Sandra B.'s Profile

I haven't actually eaten "real" food here, but I have had dessert and was blown away!!!  Their low cal, fat free, sugar free soft serve vanilla ice cream is amazing!  It is incredibly creamy and hard to believe that it is low cal!!!  Their menu offers a wide variety of low cal foods and if the ice cream is that good, I cannot wait to go back for "real" food ... not that ice cream isn't real food.  Plus, this place is easy on the wallet.

Bastone is a Belgian (inspired) pub with yummy hamburgers.  The first time I ever went to Bastone, I was with one of my favorite people and strolling through Royal Oak after a long day of work.  She said she really needed a cocktail and I was just looking for a nice glass of wine and a light dinner.  I suggested Bastone because I have been wanting to try this place for a while now.

We got to our seats and began scanning the menu deciding what to order.  Our plans changed ... no wine, no cocktail, no light dinner.  The burgers seemed too good - especially considering you can sort of design your own burger with a wonderful variety of toppings.  If you order a burger, you order a beer - that's our rule!  I had gruyere and truffles on my burger, and my friend had bleu cheese and bacon on hers (as she ordered her bacon, she acted like she was committing a crime).  The truth is that these burgers were criminal - huge and delicious.  

We ordered a couple different house brews - can't remember exactly what, but I really enjoyed all of them.  You can order a sampler if you can't decide what to order.  I have always loved the concept of a sampler platter of beer - whoever thought of that is a genius!

My husband had to go to Melborne, AU on business for a couple of weeks, and the first thing he checks no matter where he goes is whether the hotel has a gym - fortunately his had 2 gyms.  He works out a lot and his gym clothes smell like it no matter how much they are soaked in Oxyclean.  Helping him get things together, I knew that if he put his nasty gym clothes in with his work clothes, he would go into the office smelling like a foot.  So I went to Hansons with the hopes of finding him some new running shirts.  I picked up a couple Nike Dry Fit shirts.  The selection wasn't great, but service was extremely helpful.  Plus, if you are a member of a gym or running club, you get a 10% discount.  I will be back to buy running shoes.

Trenton location is closed.  The Ferndale location is still open (thank God).  Consistently delicious and healthy, I could eat this stuff everyday.  Pureed spicy peas are my favorite, but if you have never been - you get everything on the menu so decide for yourself.

This is appropriately my 100th yelp review.  The Hill came highly recommended from our neighbors so my husband and I had a weeknight dinner here.  The food was outstanding - the is one of the best restaurants in Detroit - period.  I ordered the salmon which is served over a risotto cake and glazed with a honey sriracha sauce.  It was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, and the fish was very fresh.  My husband, a man of simpler tastes, ordered the turkey burger - followed by the waitress doing a double take.  This place seemed a little pretentious, but the food was delicious.  My husband said it was the best turkey burger he ever had.  I tasted it, and wow, it had a beefy texture and tasted great.   The prices are on the high end, but absolutely worth it.  I don't mind paying those prices if the food is actually good and the portions are reasonable.  I will definately be going back.

I always drive past this place on my way to the Blue Nile, and everytime, I say I want to try it.  Last night, I finally did try it while out for a ladies night out with two of my favorite people.  We were drawn in by the 50% off wine on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  (Note: that is half off house wine only).  Their bread was a flatbread that tasted like pizza crust with olive oil and garlic - it was actually pretty good.  For an Italian place, the bread could have been better, but not bad.
I had their Italian Wedding soup, and the other two ladies with me ordered Ministrone.  Both were very good.
For dinner, I ordered Eggplant Parmesan (one of my favorite dishes of all time), and it really hit the mark.  It was definately one of the better versions of the dish that I have ever had.  It was layered like lasagna and it held together perfectly.  It was not served with pasta which was ok by me, but that might be an issue for some people.
They also had ravoli stuffed with meat - most places tend not to carry it with meat.
We sat out on the patio which is in the back.  It is a little small but very nice atmosphere.  With all of the food, I have 3 glasses of their house cab - excellent wine for $2.50 a glass!  We were there well past closing time but no one ever asked us to leave or even told us they were closed.  They just let us enjoy our evening.  More places should be like this.  I am so glad I finally tried this place - I will definately be back.

Moving to the eastside has been an adjustment ... but it has also been a great opportunity to discover new things.  One of the things that I have always wanted and now I have is a good bakery very close to my home.  The Breadsmith makes an impressive variety of breads.  I love their banana bread.  I make a sweet one with nuts and chocolate chips but this one is different.  It is sweet, but not too sweet.  I have been having it with a smear of butter for breakfast - so delicious.
The multigrain bread is pretty good - a little dry for my taste.  The brioche was very nice.  I can't wait to try other varieties.  They have about 20 varieties baked fresh daily.  They also have a sheet telling you the nutritional content (calories) of each product that they sell.
My only complaint is that they are very expensive ($5-$6 for a loaf).  Definately worth trying.

I love this pet shop - it has great stuff and great service.  Because I spoil my dogs, this place is perfect.  I feed my dogs Dr. Harvey's and it is the only place you can get it without having to order it online.  Plus they have the coolest toys and some awesome dog appearal (in case you are into that).  The owner has offered to deliver dog food to my house if I can't make it to the store before they close.  They will even carry big bags of dog food to your car.  Love this place!

I finally tried this place - been meaning to for about a year.  We went to a Pistons game last month so we thought we'd try it.  I loved it.  They have one of my favorite Indian dishes every (few places carry it) - nargisi aloo.  If you haven't tried it, I completely recommend!! It is a vegetarian potato dish in a korma like sauce and the potatoes are stuffed with cashews and paneer.  It is to die for.  We ordered a ton of food - can't remember everything because I was all about the nargisi aloo.  We ordered chicken tikka masala (also very good) and a lamb dish as well.  Everything was wonderful.  I just wish I didn't live so far away from Auburn Hills otherwise, I'd likely eat there a couple of times a week.  BTW - Pistons lost, but the food was great - thus an evening well spent.

This is a nice liquor store with a good wine selection (not that there is a shortage of those in the area).  However, the people that work there are very helpful with their recommendations of affordable and delicious wine.  Just recently tried (at their recommendation) Annabella Cab - very nice and smooth and only $13.