The Root Restaurant & Bar

We stopped here while passing through the area a few weeks ago.  I normally follow a friends advice and wait until I have visited the place a few times before leaving a review.  However, since this is about 45 minutes away from my home spot, I will break that rule this time.

My dining partner and I stopped here based on the Yelp reviews and was surprised to find such a great place in a strip mall.  The decor is light and natural, with an open casual feeling, , which surprised me.  I expected something a bit more stuffy to be honest.

There were families with young children, businessmen and couples dining on this Tuesday evening and the dress was casual to business professional.  I prefer the focus to be on the food, rather than the fancy decor so I appreciate the understated feel of the dining area.

After glancing through the menu, we decided to order the tasting menu with the wine pairing.  Since we knew it wasn't easy for us to return, we wanted to try several items on our visit and this would allow us to do so.  

Appetizer:
Brie - This was my choice, and as big of a cheese-lover as I am, I was a little surprised to see that it was served by itself with no bread or crackers.  Then again, I throughly enjoyed it so I must not have missed the carbs that much.

Crab Cakes - I am not usually a fan of crab cakes, but these were the exception.  The crab cakes were much lighter than I am accumstomed to.  I would consider ordering these again.

Course Two:
Soup Du Jour - I think the soup was Chili.  I can't speak to this because I don't even remember what my DP ordered.  

Orchard Salad - This was my choice.  I loved the orchard salad, but they ended up sending out the "dinner" portion of the salad rather than a small side.  Which was nice mistake, except that I don't have a huge appetite, so much of it went to waste.  I loved the surprising addition of the Marcona Almonds.  If we go back here, I would definitely consider ordering the Orchard Salad as a main meal.

Intermezzo:
This may have been my favorite part of the meal.  The intermezzo was a small scoop of lemon (sorbet?) that is meant to cleanse the palate before the main meal.  It was light and refreshing and I could've eaten a whole bowl.

Course Three:
Chicken - the waiter talked me into ordering the Chicken over the Trout.  I would normally never order a Chicken dinner - but I took his word for it.  The chicken was served in a light, creamy sauce and tasted exactly like something I would cook at home.  So of course I liked it, but I felt that I could cook this at home anytime, and it left me wishing I had ordered the trout.

Pork Shoulder - My dining partner ordered the pork shoulder (no surprise here) and he almost licked the plate clean.  It's a hearty dish, and the pork was cooked perfectly.

Dessert:
Lemon & Lavender Creme Brulee - If you're a creme brulee fan, then you will love their rendition of the popular dessert.  The lemon flavor really took front stage and it was the perfect blend of creaminess and citrus.

Banana Cream Pie - While we wouldn't normally order a cream pie, we were sold when we read "salted caramel."  The salted caramel really sold the dish.  It's not the typical cream pie with this lovely addition.  

Overall, we enjoyed our meal and the service was outstanding.  Only one portion of our dining experience fell short of our expectations.  The Root supports Michigan by offering many locally-grown food and wine.  With that being said, the wine pairings were predominanatly from Michigan-based wineries.  Which is great...and for some people, they may love Michigan wines but I felt that the wine pairings left something to be desired.  Surprisingly, the only non-Michigan based wine that was offered in the pairing was the dessert wine - which is where a Michigan wine would've stood out!  My suggestion - raise the cost of the pairing and offer top of the line wine choices.

I live about a mile from The Root Restaurant and heard it was good so on our 31st anniversary I decided to make a reservation via Yelp.  Turned out to be a good idea. Restaurant was way above my already high expectations.

I stopped by earlier in the day to drop off a card and a single yellow rose to be placed at our table before our reservation time.  We arrived early and were told our table will be ready in a couple of minutes so we went into the bar and ordered a glass of their house wine. The wine was a Louis Latour Chardonnay from France. Tasted spectacular.
We were then shown to our table and there was the rose and the card I had dropped off for my wife.  She was blown away that I would do that and I was blown away that the restaurant didn't forget about it.

Food was absolutely amazing, service was extraordinary.  Our server was socially pleasant, and attentive but not annoying as many servers can be. We enjoyed our brief conversations and her recommendations.

Bottom line is we can't wait until we return for many other occasions.  It is well worth the trip even if you have to drive 50 miles. Next week we are going there for lunch.

Tried a few items here including the scallops and the braised pork shoulder, both of which were delicious but not as filling a meal as I require. Was pleased to order a New Holland Dragon's Milk, less impressed with the house Bloody made with McClure's. It was too salty and over seasoned. Overall a place I'd visit again without hesitation.