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Woodbridge Pub Debuts Sophisticated New Menu
My latest CPC adventure had me crunching into a filling nibble of crostini, a drizzle of bacon shallot vinaigrette, an earthy bite of just-picked wild mushrooms, and the farmfresh flavors of strawberry and rhubarb. Does Detroit have a new four-star restaurant? Well … sort of.
Our little Woodbridge Pub is all grown up, and she’s debuting a brand-new spring menu.Gone are the pizzas and about half the old sandwiches, replaced with more healthful options, as well as traditional entrees. What began in August 2008 as straightforward pub grub has since evolved into a sophisticated yet affordable menu, thanks to the addition of Chef Eric Welsh in December 2009.
“This was always the direction I wanted to go in,” owner Jim Geary says of the menu. “When we started out it was me and my sister writing the menu, but I always wanted to focus more on the fresh, seasonal and local foods.”
“People see the new menu and call it ‘fancy,’ but it’s really not,” Welsh adds. “It’s really just rustic Euro-American food that better reflects the atmosphere here: it’s got a little more glitz but it’s still very comfortable.”
Detroit dining tends to be either very high-end or “pedestrian” (that’s code for “non-trendy bar food”). Geary wanted Woodbridge to be a place where people can come in wearing their street clothes and get an excellent, high-quality meal without breaking the bank. He is also very conscious of greening and recycling efforts — in fact, every piece of furniture inside was salvaged from other buildings and re-purposed for the bar. They procure almost everything on the menu from Detroit — everywhere fresh food is bought, from Mexicantown to Eastern Market. And that which comes out of the kitchen — from the pastas to the sauces and dressings — is also made from scratch.
Devotees of the old menu (myself included) will be surprised but not disappointed. The figh & goat cheese crostini is a delightful combination of the densely sweet and pungently salty. The Salade Nicoise, served with hard-boiled egg, sugar snap peapods, Kalamata olive, bacon shallot vinaigrette and pork belly lardons is gluttonously gourmet. The wild mushroom risotto with kava, pecorino and walnuts rivals any you might find at a fine Italian restaurant. A full-quartered roasted chicken arrives topped with a traditional Passover fruit-and-nut paste. It’s styled with more of a Middle Eastern/Italian take, bursting with the flavors of dark, ripe fruits and tangy lemon, and served on a creamy, cheesy honey polenta that has the consistency of mashed potatoes. And the strawberry-rhubarb tart … a brilliant color belies an expert contrast of sweet and tangy tempered by a tender, flaky crust and smooth vanilla.
Woodbridge Pub also has six beers on tap, all Michigan brews (with over 50 beers available by the bottle). There's also an outdoor patio … and, lest we forget, one of the best Sunday brunches around ($11 bottomless mimosas till four!). | RDW
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