Vinsetta Garage, Berkley, MI

 

 

 

 

 

While I like to be knowledgeable about the restaurant scene in Chicago, when I travel, I also like to get an idea of the noteable places to eat and drink.  I went to a few places when I was in Southeastern Michigan that were pretty good.  I mentioned Zingerman's Deli, we then went to a few breweries in Ann Arbor (Arbor and Jolly Pumpkin), before traveling to Berkley to visit Vinsetta Garage.  Vinsetta Garage was originally the oldest garage east of the Mississippi, originally built in 1915, but converted to a restaurant, serving foods that the mechanics that worked in the garage would appreciate (pizza, pasta, burgers, etc.).  The building is still the garage complete with neon trim and garage doors and the space still retains equipment from its garage days including an old tune up machine.  The floor is cement with some tile (and pennies encased in resin in the bathroom).  The bar is curved and looks into the open kitchen and the ceiling is unfinished with large skylights and hanging lights to provide additional light.  To provide additional atmosphere, an antique dragster sits on a ledge above the entrance. 

For drinks, they have a full bar with a good beer list and some cocktails, but they also go the soda fountain route with some very good milkshakes and concretes (which could also work as dessert).  We started out with a Chocolate Milkshake and a New Belgium Hemperor HPA.  The shake was nice and thick with a lot of chocolate, and as I said, could have served as dessert.  The New Belgium Hemperor was a Hemp Pale Ale.  I had read about it and it sounded too weird not to try if I ever saw it.  It was on the menu at Vinsetta, so I tried it.  It was very dank.  The flavor was very pronounced.  Hops and Marijuana are related and I have had some beers that aimed for the skunky flavor of marijuana and got there generally, but this was like drinking a joint.  While I will say that I was glad I got to try it, it also won't be a regular thing for me.

For food, we started with Chili Verde, with Pork Shoulder, Tomatillo, Jalapeno, Sour Cream, and Corn Tortilla Chips.  It was really good.  It had a lot of flavor with some spice, tender pork shoulder, and crunchy corn tortilla chips to add some additional texture and to finish things off.

 

For our main courses, while I did try both things we ordered, we essentially ordered separately.  There was a Coney Island Pizza (Sir Shakes Coney Pie) with Hot Dogs, Housemade Coney Chili, White Onions. Cheese Blend, Aged Cheddar, and French's Mustard.  It was unusual, but it was really good.  I had a slice, but it wasn't mine.  What I had was the Union Mac and Cheese which won an award as the area's favorite Mac and Cheese.  It had Vermont Sharp Cheddar, Pinconning Colby, Penne Rigati, Parmesan, Bechamel, and a Crunchy Crust, served with Ham.  It was big, rich, and I took over half of it with me.  The crust seemed to be made of a combination of breadcrumbs and fried cheese.  It was crunchy and had the great flavor of fried cheese, which led to the cheese covered pasta which was cooked perfectly and had the perfect amount of ham. 

While this is where dessert would have come, we were too full for dessert.  In addition to the milkshakes, they had several very nice looking pies.  The place was a lot of fun, the food was really good, and I would be happy to return.