happenstance home: February 2011

Amazingly I watched the entire Superbowl this year. That is something that rarely happens. There were some commercials that I really enjoyed. The Bridgestone commercial with the little beaver was among my very top faves. Little Darth Vader was adorable. Being from the Detroit area I have to say I loved the Chrysler commercial starring Eminem. So well done! Just incase you missed it here it is ...

Another fun thing from this weekend is The Detroit Free Press 2011 restaurant of the year winner. It is the Union Woodshop in Clarkston. Remember a while back when we happened to eat dinner right next to Kid Rock? Well, this is the place. I kept it under wraps before, but since the newspaper article tells everyone that he is a frequent customer it's already out of the bag. It's fun to see a great restaurant nominated, but it is also in the back of my mind that it is going to be much harder to get in. There is already a wait anytime you visit so now it is really going to get crazy. Also, now people will be looking for Kid Rock. It was probably nice for him to have a little privacy.

The Union Woodshop is part of downtown Clarkston. It's a downtown full of character, shops, and homes rich in history. Very quaint and a great town to spend an afternoon in.

I really like their logo!

Here is a shot of the dining room. This restaurant used to be called Clarkston Cafe and was considered to be fine dining. With Michigan's economy things hadn't been going well so the owners decided to close the doors and reinvent themselves. There was little in the decorating budget so they reused as much as they could and came up with cost effective solutions for the rest of the updates. That is why you will see fancy pale blue leather banquettes and delicate sconces mixed in with exposed subflooring. My personal favorite - the walls made of hundreds of thin bark covered pieces of logs. The grand chandelier is made from an industrial gearwheel and other lighting was made out of galvanized patio planters.

When you enter the Union Woodshop make sure you look to your right. They have the most stunning prohibition-era bar. It was purchased from an old speakeasy in Chicago and adds so much to the atmosphere. This bar was already in place in their previous restaurant, and I was really happy to still be able to enjoy it's beauty. The newspaper really should have gotten an amazing photo of it, but this is all I could find.

This is a photo of the second bar which is located in the back of the space. It features the logo from Kid Rock's beer company.

And of course ... the food! Served casually on aluminum pans it is all so delicious! I really enjoy the pulled pork sandwich. The mac and cheese is major! The owners also own another restaurant in town called The Union. It is housed in an old church - also full of character. This statistic might just say it as well as I ever could - last year their two restaurant sold 60,000 orders. It is the best mac I've ever had! Desserts are unique and delicious. Two faves of mine are the salted butterscotch pudding, and the brown bag of fresh mini donuts. Cinnamon sugar is tossed into the bag and with a little shake they are ready to enjoy!

If you want to see more then here is a video shot by The Detroit Free Press! Thanks for reading. Hope I didn't make you too hungry!

(all photo's of the Union Woodshop are from The Detroit Free Press)