Back in the days of past glory in Downtown Detroit, there were two grand hotels both on Washington Boulevard; the Statler Hilton and the Book Cadillac. I wrote about the Statler Hilton and the Trader Vic’s restaurant years ago, and now that hotel has been razed. The Book Cadillac was shuttered for awhile, but survived and has been brought back to life as the Westin Book Cadillac. These two hotels showed the pomp and the splendor of the heady industrial days of Detroit, when the automobile was king, and they were able to compete with any of the fine hotels across the country. Years ago in the glory days of the old hotel the area where the Motor Bar was located, is now where one can find Michael Symon’s Roast restaurant.
Michael Symon is a James Beard Foundation award winning chef, an author and also a television personality and I know this from reading articles about him, because it has been at least thirty years since I have watched television. Roast is a steakhouse designed for the younger crowd that would not feel comfortable in the classic steakhouses from an older generation. Our Son and his wife took us there one evening. We started off with charcuterie and roasted marrow appetizers, which seems to be the trending items for appetizers at that time. There were mixed green salads and Arugula salads as well. Of course steaks were ordered, but my Bride had Halibut and I had Short Ribs, as we both like to order dishes that we normally do not make at home. We did make Short Ribs once at the house, and they were wonderful, but it was an all day job, so we shall leave all that work to the professionals for the time being. We also shared some sides, as that is de rigueur at steakhouses of Wild Mushrooms and also a side of Brussels sprouts with Walnuts.
We enjoyed a bottle of Caymus Fortieth Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, which was found in most steakhouses at the time. The Wagner Family of Wines was celebrating this anniversary in a very big way and it was a delightful bottle of wine. A full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford is just what almost anyone could enjoy with steak, and Caymus is always a great call if you can find it. I might also suggest that if one can find a bottle of Caymus Special Select, which is a wonderful bottle of wine from them, and well worth the expenditure at least once just to try it. Roast was the Restaurant of the Year in 2009 and I did find a business card, not as classy as matchbooks though, and it was fun to look at how the old hotel was remodeled, as I can still picture the old classy Book Cadillac of my youth.
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