIS ON THE GRILL If you choose your restaurant by what famous person has eaten there, remember there are more celebrity photos on the wall here than any restaurant we have ever seen. It’s wall-to-wall stars, usually standing with Johnny G. himself, and not just Hollywood Squares has-beens and local weathermen, but the A-list biggies who would pal around with the late Hollywood legend Swifty Lazar, like Bob Hope, Liz Taylor and Sonny Elliot. GRAND CITY GRILLE Nestling in the heart of Detroit’s venerable rocket ship, the Fisher Building, the multifunctional Grand City Grill had a primary mission—living up to its digs—and triumphed. The latest star in the crown of the Southern Hospitality Restaurant Group, the Grille incorporates Kahn-based design with Nottage-based cuisine, creating an atmosphere that is both slick and inviting, upscale and low-key. Selections from the menu range from basic (but gutsy) burgers and pan-plebian shrimp grilled cheese sandwiches to grand grillings: vodka-spiked lobster gnocchi, smokehouse beef brisket and bronzed sockeye salmon with scampi butter, for example, while a moderate but meaningful wine lists washes the whole thing down. MANHATTAN CLUB A lively, upscale environment where the entertainment is as important as the food. The focal point is the elegant black marble bar which winds its way throughout the room. Singles mingle and couples that still wine and dine sip picture-perfect cosmos, martinis or any number of lavish libations. Do you miss Excalibur? Here is where you will find Sinatra’s famous ribs, and if he were still hanging out with the Rat Pack, you might find him here as well. The menu has it all, from classic appetizers to juicy steaks and seafood. There are a lot of trendy martini bars striving to capture this vibe. The Manhattan Club is the timeless kind of place we wish there were more of. Also home to Wise Guys Comedy Club. O’MARA’S ?O’Mara’s pretty much does it all; most importantly they do it well. Everything on this menu is very well thought out, and the goal seems to be making each dish as good as possible. This means they don’t cut corners—the shrimp in your cocktail are going to be big, and the meals the friendly servers set in front of you are not only going to taste great, they are going to look great. Which sounds simple enough, but most restaurants can’t do it with a small menu, and O’Mara’s bill of fare is a multi-page, something-for-everyone people pleasing phonebook of food. There are sandwiches and salads that don’t come off the menu when the big time steaks and seafood make their nightly appearance, entrée salads (the Maurice Salad is as good as Hudson’s was), a page of Irish specialties, just-typed special plates that let the chef show his creative flair. and it wouldn’t be right not to single out the frog legs. That is pretty much the tip of this iceberg. OXFORD INN A neighborhood favorite (that neighborhood being Royal Oak) and since that neighborhood is the biggest dining destination in the metro—well, you get the picture. Oxford has been popular a lot longer than Royal Oak. It’s drawn a loyal, ever-widening crowd since its inception—and no matter how many additions they put on this pub-like Tudor, as with a vacuum in nature, it always seems to fill up. The ribs are legendary, winning awards and fans, as are their oysters—done right long before it was trendy. Of course there are the steaks, seafood, pastas and sandwiches and everything else people in general love to eat. Above all, it’s comfortable, with servers and bartenders who actually seem to like their jobs and clients—the real reason everyone has been coming back for more for over a generation. PEABODY’S ?Here’s a place everyone can agree on, because you’ll never tire of it. A massive menu filled with upscale crowd-pleasing favorites—classic gourmet cuisine, pastas, steaks, seafood and a few more adventurous offerings as well. The prime rib barely fits on a plate, house specialties are special (like the classic steak Diane, or the trendier Asian-influenced calamari app) and the pan-fried perch is always perfect. Peabody’s has been consistently churning out great meals since Birmingham was a small town off the side of Woodward. Portions and prices are exceedingly fair, service is splendid and the bar is always a safe haven. Peabody’s has never been the flavor of the moment; like a fine wine it has aged gracefully and improves with each year. And while the great restaurant debate rages, “let’s go to Peabody’s” usually wins. PORTOFINO Wyandotte’s best restaurant has a huge menu, featuring everything from nachos to escargot—and that’s just for starters. Portofino does seafood especially well—because you’re dining with a view of the Detroit River (not that they would serve any fish from there) it’s just common sense that a restaurant on water had better have good seafood. Which they do—better than any number of “seafood” restaurants. Just about everything else is on the menu, too; they do it all well. Portofino is best enjoyed in the summer on the deck when the Detroit River is at its sparkliest. TRATTORIA ANDIAMO How far from an oxymoron is ‘upscale casual?’ Check out the answer at Trattoria Andiamo, which has brought to Grosse Pointe Woods a congenial home-style restaurant, scrupulously authentic with a brick pizza oven and portions to satiate the heftiest Mediterranean appetite. The piano bar adds to the cozy ambience and the quality of the cuisine is every bit the equal of all the Andiamo outlets. © 2008 Guide to Detroit, LLC |