Bourbon Steak and Saltwater

[CRUZMISL]

Hi All,

I'm thinking of going. The menu sounds good but would like to gather some feedback before I drop the money.

A link to their website

here

Thanks,

Joe

[tammylc]

Bourbon Steak and Saltwater are both on my list, but I haven't been yet. Maybe next weekend, although i'd probably choose Saltwater over Bourbon Steak.

[CRUZMISL]

Bourbon Steak and Saltwater are both on my list, but I haven't been yet.  Maybe next weekend, although i'd probably choose Saltwater over Bourbon Steak.

←

The Kobe steak and duck fat fries are a perfect winter treat though

Let me know how they are if you go.

[tammylc]

Last weekend i went to Saltwater. We were dithering about a restaurant for the night, and by the time we called we couldn't get a reservation. But they have a lounge area and bar with full service, so we figured we'd do that. And as it turned out, with the snowstorm last Saturday they had cancellations and we were able to get a table after all.

It's a great room - nice high ceilings, nicely appointed. Big tables in the center, smaller tables along the wall, and a bunch of booth like semi-private spaces that were really neat.

In addition to the menu they have posted on the website, they have a 6 course tasting menu for $105. This was a no brainer for us, so that's what we ordered. It's been a week, and I didn't take notes or steal a menu, but I'll try to give some recollections anyway.

The amuse was some sort of mousse, coated in a crunchy something and deep fried, served with a meyer lemon gastrique. This was overall a little sweet for an amuse, I thought, but certainly tasty.

First course was a many layered tartare that i don't think is on the regular menu. At the bottom there was a hot potato pancake, then a couple different kinds of fish (tuna and something else?), then a layer of creme fraiche topped with caviar. Man, was that good. Like, really, really good.

Second course was from the menu, and is - we later heard - their most popular appetizer. With good reason. "Hawaiian Blue Prawns, dungeness crab-stuffed, hot & sour reduction." Just enough zing in the hot and sour reduction to keep it interesting without killing your palate for anything that followed. Another really great dish.

Third course was good, but I thought too filling for a 6 course menu. "Savory Black Mussel Soufflé, saffron-chardonnay cream." Individual small souffles are split open at the table and then the cream sauce is poured into them. Coming straight out of the oven, these are very, very hot. Which was noticeable - I can't remember the last time I had to blow on my food to cool it down in a high-end restaurant!

Fourth course was a potato crusted snapper. I can't remember the saucing details, though. Fine, but unremarkable.

Fifth course on the tasting menu was Kobe beef. We weren't overly excited about when we were ordering, so requested that one of us get the Berkshire pork from the main menu instead. They happily accommodated, and actually both dishes were quite good. The Kobe was served with a nice horseradish mashed potato that had just the right amount of kick. Sadly, I can't remember anything about the pork, except that it was really yummy!

Dessert was a caramelized banana tarte tatin with maple ice cream, and was excellent. Even though i was really full going in, i still managed to eat the whole thing.

Round about the middle of the meal, Don Yamauchi stopped by our table. We chatted about his tenure at Tribute (which we'd both managed to miss) and what the new chef there is up to. We talked about other favorite Michael Mina restaurants (this was my first, but my friend is quite a fan and has been to a bunch). We asked him about how the kitchen was set up - with an almost entirely seafood/fish menu at Saltwater and just two meat courses, we wondered if the two restaurants shared a kitchen, or if those coures were cooked in the adjoining Bourbon Steak. "Oh no, not at all" he said, and gave us his card, inviting us to go for a kitchen tour when we were finished. So that was cool. We got to see both the kitchens of Saltwater and Bourbon Steak. (They do share a dishwashing room.) Saltwater is the smaller of the two, doing about 200 covers a night. Bourbon Steak does 400+.

Note to foodies - Bourbon Steak doesn't advertise a tasting menu, but Don told us they will happily put one together for you if you ask.

One last note, about the wine list. It wasn't a stunning list, but there were some good options. The by-the-glass list in the reds look slim, until we remembered where we were, and that there were only two meat courses on the menu. And we were actually really impressed because they had a number of things that were really affordable. Like a $25 Gruner Veltliner. This is a wine that would be great with the type of food being served at Saltwater, and we gave them a hearty "good for them" for having a list that works at all levels. They also had a $26 bottle from India (i'm intrigued), but we got a nice Basque white. They offer pairings with the tasting menu but with the weather being what it was, we didn't want to overindulge.

Service was the weakest point. The pacing was really slow, with surprisingly long waits between courses. But we had nowhere else to be, so that was okay.

Summing up this really long report - great meal. Saltwater is a real boon to the Detroit dining scene, so you should all check it out. We talked a little with Don about whether he thought he was going to need to dumb down the menu to suit the Detroit market. He hoped not, but admitted that it was a possiblity. So you should all go eat there and encourage them to stay creative!

Oh, BTW - Valet parking at the casino is free.

[jende]

Last weekend i went to Saltwater. We were dithering about a restaurant for the night, and by the time we called we couldn't get a reservation. But they have a lounge area and bar with full service, so we figured we'd do that. And as it turned out, with the snowstorm last Saturday they had cancellations and we were able to get a table after all.

It's a great room - nice high ceilings, nicely appointed. Big tables in the center, smaller tables along the wall, and a bunch of booth like semi-private spaces that were really neat.

In addition to the menu they have posted on the website, they have a 6 course tasting menu for $105. This was a no brainer for us, so that's what we ordered.  It's been a week, and I didn't take notes or steal a menu, but I'll try to give some recollections anyway. 

The amuse was some sort of mousse, coated in a crunchy something and deep fried, served with a meyer lemon gastrique. This was overall a little sweet for an amuse, I thought, but certainly tasty.

First course was a many layered tartare that i don't think is on the regular menu. At the bottom there was a hot potato pancake, then a couple different kinds of fish (tuna and something else?), then a layer of creme fraiche topped with caviar.  Man, was that good.  Like, really, really good.

Second course was from the menu, and is - we later heard - their most popular appetizer.  With good reason.  "Hawaiian Blue Prawns, dungeness crab-stuffed, hot & sour reduction." Just enough zing in the hot and sour reduction to keep it interesting without killing your palate for anything that followed.  Another really great dish.

Third course was good, but I thought too filling for a 6 course menu. "Savory Black Mussel Soufflé, saffron-chardonnay cream."  Individual small souffles are split open at the table and then the cream sauce is poured into them.  Coming straight out of the oven, these are very, very hot.  Which was noticeable - I can't remember the last time I had to blow on my food to cool it down in a high-end restaurant!

Fourth course was a potato crusted snapper. I can't remember the saucing details, though.  Fine, but unremarkable.

Fifth course on the tasting menu was Kobe beef. We weren't overly excited about when we were ordering, so requested that one of us get the Berkshire pork from the main menu instead.  They happily accommodated, and actually both dishes were quite good.  The Kobe was served with a nice horseradish mashed potato that had just the right amount of kick.  Sadly, I can't remember anything about the pork, except that it was really yummy!

Dessert was a caramelized banana tarte tatin with maple ice cream, and was excellent.  Even though i was really full going in, i still managed to eat the whole thing.

Round about the middle of the meal, Don Yamauchi stopped by our table.  We chatted about his tenure at Tribute (which we'd both managed to miss) and what the new chef there is up to.  We talked about other favorite Michael Mina restaurants (this was my first, but my friend is quite a fan and has been to a bunch).  We asked him about how the kitchen was set up - with an almost entirely seafood/fish menu at Saltwater and just two meat courses, we wondered if the two restaurants shared a kitchen, or if those coures were cooked in the adjoining Bourbon Steak.  "Oh no, not at all" he said, and gave us his card, inviting us to go for a kitchen tour when we were finished.  So that was cool.  We got to see both the kitchens of Saltwater and Bourbon Steak. (They do share a dishwashing room.)  Saltwater is the smaller of the two, doing about 200 covers a night.  Bourbon Steak does 400+.

Note to foodies - Bourbon Steak doesn't advertise a tasting menu, but Don told us they will happily put one together for you if you ask. 

One last note, about the wine list.  It wasn't a stunning list, but there were some good options.  The by-the-glass list in the reds look slim, until we remembered where we were, and that there were only two meat courses on the menu.  And we were actually really impressed because they had a number of things that were really affordable.  Like a $25 Gruner Veltliner.  This is a wine that would be great with the type of food being served at Saltwater, and we gave them a hearty "good for them" for having a list that works at all levels.  They also had a $26 bottle from India (i'm intrigued), but we got a nice Basque white.  They offer pairings with the tasting menu but with the weather being what it was, we didn't want to overindulge.

Service was the weakest point.  The pacing was really slow, with surprisingly long waits between courses.  But we had nowhere else to be, so that was okay. 

Summing up this really long report - great meal. Saltwater is a real boon to the Detroit dining scene, so you should all check it out. We talked a little with Don about whether he thought he was going to need to dumb down the menu to suit the Detroit market. He hoped not, but admitted that it was a possiblity.  So you should all go eat there and encourage them to stay creative!

Oh, BTW - Valet parking at the casino is free.

←

Thanks for this great report. I haven't talked to anyone who's been to Saltwater (my brother, a non-foodie, went to Bourbon Steak and liked it) so it's good to hear more about it. I can't wait to try both, and I truly hope Yamauchi doesn't find it necessary to "dumb down" his menu.

[jende]

I finally made it to Bourbon Steak with three friends this weekend. First, I have to say that the casino is beautiful, comparable to the newer casinos in Vegas. The restaurant is gorgeous, too, with a small bar and lounge area up front and semi-private tables on the perimeter of the dining room. We were in one of these areas. Each table is enclosed on three sides by cool, almost sculptural metal dividers.

A little while after being seated and greeted by our server, we were given an order of duck fat fries with three dipping sauces -- a truffled mayo, barbecue sauce and sweet ketchup -- "compliments of the chef." I think everyone was receiving this, but it was a surprisingly large portion for a freebie.

The menu is quite large, with about 12 apps (mostly focused on tuna, crab, and beef) and a handful of salads. The starters we chose included a salad of Bibb lettuce with chunks of crisp slab bacon, blue cheese, avocado and hard-boiled quail egg; crab bisque; a Caesar salad; and crab lettuce cups -- small rounds of iceberg lettuce topped with a dollop of crab meat, a teeny piece of avocado and a round of red onion. This was served with a spicy vinaigrette that was billed on the menu as a "Maurice sauce." None of the apps blew us away, but they were serviceable. The crab lettuce cups were the most disappointing. There wasn't much flavor except from the spicy sauce and the presentation was blah.

Next we ordered our entrees and three side dishes to share. There are several cuts of Piedmontese beef, as well as "American" Kobe. Then there is a prime rib, Colorado rack of lamb, short ribs and a Kobe burger, along with a few fish dishes. We stuck with the Piedmontese beef and had a ribeye, filet mignon and two "cap" steaks between us. The cap was explained as a special cut just for Bourbon Steak, and apparently it's the center of the ribeye. We also ordered the truffled mac and cheese, mushroom pot pie and a trio of potato purees -- horseradish, sour cream and onion and lobster.

After our entree order was placed, our server brought a small round of cornbread in a cast iron skillet. It was deliciously sweet and buttery. We had been drinking beer (we ordered a round at the bar while we waited for our table to clear), but with the entrees we ordered a couple bottles of Verdad Tempranillo, from Santa Ynez. The wine had an interesting slightly raisiny flavor, but perhaps not enough tannin to pair well with the beef. Oh, I also had a glass of Iron Horse sparkling wine with apps, which was a nice complement to the crab.

The steaks were served on a huge white plate, bare except for a roasted shallot and small yellow pepper (I never understand why steakhouses, which almost always serve their steaks a la carte, don't use a smaller plate so it doesn't look so naked!). All of them had an intense mesquite flavor and good depth. The cap steaks tasted very much like the ribeye but there was no bone to gnaw on (so it just depends on whether you like that kind of thing) and the filet was dense and silky.

The sides were all good but very, very rich. The truffled mac and cheese didn't have any discernible truffles, but did have the distinctive funky flavor (I'm sure they just used truffle oil or butter). The potato purees were a big hit -- the horseradish especially was a nice complement to the beef. Others loved the mushroom pot pie -- a thick veloute blended with mixed wild mushrooms and served in a pastry crust-topped baking dish -- but I was hitting cream overload by that point and found it to be too much.

We were groaning with food overload but still managed to order dessert, beignets with creme brulee and another with chocolate pot de creme (the third choice was Macallan scotch butterscotch pudding), and mini donuts with jasmine cream, caramel sauce and a little cup of chocolate sauce. The beignets and donuts were both appropriately light and crispy, but the beignets didn't have any distinctive flavor and the donuts had an overwhelmingly lemony taste. I also thought the beignets would have been better served with a thinner dipping sauce instead of the small ramekins of creme brulee and pot de creme.

Service overall was very attentive, especially considering that we were in this semi-secluded area so it would have been easy for our server to neglect us, and offered nice touches like fresh napkins each time you returned from the restroom.

Prices were about he highest I've ever seen in Detroit -- of steaks are $40-$150, apps around $15, sides $11-$16, desserts $10. But for a special occasion I think it's worth it for the overall experience of a cool, luxurious atmosphere, high-end service, and food that isn't necessarily overly creative but tastes good.