I haven't been going to any new restaurants in quite some time although I've been going to a lot of my favorite places lately (Streetside Seafood, Ronin, Roast, etc.). But I finally went to a new place (for me) recently with a friend, Bistro Joe's in Birmingham, Michigan.
Bistro Joe's is actually a part of Papa Joe's grocery store and sits atop the store so you can actually look out into the store while you dine. The store was closed when we had dinner there, so we couldn't heckle any shoppers!
My friend & I ordered martinis from Joe's unique drink menu. She got a Fig Chartreuse (mission fig infused bourbon, tamarind syrup, yellow chartreuse) and I got a Bourbon Ginger (Bulleit bourbon, St. Germain, Domaine De Canton, orange twist). I'm a big fan of bourbon and both of these drinks were tasty, so we both enjoyed them with some bread while looking over the menu.
We chose the Classic Escargot (Au crouton) for an appetizer because she'd been hoping to find a restaurant in the area that had escargot and I had never had it. It was tasty, but it didn't jump out at me as being one of the best appetizers I'd ever had.
For an entree, my friend chose Lobster Seafood Cataplana (scallop, shrimp, calamari, mussels, trofie pasta, saffron cream sauce) and she liked it a lot. I tried it, liked it, had her leftovers the next day for lunch, and liked it even more the 2nd time around. I'd definitely recommend getting this dish if you are a fan of seafood.
I chose the Skatefish special. I didn't take very good notes when I was actually at the restaurant, so the details about this special were a little fuzzy to me when I sat down to write this review and as it was a special, I couldn't look it up on their menu. But I called them about a week afterwards and they offered up some more details, but I know some were missing. Anyway...The skatefish (which is a light fish, similar to whitefish but a little denser) was stuffed with scallops & crab and came with a lemon caper butter sauce. There were some great vegetables that came with it too, but this is where the details really escape me. The bottom line is this: It was a great special. The fish was super fresh and stuffing it with two of my favorite types of seafood (the crab & scallops) was brilliant & very flavorful. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who had a chance to try it out.
Overall, Bistro Joe's is a good restaurant with very good food and it's reasonably priced with good-sized portions. It isn't the most comfortable restaurant as the chairs are plastic and the tables are not very sturdy. I wouldn't consider it a romantic restaurant, it's more of a place to come with a group of friends. I would definitely go back there and would tell anyone else to do the same.
For more information, check out Bistro Joe's website: http://www.bistrojoeskitchen.com/
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