Bobber Down A Pleasant Surprise (06/07)
Julie Halpert
News Special Writer, Ann Arbor News
It was easy to miss, a big, brown building that resembles a large tool shed, down the street from Whitmore Lake. The building is 15 years old, and Bobber Down Bar & Grille has been here for three-and-a-half years.
Inside, it's dark and smoky, with some simple chairs and boat paddles on the walls along with pictures of older men holding up their prized fish catches. Regulars were hanging out at the bar - "Cheers'' style - on both my visits.
Owner Carl Engstrom says the emphasis here is on healthy home cooking. New pasta, salads and sandwiches have been added within the past few weeks, and the menu is freshened every six months, Engstrom said.
Most of our dishes were quite good, though there were a few major misses, such as watery chili and spinach artichoke dip - highlighted as a specialty - with far too little spinach.
But the Tasmanian shrimp was wonderful and as artfully displayed as in any fine restaurant. The shrimp was innovatively wrapped in potato strings and came with a wonderful Asian dipping sauce. The boursin chicken, one of the new offerings, consisted of a delicious, massive platter of rigatoni pasta and cubes of chicken in a light white cream sauce. The cheeseburger, another highlighted entrée, was cooked slightly more than my medium specifications, though the meat was tender and served on a fresh Kaiser roll.
Our best dish, hands down, was the hazelnut-encrusted whitefish, which tasted fresh enough to have come right out of the Great Lakes. And the bruschetta chicken sandwich was excellent, served on fresh bread with melted cheese.
The fresh ingredients in the raspberry hula salad - pine nuts, dried cherries, coconut, mandarin oranges and tomatoes - were served next to each other and would have been better if tossed together. (And I'm not a big fan of the iceberg lettuce foundation when there are so many more interesting greens available.)
Bar food fare was not to be missed. Potato skins were very good, with big pieces of freshly cooked bacon on top. Piping-hot onion rings were worth the caloric indulgence, thick and just slightly greasy. And my favorite in this category was another new addition: sweet potato fries, a perfect combination of sweetness, salt and oil. Engstrom says he switched to a healthier oil without trans-fats a year ago, making the delicious taste of this greasier fare all the more impressive.
Bobber Down serves only cheesecake for dessert. It's made on the premises and has a home-cooked look and taste, both in the powdery graham cracker crust and the thick, creamy filling.
Service here was incredibly friendly on both our visits. When our server saw the spinach artichoke appetizer left on its plate, she insisted on taking it off our bill, though we resisted. "You barely touched it!'' she said. Her cheery demeanor, and that of the server on our second visit, who gave us the familiar greetings of "hon'' and "sweetheart,'' made our visits here extremely pleasant.
We got a reprieve from the smoke when I started exploring and discovered a lovely outdoor patio. It has a tiled floor and is surrounded by a wooden fence adorned by flower pots that block out the street noise.
Bobber Down provides a nice, casual meal. If you don't mind the smoky interior, the food is generally a pleasant surprise.
Bobber Down Bar & Grille
8475 Main Street
Whitmore Lake
734-449-1500
Just down the street from Whitmore Lake, this casual restaurant serves salads, sandwiches, fish, chicken, meat and pasta.
Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m; the bar is open until midnight. Sunday, noon-10 p.m.
Plastic: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover.
Liquor: yes.
Prices: Moderate. Sandwiches are around $7; The most expensive entrée is grilled rib-eye at $16.95.
Value: Very good.
Noise level: Quiet, but there were few diners when we were there. Pop music plays in the background, but it's not too loud.
Wheelchair access: Yes.
Smoking section: Yes. The entire interior smells of smoke, even in the non-smoking section.
The Bottom Line: Bobber Down is a fun spot in a quaint countryside area. With only a few exceptions, the food is good and the servers are quite friendly.
Correction: It was incorrectly stated that the Bobber Down Bar and Grille recently switched from a trans fat oil to a non-trans fat oil. The Bobber Down has never used trans fat.
8475 Main Street, Whitmore Lake, MI 48189 Phone: (734) 449-1500