Prime 29 Restaurant Review

When we make plans to go out to dinner with friends, they often ask me to choose the restaurant.  Before our most recent outing with our friends Linda and Dick, Linda wrote Mom an email saying she couldn’t wait to see my suggestions because they’re always so good.  Pressure much?

After some thought we settled on Prime 29 in West Bloomfield, Michigan.  It is called Prime 29 because all of its steaks are USDA Prime and aged for 29 days.  It’s so important for restaurants to have Prime aged beef because if you’re going to be paying top dollar, the meat better be top quality.  It is shocking how many restaurants serve choice beef, but still charge incredibly high prices.

The restaurant is lovely with lots of earth tones.  Though it is quite large, the restaurant is nicely divided into rooms, keeping noise down and the experience enjoyable.  It was rather dark, but I know that adds to the ambiance.  Our waitress, Shannon, was fantastic.  Friendly, attentive, and accommodating, her menu knowledge and awareness of my allergies was much appreciated.

On to the food.  Linda and Dick had the lobster bisque, which is poured tableside.  Not only is it beautiful, but it was also a huge hit.  Then it was time for the entrees.  Mom and Dick both had filet mignon.  They were well cooked and came with the signature zip sauce that they both enjoyed.  Linda had the whitefish special with potatoes, kale, and beurre blanc.  It was presented very well and she enjoyed it.  Dad branched out with the prime burger.  Topped with aioli and zip sauce, it didn’t even have cheese but still managed to be moist and flavorful.  I had the kale salad.  It was great as the kale was not at all bitter. Apples and candied pecans were the perfect topping.

Dad and Dick ate the macaroni and cheese, though Dad thought it was a little dry.  Mom and I loved the pan seared Brussels sprouts.  They were so yummy and perfectly caramelized.  Prime 29’s French fries are beer battered.  They didn’t sound very good, but we all agreed we wanted to try them.  We found them quite tasty, and to be some of the better fries we’d had in awhile, but they’re definitely not traditional fries.  They almost have a bit of a funnel cake flavor and I do still prefer traditional fries.

For dessert, a special apple crisp was prepared for me, and fried Oreos were ordered for the rest of the table.  The desserts really disappointed.  I’m told the fried Oreos were greasy and heavy.  The apple crisp was not like any crisp I’ve even seen before.  It has a mass of filo dough with some cooked apples that were still a little crunchy.  Luckily, Shannon was nice enough to remove the desserts from our bill upon being told that we didn’t really enjoy them and seeing that we barely touched them.  That is the mark of a great waitress and restaurant.

All in all it was an enjoyable meal with great company.  I can’t wait to see Linda and Dick again.  Hopefully I’ll pick another good restaurant!