615. Johnny Black’s Public House – March 18, 2023 – Waterford, MI

Throw a party at Johnny Black’s Public House! With happy hour specials that include $2 Taco Tuesdays and a Bottomless Mimosas brunch option, you can’t go wrong celebrating a special occasion at this locally-owned restaurant chain with spots in Lake Orion, Rochester Hills, Sterling Heights, and Waterford.

A birthday brought me to the Waterford location of Johnny Black’s. A friend opted to celebrate her special day with a boozy brunch fueled by Johnny Black’s bottomless mimosas. I opted for Spanish coffees instead. What a delightfully warming way to start my day!

Our party nestled cozily into one of the large booths in the cavernous bar, whose décor I’d characterize as refined industrial: gleaming wood floors, leather-backed booths, exposed ductwork, bare-bulb lighting. Rows of flat-screen TVs wrapping around the walls add a sports-bar vibe.

Johnny Black’s brunch menu includes an array of stuffed omelets and other enticing options, including Fruity Pebble-flavored pancakes; breakfast tacos stuffed with such fancy ingredients as whiskey-infused onions, spinach, and a sriracha aioli; and chicken-and-waffles served with cinnamon butter and bourbon sauce.

The lunch and dinner menu is well-rounded, including a mix of hearty appetizers and small plates, plus salads, pastas, sandwiches, burgers, protein-centric entrées (including salmon, filet, and ribs), and a plentiful pizza section. I made the Western Burger my choice, and what a decadent treat that was! The juicy beef burger was bedecked with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, crispy onion straws, and barbecue sauce.

Johnny Black’s bar offers signature cocktails and makes a mean Bloody Mary; its ample garnishes include a mini breakfast sandwich. Find a reason to celebrate something on a Saturday or Sunday so you have an excuse to try that bad boy!

In all seriousness, you don’t need an excuse – or special occasion – to visit Johnny Black’s. The chill environment, great service, and delicious food and drink is excuse enough!

5171 Dixie Hwy.

Waterford, MI 48329

(With additional locations in Lake Orion, Rochester Hills, and Sterling Heights)

www.johnnyblacks.com

587. Recipes – October 9, 2022 – Rochester, MI

Recipes, a pinnacle of brunch places! The restaurant based in downtown Rochester serves hearty, flavorful fare in a setting worthy of champagne sipping.

Recipes’ menu is chockful of breakfast choices. It’s got omelets for days (including a make-your-own omelet-skillet option), a plethora of pancakes, granola, hashes, frittatas – you name it! There are seven kinds of Eggs Benedict, and egg skillets with names such as Rambler (a sophisticated mix of mushroom, chicken, broccoli, almonds, onion, and hollandaise sauce) and Straggler (a mix of mushroom, ham, Cheddar Jack cheese, tomato, onion, and potato). It’s a cornucopia of a.m. options!

More of a lunch person? Recipes has got you covered. Burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, and Asian fare such as Pad Thai and Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio (vermicelli noodles with grilled pork) are included on its menu.

Perennially the person favoring the lunch side of a brunch menu, I opted for Recipes’ Crunchy Thai Salad. The mix of fresh raw veggies (cabbage, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, green onion) and healthful protein (chicken breast and peanuts) were just what I needed after a night of birthday-celebration indulgence. Fried wontons, rice sticks, and Thai peanut dressing brought additional crunch and vibrance to this wonderfully tasty mix, which was served with cheese-topped garlic bread.

Alcohol is also offered at Recipes. It serves brunch-friendly cocktails such as the Irish Coffee and Bloody Mary – and, as do other brunch spots of its ilk, champagne and multiple kinds of mimosas.

Ready to sip, savor, and celebrate a day a brunch-i-ness? Look no further than Recipes Rochester!

134 W. University Dr.

Rochester, MI 48307

(With additional locations in Farmington Hills and Troy)

www.recipesinc.com

558. The Bread & Yolk – April 27, 2022 – Lake Orion, MI

Given its name, it’s no surprise that The Bread & Yolk is all about breakfast. But I’m here to proclaim: it serves a delicious lunch, too!

Breakfast afficionados are sure to be pleased by this Lake Orion restaurant’s extensive selection of a.m.-centric foods: pancakes and skillets, French toast and waffles, omelettes and egg-forward combo platters. Choose from five different types of crepes (including the Nutella-filled Banana Hazelnut) and four different types of Eggs Benedict. Savor an acai bowl or a breakfast burrito.

But don’t sleep on The Bread & Yolk’s lunch menu! It’s got an enticing selection of sandwiches, burgers, and entrée salads, including the Harvest Chicken, a grilled chicken sandwich jazzed up with avocado, roasted vegetables, and provolone, and the Arugula & Chicken Salad with caramelized pecans, dried cherries, strawberries, and goat cheese.

Forever more of a lunch-foods person, I opted for The Bread & Yolk’s rendition of a Reuben during my April visit. Layers of tender corned beef, zesty sauerkraut, melty Swiss cheese, and rich Russian dressing nestled between buttery-crispy-on-the-outside, pillowy-soft-on-the-inside layers of marble rye bread, melding to make a sandwich that was oh-SO-good! A mound of crispy French fries accompanied the Reuben, ensuring a full belly and ample leftovers.

Whether you visit The Bread & Yolk for the breakfast or lunch aspect of brunch, here’s wishing you a full, satisfied stomach, as well!

3063 S. Baldwin Rd.

Lake Orion, MI 48359

(Open 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays)

www.breadandyolk.com

552. Strawberry Fields – April 3, 2022 – New Baltimore, MI

Strawberry Fields, I’m so pleased to have met you and your phenomenal Reuben sandwich!

I’d been enthralled by this New Baltimore-based restaurant since discovering a couple of years ago that it’s not your average eatery. Strawberry Fields is a Beatles-themed restaurant!

Probably this shouldn’t have surprised me, given the restaurant’s name. All I know is that I was laughing really hard when a friend’s husband read me some of the headings from the very punny menu (I have a Dad-joke sense of humor, so puns are wont to make me LOL). “I Wanna Hold Your Hash” and “Eight ‘Crepes’ a Week” are two favorites of mine.

I knew I had to experience the place firsthand – and I finally did one Sunday afternoon in early April. Many people shared that same desire; Strawberry Fields was kicking! Whether attracted by the puns, the walls lined with Beatles memorabilia, or the well-stocked menu, people were out enjoying “The Fields” (as my friend calls it) that day.

The restaurant serves breakfast and lunch/dinner dishes (as of this writing, it’s open until 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and until 2 p.m. Sundays and Mondays). Breakfast lovers will be enthused by the plethora of choices: crepes and omelets and French toasts and hashes and SO many kinds of pancakes (nine) and waffle dishes (seven). Those who prefer more afternoon-focused fare – as I do – are sure to find a salad, sandwich, hamburger, pita wrap, plate of pasta, fish dish, or other entrée item that intrigues them. A full bar makes for plenty of beverage choices, too.

I ordered the Dr. Robert’s Reuben (from the “Yellow Submarine Sandwiches” section of the menu, naturally) and was SO into its melted Swiss, piles of tender pastrami, zingy sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, and crispy-toasted, butter-saturated rye bread. YUM!

You don’t have to be a lover of puns or the Beatles to enjoy Strawberry Fields. You simply need to be a lover of good food, which Strawberry Fields has in spades!

51070 S. Foster Rd.

New Baltimore, MI 48047

www.strawberryfieldsdining.com

512. Le Andos Cafe – June 19, 2021 – Macomb, MI

Le Andos Cafe is for breakfast connoisseurs!

The Macomb-based restaurant has something for everyone. But breakfast lovers will go especially ga-ga over this place. Le Andos’ list of breakfast offerings is impressive and extensive. It offers a slew of omelets, French toast, waffles, crepes, pancakes, combo plates, breakfast wraps and sandwiches, and other beloved breakfast items.

There are six different versions of eggs Benedict alone on Le Andos’ menu, including the Philly Style layered with shaved steak, onion, bell pepper, and mushroom and another featuring your choice of crab cake or salmon. There are 12 different types of French toast, and 18 different kinds of omelets! The former includes decadent options such as Salted Caramel (French toast topped with caramel, pecans, sea salt, and powdered sugar), Banana Foster Stuffed (featuring banana, raisins, pecans, and a sweet cream cheese filling), and Red Velvet Stuffed (which skips the breakfast pretense and goes straight to dessert, featuring three slices of red velvet cake!). The latter includes omelet varieties that range from Hawaiian to Greek to Corned Beef and Swiss.

Dessert breakfasts seem to be Le Andos’ domain. I get giddy with excitement when I read the Pancakes section of the menu. Nutella Stuffed Pancakes, Birthday Cake Stuffed Pancakes, AND Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes? Pancakes incorporating banana, coconut, and pecan then layered with Le Andos’ cream cheese filling, pineapple, powdered sugar, and mango and raspberry syrups? (That’s the Tropical Breeze pancakes.) This is the stuff of childhood dreams! And I haven’t even touched the Waffles and Sweet Crepes sections of Le Andos’ menu. See the Cannoli crepe including every part of the iconic Italian dessert, from filling to shell to chocolate chips!

So yes, Le Andos’ breakfast menu is epic. But the café also boasts a sizeable lunch menu featuring a variety of burgers, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and more. The restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays as of the writing of this post.

During my brunch-time visit to Le Andos, I opted for the Monte Cristo, a heftily-portioned crepe stuffed with turkey, ham, and melted Swiss and American cheeses; sprinkled with powdered sugar; and drizzled with raspberry melba sauce. It’s included in the Savory Crepes section of Le Andos’ menu, but obviously, it’s a mash-up of sweet and savory – as is the iconic sandwich it’s inspired by. And it’s utterly rich and delicious!

It was hard to choose just this one dish from Le Andos’ offerings. I could go on and on about the creativity of its menu. As someone who loves to cook – and eat – it inspires me to get into my kitchen and create! Or . . . maybe I could just revisit Le Andos and order those Birthday Cake Stuffed Pancakes. 🙂

15433 Hall Rd.

Macomb, MI 40448

www.leandoscafe.com

285. Breakfast Club – October 8, 2017 – Farmington Hills, MI

Farmington Hills is represented on the blog! Yes, Farmington Hills is a new-to-the-blog city on 100 Places in the D!

My knowledge of Farmington Hills is limited to the time I spent there working my first job out of college, a six-month paid internship at a publishing company. I don’t have much memory of the city and its ethos from that time; I didn’t venture out for lunch much or for after-work happy hours ever. So I was excited to have an excuse to become reacquainted with it a few weeks ago when it turned out to be a logical halfway meeting point for me and friends from Mt. Pleasant who’d been in Ann Arbor for a wedding. We decided on the aptly named restaurant, Breakfast Club, for our Sunday a.m. meet-up.

Once I exited the expressway and rolled into Farmington Hills, I remembered, right, it’s not too different from where I live: the respectable-suburbia category of turf. Breakfast Club is located in a strip mall on 10 Mile Road. It’s open for lunch and breakfast daily; its extensive menu includes dishes from both mealtimes.

The most intriguing choice on Breakfast Club’s menu for me has to be the Oven Baked French Toast, which you’ll see a picture of if you pull up the menu on the restaurant’s website. It’s a brick of a thing that more resembles a gargantuan serving of bread pudding than French toast; it’s topped with luscious-looking berries, coffee cake crumbles, and raspberry sauce. WOW.

I’ve become leery of ordering sweet, carb-centric items such as French toast, pancakes, and waffles at restaurants for fear of the energy crash that inevitably occurs a few hours later, but I would love to go back to Breakfast Club and split a salad and then the Oven Baked French Toast for dessert; I think that would be a happy compromise.

What did I end up ordering at Breakfast Club if not the Oven Baked French Toast? Well, because I’m more of a lunch person than a breakfast person, I zeroed in on the sandwiches on the menu and decided on the Pot Roast hoagie with its thinly sliced beef, sauteed onions, gooey provolone, and just the right amount of horseradish sauce, accompanied by a side of mixed fruit. The sandwich was big enough that I was able to save half of it to take away, which I was happy about, because it was super delicious and reheated well in the oven so I could recreate the whole comfort-food-indulgence experience in the comfort of my own home.

Speaking of home-sweet-home, the ambiance of Breakfast Club was sophisticated-cozy; the warm-hued walls, floral accents, paintings and wall hangings, and floral tablecloths evoked the feeling of dining in a loved one’s home.  A chalkboard with the specials of the day also hung on one wall, which my friends ordered from: one had the Benedict Con Queso, and the other had the Cactus Chili Bowl. Both dishes looked amazing, constituted big ol’ portions, and were reportedly quite tasty, too; they had me wishing I could rethink my attitude around eggs (which alas, I’m not a fan of, limiting me from trying many breakfast dishes on restaurant menus).

In addition to ample amounts of egg-centric dishes – including omelets and benedicts plus egg-studded combos and breakfast bowls – Breakfast Club’s breakfast portion of the menu includes various pancake, waffle, and French toast choices, while the lunch portion has the sandwich section I mentioned earlier, plus entree salads, soups, and soup-salad-sandwich combo options.

For me, the most charming aspect of this bustling brunch spot actually involved the part of the meal that is generally the most uncharming: the check presentation. Because on the day we were there, we were each given a chocolate-covered strawberry to go along with our bill. What a delightful way to soften the financial blow to patrons’ pocketbooks! I have no idea whether Breakfast Club does this all day every day or if it’s a gesture limited to Sundays or just-because times, but I thought it was an ingenious above-and-beyond customer-service move, the perfect gesture to distinguish itself from the other area breakfast/lunch joints.

38467 W. 10 Mile Rd.

Farmington Hills, MI 48335

www.breakfastclubfarmingtonhills.com

265. Beverly Hills Grill – August 12, 2017 – Beverly Hills, MI

Beverly Hills is represented on 100 Places in the D! It’s another new-to-the-blog city!

I remember when I learned that a city named Beverly Hills existed in the Detroit area. I was 22, a life-long Michigan resident, and I had no idea that there was a town named after a Hollywood enclave a mere half hour from downtown until I encountered it en route to a staffing agency where I was filling out paperwork for a job. That’s the exciting thing for me about the Detroit area: it’s bigger than I ever realized as a kid (I can leave my house and drive for an hour and still be in the Tri-Country area?), and there are still so many cities within this territory that I have no familiarity with. Metro-Detroiters who live in what for me is a far-flung locale (like Livonia – I have no clue what it’s like!) are equally as clueless of where I call home in Southern Macomb County.  It’s fascinating to me. I love exploring and uncovering for myself the cities I previously had no idea about.

It’s no surprise, then, that I was psyched to finally spend some quality time with the once-unknown-to-me city of Beverly Hills when my friend Jaclyn agreed to meet me there on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon last month. Our first stop: the Beverly Hills Grill.

For years I’d listened to one friend rave over that elegant establishment that is part of the Roberts Restaurant Group (proprietors of such area staples as Town Tavern and Roadside B&G), so I was thrilled to finally eat there. I ordered the Pulled Chicken salad and devoured every bit of its wholesome, flavorful goodness. The menu describes it best: “Port Soaked Cranberries / Wild Rice / Almonds / Crispy Won Tons / Maple & English Mustard Vinaigrette” – a.k.a. PURE YUMNESS that certainly lived up to all of the hype.

I had been torn about what to order, because multiple tantalizing choices piqued my interest. I was this close to getting the Kobe Meatloaf with its cabernet wine sauce, portobello mushrooms, shallots, and veggies. And because the weekend menu features brunch options, there were a host of breakfast choices available as well, such as the Bananas Foster French Toast, Breakfast Toastada and Corned Beef Hash – and of course, ample boozy brunch drinks.

Because of the Beverly Hills Grill, I am no longer unfamiliar with the town that shares its namesake. I can move on to another of the Metro-Detroit cities that are uncharted territory for me (Livonia, I’m coming for you!).

31471 Southfield Rd.

Beverly Hills, MI 48025

www.beverlyhillsgrill.com

261. The Hudson Café – July 16, 2017 – Detroit, MI

One of my favorite versions of Heaven is taking in a ballgame at Comerica Park during a perfect-weather day (my other versions are: 1) shopping in a gourmet Italian produce market and 2) browsing in a multi-leveled independent bookshop. Yes, I am kind of a nerd). And when I venture downtown for a day game, I like to make a day of it – to have a meal and/or drinks beforehand. So in anticipation of my mom and I going down to the D back in July for what seems to be becoming our annual mother-daughter ballgame, I of course was like, “Can we go somewhere for brunch beforehand – preferably somewhere that is new to both of us?” Because yeah, trying new places is my pinnacle obsession these days (and happily, one that my loved ones indulge).

My mom suggested The Hudson Café, a breakfast/lunch restaurant that she’d heard good things about. She’d attempted to eat there during Memorial Day weekend, but her and my stepdad decided not to endure the long wait for a table at the time they were there, so they went to the Woodward location of Avalon International Breads instead (excellent alternate choice – LOVE those guys!).

Armed with this knowledge of how busy the joint could be, we settled in for a long wait at The Hudson Café – and got a table after about an hour, which wasn’t all that bad because we could jaunt up and down Woodward in the interim (and shop at lovely nearby Avalon, procuring a loaf of its insanely delish Farnsworth Family Farm sourdough and some Gus and Grey Floozie peach bourbon jam – oh yeahhh. Can’t help fan-girling over that place!).

Once triumphantly seated inside The Hudson Café after our lengthy wait, I enjoyed the bustling atmosphere and brightly colored murals of breakfast foods interspersed with Detroit landmarks. My mom ordered the banana pancakes, and I decided on the Chicken Pesto sandwich.

Let me say one thing about The Hudson Café: its portions are GENEROUS! The banana pancakes were huge – like, bigger-than-your-face huge. The Chicken Pesto sandwich, with its hefty grilled chicken breast, slabs of tomato, and smotherings of mozzarella, spinach, and pesto on weighty ciabatta bread, did not come to play. It and the double-serving of sweet potato fries that accompanied it meant gastronomical business! Hungry tummies are turning into happy, full (possibly overstuffed-and-in-need-of-a-nap) tummies after a visit here!

Besides offering the usual breakfast-centric fare (a generous variety of pancakes, waffles, French toast, sweet/savory crepes, omelettes, Eggs Benedict dishes, and other egg-centric fare), The Hudson Café’s menu boasts numerous entrée-salad and sandwich choices such as the Chicken Pesto.

1241 Woodward Ave.

Detroit, MI 48226

www.hudson-cafe.com

256. Red Crown – July 2, 2017 – Grosse Pointe Park, MI

Hi guys! I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and were able to enjoy the lovely weather and get some fantastic exploring in. I got a Detroit fix with a visit to a recently-opened coffee shop that is just LOVELY – more on that when I eventually catch up on this backlog of posts!

I was reminded of all of the places I’ve visited in the last two months and have yet to write about when recently scrolling through my phone photo gallery; a lot of awesome establishments are waiting to be profiled, and I hate that I’m so behind because I can’t wait to share all of the goodness with you. But it is what it is; I’m sure all of you can relate to that feeling of being behind on life stuffs and not wanting to let it get to you. One step at a time, right? And today’s step is to chronicle an AWESEOME restaurant called Red Crown in Grosse Pointe Park, where I went for brunch during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Yes, Grosse Pointe Park is represented on the blog – it’s a first for that city! And what an excellent representation of Grosse Pointe Park – Red Crown is fabulous. I love it’s ambiance, for one – it’s modern and stylish and fun and totally embracing the building’s legacy as the Standard Oil Red Crown Service Station built in the 1930s, with elements of the garage-y façade being maintained. And that patio! What a lovely patio, with its open air and cheery red umbrellas – and when I was there, a performer singing and playing piano and stirring up chill, brunch-y vibes.

And the Monte Cristo waffle I ordered – glorious! I admit when it came to the table, I was like, “Huh? This isn’t what I ordered,” because I expected it to be the stereotypical beefy brick of a Monte Cristo sandwich, except with waffles instead of bread. It was not; as you can see from the photo above, the dish looks like typical waffles, until you look closely at those waffles and see the layers of cheese and meat pressed onto one side of them. But despite the unassuming size, the flavor of this waffle mash-up was mighty, and the accompanying raspberry jelly and mustard sauce complemented it nicely.

I would love to come back to Red Crown for dinner. It leans toward Southern and barbecued offerings, which I totally dig. I want to order up an appetizer of fried green tomatoes, share a Southern Sampler for Two (described as “smoked Carolina pulled pork, RC brisket, Saint Louis style ribs, and baby back ribs” – yummm), and gorge myself with mac and cheese on that gorgeous patio in the last dregs of warm weather.

15301 Kercheval Ave.

Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230

www.redcrowngp.com

239. Rebel Café – March 26, 2017 – Royal Oak, MI

Sunday brunch has become a regular thing for me and two of my best friends, and Royal Oak is a routinely agreed-upon meeting spot. I thought we were running out of new places to try – until I stumbled upon Rebel Café!

All of my friends have been incredibly accommodating of my desire to visit locally-owned, new-to-me places for this blog. It’s at the point where many of them will automatically ask when we’re planning to hang out, “Where have you not been yet?” For this I love them more than they could possibly know. After three-plus years, I was afraid this obsession of mine with the novel would be getting tiring for them. But they have wholeheartedly embraced it, and I’m loving it. So cheers to my lovely pals! I’m glad to know they were getting sick of the same ol’, same ol’ corporate chains, too.

Sorry – little tangential love-fest there. But speaking of love, I can pretty much say I heart Rebel Cafe’s Asian salad. It is DELICIOUS – and I appreciate that they are not shy with the proportions on this one. This bad boy is loaded with shredded cabbage, carrot, jicama, crispy wontons, edamame, onion, and cucumbers and tossed in a sweet sesame dressing – and there’s the option to add chicken to it, too (yes, please!).

I had assumed that the Rebel Café was solely a breakfast and lunch joint – maybe because it features the kind of eats you would typically consume at those times: a slew of early-morning items such as pancakes and breakfast burritos, plus popular noontime items like sandwiches and salads. But it’s open in the evenings, too – until 3 a.m. (Coney Island competition!) on Fridays and Saturdays and until 9 p.m. every other day  of the week.

This is one of those casual joints where you order at the counter. The food was tasty and the place was clean and pleasant during my visit, so it’s getting my vote for a quick and affordable meal option whether morning, noon, or night.

410 S. Main St.

Royal Oak, MI 48067

www.rebel-cafe.com