Prime and Proper Detroit

You know I love trying new restaurants and I have been dying to Prime and Proper for months now.  They were scheduled to open in the summer, then early fall.  I feel like they said they were close on Facebook forever.  Finally at the end of October the doors opened, and we had the chance to visit this past weekend.

The restaurant impresses from the moment you open the door with lots of gold décor.  You can tell every detail of the restaurant was well planned and no expense was spared.  My personal favorite detail is the staircase with tons of candles.  It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when it was gross outside.

Prime and Proper is like a typical chain steakhouse (Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris, etc.), but taken to the next level.  They succeed in many ways to best these restaurants, though we encountered a few issues.  Luckily for Prime and Proper, they are off to an excellent start.

Earlier in the day I saw the chef’s table on Instagram and called to request it.  They said they would try to accommodate but could not make promises.  When we arrived, we were informed we would be sitting that the chef’s table, but it wasn’t quite ready.  We waited for a good ten minutes before we were seated.  It was fun to look around for a few minutes, but this should not really have happened.

Our servers, Kenny and Chrissy, greeted us promptly.  Kenny took drink orders and brought them to the table an extended period of time later.  Chrissy presented dinner menus a bit later and having looked online, we ordered immediately.

We skipped appetizers and enjoyed some of the housemade bread with seeds, black salt, and housemade butter.  It was excellent.  Our food arrived before too long (or many the time went fast because the five of us were talking so much).  And they didn’t know where to place each entrée.  This isn’t a huge deal, but when you’re priding yourself on being the top of the top and presenting a nearly perfect dining experience, it’s bad.

Beside the gorgeous décor, the food at P&P is the star.  We ordered a ton of food, a ton, too much most would say, and though I liked some things better than others, it was all great.  Not just good, but great, crave worthy, well prepared, well plated food that I will return for again and again.

For entrees, I had the A-5 Japanese Wagyu strip and am now forever spoiled and will want nothing but that each time I eat there.  We also ordered both the Creekstone and American Wagyu filets, porterhouse, and fried chicken.  No complaints whatsoever.

For sides, we tried the fries (and ended up with an extra order somehow), hash browns, pommes puree, asparagus, whole cauliflower, carrots, and macaroni and cheese.  It’s not possible to complain about any of them, but my personal favorites were the cauliflower and pommes puree.  The macaroni and cheese was a huge hit too.  It was hard not to love when you went in for a scoop and the gooey cheese left strings everywhere.  The whipped garlic sauce is also not to be missed.  I meant to take some home and forgot.  It’s light and creamy and somehow not overpowering with garlic flavor.  Mom loved the béarnaise too.

We’d eaten more than our fair share but Dad and one of our guests couldn’t resist dessert.  We tried the cheesecake, which as described was light and not too tangy, and the baklava sundae with honey ice cream, nuts, and Instagram worthy filo shreds on top.

Coffee was on the menu as well with cappuccinos, espresso, and both regular and decaf.  The espresso was too bitter for my taste, but the decaf totally hit the spot.  The little anise biscotti served with the coffee was absolute perfection and I cannot imagine a trip to P&P without it now.

When it came time to pay the bill, the main issue at P&P, the service, came into the spotlight.  Kenny brought one bill when we told Chrissy from the start we needed two checks.  When she came to remedy the situation, she struggled greatly to accurately break up the charges, and really it was never completely correct.

Another big problem is that they charge for water.  Yes, it’s just $2 per person and when you’re spending the kind of money a steakhouse entails, that’s not a lot.  It’s the principal of it.  It’s that when you are spending steakhouse money, it makes you feel nickel and dimed instead of special and valued as a customer.  If I could advise P&P of anything, it would be to stop this immediately.

We took a tour of the kitchen area, retail counter, raw bar, and downstairs where there is a large dry aging room and private dining room.  We really enjoyed this and stopped back at the retail counter to purchase a steak to take home, because clearly, you know I love to cook.

Walter the butcher, who I’ve seen on Instagram frequently, clearly knows his way around meat and is super nice.  I can’t wait to talk to him more on return visits, as I love great meat and am always ready to learn more.  Another little thing P&P should think about changing is that the raw meat from the retail counter is sold at menu price.  Obviously the meat is top quality and going to be expensive, but since they are not cooking it, this is another hard pill to swallow.

P&P has so many of the basics down better than nearly any restaurant I have ever been to.  Anytime the staff is friendly and accommodating, the restaurant is beautiful, and the food is outstanding, I am in.  If they just tighten up service and change a few policies, P&P could be the best restaurant in the area, hands down.