Parc Detroit

Cold weather is just not my thing.  I know this and yet I wanted to go to Parc, one of Detroit’s newest and hottest restaurants, right in the beauty of Campus Martius.  And it was a cold night.  So cold walking into the restaurant and especially back to the car and even sometimes in the restaurant with the air from the windows that encase almost the entire building blowing on me.  I’m cold just thinking about it.  Oh, so cold.  Excuse me while I go turn up the heat.

Okay, I’m back.  Despite the cold weather and the fact that if it would have been sixty or seventy my night would have been that much better, Parc is a really fabulous addition to the area’s dining scene with some outstanding food.

The location is the draw to Parc.  We met up with some friends the night before they took down the Christmas tree steps outside of the restaurant.  The lights are beautiful, there’s a fire pit with that comforting scent, music plays, people abound.  It’s where you want to be.

Because of this, it would be easy for Parc to make food that was fine but nothing special.  They didn’t take the easy way out, though, with outstanding and unique food including some tableside presentations.

The appetizers didn’t wow me (though I am intrigued by the charred burrata they flame at the table), but the pastas did, so we ordered the crab pasta to share.  It was a nice size and allowed everyone a decent taste.  It arrived at the table piping hot and the housemade pasta was perfectly coated in a rich sauce.  It is one of the best things I have ever eaten.  Truthfully, it didn’t even need the crab, though the fennel was a nice touch.

Main courses were up next.  I had the shaved vegetable salad which I devoured with the tangy mustard seeds and lemon vinaigrette.  All the vegetables were bright and fresh, though it was definitely a little light on the apple, as well as the quinoa and almonds, which I’m not even sure were present.

Dad and one of our guests went with the pasta carbonara and wild boar Bolognese, respectively.  They liked them, but Dad admitted the crab pasta was the best.

Our other guest had the filet mignon, which she enjoyed, and Mom had one of the specials, a Wagyu strip steak, which was perhaps the best she’s ever had out.  It was so well marbled and presented with flavorful and pretty roasted vegetables.  Meat lovers can rejoice because they have tons of super nice meat specials and at least one is sure to suit your tastes if you are craving steak.

The waitress, who with a waiter assisting her, was very nice, but did tell Mom that the side that came the steak was not much so which additional side did she want.  She ordered the Yukon gold wedges, which were awesome with the romesco and an aioli, but they also appeared on the bill.  It wasn’t a huge deal but slightly misleading.

One more nit-picky thing before we move onto dessert, oh dessert.  One of the gentlemen who answers the phone says “how may I service you?” when answering.  I definitely appreciate that he wants to be helpful, but this sounds weird, if not more than a little creepy.  How may I help you will definitely suffice.

Now that we got that out of the way, for dessert they have baked Alaska.  I love that they have this old school treat and that they do it right.  It is flamed tableside – so cool!  The base is carrot cake and on top it is layered with carrot sorbet, cream cheese ice cream, and lemon buttermilk ice cream.  All of it is topped with an irresistibly gooey and melty marshmallow meringue.  Plus it is more than enough to share.

Parc is a great fine dining destination in a wonderful environment.  Plus, the food is fab.  Now I’ll just have to go back in the summer when I can remember more than how cold it was.

I’ll be back Friday with my fashion look and more about the atmosphere.