Man, I feel like I’m always so far behind adding content to this thing. Anyways…
Last weekend Erin and I went to visit my parents. It was sort of an impromptu thing, which got us out of having to go to Halloween parties we really didn’t want to go to. Anyways, it was the same weekend that the Bears and the Lions played in Detroit. I tried to find tickets on ticketmaster back on Thursday, and was only able to find 2 together. Thinking it would be nice if my parents could come to, I asked my Dad to see if he could get some through work. He said he’d look into it, and then I didn’t hear from him.
Well, I finally hear back from him on Friday and he was only able to get two. Crap. So, I go back on to ticketmaster, and wasn’t able to find two tickets together. Great. Well, we head to Detroit anyways. I looked on eBay and there were some on there that didn’t look like they were going for that much.
Saturday comes around, Erin and I visit the Moosejaw up there, since the one in Chicago by me is incredibly small and didn’t have a jacket that I wanted to try on. They don’t have the jacket there either, so we head to the mall because we’re board. Amazingly we both snag some good deals at Banana Republic, of all places. Something like 50%. Can’t go wrong with that.
Run my car through the car wash (man has it been a LONG time), and head home. We then had an excellent dinner (!), and finish of the evening with hot chocolate, half-n-half, Bailey’s, and a fire outside.
The next day we enjoy breakfast and head to the game. Now, in case we weren’t able to get two additional tickets my parents were just going to go to the DIA, and then we’d meet back up and go out to dinner. We’ll my Dad was able to scalp some tickets for only an additional $20 over list, so we all got in. However, as soon as we started looking for seats, he realized that the two tickets he got weren’t even close to each other. In fact, they were on complete opposite sides of the Ford Field. Erin and I took the two seats that were together behind the end zone, and my parents went off to try and sit together. It turns out that the seats right behind us remained empty for the first half, so when we met back up at half time, I told them to just come sit by us.
I won’t go in to the game, it was good, until the last play in overtime. However, I will talk about Dinner.
The place we went to was called Cuisine (I think, I wish I could find a website about it). Anyways, it’s this incredible French restaurant down by some Theatre in Detroit. Wow, I can tell you guys are just hanging on all the details, right? My parents apparently found this place because they were going to see a play at the Theatre, and asked where a good place to eat was. Turns out this place is right across the street.
Erin was somewhat skeptical of it because she wasn’t sure what she was in for, but my Dad insisted that it’s the best food he’s ever eaten, and that he needs an excuse to get to this place. Hey, I’m fine with being an excuse to eat exquisite food.
The place isn’t very big, but it’s very cozy and the staff is very friendly. They offer both Progressions or regular courses. My Dad and I both went for one of the Progressions, while Erin and my Mom went for the Beef Tenderloin.
My first course consisted of a French Onion soup with goat cheese. All I can say is excellent. The creamy goat cheese added an extra layer, especially since the soup was more runnier than I’m used to. However, the flavors melded together perfectly in what seemed a nice white wine-ish broth.
Second course was caramelized scallops, with caramelized cauliflower, and a raisin, walnut (in addition to other things I can’t remember now) puree. The scallops were done very well, not chewy at all. In fact, you could easily cut them with the fork, no knife needed. The sauce/puree gave it a sweeter taste that I wasn’t all about. To me, scallops on their own are great, no need to hide there flavor in an overpowering sauce. The cauliflower also had a sweetness to it, but not as powerful as the sauce. It went well with the scallops.
Third course was the beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and beans. This is actually the same meal that Erin and my Mom had, however, they had three cuts of beef, while I only had two (it was also the only course they had). I honestly don’t think I can describe the beef. This is no tenderloin you’ll ever be able to find in the store. Again, no knife required, and it was cooked just how I wanted it, medium rare. The beans seemed a little over cooked, not as crisp as I like, but when combined with a cut of beef and potatoes, was a hard combination to beat. Because of the lighting at our seat, I was slightly worried when the plate first arrived, because the sauce used was blood red, and it looked as though the beef was a little more rare than I would’ve liked. However, the sauce turned out to be an excellent accompaniment, adding (again) a slight sweetness that rounded out the other flavors.
Finally, there was souffle for dessert. After the second course, we were asked what indulgence we desired: Chocolate, Grand Marnier (spelled right on the first try!), or Butterscotch. My Dad opted for Grand Marnier, while I went for the Chocolate, since my Mom raved about how good it was last time they went. The moment arrived, and we were brought our deserts. Proudly they stood double the height of the souffle dish. And then the waitress struck them with a spoon, and drizzled them with the decadent liquid. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had a dessert so good and satisfying. The chocolate was sweet, but not overpowering, the souffle was light and delicate. The combination of the two was almost too much to take.
Overall, it was a most delightful treat, and most definitely the best dining experiences I’ve ever had. Hopefully my parents will leave additional info about Cuisine in the comments, that I can then add to this post, because with all the bad things going for downtown Detroit, it’s good to see there are still exceptional places, you just have to look for them.