Local Kitchen & Bar and Valentine Vodka

One of Local Kitchen & Bar's values is integrity, which they define as "Food and supplies to be sourced with the highest priority on quality, locality, sustainability and craftsmanship."  This seems to be the theme lately for Metro Detroit restaurants.  I'm not sure if it's a Metro Detroit thing, a foodie thing, or just a change in approach for restauranteurs, but sometimes it just seems like a marketing ploy to me.

Our latest adventure in the Ferndale dining scene came at the hands of the folks at Local Kitchen & Bar, which completely remodeled what used to be Via Nove, an traditional Italian restaurant.  Apparently, the folks behind Local used to run a fine dining establishment in Northville, but wanted to open something more casual, more community-based, and something a little more "local".  While it opened in the Summer, after browsing the menu, nothing really jumped out at me, so this place stayed off our radar.  However, after some recent favorable reviews, we thought we'd give it a shot tonight.

We arrived to a wait of 1 hour+ at 8pm, so that must be a good sign, but we were in good company for the wait between our friends Tommy & Regina and the entertainment of a Sweet Sixteen party in their event center.  We gave these guys thumbs-up for their beer selection, including Founders Breakfast Stout and what we drank, which was the Greenbush Memento Mori.  The decor was definitely that of being in somebody's summer home.  One side of the bar included windows with shutters that they used to store their liquor bottle, but the design added to the effect.  Plus they had some larger dining room type tables and an indoor patio with a fireplace.  Another big thumbs-up for the coat hooks everywhere!  But a thumbs-down on the patio as I'm sure it would be brilliant for the Summer, but we sat there for dinner and weren't the only ones wondering why the fire was not hotter.

As for the menu, I'd give it a 3 out of 5.  The food was standard, nothing exceptional and nothing original, but I think everyone pretty much enjoyed what they ordered.  Scottie and I split the Kale Salad, which included endive, radicchio, carrots, fennel, roasted apples and pistachios, high protein grain salad, cider-shallot vinaigrette.  I have to say that was probably the most creative dish, but they skimped on the good stuff like the apples, pistachios, and grain salad.  For dinner, Scottie opted for the bistro steak, which was topped with a romesco sauce and included black and basmati rice, and a mushroom gratin.  He said it was decent.  While I chose the grilled vegetable panini with peppers, zucchini, portabella, basil, fresh mozzarella on ciabatta.  Again, I can't complain because it was good and cheap, but also something I could have ordered at Panera.  As for Tommy and Regina, they chose the chicken fried chicken (panko breaded, pan fried, chopped tomato–arugula salad, pesto) and the vegetarian plate which was similar to my sandwich but with pasta (so again, not so creative).

If you're looking for some local, and a bit more creative, I'd skip this place and head up to Social Kitchen & Bar in Birmingham.  It's the same concept but just done much better.

Post-dinner, we finally stopped in at Valentine Vodka Tasting Room (after walking several miles in the cold or maybe just a quarter mile) to support our local, distillery.  What makes these guys so special is that they hand-distill their vodka with a proprietary multi-grain blend.  They have won several awards and we've seen these guys at events like the Vodka Vodka.