Pontiac Lake Brew Co - White Lake

I've grown up in White Lake my entire life and I finally decided to give this place a try. I had heard amazing things about it, but I was kind of let down by the food. I will say that our waiter was excellent and the hostess was friendly and kind. But the food was lacking. I ordered the sloppy joe with fries. The sloppy joe tasted OK but there wasn't that much meat on it. The fries were great. My husband ordered the ribeye steak and the steak quality just wasn't there. It was extra chewy. I just don't think it was a good piece of meat. The steak was $35 and we would much rather go to Black Rock in Hartland where the steak is $17 and excellent. The ambiance of this restaurant is cozy and retro and I appreciated the interior. But once again, I just don't think the food is worth the price or the hype. Maybe we just ordered the wrong thing? Either way, we are glad we tried it but we probably won't be back to eat the food.

This place has been on my list for a long time, and the stars finally aligned this Mother's Day when I was in Walled Lake visiting my parents. Travis N. and I met at The Root for dinner, and it was a very good dining experience. The look and esthetic of the restaurant is very nice it has sort of a rustic, yet modern vibe, IMO, even down to the bathrooms, which were also pretty nice. My friend was already there when I arrived, and the waiter came over to us promptly to take drink orders. We decided to split the baked brie appetizer, which was great albeit a little small it comes with some dried cranberries? and some arugula too. I ordered the burger and fries for my meal, and added some white cheddar $2 upcharge . It was actually a huge burger with a plateful of fries, so I definitely took some of the fries home. My friend had the pad thai, with chicken added, and really liked his dish too. For dessert, he had the banana cream pie, which was decent I'm not a banana fan, but the roasted marshmallow on top was awesome , and I had their sorbet of the day, which was some sort of wine sorbet very unique and was tasty. My only complaint about Root is that the menu should be a little larger, and/or have more varied prices I think the burger, at $11 or so, was one of the more inexpensive items on the dinner menu, and some of the entrees ranged up to $25 30 next time I want to try the Indian chicken they have, but it was about $25 which was a little too pricey for me this time . The Root is also open for lunch, though, and this month they have 5 options for $5, to celebrate them being open for 5 years now, which is a great deal. Service plus water glass service always being refilled was also very good, and The Root made a great first impression on me! I will be back at some point.

I will be honest, I never have much hope for restaurants located in strip malls, I mean really can something tucked between a Marshalls and Great Clips really make good food. In the last few weeks I have been proven wrong about the quality of these types of places and my opinion and bias have slowly been changing. It was a cool, rainy Sunday morning when we decided to make the drive out to Commerce for brunch. I've been wanting to go out here for months now, but never had the opportunity, I finally found a brunch mate to join in. First of all, what a gorgeous place to eat, it is visually stunning from the painting on the wall, to the bushes (I think that's what you'd call them separating the bar area from the dining area, to the lighting. I mean just everything was gorgeous. Now onto the important stuff. My brunch partner ordered a drink made with cucumber, and it was very high quality from the sip I took. Normally I would have a drink or two at brunch, but as my belly is now full of jelly and I need to drop some weight I figured alcohol is an easy place to start (BOOOOOOO! . Well I more than made up for it by ordering the Chicken and Waffles. My God, this might have been the best fried chicken I have ever eaten. It was perfectly breaded and fried and the pieces of chicken were huge. I mean, massive. There was nothing especially unique about the waffle but I was very happy that it was crisp, not soggy. I really enjoyed every single bite of the meal and sometimes find myself daydreaming about it. Sigh.... My brunchmate ordered the lavender pancakes, and it was so filled with flavors it almost overwhelmed my palate. The blueberry jam or compote or syzzrp that they top the pancakes with was delicious. Dip Dip Dip!!!! I very rarely give a five star review on my first visit but this was more than worthy. I can't come here and try the rest of their menu. Something I'm genuinely excited for. EDIT: I forgot to add that I had the best cup of coffee in a long time also. It's Waterstreet Coffee from Kalamazoo and they have a new fan. I must find this!!!!

Michigan pride is visible at the Root. Everything from the beers to the elements of each dish are from Michigan. Although this little gem is located in a strip mall, don't let the location fool you. My boyfriend and I came here for a late lunch. We enjoyed the complimentary bread, brie, pumpkin soup, scallops, and the trout. The brie had a touch of Michigan with the Traverse City cherries. The brie was also baked in a puff pastry shell. Yum! The pumpkin bisque was yummy. I would recommend a cup since it's pretty thick. I really enjoyed my scallops. I preferred the scallops over the trout. This restaurant even offers cooking classes. This would be a fun thing to do with girlfriends or your significant other.

While it is now called Stella's Table and the menu is Italian, my wife and I went there last Saturday and had dinner inside in the dining room. Everything was Covid friendly with separations between tables. Our server, Joe, was spectacular and attentive. The food was unbelievably good. The brushetta was out of this world good. If you only go for it alone you will not be disappointed. My wife had about the best ever chicken Marsala. (Yes I also tasted it) I had a dish called Pasta Bolognese. It was fabulous. Topped it off with a bottle of Cambria Chardonnay and ended the evening with an amazing Spanish coffee. The owner stopped by for a nice chat. All in all it was a wonderful experience along with great food. Highly, make that very, very highly recommended.