Fort Willow - Brunch

I went to Fort Willow recently for dinner and enjoyed it.  When it opened for brunch, I decided to check it out to see how they do in that respect.  I think that I noted when I first posted that there was a design on the corner of the building, but I didn't really take a close look at it.  When I arrived, I noticed that the design had changed, it was actually been changed to Fort Willow with an arrow pointing to the entrance, so I decided to take a look at it.  It seems that the corner of the building was covered in plate steel and the things making up the design were refrigerator magnet letters, so the design could be changed quickly and easily by anyone.  As I noted before the entrance to the  restaurant is at the back with a neon sign pointing to a large black door.  Walking in, you walk past the kitchen, a communal high top table, a tree swing, and the large tree made from lumber, next to the bar.  I sat at the bar with my friends that had already arrived, and was greeted by Scott, the manager of Ada Street (Ada Street and Fort Willow are part of the same group).  I was surprised, but apparently he covers for the Fort Willow manager on Sunday.  I ordered a drink, a Paloma, which was made with Tequila, Texas Pink Grapefruit, Agave, Lime, and Togarashi Spice.  Except for the Togarashi Spice which was used to coat the side and give it some spice, it was a fairly standard Paloma and pretty good.

While I was enjoying my Paloma, I perused the menu.  The standard menu is made up mostly of small plates which are easily shared.  The brunch menu is also made up largely of small plates, which is a little unusual when it comes to brunch places, but not really surprising.  For the main menu, the one non small plate is a large plate grilled cheese sandwich, but it is easily shareable.  In the case of brunch, there is one dish that does not really fall under the definition of small plate, although it is small, and it isn't really shareable.  This would be the Oyster Shooter.  I like Oyster Shooters, and so did one of my dining partners, so we ordered two.  This Oyster Shooter was made with Fresh Tomato Juice and Sriracha (as well as the oyster).  It was sharp, tangy, went down quickly, and was a nice start.  In some cases, the oyster will go down in one swallow.  With this, the oyster was big enough to warrant a few chews, which released it's briny oyster flavor.

Our first shared course was French Toast Bites with a Maple Bourbon Dipping Sauce.  This was perfect for sharing and also really good.  The French Toast was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and covered with powdered sugar.  The dipping sauce had nice flavors of maple and bourbon as would be expected from something labeled a maple bourbon dipping sauce, but it was also vernice and buttery.

The next choice was mine and I got a little bit of a hard time for picking the most hipster thing on the menu.  I didn't care though because it sounded good.  We had Avocado Toast with Whipped Goat Cheese and Fresh Herbs.  Served on dense dark bread, the avocado was both mashed and chunky, the goat cheese was really creamy, and the herbs were crisp and added both a nice flavor and aroma.  I am not sure what all of the herbs used were, but there was some sage, cilantro, and parsley, and it was all really good.

Continuing with the bread-based courses, we went with an Egg in a Hole.  A standard egg in a hole has a an egg fried in a hole in buttered toast, also being fried.  This was also topped with Spicy Cheese and Bacon, which sort of made it an open faced breakfast sandwich.

Arriving about the same time as the last bread was a brunch favorite, the Eggs Benedict.  Built on an English Muffin, this also had Ham, a Poached Egg, and a Harissa Hollandaise Sauce, which added some spice.  I like Benedicts (though they are a little harder to share because of the poached egg), but the Harissa added some spice that you don't frequently find in Eggs Benedict despite the enormity of flavor that comes from the Hollandaise Sauce and it was nice.

At this point I added another drink about the same time that our last course showed up.  My drink was called a Screwball and was made with Pisco, Orange Juice and Falernum.  With the orange juice and the flavors of almond, vanilla, and ginger from the falernum, it was definitely a breakfast drink and it gave me the juice that I frequently order for brunch, even with the alcohol.  Our last course was called a "Frito" and it was essentially Chilaquiles, containing Fried Tortilla Chips, Salsa Verde, Cheese, and an Egg.  The only reason that I can think that it wouldn't have been called Chilaquiles is because it's harder to pronounce than "Frito".  It was a nice finish to a good brunch and it is a place that I will continue to frequent. 

 

Zingerman's Deli

Years ago when perusing cheese shops around Chicago, I started seeing cheese from a place in Michigan called Zingerman's.  After doing some studying, I found that they had started as a Jewish Deli that focused on the best local food that could be had.  This made them a little more expensive than you standard, but it also made them really good (and Popular).  Over the years, they developed a Creamery, a Bakery, A Candy Manufactory, a Coffee Roaster, a Mail Order Business, a Fish Store, and a sit down restaurant, in addition to the Delicatessan.  Their sit down restaurant, Zingerman's Roadhouse, won a James Beard Award a few years ago, showing that they are doing some really good work.  When I traveled to the area recently, visiting the Deli, the start of everything, was very high on my list.  Located in downtown Ann Arbor, it's easy to walk from from the train station.  The is located in the front of the deli and has an amazing selection of meats, cheeses, bread, coffee, and other specialty items.  There were many things that I was interested in, but as I was traveling by train and didn't have a way to refrigerate anything for the trip, my choices were limited and while I ended up trying a few things, I didn't buy anything.

 

As one might guess from their market selection, they also have an amazing deli selection.  While Zingerman's is ostensibly a Jewish Deli, they do also serve a variety of hams and bacons.  In addition to the Pastrami, Corned Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Fish, and other things, as well as a wide variety of salads.  They do not serve beer or liquor, but they have a variety of specialty soda's, in addition to Coffee, Tea, and Malteds.  I started things off with a Blenheim Ginger Ale, a Golden Ginger Ale that has a pronounced ginger flavor.  I much prefer the Golden Ginger Ales to the Dry (Canada Dry, Schweppes), but I prefer Vernor's to Blenheim.  For my sandwich, I decided to go with a specialty of Jewish Delis, the Reuben.  They had 6 different variations on the Reuben, I went with the S. Muno's Montreal Reuben with Wagshal's Smoked Brisket, Emmantal Swiss Cheese, Brinery Sauerkraut, and Russian Dressing on Grilled Rye Bread.  It was served with one of two Dill Pickles, New (Crunchy and Cucumbery) or Old (Garlic Cured).  I went with the New, which had a nice crisp crunch and a lot of flavor.  There was obviously a lot of dill flavorm but there was also a pretty good garlic flavor as well.  The sandwich was really good with a good crunch and flavor.  The brisket was tender and had a good smoked flavor, the sauerkraut was crisp and sour, and the Emmantal added some creamy bitterness.  On the side, I ordered Swiss Potato Salad with Redskin Potatoes, Neuske's Bacon, Switzerland Swiss Cheese, Sea Salt, Tellicherry Black Pepper, Scallions, Mayo, and Dijon Mustard.  I like potato salad, but this was a very good potato salad.

I really enjoyed my trip here and will definitely have to return when I return to the area.  While I could order food from them (I could order the ingredients for a sandwich and build it here), the place is very friendly and the selection they have is pretty incredible.