CloverShoots: a beautiful dinner at West End Grill
Despite having lived in Ann Arbor for several years now, I never got the chance to visit the West End Grill. We got a lovely seat in the window, and the evening light just made for absolutely beautiful photos.
TUNA POKE – FRESH HAWAIIAN AHI TUNA, DICED & TOSSED WITH TOMATOES, SCALLIONS, & AVOCADO IN A YUZU
VINAIGRETTE; SERVED ON CRISPY WONTONS WITH WASABI AND GINGER
Chalkboard menu
The dishes are written on chalkboard, and our waitress recited the whole menu without glancing down at it once! She confided in us that flashcards were the way to go. While very impressive, this makes it a little difficult to decide on an entree while listening to the others. Fortunately, they have everything listed on their website.
Moscato, Merlot, the recommended signature Cosmopolitan
FISH TACO – HALIBUT PIECES LIGHTLY COATED IN FLOUR, PAN-SEARED AND SERVED IN A SOFT FLOUR TORTILLA
WITH CILANTRO, TOMATOES, AND A BAJA CREAM; SERVED WITH ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA
GRILLED ARTICHOKE – A WHOLE ARTICHOKE, STEAMED WITH WHITE WINE & HERBS;
BRUSHED WITH OLIVE OIL, GRILLED AND SERVED WITH A MUSTARD AIOLI
Gazpacho
Caprese
To be honest, I wasn’t very impressed with the caprese. It’s an upgraded version of the house salad, so I was expecting it to be something nice, but it turned out to be quite mediocre mozzarella.
PETIT FILET –
A 6 OZ. BEEF TENDERLOIN SIMPLY GRILLED AND SERVED WITH A MAITRE’ D BUTTER;
FINISHED WITH A HANDFUL OF PARMESAN-TRUFFLE FRENCH FRIES
SOUTH AFRICAN LOBSTER TAIL –
A 7 OZ. LOBSTER TAIL BROILED AND TOPPED WITH A BEURRE BLANC SAUCE
ACCOMPANIED BY A PANCETTA RISOTTO
FILET BEARNAISE –
AN 8 OZ. FILET MIGNON STUFFED WITH LOBSTER MEAT, GRILLED
AND SERVED WITH OUR BEARNAISE SAUCE
Fred and I aren’t usually big on lobster, but I felt that it was perfect here, lending just the right amount of buttery flavor to the filet.
Our beautiful window seat
View from the back
When I walked to the back of the restaurant, I was very surprised by how dimly lit it was. Our seat was flooded with light, and the back felt like an underground bar. It would be interesting to try sitting in the dark part some day to see how that changes the feel of the meal.
Lava cake
Check them out on Yelp or at their website!
In other news, some of the shots from our engagement shoot with the amazing Brian and Stacey of Simmermacher Photo and Film came back.
They shot with 5D Mark III cameras and had a tilt-shift lens!
It rained that day, so at first we were sad, but finally the sun came out and they were able to snap a few awesome shots like this!
Just showing that there’s more to my life than food. Thanks, Brian and Stacey! Also, I totally want to upgrade to a 5D Mark III and try a tilt-shift lens now.
