You must go to Michael Symon’s Roast for Cocktail Hour. Seriously, doing this one thing will make you happy. Located in the newly renovated Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in downtown Detroit, this meat-lovers dream launched their “Return of the Cocktail Hour” about 6 months ago.
Michael Symon's Roast on Washington Boulevard in Detroit.
I was so confident that this was going to be good that I included it in my 40 Things to Do in Detroit Before You're Dead post. What can I say? I had heard good things and those good things were true.
The $3 Bites menu consists of Roast Fries, 5 oz Roast Burger, Beast of the Day Taco’s, Stuffed Peppers with sausage of the day, Chicken Livers & Polenta, and Mac & Cheese. The English husband and I opted for 2 Roast Burgers, Roast Fries, and the Mac & Cheese.
Our swanky cheap date night dinner at Roast.
The Beast of the Day was suckling pig and I really wanted to try the taco’s but I also assumed we’d be ordering another round of food. Let’s just say the husband is quite a big eater and I didn’t think anything you could get for 3 bucks would fill him up. I was actually wrong. (Shocking, I know.)
The burger may only be 5 ounces but don’t let this fool you. This is a lightly toasted English Muffin (which is just a muffin to my husband) topped with the juicy burger and cheese. But no, that isn’t enough. Everything is better with bacon, right? Yep, perfectly cooked bacon.
Why stop with bacon? Roast then adds a fried egg, sunny side up, on top of the burger. Perfection. With the runny yolk, no condiments are needed. This burger was $3? Yes, and it was to die for.
The 5 oz Roast Burger. Simply perfect.
The Mac & Cheese is made with goat cheese and rosemary and topped with breadcrumbs. The goat cheese adds a lovely tang. I order mac & cheese whenever I see it on a menu. And usually my husband tastes it. And he has never been impressed, until now. The creaminess of the mac & cheese at Roast won him over.
The fries were of the shoestring variety and nice and crispy with an herb seasoning and a thick tomato dipping sauce with a kick.
I almost forgot to mention the drinks. I know, that’s really not like me. $4 for select drafts beers, $4 for select wines (one red and one white), and $5 on select liquor pours. I didn’t really inquire much on the selections, as I knew we were having beer.
This is a cheap date night gone swanky. We had the food I mentioned above plus two Stella Artois and our bill was just under $21. Seriously! It should be said that the portions aren’t huge but for $3 you can order everything off the menu and it won’t break the bank.
Also, the burger and fries wouldn’t have been enough for the husband and his large appetite. He also finished my mac & cheese and a small portion of my burger. The portions were plenty big enough for me.
So, next time you’re in downtown Detroit between 4:30 and 6:30, Monday through Friday, stop in at Roast. If you’re disappointed call me up and I’ll eat your burger.