Grey Ghost

When my parents visited from Florida, we decided to take them to one of my favorite new restaurants in Detroit, Grey Ghost. Reservations are a great convenience there as I did not want to make my folks wait.  Grey Ghost exemplifies the epicurean cultural shift from meat and potatoes to meat and craft cocktails. With high ceilings, exposed pipes, plenty of brick and leather, the atmosphere is hip industrial chic at its finest.

The restaurant is located at 47 East Watson Street, the former location of Ye Olde butcher Shoppe in the Midtown section of Detroit.  Getting there from the 248 is easy enough.  M10 to the Forest Warren exit to Woodward.  Its right off Woodward.  As far as the parking, it’s street parking and so far, we have been able to park on Watson, among the high end SUVs.

I prepared my parents for noise and “interesting” menu choices. My mother promised she would not ask for any food substitutions. They easily embraced the Detroit scene despite its sharp contract to the dining room in their retirement community.  Once inside, we were treated to a vibrant bar scene and a crowd that varied widely in age and hipness. Although it was a little loud and some of the tables for two are close together, but we all seemed to get used to the tempo with minimal skvetching.

The wait staff was knowledgeable, attentive and enthusiastic. Even though it’s a meat-centric place (their website invites you with the pun “we can’t wait to meat you”) there are vegetarian and seafood options. For us, the star of the show was the fried Bologna on a waffle with sharp cheddar and jalapeno. Sharing it among four people was a little dicey. Ribs, yellowfin tuna, and a double cheeseburger were all great. We enjoyed the creative sundaes for desert.  As we left, my mother said, “It was great, I don’t like to complain, but an early bird special would have been nice.”

www.greyghostdetroit.com