Public House

I crave soft serve ice cream all the time.  It’s kind of a problem.  And what’s strange is that I can’t even remember the last time I had real soft serve ice cream before last week.  It’s not that easy to make and you can’t buy it at the store.

But when Mom and I headed to Public House in Ferndale last week my soft serve ice cream dreams were answered.  But we’ll get to that in a bit.

Public House is in downtown Ferndale, which is bustling with people, shops, and tons of restaurants.  It’s a fun and funky place that we hadn’t really explored at all until this meal.  After parking and paying with an app (so easy!), we headed in and were seated across from the bar and near the window.

It was a lovely but steamy day out, so it was nice to be able to look outside.  But the seats are basically a bench and may be the most uncomfortable chair I have ever sat on.  I guess they don’t want you to linger after a meal???

I ordered the Wade cocktail, their special for the month.  It was a mixture of bourbon, cucumber, and jalapeno with a sprig of mint and absolutely, totally refreshing and delicious.  The spice was subtle but just enough.

Then it was time for the food.  Mom ordered the burger, lobster, and brisket sliders, while I ordered the whitefish.

The burger was classic and simple but packed with flavor.  We were both surprised how such a small burger could have so much flavor.  The lobster roll inspired slider was equally delicious but super different with slaw like spices.

Unfortunately the brisket was a bit of a bummer because it was almost all fat instead of meat.  Kindly, the manager took it off the bill since Mom didn’t eat it and gave us free dessert.  That is the sign of a truly great restaurant and makes us want to go back again and again.

My whitefish may be the best restaurant I have ever had in a restaurant, and was certainly the best I’ve had in several years.  The crispy skinned fish was so good it made me want to jump up and down.  Covered with a vibrant walnut pesto and tons of vegetable succotash with corn, onions, peas, and peppers, I really couldn’t get enough of it.  The flavors worked together so well.

Plus, so many restaurants take the skin off fish and the chef at Public House left it on and showed how magical crispy fish skin is.  It was served with a beet remoulade that I wasn’t sure I would like, but the metro Detroit chefs are showing me that I secretly love beets.  The remoulade is best described as tartar sauce but like a million times better.  I want that fish dish every night for dinner forever and ever.  And the charred lemon – I squeezed it to death.  the perfect complement to the meal.

We also ordered the housemade potato chips.  Though they were a tiny bit brown, they were crispy and not a bit greasy.  The flavor of the potato was the star of these chips.

But dessert was the star in my heart.  The soft serve is what brought us to Public House and it did not disappoint.  They had vanilla or matcha green tea.  Though our excellent waitress gave us a taste of the matcha and it was good, we stuck with vanilla.  With little vanilla bean flecks throughout the silky smooth soft serve is everything I hoped it would be and more.

We each devoured our bowl and I topped mine with the housemade banana cotton candy, and it was EVERYTHING!

If you are in the metro Detroit area, you have to check out Public House.  Though it may look like an unassuming bar, the food is some of the best in town.