Roast - Detroit

Despite working a long hard work week, my husband agreed to spend 7 of his only 12 free hours this weekend out of the house. Saturday night from 7p-7a is technically the only 12 hours he has off when he's on call. Going out is a huge commitment and means there's not a lot of resting/down time. I'm very thankful that he humored me.

We've been long time fans of Jerry Seinfeld; something about the New York Jewish humor has always struck a chord with us. Not to mention that we started watching this show as our relationship began, a few years ago. Was that really almost 20 years? Yikes.

Jerry was in town last night. And when I say in town, I mean the big town. De--troit. We couldn't do 7pm show because of the work schedule. So we stayed up a little past our bedtime for the second 10pm show. Sure, Jerry was funny (my cheeks were hurting from the continuous laughter), but Michael Symon topped it with the preceeding meal at Roast right around the corner from the Fox Theatre.

This is what we were greeted with upon entering.
So we knew we were in for a treat. Any menu that lists "Beast of the Day" is not messing around.

If you've read this blog before, you know that I could easily slide into the vegetarian camp if it weren't for prosciutto, speck and the like. But that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the carnivorous treats. That's what this menu did -accentuate the beauty of meat.




When I saw roasted marrow on the menu, I knew that it was a must try. How often have you seen that one? I've never. I thought since I was going whole hog, I might as well make it memorable. This dish was interesting. The waitress suggested a hearty squeeze of lemon, which did make a huge difference. That acidic element, and the slivers of pickled hot peppers provided a contrast to the "meat butter" (thanks, waitress). Considering the fact that I have never eaten straight marrow before, I don't feel like I can critique the preparation, but something in it left me wishing that it was a little hotter, perhaps a little deeper or darker roasted, but again maybe that was how it was supposed to be.

The other starter we tried was the fresh bacon, and what can I say? Bacon -it was great. Perfectly crispy, a good balance of meat and fat. Sat upon thin slices of haloumi and was topped with a small salad of pickled tomatoes and almonds.

The entree was a porterhouse for 2. I told you we were going all out! T-bone accompanied with fried brussel sprouts and a spinach feta gratin. Here's where I can tell that there is a depth to Michael Symon. I've been to other steakhouses where the sides were an afterthought. It's painfully obvious sometimes. However, each of these could have stood on it's own for a typical meal.

Fried brussel sprouts. I love brussel sprouts, so for me it's not really a stretch. But these were fabulous. I wish I could get the recipe. You think he'd give it to me? As far as I could tell, these were fried, then tossed hot with roasted walnuts, thin scallions, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and some form of anchovy (maybe a paste in the viniagrette) as a background note. My kids devoured the leftovers at lunch today. So either I figure out how to make them at home, or go back to roast, just for these suckers.